Champ188

Toby, I use Barlow for some things myself but there's another place online for hooks where I've had great service and awesome prices. Usually much cheaper than Barlow. https://www.captainhookswarehouse.com/

I'm sure you could call Jewel Lures and they'd tell you anything you wanted to know. Great people over there. 870.481.5588

Boy, guide choices are getting slim since Babler retired. 😆😆😆 Just messin with ya, Phil. Glad you guys caught em. Too cold and windy for casting practice. Can't ask for a nicer guy than Randy --- or one that knows more about TR walleye, especially in the upper White.

If I knew for sure I'd have my own sweet spots to myself, I'd run up there in every derby. But as you certainly know, the Kings can fish very, very small some days, and you really don't know if it's gonna be on/off until you get up there and start fishing. If there's even a couple of other decent fishermen up there, you'll end up splitting up the fish and none of you will cash a check. Quick funny story: Donna and I were struggling one day just fun fishing. The weather was nice so I suggested a bit of a run up the Kings. Hardly any boats anywhere around, but when I made the last bend before the spot I was headed for, there sat one right where I wanted to go. The boat wrap had me thinkin it was another wanna-be pro. We idled past and I hardly even glanced their way, then ran on up a good 1/4-mile before starting down another good stretch of channel-swing bank. Next thing I know, here comes this wrapped boat and they sit down and start idling right up to us. I'm thinking, "What the heck?! I idled past you, ran WAY out of your way and even went to the opposite bank. Told Donna, if he wants to start some crap, he's found the right guy. As he gets close enough, I see that it's none other than Rick Clunn and his son, River. They were fishing a Winter Series derby that day and just wanted to tell us he sensed they were where I wanted to fish and that they were heading back toward Kim City. Said there were lots of fish on that stretch but none that would help them cull up. Found out later they placed high in the derby with 19 pounds. Of course, we thanked them profusely for the info and stopped at that spot on the way back downriver. Sure enough, we caught a dozen in the 100-yard stretch I had wanted to fish. Just one more example of what usually happens when we ASSUME. (OK, that story wasn't as short as I'd intended. Sue me.) 🤷‍♂️😁

You old 🔨!!

Eric Olliverson has been catching tons of walleye and big spots. Eric's Elite Guide Service. Great guy, too.

You know, if Johnny was the advocate for conservation that he claims to be, they'd have a couple more weigh-in sites for this tournament rather than having every fish hauled (by water or land) all the way down to Long Creek. It's just ridiculous that he insists on his marina being the exclusive weigh-in site.

Here's a quick synopsis of why I dislike FFS ... There are still a lot of meat hogs out there. Human technology is advancing while the fish are no smarter than they've ever been. At what point will we just get too smart for them to hide anymore and really damage the population? Crappie seem particularly vulnerable, according to expert opinions I've read. I don't really give a flip about it in relation to bass tournaments because I rarely fish derbies anymore and other than pure pressure and boat traffic, I don't see it affecting bass much. And if I did, my style of fishing would hold up pretty well against the deep guys --- just like it did before FFS.

I pick and choose my tournaments carefully these days but gonna have to add this to the 2026 calendar right now.

Alex, I'll take entitlement for $500, please.

Early fall is the time of year for that Texas rig. And if the laydowns/piles don't work, you can always tie on a finesse jig and start hammering docks --- every crack and crevice that your skills will allow you to place that jig. Just like Bill's fish, the sweet spot will be 6-15 feet in the Kings --- maybe out to 20 feet in the White. Been a few years (about 15), but I got on a really strong dock bite in the Kings the week of the Champion owners derby. Probably could've weighed 18-19 lbs. on Thursday (the final practice day), then woke up Friday morning with 101 fever. Could barely walk for the dizziness but managed to get launched with much help from my capable wife Donna and made the run from Kimberling City up the Kings. The fish were still there and still biting --- Donna put a couple of 3.5-pounders in the boat and I somehow managed two 4-somethings between clanging my jig off every dock pole, boat lift and pontoon in a 5-mile stretch of the Kings. Ended up with 14-something and were in the top five but I was so spent that Donna and a friend had to carry them to the scales. We got back to the room, I went straight to bed and Donna packed us up, then woke me up and proceeded to tell me we were going home. We did and I ended up in the ER the next day (Sunday) with pneumonia. The things we put ourselves thru to catch a dadgum fish. :)

Me too and they either don't understand the concept of a courtesy dock vs. a fishing dock, or they just don't want to understand it.

