Phil Lilley

Very illegal.

Depends on the depth of water. Set it 12 inches off the bottom.

If you're using a spin cast rod and reel you can use flies!! Just alittle readjustment needs to happen. First, I'd use 2 lb line. It's easier to handle the lighter rig. Using a small float, throw some beadhead nymphs - copper johns, zebra midge, small jigs in earth colors like brown, black, olive, sculpin. Or throw a jig straight- no float- 1/32nd oz - and work it up and let it drop in the deeper holes. If you get good at working a jig, you're set for life! All types of fish can't resist a jig. Hope this helps!! When you do to the parks, and this report helps you catch more fish, please share the forum with others.

The colder days last week and weekend were tough on anglers and fishing it seems... lots of slow reports Saturday and Sunday with a few acceptions (there are always acceptions). One was a email report from Pete - Hello Phil; Just wanted to say thank you for the advice you gave me Saturday about where and what to fish with when I stopped in your shop. I went up Sunday armed with the brown and orange head jigs you told me to buy and man I had a ball. I caught approxiamately 100 fish with a half dozen between 15 and 17 inches with my best being an 18 and 1/2 beauty. Thanks again and the next time I get down you can count on me coming by for more jigs and advice. Sincerely, Pete LaBoube He was using 1/125th oz marabou jigs we sell in the shop. They've been a hot fly up below the dam. Sitting here watching boats on the water, I just saw a pontoon full of people trolling past the resort, hooking 2 rainbows in front of the docks. It looks like they were using small spoons. Lots of midge action since it has warmed up the last couple of days. Zebra midge #16 red or black under an indicator with either a spin or fly rod should be excellent all week fishing them from 12 to 48 inches deep. Use 2 lb line for the best action. I'm heading out to fish with John Johnson this afternoon- probably boating up past Fall Creek to fly fish the flats. Will add to the report later today. Bait fishing- very seldom changes. Power eggs in a combination of white and another color (pink, orange, yellow) using 4 lb line with a split shot best. Night crawlers injected with air and floated off the bottom 12 inches. Minnows fish on the bottom- better chance to catch a brown trout. In from fishing- John and I drove to the dam and tried fishing jigs. Water was very shallow below #2 - too much so for us. We did catch a couple of small rainbows but headed down to deeper water at the boat ramp. There we found glass surface and little action. John caught a couple. We headed back to the resort and my boat. Boated up above Fall Creek and just above the narrows. Was alittle chop on the water and fishing was good. John threw hwi fly rod and a zebra midge and I threw a 1/32nd oz sculpin jig with an orange head. They tore up the jig and hit the zebra pretty well. But when the chop was gone, so were the bites. We caught alot of rainbow, most were 10-12 inches but some were up to 14 inches (pic). Rainbows midging all over at dusk.

Try the docks on the east side of Indian Points. i've heard there are trees sung around some of them. Bass- use the same techniques mentioned in the reports by House and SKMO.

http://ozarkanglers.com/bsmaps/bsmap1.htm Bull Shoals Maps are linked at the top of the BS forum.

I'm not an authority on white bass on Table Rock by any means but I wanted to start a topic that will start to cover the ins and outs of white bass fishing on Table Rock in April. Typically, white bass spawn in feeder creeks, rivers, points and coves but most anglers focus their attention on the creeks and rivers because they are easier to target. Water temperature plays a key part in when and where they spawn. Watching weather patterns including warm days, warm windy days and rainfall is crucial to knowing when they make their move. Rainfall usually brings water water into the system. It also adds colored water. Colored water warms much faster than clear water (very important to know). And I believe fresh, warm water triggers spawning whites more than anything else. Rivers- James, Flat, White, Roaring, Kings, Long are all major feeder arms. Best times to catch whites- early morning and late evening. They tend to move during low light times. Night time is even good. Pre-season - locate whites using lures you can cover alot of water with. Rebels, rapalas, sluggos, grubs, swimming minnows. When you find one you'll usually find two or more. They will move in and out of the creeks/rivers. If there are deeper holes int he river, below shallower gravel areas, that where they will stage, hold. Otherwise, they'll be in the mouths waiting to run. Males typically will be the ones that will move up and down the river. Females will move but not as far and not as often. Spawn - this is the easy time to catch whites... sometimes. I find when they are in the spawning areas, which are shallow gravel with moving water preferablly, they will bite. Live minnows are the best bait, drifted down to them from above using light line and a split shot. Fly fishing using small clousers and other streamers are also good. But be aware if it's fairly clear water and a bright sunny day, they won't be as cooperative to bite. Int he peak of spawn, whites will rise to the surface and tail, making a circle as they spawn. I've been told 2 males will push a female up between them and eject their sperm and eggs at the same time while they do this 'dance'. Post-spawn - Whites will stay in these rivers and creeks for alot longer than you think. I've caught them in the creeks way into June before. The idea is they stay in the creeks as long as there are minnows there to eat. Rebels and small sluggos are my favorite lure during these times.

