rps

Those trips to yourselves are dangerous. Next thing you know and you'll be talking to each other. I mean really talking like you forget how to do while raising kids, working, and paying bills. Then before you know it, you go crazy like we did and quit your jobs and move to the lakes to find different jobs for less money. Five years now and we still think it was a good idea. Maybe next year we'll tell the kids where we are. ;-)

What a difference a day makes. I went out at nearly the same time Monday morning. Just in case, I went upriver instead of down and fished above Beaver. I did not see a pleasure boater or jet ski until 9:00. Even then, the numbers were way down from Monday. Caught three largemouth on topwater icluding one 16.5 inch fish. When I switched to walleye fishing I caught two before 10:00 AM when I came in. Unfortunately, both were a bit short. I would have stayed out longer but I have a paper due and a final coming up in the course I am taking this summer. Good luck all. Post reports so I know what is going on when I get a chance to fish again.

When it comes to fishing, the only thing I will pretend to be good at is the eating part. Before I moved over here from Oklahoma, I fished TR and BS fairly often. But always Spring and Fall. Post spawn until leaf change embarrassed me the first two years. I learned that while the sun is up you fish the thermocline, go upriver until it turns color, or take a nap. You may have noticed, most of my posts start "went out early this morning..." Some things a power fisherman might feel comfortable to try: 1. Many of the points near where the Kings River enters the lake are long, long fingers that break into the channel eventually. Graph the edges of these to find concentrations of bait fish. Fish under the bait fish jigging a spoon or hopping a fluke on a quarter ounce road runner head. 2. Watermelon red lizards carolina rigged and dragged at the deep tree line around the island. 3. My largest TR bass came out of the tree tops on the bluff where the Kings River ends. Unless you troll a crank, vertical spoons and drop shotting are the way to fish these. 4. My after dark standby is a black twin spin with black pig fished either slow rolled through and over timber or pulled and dropped down a sloped bank. Each of the above has worked for me at one time or another in your part of the lake during the summer. Another thing to try: Message SKMO. He seems to know a huge amount about that area and seems willing to share.

I guess I wasn't thinking well. I got up this morning and went out. I figured I would try some new spots for the topwater then scoot back home when the jet skis came out. I fished the rip rap and the bluff ends near the Eagle Rock bridge. I was on the water less than an hour when the first jet ski went by at 6:30. I did manage to catch three, all spotted. The largest was one of those TR footballs - 14.5 inches long and nearly as wide. I may go out tomorrow. That kid on the jet ski did not look like he was from here.

Bill Babler and Don House contribute here all the time. In case they are too shy to promote themselves, I will. If they are booked I am sure they can put you in touch with a good substitute.

Since Spring I've noted the posts that arite of red fins. After Don House contributed to Bill's recent post, Table Rock Report - Summer Blues, I went to the archives and looked up red fin. Interesting stuff. If you have read any of my posts, you realize I am a commited Spook fan. My left thumb tendonitis speaks eloquently to how much I love the Spook. However, I realize that some days the fish do not share my preference. I regularly fish a Chug Bug and throw buzz baits. However, I have never "waked" a red fin. I've fished the floating Rapala and Bagley minnow as a twitch bait topwaters and shallow runners, but not as a wake baits. Just now I used Bass Pro points to order a Bomber Long A, a Storm Minnowstick, and a Cordell Redfin, all in the jointed models. I chose Smoky Joe, silver/black, and silver/blue colors. I figured I would fiddle with each to come up with an inexpensive bait I could wake. So here is where my request for advice/instruction/suggestions comes into play. I read that some people add weight to the tail of the first section and floats to the front. I saw Don's melted bill trick. I am sure others do different things. Just tell me how you do it, and I will try things until I find a way that works for me. When I do, I will post what I learned. As you share, be as specific as you can because I haven't seen a modified bait. For example, I know about suspend dots, but where do you buy what brand of float strips and where do you put them on the lure? Another example - I often change out hooks on baits. Too few of the companies use true quality trebles. Do you suggest round bend or EWG? Regular or 2X? Am I correct that like the Spook, retrieves may vary from steady to stop/start to twich/pause/reel? I imagine you do not use flourocarbon for this bait as it sinks, but would it be easier to keep the line out of the water if you used superline? Clue me in here people. Talk to me like I'm interested but ignorant because I am.

