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

Thanks for the response, I will have one soon. good fishin Dan

Hi Capt. Don, i went on a guide trip with you April of 06, and you had just received your SI huninbird. I was thinking of getting one. It was new technology then, but I don't see any other companies besides Fortuno that have them. Fortuno's is very high priced. I am looking at the 997SIcombo NVB. Any information would be a big help. By the way you may remember me and my son, brutally cold day , your Grant rod got caught on the trollin motor prop and went to the briney deep , thank goodness it was not me or my son that dropped it. I felt terrible it happened . You still made a great day out of it . Thanks Dan

Thanks for the replies guys, I will be there next weekend. I am ready to go now. This is a great forum, I have been coming down there from chicago for 5-6 years and never had a good resource. Fishing reports seemed to be to far apart. The reports that were there were very helpful. If anyone has any info on where to get up to date reports please let me know. It looks like I am going to get my best info right here. Good Fishin Thanks Dan

With the predicted cold front coming in, will the fish pull back to the main lake points, go deep, stage on secondary points, or with the recent warm weather and full moon, are the bass on the spawn. How much will the cold night time temperatures drop the water temp, and will the fish turn off. Will the afternoons be better after the sun warms the water. I am coming down in about a week, and was discouraged to see the cold fronts coming. I am sorry but every time I come in the spring, there seems to be a cold front. I feel like it's my fault, so forgive me. BB if I may, I really like your posts, and it's good to vent occassionally. I work in the corrections field, and I have plenty of bad days, I love fishing and not seeing any other boats. My vacation time and fishing means alot to me, and I don't want to spend my time in conflict. My dad who instilled in me my love of fishing, gave me some great advice once when I was a kid. I asked if we could move closer to another boat that was catching fish. He told me, the fish are all over the lake and it was rude to go near that boat. Well good luck to all, and I hope the fish don't get lock jaw. Don't judge your success on the lake by the size of your bag at the end of the day, but by the enjoyment you have had, and the freindship you have shared. Good Fishin

Hi Bill, Sorry I did not mean to create a conflict of intrest for you, I understand what you are saying. I just enjoy the info you provide. Thanks Dan

Hi Bill, Thanks for the info on Lyle, my son and I really enjoyed going out with him. I met Tim Paige in July, at the Big Cedar Marina. He came in with some great fish. I went out with Tim Sainato and had a good time. In the Spring I went out with Don House, the weather was terrible cold, and rainy. We still managed some fish and I learned about several new areas of the lake. I really don't like fishing for bedding bass, but I like trying to get em while they are moving up with Crankbaits, and then dragging plastics afterwards. Lyle taught me about the Mojo rig. Do you fish the Big Cedar area? if not I will definately try to book Tim Paige or Buster Loving for my trip in July. I will call early. I have already booked a guide for April, from the marina. He has always been great with giving reliable info and I wanted to go out with him. Thanks for the info, I really enjoy having somewhere to look for info on the rock. I have to tell you a funny story about Lyle, the first time my son and I went out with him, it was april, and he pushed his boat out of the slip at B.C., and put the trolling motor in the water, went to the last dock and told us to start casting. My 11 year old son and I looked at each other in amazment, as we could have actually stepped into our own boat. Needless to say we hammered em in the next 30 or so minutes until the sun started coming up. Lessons learned. Good Fishin!!!! Dan

Hey willow, I have hired guides from the marina and have scheduled a trip with one that actually works at the marina for this trip, he is always helpful and I have seen him come in with some great fish. with the price they now charge for a trip, which I think is fair, you really want to get your money's worth. I am going back in July and will probably try to book Bill Babler after seeing how he responds on this forum. I have really enjoyed his postings and it's great to get a good report before you get there. I am worried the bite is going to explode, in the next few days, and then the spawn will take place. Hopefully two weeks won't make too much of a difference, but if the water temp drops drastically, due to cold fronts, the fishing can get tough. I was at Big Cedar last year this exact week and the water temps were only in the high 40's and by the afternoon was getting up to 54-55. We were catching fish on crankbaits during low light times early and late in the day. When I went back in July, I could not believe the fish that were caught in the second and third week of april. It looks like I have missed the sweet spot for the third year in a row. Nevertheless, I love fishing this lake and thats why they call it fishing not catching. I always like the challenge. All those fish back in those creeks and coves, some of them have to be coming in to spawn, starting to feed after the spawn, or just coming in to spawn. (Confidence)Good Fishin Dan P.S. I did go out with the same guide on three trips and he was a marina guide. He was great and taught me alot about the lake. His name was lyle, but I did not see him last year.

Hey Willow, I stay at Big Cedar a couple times a year. I will be there April 15 for a week. There is a lot of good fishing around that area. My best days last spring came off the point just before you hit the main lake from the marina. I always take a guide out at least half a day, to learn more about fishing the lake. I have been going there for five years, and the money spent on guides has more than paid for itself in enjoyment and being able to locate fish on my own. As I have read in articles on this site, the fish are in different stages, in different parts of the lake, but when you locate them, you deffinately duplicate the pattern to catch more in the same area. I have hired guides off the internet, that have been good, I have hired guides at big cedar that have been good, and I have also hired a few guides early on that were not so good. I judge the time I spend with a guide by what I learn, not how many fish I catch. I watch their electronics, their techniques, boat positioning. The thing I believe that has helped me catch fish the most at Tablerock besides the guides, is using lighter line than I was used to. Even with crankbaits like wiggle warts, I am not afraid to use 8# flourocarbon. Make sure you tell the guide what you want to do, You don't want a guide to take you out and catch white bass, if you wanted to learn about smallmouth or largemouth. Good Luck and Good Fishin. Dan

Hello, I am a new member Dan