Fisherdan

I will guess 7.84. Dan

Great Job Don, I can't wait to get down there next week and do some bass fishing with you. The weather looks pretty good right now. Dan

Hello, I will be in the tourny also, Red/silver Z518Ranger, with a talon on the back. I am also staying at big Cedar. Hope to see you all there. Dan

How do you know if you have registered in time to receive a rod. My partner and I registered on Dec. 26th, but did not get a confirmation about the rod. If you only have 35 now, we should get one. Dan

I figured out how to post a few more pictures. Fisherdan

These are the only pictures I could get to load. Thank you for the help Lilly. Fisherdan

I don't post very often, but some posts really get my goat. I live in a suburb of Chicago, and come to Table Rock Lake a couple times a year. Usually once in the spring and then again in the summer. I have been coming down to your beautiful lake for about eight years now. I stay in the Long Creek area near the Rt. 86 bridge. Please do not let a few goof balls taint this forum. I read it year round, and the information gained on this forum is the best I have seen on any fishing forum. I greatly appreciate all the free information I get here. I have taken a guided trip every time I have come down. I know I can catch fish there now without a guide, but I like to learn as much as I can. The guides are like teachers, and the ones I have gone out with work very hard. I have been out in freezing rain, 100 degree heat, pouring rain, they don't complain, if I want to fish they make sure I have the best experience I can and learn as much as I can. You are paying for knowledge, knowledge you could never have, without their experience of being on the water 250 days a year. I have never had a guide tell me don't fish his spots the rest of the week, and in fact, I have had them say if you see me, don't be afraid to come on in. I might stop by and say hello, but I would not fish where they are fishing with other clients. I found a great computer program called Navionics Hotmaps Explorer. The program cost only 19.99, and allows you to look at the lake and mark way points on your map and download that to your graph. I had a blast doing this and had thirty spots marked within 5 miles of the resort I was staying at to try when I got there. I did not mark any spots I had fished with guides in the past. Throughout the week, I caught over 100 bass and about 20 keepers off these spots, This forum gave me the info I needed before I even got to the lake. My best spot yielded 45 bass, 5 catfish, 3 walleye and some big bluegills, (12 keeper bass) throughout the week, all on night crawlers. I did kind of wear the spot out, but the kids were having a lot of fun. Broken 20 year old St. Croix Legend series rod, (kids), I don't know what I was thinking letting them use it, Night crawlers $125, Lost flourocarbon line $50, lost preserver, $25, Split shots and hooks $10, Finding that spot on my own, priceless. By the way, I only caught fish on six of the spots I marked, I fished them all, but it was very gratifying to do it. I want to tell a short story, and then I will go back to just reading this forum. I was down in July, and called my guide the day I got down there, Saturday. He told me that the fishing in the area of the lake I was staying was very good, and we would surely catch fish, but he remembered I like to catch fish on a jig. He told me with all the spots I know in my area of the lake, I would not have any problem catching fish during the week. he suggested we go jig fishing further up one of the rivers, saying you can learn another part of the lake. I can't tell you how happy I was he made the suggestion. He knows I would have been happy catching drop shot fish, but he wanted to enhance my experience. My son and I had a great day out with him, I will attach some pictures. Anyway I have great respect for the guides who post here on the forum, who give their valued information for free. Thanks to all of you and don't let simple minded people drag you down. I could not get the pictures to load, any help would be appreciated. Good Fishing Fisherdan

As Always you guys are great, and thanks for the info, I will be down the 18th, of July and will be fishing all week. Your reports always help me catch fish. Last summer I was lucky enough to get on that jig bite on the points after Capt. Don put me on em, we had a great day with him. My son and I caught em all week. From the reports, seems like the drop shot will be the pattern this year. I get out real early, and always keep a top-water lure tied on. Good Fishin, hope to see you on the water. Dan

Can someone comment on how the dam being open or the generators being on affect the fishing on the Rock. My guess, it positions the fish on the points. I never read anything about this in the big publications, but it must be a factor. I just thought this would be an interesting topic. Thanks and good fishing Dan

