rps

TFW: I tried one of those. They don't work well with the slick, very thin diameter braids. If I were you, I would use the red Power Pro and use a permanent black magic marker to mark off every ten feet or ten yards on the line. That way you don't spend extra money and you simply count the number of marks as they go out. Another alternative would be to try the Cabela's braid that has a different color (just like lead core) every ten yards. Try this link. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true

Thanks for the heads up. Both colors on sale, Little Jimmy and TuttiFrutti, have worked well for me. The Little Jimmy is often my start color. Too bad the Firetiger isn't on sale as well. If you look you will also see the Rad Shads are on sale for 2.99. These make excellent substitutes for Shad Raps. Glass ghost, glass black, firetiger are good starts there. Using these two Cabelas brands, the regular and magnum Storm wigglewarts, and the Norman D22s, you can cover all depths from 10 feet to 37 feet on 10 pound braid. Powerdive and Martin: This thread should be reworked by one of us as a archive tutorial on Table Rock walleye trolling. I volunteer one of you two. rps

Amazingly, the old Buck Perry book is still in print. Try this link: http://www.fishingfacts.com/products.htm He uses his spoonplugs as examples. I bought some but they really hung up easy as they sank when you slowed or stopped. Your best chance of coming unstuck when trolling is to let the pressure off and let the plug float up and backward. However, the techniques he describes are effective.

Hello Quillback. Hope the New Year has started well for you. My books are in the boat and I am in town, but I seem to remember the next to last edition (the one I replaced with the new tyvek version when I left the old one in the rain) had some/most of the Bandit sizes. I think the new one might as well. I can tell you the 300 Bandits run almost exactly the same depth as the fat free shads and wiggle warts that are in the book. I have not compared the walleye bandits, but based on their build, I would guess they will fall somewhere between the Rapala tail dancer and the Cordell wally minnows. Both of those are in the book.

I can try to answer a few questions from your last post. In the process maybe I can add some insight into what is behind my comments so far. When I discovered trolling as an effective technique, I, too, used hellbenders for my primary deep bait. Caught some very nice fish on them. I did not have the precision trolling book in those days and I used my flasher sonar to determine depth and the number of times the casting reel pawl traveled back and forth to determine how much line was out. I would make a pass on a known depth flat and figure out how much line was needed to reach the bottom with the bait. If I had to, I added lead above the bait. In those days I typically fished with 14 pound test mono. To reach 20 feet, I often had lead attached. 30 feet was beyond reach, even with the hellbenders that were so large only stripers would take them. I used the old Buck Perry book plus some reading I did in the old Fishing Facts to refine my techniques from that point. I find it much easier not to mess with weights on the line and (most of the time) the fish prefer smaller baits than the 800 magnum. I learned that line diameter made a huge difference. I learned that some inexpensive baits caught fish and dove well. I learned the key was to know how deep your bait was, even if it wasn't hitting bottom. The Precision Trolling books helped with all of these considerations. BTW, the most recent edition of the book has half as many lures as the sold out previous edition. The reason, according to the owner/publisher, was that the decision to print on waterproof tyvek pages meant expenses went way way up. They cut the less popular lures from the new edition. When I emailed my complaint about the missing lures, they sent me a nice reply and a free copy of the older edition. That edition did not have hellbenders either. One of the keys to understanding this absence is to remember the authors are northern walleye/lake trout guys. Hellbenders were always more popular in the south. Now you may be a transplanted northern type who just happens to know and fish hellbenders, but, if so, you are bucking the trend. Anyway, after I moved over here in 2002 I began refining my trolling methods for the walleye in the lake. I still prefer to catch bass by casting. You'll note my avatar is Zara Spooks. Walleye, on the other hand, rarely hit topwaters and are shallow for very limited times of the year. The clear water in Tablerock and its southern location mean the fish are often deeper than 20 feet. I also learned that the walleye frequently suspend in the woods. As mentioned by others, leadcore and number 5 shadraps are very effective, especially on unwooded inside bends where flats drop into channels. Leadcore is expensive and hates when you stop or pause - it sinks to the bottom to find any available snag. I have not mastered its use. Instead I learned to use braid teamed up with wiggle warts, hotntots, and xcaliber fat free shad. These are comparatively cheap baits, often on sale, and they work! I later learned that the Cabelas reef runner knock offs are cheap and work as well as the baits they imitate. The number of baits I lose in the woods is higher than I will willingly confess, but I do catch fish. If you want an example of the walleye woods I hunt, go to the mouth of Rock Creek - it is between Big M and Owl Creek. The long, long point there is known as the Devils Backbone. Much of that point, and its submerged sides, has wood below normal waterline. I have caught many walleye from that area. I usually start hunting walleye by finding out the depth of the thermocline. Many sonar units will show a well developed thermocline, but none are as good as the old paper graphs for that and early in the year the thermocline is not as definite. Talk to the folks at the ramp/marina, read the forum here, or invest in a thermometer you can drop over the side. The fish will typically be at or just above thermocline, either on bottom or suspended. As a very rough rule of thumb, in "normal" years on Table Rock that means 12 to 17 feet in early June and 35 feet in late August. During low light periods, the fish will often be shallower, but during the day they key to the bait schools and the thermocline. I will start trolling at the shallowest depth I supect based on the thermocline and bait schools and will change baits and line lengths to test deeper as needed. That is where the precision trolling book helps so much. I can run the reef runner knock off with 80 feet out and I can run it with 165 feet out. I know, based on the book, that 80 feet means 17 feet deep and 165 feet means 25 feet. I realize I have answered your post with more information than you probably expected. I hope some of it is useful. For the last part, lets talk speed. I have found 1 to 2 mph are the most effective trolling speeds. My 90 hp will not go that slow. I have tried trolling plates (they are a pain and they break) and as of now simply put the motor in and out of gear to control the speed. Soon I will either invest in an 8hp kicker to troll, or I will upgrade to a 24 volt troll motor with enough thrust that I can troll at that speed without running at full bore and draining the battery. Good luck.