These trout eat trout guts mainly. That's why there are so many here. We have seen big browns under there and I would think they would catch one or two chubs but why bother when you get a chunk of meat handed to you without any work? There's a couple of shaddows holding back- they look very big.

I just changed the position of the camera under the dock. It's not pointing upstream, under the dock, instead of downstream and pointing out from underneath the dock. The light is different- the trout close to the camera are brighter- and there is 3-4 rainbows that are huge that stay under the dock. You'll see 2 of them- about 4-5 pounds and one well over 10 pounds. They are very shy. But I got them if them come back!

Yes.

The White River below Bull Shoals and the Norfork River below Lake Norfork will get more minimum flow starting in August. To allow the extra flow, the Corp will readjust the way they manage the lakes above, adding I think 4-6 feet of water to the management pool. How this affects the levels is a good question. In times of drought like we are in now, it probably would mean the level would be lower by a bit but not as much as you'd think. Just like now, thru this winter because the lake levels are so low, they just aren't running water when they could/should be for power. It's a water management decision. The extra water that will be released will have to be added into the equation of managing the resourse. I honestly don't think it will alter levels to the point of being noticed. BUT if the lakes get high or if the go to low levels again, there will be those who will blame it on minimum flow- mark my words. Missouri and minimum flow- they are going to wait and see how it works in Arkansas. Give it 4-6 years.

Frame this comment!!! Put it with all the negative comments about the rude waders/boaters. It offsets them all. Thanks for the report.

Creek Chubs. Lots of them.

It's very possible bass on lower Taney are feeding on trout but there is a huge supply of shad down there too but I'm not sure if they do... I'm sure there's big browns down there and they would definately feed on trout. So throwing a rainbow lure could get you a big brown or big bass. They both live in basically the same environments.

I guess those who don't fish for crappie often have a hard time visualizing where and how to catch them. There are books and videos on the subject but it's good to hear from the common angler too. I'll pin this topic since the season will be upon us soon and I know there's going to be many questions posted on the board about the subject. This topic should keep the common question from being asked, "Where are they and how do I catch them?" Here's my 2-cents. I've been a crappie-fisherperson-wannabe for along time. I couldn't seem to be in the right place, using the right lure, at the right time to catch crappie. I didn't have a 'feel' for it. I envied the retire guy who patiently fished everyday and was on them, caught them. But I think I have a handle on it. Here's what I found. Spawning Banks - I have found them on any bank that has a 30 to 40 degree angled bank on the main lake or in coves/fingers. It's best when you find these banks close to deeper water. Long, shallow banks are not good, neither are steep, bluff banks UNLESS these is a ledge with a log or tree on that ledge. Transition banks are good, especially where the bank just starts to flatten out and you find small rocks and even some pea gravel. I like to see at least a little pea gravel in the large rocks on the bank. I've also found that drainage cuts in a bluff bank will hold crappie, especially if there is driftwood in these cuts. Prespawn (March, first of April) - crappie have already started to group up but they tend to move around. They suspend out off spawning banks or out toward the main lake, not necessarily back in the coves yet. They could be in 20-30 feet of water but suspended anywhere from 2 to 12 feet deep. That makes them difficult to locate and patience is needed to find and catch them. They will make "false runs" to the banks when the water warms early. You'll find mostly males making this run, but not always. Spawn (mid to late April) - Crappie will be surprisingly close to the edge of the bank during spawn... sometimes 12 inches. Not all crappie will spawn at the same time so you will find them on the bank- and off the bank 10-15 feet. Concentrate on the banks I described as spawning banks and keep moving if you can't locate them. Move quick to cover alot of ground. You will find them, especially on Table Rock during this time. TR has had some of the best crappie populations the last 3 years. Postspawn (May) - this is an area I'm not as familiar with. I'll let someone with more experience cover it. Fishing for them - I love to use my fly rod and a jig-n-float, especially during spawn. But to locate them I would use a swimming bait- grub or swimming minnow. Bill Babler - Spoke to Bill Anderson this morning. Bill was our lake biologist for a long time. He is now the cordinator of our warm water hatcheries. Most of the crappie we are catching are coming from a couple of good back to back spawn years. A keeper is basicly a 4 to 5 year old fish. What I could determine in speaking to Bill is the number of shorts should well outnumber the keepers for a viable population, as at legal length, with the fishing prussure we have, the majority of these fish will be harvested. Contrary to popular belief, wave after wave of crappie don't come into the bank, spawn and move away, as another set moves up. In a given period of time the spawn will occur. The majority of these keeper fish will be there at one time. When their gone, there gone. Yes there is some constant movement, but it is the same fish going and coming in search of the right conditions, not another group of fish. Most of us can remember the low decade of the 90's. Don't forget it, as Bill said, with the harvest that has gone on the last couple of years and the extremely poor recruitment of last and for sure this year, we had better enjoy them while they last. Can catch and release of these bedding females make a difference in our future harvest. Bill says not likely. The recuritment of crappie spawn is manley due to lake conditions. With depressed water levels, and warm clearing conditions, the new hatched crappie will have a rough go of it. If the microscopic organism's that the spawn consume are present and we get rain to promote cover for these young we may continue to have good seasons like 05, and 06. But look out 3 to 4 years from now, thats when we will see how good it really was in 2006.

