kre11

Great fish! That is awesome that you let her swim. If you really want a great memory and a trophy for the wall, check out a replica mount. You have all the measurements so it would be very easy. I just looked online and for that size it would be under $200. i think they look better anyway!

When the action is hot and heavy, I like to use a white road runner. I would say a topwater bait like a pop-r or baby spook, but the fins and gill plates are enough to worry about without having to worry about treble hooks slashing around! I also like a single hook because it is easier to unhook and get back in the water. That is why I go with the road runner.

I have a 798c SI for sale for $850. See my post in the classified section.

I have a brand new 998c SI combo for sale for $850. See my post in the classified section.

I have a brand new, unopened Humminbird 798c SI Combo unit for sale. It is brand new and still in the box. You can find these online anywhere from $900 to $1200. I am asking $850. Call

Thanks for the reply. I am heading up there tomorrow armed with fly rods for the whites, but would really like to catch some of the bigger hybrids. Do you catch them surfacing or are you marking them at a certain depth and dropping spoons or shad to them?

Champ, Never met you, but my prayers go out for you!

I have been fishing up the James, check out Bill Babler's post of feed them what they want, that jig bite is great right now. As far as the bank, look for chunk rock or gravel. The fish up there don't seem to be relating to the solid rock banks for some reason. I tried trowing a deep diving crank bait (even trolled a little) in about 35 fow where I was marking some fish, but nothing was biting. The likely reason is that the bait seems to be extremely small (1 to 2 inches) so maybe vertical jigging a small spoon would work. But just like Bill said, don't waste your time, hit the banks early and move to the docks when the sun comes out using the jig in both places. I don't think the jig color matters much as long as it is some sort of natural color (watermelon, pumpkin...). Think about it from the fish's perspective, they are already swimming in water warm enough to bathe in. When that sun comes out, where would you go? I would go to shady banks and hide in the shade of the docks. Good luck to you, hope you wear 'em out in the morning! Let us know.

Went out Sunday morning from 5 til about 9:30. The lake was almost empty this morning, and I was thinking it was too good to be true. I was right, the erie feeling of solitude was quickly replaced at straight up 6 with the launch of a tournament. As close as most of those boats ran by me on the point I was fishing at 70 mph, I am assuming that my black sparkle boat blended in with the morning sky and my navigation lights that I switched back on as I heard them coming must have looked like guidance beacons! Is it bad that I was secretly hoping one of those tree tops would have jumped up and grabbed a lower unit or two? I shouldn't say that, I sure don't own Table Rock Lake and life is too short to get upset while you are fishing and enjoying a morning like today . Anyway, the fishing was great this morning. I fished a little shallower than usual after a productive predawn bite on a 4 inch zoom craw in junebug beating the chunk rock banks out to about 10-12 fow. I was fishing this texas rigged on 12 lb bps flouro with a 1/8th ounce weight above a 2/0 trokar hook. By the way, if you have not tried the new trokar pointed hooks you are missing out!!! I remember the difference the new gama and mustad hooks made 10 or 15 years ago when they came out with their needle point worm hooks. Well this revolution may be just as significant. They are expensive, but give them a try, you will be very satisfied! I am missing a lot fewer fish with these hooks. As the sun came up, I switched to my standby 3/8 oz chompers football in green pumpkin/purple fleck with a chompers trailer. I have been having success with a yum double tail in watermelon black fleck, but today used the the chompers cinnamon/purple and green pumpkin. I have found that if I bite off about half an inch of the body of these trailers, they seem to work better. I discovered this while trying to salvage one that was getting torn up. Besides, with the chompers, you get a great garlic flavor, and with the yum, a mouthful of salt to start the day with! I wanted to attach a picture to illustrate the baits I was using but I haven't been able to figure out how to resize pictures on this stupid mac computer yet, but I hope my descriptions were helpful. As I stated earlier, I fished shallow all morning with the deepest fish coming off a boat dock in 18 fow. WIth that being said, all I caught today were largemouth. I did manage three fish that were close to 4 pounds each and the rest were between 1 and 2. I am sure a few of those boats that raced by me this morning would have appreciated a few of those largemouth. I am interested to see if anyone else has seen similar patterns with the largemouth in shallower water compared to deeper water for the KY's and smallies.

getfished and RangerZ22 both mentioned the 797. I have been considering this model for my boat as well, due to it being the most affordable unit with SI and it would be the largest model that I could mount in the dash on my boat (without having to mount it to the side on a mounting bracket, which is fine, I just prefer the unit in the dash for the sleek look). I was confident with this decision until I read these two posts and would like you two to please expand on whether or not the unit is too small for use at the dash. As far as the original post, Gary, I am also in the market for these and I have been able to find these units considerably cheaper on Ebay. Doing a little bit of shopping might save you enough to upgrade with the networking option. Good luck, and please keep us posted on what you decide to use and any feedback you could provide.

I havent had a chance to go after any hybrids or whites yet this year, I like to catch them when they are schooling on top. Has anyone been seeing or catching any around the dam area lately?

Give the circle hooks a shot. I have used them a lot on fish in the gulf and the bite to hook up ratio is amazing! If anything, they might work too well, as sometimes they are difficult to remove. Every fish will be hooked in the corner of the mouth. The hardest thing to get used to is that you don't set the hook (they set themselves when the fish turns its head). All you have to do is start reeling slowly once the fish has taken the bait. THis should help for those fish that are trying to steal your gear! Good luck!

