Sam

You betcha they are! Dang this board, I just don't have any "secrets" left at all. Spawn and post-spawn bass fishing with Senkos is one of the high points of my fishing year. But don't buy the Senko brand - go to Wal Mart and buy Kinami worms. They're exactly the same lures made by the same company for about half the price. I saw an interview Gary (I think that's the first name) Yamamoto gave. He said they also sold the Senko worms as Kinami at Wal Mart to put them within reach of the "common fisherman" (that's me). That's real good of them, I think - and it's put a bunch of big bass in my live well over the years.

I don't know. As a practical matter, if a guy's yelling at me I'd probably just move on. He may be in the wrong legally, but I go fishing to relax - not to get in arguments or to call the sheriff. A couple of years ago crappie fishing on Bull Shoals I got into it with another fisherman. He claimed I'd cut him off, and I don't think I did. He was a hundred yards down the bank and around a point from me when I pulled into a little cove. If I cut him off, I didn't mean to - everyone was still-fishing, casting jigs for crappie and if he was moving his boat down the bank I didn't realize it. I wouldn't do that on purpose. Anyway, he moved up to where I was and started cussing at me. Then he hit my boat with his jig a couple of times, then he tried to yank a hook into me. I grabbed his line and broke him off, then asked him if he wanted to go to the bank and settle it. He decided he didn't really want to do that. There were lots of other boats around, and I just left. I went to fish where my partner was fishing out of his boat and I told him what happened, but I told him not to do anything about it. He didn't listen - my partner gunned his boat out of there at full speed and nearly sunk the guy. Missed his boat by about two feet. Little things like that can escalate and get people hurt, and it's not worth it. We were all wrong - myself, my partner, and the angry fisherman. That deal pretty well ruined the trip for me, and I've decided to be LESS, not more, aggressive if anything like it happens again. So if a guys yells at me about fishing near his dock, I'll know he's wrong - but I'll probably just figure "there's a real so-and-so" and move on.

I've actually done that on a couple of occasions when the conditions were just right. At Cricket Creek last summer I was in about 20 feet of water off a rock bluff, fishing for crappie. There was no wind, and I kept noticing bunches of little bubbles coming up. The place they were coming up was just moving slowly, wandering around. I figured it was something rooting around in the bottom mud, knocking bubbles loose from decomposing stuff - and that it had to be either a mud turtle or a catfish. So I rigged up with a hook and sinker and a big gob of nightcrawlers, and dropped it on the bottom right in the path of the bubbles. I had the fish on about 10 seconds later - a 4 pound channel cat!

Yep, that's them. The first species shown, "Pectinatella magnifica". Thanks for the info. They're strange looking, and I'd wondered what they were.

Phil - The blacks not only spawn a little later, they spawn a little deeper. I've had good luck by fishing for black crappies a week or two after the whites are off the nests, in places I knew were good spawning areas by all the whites that had been there. The black crappie will be in the same places, just a little further out. There's been thousands of keeper crappie taken out of that Long/Cricket area this winter, when that usually doesn't happen. I'd say that has to cut down on the number of crappie that'll be spawning there in the spring. But it's a big lake and I've read that crappie don't move more than a 1/4 of a mile during their whole lifetime. The winter fishing pressure has been real localized, and there's lots of other places we'll catch 'em in the spring.

I think I know what you mean. In some spots on Tablerock the flooded trees have weird-looking round things growing on them just below the waterline. It's got to be some kind of fungus feeding on the dead wood. Those trees have been dead for 40 years, ever since the lake filled. I sometimes fish Watts Bar Lake in eastern Tennessee, it was built 25 years before Tablerock. There's not a flooded tree trunk standing in the whole lake - they just won't last that long in water. So I assume Tablerock will lose all it's flooded timber too, in the next 25 years. The fungus you're seeing is probably one of the things that will cause it.

