Table Rock Lake in Stone County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Table Rock Lake is a Stone County water, in Missouri. Height above sea level is 850 feet. Surface area runs to some 67.2 sq miles, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. There is far more edge than the surface area suggests, thanks to the arms. Across our Missouri listings, few waters are bigger. Kimberling City lies 3.3 miles from the water. Springfield sits 42 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Table Rock Lake

  Depth on file is 220 ft. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. Open biodiversity records for Stone County list white bass, longear sunfish, Ozark madtom and slender madtom. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Read Table Rock Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 34°F to 78°F. Fishing continues through most of the calendar, with quiet spells rather than closures. It is not guaranteed even in a cold spell, so check yourself. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. Table Rock Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public ownership means the bank is normally open to anglers. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, McDonald Lake is 12 miles off. Treat access at Table Rock Lake as something to verify.