Champ188

Bout time some of that got started. Don't hesitate to throw a Redfin over those same trees either. Works best for me when in low-light conditions (early or on cloudy day) but can also work with just a light chop on the water.

Good lookin' skirts/heads indeed.

"Walters and 'gills." Can't eat much better than that.

Love the photo illustration, rps. Good stuff.

I agree with Tfsh4bass on the recommendation to fish it fast. My personal choice this time of year is a War Eagle Screamin' Eagle, which is a half-ounce bait built on a quarter-ounce frame. Not 100% sure but I believe the blade sizes are 4 and 3 or maybe 3.5 and 3. At any rate, they're pretty small but they give off plenty of flash and vibration in Table Rock's clear waters. Because of that clear water, I generally prefer a nickel main blade and gold secondary blade. Like T, I like a natural-colored skirt and that hint of pink sure doesn't hurt a thing. Some of my favorite War Eagle colors are Mouse, Purple Shad, Blue Shad and Firecracker. You can see those at www.wareaglelures.com. As for conditions, I personally find it pretty darn tough to catch blade fish on TR anytime the wind isn't putting at least a little chop on the water. As for this time of year, providing you have that chop, you can catch em on a blade even under sunny skies. Areas that I concentrate on are main-lake bluff ends, preferably with standing timber, or little short pockets cut into bluffs or your steeper chunk-rock banks. Again, the presence of standing timber (cedars are great) seems to help. It is also possible to get on windblown bluff banks, especially shady ones, and catch some big ol' spots and also some good largemouths this time of year. Parallel the bluff and keep the bait as close to the wall as possible, clinking it off the rocks when you can. Pay PARTICULAR ATTENTION to any little jut or cut in the bluff. Those are usually the money spots. Oh, and pay no mind to denjac. In fact, only time you're gonna catch a fish on TR using one of those Skeet Reese catfish sticks is at night. Otherwise, they'll spot that thing from 100 yards and head for the next county.

Great report, Bill. Them be some fine brown fish.

Happens to all of us, johnboy. Hang in there. You'll get em next time.

Man, water temp is still 8-10 degrees below what it was in that area last Friday. That mid-May front was a doozy.

I'll tell them for you, Tim. Was thinkin' bout moseying up into Aunt's Creek and doing me a little limb-lining this wkd.

Indeed, thanks for the good report.

Well said, TRRANGER.

Thanks, Snakem. Seems like I heard one time that lots of fish live in Aunt's Creek. Big fish. Shlaunches. Chunkers. Swamp donkeys. Tournament winners. And all such as that.

Skeeter007, that link is some funny stuff. I'm with ya. Heck, the one guy who probably stood to lose more than anyone on this entire forum (Phil), is saying the Corps did their jobs correctly.

Very good report indeed. Thanks for posting.

For my purposes, johnboy is right on the money. A 6-10 to 7-4 rod is perfect for a C-rig. The only thing I would caution with the new reels is don't get one so small that you have no line capacity. Some the new reels will hardly hold any 15-pound line, and for me the C-rig is a long-cast operation.

Here is a website that gives about as much forecast info as you're gonna get from the Corps. http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/WCDS/Reports/Daily/lakfcst.htm

Capt. Don is good people indeed. Let's pray for quick and full healing for Julie. The Great Physician is still working wonders. Donna and I are living proof, each of us surviving a bout with cancer in the past 3 years.

The 933.76 feet elevation at 9 p.m. Tuesday night is an all-time record, breaking the old mark of 933.25. The release from the dam of 68,000 cfs also is a record. Both of these were reported by the Associated Press, with Corps officials as their source.

Good stuff. Thanks for posting, Phil.

Indeed, it could be tough. The key when the water is super high is to be able to get to the bank and because of the terrain around Table Rock, that's just not possible in a lot of places. Gonna be interesting.

There's also a local organization called K.A.S.T. (Kids Are Special Too) that is operated by Table Rock guide and tournament pro Mike Webb. Their website is www.kastonline.com.

Glad to see it happen on the eve of the BASS Central Open as well. Will make it a real fishing derby instead of a bed-robbing contest. The rapidly changing conditions also wipes out any advantage that those who do their pre-fishing on the phone may have had. Get out there and find 'em for yourselves, boys. Conditions are gonna keep changing every hour. And may the best fisherman win — as it should be.

I think I'd have an issue if a tournament director rejected that fish at the scales. Nowhere in any tournament regs that I've ever read does it say you can't weigh in a tagged fish or one with a radio transmitter attached. They could deduct an ounce or so and I wouldn't complain but to reject the fish entirely wouldn't be right. JMO.

Thanks for the update, Fishrman. Good to know what's going on. Would love to be a fly on the wall in that university lab next week when the BASS Central boys catch half a dozen of those transmitter fish and suddenly they all move 40 miles downlake at 70 mph to the state park.

Very cool, Fishrman. Let us know what you find out, please.