Table Rock Talk

[Joseph Sittler]

With the current temps the water is at now and the warming trend we are about to have over the next ten days will the Arig bite still be applicable on the any part of the lake?

[Champ188]

Yes, it tends to fade away as the water warms and the fish move shallow for the spawn.

[Joseph Sittler]

With that body of water being so deep and the spawn not even starting yet, shouldn't there still be bass moving up to the main, secondary points and still at the end of the bluff walls? I guess what I wondering is if i should be able to expect to be able to catch both spawning and pre-spawn fish? If there are pre-spawn fish to catch the Arig would still play well would it not?

[Champ188]

Joseph, I overlooked the "next 10 days" part of your question. There's definitely still a prespawn A-rig bite on the main-lake points and bluff ends and should be for at least 2-3 more weeks. In fact, I was unable just this past weekend to find ANY females in the creeks. Fling away with the octopus rig.

BTW, and you probably know this, but you can only have three hooks on your A-rig.Teasers/hookless baits are unlimited, but only three "real" hooks.

Enjoy your trip and let us know how you do.

[Joseph Sittler]

The deal is i am fishing a tournament that weekend and i am trying to do my homework. I fished the water last year about this time, however last year the we had a terribly cold winter and a cold spring as well. Water temps were like 47-49. I have read almost every spring post on here twice between this year and last year. I am really just trying to figure out now what is my best chance to catch the bigger fish and in what part of the lake should i be looking. From many of the posts it seems like there are quality fish all over the lake and if that is the case i am not going to make that long run all the way to owl creek this year. Any opinions are welcome. I just want to start a dialogue about general info of the lake so i can have a clear picture when i get down there on the April 9th to prefish.

[Champ188]

Which derby are you fishing? Regardless, the best quality fish right now are coming from the clear water from Baxter down to the dam. And from what I'm hearing, they're still out on the main-lake points and bluff ends ... or just inside the creeks. However, with many more 80-degree days like we had today, things are going to change a lot.

[Joseph Sittler]

I am fishing the FLW college event. What is the deal with the current in that lake? Is it a factor that needs to be considered? Is it substantial current when they do pull causing the fish to push into the bays like on KY Lake ?

[Champ188]

No, current is very rarely a factor on Table Rock or any of the White River chain of lakes. These are flood control lakes first and power supply lakes second, and there's rarely reason to run enough water thru the dams to create any appreciable current.

I would suggest Big Cow and Little Cow creeks as starting points for your practice. There's enough variety in those two creeks for you to figure out what's going on, and then if you choose to, you can try to take what you know from there and apply it elsewhere on the lake.

I would be probably be thinking more in terms of chunk rock-to-gravel transitions than bluff ends considering you're still 10 days out from starting practice. Some good sacks can be caught dragging a wobblehead with a creature bait, a football jig, a Carolina rig (green pumpkin lizard) or throwing a shaky head on mixed rock/gravel or straight gravel areas. Just remember, this is clear water and fluorocarbon and/or light tackle is a must.

[mixermarkb]

If I was fishing a derby on the rock, in the next few weeks, I would pick an arm of the lake that I thought held fish, and get familiar with the channel swings and points on the map. During my prefish, I would spend a good bit of time in that area looking around, making notes of rock types and where the transitions happen, and where you can find similar banks.

Things are going to change day to day (sometimes hour to hour) from now until the post spawn summer pattern sets up. Making your game plan too specific is going to be counterproductive. Getting out there, fishing the conditions, and being familiar enough to know where to find more pea gravel with ledge rock banks with a southwest breeze blowing on them when you catch 3 solid keepers on a bank like that is going to be the key. You need to know enough about the area of the lake you fish to be able to adapt quickly, because these darn fish are as fickle as the weather in the springtime in the ozarks. Don't get so locked in to what you found in your prefish that you won't throw it all out the window when the wind changes direction and the clouds move in or go away on Derby Day.

[Joseph Sittler]

I will look into those areas Champ and Mixer that is some solid advice, thank you. I also have many pre Rapala wiggle warts and i believe that bite should be very solid. I have the phantom green, brown crawl, shad, watermelon, bone, several that blue top chrome side red bottom, fire tiger, chrome red stripe, white chartreuse side stripe (glows in the dark), baby bass. I want to have some custom painted, but i am not sure which ones to sacrifice. I do not want to get rid of a color that is productive out there. Any thoughts?