Smithvillesteve

Thanks for posting the video Phil. Sure wanted to be there but just couldnt make it happen. You guys let a couple of Kansas guys come down to a Missouri lake and win this thing?? Just kidding. I know Kbilb and his son personally and they are a couple of great guys. I fished with Kbilb the weekend before the tournament and we really thought it would take a 6 or 7 pounder to win. But the fishing has been tough all over the state. But only going to get better!! Really a great job by all you guys putting this tournament on for us on the site.

I contacted Dave about 2 weeks ago and ordered some of his jig heads. I got them in the mail about 3-4 days later. He also answered all my questions. I had used the Z Man jig heads from Cabela's in early feb. and lost all 15 heads i bought in 3 days of fishing. No weed guard. I fished TR the last 3 days and lost one of Dave's jig heads. I would really recommend anyone wanting to use the Ned Rig to contact Dave. And for a guy living in Kansas he is really a nice guy. My buddy and I fished the Big M area friday afternoon and saturday. The water temp was 40-41 degrees. We struggled but caught a few fish. He used a jerk bait both days and caught 10 bass with 7 keepers. I caught 10 bass with only 1 keeper. That was on a jerk bait. Caught the rest on the Ned but caught smaller fish than my buddy. It was soooooo nice just to get out and fish however. Hoping to get back this weekend to fish in the OAF tournament. And hopefully meet some of you guys and put a face to your name.

Thanks Abeekan for posting this video. Good stuff. I wish he would have told us exactly what the water temps were. And he was fishing the late fall into winter v winter into early spring. Buddy of mine and I are coming down this weekend. I'll definitely give a shad rap a try after watching this video. I'm anticipating high 30's into low 40's water temps. But like a lot of you guys on here i am dealing with big time cabin fever!! My friend and I would also like to fish the OAF tournament on March 14th. Not 100% sure of this however.

With as big as the Classic has become, why in the heck isnt it on tv? Espn has multiple channels and there are several outdoor channels now. I dont have wifi at my house so watching on a computer is not an option!! Somebody needs to take this over and do it right. I agree with Dave. Watching pro's not catch fish is ok with me. Lots to learn there. I watch pro golfers make bad shots! And i agree there needs to be a quiet place, like pro golf again, where qualified people analyze what is going on. I also agree that the Classic needs to be moved to later in the Spring. Taking off in 10 degrees friday is just not right. I know NASCAR starts its season with its Superbowl but i dont believe BASS needs to do that. Unbelievable these guys are catching 15-20 lbs in this kind of weather. I think I'll hook up my boat and go fishing!!! Oh wait, ice all over the lake up here right now. Crap!!!

Thanks Quillback for posting Pete's fishing reports here on the forum. I'm 63 years old and dont do Bookface, Tweeter, and know very little about Innertube. But when I'm home i do check the forum page for Table Rock daily. So it really helps an old timer like me to find it here. Now, i laughed out loud at Pete's dog dragging his butt across the carpet. So i missed that valuable info there.

Very good info. on both topics. I was fishing LOZ a couple of years ago and was up in a cove. Went to start my motor and nothing. The guy at Bass Pro told me that is the way your starter battery will go. Start up and then next time nothing. He told me to use a starter battery for 3 years and then bite the bullet and get a new one. Even though your 3 old battery seems fine. He said it will leave you hanging!! Mr Wenner on here talks about the Pro Guide for 5 years. This is the 3rd year on my starter battery. I will take Mr Wenner's advice and definitely buy me a Pro Guide. Thanks for all the valuable info I get on this website boys!!

I agree with Mr. Babler. Gotta buck up and get a replica made of that big girl!! Does anyone on here have an opinion why Table Rock is not a good crappie lake?

First off, thanks Quill/eveyone for all the info! Fished the same area, Sat-Mon.......pretty much 11 to 5. Awsome weather for early Feb. Water temp didnt move much, 43ish. Sat....12 fish 3 keeps, ned and arig. Sun....14 fish, 4 keeps....ned. Mon.....19 with 7. No biggens. Caught em in 10 to 30ft, mostly around timber. So for the first time nedders.....much better than expected. Wanted to throw the arig, spoon and stick but ned kept us entertained. More keepers than expected. Fun bite! Liked the zman heads, got hung up a bit....went through some heads. Plastic stayed up real well on the shank. Wasn't sure about the 6lb.........but gotta have it!

I am not the expert Table Rock lake guy myself like a lot of guys on here. But I would start with crawdad colors. They are effective in the late winter/early spring. Last year I was down there watching some pro's fish their tournament and almost all of them were throwing them. The key is getting them in there and bouncing them off rocks. Mike McClelland, a local pro from that area, has put out a crankbait called RockCrawler55. A lot of guys on here have purchased them. They are expensive. About 10 bucks. I bought two of them and they look good. Good luck.