Birdman: Where are you in NW OK? I grew up just north of OKC and spent (and still do spend) a lot of time hunting in western OK. Sounds like you are on the right track for OK trout with the Illinois, have you ever fished SE OK at Beavers Bend? That place has come a long way in the last 15 years and is now a great fishery. Another place that will give you a quick fix in the winter is Roman Nose State Park in Watonga. I know it is nothing like the cold streams around here for trout, but should be right in your back yard. Don't plan on any fly fishing there, but if you are wanting a break from the quail and pheasant (I can't imagine why!!!) it will do. Let me know if there is any other info you need from OK, I sure don't claim to be an expert in any field, but like I said, I grew up there and share a lot of your interests! Good luck.

What are the bottom bouncers you are using? Seems like I had the walleye figured out until the hot weather came through, now the drum have run them all away! I am new to walleye, so any additional info would be helpful. Thanks.

I have been catching a lot drum as well, but the eyes seem to be on clay banks anywhere from 5 to 20 feet depending on the light, obviously deeper with brighter sun. I have been using 8 lb floro with a 1/4 oz head. The strange thing is, seems like the walleye and bass are not friends! I will hit one point and catch all bass, then go to the next and catch all walleye. Seems strange, but like I said, the only real difference I have noticed in those areas is that the bass are on more chunk rock while the eyes are on clay with random rocks.

What are you guys throwing into those shallow bushes? I have been using a 7 in power worm in blue fleck the few times I have gone shallow, with fair success. I have also thought about using a sinko or fluke. Most of the deeper fish have been hitting the jig and pig well in pb&j. We have also caught a lot of real nice bass while fishing nightcrawlers on 1/4 jig heads for walleye. Thanks MoStStudent and Bolivar Basser for your insight, hopefully I can find some solid patterns and help you guys out soon!

I am kind of new to Stockton, are you guys catching your bass on the banks or fishing for them deep "Table Rock style?" So far, I have been catching most of my better bass on points in about 15-20 fow fishing smoke grubs on a 1/4 ounce head on clay or gravel or a jig and pig on chunk rock bottom, but am wondering if I am missing some good opportunities in the bushes and laydowns along the banks. Any ideas?

Can't usually make it out for the early morning bite, so most of my fishing is done in the evening. So maybe this is a little different perspective for everyone. Fished last night around Kimberling City from about 5 until 10pm. Fishing was slow until the sun went down. We caught a few Spots on sharp dropping points between the shore and 20 feet of water on chunk rock. I was using a MO craw colored football jig with a YUM watermelon trailer, while my buddy was using a fluke with a split shot about 2 feet up. Both of us were fishing extremely slow and it seemed like most of the bites were coming on the bottom. Once the sun went down, the action got better with both the smallies and the spots. Started throwing a 4 inch smoke colored grub out on long main lake points that had a little bit of wind on them. Strangely enough, most of the bites were on the leeward side of the points. I figured the windward side would have been better with the wind moving over it, but no. The bites were extremely subtle but were fairly consistent. Nothing bigger than a couple of 15-17 inch spots, but a lot of fun none the less. The boat traffic was basically nonexistent after dark and the weather was great.

I understand that there are some TRUE EXPERTS on this forum when it comes to reading and utilizing Fish Finders and GPS units, and I figured who better to discuss this with than Table Rock Experts. I am looking to buy one soon and would appreciate any advice or guidance. Here are some of my criteria: 1. I would like to avoid breaking the bank with a budget of 6 or 7 hundred dollars. 2. I would like to have color, but it is not that big of an issue. 3. I figure GPS would be nice to have (unless someone has a valid argument against it). 4. I would like to avoid having to mount a 15 inch monitor on the side of my boat, so something reasonably sized would be nice. I know I am probably missing some key factors such as sensitivity or other technical aspects and I guess that is where I am looking for the most advice. Please feel free to reply with any necessary specs or even particular brands or models.

I used to run a 15 foot aluminum with a 25 hp merc 2 stroke on tanney all the time. It worked just fine for one or two people. I fished three out of it a couple of times, but it was very crowded, the motor was still plenty even with 4 units of generation. My boat was 42 inches on the inside (60 in beam) and it was plenty stable. Good luck in your search.

I was wondering the same thing, seems like all of the fish we have been catching lately have been full. even the white bass. This is my first year really fishing table rock, and I figured they would all have been done by now, especially the whites! On a related science question; if these fish somehow skipped the spawn, what happens to those eggs? Do they release them or do they dissolve somehow? Just curious...

Exaggerating the truth is common among people wearing clothing with those two letters from your hat! Go Pokes! Just kidding, great looking fish!

Anyone have any input on preferred color of spooks? I have tried Bone, Clear, Black Shiner (black+Chrome), and Foxy Shad, but none of these can touch the G Finish Shad. The only other variable is that the G Finish Shad has been fished on 12 lb test, while the others are on 14. I don't know if the line would make that much of a difference, or if it is simply the color.

I have been catching them around major points up the james river arm from about an hour before dark until dark. Strangely enough, I kept some last Wednesday and the females were still full of eggs. I don't know if the weather caused them to miss the spawn or what is going on. If anyone else has any theories, I would be interested to hear what you have to say.