Brennan

I have two 998s and use Lakemaster. I really like it. I like the depth offset feature. I fish Truman a lot and it can vary in depth by 5 feet almost overnight. I also have the Navionics app on my iPhone and really like it as well.

I love to fish a 5/8 and 3/4 FB jig. I'm looking for a dedicated FB jig rod and think I want the Mike McClelland Cara FB jig rod. My question is....is the split grip micro guide version the same action as the original version. I saw a video Mike had online and he said it was a heavier action than the original. I will often drop down to 12lb fluorocarbon in the clear water and don't want a heavier action. Any input you may have on this or other rods specifically for dragging FB jigs on a long cast would be appreciated. Thanks.

Water color was just a light stain. I would call it clear, but I am used to Truman .

Fished the Kings Thursday and Friday and had just a fantastic couple of trips for numbers of bass. A nice guy at the ramp told me he had a pretty good bite up around the power lines past Viola. So I thought why not....I'll start there. Didn't really need to leave there for two days. I caught just an absolutely silly, almost unbelievable, number of bass off one point. I only left it briefly on Thursday to go look for bigger fish out in the white river. Caught a few small keepers on a jerkbait, but realized I was just having so much fun up the kings that I went back after about an hour and a half. Caught them on a French Pearl 110 (thanks Bill) and, when that slowed down, a 1/2 oz FB jig in PBJ with GP twin tail trailer. The whites were just stacked in that area as well. Thursday, with the overcast, they were chasing on top all morning. About 50/50 largemouth and whites. I have no doubt they would have hit topwater that morning. Water temp was 55-56. Friday morning....back to the same point.....the jerkbait worked until the sun came up. When the bite slowed I changed to the jig and caught them on five or six casts in a row several different times. Now these certainly aren't tournament winning fish, but it had me giggling pretty good at times. These fish were all on a timbered point about 12-18 feet deep. Many times, if I didn't catch a bass on a particular cast, I would catch a big white bass reeling the jig back to the boat. FB jig pattern for white bass...a first for me . Mid morning on Friday I pulled the boat out another cast length from the point just to see if I was missing the bigger fish out deeper. Good move. I caught 5 keepers in the next 45 minutes (only about 13-14 lbs). I don't think it was that they were deeper so much as that pulling off the point enabled me to locate a few deeper trees with the jig, and I caught those keepers pulling the jig up and over the limbs. Probably should have thrown the jerkbait through there but I was catching them so well on the jig. Anyway, just a great trip for me. A big thank you to all the contributors on OA.

I will be down to Table Rock this coming week for a family vacation. I will have mornings to fish....and Im willing to trailer to any part of the lake. I always enjoy learning new ways to catch them at Table Rock.....and I understand there may be a bit of a Deep Crankbait bite going on. This excites me as i've never gotten on to this pattern. Anyone willing to share the basics of this technique? Ive got plenty of DD22, SK 6XD, Spro, etc.... just need a little advice on the how and where. Interested to hear everyones input. Thanks

i was really excited about the warthog crank bait.....went out and bought a whole bunch when they first got to my local BPS. They seemed like the real deal...same plastic, same construction, same dull rattle. I swapped the hooks out for some sticky sharp Gammies and headed to the lake this morning to test them out. tossed the first one out beside the boat....I was pleased. nice wide wobble....looked like this dog was gonna hunt. 1 cast later....full of water. Ok, try the next one. nice wobble but full of water. Ok. This has to be a fluke. next one......water. seriously?!!? 9...count them...9 in a row full of water after 1 or 2 casts into open water. Im pretty sure the hook hangers are the problem.seems a little ridiculous to have to epoxy the hook hangers on a bunch of brand new baits. I emailed Luck E Strike about it. Ill post what I find out when they reply. BTW, also used the luck e strike vision 110 knock off. It worked very well without any issues at all. nice rolling action. very nice bait.