I am headed to TR this weekend. I have never fished a Ned Rig. But I have been reading about them on this forum all winter. I went to Cabela's today and bought a bag a ZMan's Ned Rig plastics in green pumpkin and PBJ. ZMan is also selling the jig head so i picked up a couple bags. 5 bucks for 5 jig heads. They only had green pumpkin and black. I think i got a bag of 1/10 which I never heard of before. They did not have weed guards but had a little catch on the hook shank to help keep the plastic up on the head. I would be interested in ordering some of Daves jig heads. I will email soon. And yes, good video Dave. Fishing with your son is priceless!!!!

A bunch of married guys with cabin fever had a trout tournament over this past weekend down at Tanneycomo. 2 buddies of mine and I went down wed afternoon and fished through the weekend. Wed afternoon was beautiful. Last day of that warm weather. No running water and fishing was slow. A few fish on a jig with a strike indicator. Fished thursday and again no running water. We boated about 40 trout mostly on jigs with strike indicators again. Woke up friday and they were running water. We boated only about 25 trout. I caught quite a few on a spoon. Saturday early they were running water, but not much. We boated 65 trout. Mostly on trout magnets. Buddy of mine had a nice 16.5 brown trout and i caught 2 nice 15 inch rainbows. Most of the guys, 30 total, claimed the fishing was quite slow over the weekend tournament. However, it took 2 rainbows over 4 pounds to finish in the money. Somebody on this forum posted that trout are in the pre spawn phase right now down there. And the fishing is slow during this time. I am not the trout man. Anybody on here give me some info on that it would be appreciated.

They talk about a "gopher head" jig. I have never heard of that one. Any advice on where a guy might buy those? I am in the KC area. So Rogers, Dicks, Cabela's, Bass Pro would be good for me. Also, am i correct that they use mostly a 1/16 oz jig head for the Ned Rig? I am looking forward to getting down to Table Rock in the next few weeks and trying the Ned out. My buddy has a place on the White River just up from the Big M. My moral dilemma is should i keep the Ned a secret on him? He always kicks my butt down there fishing!!!!

Thanks for all the valuable info boys. Amazing. One thing i have figured out in my lifetime is that 99.9% of people that like to fish are just plain good people!! I was committed to the jerkbait one day last year in late winter/early spring at Table Rock. I stayed with it for several hours. Determined to show my buddy i could catch a bass with it. Never happened. But hey, that could happen with any lure when bass fishing. Thats why we love the challenge. If somebody could show me a pic of the Ned rig that would be greatly appreciated. Sounds like a mushroom head jig with a half of a worm basically right? Is it rigged like a grub then? Or sideways like a wacky worm setup? Once again, thanks so much for the valuable info several of you guys gave me. Smithville Steve

Happy New Year to all the users of this site! A couple of questions for anyone out there willing to give me some helpful info. 1) I've used a jerkbait several times in the winter and early spring at Table Rock and some other Mo lakes and have NEVER had any success. Now, i dont have much confidence in it because of that so i always go back to my jig and pig or a grub. I've tried reeling fast 5 or 6 cranks, then a jerk, jerk pause technique most of the time. No success. Any info here on the jerkbait would be welcomed. How? When? Where? 2) What is "the Ned?" Thanks and good health and fishing to all!! Sincerely, Smithville Steve

Thank you very much LoweSTX175. You are a better man than i am fishing in this weather!! Although i was in a deer stand a couple of tuesdays ago in 6 degree weather.

I love fishing Stockton lake. Just an absolute beautiful lake. I have some questions i hope somebody out there will answer for me. I like this forum very much and appreciate the info you guys put out for me. Questions: 1) A lot of you reference the "CC" area. Where exactly is that? 2) A lot of you reference the Cedar Ridge area. Where exactly is that? 3) A lot of you reference "Chicken Rock" on here. Is that the big rock north and east on the point across from PT 1? Up the Big Sac arm? On weekends there will be family's in pontoon boats there with kids jumping off the rock? Thanks, Smithville Steve

You need to change your name from CrappieMaster to WhiteMaster!! Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had a great time with your Dad and that is always special. My Grandpa and Dad used to take me out fishing for white bass a lot when i was young. We loved it. And pound for pound that is one fighting fish! I dont fish for them much anymore, although i will catch some when i am targeting their cousin, Mr. Hybrid. I have been wanting to get down to Stockton for one more trip before I start getting in my deer stand. But the Royals run in the playoffs has me waiting til they are done. Good to hear you release some fish also CrappieMaster. You are a good man!!

