Champ188

Got me back on the water quickly during a CPA weekend once. Fred has been a friend to fishermen for many years.

For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents. Every lake has places that hold fish year round. They just live there ... eat there, sleep there, make whoopie there and do whatever else fish do right there. For me, many of those places on Table Rock also have cedars. Many are pockets (some big, some not so big) or small creeks with a defined channel, meaning they have both deep and shallow water, cover and usually food. Others are points or bluff ends, which also provide both deep and shallow water and usually food. Thus the reason they live in these places. No reason to leave. When I'm looking for bass around cedars, a couple of things catch my eye. One is an isolated tree. Just like when fishing docks, it is easier to pinpoint fish on an isolated tree than in a forest. Same with a small clump ... pretty obvious where the fish are gonna be if they are there and it doesn't take long to find out. Another thing that gets my attention is a larger tree among smaller ones, be it a bigger cedar or a hardwood among cedars. This is a common occurence on Table Rock and is very well worth being on the lookout for. As far as spending a lot of time looking for bait or getting overly technical about it, I don't generally find that necessary. Table Rock is rich enough in shad that if they are around, you won't have to side-scan for them in the trees. You'll see them on your standard downscan and you'll probably even see some flipping on the surface. Of course, if you've spent any appreciable amount of time fishing Table Rock or other clear highland reservoirs, you know that clouds and wind are your friends. If the surface is too rough for a Fin or a Spook, pick up a spinnerbait and go to work. Might even reel a squarebill thru the cedar tops. Have fun out there.

Glad to hear that about the cedar tree bite. Very good advice for those looking to score some darn nice K's and an occasional good LM.

My apologies for misinterpreting your meaning.

Jason, people who don't want to work don't have to ... our increasingly socialist government makes sure of it.

Luck has nothing to do with Bill staying busy. He works his tail off year-round to stay on top of the fish and treats his clients like gold.

Good to hear the blade bite is starting.

Fun day and a nice report.

Wrong page, I know, but they bit pretty good Friday at Beaver ahead of the front ... Donna and I fished 7 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and had a dozen or so fish of all four flavors — LM, SM, spots and meanmouths — with 10 keepers. Best five woulda been 4 brown ones and a spot for 12 pounds. It was strictly a bottom bite on hula grub (green pumpkin/purple/copper flake) and a football jig (PBJ with a Yammy green pumpkin double-tail trailer). The fish were surprisingly shallow, with all bites coming in 10-18 feet on main lake pea gravel-to-big rock transitions. Presence of timber didn't seem to help or hurt. Glad I was wielding golf sticks instead of a fishin' rod Sat/Sun. Those first couple of strong fronts every fall sure put a crunch on the action.

Pretty fish. Good job.

In my experience, low lake levels during the fall and early winter period make the fish easier to target. If the water level is normal to high, there is a lot more hard-to-reach cover for them to spread out in. Conversely, when it's low, the usable cover will be more accessible. When the water temp starts dipping into the 70s and on into the 60s, pick yourself a nice windy/overcast day, tie on your favorite spinnerbait or square bill crank bait and go have a blast.

That's some fine chewin' right thar.

They are actually discussing a pro entry fee of $375, and probably another $25 for big bass, making it an even $400.

Good stuff, Bill. I'd like to get up there and spend a day working that dock bite hard and see what happened.

I think it is possible to get a single bad bait in both the old and "new old ones" ... i.e. the Original Series. Most of mine are the new ones, which I buy and have professionally painted in a couple of pet colors. Once I get them tuned right, they work like a charm. Never underestimate the power of suggestion ... many guys who have a certain old lure want to put it in your head that they have it, you don't and therefore they can catch every fish in the lake and you will never get another bite in your miserable life. I'm exaggerating a bit for emphasis, but that's the concept. Don't buy into it. That's exactly what they want you to do.

Postal service cuts have killed the mail service out Bill's way, Chunk. Send that check to me and I'll see that he gets it.

Don't think I know Ernie but Charlie's a darn good guy and lots of fun to BS with.

Very good info, Mr. Bill. Much appreciated.

Hey Jason, keep an eye on that Charlie McCutcheon dude. He's a little suspect. Just kidding, of course. Nice guy and a darn good fisherman.

Great job, Denny. You're grooming yourself a tournament buddy there.

There are some whopper LM caught up there every year during the hot summer months. I think they go up there for the cooler water temps. A friend of mine won the first Oakley KVD Big Bass derby up there two years ago on a buzz bait.

Any of the bass keepers, rps?

BassMan, this is more general than specific, but you have a few different options. Out on the main lake, you can dropshot the big commercial docks with the finesse worm of your choosing. This time of year, and anytime the surface temp is above 85, I lean toward plum or even straight strawberry red. Of course, live crawlers will work well, too. Keep an eye on the forum here for fresh news on the thermocline and keep your bait in it or close to it. Generally, it's gonna be around 30 feet. If that doesn't trip your trigger, you can tie on a football jig or hula grub and drag them off long runout points or bluff ends. In my experience, bluff ends with timber tend to outshine those without it this time of year. You might also try dragging a tube for smallmouth in those same areas. Seems like a fellow told me he caught some that way recently, although I can't recall who or when that might have been. LOL — You can also downsize to a shaky head (plum finesse worm) and get plenty of bites in the right areas. Finally, you can go on up Long Creek/Cricket Creek and find some classic river fishing territory. Plenty of places to pull deep crank baits off channel ledges or drag a jig around. There can be a good flippin' bite up there, too, but with the low lake level, there may not be a lot of cover in the water. Speaking of which, be very careful running up above Cricket Creek Marina. You can do some damage in a hurry. Good luck and let us know how you do.

What a great report ... you can read the knowledge between the lines.

Being on the water is one thing ... yes, everyone has that right. But no one has the right to darn near run over or swamp someone else.