All the reports I've seen have been from the Cape Fair/James River area or the Long/Cricket area. I imagine conditions are the same, though, all over the lake. I've been doing best around flooded timber in or near spawning coves. Smaller crappies are in 10 feet or so of water, I've found fewer and bigger ones suspended near trees in 20 to 40 foot water. Most folks are casting or slow-trolling crappie jigs, often swimming minnow types. The best color seems to change around - I've had good success on chartreuse, white, and orange at various times. The fish aren't real bunched up yet, so you need to keep moving. I haven't tried live minnows, but they'll always catch crappie too.

I might mention that the two crappies in the picture were among the biggest ones I caught that day. Everything I kept was between 10" and 12 1/2". The smaller ones were male white crappies, including probably the three short ones I threw back. I had three female white crappies that were 12 1/2" along with the black crappie that size. But the 12 1/2" black crappie was a MALE. That means the females in that same bunch would have been 14 to 15 inches or better. That's another reason I like to find a cluster of black crappies on Tablerock. They're bigger than the white crappies.

I don't think so. That's not a problem on Corps lakes because of the "offset line". The water, banks, and lake bottom belong to the public. I've heard that streams are a different matter, though. The WATER belongs to the public, so you have a right to float through private property. The banks and even the river bottom belong to the landowner, so being on the bank or even wading is trespassing if you don't have permission. That's what I believe, but I'd be glad to hear from someone who knows for sure.

Well, that lets you know you can fish the tar out of that walleye/bass Rogue hole every morning up until 9:30! When Highway K Marina went up for sale a few years ago, I thought about buying it (very briefly). They were asking $400,000., but I don't know what it actually sold for. I never got serious enough about buying it to get into the books, but I don't see how in the WORLD the slip fees, the gas they pump, the stuff they sell in the store, and the boats they rent could justify anywhere near that price. I don't understand how they can make it as a business - and I'm sure their crappy attitude toward fishermen isn't helping sales any.

It's too bad the guy acted like that. It kind of matches up with the experiences I've had in asking for fishing reports from K Dock. They have no information and don't care. I don't understand why anyone would expect to run a business with that attitude. This brings up a question I've had for some time. Most marinas have signs up saying "No Fishing Within 50 Feet", or something like that. I noticed such a sign at Cricket Creek Marina on TR the other day. Is that the law, or is it just their policy? You don't have the right to stand on or touch private property, such as a dock, when fishing - of course. But the lake is PUBLIC water, and unless there's a law to that effect I don't think any private company or person has the right to restrict any part of it from fishing. Does anyone here know?

Indyfisher - If the weather cooperates, you're coming at a great time. Look up the Tablerock map on this web site - "Indian Point and north of the Dam". That's ALL good fishing water for bass and crappie. You won't have to go far in your boat, there's lots of good water nearby. The bass and crappie should both be staging at that time. For bass, look for rocky banks, points, and drop-offs near pea-gravel banks. For crappie it's the same kind of gravel banks, but look especially for flooded timber in all those coves with shallow spawning areas at the ends. Watch what the other boats are doing, for both bass and crappie. You'll catch 'em.

Lilley - Maybe I misunderstood? Maybe you meant from the dam (Lake Springfield?) at the TOP of your tracing down to Flat Creek? I thought you meant from Tablerock Dam up to Flat Creek. The only part of the tracing of significance to white bass fishermen is the very bottom, from Tablerock Lake up to Galena. James River is only passable by waders, bank fishermen, canoes, and car-topper boats on float trips above there. I know the river well between Gentry Cave Hole (below Galena) and Bridgeport (Tablerock Lake). If you want, I'll work with your tracing and add the names, holes, ramps, and access points I know. Let me know whether you intend to map the whole river as shown on your tracing or only the white bass areas near the bottom. I don't know the river above Gentry Cave, but if you're doing only the bottom part I can help. - Sam

Nope. McCord Bend has the first ramp DOWNSTREAM from Galena Park. Blunk Hole is above the first bend UPSTREAM from the Park. If you're doing the lake map from the dam to Flat Creek, that won't do it. All the places we're talking about are above Flat Creek, quite a ways.

