Any Pomme de Terre reports?

[FisherCouple]

Looking to go fish the Pomme this Sunday, and was wondering if anyone knew how the bass fishing has been lately.  Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

I have a house there so I'm down almost every weekend. The bite is pretty slow right now honestly. 7" power worms in dark colors seem to be the only consistent bite. Look for fast (45deg) banks and target 8-12' of water. Main lake points are producing sporadically. i.e. one day I'll hit a point and catch 2-3 keepers and the next 3 times I hit it I can't get bit.

Some fish are starting to move into the backs of creek channels. That bite is real inconsistent but when it's on it's REALLY on. We caught 30+ keepers in 6 hours throwing crankbaits in 2' of water (digging up mud). Went back the next weekend and couldn't get bit.

It's real sporadic and overall the bite is slow but I hope I've helped you out.

[FisherCouple]

KC,  Thanks for the info....that really helps me a lot.  My wife and I love that lake...esp. since it doesn't get the big boat traffic like some....and yes, i agree...its a lot of hit and miss there....but again...thanks for the feedback.

Randy

[KC Bass Fanatic]

Pomme fishing is picking up fast with the falling water temps. I was reading 78 degrees surface temp over most of the lake yesterday. The shad are really schooled up and being blown into the coves. LMB are starting to chase. I caught a limit 3 days in a row by 8:00am with several 3lb, a 4lb, and a 5lb. Rocky points and bluff ends work crankbaits (dd14 or wiggle warts). Stump fields in 6-10' use trick worms or 7" worms.

Heard several reports of guys catching big ones slow rolling spinnerbaits but I couldn't get bit doing it.

[stinger160]

KC ***atic, I'm from Lee's Summit also and would like to find out more about Pomme.  Tried to leave you a PM but system wouldn't let me.  If you are interested in helping me out, give me a call, 816 813 1001.

Thanks!

[KC Bass Fanatic]

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!

[tkite16]

  Man we went down yesterday to start prefishing for our classic at the the end of October.   It was tough, we only caught 3 keepers in 8 hours(glad to see all those 12 1/2 inchers that they said said would be 13 this year grew about 1/8th of an inch.  Hopefully when it gets down and stabilizes it will get better for me.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

Man we went down yesterday to start prefishing for our classic at the the end of October. It was tough, we only caught 3 keepers in 8 hours(glad to see all those 12 1/2 inchers that they said said would be 13 this year grew about 1/8th of an inch. Hopefully when it gets down and stabilizes it will get better for me.

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).

[Bluebasser86]

What color/brand cranks are you catching them on? My wife and I are planning on heading down next monday/tuesday or wednesday/thursday. I don't know Pomme really well but I fished it a few times and even won a tourny out there several years ago but I was in the back of the boat and have no idea where we were at   :-/ I'm going to be trying for a muskie but if they don't come through I want a backup plan. I didn't even see a muskie last october down there so hopefully this year will be a little more productive!

[tkite16]

Man we went down yesterday to start prefishing for our classic at the the end of October. It was tough, we only caught 3 keepers in 8 hours(glad to see all those 12 1/2 inchers that they said said would be 13 this year grew about 1/8th of an inch. Hopefully when it gets down and stabilizes it will get better for me.

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).

That's pretty much how we caught ours.  We caught all 3 keepers and about 20 others from 7-830 Saturday morning then it just died for us .  We caught maybe 5 more shorts from then till 3 o'clock. Oh well big bass bash this weekend then ill get back to worrying about Pomme.  Did find some nice looking stuff on points that are out of the water for the future.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

What color/brand cranks are you catching them on? My wife and I are planning on heading down next monday/tuesday or wednesday/thursday. I don't know Pomme really well but I fished it a few times and even won a tourny out there several years ago but I was in the back of the boat and have no idea where we were at :-/ I'm going to be trying for a muskie but if they don't come through I want a backup plan. I didn't even see a muskie last october down there so hopefully this year will be a little more productive!

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.