Fished Saturday from 9AM until Dark. Had 20 fish with 5 Keepers for about 15-16 pounds. I wanted to do something a little different than I normally do on Table Rock, so I put in at Cape Fair and ran up to fish Flat Creek. The water had a nice stain and was much cooler than I expected at 53-54 degrees. I fished from the old bridge on up into the creek. First thing in the morning I found a bunch of shad grouped up on a shallow flat right near the bridge. Threw a spinnerbait, wart....nada. Picked up a buzzbait and caught a 4 lb LM right away in inches deep water. I never knew it hit....buzzbait just all of a sudden stopped abuzzin'. Tried that for a while and had no more takers....think I just got lucky on that one. Started fishing the rip rap along the bridge and caught them pretty good on a brown wart. They were really stacked in there. When they slowed down on the wart i picked up the jig (5/16 eakins pbj/gp) and started whacking them again. Made my way up into the creek and caught fish off of shallow wood on a squarebill and spinnerbait. Also fished the rocky channel side with the wart and did well there also. Actually doubled on the wart. Was reeling in a 12 incher and it got attacked by a four pound LM....pretty cool. Fished Sunday out of Shell Knob from 8AM until 1130. Started off in a large pocket a few miles up past the Kings. Water was 57-58 degrees and clear. Started down a rocky 30 degree bank with the wart and had no takers for about 20 minutes. About half way back in the pocket, fish started chasing in the middle of the cove. Fishing was fast and furious for almost an hour. Caught them on a spook junior one after another. The size was unimpressive....10-13 inch LM and K's....but it sure was fun. Probably had 25-35 fish with two fat keeps (LM). After that, continued on up the White and stopped a few times to throw the blade (3/8 war eagle mouse) at a few isolated cedars. Picked off a few on the blade here and there (and missed a few "Mac Truck" bites....how do they do that and not hook up?!) but decided to go back to the wart that had produced so well the day before. Wound up grinding the bottom of Viney creek with the wart and caught 7 more LM with 4 keeps. Had a great day and would have fished until dark but had to get home to KC. Coming down here for a day and a half is like a week long vacation to me. Thanks to all those that post on here for the great info.

I have two stradic spinning reels that have got to be 10+ years old. Still smooth as silk. I clean and care for them at the end of each season but nothing more than that. Also switched from Daiwa baitcasters this year to the new green curados. I have 5 and I am absolutely in love with them. I think Shimano makes a fine product and have no complaints. I am looking at the new CI4 stradic, but we'll see.....

Got down to the lake Sunday at first light. Put in at Mill Creek and fished from there to Campbell Point area. Started throwing a topwater around the ramp for surfacing fish but only seemed to catch a few small K's. Backed off and threw a FB jig and a Fish Doctor on a CRig in about 20-30 feet and caught a couple more short K's. Headed up the white and fished a couple Bluffend points with cedars with the topwater and the jig with no takers. Saw some fish on the graph in the 30-35ft range off these channel swing bluff points and dropped down to them with a dropshot chomper worm in brown/purple laminate and it was on. Just about every point I stopped at I caught fish at this depth. They were on the bottom at 30-35ft or just up off of it a few feet. I tried to stay on the ridge where the channel was pulling away from the point. I am not a dropshot guy at all so I was just tickled to be having some success at this technique. I wasn't measuring the fish but I bet I only had 3 or 4 squeaker keeper K's out of 20+ fish. Did the dropshot thing for a few hours and decided to head back to the Mill Creek/KCity area and drag a FB jig to see if I could get some better quality. Pulled up to a long point within sight of the bridge and made a few casts with a 3/4oz Chomper FB jig brown/purple with GP Yamamoto twin tail and got lucky with a nice 5 1/2lb Largemouth. This fish hit on the bottom at 45 feet. I am used to fishing 1 -3ft of dirty water so this was just amazing to me. Snapped a quick picture with my phone and slid her back into the water. Point hopped a while in that area and caught a few more small K's on the jig and decided to call it a day at about 5:30. Originally I planned to head way up the James in search of shallow Largemouth on Monday morning but decided I may be rushing the season just a bit if I am catching 5 1/2 lb fish in 45 feet! So I decided to stay down in the KCity area and see what would happen with the deep jig. Got out at dark thirty....no Topwater takers. Started looking for some mixed chunkrock/ledge type banks with shade and wind and put the boat in 35 feet. My absolute longest cast with the 3/8 FB jig would land 20-30 feet from the bank. Slow dragging the jig I caught about 10 Smallmouth in the 14inch range with one nice 17 incher thrown in. Once, when the sun was starting to peak up over the treetops and the bite was slowing, I noticed some surfacing fish 30 yards behind me. I had just made a long cast with the jig, so I started cranking it in as fast as I could so I could pick up the topwater and throw to the fish. Well, I was worried that was taking too long so I just set down the jig rod and threw the topwater to the fish. Yep, I took too long and by the time I cast they were gone. But, when I picked the jig rod up, I had a fat 15 inch smallmouth on the end of my line. This got me to thinking that he was probably following it when I was reeling it in so fast, and hit it on the fall when I decided to set it down to go for the topwater fish. I started ripping the bait off the bottom and letting it fall....this got me a few more fish when I thought the jig bite was getting pretty slow. I just cant say enough good things about this lake. I am so jealous of you guys that get to fish it on a regular basis. I am going to try my darndest to get back down when it really is time for "fall fishing." Any recommedations on the best time (mid October, Late October?). Thanks.

