Rough River Lake Fishing Report
The fish are still there—they just slipped deeper as the sun climbed.
Here’s your fishing report for Rough River Lake, based on the full tool analysis.
THE CALL:
Hit the western creek mouths and clarity edges at first light with a white/chartreuse chatterbait or swim jig. Prime bite runs from 6:45 AM to 9:00 AM local time, with the major solunar window peaking around 7:00 AM. Best chance at a mixed bag of largemouth and smallmouth today.
WHY IT WINS
- Thermal edge: The June 22 thermal imagery shows distinct 74–75°F bands at the western creek mouths and shoreline points—cooler than the 79°F main lake surface. Fish are holding those oxygenated transition zones, not the hot shallows.
- Clarity break: The March clarity map still holds useful pattern info: southwestern river arms are highly productive but turbid, while the main lake stains moderate. The boundary between dirty and clearer water is a natural ambush lane.
- Wind & pressure: Light 5 mph wind from the southwest today keeps those edges broken up and masks line. Rising pressure (1014 mb) will shorten the strike window, so you need to be on productive water early.
- Solunar overlap: The major solunar window (11:45 AM–2:15 PM) also scores well, but the better chance for reaction bites is the early morning low-light + minor window combo.
START HERE
Run the west shoreline from the first main creek mouth south of the dam down to the first sharp point that pushes into the basin. Look for the visible dirtier-water stain pushing out from the creek, meeting cleaner lake water. That seam is the kill zone. If you see any scattered laydowns or isolated rock near that seam, fish it twice.
THROW THIS
- Primary: 3/8 oz chatterbait or swim jig, white/chartreuse, with a matching trailer. Work it steady just fast enough to tick the cover—pause every third or fourth turn to let it fall over the seam.
- Backup bait: If fish follow but won’t eat, drop a 5” Yamamoto Senko (green pumpkin) on a 3/0 hook weightless. Cast past the stain line and drag it slowly down the edge.
- Secondary pattern (midday): Deep crankbait (shad or plum) in 12–18 ft on the first drop-off behind the creek mouths, or a 10” plum worm Texas-rigged for the deeper wood.
BEST WINDOW
Be on the first spot by 6:45 AM local time and fish hard until at least 9:00 AM. The first 45 minutes after sunrise will have the best light-to-stain contrast, and the minor solunar window (3:23–4:53 AM) is past, but the lingering early activity plus the thermal stability before the sun hits will give you the best shot at aggressive fish. After 9 AM, the bite will drop sharply as light penetrates and pressure rises.
NEXT MOVE
If the first hour and a half only produces followers or short strikes, slide to the main-lake points on the western basin where the 70–74°F thermal break meets the deeper water. Slow down to a 3/8 oz football jig (green-pumpkin/trailer) or a 6” dropshot (morning dawn) on the 15–20 ft ledges. The fish are still there—they just slipped deeper as the sun climbed.