KC Bass Fanatic

Spent the weekend at Pomme and did really well all 3 days. My best bite was in the morning (up to 10am) and right before sundown. I fished wooded banks with spinnerbaits, jigs, and a zoom trick worm. My buddy was doing well on bluff banks with plastics but I didn't try it. I fished the Lindley Arm all weekend because I was catching good numbers and quality too so I can't report on the Pomme Arm. Saturday was my best day - I had 6 fish over 15" by 8:30am with a 3.5lb kicker. That night I caught a 5.5lb. On Saturday I had 33 fish, 19 keepers. All my better fish (2.5lb+) came on a spinnerbait.

I do fish those and I also know of a couple of brush piles that some unscrupulous bass fisherman sunk in there (my father-in-law) ;D Believe it or not that tiny patch of lily pads on the North side can be really good, even though it's only in 2' of water when the lakes normal. I wonder if the low water will kill those for good?!

I'm going down tonight for 3 days. I'll post how I did and locations etc on Monday. Real McCoy is on the Pittsburg side of the Nemo bridge, the first dirt road after the bridge. By water it's in Russell Cove. I fish quite a bit in Fisher Cove - bass & crappie!

Yeah Nemo is open and in good shape - they have waived the usual launching fee while the lake is low too. What subdivision are you in? Don't say Real McCoy!! That's where I'm at.

Derek Twin Coves is just north of the Bolivar access ramp (all the way south on the Pomme Arm). Fugat/Big Hollow is 2 coves that fork off the Pomme Arm on the East side. It's almost directly across from Lightfoot access. Hope this helps. Do you have a fishing hot spots map? If not I highly recommend it. Good luck!

Mid-MO I like to hit the bluff ends first this time of year but if the bluff has timber on it then bass will suspend on it almost year round. On the parallel bank fishing - if you aren't getting bit on the spinnerbait I like to go to a buzzbait or square bill to get a 'reaction' bite. I've been catching a lot of fish like this. Pomme is on fire right now and the fish are scattered everywhere. They are on bluffs to the backs of coves so pick your poison and have fun. Water temp as of today - 60 degrees. We're catching them on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, traps, buzzbaits, jigs, plastics....you get the point. The lake is absolutely on fire.

Anyone know a way to neutralize the garlic smell? My garage is attracting bass.

I love fishing a square bill in the fall. I'm partial to a Norman FatBoy. What's your favorite square bill in the Fall?

Sorry guys, it's been a while since I gave an update. I just got back from a 3 day weekend at Pomme and the fishing was fantastic! The lake is 5' low but the fish don't care. My main bite was bluff banks or fast banks with timber and/or laydowns throwing a spinnerbait or buzzbait parallel to the bank. You really have to work hard keeping your boat nosed up to the bank because it seemed like if I got that bait more than a couple feet from the bank they wouldn't hit. I fished the Lindley Arm all weekend so I can't speak to the Pomme Arm but I'm sure the pattern is similar. Also, the bite was a lot better when the sun was not up i.e. an hour before and after dark - spinnerbait along the bank! The keeper ratio was high, about 2/3 of my fish were keepers. I got a couple hogs mixed in as well in the 5lb class - both right after dark on spinnerbaits. FYI - Nemo Campground boat ramp is fine and they have waived the normal fee to launch there until the water comes back up.

I always like the Pomme arm any time of year over the Lindley because there are more areas that I like to fish. Just a personal preference. If you fish the Lindley arm in Oct/Nov always hit Haverstick branch - it is a stump filled cove and shad pack in there so tight you can walk across them. As far as stump fields; I already mentioned Haverstick on the Lindley arm. The Pomme arm: Coopers Cove, Fugat/Big Hollow, Twin Coves, Possum Creek, all are heavy stump fields with standing timber and laydowns/brush piles in water 1-25' deep. If you don't already having a fishing Hot Spots map for Pomme, pick one up. All the areas I mention here are on there. FYI the lake is 5' low and will be that way for a while. The better bite is along bluffs right now because of the water level change. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, square bills, parallel to the bank on the bluffs in 1-3' of water. You have to nose your boat right up to the bank and cast parallel.

