rps

That pea gravel bluff end point sounds like someplace I would try for walleye if it were here on Table Rock.

Read somewhere the walleye is to the yellow perch as the bass is to the sunfish/goggle eye/warmouth/rock bass. Makes sense it would eat well. I never ate one, although I caught them when my father took me to Canada back in the dark ages.

Yellow perch, right? Although many I've seen are as much green as they are yellow. They are growing in Bull Shoals now and I hope they become the dominant bream there.

She could have said bream as well. Perch and bream make it easier as they are generic - bluegill, redear, pumpkinseed, and green sunfish all fit it the category.

Seemed very long. Actually was only a few minutes, maybe 5? Walleyes head shake and lunge run, especially near the boat. While part of the jaw structure is very tough bone, the remainder is fairly soft. It isn't uncommon for them to simply pull off. That is what I feared might happen. On the advice of others more knowledgeable than I, this year I converted my walleye trolling and rigging rods to 7', moderate to moderate fast action, medium power rods rated for 8 - 15# line. That kind of rod takes the lunges but avoids pulling out the hook. One is a Shimano Compre I have had for years as a trout rod for fishing big browns on sculpins. The other is a Falcon HD I bought recently. It doesn't make much sense to pay $200 for a bait or trolling rod. Many walleye fishermen use Ugly Sticks, but I couldn't let myself do that. I use 10# Power Pro as my main line. On this rig I had 12# Yo Zuri for the harness leader (it breaks before the 10#Power Pro). I use a Shimano Citica on the Falcon and a Okuma Serrano on the other. Both have smooth, easy to set and change drags. I do not crank the drag down to the line strength for the same reason I use the moderate action rods. In other words, I had to put pressure on the fish and then wait for it to wear itself out fighting the rod and pulling my drag. That concept is very similar to how you fish big browns on 4# line. Once again, I apologize for falling into teaching mode. I figure you can always do what my students do and tune me out.

I make my own night crawler harnesses. You can buy them, but I make mine a little different from what is for sale. Look at the photo carefully and you will see 12# Yo Zuri Hybrid clear snelled to an Owner Down Shot hook, size 1/0. Just above it you will see a slip on bobber stop. The beads are float beads available in many sizes and colors. Then, in order, I add a bead, clevis with a cupped 3/0 colorado blade, and a bead. Three feet above this arrangement I tie on a swivel. You thread half or a whole crawler on the hook like you Texas rig a plastic, set the bobber stop next to the head of the worm, and attach it to an L shaped bottom bouncer like this: I tie my main line to the bouncer and let enough line out for the bouncer to nick bottom, but not drag. If I am in trees, I let more line out to change the angle. I use Power Pro main line. The size bouncer you use depends on the depth you intend to fish. These baits work best, IMO, when you fish them .8 to 1.4 MPH. I was using a harness with fire tiger float beads and a silver blade. I was fishing the rig on a 3/4 ounce bouncer with about 40 feet of line out. I was traveling between 1.0 and 1.2 MPH. I agree. There are more fish like mine in the lake.

I don't know whether anyone keeps track of walleye records for Table Rock. I saw the 14 and a half Chuck Etheridge caught out of the same marina I use, Holiday Island, so it isn't even a marina record. The Arkansas record was half again larger - 22 pounds 11 ounces out of Greers Ferry in 1982. I can't imagine a fish that big. As for hiding behind the fish - well there is no point messing up good fish porn with my face. You will remember that nearly 100% of my picture posts do not include me.

When I left the marina this morning I headed up river. I stopped at a couple of my favorite places to fish my top water and wound up with 7 that featured one keeper spot. The others were barely short and a lot of fun. Around 7:00 I motored up to Houseman and began to walleye fish my way back. I tried all depths starting at 12 and working out to the middle of the river, nearly 30 feet deep. By the time I was half way back to Beaver town, I started over - this time even shallower. That is where I found them 8 to 10 feet deep. I caught a short, a 19 inch, three shorts, and this. 32 inches and almost 14 pounds on my Cabelas spring scale. I was going to release her but she would not revive.

