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Fishing report

Table Rock Lake Smallmouth Bass Fishing Report

Coney Island, MO

Illustration of a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 21, 2026 at 11:28 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Table Rock Lake.

Overall rating

Smallmouth Bass at Table Rock Lake — 2026-08-21

Fair · 46/100

Best window: 8 PM (Good · 62/100)

Season
Summer
Moon
65% illuminated, waxingFirst Quarter
Est. surface temp
92.9°F
Pressure
30.13 inHgRising

Est. water temp

92.9°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Above Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F range

Air vs. last week

7°F cooler

81°F now vs 88°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:36 AM
Sunset
7:56 PM
Moonrise
3:52 PM
Moonset
12:17 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 8 PM
Cloud cover
32%
Precip chance
4%
Wind
1 mph E
Pressure
30.13 inHg Rising

Species context

Why this score

Fair (46/100) for Smallmouth Bass: water is estimated at 92.9°F, above Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F optimal range. Best window: Dusk — boosts feeding activity by about 30%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 30.13 inHg and rising pressure modeled about 5% below this fish's baseline. Calm (0-5 mph) wind modeled about 10% below this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 8 PM score

Light window (dusk) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 92.9°F estimated, about 34.4 points below its best.

  • Water temperature · hurting
  • Light window · helping
  • Solunar period · helping
  • Barometric pressure · helping
  • Wind · helping
Show the numbers behind this
  1. Water temperature: 92.9°F estimated

    5.6 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 70-80°F

    Well supportedWater temperature governs a cold-blooded fish's metabolism, so it is the largest term in the model (Christie & Regier 1988). The figure is a thermal-lag estimate built from forecast air temperature and the time of year — not a sensor reading, and not this lake's actual measured water.

  2. Light window: Dusk

    25 of 25 pts

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%

    Well supportedLow-light feeding windows are the strongest timing signal inside a single day. How much each window is worth is this species' own cited response, sourced in its model file, not a generic curve.

  3. Solunar period: Major period

    15 of 15 pts

    Not supported by testingPeer-reviewed testing of North American freshwater fisheries found no significant relationship between solunar values, lunar phase or lunar illumination and catch rates (SN Applied Sciences, 2023) — air temperature predicted catch better than any solunar table tested. It is shown because anglers expect it, and it is shown separately so you can discount it. Its weight is under owner review.

  4. Barometric pressure: Rising

    9 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 5% below this fish's baseline

    ContestedThe barometric effect is real to most anglers but small and contested in the literature — several of the species studies cited in this model report null results — so it carries one of the smallest weights here.

  5. Wind: Calm (0-5 mph)

    7.8 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 10% below this fish's baseline

    Moderately supportedWind stacks forage on windward structure, but both the size and the direction of the effect depend on the species and the water, so it carries a modest weight.

Then the whole score is scaled

Season: Summer — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)

How catchable Smallmouth Bass are at this point in the year. This scales the whole score rather than competing with the factors above — a fish that is dormant this time of year cannot score well no matter how good the hour looks.

Weather front: No clear front — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)

A multi-hour frontal pattern read from the day's forecast trajectory. No front is classified today, so this changes nothing and the single-reading pressure factor above does its normal job.

Those five factors add up to 62.5 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 62. The weights are v1 tuning constants under owner review — they are shown here rather than hidden so you can weigh them against your own judgement.

What this score does not know

  • Water clarity. We have no source for it and do not estimate it.
  • Measured water temperature. The figure in the breakdown is a model over forecast air temperature, not a reading from a buoy or a probe.
  • Baitfish and forage activity.
  • How much fishing pressure this water has had.
  • Where the fish actually are. Depth bands are the species' published seasonal ranges, not an observation of this lake.
  • What anyone actually caught. No catch reports feed this score.

Conditions read from the National Weather Service as of Aug 21, 2026 at 11:28 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Smallmouth Bass typically hold 20-40 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 92.9°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

Current depth

20-40 ft

This is the seasonal depth band from the species model — relative to this species' typical behavior, not this lake's actual structure. True depth relative to this lake's bottom contours needs lake bathymetry (tracked in issue #175).

Today's solunar periods

  • Minor: 11:47 PM12:47 AM
  • Major: 7:03 AM9:03 AM
  • Minor: 3:22 PM4:22 PM
  • Major: 7:28 PM9:28 PM

Best times

When do smallmouth bass feed during the day?

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Daytime0.70x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Dusk1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Night1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
11 AM
40
FairDay2 mph SE
12 PM
40
FairDay2 mph SE
1 PM
40
FairDay2 mph E
2 PM
40
FairDay2 mph E
3 PM
45
FairDay2 mph NE
4 PM
45
FairDay2 mph E
5 PM
40
FairDay2 mph E
6 PM
40
FairDay2 mph E
7 PM
51
FairDay2 mph NE
8 PM
62
GoodDusk1 mph E
9 PM
57
FairNight0 mph
10 PM
46
FairNight0 mph
11 PM
46
FairNight0 mph

Where to find Smallmouth Bass right now

Typical Summer depth: 20-40 ft

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.

No depth survey or measurement is on record for Table Rock Lake, so these bands are the species' published seasonal ranges rather than a reading of this water.

Plan a Smallmouth Bass trip to Table Rock Lake

Change the date, compare species, or check the week ahead in the live tool.

Other species on record at Table Rock Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Smallmouth Bass in Table Rock Lake?

A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Table Rock Lake.

When do Smallmouth Bass bite at Table Rock Lake?

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Table Rock Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Smallmouth Bass at Table Rock Lake?

Typical Smallmouth Bass depth by season: Pre-Spawn 15-25 ft, Spawn 2-5 ft, Post-Spawn 8-20 ft, Summer 20-40 ft, Fall 20-40 ft, Winter 25-45 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Table Rock Lake itself.