Any shad colors right now. Norman Fatboy, Lucky RC2.5, Mann's 1-minus etc (basically any square bill) My partner accidentally caught a big muskie while flipping docks last weekend. Those docks are on dry land by now though. Just an FYI for all you guys be careful navigating while this water is so low. Last weekend I found 2 stumps IN THE CHANNEL on the Pomme arm down around Fugat and Twin Coves.

I was down this past weekend (Sept 24,25,26) and we tore 'em up. My buddy and I each caught our limit Friday night, Sat morning, Sat night, and Sunday morning. The hot bite was square bill crank baits or spinnerbaits around stumps in 1-5 feet. When that bite slowed we hit the same areas with Zoom trick worms. The key to finding these fish now that the lake is WAY down is finding a cove with stumps from the bank to the middle of the cove or concentrate on bluffs where they can move up and down in depth quickly. Try getting parallel to the bluff banks with spinnerbaits and hold on. Spots that are hot right now: Coves with stumps. On the Pomme Arm think Fugat, Big Hollow, Coopers, etc. tkite I'm sorry to hear you were having trouble getting on keepers but let me tell you Pomme is definitely on the comeback. 2-3 years ago every fish you would catch would be 12-12.5 inches. This year 56% of my fish caught are keepers (yes I keep a log I'm a geek).

I agree with some of the posters that finesse is a style more than a bait. For instance I flip Zoom trick worms to heavy standing timber on 65lb braid quite often. zoom trick or finesse worm

The BBH could be the most versatile bait on the market. You can t-rig it, shakey head it, C-rig it, weightless...you get the picture. Any of the green pumpkin variations will do.

A lot of good replies here. Don't forget about matching the hatch. If fish are feeding heavy on shad a straight tail worm (think Zoom trick worm) is awesome. I've found that when fish are feeding mainly on craws a curly tail worm works better. Just another thing to consider.

t-rigged with as light a weight as you can get away with and still feel to bottom. Drag it, hop it, dead-stick it - the fish will tell you how they want it retrieved. After you catch one, duplicate the retrieve you were using. Use light colors for clear water

I really like Frog Toggs. I haven't had an issue with them getting hot myself. If you go with the Toggs get the "Pro Angler" style. These are way better than the pants because you don't get the jacket riding up and letting water down your pants

Another vote for jig/pig. The rage craw is great when the fish aren't picky. If you aren't getting bit with the rage craw go to a trailer like the zoom chunk with less action. t-rigged regular size brush hogs always catch quality fish for me as well under any conditions.

Last year there were 1500+ entrants so I think you might have some company! I'll be rooting for ya! I'd love to see some local KC boys win it.

I'm planning on fishing it. Should be fun!

I'm getting some PMs wanting more Pomme reports so I'll post them here throughout the Fall. This past weekend the bite continued to be excellent. The Corps is dropping the lake to 5' below normal pool but so far it hasn't gone below normal pool (~839) because of all the rain. It hasn't affected the bite either! Plastics are the deal right now - Power Worms 7" and 10" or trick worms are producing keepers at a HIGH rate. I fished a tournament Saturday which launched at 0630 and had my limit by 0800. Only 1 boat in our club didn't catch a limit. I think once the Corps catches up with the rain, meaning drops the lake significantly, the bite will slow but I'm not sure as I've never seen it drop that low. They would have to do it during the best time of year for Pomme!

I fish a lot of partner tournaments so I've conditioned myself to say "fish on" every time so my partner can grab the net. Usually it's 2-stage: One of us says "fish on!" then either "little one" or "get the net!".

I like the action and rattle of the Red Eye shad better than the Rat L Trap, that and I catch more fish on it than any others I've tried. The Red Eye does seem to have a wider wiggle and a louder rattle.

I like to deep crank with a slow stop/go retreive or slow drag a jig/craw.

crankbaits of all depths, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, flukes