SKMO

My first response would be that if you are in a 10' boat you had better be very selective about where you launch and very careful on the water. You can run into problems from wind, boat wakes, and literally getting run over. Seriously. One place you might consider putting in at is Big Bay Campground which is real close to Campbell Point. You will see the sign for Big Bay recreation area about halfway between the Stone/Barry county line sign and the convenience store on YY hwy. You can launch the smaller boat there, and Big Bay has good fishing for about everything. Another advantage is that you are more or less sheltered from W or S winds if you launch here and stay toward the bank.

You can see a post I did about this at : http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=982 It will be early in '07 before it is available. It is kind of confusing to me exactly what it will offer and what units it will work on without software upgrades to the depthfinder. You can call Navionics and actually talk to a live person and ask questions, let me know if you understand the answer.

With a canoe (or any cartopper/bed of truck craft) you can put in right AT the bridge! East bank of river south side of bridge. You will launch under the bridge. Low slung cars may have problems getting down the lane to underneath the bridge, kind of rough. Once you are under there is it very sandy and possible to get stuck so B careful iffun you do not have 4WD. Might be some real good fishing up there cause few people have been upstream of bridge in boat for quite a while. Pay ramp is about 3 miles downstream/downlake from bridge at Hickory Hollow resort. Next put in UPstream is at Romp Hole Access in Arkansas, about 4 miles from 86 bridge. (You cross over into AR about 1 3/4 mile up from 86.) There is actually another access point you could use w/canoe about 1.5 miles down from the bridge called Dollar Hole. If you want more explicit instructions on how to get to Romp Hole, Dollar Hole or Hickory Hollow let me know, don't want to do the typing if you are not interested in these places.

Problem is that with the lake almost 11 feet low there are some rocks and trees presenting hazards that are usually not a problem this time of year. The main lake channels are generally OK, just don't cut too close to points or flats. The side coves are another matter, some are OK but many are full of trees so operate slow until you get a feel for the places you are in. Hopefully you won't "run into" anything around IP! Not sure how to answer the white river and crappie questions. Technically the water going by IP is the White River channel so you are already there. It's about 15 miles from IP to where the White and James come together, and an additional 17 miles to Shell Knob if that is any help. You are a lot closer to some good crappie spots on Long Creek, only about 8 miles from the 86 bridge, once you pass the bridge you'll find more than a weeks worth of crappie fishing water. Also, although the "hot bite" EARLY is generally way up the major tribs (Kings, White, James, Long) the bite is improving every day in hundreds of coves and cuts from one end of the lake to the other. Wherever you end up fishing if there are no shallow spawners, just cast out the other side of the boat as they will be hanging around the first drop-off or row of deep trees, which become kind of like crappie single's bars. I imagine the boys chatting up the girls with pick-up lines such as "what's a nice sow like you doing in a brushpile like this"?, or "haven't I met you somewhere before, maybe that gravel bar by Mill Creek...or did we school together"? and "why don't we blow this cedar tree and I'll show you this great little gravel patch I know about. Why SURE you can bring a couple of your girlfriends"! I think such an imagination helps tp pass the times on slow fishin days, but my wife says I am just wierd.

What you are missing is there is a very shallow shoal about 250 yards downstream from the bridge. Before the lake came up a foot or so the "lake" was about 15' wide and 6" deep. I'm not sure what a 133 is, but unless you can take it out of the water and carry it, I don't think you are going to make it as far as the bridge.

Shell Knob is where the Kings River and the White River come together on the west end of the lake. State Hwy 39 crosses the lake here, about 30 miles S of Aurora MO.

Fishing Hot Spots, and Structure Graphics both make good lake maps, you would have to purchase a couple of them to get the whole lake as it is broken into sections. They can be purchased locally at many locations (tackle stores. convenience stores, etc) or ordered on line from many sources.

Bass Master - Don't get hung up searching for a real hot bait for either of these species right now. Hanging a hook within biting distance of these guys is 95% of the battle. Get within casting distance of them and throw just about any smallish bait and you will probably get bit. Roadrunners and something with some some vibration or flash works well with the whites. In-line spinners good as well. Crappie - I'm a jig fisherman and as hard as I try I have a hard time coming up with definite suggestions. Some of my rules of thumb on them would be: if you are up shallow in the water column or if you are in real clear water use natural shad colors and clears with sparkle. As the water gets dingier or as you go deeper use some darker colors, blacks, reds, purples. In really clear water go deeper and try some shade of green (watermelon or pumpkin), or smoke or motor oil. When water is warming or fish are on banks and away from the wood, swimmin minnows and grubs work well. When fish are more finicky (crappie anyway) and not in a chasing mood crappie Tubes presented slow under a float, or vertical jigged next to a tree will be more effective. Cloudy days they seem to disperse and you might find one about anywhere, sunny days they seem to hide in the shade of serious wood. And NEVER hesitate to mix in some chartruse with it. Maybe a jig head, or paint a tail with spike-it. Spike it is pretty handy to have because if you have white plastic and a spike-it pen you also have chartruese. This is kind of a universal crappie color and seems to work in many locations under many circumstances. There are probably more WB and crappie caught on 20 cent chartruese marabou jigs from Wal-Mart than all other baits combined. WB can go on and off the bite at a whim and can be hard to catch until we get into the heart of "the run". Rack 'em up one day and the next you wonder if there are any in the lake at all. Crappie on the other hand are a little more prone to staying put. You may have to move a few hundred yards and fish deeper, slower, or more subtle, but rest assured they are nearby. Biggest factor absolutely is just getting out there and doin' it, doing something and trying to seperate the right from the wrong. Bear in mind these are all just my opinions and I am a LONG way from having these cold blooded creatures with a brain the size of a small pea figgered out!

