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🏞️ Lakes (bass) · above Table Rock Dam

Table Rock Lake Level & Fishing Report Today

Right now: lake level 910.25 ft, 6.75 ft below normal pool (USACE, 11:00 AM CT, Sun Nov 8).

Updated

Trout fishing below Table Rock Dam? Lake Taneycomo: generation schedule, river gauge and wading safety →

Current lake level

910.25 ft
6.75 ft below normal pool (917 ft, USACE seasonal target)
24-hr change: -0.08 ft · USACE reading 11:00 AM CT, Sun Nov 8 · NWS 7 AM: 910.2 ft

Normal pool is the level the Corps aims to hold the lake at for this time of year. What these terms mean

Water temperature & clarity

🌡️ Surface temperature

64°F surface temp (satellite estimate)Landsat 8, Oct 24 · 15 days old · median of 1,597 open-water pixels, middle half 63–64°F
How this is estimated
  • It's an estimate, not a live reading. It comes from the most recent clear-sky Landsat 8/9 pass in the last 30 days and is hidden once it's more than 21 days old.
  • Landsat's thermal band measures roughly the top millimeter of water (“skin” temperature), which is often slightly cooler than the water a foot down.
  • Thermal pixels are about 100 m, resampled to 30 m. We use only open-water pixels at least about 200 m from shore, with cloud, cloud-shadow, cirrus and snow masked out, and report the median.
  • Landsat covers each lake on clear days only, every 8–16 days.
  • Atmospheric correction adds error. An independent validation of the Landsat Collection 2 product found about ±1.1 K (≈±2°F) RMSE over water (Wang et al., 2021, Int. J. Digital Earth); USGS's own per-pixel uncertainty for these scenes is larger, about 3 K (≈5–6°F).
  • Data: USGS/NASA Landsat Collection 2 Level-2 Surface Temperature (ST_B10, scale 0.00341802, offset 149.0 K), read via Microsoft Planetary Computer.

💧 Clarity

No clarity reading this week (no USGS turbidity gauge here and no guide note on clarity in the AGFC report).

Turbidity readings are on the streams that feed the lake (USGS). Under 5 FNU is generally clear water. Guide observations are quoted from the AGFC weekly report. Release-water temperatures below the dam are on the tailwater page.

Lake fishing outlook

Missouri doesn't publish a weekly report for this water, so this is MDC's annual fishing prospects for Table Rock Lake.

Fishing for black bass should be excellent in 2026. Largemouth bass are plentiful throughout the lake as a result of the high lake levels in past years.  Fall 2025 electrofishing surveys revealed good numbers of largemouth bass in the 15”-18” range.  These surveys also revealed an abundance of spotted bass in the 11”-14” range, with just three percent of the spotted bass captured in the fall 2025 surveys exceeding 15”.   Due to the high abundance and slow growth rates of spotted bass in Table Rock Lake, the minimum length limit is planned to be reduced to 12” in 2026.  Anglers are encouraged to harvest spotted bass to help reduce overcrowding and improve growth. Smallmouth bass fishing should be good in 2026 with good numbers of keeper size fish available.  Largemouth and spotted bass comprise the majority of the black bass population in the river arms, while smallmouth bass comprise a substantial segment of the black bass population in the main lake from the Highway 86 bridge to Campbell Point.  Anglers need to fish a variety of water depths and types to find bass. Outside of the spring spawning period and in the fall, bass are often found in deeper, offshore water. Extended main lake points, humps, and bluffs are productive areas. Jigs, spoons, and drop-shot rigs are effective during summer months in the 10-25 foot range or deeper, depending upon the depth of the thermocline.  Largemouth and smallmouth bass can typically be caught fishing on the bottom while spotted bass are commonly found suspended over deep water following schools of baitfish.  Good electronics can greatly increase your chances of finding suspended schools of spotted bass.
Crappie fishing should be fair in 2026.  Fall 2025 netting surveys in the James River Arm revealed fair numbers of black and white crappie in the 7”-9” that should reach the legal-size limit of 10” in the fall of 2026.  Forty percent of the black crappie captured in the fall 2025 netting surveys were greater than 10” and 10% were greater than 12”. Thirty-six percent of white crappie captured in the fall 2025 netting surveys were greater than 10” and 3% were greater than 12”.  Crappie fishing will be best in the James, Kings, and Long Creek arms where crappie densities are higher.  The best crappie fishing will be in the spring and fall during which small plastic jigs and minnows are very effective for catching crappie around woody structure and the numerous brush piles throughout the lake.  Crappie fishing is also fair during the winter months, and they can be caught fishing around deeper brush piles and under docks that extend over deep water.
White bass fishing will be fair in 2026.  The best opportunity to catch white bass will be when the fish congregate far up in tributary streams to spawn in March.  Anglers willing to troll or fish jigging spoons can also catch white bass during the summer months. Gravel flats 25’ to 50’ deep are the best areas to troll or spoon for white bass.  Trolling can also be effective in February and early March when these fish begin to move up the river arms.  As water temperatures warm, the white bass will move further up the river into shallower water but will congregate in deeper holes in the channel up the river arms of the lake before moving up.  Quality sized white bass are present with fish commonly exceeding 15”.
Walleye fishing should be good in 2026.  Areas around the dam, and the upper reaches of the Kings River Arm, the James River Arm, and the upper White River Arm can all provide good spring walleye fishing.  Walleye typically move up the river arms to spawn around the first part of March and are often caught in the same areas as spawning white bass.  However, recent studies indicate that walleye may migrate back to the main portions of the lake in the summer months and can be caught fishing or trolling near deep points and channel swings during this time.  Electrofishing surveys conducted in the James River in March 2025 showed good numbers of keeper sized (> 18”) walleye present.  In this area, 100% of walleye were > 15” and 56% were > 20”.  Spawning conditions were ideal for walleye in the springs of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023 resulting in good natural reproduction throughout the lake.  The Missouri Department of Conservation also stocked surplus walleye in the James River Arm in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2025 which will greatly supplement this fishery.

From the Missouri Department of Conservation Table Rock Lake Prospect Report.

🐟 Fish care tip · Bass
Swallowed hook

If a bass is hooked deep in the gills or stomach, cut the line as close to the hook as possible. The hook will fall out in time with minimal harm.

Source: MDC: Fish handling and release guidelines · All bass care tips →

Table Rock Dam today

Not generating now · 800 cfs (USACE, 11:00 AM CT, Sun Nov 8)

Generation affects the river below the dam more than the lake. Hourly plans, river gauges and wading safety are on the Lake Taneycomo page and the dam release schedules.

Lake fish ID: bass, crappie, walleye and more →