Went out this morning to celebrate the crowds being gone. Fished Roaring River branch with the Spook, early until 8:00. Six fish with two nice legal LM, 18 and 20 inches. They went back in the lake after measuring. Around 8:00 the small bass were chopping shad on the flats. I tried to fish under the uproar with a fluke on a 1/4 ounce roadrunner head, but couldn't find or coax a large fish to bite me. Switched over to the trolling I used last Friday. I longlined Deep Little Rippers on 10# superline down to 24'. Nothing. Then I noticed the bait fish were holding shallower than last Friday. I shortened my string to make the bait run 20'. Wound up with one 20" walleye, one 14" crappie, one nice white bass I put back, and four dink bass. All the fish were suspended in or near tree tops and brush in water 25 to 40 feet deep. Some days TR gives you a chance to feel as if you know something. Now I must wait to find out what the payback will be.

There are several different bank fishing places at Holiday Island, all near the marina and each has parking within 20 yards. They don't cost a thing. The marina does not carry bait so bring your own if you bait fish. Good luck.

I first visited this area in the mid 50's. My family vacationed two summers at a place called Devils Pool Guest Ranch. Go inside Big Cedar and look at the old photos. You will see what the place was like because they are one and the same. I fished Bull Shoals and Table Rock with my Dad in the 60's. Dad was very fond of the Lead Hill area. After we married, my wife and I visited over here frequently. Branson before the retired Hollywood star invasion, Gastons, Sportsmans, and Eureka Springs were all vacation destinations for us. After the girls were off to college, she and I went crazy (around 2000)decided to move away from the city (Tulsa). Over here was high on our list of alternatives. After the house sold (nearly 18 months on the market) we made the move in 2002 and radically changed jobs at the same time. Sorry, the long preface is by way of saying I completely understand and agree with Cardiac about moving away from the city. On the other hand, since we moved here we've met couples that later moved back to the city. All had good reasons: family, medical, job, boredom. I am frequently reminded by such occurences that different folks are just that ... different. I'm rather glad, too. I don't think I'd enjoy a world full of cranky, grey haired men like me. I hope you both receive what you want.

Went out at 5:15 this morning. I figured I get a fish in before the weekend. I let the Spook down. I must have been throwing in the wrong places because nothing wanted it. Nothing. I had two short strikes from what may have been medium size perch. Zip. The this really strange thing happened. A great big yellow ball peeked over the mountain. It nearly put my eyes out. I read about something like that once. I think they call it a sun. So there I am on the water. The sun is out for the first time in days. It's barely 7:30 A.M. and here comes the first jet ski. I was totally bummed. I figured I try to find a few fish deeper. An hour later I landed a ten inch largemeouth. One stinking short fish from 5:15 to 8:30. I changed tactics again. I tied on my trolling bait and went trolling. I figured I could work my way back to the marina. Almost immediately I started catching fish. Small fish, but fish. I kept at it for a while. Finally, a nice crappie invited himself into the boat. Then an undersize walleye, then a spotted bass. After about an hour a good fish hit. I never saw it. The fish and the bait hung in the trees. When I used the plug knocker, I got the bait but not the fish. I didn't come in until almost 2:00. Attached, I hope, is a picture of what I kept. The crappie are 12", the small walleye is 18", the largest walleye was 22". The magic depth was 24' in and near flooded timber standing in 30-45 feet of water. What started out awful turned into tomorrow evening's dinner for guests. BTW, by 10:30, the lake was so full of ski boats, pontoons, and jetskis my boat was rocking and pitching like I was in the ocean. Did the whole world take Friday off to go to the lake? Sorry about that. I was trying to do the attachment and I obviously did something not quite right.

I noticed the fish at the same depth. Wed., Sat., and today I marked many many fish in the 22 - 25 foot range here up river. Some over flats, even more on flats edges. Bait fish were holding a foot or two shallower. Thermocline must have really solidified. All three days were hard for the morning topwater bite, although I did manage to spook a nice 20" LM this morning. She came off a flat point, but within 40 feet of a channel edge. The rest of the time, I trolled the thermocline, especially in tree tops. Several walleye, three of which were legal. A number of spotted bass as well, two were legal. Not great days, but worth going out.