I went to Cricket/Long Creek again on Tuesday, the 24th, and had to work for them. It was a high pressure, sunny, windy day - and the fish never really turned on. I caught 7 keepers and 3 short ones. Because the fish aren't bunched up well, I was mostly slow-trolling a jig near flooded trees in 25 to 40 feet of water. When I cleaned fish this morning, I noticed that one I caught was a black crappie. That's a little unusual for Tablerock, it's the first one I've caught this year. I think white crappie are about 90% of the ones there. I love it when I can find black crappie, though. On Tablerock, they're generally bigger than the whites, they'll outweigh a white crappie of the same length (a little), and they BUNCH UP BETTER. In the spring, black crappies spawn a week or two later than white crappies. When the whites are on the nests in the shallows, look for black crappies in the staging areas whites occupied a couple of weeks before. Then when the white crappie have gone back to deep water, the blacks will be on the nests. That extends the spawning season, for me. I wish I had noticed that was a black crappie when I caught it. I would have gone back to whatever stick-up it was on and fished that hard. There were probably a dozen more black crappies on the same tree, and I might have finished my limit right there. The black crappies don't mix much with the white ones, and when you catch a black crappie there are usually a bunch of them in one small spot. Black crappies have a shorter, blunter "nose" than white crappies, and they're built heavier. There is a difference in the number of dorsal spines, 5 on one and 7 on the other - but I don't remember which way it is because I never pay attention to that. The way I identify them is that black crappies have scattered specks on their sides with no pattern - the specks on white crappies' sides form vertical stripes. A black crappie isn't necessarily "blacker" than a white crappie - that depends on the light conditions where they've been living. Here's a picture I took while cleaning fish this morning. The white crappie is at the top, and the black crappie at the bottom. Both fish are about 12 1/2" long.

The females can run real big. I don't keep any white bass over 14" for eating. We're used to crappie filets, and the big ones are just too fishy and strong for us. They sure are fun to catch, though. I measure the big ones before releasing them, just for fun. My personal record on the James River arm of Tablerock is 19 1/4", and I've caught several that size but not bigger - yet. When you get ahold of a white bass like that with a light or ultralight rig, usually in current, it's quite an experience. They'll take you around the boat a few times, and it's lots of fun.

Luck-E-Strike Swimmin' Minnows for sure. The color changes with the days. A week or two ago, I did best on the red/chartreuse combination. Last time out I tried that, then a bunch of other colors. I limited out when I hit on the pearl-with-gold-sparkles color, with the tail dipped in chartreuse dye. I'm going to try again tomorrow. There's no telling what the "favorite color" will be - but I'll find out.

That's what I'm missing! I love Fireline to death, but that's the one drawback I've found. I like to do a lot of slow-trolling and drift fishing of 1/8 oz. crappie jigs behind the boat. Fireline tends to stay on the surface a long ways back, and I'm sure it's holding the lure up. I'm getting tired of having to put the rod tip underwater and constantly yank on it to get the line to sink. I've had the same problems in the past, almost as bad, with mono lines like Trilene XL and XT. I'm thinking of going after crappie again Tuesday, and I'm stopping by Bass Pro tomorrow. I may get a spool of flourocarbon line to try out. Do you have any suggestions as to what brand and weight for crappie fishing?

Guess I won't be grabbing suckers out of Roark Creek this spring - they'll probably make a concrete ditch out of it. Branson Landing is being done by people who would pave every inch of the Ozarks if it'd make them a dollar. About ten years ago I served on the board of our local chamber of commerce for a year. What a joke that was. The theme of every meeting was "How can we get more people to move to Ozark?". They were sending out flyers to people all over the U.S., advertising in big city newspapers, lobbying the town to give tax breaks to developers, etc. Well, they got what they wanted. Now our traffic is as bad as many big cities, our public services and infrastructure are over-stressed, and many acres of deer woods and farms are now apartments. Funny thing - those folks 10 years ago in the Chamber had local businesses, but they didn't get rich like they thought. Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's, 84 lumber, and a whole bunch of chain restaurants moved in - and most of those local businesses are gone or hurting now. Serves 'em right.