Several suggestions other than the classic suspending rogue in TR shad and clown: http://www.outdoorproshop.com/XCalibur-Xt3...twitch-bait.htm http://www.outdoorproshop.com/XCalibur-Xs4...-stick-bait.htm Look at pearl shad, pearl melon, and ghost.

I own the hot spots maps - east and west. I also own the Navionics Gold hot spots chip for the gps. Yes, I use them, but not so much for the actual spots or methods marked. I use them to look for breaks which might have breaks. An example: On the folding map the flat where Roaring River flows into the White is marked with a suggestion for crawdad crankbaits in the mornings. But if you look you'll see that flat has a long inside bend falloff into the channel. When you run the sonar over it you find the flat has has bumps, holes, and other left overs from when it was farm land with cow trails. Depending on the time of year, that year's water depth, and some variables I haven't figured out, I've caught walleye and spotted bass all over that flat - but rarely where the marking exists and very infrequently on crawdad crankbaits. TFW, you will love learning the Rock; except, of course, when you hate it. Better than a map: hire Bill, Bill, or Don for a half day mapping trip over each of the seasons - pre, spawn, post, drop, and fall. Or you could do it the dumb way I have by trying to fish every square inch. Good luck.

Go to the recipes. Look up fishburger. Try it with salmon and walleye!

While I have fished Pline mono (strong, stiff, thick), I have not fished their fluoro. Neither have I tried the Maxx, although I've read many good comments from others. I also note Berkley has created a new fluoro designed to remedy the complaints with Vanish. I haven't tried it. Perhaps their new formula is an improvement. The last couple of years BP and Cabelas have had specials on the Yozuri Hybrid which made it very cheap compared to other lines. The fluoro coating makes the mono core very UV resistant and the line doesn't seem to "wear out" on the reel. The mono core means it holds a good knot. It is not as limp as XL, but the line diameter compares favorably and it is more abrasion resistant. I have read experts who say all fishing lines are some sort of balance of properties. I like cheap being one of those properties in the balance so I have bulk spools of the Hybrid to use up.

sorry. wrong forum. I'll repost where it belongs. rps

Read this: http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbon2.html In this and the previous article, testing showed fluorocarbon did not do what it claimed and could not be tied in a knot with strength equaling monofilament. Read further in their line reviews and you find Maxima, Trilene XL, Yozuri Hybrid, and lines by Sunline tested well. Vanish and Sensation were not well regarded. I have fished Maxima, Trilene XL, and Yozuri Hybrid. I have also fished Tectan, Vanish, Sensation, Stren, and many others except for Sunline. To measure the amount requires thousands of yards. I say yes to Maxima, Trilene XL, and Yozuri Hybrid. I do not endorse others. The size depends upon many variables and cannot be answered with a single size. My start points are 10 pound test for the lakes and 4 pound test for the rivers and streams. Good luck all. rps

From all of us here at the upper end of TR to all of you in the hills, on the shores, or wishing you were - Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukkah, Best Wishes for your New Year, and if I knew an appropriate greeting for the rest, I would include it. rps

We bought a slightly smaller Samsung at the end of summer. The research I did told me the tech types favored the Samsung, Sony, and Sharp sets. I must admit the Visio's were attractively priced, but the prices on the big three were softening by August and by now I am sure you can haggle even in a Sears. I would pick a price range, look at the sets during action sequences, and buy the one that looks best to you in your price range.