Like I said when writing about Steve the first time. He is sharper than many assume. He had his degree before he went to work for the state. Let me tell a short story. I love family stories. Some years ago, Steve got very sick. Finally someone took him to the emergency room. Once there they diagnosed him as having a ruptured appendix. Cut him open. Then the hard part started. Over the years, all the duck shot had gathered in his appendix. When it burst, it released all that lead shot into the cavity. They had to xray him several times before they closed him up to make sure they had all the pellets. The morale to the story is you really have to have careful to spit out the shot when you eat duck. I don't really care how true the story is. It just has a certain "right" to it. rps

Sorry all. Brain damage has set in. Steve is the ranger. Joe is his brother that lives in Paris. (France not Texas) Pat and Bob, the parents, live in Searcy proper. Kind of embarassing when you mess up your cousin's name.

RR: Be sure you look up and meet my cousin, Joe Crump. He is the Fish and Game ranger for White County. He lives just outside Searcy. Good guy. Avid hunter so he spends vacation down at Stuttgart or calling turkeys. Before he became afflicted, he was a hardcore fisherman. Now his time on the water is job related. He always knows what's happening on Greers Ferry and the Little Red. When you meet him, don't be fooled by the aw shucks hillbilly routine. He fits in well in rural Arkansas, but he's actually sharper than most folks you will meet. BTW, find and enjoy the cajun place in Bald Knob. Great stuff there. Can't remember the name though. Good luck with the new job. rps

I know exactly what you mean. When I first moved to TR I owned a Supreme river boat. Alan, the marina operator, called it a bowling alley with an outboard motor. It was a good boat. Thrifty, easy to fish from with a good standing deck. Easy to troll with and surprisingly fast with a 15HP. Two summers ago I was swamped by other boats - twice. River boats are not positive floatation ... they're not any kind of floatation. Ever watched anyone bail really fast? I started looking and wound up with an 18 foot Xpress center console. Now, unless I do something really dumb, I stay safe and dry.

Think on this alternative if you're bringing a boat. Rent a condo or vacation house at Holiday Island. The marina has a good ramp, the complex has a clubhouse with pool, it's about 15 minutes into downtown Eureka Springs, and the Missouri line is about 600 yards from the marina. The line is well marked and you can stay legal quite easily. Visit Eiler Real Estate on the web. His wife brokers lots of the rentals around here. Have a great trip.

I can understand those who keep all fish. Not respect, but understand. It's tied up with that "Me Tarzan - Mighty hunter" syndrome. I understand and grudgingly respect those who follow game laws and keep what's legal. If they sometimes (rarely) let food freezer burn, that's ok. They followed the law and it is their food. Neither of these apply to the most depressing game incident I ever saw. I was sitting a small school of large Brown Trout in Sportsmans Hole below the Bull Shoals dam about five years ago. (I spent two days on that school before one of the small ones ate my sculpin. He weighed 9 pounds and swam away healthy. He wasn't even gut hooked.) I watched two young men catch and release 60, 70, 80? rainbows using power bait. The fish were very silver (recent stocking) and anywhere from 9 to 12 inches long. When one or the other caught one, they grabbed the slippery devils around the middle or through the gills. It's a wonder their little eyes didn't pop out when they squeezed. Then they carefully dug their hook out of every fish and tossed the fish back in. Catch and release at its finest. When they finally grew tired and motored on, the bottom was covered with dead trout. (No wonder the Browns were not hungry.) I do not agree with men who lobby for reservation of the finest areas of a stream or river for the exclusive use of single barbless hook artificial only fishermen. That is elitist and provides a country club for a very few at the taxpayers expense. However, that day on the White almost converted me into a raging Trout Unlimited member. Catch and release, done improperly, makes turtle food. Correctly done, it helps preserve fish populations. Yes, even when you practice careful catch and release, a certain number of fish die. Not every lure or fly, even if barbless, avoids the gills or overstressing the fish. However, the number is very small. Unfortunately, states can require licenses and set limits, but they can't make people intelligent, reasonable, or knowledgeable. If they could, the lakes and rivers would be a lot less crowded. There. The rant is over. On the topic of eating bass, allow me to put on one of my other hats, the tocque. Anything, even 2 X 4's, would taste good with seasoned cornmeal on it if it were cooked in fat that had a touch of bacon grease. It is when you cook the fish other ways that you can tell the difference. Bass has an odd flavor to me. Similar to frog. I ate it for years, fried as above. Now that I fry less, I have become more choosy. I don't keep bass. I don't keep Browns (it's a principal thing) or stocker rainbows. I rarely keep White bass, and when I do, I ruthlessly cut out the red streak in the fillets before I cook them. Keeper crappie and walleye go home with me. I fix those as soon as possible. I haven't frozen a fish in years. These are my personal choices, however. Interesting thought: If everyone would just agree with me, or with Bill, this discussion would never have happened.

