markg

We fished last wee k from 04/20 - 04/24 and pretty much struck out. We went out of Cricket Creek Marina. Most of the fish were caught on the flats of Long Creek East of Yoakam Creek in the first couple of days and in the buck brush of Long Creek by Thursady. There were several guys with limits coming in to clean. They all claimed there was no set pattern right now. Some were caught at 28foot in 30 foot of water, some at 11 foot in 12 foot of water, and others in 4 foot of water. Thursday was the most productive day. The fish were slow to bite and were laying in the buck brush. Red& chartruese tube jig was most productive. Wish I could have caught a few more but my buddies did all the catching.

I was at Cricket Creek Marina today. Lort of wood floating but they were moving it away from the marina. It is no problem putting in and there is parking but you have to be creative. I went p to the Missouri side yesterday, just south of Gages. I did not see look to see the marina but it was slow going because of the amount of debri. Water temp up that was 54-55 degree. Water was pretty muddy. Cleanest water we found today was Cricket Creek. Long & Yocum were muddy. Warmest water was 57 in isolated spots on Cricket. 6 guys, 4 1/2 hours, 1 fish. We went for a boat ride and lunch because we obviously don't know how to fish.

You have reason to be nervous. We came from Illinois and ot in the water today. We put in a Cricket Creek. Mark at Cricket Creek has done his best to make the marina accessable but it is tricky. We had two boats and there were 3 other rigs parked there. There is very limited parking but you can take the trailer off and park it down the road. We left in the rain, in between cells, and then got hammered on the water. Came back in about an hour and a half, and one bite. Water temp was 55 degree. It was muddy near the marina but cleared up just south of here. Nobody is optimistic down here. I figured I would se a lot of destruction and debri but haven't. I guess most of the large debri has cleared or is now just below the surface from being water logged. We went up to Cape Fair but didn't go out. It is still high up there and parking areas flooded. Guy we talked to said the water was close to the bottom of the Kimberling brige and you would have to be careful going under it. We seen a couple boats out up by the Cape Fair bridge. Seen 4-5 boats out on Taney yesterday and couple today after the rain. I would tend to believe what information you do get about the ramps & parks. It doesn't appear that it is going to change much or very fast.

We came down to Branson on 03/01/08. We put in at Cricket Creek and had a great day on Sunday. Air temps got up to 70. Water temps highs were 48 degrees in Long and Yoccum. I didn't catch a thing. Seen a couple guys parked on a laydown against the West bluffs. They said they had a caught a few but it was tough. We marked fish, had a couple of bites, and caught one small bass and two small gills. Talked to another guy and he said no crappie bite in the past month. Try for white bass on the flats. Still good to be on the water. Monday was a rain day and we drove around trying to find anyone catching fish. Tuesday we went back to Cricket Creek and tried catching some white bass. Lot of garbage on the water. Flat areas were now covered with debri. Air temps at 40 degree. Water temp 45 degree. No fish,no bites, no fun. Wednesday we went to Cape Fair. A couple different guys told us there had been some crappie caught up by point 15. Sure enough, there were about 4 boats up there. I didn't see anyone pull a fish in. Water temp was between 47-50 degree. I had a bite. Buddy caught a white bass. Lot of debri up here. Thursday, gave it up and came back home. Hope they are biting better at the end of the month when I come back. I missed the warm weather by a week. Quite the variety of weather, 70 highs, 25 lows, rain storms, snow storms. Could be worse, could be at work.

Thanks for the report Don. I've been searching the net for anyone fishing Cricket/Long creek area and am only getting bits & pieces of info if anyone is fishing. Hoping for a good bite in March.

Thanks for the report. I've been sitting in front of the computer every night waiting for anyone to give a crappie report. I won't be down until March & April but February seems to be the barometer of what is to come. Was getting real nervous since I hadn't seen anything.