Cabelas makes a cheap knockoff of the reef runner. Try this link: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/template...&hasJS=true The largest TR largemouth I ever caught, and second largest ever, came while trolling for walleye - 8.5 pounds. I took it out of tree tops on the bluff where Kings River flows into the White River. rps

What powerdive said = good stuff. The hellbenders and hotntots will work very well also. I use a lot of Storm baits and Cabelas knockoff of the reef runner because you can buy these baits cheap during sales. I am a devoted long liner, no downriggers. Of course, I am fond of a bounce the bait through the tree tops pattern. That would not agree with down riggers. I use 10 pound Power Pro and linecounter reels. Unlike Powerdive, I do not use a rod holder. I keep one line out and keep the rod in my hand. That works better on the tree top pattern. My last ingredient is a Trollers Bible that I use to know how deep my bait will travel with X feet of line out. Good luck.

TFW The point @ Campbell's Point is an area where I have taken several nice walleye. Also try the bluff with trees across from Big M. Usually in June and July the walleye will hold near the thermocline. Good luck.

Dutch - In the movie "My Blue Heaven," the Steve Martin character remonstrates with some hit men who interrupt one of his anecdotes. I like to tell anecdotes. Forgive me a short one about mole. I've mentioned before on this forum that I was born in El Paso and raised weird. One of the results is a view of Mexican cooking at odds with most of the United States. El Cafe Centro in Juarez did not serve Gorditas, Chalupas, or Fire Sauce. Chicken with rice is a spicy, but not hot dish. People are entitled to disagree with my tastes, but fried food that burns your tongue is not Mexican food. Mole comes as close as anything to being the definition of Mexican food. When made well, the sauce has so many levels and nuances of flavor you can get lost trying to sort them. The best, all time mole I have ever eaten was a surprise. When the children were young, my wife and I made the obilgatory Disneyworld trip. National Lampoon did not film the trip, but it had almost all the drama and almost all the insanity as Chevy Chase's epic trip to Wally World. On the last day, we booked a spot at the Mexican restaurant for lunch, the big meal of the day. As soon as we walked in, it smelled right. No metallic canned bean smell. No stale chips. I ordered a pork flank in a mole. It was beyond description. On reflection, I should be ashamed of how much I ate. I am sure a turkey in mole would be exquisite.

PC - Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the compliment. BRBF - Your menu also sounds wonderful. I am only feeding a sister, her husband, a niece, her husband and daughter, a family friend, and she who counts the most (9 counting me). BTW, when I brine, I use sorghum molasses and pickling salt. Each dissolve well in cold water and the brown water is the perfect sweet and salty.

timsfly Drove through the park today and past your place on the way to Cassville. It was beautiful, but the park was nearly empty - must seem like a private preserve this time of year?

The addition of jelly is a wonderful idea. An old home entertainer trick is to cook little smokies or sausage balls in a mixture of 1/2 grape jelly and 1/2 Heinz chili sauce. I just hadn't thought of using the jelly in chili.

I just made my batch of queso for this holiday. It reminded me I had posted the formula here under the thread Super Bowl recipes. I thought I would revive that thread because nothing - not cranberry jelly, not red wine gravy, not the greatest new thing from "Chez Trendy" restaraunt - can match queso with turkey dressing. Then I decided to start this thread. This year I am spatchcocking the turkey. For those of you with dirty minds, that means I am removing its backbone and butterflying the bird. A spatchcocked 14 pound turkey cooks in under two hours. More time for friends and family. I will serve with piebald smash potatoes (white and sweet roasted, then smashed with sour cream), creamed leeks, herb dressing, Irish whiskey gravy, queso, butter sauted broccoli with mushrooms, my mother's avacado/citrus fruit salad with sweet and sour onion dressing, and two pies - fudge and sweet potato. Write what you are having or what you believe would be the perfect Thanksgiving meal. It will be interesting to read all the responses. Have a great Thanksgiving.

It was a wonderful day to be on the lake! I saw the most magnificent Bald Eagle cruising over the lake. He or she was looking for fish too. There was one other boat out. I hope both the bird and the other boat found what I could not.

Went out at noon today. First time out in three weeks? maybe four? I had read the recent reports and went armed with spinner bait and wart. I fished windy chunk rock banks with them. I also took them to the back end of Haddock and Leatherwood Creeks. The water temp was 49.4 (back end of creeks) to 51.8 (main lake). Balls of small shad were scattered in the back end of Haddock Creek but not Leatherwood. Water color was dingy green - maybe two feet of visibility. I can't tell you what or where they were biting.

I owned a Supreme 2000 for several years and fished it here at the upper end of Table Rock. I had a 15hp Merc on it with front end troll motor, sonars, etc. It was excellent for both the river above me and the lake below me. The only problem, and the reason I sold it, was the other boats. The cruisers and the wake boats rocked it frequently and put water in it twice. As long as you won't be using it where 30 foot boats or drunk skiers are common, go for it.

I too learned the hard way about the rope. Since that time, I have given up on pedal controlled motors. I stand to fish. My lean seat is only there for safety when someone wakes me. Using a foot pedal while standing always felt awkward to me. I switched out for a hand control. My direction control is more precise and I feel safer.