Pepe

Those were pulled from the market because they just did not hold up. Great idea that needs to be "reinvented".

It sounds like you are doing better than most. Everyone I talk to says fishing has gotten tough.

From the top of main lake points to the downstream side - above the thermocline might be a good starting point. The majority of the water column probably has not changed temp much. A grub or keitech on a heavy head or a C-rig maybe? Last flood I learned about fishing the old shoreline instead of the new one. Wish I could be here next week. I will be looking forward to reading the reports.

The motor for the trim pump on my engine quit so I'm done for the weekend. I left the boat with Fred Ulrich so am confident it will be right when I get back in 2 weeks. No telling what they will be hitting by then. We are going to try that new restaurant tonight, where the Bearded Clam used to be.

We were on the water at 5:30 hoping for a topwater bite that never materialized. A couple neighbors from our dock went out at the same time - same plan. They switched to throwing a Biffle Bug that has worked well for them this year. Not today, they told us. We decided to work flooded brush with spinnerbaits after trying wake baits, spoons and jigs with only 1 fish. The rain was steady but light enough that I was fine without a rainsuit. Got wet but it was warm. We found a good bite in flooded bushes near deep water working main lake banks between Carter and Point 22. Some bite just inside the mouth of creeks but we got nothing when we got further inside. It might have been a wind issue. There wasn't much breeze but enough to put a curdle on the water in the main lake. Our good fish came off of green leafy bushes on a medium retrieve. I mean right IN the bushes. That can bend up some War Eagle screamers. Between the bushes and swinging fish in the boat we had four bent up ones on the floor. They liked the white and purple 1/2 oz screaming eagles with just a bit of chartreuse dye . Caught and released eleven keepers but nothing over 17.5 inches. 14 shorts. No smallies mixed in and never did see anything but very slight surface activity. My wife was having one of those "blow up your reel" days trying to put the baits under overhanging limbs so we headed in just before noon. I love her dearly but wasn't going to lend her any of my outfits. Love has limits;)

You can see some of the plastics being made to raise money and awareness for wounded veterans and their families on Pete's Aug 7 report here http://www.hookedonbass.com/FISHREPORT.htm The objective is to make plastics that are at least a bit different than what one can buy off the shelf. There is no charge for my time and materials but I do ask that you make a PayPal donation here http://www.hopeforthewarriors.org/ I picked this veterans organization because of the great work they do and the extremely high percentage of funds that actually go to programs vs fund-raising & overhead. Respectfully, Mike Knight

We keep the boat at the lake but the trip from St. Louis to Shell Knob cost about $140 in fuel round trip. A tank of fuel and a gallon of oil is $220. We use a quarter tank per trip if we stay close. That's about $200 for the oil company per trip. I probably should NOT have done that math.

We hired Bill years ago and learned more about the lake that day then we had in months on our own. I mean we learned a lot about fishing the lake but we also learned a lot about how Table Rock was created and how to read the structure. We only had an old flasher but Bill's tips helped us understand how to use it better. We mostly fished in the summer. Split-shot, nightcrawlers and feisty sub-legal K's made for a happy boatload of kids (and adults). Thanks, Bill. We reaped big dividends on that investment.

Thanks, James. I havent tried those yet but I will. Do you trim off some of the head and glue it on?

OK, I give up. What is a helmet head?

Hmmm. I fooled around with getting plastics to slide backwards, after I bought some of the Keitech tubes that do that. The trick is to make the back end denser and heavier than the front without overdoing it. It's tough to get the colors the same that way, but they certainly have some clever folks over at Berkeley.

We caught some bass but I guess the great fishing we had this spring and early summer spoiled us because we were hoping for better. We caught a few working reapers and flukes over ML points at about 8 ft, some on DS near deep docks and one K that went almost 4 lbs in 56 ft of water on a jig. Our maiden night fishing voyage was a disaster due to gremlins in the electrical system. These are almost certainly related to the new wiring for blacklights that a friend did for me. I expect to get that all sorted out and try the 2 new Moonlight plug-ins in a few weeks. Best of luck to all you guys and thank you for your posts with such good information. I wish I had some gems to share. God bless us all. Mike K.

Security Cameras might be just the thing to catch these vermin. I have been thinking of installing a few on our dock with a 30 day memory drive

Marine repair, though you wouldn't know it from their name, is a specialty trolling motor shop in Springfield, MO. Ulrich Marine has an excellent reputation as an all around great place for overall boat-related sales and service, located in West Branson, MO. You will be in good hands with either of these folks.

Here is a picture of a swimming minnow I have a mold for. I had this color on hand from pouring some baits for someone else, but can certainly make you a couple different silver colors to see what you like best.

Yes, I do have something that fits that description, I will post a picture asap,

I have dozens of other molds so if there is something you are looking for let me know.

Quill, is that an Electric Blue Worm?

Is this still available?

I plan to make some plastic in the next few days and would be happy to tailor it to what you might be looking for. I am happy to donate what I am able to make and would request that you make a donation to a veterans charity. (your donations should be tax deductible but I am not a CPA) You can send me a PM or send email to mrkstL82 on gmail for questions or comments. Email will get to me quicker. Following are some pictures of some stuff that (I am told) is working at TR. Spade-tail Finesse Worm I am being told this is working very well on DS in the Plum (translucent red with blue flake), Purple, WM Candy, WM Red, GP Candy, GP Red & GP Purple depending on water clarity. It is a hand pour made with soft neutral buoyant plastic. Reaper Rig on a mushroom head jig, exposed hook and work it like a twitch/jerk bait about 6 ft when the bass are up early. Works around docks also. It glides while it slowly sinks after jerking it. Bucky - Critter Shakey head or jig trailer bait. Can be made with a float strip inside that provides great buoyancy for a Jika or Mojika rig. 12" Worm Can be made with a float strip inside that provides great buoyancy. I am getting mixed reports on this bait as it can be tough for set the hook on what is assumed to be "smaller" fish. The bite is there but the fish may not get the whole thing. Of course you could trim it. The LOZ guy who is testing them loves them but he has been using them on night tournaments. Made with soft plastic. Thank you for supporting our wounded veterans and their families. See details of this registered charity at www.hopeforthewarriors.org (note: this charity does NOT make or have anything to do with the production or distribution of these plastics - I make the plastic myself and am independently asking that you make a donation.)

Great explanation, Bill. Thanks

Quillback, thanks for the regular reports. That camp at point 22 runs those boats and they stay pretty close to camp so it is a mess around there when they are out. Our place is right across from there on Pinnacle / Ice Box Point. Ironically, they aren't usually out there on weekends.

Thanks, guys. I don't know either of those fellows, just Pete, Bill, Tim & Bill, all of whom are better than good. (and all of them busy every day) I appreciate the tips on baits and techniques, but I don't plan to try this on my own.

I am planning to have more days off soon and would like to learn how to fish TR at night. I have near zero night fishing experience. I am not a tournament fisherman but know there are some regular night tournaments in the SK area every week with good results. Are there are any guides on TR who do night trips? I know a some very good guides but they are busy every day and I suppose they have to sleep sometime. In my book, a professional guide is worth every penny when learning new techniques, fishing a new lake or when you just want to relax and get bit without having to run the boat and figure out what is working. I am hoping to find one who does night trips.

Bill, Reading your report is killing me;) Too much work and I can't get to the lake. Have fun, guys. Every hour fishing on TR is a blessing.