[tkite16]

What color/brand cranks are you catching them on? My wife and I are planning on heading down next monday/tuesday or wednesday/thursday. I don't know Pomme really well but I fished it a few times and even won a tourny out there several years ago but I was in the back of the boat and have no idea where we were at :-/ I'm going to be trying for a muskie but if they don't come through I want a backup plan. I didn't even see a muskie last october down there so hopefully this year will be a little more productive!

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.

Ditto that I saw the one down by fugat. Puckered my butthole right up

[Bluebasser86]

Thanks for the help guys! We will be headed to Pomme about 5am Wednesday morning for a couple days of fishing, I'll let you know if we do any good!

[Bassmaster P]

I've been fishing Pomme the last few years in early November with a guy that, IMO, only claims to know the lake.  It's his boat so I'm at the mercy of his "spots".  We tend to fish the Pomme creek arm up through the main lake but have never ventured down the Lindley arm. 

In your opinion, which arm is better that time of year?  Also, if you don't mind me asking, KC, where are these "stump fields" you mentioned?

Any tips you can give would be much appreciated.  I only get 2 days a year on Pomme - always the first weekend in November.

THANKS

[KC Bass Fanatic]

I've been fishing Pomme the last few years in early November with a guy that, IMO, only claims to know the lake. It's his boat so I'm at the mercy of his "spots". We tend to fish the Pomme creek arm up through the main lake but have never ventured down the Lindley arm.

In your opinion, which arm is better that time of year? Also, if you don't mind me asking, KC, where are these "stump fields" you mentioned?

Any tips you can give would be much appreciated. I only get 2 days a year on Pomme - always the first weekend in November.

THANKS

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.

[Bluebasser86]

Well my wife and I are back from our trip to Pomme. Wednesday was a much better day than today. There was at least 1 tournament on the lake today and sunny flat calm conditions with low water made it tough. Yesterday was a good day. Would have had 11 or 12lbs in a tournament and caught my muskie about 2 hours into the day! Wasn't huge but at 32" and really thick it was around 10lbs. Best bite for me was an 1/8 oz shakey head with a green pumpkin red flake trick worm on bluff banks. My two bigger bass that were both just over 18" and a little over 3lbs apiece were caught on an eakins jig and a KVD series 5 silent crankbait. All and all a pretty good trip!

[Bassmaster P]

Thanks for the tips KC.  I do have a Hot spots map here...somewhere.  Do you know if the lake's accessible right now?  I've heard a lot of ramps are closed.  We're still heading down in 3 weeks.  I wonder what this low water will do to the fishing!

[Jig Man]

Most ramps are accessible but the courtesy docks are mostly on the bank.  It should be coming back up if we get some rain because the water is being held for work below the dam.  The COE told me that it will have to get 24' above power pool before they would even consider letting water out.

[Bassmaster P]

Thanks JigMan.  As of today, if the lake is still 5' low our tournament will be called off (scheduled for Nov 5-7), but I still plan to head down anyway.

Assuming the water is is still very low, has anyone got suggestions on where/what to fish?  We typically run pretty far up the Pomme arm early in November and hit the log jams at the front of islands for our best fish.  But that may not be an option  with the water so low.

Thanks.

[KC Bass Fanatic]

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.

[Bassmaster P]

Thanks for the report KC - I just confirmed that we'll be at Pomme next Fri - Sun (5 - 7).  I was definitely hoping we'd get some cloud cover but it looks like we're in for a few days of full sun.

I've only ever fished a few spots on the Lindley arm - never been past the Nemo bridge.  Last year at this time the fishing was best closer to the dam becasue the water was clearer - the creeks were kind of muddied up.  What's the low water done to the clarity?  From your post I'd guess it hasn't done much.

Any "fast banks" or ledges you'd recommend we hit on the Lindley arm?  I'd like to give that area a shot this year.  Sadly, I man the back of the boat  :-/ so butting up to shore for those long shallow casts can be difficult.