I can't figure out what fish can see and what they can't, and whether seeing the line bothers them. I KNOW seeing the line bothers trout, because I've seen that happen. But I don't fish for trout. A couple of years ago I switched over to Fireline. I can't see the charcoal Fireline against the water, so about a year ago I bought a 1000 yard spool of PINK 8 lb. Fireline on eBay. I've been using it for most everything. It's the diameter of 3 lb. mono, and I don't know what the actual breaking strength is but it's a lot more than advertised. The pink line is real visible to me (and I have to be able to watch my line), but I don't know how well fish can see it. I know that longer-wavelength colors are the first to become invisible under water, so maybe they can't see it after it's a few feet down. I dunno. But the results are good. In that year I've caught plenty of crappie, white bass, bass, walleyes, catfish, goggleyes, bluegills, everything. Would I have caught more with a less visible line? I doubt it. On many of those trips I fished with guys using flourocarbon, monofiliment, braided, Spiderline, etc. I kept right up with all of them.

Thanks for the compliment, PD. Here it is: The New Year in March By SAM WAMMACK TMNS Correspondent March 19, 1999 The New Year in the Ozarks doesn't come on some cold day in January -- it starts now. Last weekend we had a big snowfall, but it was the last one of the winter and the snow was heavy and wet and now it's gone. Give us a week of temperatures in the 60s and the first event of the New Year will finally be here -- the spring white bass run. Most of the year, white bass are just a minor sport fish in the big lakes here -- they're not too big, but they hit a lure hard and they fight hard on light tackle. Some of our lakes are over 60 miles long, and in the summer and fall fishermen are after bigger game and white bass are rarely found in all that water. Springtime is different, though. When the water temperature approaches 55 degrees, all the white bass come out of the lakes and swim up the rivers to spawn. The closest white bass run is where the James River runs into Tablerock Lake. The fish and the fishermen know the places on the river coming up from the lake -- the places where we meet, year after year. Bridgeport, then Flat Creek, then the Bluffs, then Asher Cane Bottom, then Long Camp, McCord Bend, Galena, Blunk Hole, and finally Gentry Cave Hole. Some of these names are never written and they're not on any map, but the fishermen know the names and every pool and rock, as did their fathers and grandfathers. A good spring run is far from a sure thing, and fishermen know the years by the events rather than the dates. Remember the year when we had wonderful fishing for just one morning, then it started to rain and the river didn't go down until the run was over? Remember the year when the weather was perfect and we stayed on them for six weeks straight? Remember the year when they were all running so big, remember the one when there were so many but they were small? For this short time, men take off early from work so they can go to the river for a few hours before dark, and every day, all over town as people meet, you hear the latest word about the run. "Hi, Billy -- where's the bass?" "Donny and his brother limited out yesterday afternoon -- they're up to Asher's, running good size." After the long dark time of winter, this is really the start of the New Year's cycle -- and it's so good to get out again. The cycle starts -- while the redbuds are blooming the white bass will run, then when dogwood trees bloom it will be time for crappie fishing and big walleyes will be in the "potholes" at Forsyth. Then the oak trees will start putting out leaves, and when those leaves are "as big as a squirrel's ear" the spring largemouth bass fishing will be good. Next comes a short season for hunting wild turkeys, followed by good daytime fishing that will take us into the summer. Summertime is for night fishing, big largemouth and smallmouth bass and catfish -- and for swatting mosquitos. Fall brings the hunting seasons for turkey and deer, then the long impatient wait of winter comes again, ending the old year. Sometimes people who have gotten too far away from the land don't understand. Anti-fishing and anti-hunting attitudes and redneck slurs are common in the media, but those ideas are coming from people who are spoiled and no longer even know the things that their grandfathers knew. Grandfathers, heck -- if I could fish the white bass run next to an ancestor from a thousand generations ago, we would both understand perfectly (well, I guess I'd have to teach him to use a spinning reel). Everyone's food comes from the land and water -- a fact that the pretty packages in supermarkets doesn't change. The liberal outrages and foolishness of our time will eventually pass, and long after they do there will still be a real world in which the white bass run starts every New Year.