Hello all, I would like to chime in here. I must say I absolutely love your lake. I have now been coming down for seven years, once in April, once in July. At home in Chicagoland, I am an avid angler. I envy you guys, and want to compliment you as well. There is not a better forum on fishing anywhere. The guides that contribute here deserve all the respect in the world. They are genuine and give their valuable information up for free. From the guides mentioned here, my son and I have been out with Don House twice, and I would highly recommend his services. Every trip down, I have hired a guide. I belong to the Wilderness Club at Big Cedar, and usually hire a guide through them. My recent trips have been with Tim Paige who is great, most recently in April. We had a great day, and I learned a little more about the lake. I hire a guide to do just that learn more about the lake, but there is more than that, they put you on the fish, depth, method, structure, shoreline etc. My time is valuable, when I am at home I don't mind experimenting, figuring out a pattern, etc. but when I come down there I want to catch fish, and don't want to spend several days figuring out a pattern. Guides are a great resource for us, and this forum is great, I read it year round, even though I can only fish your lake a couple of weeks a year. I would like to meet some of you guys, on one of my trips, I am sure I have seen you on the water. Well good luck to all and catch and release as many as you can. Dan

I just listened to the podcast, it was a great seminar with a ton of information. I love your forum, I have been watching it for a couple of years. I have posted a couple of times, but I read it almost every day. I fish Tablerock Lake a couple times a year, for a week at a time. I always hire a guide, and have learned the lake and the techniques to use, to catch fish consistently. I believe a good fisherman could fish your lake and catch fish, but tablerock definitely fishes differently than most lakes, and I consider my investment into the guide service as being as important as putting gas in my boat. I have been out with numerous guides, some good and some great. I have two trips scheduled this year with Tim Paige, and have gone out with Capt. Don a couple of times. I have really been educated by these two dedicated guides. I will be down the 18th of April, and then again in July. Bill's posts are the best instruction on any fishing forum I have seen. I am always amazed at how freely all the members on this site give up their hard earned information. This fact truly emphasizes why I can't wait to get back down to the lake every year. My time spent on your lake, over the past six years has created memories, my sons and I will never forget, most of them related to great fishing and family fun. good luck with the frenzy this week, but i will be watching intently to soak up any tidbit of information I can get. I have included a picture of my son Joey with jig fish last April, he is hooked. Sorry for the long post, but Bill inspired me. Thanks for a great resource Dan

Bill all fish were released alive, I have a huge live well, in fact two of them, musky edition fish-hawk 1850. I had eight other keepers that day that were released immediately, I wanted to show off those fish at the dock and get a nice picture, then they went right back in the lake, only about a mile from where I caught them. Bobby at big Cedar took the pictures. I could not stand killing those bass. I have two sons that love to fish, I would not want them to not have the chance to catch them, or hurt this great fishery. I release everything I catch, with the exception of catfish. I do love to eat catfish. I see the guides release fish at the dock all the time, did not think it would hurt them. Dan

My Son and I fish together all the time, here is a shot from last summer on the Rock. Dan

Here are those pictures I Promised. Dan

Great post Bill, brought back memories of last year, when i used the fish doctor and split shot within sight of your place to catch big numbers and big fish (smallies) April 14 - 20. April 14 it was 36 degree outside and water temps in the mid 40's. The weather changed, and got warm and the fishing got better every day. I did not want to leave. I have been down in April three times, last year being the best fishing trip I have ever had. The first day i fished with Tim Paige, and had a great day for the weather, not a lot of fish, but I learned a lot about where I should be fishing that time of year. besides the smallies, we caught two blacks in the five pound range in the back of coves(same bait). I will try to post some pictures. The largest smallmouth was just over 19" and weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces. I will be back on April 5th this year and hoping for good weather. It is a pleasure to have a good quality site to get info. I always go out with a guide when I get there. This year I am going to try to book Don House, so he can show me how to use my new SI Humminbird. Can't wait. Good fishin to all!!!!!! Dan