sfiser

Thank you Bill. I will call up there today and ask if he is open for the day I can go.

We are having a work retreat at Big Cedar for 3 days the first week of May and they are giving us a $300 credit to used on an activity(fishing trip, spa, golf, etc) and I am going to use mine on a guided trip on table rock. Can anyone recommend a good guide for me to ask for that works out of Big Cedar when I call to book the trip? I went on a trip with Mr. Babbler on the rock several years ago and he was great (I didn’t book this through big cedar), hoping for a similar experience this time around. Either way it’s an almost free guided trip so I can’t really go wrong and I’m getting paid since I’m “technically” at a work retreat.

i live on that end of the lake and fish it often. Those fish spawn almost anywhere, backs of coves at the base of stumps, on ledge rock, bluff walls. I think that water is so variable up there (lake can go from fairly clear to muddy and high in less than 24 hours on that end) that those fish just go wherever they can get a spot when the time is right. There are definately places they prefer but I've seen them spawn in some strange places on that end. With the lower end when the water comes up at least it stays pretty clear so it doesn't mess up the spawning as much and light can still penetrate the water down to their nest and help incubate those eggs... on that river end when it goes to chocolate milk overnight and you get some pretty good current flow, i bet that can mess up a percentage of the spawning nests.

rps, how difficult is that shoal you have marked to navigate in a boat? anything to really look out for running from housemans to beaver in a boat?

any cove/pocket with some gravel or mixed rock will have lots of spawning fish in it. Fords creek, rambo, moulder, honey creek, indian creek and all the pockets off that arm, same with both clifty creeks... all hold lots of spawning fish

lots of good VRBO homes and lodges. Cranors Lodge is a great place on the river to stay and guides can pick you up right at the lodge, its roughly 10 river miles below the dam. Just my opinion but Gastons is getting a bit dated, their restaurant is still good but the rooms need a refresh. Just avoid major holidays as it brings out the crowds. Great fishing 12 months a year so theres not really a time not to come and a time to specifically target. Everything depends on water flow from the dam and that's what drives the fishing. Big fish love the higher flows although your numbers of fish will go down, on lower flows you will have big numbers but might not have as good a quality.

it is a good fly fishing spot at low flows (which there is NO guarantee you will get with as much rain as we have gotten). If there is no water running, round house shoal in cotter is another good place to try and also Ackerman access over at Norfork has access to some of the best wading water in Arkansas. BUT like said above, if they are running water you will need a boat and even better a boat with a fly guide in it.

Yes, you will pay the daily entrance fee to a corps park. I think it’s like 4 or 5 bucks

Also a good point. There has to be a happy medium but I don’t think a bass boat with a 150 or a jet ski (yep I’ve seen jet skis on the white) have a place on that river running full tilt. At some point there will be an accident and something will have to be done. I don’t like kayaks on the river with 8 units running and fog all over the river but I see them out there all the time..... just seems like eventually someone is going to get hurt or killed due to lack of common sense and that’s when we will see some sort of restriction put in place. I think the canoes and kayaks are equally as dangerous as the speed boats but for different reasons, I’ve rescued multiple kayakers who have gotten swamped in big water and we’re clinging to trees or floating down the middle of the river.

i am for all for one, like max 60hp. I don't know if you have ever been out there on a weekend when its packed but its dangerous the way some folks fly up and down that river. When the restrictions are for the good of the river (wakes are already erroding some of the banks) and safety they are needed. Its only a matter of time before a kayaker or boater gets hit and killed b someone running way to fast in the fog. Also the new fishing restrictions on the white have really improved our brown trout fishing and bigger rainbows are showing up more regularly, so not all restrictions are bad

this was brought up at one of the AGFC trout meetings a few years back but nothing was ever put in place. I could see them coming out with some sort of restriction from bull shoals dam to maybe the mouth of the buffalo or something like that. I had a guy fly past me at probably 45 mph in a bassboat above cotter this summer (when the water was high) and that seemed insanely dangerous with canoes and kayaks also on the river. I think we may at some point see a HP restriction, I know several guides who are lobbying for one also.

did you use the dock in the back of the creek arm or the dock more toward the main lake? asking so I can be careful and not find the same metal rod you did.