No such thing as a silly question. TR is a large lake with a lot of different names for different landmarks and a lot of "local" names that do not appear on maps. (Just don't ask where Mill Creek is because I know of at least 4 of them). Indian Pt. is 2-3 miles from the dam on the N side of the lake as you go upstream toward Kimberling City. Check it out on the map Phil has posted at: http://ozarkanglers.com/trmaps/html/indian-printable.html

Ahineman - Now that is a wide open question and hard to answer. Can you provide more info as to the time of year you plan on fishing, type of boat, level of experience, tackle you have, etc. First off suggestion would be to forget the walleye thing. They are here but will be hard to connect with on purpose. Lots of good advice to be had here at a reasonable reate (free) but to best address your question and avoid costly keystrokes (joke) plese provide more background info. Man I love these parenthesis things (they come in handy). (())()()(

Those are UNbelievable weights for LMB on Table Rock! You 'Da Man! I have fished it since '89 and currently chase bass several dozen times/year on the upper White. Guess I have my sights set too low as I consider anything over 5# a genuine "big-un". I only have 5 over 7 in 16 years with one of those exactly 8, that being my biggest, caught on PB&J jig in May. By all means post some shots of these bad boys and girls. Would love to see pics of any TR bass in the 9 & 10 range so I can get a good look at what I am fishing for!!

Tom - There are very few people that target walleye on TR, fewer do it in Mid-April, and probably none try it around Indian Point. Most people that intentionally go after walleye do it up the Kings River, or White River toward Holiday Island from early Feb to the end of March. There is a decent bunch that spawn in the Kings and some run in the White, but when they return to the lake they are so dispersed it's almost an unfishable population. I have run across a couple people that troll for them in the upper white post-spawn but they consider a fish every couple days a huge success. I think hooking up with a walleye would be a tough thing to do. Not impossible but if you like the occasional tug on the end of your line you will probably be disappointed. Actually if you walleye fished with traditional bait methods you would probably catch about everthing except walleye. You certainly could limit out on crappie and you have a lot of other options left for fishing. You are lodging in the middle of prime smallie habitat so going after them would be my first choice. Spotted bass and LMB should be coooperative as well. White bass should be going strong up the major rivers. Catfish are an option if you like that action. Heck if you really like crappie fishing explore some new areas and crappie fish practicing catch and release. (C&R also highly encouraged on all SMB, LMB and Spots as well). Bull Shoals next door is a better walleye fishery and if you are intent on chasing them maybe someone over that direction could steer you toward some 'eye action.

It is true, refer to: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3c10-6.pdf (Page 11) Basically from Feb 20 to April 11 walleye can be taken and possessed only between 6:30 AM and 6:30 PM on the unimpounded parts of any MO rivers (as well as the Swan Creek arm of Bull Shoals above Hwy 160, they must hang out there a bunch). So reservoirs are OK round the clock but if you are in flowing water I guess you had better have your line out of the water by 6:30. This is a good law in my opinion as I have heard stories of days past when they were gigged and grabbed by lantern-light on the shoals at night, guess their eyes light up like a deer in the headlights and are easy to see.

Following is the link I use to find hour-by-hour water levels for both the White River reservoirs, and many of the major streams. Stream data is useful in case you are wondering if the watershed for a particular arm of the lake got substantial rain and you can kind of anticipate if there is going to be an influx of muddy water on your favorite fishing hole. http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/real_time_data.htm

Sorry you could not make it Phil. Your rain check is going nowhere, just get in touch when you can get loose. When you come over I'll take you to the REAL crappie spots I was afraid to show Bill, but we'll keep this to ourselves.... OK? Also you might want to stop and borrow Bill's new Long Pole that I know he is going to run out and buy today.