Holy crap, that's disgusting.

Babler defines "shallow" as anything less than 30 feet. Happy to see from your pic backgrounds that you and I are much closer together on the real definition. Nice spinnerbait choice, too. Hard to beat a War Eagle.

I was greatly enjoying this post until I got to the unfortunate part about you being LSU fans. Feel free to jump in anytime, Bill. 😁

If you don't know Randy, you can't imagine the real value of this post. You couldn't beat that kind of info out of FFS with a sledgehammer. I don't know how many years he was here, but Randy worked harder than anyone --- even the guides --- at learning to catch Table Rock walleye. Day after day, through the hot summer months, he'd pull deep trolling lures for them. I do recall that mph was extremely important to him. Randy also caught a bunch of bass at times. He was especially handy with a topwater bait by Norman called a Top Dollar. He sent me a couple that are custom painted long ago and I cherish them. In fact, Randy, I tied one on in a Wounded Warriors benefit derby on Beaver a few weeks ago. Thank you for unselfishly posting this information. Big of you to do so.

Saying a lot indeed. So good to see this walleye fishery just keep improving. I wish Beaver would keep pace but seems there just aren't as many there or the stripers have the same appreciation for their culinary value as humans. Not starting a hate attack on stripers --- I've actually changed my beliefs on how/whether they impact LM, SM and KY bass populations in highland reservoirs. But I do know that stripers, walleye and crappie all tend to hang out in open water (as pelagics do) a good portion of the year. Aside from spots, which also have pelagic tendencies when the shad move offshore, LM and SM tend to hang shallower and around cover more than stripers. All saltwater fish are voracious and opportune feeders. Put food in front of them and they will usually wolf it down. Doesn't take a neurosurgeon to figure out who wins when a school of stripers and a school of walleye or crappie collide. Saw on FB where Oliverson is catching a bunch of Walters, too, and some big ones.

At least you spent two days in the boat with a good dude and undoubtedly learned a lot. Hope you catch em better next time. Good to see you back on The Rock.

Sorry guys, not trying to stonewall anyone. Just got out of the habit of getting on here and need to get back to it. I'll try to be more "in the moment" as the corporate heads like to say (this week ... they'll have new jargon next week. LOL) The deal back in late April indeed was a Fin. Some of these fish were as shallow as 3 feet but the best bet was to go to your best cedar tree creeks/pockets and try to make ultra-precise casts past the target tree and then guide your line through the limbs so the Fin swims so close to the tree that it literally bumps the trunk. You can also do this with a swimbait provided you have a very good weedless hook setup that will allow you to swim thru the limbs. As Bill said, follow em out after the spawn by fishing the same places we followed em in at a month or so ago. I was fishing up the White the day I found em so good, but I would bet it's still going strong on the lower end. Now, about all of this ego-building nonsense ... those are some extremely kind words coming from some downright Table Rock hammers. I'm honored at such high praise. Again, I'll try to get back in the habit of hanging out on OA. I've missed it.

I've had heck getting bit, too. Hoping all of the rain this morning will help.

Just a quick word of caution --- be very, very careful running Roaring River. In fact, don't even try to run most of it. There's a lot of BIG underwater trees in that area just waiting to claim another lower unit.

Sounds like the same propaganda from any of the previous 20 years. Fishing is great, so come one, come all ... and that goes double for national-level bass tournaments. The bigger, the better! How about MDC gets out and does some REAL sampling ... like creel surveys over a yearlong period at various ramps around the lake? Or, as has been tossed around on here a few times ... close down one of the three main arms of the lake during the spawn.

I've lived here 25 years and for my money, this is your guy: https://striperguides.net/

I have 15 rods/reels chomping to go after I dismantled, cleaned and lubed every darn one of em on a couple of subfreezing days this week. Dewayne, it surprises not one bit that you were out Saturday. You never did have a lick more sense than me regarding such things, and that ain't much! 😆 I hope you're doing well, brother. Miss seeing ya at the old CPA derbies and the BFLs. P.S. to all interested parties ... I discovered why the old BPS Pro Qualifier reels have been so popular ... they are made by Lew's. I dismantled a Lew's and a Pro Qualifier side-by-side and the only difference is the frame color. I believe every part would be interchangeable.