Bull Shoals Lake is a very good lake for largemouth bass. It is a numbers lake with some big bass too. Because this lake is so big and it has very clear water, it can be a little challenging to figure out for many anglers, but the bass are here and willing to bite if you are willing to put in the work to figure it out.
Clear Water Fishing – Use Lighter Line
Bull Shoals Lake is known for its clear, deep waters and for many anglers, this is the biggest obstacle to figuring out this lake. If you know how to target bass in clear, deep lakes, then you should have success here because this lake has a lot of bass and it doesn’t get the crazy fishing pressure you see at nearby Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
While this lake’s water can stain quite a bit during heavy rains, the lake clears up with underwater visibility 20 to 30 feet. Using lighter line is key to getting more bites in clear water, especially in the middle of the day when the sun is out. Most anglers will use 6 to 12 pound test line and you’ll get a lot more bites if you use Fluorocarbon line or at the very least, a fluorocarbon leader.
Deep Water Fishing
Bull Shoals Lake is deep, so plan on fishing deeper water to consistently catch fish here. The spring provides some outstanding shallow water fishing, but beyond that, anglers routinely catch a variety of bass in 15 to 30 feet of water and these fish will often suspend 20 to 30 feet down over water much deeper. For many anglers, fishing for suspended bass 20 feet down over 50 feet of water may seem like a waste of time, however, bass will often suspend above the thermocline near schools of bait fish in very deep water here. Make sure you use your electronics and look for baitfish when fishing deeper water. The areas that have large schools of shad will usually be the spots that hold good numbers of bass. While you will always be able to find some largemouth bass in shallower water, there are good numbers of them that live deep during the hot, summer months.
Fish at Night
From late spring through summer, anglers report good fishing at night on Bull Shoals Lake. It gets so hot down here in the summer that for many anglers, fishing at night is more enjoyable for the lower air temperatures. However, it can also be a great time to find more fish willing to bite. The darkness makes it easier to get bites as well since the water is so clear. For largemouth bass anglers, the night bite is usually the best chance you will have for catching quality largemouth bass shallow once the mid-summer lake temperatures arrive.
Fish the Creeks
Bull Shoals Lake has plenty of creek arms to fish off of the main lake. In the spring, largemouth bass will move into these areas in large numbers. When the rain is falling in the spring time, some of these creek arms will actually have stained water in them from the runoff, so you may find it a lot easier to sneak up on bass in the shallows in these areas. From summer through fall, you’ll still find largemouth bass in these areas, however, fish the deeper cover and you’ll have more success.
Fish the Main Lake
The main lake points and shorelines are good spots to target largemouth bass from spring through fall. In the spring, you can find good numbers of largemouth bass moving up onto these points before they move into the creek arms as they get ready to spawn. From summer through fall, there will always be largemouth bass out in the main lake relating to the deeper drop-offs, deep cover and bait fish that school up over deeper water.
Fish the Points
This lake has a lot of main lake and secondary points. These points can always hold some fish, but spring and fall tend to be the best times to target largemouth bass off the points. The points that lead to deep water quickly are great spots to fish in the summer. You can easily just fish points and that will produce bass from spring through fall, however, certain points will definitely be better than others. Find wood, rocks and other types of cover near deeper water and you should find some bass.
Fish the Rocks
Bull Shoals Lake has a bedrock bottom, so plan on fishing plenty of hard bottom while fishing here. The rocks will hold a lot of smallmouth bass and spotted bass, however, largemouth bass will be there too, especially when you can find some wood mixed in.
Fish the Shorelines
Because this lake is so deep, most anglers just choose to stay right along the shoreline and they do just fine when targeting largemouth bass. It is pretty easy to back off the shoreline and fish from shallow to deep all in one cast.
Fish the Wood
Bull Shoals Lake has a ton of fish attractors and there is even a map of them, so you can find them easier. These fish attractors hold bass, crappie and other fish too. You can also find plenty of shorelines in the creeks with shoreline wood as cover to fish as well. Many largemouth bass anglers will focus on fishing the wood and they usually catch a lot of largemouth bass with this pattern.
Learn More About Largemouth Bass
Our largemouth bass section is huge with information on the best live baits, lures, where to catch them and how to catch them. Visit our largemouth bass page to learn more.
