rps

I find a simple, friendly, "Go away before I rip your arm off and beat you with it!" works well.

Long time readers will recognize this line. I have used it before. We need to spray where they breed.

Great report and an accurate description of what it's like when you find a bass ambush. I wish you could have taken a picture of the monster. Next time.

For me, crawlers work best in the .8 to 1.5 mph range. I find the best crank troll speeds to be 1.8 to 2.5 mph, although sometimes a faster speed will trigger a reaction bite. Howevewr I find that happens most frequently after the thermocline has set and the surface temp is in the 80's.

With cranks, unless you are using lead core, speed does not really affect depth. The key depth factor is the length of line out. I find the Storm baits - Wiggle Wart, Thundercrank, and HotnTot - the best combination of cost and effectiveness.

Tomorrow the wife and I are headed to Maine by way of her Mother's in New Jersey. On the way home we will detour slightly to Savannah to visit younger daughter. I hope you take advantage of the top water bite while I am gone, but leave the walleyes for me. I went out today without my top water rod. I had decided to fish only walleyes in the cool dim part of the morning. While I pulled a woorm harness I watched bass after bass explode on shad. What is worse the chasing lasted later this morning. They were still busting at 8:00. I caught one 19 inch walleye on a flat break into the channel - 12 to 25 feet in only a few yards.

Glad to hear it. I have a new favorite top water. When you are here I will show you.

Welcome! There is a small but avid community of walleye fishermen on TR. The lake is stocked annually a has a very small natural recruitment from spawn. The lake limit is four fish over 18 inches. Some days that is possible. Others it is not. I have caught a 13.75 and have seen first hand a 14.5 caught by another so I can vouch for size. With all the shad and bluegill I would imagine a 17 plus is out there. Most of us fish in the upper half of the lake so that is where most fish are caught. However, I would bet there is a good population in the James and probably a riprap related group at the dam. As for crank trolling, go to the main Ozark Anglers site and search the technique articles for the one I wrote about trolling for walleye on TR. Be advised two things: 1. the classic methods you learned in WI (crawler harness, jigs, Lindy rigs) will work here 2. By September the thermocline on TR is usually down around 32 feet so be prepared to hunt deep. Others will chime in. Again, welcome!

5:00 to 7:00 is the bomb right now, isn't it?

Water temp was 75 to 77. Yes, it was windy and part of the trick was finding shad in water you could fish with a topwater. I considered taking out a buzz bait. It got windier as the day progressed. By the time I came in it was disagreeably windy.

I started at the Holiday Island marina at 5:30 and was still within a quarter mile of it at 7:30. In between, I caught 27 largemouth and spots up to two pounds. I had a really good fish on briefly but when I turned it to keep it out of timber it pulled off. If you do not know how to fish top waters, now is the time to learn. The threadfin are bunching up on flats and flat points and the bass are helping themselves to the buffet. If you can't walk the dog, try a Chugbug or a torpedo. Most of my hits this morning came in the initial one foot after the lure landed. After the sun came out I switched to walleye fishing but kept catching bass by accident. Only had one walleye and it was a quarter inch too short to keep.

I am way up the White so I can't help, but good luck!

Oh, I caught fish - 5 or 6 bass, including my first meanmouth, 3 white bass, 6 or 7 bluegill. The problem was the size of the bass, the lack of walleye, and the meager return on time and effort. That count was for 5:30 AM to 1:30 PM. I guess the change of wind direction, temp, pressure caused them to change/move. The only good fish gathering I marked today was a school at 56 feet. I didn't drop a spoon or drop shot as anything I caught was going to die regardless of keeper size. I will go again Thursday.

Well, they don't usually enforce that particular law.

Impressive fish!

I am very fond of one location between Eagle Rock and Holiday Island. It is an inside bend flat that has a long runout point that runs parallel to the channel, a dish or bowl center, and a ridgeline that bifurcates the flat and runs out to the channel.In 2009 and 2011 my largest bass of the year came off that flat. This morning I decided to fish that flat first. I had a marvelous time. The fish had shad forced to the surface and the water had bubble residue all over the surface from explosions. Between 5:30 and 7:30, I caught over 40 White, Spotted, Largemouth , and Smallmouth Bass. All on topwater. I had one streak of 25 or 30 casts where I had one hit the bait every time but only caught about half the fish. I had every form of strike you can get on top except the toilet flush. Fish were jumping out of the water to come down on the bait, launching from below to grab the bait and fly, sipping, slashing, and batting it around, Most were small but I had keeper size Largemouth and Spotted Bass among them.Best five would have weighed 11 pounds (+ or -) I did see one big old girl with thick shoulders. She followed another hooked fish to the boat. I am not a pro so I had no "second chance" rod and bait rigged and could only watch her as she tried to take the bait away from the hooked fish. It didn't happen. From 8 to 11 I fished for walleye but was only catching small ones and bluegill so i came in.

Correct about the bottom bouncer and I try to move between 1 mph and 1.4 mph. I tend to fish a lighter weight than normal and let out more line to reach depth. The change in angle helps step the weight and rig over brush and timber.

That sounds like a good tactic for a beginner. You might also consider bluff end points as if you were fishing crappie. I read any number of posts that talk about ? number of crappie and 1 or 2 walleye. An example would be the bluff end where the Kings flows into the White.

I know I will sound like a cranky curmudgeon for saying this: There is no such thing as common courtesy. Courteous behavior is and always has been uncommon. Thank heavens a disproportionate number of you inhabit this board. To answer the question, I watch the other boat or bank fisher to see where and how they are fishing, then I try to treat them as if were me fishing there and that way. If I read the situation wrong, I sing out an apology and move off.

Thought I would add examples of big flashy harnesses so everyone could figure out what I meant. Those are #5 willows and float beads on 12# YoZuri clear.

Sorry guys, I have to disagree about the music. Good stuff. Almost as good as the fishing.

From what I hear and what I saw, the lake changed overnight. The big bass that hung under the Holiday Island docks on Friday were gone today. Friday I limited on walleye and had a good early topwater fish day. Today was stinko for me. I assume the guides did ok, but I bet they had to work harder.

Nearly three weeks earlier than last year, I went out early this morning for my first "school is out" trip. The fishing gods smiled at me and started me off with a topwater bite. Before the sun hit the water I caught 9 largemouth, 5 whites, and had another 7 or 8 jump off or pull off. I lost track of the number of hits. Three of the bass were legit keepers but nothing more than 17". The location was a brushy hump, barely in the water, that sits on a flat that extends to the channel 25 yards away. The fish had minnows pushed up shallow and were herding them against the brush. After that bite died I decided to find walleye. My freezer needed restocking. I found them on inside bend flats that dropped from less than 18 feet into the channel. The best locations were those that had junk on the drop off. They wanted nightcrawlers fished on a flashy blade harness. 18, 19, 20, and 23 inches.

Every comment made is accurate. If you are a reading learner, the archives here have nearly everything - jig, grub, jerkbait, top water, spinners, and the rest. For a catch fish under the worst conditions and a chance at a lunker under good conditions, I suggest you google Charlie Brewer and his Do Nothing methods and then see how the Ned rig is an off shoot. Drop shot, the C rig Fish Doctor, and the shaky head all are derived as well. On Table Rock, I think that may be the best place to start.

I always did well for stripers in the Platter Flats area. Find the gulls.