Recent reports of the smallmouth bite really make me want to get down to the lake. I have a couple days to fish next week and would appreciate any help narrowing down the lake a little bit. Not interested in anyones secret spots, but maybe just a 10-15 mile strech of the lake that is producing a few smallmouth. I'm thinking either the lower white river or the dam area, but would be excited to fish anywhere on any arm of the lake. Just looking forward to a couple relaxing days on the lake. Thanks

I had a limit of small keeper spotted bass swimming a 3/16 oz salt and pepper single tail grub through the cedars on the bluff just north of the entrance of Viney. This was on Saturday. I had been catching some better fish at the mouth of Viney on a 5/16 jig, but they didnt seem to want to bite on Saturday. I imagine if the weather is warm down there this week you could catch some fish in Viney on a wiggle wart. I saw lots of FLW pro's running in and out if there all day Friday and Saturday. I never went in there....didnt want to step on anyones toes. Good luck...that is a beautiful part of the lake. Im sure you could catch some of those spots....we probably caught 30 but only five measured. Brennan

Just curious what hooks you guys like to put on your wiggle warts. I like gamakatsu but they either seem a little too big or a little too small. What brand/size do you recommend? Thanks, Brennan

I have been looking for a good jerkbait rod....I will check out the Compre. Thanks for the tip.

I saw the old post about the HD paper maps also. I emailed navionics a couple weeks ago and they said they dont have any Missouri Lakes on paper maps and dont plan on adding any. Am I missing something?