Had the pleasure of fishing with Bill Babler today in the Kings and following is a report of the day. Launched at 0700 and headed up the Kings after Crappie. Gist of the story is we caught maybe 9 crappie with six good keepers. Had some nice ones right off and then hit some spots that should have produced but didn’t, although we lost some real nice ones, honestly! My mid-arm hotspots were kind of muddied up and I thought maybe I could get above the mud in the Blue Hole/Hickory Hollow area so off we went on a boat trip, which was about all it was as we made the run into just more mud, fished 5 minutes (lost another nice one) and retreated downlake with our tails between our legs. Fished a couple more crappie spots and decided to test the stickbait bite about 10:30. Had some prompt success with that and according to Bill “boated 6 with 3 keepers” but I lost count after my one fish so you will have to trust him on that. He probably would have cleaned up but was pretty busy tutoring me on the stick. At noon I had to return him to the ramp as he had to go to “work” at 2PM (if you can call additional fishing work). I went out 2 more hours solo and boated 2 more stickbait fish (man they will be BIG someday) then drifted a deep windy treeline and caught 6 real more nice crappie. Final tally 8 bass and a dozen crappie. Pretty good on the bass no longer than we fished, but ho-hum on the crappie. Attached find pics of the biggest specimens of each. Water temps 58 (upper muddy water) to 55 (afternoon near Viola). I think the upper river will clear in another day or so and it will be more conducive for jig fishing but minnow fishermen me be able to do some good now in the muddy stuff. Overall: fishing - fair, Fun Factor - Excellent all day.

I interpret the rule as "no more than 4 White, Yellow, Hybrid or Stripers" longer than 18" .. And this is a StateWide reg. I think rule is in place to prevent overharvest of Hybrids and stripers. I imagine whoever made the rule had no clue exactly how large WB get in the rock! So anyone with over 4 WB 18" or longer is in violation as I interpret it from page 11 of: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3c10-6.pdf Seems to me on Table Rock you would be within the "spirit" of the law with over 4 large WB but definitely not within the "Letter of the law" and I'm not sure I would want to test it.

I grew up fishing Barkley/KY lakes when I was growing up in Southern Illinois and know how good they are for crappie. Which is why I suggested if he was wanting to catch larger crappie than Ky Lake he was "probably out of luck'. I guess I should have said "Definitely out of luck" or "SOL"

Crappie is definitely "worth it" in my opinion. You are probably coming at the peak time to catch fish from both spawning banks and staging timber. Minnow dunkers and jig tossers do equally well. It's such a large and diverse lake that spawning and fishing activity can vary a lot from one end to the other, Indian Point area is one of the last parts of the lake to warm up. Right now the upper larger arms are best but by April crappie can be caught in just about any part of the lake. Am puzzled how to answer the rest of your question about trailering to another lake. If you want bigger slabs than KY Lake you are probably out of luck. If you wants bigger slabs than TR you are obviously going to have to go elsewhere but I am not sure where you could go within commuting distance and have better fishing. Not sure what quality of fish you are looking for but with a 10" length limit we have plenty of fish over that size. Average bags I end up with have most or all over 11, with half over 12 and a few pushing 14. Good bags are better sized, fair bags you'll have to measure a few fish. 15-16" fish are seen fairly regularly but not usually in great numbers. Recommendations would be to watch this board, and when you get here talk w/other crappie fishermen and watch what others are doing, should be able to get on em quick. Early April the fish are biting, turkeys gobbling, sun (usually) shining, dogwoods in bloom and the mushrooms popping up... if you find a better place to be within driving distance of Indian Point please let me know, I thought that this was as good as it got!

Best place for you to put in is at Viola. If you have come across 76 go 4.5 miles south of the bridge at SK on 39 and turn right at the signs for the park. If you are coming over on 86 go 4 miles N of Carr Lane on 39 and turn left. This will put you at the Corps ramp. Launch and head upstream until you go past the ski course on the right bank and you can catch crappie from there on up the river for the next 8 miles.

There are a few WB showing up in the shallow upper reaches of the lake On Kings River, mostly dinks with an occasional sow. More are being caught back downlake a few miles by trollers. The guys trying for them way up the lake and toward the river aren't finding many so I do not think any major movement toward the river has started here yet, and it usually happens on Kings same time as the James. I think it will pick up any day now especially with a little bit of water coming down the rivers from the past and forcast rain.

Along a similar line, I have a regular bass rod I need to replace the Tip on, how can I get the old tip off?

Made another trip after the Crappie up Kings. It continues to be pretty good. Not great or red hot but there are plenty of fish to keep my interest up. Had a real good bite early at 7:30 when I was alone as my buddy had an appointment and I did not get him in boat till 10 AM. The WB was 17.5" and the largest crappie was a hair short of of 14. Ended up w/22 crappie but these were all I could balance on my straw bale without them flopping or sliding off. The shortest one (not in picture) was 10.75 so these were OK fish. We probably had 15 shorts during the day. Notice there are a couple of black crappie in the mix. I don't catch many of those and these are the first two of the year for me, also had one short one. Water temp 51-58. Tight lines - SKMO

Don - Thanks for the reply. Makes sense I guess, as much sense of about 75% of the stuff I do. I'll try your Berkley power bait on the jigs, I know I have some in the boat if I can find them. Are they the kind of maggot looking things?

A Ranger. I cannot remember the color, just have him shoot at all the Rangers.