Phil Lilley

No eyes . . . fooey!

Bump

Just throwing it out there... For not much cash, you can sponsor a forum and get quite a bit of exposure for the rest of this year. Drop me a PM if interested. Banner ad appears on main index board and individual forums when visited, linked to your site. ALSO! I still have some decals if anyone wants me to mail one out to you. They're FREE!

They've stated to run 2 units at Table Rock Dam so I guess they don't want more than 917 ft in TR. Running 24 hours a day right now.

So far- 2 days of drizzle instead of the big rain they thought. I like drizzle!

by John Neporadny Branson, Mo.—Missouri high school anglers made history by competing in the Bass Pro Shops Open Championship of High School Fishing June 7-8 at Table Rock Lake. The event was the first tournament ever held for high school teams signed up with the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) bass fishing program. The tournament drew 103 student anglers from 12 high schools that were paired up with volunteer boat captains each day. Republic won the tournament with 47 points and collected the top prize of $5,000 in scholarship money. A tiebreaker was used to determine second and third place since both Ozark and Branson finished with 31 points. Ozark broke the tie since one of its two-man teams had the heaviest single-day weight and claimed the second-place prize of $3,000 in scholarship money. Branson settled for third place and won $2,000 in scholarship money. Each two-man team fished for points for their schools based on the team’s total weight each day. The top 15 finishers of the two-man teams each day were awarded points for their schools to determine the overall school champion. The tournament also awarded trophies to the top 3 finishers in the team competition. Cody Huff and Colten Levan of Ava High School earned the first-place trophy with a two-day weight of 22.54 pounds. Brandon Durr and Colton Mease of Republic took second with 22.10 and Dillon Statler and Nick Snelson of Reeds Spring High placed third with 21.59. The Big Bass plaque was presented to Ozark High’s Cameron Smith and Austin Thrap who weighed in a 5.48-pound largemouth bass. Some of the student anglers had tournament experience but this was the first time they had fished in a high school event. “It is a great program,” said Cody Huff of Ava High. “It is just a lot of fun to get everybody out and let the high school kids fish. It is nice to be able to represent our hometown like this.” His Ava High School teammate Colten Levan also had fun fishing for his school. “I absolutely love it,” he said. Republic High anglers Brandon Durr and Hunter Gill have competed in various adult circuits and relished the chance to fish in this event. “This is a little different because everybody is our age and we are fishing as several teams for our school,” Durr said. “All in all I liked it and it was a lot of fun.” “This was really fun fishing with same-age kids and we had a lot of boats,” Gill said. “I just liked it because it was all kids my age so I could actually see where I was in tournaments for my age group.” Adult volunteers drove the 57 boats used to take the students fishing each day. One of the boat captains, Russ McBurney, has spent the last three months taking the Hillcrest High School anglers to various lakes and teaching them how to run a trolling motor, net fish and tie knots. “We just make time to spend with the kids,” McBurney said. “They are the next generation so we’ve got to get them focused on what the future is going to be. It was just a wonderful time to be with them.” A large crowd of family and friends flocked to the weigh-in to see the students with their catches. “I think it is amazing,” Romona Scoggins said about the high school bass fishing program. “My son (Tre) has enjoyed it. In the last three months he has gone from not knowing anything about fishing to knowing quite a bit. He just got a truck and now he wants a boat. This is really an awesome thing for the young kids to get involved in a new sport.” The tournament was a proud moment for Republic High School Coach Jim Huson, who organized the event and was instrumental in starting the MSHSAA bass fishing program. “My heart swells when I see all these kids out here from these different schools,” Huson said. “This is a great start for us that we have had as a vision since 2008. Ultimately I don’t know how it could have been more successful for us for our first year. “ Central Pro-Am Association handled the tournament registration and conducted the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins. This event was also special to the tournament’s emcee, Mike Webb, Central Pro-Am president, who has been running tournaments for 20 years. “None of them are as important to my wife and me as this one just because of the kids being involved. I think this will double in size by next year. This is the future of the sport and I see these people are going to be boaters one of these days and they are going to turn around and do the same thing we are doing now to hopefully keep this ball rolling.” The Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau also sponsored the high school tournament. “We see the event as a great opportunity to support the students and the program,” said Terra Alphonso, assistant director of sports and convention sales for the chamber. “The (tournament) has been well organized. I am impressed with the care for the fish and the safety of the participants.” For all of the results of the high school championship, go to http://www.webboutdoors.com/mo-high-school-championship.

Excellent!

Travis- come down to the dock and say hello. I should be down here all day.

Floods gates won't hurt us as far as water temp. TR's surface temp is still below normal levels and the water below the surface is even cooler. The water that comes over the top of the dam is several feet below the surface. While the thought of flood gates NOW makes me nervous... I actually love to see it in moderation as far as fishing goes. It means shad and great fishing for the upper part of our lake.

We got over an inch yesterday... Branson's measure bucket must be under an awning downtown.

Jack, no. Didn't see him. Tommy Armour III? Yes. Tom Kite- yes. Tom Watson- no, he was busy signing pin flags. Paul grew up with Watson- both from KC.

Just got an email forwarded to me from the Corp. They're saying the weather service is forecasting 5 inches of rain in the White River watershed in the next 7 days. But they state this forecast is a "moving target" and may change. They say if it does happen Table Rock will go to 920 feet. All this is very speculative.

Just got an email forwarded to me from the Corp. They're saying the weather service is forecasting 5 inches of rain in the White River watershed in the next 7 days. But they state this forecast is a "moving target" and may change. They say if it does happen Table Rock will go to 920 feet. Anything above 920 might mean a couple of flood gates at Table Rock. All this is very speculative.

