Steve McBasser

Paul and I wanted to go down and check out the flooded Table Rock and see if we could scrounge up a few biters. We put in off of the parking lot at Big Bay about 9am. Water temp was low 70's, the water was pretty deeply stained but we probably had about a 2 1/2 foot visibility. We caught fish on about every bank we hit but had to move around a lot to keep getting bit. We caught some up in the trash right on the bank and some out on the old shore line. We never established a pattern. We just kept scrounging. We only caught 3 or 4 keepers with the rest being dinks. We still had a ball though. Can't wait to go back.

The guys in my Sunday School class try to do two camp outs together every year. (Yes, I still go to Sunday School....In fact I'm the teacher.) The spring one we do in April or May at Table Rock and the other one we do in the fall in October or November up at Stockton. We had planned for six months to camp out on Thursday and Friday nights and fish Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Gary and I had fished the week before on Wednesday and caught them very well. The lake was at 912.5 then. Then it rained that weekend and the lake came up to 918 and some change. Thursday the 27th was an absolutely beautiful day. We caught several fish and had a ball. When we woke up Friday morning it was raining and the wind was blowing at 30-35mph. The camp attendant came over and warned us about the nasty weather on the way and that camping again overnight might not be such a good idea. The guy that runs the marina also told us they were opening the gates at Beaver Lake and that we could expect a serious influx of water over the next few hours and he was right. You could almost watch the waterline creeping closer to the camp sites over the next few hours. We called all the rest of the guys to let them know we were cancelling all the activities we had planned for Friday night and Saturday. Some of the guys went home immediately. Others of us that are die hard fisherman stayed and fished till dark.......then the rain started....Oh my gosh....

My buddy Gary and I put in at Big Bay on Wednesday 4/19 at about 6:30am. We fished Big Creek for a few hours and caught several fish, but they were mostly dinks. I'm a slow learner so after lunch we finally decided to head somewhere else to try to find some decent sized bites. We wound up hitting three more areas of the lake that were about 12-15 miles apart. We found the bass to be biting well every where else we went. Not sure why Big Creek was so tough.

They are a ton of fun to catch aren't they? They pull so hard for their size its unbelievable. They are pretty good eatin' too if you fix 'em right.

The wind was pretty tough for sure. The area we actually fished was somewhat protected from the wind. The ride from Cedar Ridge to our fishing spot and back was a little dicey.....and loading the boat back on the trailer took a good level of skill to accomplish. There were a couple of different guys wanting to launch there but they chickened out after watching Bill and I load the boat.

We met at the Cedar Ridge ramp this morning at about 9am and headed to where we thought the whites ought to be. Started fishing our spot at about 9:30 and had two limits by 12:30. We had a blast and caught tons of those big fat sows again.....Had a ball. Thanks Bil for the invite.

Gary and I fished up Sac river the last couple of trips and caught a ton of short fish. So... Tuesday we decided to fish the clear water on the other side of the lake to see if we could find some better fish. We put in at State Park around 11am. When we started it was completely overcast and dead calm. I was bound and determined to learn that Ned Rig bite and Gary was throwing a grub and a worm. We both caught several fish, even had doubles on a couple of times. About 2pm or so the clouds broke up and it got sunny and bright. The clear water bite slowed down considerably after that so we decided to head back up river. We were afraid it was going to be muddy but instead it was beautiful stained water, the wind picked up and we found 54.6* water. I immediately started getting bit on my crank bait and caught some real nice chunky large mouth bass. After about 20 minutes I caught a great big white bass on my crank bait so I decided to throw my little A-rig to see if there was anymore of them hanging around. I caught 5 more on the A-rig in about 7 or 8 casts.....then it got crazy. I would up catching 35 or 40 of those big, fat, sow whites in the next couple of hours. As the sun got low in the sky the large mouth started creaming the A-rig too.......My best day for numbers and quality of fish for quite some time....What a day.

Wow!! Sounds (and looks) like a great day. Glad you got into them.....

and.....a handful of keepers too. Got a late start Thursday. Launched at Mutton Creek a little before noon. Headed up river hoping to find those big sow whites again but most of the ones we found were the little males. We caught a ton of short bass, short whites, and one nice walleye. The wind was howling again and the water temp was from 52.4 all the way up to 56.8 at the end of the day. The best banks were mixed pea gravel and chunk rock. Again, the biggest factor was the wind. We only got one or two bites in the calm water, the rest came right out in the middle of the strongest, windiest banks. Little rattle baits worked real well. Hope ya'll are getting out too......

