Rathbun Lake Fishing Reports (2024)

First time at Rathbun practicing for TBF qualifier today so didn’t get a lot of time with a rod in my hand but what time I did I was able to catch a few fish fishing a fluke very shallow over rip rap quickly to get a reaction bite but the most productive bit for better fish was dragging a swing head on step ledges. Every species seemed to like that approach as well caught many flatheads, walleyes, and even a few drum.

We find muddy points that where are around 10 to 6 feet and throw a drop shot since they were very lethargic

First time at Rathbun with my dad and son and initially were going to chase crappie. We could only catch the 7-9” ones so I changed it up to largemouth. I started with a shower blow and instantly was catching fish. I tied on the choppo for the other 2 and they were having a blast with their top water blow ups! We just looked for rocky banks and covered water.

Fished on Friday and Saturday and the conditions were not very good. Air temps were in the 30s and the wind was in the 20s. On Friday I fished the lower arm and tried find bass in the channel that runs through. I marked a ton of fish but could only manage one bite. Not sure if they were bass or not. The only one I managed to catch was on a laydown in a little cove flipping a bandito bug. On Saturday I went up the lake and tried the flooded timber. Once again I was marking fish but could not find any bass. All I caught was a big drum. The cold and wind were terrible so I left the water early. Water temps ranged from 51 to 54 degrees and only had less than a foot of visibility.

Find Rip Rap near the dam and get to work with a chatterbait. They're eating smaller crappie and shad there. I found the green pumpkin original chatterbait with a silver blade really stood out and gave flash in the muddy stained water.

Bite was very tough today.. would rotate between a outcast jig and a Omega 1/2 ounce swing head with a cracked craw to get all my bites but they where few and far between today.

I caught some on a stingy Rathbun. Was able to get some decent quality bites flippin around a stick bait.

8/14/22-8/16/2022. Fishing was tough because of the cold front and weather change. Locals said the fish were jaw locked because of the weather. Wipers were the targeted species but they were no where to be found even when tons of bait were around, usually you can catch a few or more with baitfish around. Small white bass were caught here and there but no real school of them. The Walleye and the crappie bite were better than the wipers. You can find tons of crappies and walleye sitting on underwater laydowns and stumps in 8-17FOW. Verticle jigging a small gulp worked well for crappies and a blade bait worked well for walleyes. Rock piles did not produce any fish but the baitfish were all over it.