Thanks a gain.  I'll be sure to post my results when we get back.

[tkite16]

Fished my clubs 2 day classic this weekend. We finished third fishing mostly bluff with wood in the lindley arm. We caught 15.15 lbs on Saturday and we had at least 14 of that in the first hour on a spinnerbait.

On Sunday the wind spun around and our bluff was slick. We got a small limit by 10 but couldn't upgrade much. Only weighed 8.91 and missed 2nd by 2oz >

The guys that one killed them they had 17 Saturday and 21 on sunday . They fished shallow in Pomme arm they said.

[Mid-MO]

Went to Pomme today.  Day got off to a good start as we decided to put the trolling motor down and start fishing at the ramp.  There were baitfish all over the cove and we thought we might as well start there.  Caught our biggest fish of the day in about 15 minutes - an 18" - 3.25 LM on a gravel bank in about 4' of water.  Skipped around the Lindley a little bit on bluff ends and pockets till about lunch.  Then headed into the Pomme arm. Fished a cove full of baitfish without much to show for it.  Headed into Decker and caught a few more before finishing on some main lake channel swings.  Went a long stretch in the middle without many bites.

Didn't catch a bunch of fish - ended up with 15 - but 10 of those were keepers.  Best 5 were right at 12 pounds.   Four of the keepers were over 15" and a couple more just under 15". 

Caught one on a spinnerbait, one on a beaver, the rest on jigs.  Caught a couple in about 8' the rest in less than 4'.   I missed about 10 bites on the jig - they weren't taking it all that well.  I had at least 4 fish pull one of the pinchers off the trailer on the hookset (must have been about all they had a hold of).

Water temp was 60 most of the day, sunny all day, a little breeze.

Definately worth getting down there with the water so low - saw lots of things and transitions I hadn't seen before. 

Thanks for all the reports/info - it narrowed our approach down today a bunch.

[Bassmaster P]

Returned last night from our tourney on Pomme de Terre.  Pre-fished Friday the 5th - tourney was Saturday and a 1/2 day Sunday.  Best 2.5 days of fishing I've ever experienced on Pomme.

I don't know if "the fish kill" the locals were talking about had an effect on the average bass size or if we were just on the magic spot - but we caught roughly 50 fish and ½ of those were > 14 long.

We took Big Fish' on Saturday with a 4lb 10 oz and also held the lead with best weight at 15.6 lb.  Two other boats were 15.4 and 15.2.  We caught our 2 biggest fish right on shore one on a chart/white deep diving crank and the other on a black/blue jig.  All other fish were caught on lipless cranks at the very back of a cove on the Pomme arm.

Sunday we hit the same cove 1st thing in the morning and filled the live well within 45 minutes another hour of culling bass and we rolled out of there with a limit of 15 bass.  After trying a few more spots we headed back to the cove again and caught fish like crazy for another 2 hours, replacing two tof the 15 bass with a 16 and a 17.

We won the tournament by 1 lb.

Thanks for all the tips guys it helped a lot.  We caught fish in about 8 different places on Friday from the back of our magic shad-filled cove, to main lake points and ledges, to boat docks, and shallow gravel shorelines.  But in the end it was finding that one cove that put us in the winner's circle.  All weekend we never saw another boat venture into our cove but who would.it is the most boring looking, non-descript parcel of water on the lake it is wide, shallow, open, has almost no cover, flat clay shorelines, etc  So there's your hint. 

[Mid-MO]

I'm curious as to how you guys are approaching the bluff banks.  How far down the bluffs are you going or are you just concentrating on the bluff ends and/or cuts/pockets along the bluff, etc??   Are you fishing big chunks of broken rock or more vertical bluff walls?

I'm going to assume that there is pole timber on a lot of the bluffs - are the fish relating to that or more to rock?

I didn't fish anything parallel on my last trip - made 45 and 90 degree flips to the bank with a jig.  We struggled to get bites on the spinnerbait - guess we should've paralleled some of those banks too. 

Anything else I should be thinking about?