I was on the water at 5:15 this morning. I fished the sandy points near Fletchers, the mouth of Jolms Branch, the mouth of Stubblefield Branch, and the shaded point opposite Sawmill Hollow before 8:00. Caught seven Spook fish that included three keepers. About 8:00 the spotted bass chased some shad to the top in the main channel. I put on a small popper and had a blast for 20 or 30 minutes. I just wish they had been larger. I caugtht another five and they were all between 10 and 12 inches. Then I went trolling for walleye. Caught two legal males (18.5 and 20 inches) that were suspended at 25 feet in tree tops in 40 feet of water. Found these on the steep bank opposite Fletchers. Life is good. rps

Bill: I use parts of "A River Runs Through It" in my classes to teach voice, tone, and point of view to 7th and 8th graders. I praise the writing and the movie for the deep personal connection between the writer and the reader. I cannot read the passage about rivers and haunting aloud without crying On the other hand, my friends and I have been fishing the White River for trout of extraordinary size for more than 30 years. My father used to use a guide named Woods for his trips. I think he stopped guiding and started doing something else. In your post, you kindly and nicely are trying to make a point that standing and casting in the middle of the boat channel isn't cool. Do not believe you can teach or show the crowd. Instead use the criteria my friends and I use. Ask once, nicely. If they answer with a sincere question, stop and answer it in detail. If they don't, run their butt over. They would do the same to you and actually understand that response. rps

I've said it before. I'll say it again. We need to spray where they breed.

Good report. Your information is consistent with what I found up river on Friday. Once the sun was up, I marked fish as shallow as 23 feet, but charted greater numbers and larger hooks a little deeper.

I fished Friday morning and posted a report Friday afternoon. Yesterday when I checked the forum, some sort of database error appeared. I checked again periodically during the day and again earlier this morning. Same results. Now the forum is back up, but it looks like my post disappeared. Oh no! Did my post break it? Seriously, when I couldn't log on, I realized I missed finding out who was catching or not. Bottom line - I guess I should say thank you to everyone that posts and thankyou to Lilley and others for setting this up.

What a compliment. Thanks. McManus is a great and very funny writer. I'm just a word nerd living a life of one catastrophe after another.

If you hold either an Arkansas or a Missouri license, you can add a border lakes permit for ten dollars. The permit protects you on Table Rock and Bull Shoals in the event you are on the "wrong" side of the line from your license.

Went out with a friend in the Eagle Rock area on Sunday. Fished from fog until ski doo. The early morning bite at his spots was interesting. I had at least twelve blow ups on my Spook. Half the time they missed. About half the time they took it well enough for me to strike and feel resistance. Then they were gone. I know the hooks were sharp. One set was brand new (I had to replace the Gamakatsu 2X #2 roundbend hooks that were taken apart to unhook me - see How was your fishing trip? below) and the other I had just sharpened. I finally landed an almost legal fish. The next bite after that connected and it felt decent, though not huge, then it was gone - with my bait. We waited for a while to see if the bait floated up. No joy. Hope the fish gets it loose before it kills him. If any of you find a silver black regular Spook with a red nail polish painted nose, really good hooks, and a white and red feathered tail, let me know. I had gotten rather attached to that bait. (Sorry, I didn't mean to pun.) The fish were in and near the flooded bushes on the long sandy gravel points near Panther and Owl Creeks. Oddly, we found no action at the transitions from bluff to chunk near channel swings. We tried those areas too.