Spotted bass are also here in good numbers and some quality fish are present as well. You can usually find spotted bass mixed in with largemouth bass and smallmouth bass throughout the lake. From summer through fall when the bass are much deeper, you will usually see some of the bigger schools of spotted bass roaming some of the same spots that smallmouth bass love. As you go shallower during these times of year, you will usually run into more largemouth bass than spotted bass, so if you want to target more spotted bass, use your electronics to find some of those deep water bass.
Clear Water Fishing – Use Lighter Line
Bull Shoals Lake is known for its clear, deep waters. 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. Use 6 to 8 pound test line and you’ll get a lot more bites and still have enough strength to get some of the bigger fish into the boat. Fluorocarbon line or at the very least, a fluorocarbon leader will help get more bites too.
With its deep and clear water, most anglers do better on this lake by fishing deeper and with lighter line than they would on most other lakes that they fish.
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 and panfish 20 feet down over 50 feet of water may seem like a waste of time. At times, finding schooling fish over deep water is the only way to consistently catch a lot of fish with quality fish too. 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 and other fish too.
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.
Fish the Creeks
If you take a look at a map of this lake, you will see how many creek arms there are off of the main lake. These creek arms hold fish year round. Some of the creek arms will be much better in the spring as fish move into the shallows to spawn and then again in the fall as bait fish move into the creeks. However, Bull Shoals Lake is so deep that most of these creek arms will have plenty of deep water which will also hold fish in the summer and winter months too. When searching the creek arms to find fish, you may have to search for certain water temperatures, shoreline cover or schooling baitfish to find the better bite on each particular day. There are a lot of arms to fish, so once you can figure out a pattern, there will be other places where you can go to replicate the pattern to find more active fish.
Fish the Main Lake
The main lake points and shorelines are good spots to target a variety of bass and other fish too. The spring is the best time to find fish shallower along the shorelines and off the points. When fishing the rocky shorelines, some wind blowing into the shore tends to provide better fishing. The points can be great places to fish in the spring and fall as fish use these points to transition from the main lake into the creeks to spawn. As many of the fish transition back out to the main lake once the spawn is completed, these points can also be very productive. In the summer and fall, you can usually have some success by fishing the main lake points that jump out to deeper water fairly quickly. The fish attractors located on the main lake are great spots to find fish too. For anglers that are good with their electronics, schooling fish can be found following baitfish from the summer months all the way through winter.
Fish the Points
This lake has a lot of main lake points. These points can always hold some fish, but spring and fall tend to be the best times to target bass and other fish off the points. The points that lead to deep water quickly are great spots to fish in the summer. Many anglers will fish the bottom when targeting rocky points, however, in the summer and fall months, you can find a lot of fish suspended just off the points in deeper water just away from the points. If you are running from point to point, don’t rule out these areas. You can usually find fish quickly or rule a spot out with good electronics when searching for these suspended fish.
Fish the Rocks
Bull Shoals Lake has a bedrock bottom, so plan on fishing plenty of hard bottom while fishing here. Anglers target a variety of fish along the rocky shorelines throughout the lake.
Fish the Shorelines
Because this lake is so deep, most anglers just choose to stay right along the shoreline and they do just fine for a variety of different fish. Many of the shorelines drop off quick, so you don’t have to be far from shore to be fishing water deep enough to hold a variety of fish and quality fish. Whether you fish the main lake shorelines or the creeks, there are a lot of fish that relate to the shorelines here.
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. This 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. The shoreline wood cover usually holds a variety of bass and panfish, especially during the spring.
Best Baits for Spotted Bass
Spotted bass can be very aggressive and they will eat a variety of different baits. Minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches are definitely the best live baits for spotted bass.
When it comes to artificial lures, you have lots of options. Soft plastic crayfish, twin tail grubs, worms and minnow baits are effective. Hard baits such as crankbaits, jerkbaits, jigs and spinners also work great.
Best Rigs for Spotted Bass
With so many different soft plastics to use, there are many different rigs that work great for spotted bass. The drop shot rig, a simple jighead, standup jigheads and scrounger jigheads are some of the best rigs for spotted bass. To learn more, take a look at our best rigs for spotted bass page.
Best Techniques for Spotted Bass
There are so many different techniques you can use for spotted bass. Because these fish can be found very shallow, very deep and everywhere in between, there are a variety of techniques you’re going to want to learn to help you catch more bass. Anglers usually cast for them, but jigging, drop shotting and drifting work great too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for spotted bass page.
Learn More About Spotted Bass
Our spotted bass fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our spotted bass fishing website to learn more.