My supreme 207 has some floatation in it. I wouldn't worry too much though, you really have to try to sink those boats and most sink because someone did something they shouldn't have done to make them sink.

I have had 2 top waters and 2 supreme 207xp's.Both nice boats(I did have some cracking issues with my top water that were fixed) but the supreme is a better boat. It's more stable and fishes better in my opinion, it's easier to row, and it doesn't cause my jet to cavitate in the bumpy shoals like my top water did and it handles bumpy water on the lake better than the topwater did (had some days that the topwater shook so bad in a small chop I thought it was going to fall apart before I made it to the ramp) Supreme customer service is also 2nd to none. I think the topwater is a better looking rig but fish ability and durability go to the supreme easily. I have no experience with xtreme but I just can't handle the way they look. Too clunky and boxy for me

I have a 20 foot Supreme 207xp (love the boat), i spent time in a 16 footer and it felt real tight to me and i didn't like it. I use mine on the lake if the wind is under 10mph. it does ok, is it ideal.. .no its not. They don't have a keel and i have a 60/40 jet motor so there is nothing in the water to keep the boat going in a straight line unless you face into the wind. I use mine on the lake more than on the river actually but that's because I live on Beaver lake and the white is 2 hours away. I have a 12 volt powerdrive motor on it and an 42" front deck. I can comfortably bass fish off it when its fairly calm but its not like my bass boat was but i make it work. if you are on the lake and the wind kicks up, its going to be a rough ride to the ramp with that flat bottom boat

my sister found one of those wolf spiders in our yard when i was about 7 or so, trapped it, and kept it as pet. She's a biologist now so she was real big into critters back then and convinced my mom to let her keep it. My mom did consult someone we know who is familiar with spiders and that person gave the ok once they saw it and said it was pretty harmless. My sister used to handle it and let it crawl on her hand and arm and a few weeks later it bit her..... well it didn't do much damage other than a little puffy spot but after that mom made her let that spider go and that was the last of the spiders in our house. Freaked me out but my sister loved that stuff, she has salamanders, gerbils, lizards, all kinds of stuff as a kid.

might post this in the taneycomo or even table rock forum. That's a good ways from white river/bull shoals area for this forum. I bet some taneycomo folks will help you out

scroll down the homepage of the forum, its down toward the bottom.

crested at 1131.20. That has to be close to a record if its not THE record. That's 1.2 feet over top of flood pool.

Nice! Man it was some kind of foggy out there sunday morning wasn't it!!

maybe 2' orso not too bad but it is a little bumpy. Luckily our lake doesn't have enough wide open area to let the waves build up too big, only does that in a few places. I've only seen it get real hairy a handful of times and Saturday wasn't one of them. just have to be careful and be smart.

just out of curiosity, who is your guide??? Lots of good ones on the river. Might also help us give you info since many of us know some of the guides

They are just prepping, they need the lakes a little lower than normal just in case we get a big rain event. With the flooding issues on the Mississippi, the white river lakes will have to hold back water if we do get a big rain so they are making sure we have storage capacity if needed

Zona is a super smart guy (far from an idiot as some claim he is) and was one heck of a tournament fisherman up north, whether you can stand his personality or not is up to you but the guy is one heck of a stick. Even KVD has said Zona has taught him more about smallmouth then he ever would have learned on his own and KVD is a smallmouth master. I have heard Jimmy Houston talk a few times and he always mentions an alert chemical that bass give off once they are caught that alerts the school that there is danger. If you do some googling there's plenty of info on it. Makes sense

feeding marks from carp maybe? They can dredge up a flat in no time looking for food.