Great fish porn! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

In a normal year, by mid August, the thermocline will be deeper than 22 feet and maybe even as much as 29 feet. That doesn't mean you can't catch fish, or even lots of fish. It just means that after 7:00 AM and before 7:30 PM throwing anything at the bank is counterproductive. To fish the right depth, you might have to be 100 yards from the bank fishing a hump on a flat point that falls into the old river channel. That is why a guide is a good idea. He will show you the right depth range, the kinds of structure to look for, and a method or two to effectively fish that depth and structure. BTW, the thermocline does not disappear Labor Day. It usually holds up until well into October. Book your visit for when you can and trust the guides to show you how fish whatever mother nature will present us.

A couple of my favorites: Francis Ford Coppola, Godfather 1, horse head urban legend, double coyote ugly

Several good TR guides post on this forum - Bill Babler, Don House, Captain Joe among others - and hiring one would be a really wise move. TR in August can be tough, very tough. One day with any of them will make the entire rest of the trip more enjoyable.

I am not very good at predicting, but right now they are on flat points between 22 and 30 feet deep and biting my walleye night crawlers. Bill Babler said in a post yesterday that crickets would slay them as well. Between now and your trip I am sure there will be more current posts. BTW, some I've caught in the last week-ten days have been very large.

In the grand scheme of things, there are many things out in this world that would be worse surprise bed partners.

Found exactly the same conditions Up river from Big M. No top water. Fish congregated at 25 to 30 feet. Wayne and I scratched out four walleye amongst the bluegill and bass. One was 21 inches, but the others did not measure. A day like today makes it hard on guides.

Well done!

Years ago Fishing Facts, and later InFisherman, published some fascinating articles on color - what colors scientists speculate fish can see based on their eye structures and what colors remained or turned under low light situations under water. Red disappeared early (thus the red and pink fishing lines) while purples and blues stayed true longer than everything except the yellow/chartreuse and day-glow families. The Color C-lector fad was based on some research by an Oklahoma? scientist/fisherman along similar lines. Based on things I've read and watched happen, I think the primary controlling variables are action, shape, and sound that affect the lateral lines that fish rely on to feed when their eyesight won't work. If you don't believe it is their primary feeding tool, you need to fish Lake Eufala in Oklahoma when it is a cross between strawberry milk and chocolate milk. As far as color, I have concluded that light, dark, reflective, matte, and translucent are second place factor in the getting bites. Last place, in my mind, is actual color. I would bet your partner's success was based more on size, shape, and action than color. Does this mean I don't have preferences and confidence baits? Of course not. But I am old enough to remember when those preferences and confidence baits were quite different from today - and some of them worked really well. Of course I have been known to be wrong. Often enough that I don't count.

Bill Babler has told me I must obtain a pass before I am allowed that far down lake. Oddly, I can't seem to find a form online where I can ask for that pass. Too bad, there a couple of great walleye, spot, and smallmouth spots right there by the put in.

Gorgeous fish and a trip with your son - that's something you can remember again and again. I am green right now.

I would suggest you monitor this board until then. Different regulars have different styles, but the information they share is comprehensive. Have a great time!

Look at my avatar. Walking the dog before anyone else has even broken the calm water.

I had heard something about that. Googled it just now. Somehow the thought of all those huge lake homes and lake yachts parked on an unsafe lake - hmmm. Not the first time the similarities between Grand and Lake of the Ozarks has popped into my head. BTW - here is the picture I promised.

Do not get me wrong; I immigrated from Oklahoma in 2002. I was raised there and raised my family there. So I bear no ill will toward Sooners. Having said that, I was "shocked and dismayed" this morning at the amount of boat and personal water craft traffic on the lake. And it seemed every third one was from Oklahoma. I guess many Grand Lake types brought their party to Table Rock. It was an odd fishing morning in other ways. First, when I drove up to the marina, someone had already launched and was headed out. I am rarely second. Next, the morning top water bite, for me, was non-existent. I can usually scare up something, but not today. Then to top things off, I caught a gar on a nightcrawler.I got it to the boat and was reaching for the pliers to pluck the hook out when it exploded in a roll that snapped my line. I caught four walleye, two of which were keepers. I will post a picture of the larger one later. One keeper and one short each came off a harness and a trolled crank. All four were in water 16 to 22, but near deeper.

Unfortunately, I know that feeling all too well. I did not go out this morning, but I might try tomorrow. I hope I can have something positive to report.

I just re-read this thread and my wife asked why I had a big smile on my face. The idea of a family doing well on TR on vacation does that to me.