Talked to Jeremy R this evening. He said he and others have been catching walleye, whites and crappie from the mouth of Swan down past Barker. Whites at the Barker Hole on rebels and crappie around any stickup on jigs and swimming minnows. Walleye at night off the riprap accross from the mouth of Swan Creek on stick baits. He said it's really been good. Any others catching fish down there?

Brett- you're probably going to get a great answer.. I'm still amazed how much time people like SKMO, House and others spend on the forum answering questions the way they do. It would be helpful to others on the forum including the "guides" - after your trip give us a report on how you did.

Thanks for joining us. Enjoy that kid while you can. I still have a vision of my daughter swimming/competing... a very special time for both of us.

I've noticed that since the breakdown a couple of weeks ago there's hasn't been alot of traffic on the trout cam. Before it had 5 viewers on it all the time. It brings me to believe people are having trouble viewing it. Anyone?

http://search-desc.ebay.com/Ozarks-Regiona...2d1QQsofocusZbs 2006 Strong Kids Campaign silent auction Strong Kids is our scholarship program that pays for kids/families who cannot afford membership and/or programs at the YMCA. Take a look at the items when you get a chance.

I wouldn't doubt that they're work. Shaffer fishes muddlers dry on the surface- they're not a mouse but it's the same concept. Never seen a mouse in the water during the day but you know if one was crossing the lake, day or night, I bet he wouldn't make it accross!

Are you throwing directly upstream above you and letting it drift towards you? If so, may be that's your problem. The ideal drift is out in front of you- casting it upstream and letting it drift back in front of you and below you. Depending on the speed and depth, your fly may not be in the "kill zone" till the end of the drift. Also, making good mends will help you get the best/longest drift possible, keeping the fly in the zone longer. Mending is lifting and adjusting the fly line/leader in relation to the fly/indicator so that the line drift free from interfering with the drift of the fly. Weight of the fly and/or split-shots do affect the drift but it doesn't sound like that's your problem. Or may be I'm misunderstanding your issue.

A friend sent me this link to Missouri's Treasury Department to search for unclaimed funds. I looked and found 4 items that added up to about $100 for the resort- funny!! Even funnier- I went to Kansas's site and typed in Marsha's maiden name and found a cousin and her sister there with unclaimed funds. Cool! http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/ucp/database/ucp.asp http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/index.php http://www.state.ar.us/auditor/ He got it from a Dateline Show on NBC - here's the link to their site- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12028200/

That's all Buster talks about- for 2 years now. Jewell spider green pumpkin jigs and soft plastics.

Green Pumpkin Seed