By John Neporadny Jr. “Dock shooting” is one of the most effective tactics for catching Lake of the Ozarks crappies tucked up in the shady areas of docks. A local guide who shoots for crappie at the lake is Terry Blankenship. He had to learn the technique in order to compete with the shooters on his home waters of Lake of the Ozarks since the lake contains thousands of docks. The technique can pay big dividends for those who learn how to become expert marksmen since the tactic reaches fish that are inaccessible for anglers with 10- or 11-foot dipping poles. “The tendency of crappies is that they like to get under the darkest areas of those docks,” says Blankenship. “A lot of times whenever you shoot a jig way back into those dark areas a lot of your better fish are the first ones that will bite and they will bite really quickly in 2 to 4 foot of water.” Blankenship’s favorite skipping lure is also a large plastic projective, a 3-inch Bobby Garland Slab Slayer attached to a 1/16-ounce Bobby Garland Mo’ Glo jighead. He believes the 1/16-ounce jighead is the ideal size for skipping, since a 1/32-ounce head is too light to propel the lure and a 1/8-ounce model tends to plow into the water and dives too fast. The local guide skips his lures with 6-pound test Vicious Panfish HiVis Yellow line that allows him to detect any line movement indicating a bite when the lure falls in the dark spaces of the dock. “One of the key things is to get a line that doesn’t coil up real bad,” says Blankenship, who soaks his spool with line conditioner before a tournament. A good lure launcher is another key to effective dock shooting. When he was a kid, Blankenship learned he could sling persimmons farther on a longer hickory stick, so he relies on the same principle today with his shooting rod. He uses a 7-foot Cabela’s XMLTi medium-action spinning rod that has plenty of flexibility for loading up the line like a bowstring yet is stout enough to allow Blankenship to control his shot in close quarters. Relying on Humminbird 997 and 998 side imaging units have made it easier for Blankenship to find the best docks among the thousands to choose from on Lake of the Ozarks. “For crappie fishing that side imaging is one of the greatest tools I have ever seen for locating fish,” the local angler says. “If there is a row of 10 docks if I take my time and check those docks out, I can minimize my time greatly by finding the one dock with fish on it instead of having to fish all 10. I can go about anywhere on the lake and feel like I can catch fish, whereas before I felt like I had to work a little harder at it.” His side imaging units have taught Blankenship that the looks of a dock above water can be deceiving compared to what’s happening below the surface. Most anglers target the dock wells and walkways where they suspect brush piles are hidden, but Blankenship notices more crappies under the swim platform and large deck areas of docks. “Those are the ones that the fish really seem to school under more than just the 4-foot walkways,” he says. When scanning a uniform row of docks, Blankenship sets his unit’s side imaging range at 40 feet to show the most detail on his screen. With his unit fine-tuned, Blankenship can discern the difference between crappies and baitfish on his graph. “Crappies basically show up as a bunch of little specks,” says Blankenship. “The difference between crappies and shad is the shad seem to be more of a cloud on the screen whereas crappies tend to be more of a bunch of specks.” Blankenship originally suspected the specks were gizzard shad when he first started using the side imaging unit, but he soon learned the images were crappies when he would shoot his jig into the targeted area and kept catching fish. For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at funlake.com.

Never been to anything PGA. From the view on TV, no fans had any contact with the players that I've ever seen. This event is so different, may be because of the lack of space, especially at Top of the Rock, for spectators. I guess most of the fans left after the second rain delay today. Fred said the course was bare. If there's another delay, if you're thinking about going, that would be a good chance to go and really have your way- go where you want to (outside the ropes of course).

Naw- I try to hold everyone's fish. Better for the fish!

Get this- my good friend, Paul Clark, used to be the chaplain for the Sr PGA. He asked if he and 2 of his friends could stay with us this week. I said SURE! He brought 2 of his best friends, Bernhard Langer and Fred Funk. Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the course with Bernhard and went everywhere Bernhard went, ate where he ate and walked both courses while he practiced. Paul introduced me to every pro we met. I can't name all the players I shook hands with. It was surreal! And then every evening, we've all went out on the lake fishing. I'm here to say these guys are first class. They understand that they are truly blessed to do what they do and are eternally grateful. All I can say it ... unmerited favor and grace.

Evenings have been fun... These two guys are staying with us for the tournament. What a treat!

Yes. It's a nice, one room building with a great fireplace. Was told they "threw" it up in only 19 days. Bet you they tear it down after the tournament and build another one. As nice as it is, it's not the grand clubhouse that matches John L's pattern.

This morning- seems like some of the country- the internet is down. Forum is loading, some national sites but facebook is not. Even some of the icons on the forum are not. Google ads are just spinning. This sort of thing has been going on for a while- just not this bad. Anyone else?

Tracker Grizzly

I'm on the dock here the rest of the day. Stop by. Water just above my place is fairly good. Below, not good. Water is moving slowly and taking all the junk downstream but it's taking time. Nice thing about Taney is the "flush" factor. Fished last night at the Narrows. They boated some nice rainbows using a #16 red Zebra over a #12 gray scud, 6x tippet, deep enough to drag the bottom using spin cast. They were taking the scud only.

Play was canceled about 9 am.

I've spent the last 2 days there. I've played since I was young, watched on TV. It's surreal to see these guys in person. The event it great for Branson. Johnny Morris is spending an incredible amount of money out there at the old Branson Creek, now Buffalo Ridge course. Top of the Rock - hard to put in words.

Anyone going to come watch this!? This is an incredible event for this area. http://bigcedarlegends.com/