Funny stuff Bob!! Gary Burton is a good man. I taught Soc Stud for 20 yrs at Platte County hs and i knew Gary when he was teaching at Smithville. He does a great job with his bait shop in town here and runs a great tournament on thurs evenings at the lake. 2 buddies of mine and I went down this past wed, thurs and fri and had a good trip. One of my buddies is 73 yrs old and all he can do is troll. We caught lots of fish, mostly small. But we had whites surfacing around us thurs and fri a couple of times and had a good time with that. We love that lake. Had the lake to ourselves for the most part for 3 days. I'm still learning the lake a little bit. You need to take me out sometime. At a discount!! I'm retired on a fixed income!!

two buddies of mine and I spent last wed, thurs and fri fishing at Stockton. One of my buddies is 73 yrs old and about all he can do is troll. Bad shoulders and wrists. Oh, and he can drink his margaritas too I almost forgot. Anyway, we caught quite a few fish trolling. Probably around 20 walleyes and 20 bass. Mostly all small fish however. Only 2 15 in walleyes and a couple of nice 15-16 bass. We released everything. My 1 buddy got really hot with a Rick Clunn crankbait that ran about 15 ft deep. black top with a clear body with a bb rattle inside it. Had a square bill. Never seen a deep diver with a square bill before. We fished the main lake wed and thurs and went up the Big Sac friday. I would try and target 15 ft of water and every now and then you will look up and be in 10-12 ft and thats ok. Might want to have a lure knocker when you get hung up. Good luck.

Thanks MJK86. Appreciate your input. Yea, I never think about a jigging spoon down there and i dont why? I use one a lot of the time when i fishing for Hybrids at Truman and have picked up a few walleyes doing that.

A buddy of mine and I will be coming down to chase some "eyes" around after the Labor Day weekend. We are both retired so we are not messing with those holiday crowds. Any advice from you boys? I usually troll around the main lake area and if i hookup with one we try and go back and put a jig/crawler down in the area. If that isnt successful we go out in 20-30 ft of water and drift or fancast main lake pts. Hoping for cool temps next week with some cloud cover. Any advice from you boys is deeply appreciated.

We fished for some "eyes" wed evening and thurs afternoon/evening. I had a couple of buddies with me, one kind of elderly, so we trolled crankbaits mostly. wed evening was great. We caught 6 walleyes, 4 keepers, 2 nice big whites, 2 nice crappies. Had a great time trolling around, telling stories and catching fish. We came back thurs around 1 oclock and it was cloudy with a little chop on the water. I'm thinking this is a great walleye day!! We caught 2 small walleye early and then everything just shut off. If i was by myself i really would have liked to drifted a jig/crawler around some main lake points or pulled a spin rig around. Not trying to sound like Al Linder but I think I might have been able to get on some fish. But it was a great time taking two old friends down to that beautiful lake and catching a few fish.

darn Bitethis!! You need to write a book with those details! Glad you had a good time with your buddy. I really believe the key to your story was overcast skies. And maybe some wind. When i go down to Stockton if its sunny with little or no wind I just dont do much good in that clear water. But I am usually chasing some "eyes" around. I plan on going down sometime this week. I'm retired so I'm keeping an eye on the weather for some clouds. And good moon phase coming if you believe in that. I will close with this. I had one of my best friends pass away saturday morning. That cancer monster finally got him. He fished with us down at Stockton several times. Went to Canada with us. My point: get out fishing with your friends as much as possible. Enjoy the great outdoors. Enjoy each others company. Thanks for the info Bitethis. I am doing more bass fishing lately and I love the smallies down at Stockton. I want to try that Biffle Bug. I looked it up online.

Bass fishing can be tough boys. Even the pro's have a bad day. Looks like "dog days" have arrived. I appreciate the advice you guys put out here however. A friend of mine and I fished Smithville tournament thurs evening. He caught a couple of nice bass on that Biffle Bug somebody mentioned. Put it on a Gene Larew wobble jig. I would thing it would work down there. The great news is nobody mentioned catching any bass with ripped lips. That was just terrrible. And hope we have seen the end of that. I'm coming down thurs and friday but planned on targeting some "eyes". Any good advice from you boys? Main lake points? Jig and a crawler? I've tried finding a "slow death rig" here around KC area and cant find it. Everybody have a great holiday and stay safe!

After catching a limit of crappies on mon at LOZ and tues at Truman I went over to Stockton on wed. for walleyes and bass. Looking for a little better "tug". Bright blue skies and a lot of wind. I want to say "thanks" to the boys at the Marine shop on the little road that cuts down to the lake by Orleans Trail. Cant remember the name. But they attached a new transducer for me as soon as I drove up. I started throwing a white road runner with a white grub and caught quite a few bass on it in the shallows. Had a real nice 17 inch smallie. Quite a few spots. Caught a few on a crawdad colored crank. And a nice 17 in largemouth on a shad colored crank. But couldnt find any "eyes". Paper thurs up here said wallys were good on points using jig and crawler. 6 to 12 ft. I sure couldnt find em. Anyway love that lake. And love looking on here at the forum. I'm a long time reader first time user.