I'm with you Dan.....I have gotten to the point where I look for the windiest bank I can find at Stockton. Up river or main lake either one, wind seems to always generate a bite......and big wind generates a big bite. Last time I was up there, which was February 28th, my buddy Gary and I stayed out in the wind all day long and caught a ton. The weather service was calling for gale force winds and possible tornadoes.......perfect day to go to Stockton. It has been a pretty reliable pattern for us for several years now.....

Awesome......way to go.

I do tend to get a little bit excited when I am catching fish. What a fun hobby......

I slept in Tuesday. Didn't get to Mutton Creek until about 10:45am. Cloudy skies, water temp at the ramp about 49*, wind blowing like crazy. Ran up river just south of Chicken Rock and found 52.8* water and started fishing there. Started out with a Hula Grub and a Ned rig tied on and fished for about an hour with just a couple bites. While working down a gravel point we met a guy fishin' off the bank. He was throwing a little minnow bait and catching fish about every other cast. So.....I laid down the bottom bouncers and pick up my little ultralight with a little rattle bait on it and commenced to catching fish immediately. Thrashed 'em pretty good the rest of the day. Skinny water, high wind, fish biting like crazy.....Wow.

That's where it all starts dude......I was 4 when I started fishing off of my grandma and grandpa boat dock at Hideaway.....I'm 61 now....The thrill is the same.

Dude.....I am liking it. Keep 'em coming. I too enjoy God's creation every time I get to go fishing. What a blessing. Keep sharing the videos......and your faith.

Dedicated, crazy....and yes it was a lot of fun. Hope ya'll are getting to go too......

Gary & I took our buddy John down to Shell Knob on Thursday. We went early hoping for a top water bite but it was pouring down rain when we got there at 5:45am. Sat in the truck and shot the breeze for an hour and a half before it finally let up. The fishin' started out slow but picked up all day. We would up catching a bunch of bass and had a ball. I got up at 2am in order to get to Gary's by 3:45am. Pulled in the driveway at the end of the day at 11:33pm. I think we made a day of it.

Hey M&M....Paul threw a couple different worms. One was a green with black flake, the other was a pearl white with gold flake. They ate the white one the best.

Paul and I went to Shell Knob at Big Bay the last couple of weeks. Water temp in the upper 60's. Water color is any where from gin clear to really nasty.....Something weird is definitely going on with the water color this year. As long as we keep catching fish we'll just put up with it. Started out throwing a crank bait....just 'cause I love to throw them. However, we had no takers. We threw jerk baits, grubs, spinnerbaits, wacky worms, spoons, and top waters. You name it, we threw it. By far Paul's best bait was the wacky worm. Mine was a little clear super spook, jr. We caught a ton of stud bass and had a ball.

Bill had been telling us about all the fish he was catching up at Stockton, so even though Gary and I had been planning to go to the Rock for a couple weeks, we decided to meet Bill and let him show us the ropes on catching whites. Well....we found fish right off the bat but couldn't get them to bite. We were throwing A-rigs with little white grubs on them but just wasn't getting bit. Gary gave up on the whites pretty quick and started throwing a worm for bass. He had a nice chunky large mouth in the boat in no time. Bill and I kept chucking the A-rig with no results when all of a sudden something BIG hit Bill's rig. Within just a few seconds he could tell it wasn't a white. Gary and I watched him fight it for a few minutes and then finally saw a big swirl when she turned and peeled drag. Bill could see her then but he had her on the other side of the boat out of our line of sight. He said it was a monster large mouth. I though "yeah right"....He held his rod tip high and dug for the dip net in the compartment on the other side of the boat. He grabbed it, dipped her, and swung her into the boat and Gary and I got our first glimpse of her. OH MY GOSH!!! What a beautiful bass. After taking a few quick pictures, Bill gently held her over the side of the boat, gave her tail a little squeeze and she took off like a shot. We were so glad he invited us up to tag along. I tried for the whites for a little while longer and caught a few but didn't have the patience for it so Gary and I went bass fishing. We caught tons of stud bass and had a ball. Several times we caught fish on consecutive casts. Bill stayed after the whites and eeked out a limit but in the process ran his cranking battery down keeping his fish alive. Overall it was an awesome, beautiful and eventful day producing wonderful shared memories....What more could you want from a fishing trip?

Dang dude.....save some for me....

Thanks for posting 96champ.....My buddy Gary and I plan on going down to Shell Knob on Thursday of this week. We would be tickled to death to catch a few fish like that....Good fishin'.

Those brown fish are awesome......well done.

I had to stay home to day and do "honey do" projects. Bill went right back up there and it pounding them right now. Hope he catches a hundred of 'em......

There are tons of points between Chicken Rock and CC.....We caught them just off the points, inside the little pockets....first hundred feet...The wacky worm rules...