The Blue Daiwa reel you are talking about is a very good reel. I have several of the super tuned advantage series (before they started making them blue) and I love them. Bass Pro Shops has a daiwa reel special made for them called the TD Pro. It is around 129.99 but I have seen it on sale for 89.99. It is every bit as good as the blue one (in my opinion) and if you find it on sale it is a great deal. I like the fact that the daiwa's have external-adjust cast control magnets. I find them easier to use than the reels that need the side plate opened to adjust them. If I fish around a point and all of a sudden have wind in my face....the external adjust is very handy. I have always used Shimano stradic spinning reels and like them very much but they are pricey. Just the other day, however, I purchased a BPS brand Pro-Qualifier spinning reel with the wide spool. It is on sale right now for 49.99. It gives the stradic a run for it's money at an outstanding price. Here is what I suggest... A baitcasting rod for jig duty (worm, brush hog, sweet beaver, FB jig...whatever). I would invest in a quality rod that is sensitive. In 25 years of fishing I have found that you reach a point of diminishing return. You could buy a 500.00 Loomis and it would be an awesome rod. It would be hard to convince me that it is 350.00 better than a St. Croix Avid series. I would recommend a 6'6" or 7' MH with a fast tip. If money is an issue the BPS Pro Qualifier rod is a good deal on sale at 89.99. Its a little heavier but still quite sensitive and a heck of a deal. A baitcasting rod for moving-baits (spinnerbait, topwater, crankbaits, buzzbait...whatever). I dont feel like I need this rod to be all that sensitive (that means it is less expensive). What is really important to me for this rod is the action. I love the BPS Extreme Woo Daves 7' Med. crankbait rod. I have five of them...and most days in the summer they are all lying out on the front deck of the boat (buzzbait, spook, spinnerbait, squarebill, pop-r). A spinning rod for the little girley baits . I will be honest.....I prefer 20lb line and shallow dirty water, but after a recent trip to Table Rock this June, I have a new best friend...the spinning rod. Thanks almost entirely to this site, I had a great trip catching SM and K's swimming a grub in the Dam area. I want this rod to be sensitive. The BPS Pro-finesse (on sale right now for 69.99) is the best value I have found. I caught em all morning long on that little grub and never had a problem feeling the light bites. I like the 6'8" ML with 6 lb line....but I am kind of a rookie to the noodle rod. Talking line is like talking politics or religion with some guys. I fish shallow and dirty most of the time = 20lb P line CXX and drag all the way tight. It is stiff and hard to manage but it is crazy strong and abrasion resistant. I'll leave the clearwater line to the guys who know better. Great question...look forward to reading all the replies, Tim

I agree with Champ188. I am not a fan of all the boat traffic, but I have a hard time telling pleasure boaters that they cant run their boat because it is bigger, faster, throws a bigger wake than mine. There are idiots that drive all shapes and sizes of boats....I have been cut off by many a bass boat too. Smithville Lake, I believe, limits skiing/tubing etc... to the main lake below the bridges. Perhaps that may be an option if Table Rock is really getting that bad. I fish LOZ quite a bit and I dont think Table Rock could ever get as bad as it is there. From Bagnell dam all the way to Warsaw the banks are lined with million dollar homes...each with their own dock....with a 35 footer, 22 foot ski boat, and three or four sea-doos. It is just unreal. Table Rock will stay much nicer because you cant just build your huge house right on the water with your own dock with three lifts on it.

Not sure where you live, but up here in Kansas City Area we have underground cave storage facilities. I store my boat in them for a few months in the winter. It is about 55-60 degrees year round in the caves. I put stabil in the tank....run the motor for a few minutes to get the treated gas into the engine, then put her to bed in the cave. Kinda spooky going down there....it's like a bass boat graveyard. lots of guys here do the same thing.

I was looking around on the net the other day and came across a bait made by river2sea called the v-joint wake. Has a couple of joints in it. Great looking colors also. The lip looks like it would wake really well....even found a video of it in the water on tacklewarehouse.com (i think). Price is 7.99 so its not out of sight expensive. I ordered a couple....Ill post what I think when they arrive. It is only 3.75 inches long though. Ive seen some other fancy wake baits in the 5 to 6 inch range. Do the fish shy away from the larger baits using this technique on TRock. I'm sure the 6 and 7 pounders probably wouldnt but will the 2.5-3pounders eat a bigger bait like that. New to the site...really enjoy all the TRock info. I live just over 3 hours away in the Kansas City area and get down there a few times a year. Fished the tournament of Champions this year and havent been able to stop thinking about the lake since I left.

Ive been looking at this site for a month or so now.....lots of great information. I'm a bass fisherman, some tournaments, and I am really interested in learning Table Rock. I used to live in Springfield so I have some history there growing up, but I have really not been able to unlock its potential. I also regularly fish Lake of the Ozarks and Truman. I really enjoy the site....Thanks a lot.