This has been quite interesting to me. Being an outsider that doesn't live there it did offend me at first. But coming from big deer country I can understand how we become possessive over things we take for granted and feel we have ownership in. I will apologize to any or all if I anger you for asking for information. I may even be the guy that will cut you off. Since I live 8 hours away from Table Rock & try to make 2 one week trips a year I reliy on the information on this site to give me a head start. I don't own the lake or the fish but am just trying to get the most out of my time down there. I do recall the first of the week being upset at boats driving by me at a fast rate and causing a big wake but by the end of the week I was doing it also....no win situation. Sitting back in a cove I had to anchor because of the wind. Had plans to work the cove but there was enough room for a guy to squeeze between me and the bank so he could work it instead. Yep it irritated me, but it was much better when I yanked for keepers while he watched. There are just days that you have all the intentions of having a good time but sometime forget our actions affect others. Bill, that first post really surprised me but it was truly from the heart and understood. Hopefully the fish will start biting great and everyone will be happy. Thanks for all the reports

Thanks Sam, my buddies went out today and only caught 3. They were down by Cricket Creek and trolled for them. They are getting discouraged and were looking for guide info. I told them to check at Cricket Creek Marina to see if Buster or Bill had cards there. If those guys leave me a number I will relay to my friends tonight. Sounds pretty tough but they did see a couple of guys with nice stringers of big fish coming out down there.

Thanks guys. I called him tonight and he said they caught 7 nice fish today. I believe the were in Yoccum but he said that they had to move around a lot. He said he talked to a couple of guys that had 20. I'm not sure what he was using but I'll let him know to go light and white.

C'mon Lilley...put the pressure on him. My buddy got down there tonight from Illinois. I been trying to get him some info but it seems everyone is tight lipped. Is no one fishing or just not telling? Just guessing the fish must have moved further north in Long.

Those were the Charlie Brewer 1 1/2" sliders. The fastest way to get them is online. I ordered some more on Monday and they got here today....fast turn around.

Hey Phil, Came down o your place last Tuesday. That is a great looking rsort and enjoyed talking to your employees on the dock. As far as crappie on Table Rock I thought they were doing pretty well. Six of us limited out 6 out of 7 days last week. The fish ranged from 10-15 1/2". When I asked for info a couple weeks ago I thought guys were just holding out but after being there I think the bite just started and you had to change from traditional jigging. We started out against the north or east side fishing off the walls on Saturday (just our 2 Arkansan friends) and they limited out. On Sunday we all went out and ended in Youcum, 8 foot of water and chasing the schools of crappie. We all limited out. On Monday we stayed on Youcum and moved up on Long from the bridge and rock walls nort.....they turned on around 5pm. We all limited out again. On Tuesday it was rough. Dad & I stayed on the walls of Long and in coves while the others stayed on Youcom. We limited out but the others struggled. Wednesday was another good day. Dad and I continued along the rock walls but eneded up in 5 foot of water on Long. We all limited out on the shallow water of Long creek. We continued to stay on Long cree Thursday & Friday and everyone limited out. Just watching your site it appears everyone was staying in 12' water looking for the slabs & staying on the creek channels. While I have to say stay just off the channel was best I think it came down to the jigs used. We had quite a few others trying minnows and jigs around us but it seemed that only a couple of other fisherman found the trick. There were a couple of men in a red Champion boat that had beat us on Friday by using a white maribou jig, casting out, and just reeling in. They were the only ones that I seen come close to catching the same amount. A while later some guys in a War Eagle were using bobbers and minnows and caght everything around stickups. I can understand locals not wanting to give info up. I'm gone and won't be back for a while so I can tell what we used. Out Arkansan friends got use on the flats at Youcum. We were using both a bobber and countdown methods. Bobbers were set from 3-4 fot, count down would be 3-thousand to 4-thousand. Were were using a Charlie Brewer Slider on a 1/16 minnow head jig. The best color for the minnow head jig was chartruese. The best Slider was blue ice with a chartruese tail. We also caught a lot with a white/chartrues slider and a red/chartruese slider. Another good jig under the bobber was a tri-color tube jig in red/blue/chartruese. I think the most constistant thing we did was put a crappie nibble on these. We did catch a lot of short fish on Friday but overall we did have a good week of fishing. Hope this helps everyone.

This is encouraging.....6 more days until get to try!!!

Thanks Guys, last couple of years we hit it pretty good but was coming earlier this year. Appreciate the info. Try to find the warm water in Long or start driving to James Arm. Hopefully the warm trend will change things.

One week to go!!!!! I'll be down next week to crappie fish. Can any one help me out? Where they at?????