bull shoals lake fishing resorts ridgewood in theodosia

Fishing At Ridgewood


.	A typical Bull Shoals largemouth

There is no closed season!
Enjoy fishing Bull Shoals Lake's waters for lunker bass, largemouth bass, Kentucky bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, crappie, blue gill, trout, catfish, and walleye. You can fish all year and usually catch your limit. However best fishing tends to be in March and April during, and right after, the spring spawns. Weather is normally very tolerable from March through December. The coldest months are January and February, but the lake never freezes over.

Crappie

Crappie this size are common

Night Fishing
Crappie and walleye fishing under floating lights is always a pleasurable experience. A local fishing guide has suggested that walleye fishing within a short distance of my dock was super last year and should be even better this year. Night fishing is especially popular during July and August when daytime temperatures are too hot for fishing.

No Mosquitoes!
It's hard to believe, but the chances of being bitten by mosquitoes on Bull Shoals are slim. There are very few sources of standing water mosquitoes need to breed.

Nice crappie!
Another nice crappie

Fishing Clear Water
The trick to fishing success on Bull Shoals is taking into consideration that clear water makes fish more wary than cloudy waters. Bull Shoals water is very clear with a slight greenish tint to it that is caused by naturally occurring minerals. Use a greenish line no heavier than six to eight pound test. Any other line color or larger size looks like a rope coming through the water to the fish! Use the smaller to medium sizes of popular lures. Larger lures tend to spook the fish because the clear water magnifies lure size. Crappie school up in the brush piles for cover. Stay on the edge of the piles and cast in. Do not sit on top of the piles as the boat will spook them.

A trophy smallmouth bass

Smallmouth Bass
Many fishermen claim that pound for pound nothing fights as hard as a smallmouth bass. So a smallmouth this large (left) can be a real tussle! Smallmouth tend to run with other bass to a degree and frequently will hit when people are fishing for largemouth. However, if smallmouth is your main goal, I suggest a guided fishing trip to learn the tricks of catching this scrappy species.

A Fish Tail
This fisherman caught the catfish shown here with a rod and reel. His uncle forgot to bring a fishing net so he fought the big cat for 45 minutes until another boat came along and lent them a net. He was finally able to land this big beauty! Blue, channel, and flathead catfish are caught in Bull Shoals by a number of means. They are also very popular with spear fishermen.

Big catfish
A nice channel catfish

Fishing guide services can be arranged if desired. I'll provide you with a map of "hot" spots to fish for lunker bass, pan fish, catfish, or walleye.

Daytime Fishing
Jan. & Feb.	Black Bass: Grubs & jig & eel on ledges: twin spin & Jig & frog off bluffs.
March	Black Bass: Crank bait & jig & eel on channel banks; jigs & grubs on steep banks. White Bass: Jigs & roadrunners on flats.
April, May, & June	Black Bass: Surface lures & spinner baits in brush & plastic worms. Smallmouth Bass: Jigs & grubs. Crappie: Small jigs & minnows in brush. Trout: Small spoons in coves. Bluegill: Crickets & worms.
July, Aug, & Sept.	Black Bass: Surface lures early & late in the day; plastic worms, live crawfish on points. Bluegill: Crickets & worms
Oct. & Nov.	Black Bass: Surface lures, spinner baits, crank baits, plastic worms, twin spin & jig & frog; live crawfish on points. White Bass: Spoons & sonars on flats.
December	Black Bass: Crank baits, jig & eel, jig & frog, & twin spin on channel banks, sonars on flats.
Night Fishing
Black Bass: Plastic worms, spinner baits, jig & frog & jig & eel. White Bass, Crappie, Trout: Under the lights with live bait. Striped Bass: Large surface lures on shallow banks in April, May, & June