I'm real upset at the KY3 weatherman right now. I've caught crappie at Cricket Creek the past two Wednesdays in a row, and was planning on going again today. Last night the weatherman said we'd have a 20 mph wind today, and I hate fishing in the wind - so I didn't go. Wouldn't you know it? This is the first day in a long time with NO WIND. Not a leaf stirring, all day. It just ain't fair!

Putting in at Bridgeport is good, but it's a long way up to Galena from there - and that time of year you've got to dodge a lot of spoonbillers! Steve is right - the area around the Park will be awfully crowded and the launch ramp there is BAD. What I'd really do, if I were you and had a boat, is put in at the "two-dollar hole" at McCord Bend. It's just a short ways downstream from the Park. Continue past Blunk Rd. on Hwy. 248 for about 1 1/2 miles and look for the sign "McCord Bend" to the left. Turn down that road and it dead-ends at the small community of McCord Bend. Make a left turn, then a right (this is easier to find than it sounds), and you'll come to where "Charlie" has a mailbox set up at the entrance to his private park/campground. Put $2 in the mailbox! That's a good place to park with a good ramp. You can put in there, and the Park is just a ways upstream. Also, you're right in the middle of good white bass fishing both up and down stream from there. If your boat is big enough to stand in, you can fly fish from the boat. If not, there are lots of sandbars where you can get out and wade and cast. And with the boat for transportation - you'll have access to a lot more fishing water than from the bank. But remember - you're going for white bass, so leave my crappie alone! Just kidding. I hope you have a great trip.

Yep, you're thinking of Mills Branch. THAT's a crappie hole - I caught quite a few limits out of there last spring just outside the line of flooded trees on the south side. The one I'm talking about for smallmouths is the first cove north of the dam, on the same side as the dam. It's marked on the map Phil posted here as "Highline Cove", and Moonshine Beach is at the base of it. There's a big powerline running across, so I guess we just got to calling it Powerline Cove. We've taken some big smallmouths out of there in the wintertime, but not since the big new hotel and dock were built on the east side of the cove.

I've got just the place for you. Go to Galena, MO on Hwy. 176. Turn on Hwy. 248 to go toward the town square, but before you get to the square, Hwy. 248 turns right - there's a store on the corner. The guy who runs that store knows what's going on daily with the white bass run and he's real helpful - you might want to stop and talk to him. From the store, continue on Hwy. 248 just up to the top of the hill. Turn left on "Blunk" at the top of the hill and stay on it until it dead-ends at the James River. We call that the Galena Park, and fly fishermen like to wade off the sandbar just across from the launch ramp there. If the river is low, you can wade across about 200 yards upstream - otherwise you'll need a boat to get over there. A half mile upstream from that spot, just above the next big bend of the river, is "Blunk Hole". Lots of fly fishermen do well there. You can drive almost there from the Park in a 4wd (if it's not muddy), or you can walk it. There's another way in to Blunk Hole from halfway back on Blunk Rd. (the way you came in). At the high ridge turn on the dirt road and park at the corner. There's a stile over the fence for fishermen, and a good trail down the bluff. The fishing at Blunk Hole is on the side you drive or walk, you don't need to cross the river. I checked my calendar, and last year I started catching white bass in those places March 14, with the last trip on April 8. I'm sure the run lasted longer than that, but I got busy catching crappie in other places about that time. Good luck, I hope this helps.