Champ188

Sam, there was a Trader Bill's Team Tournament derby held just two weeks ago on Lake Greeson and the winning string was a five-bass limit totaling 15.74 pounds. Big bass of the derby was over 6 pounds. Of the 76 teams participating, only three failed to weigh in a keeper fish. That's some pretty darn good fishing for a "fished out" clear-water lake in the middle of June. Greeson also is full of stripers, which in the opinion of many don't do anything productive for the largemouth bass population of any fishery. Obviously, whoever told you that catching a single 13-inch bass over multiple days of fishing was some kind of feat didn't know what the heck they were talking about.

Fairly sure I see some spots in there. That would eliminate the possibility of them coming from a pond.

Troutgnat, Donna and I were over at Bull a few weeks ago for the Central Pro-Am derby and fished five days. I can't tell you how many walleye we caught but I'd say we averaged 10 a day and probably could have doubled that if we'd not been intent on finding a bass bite. Thing is, out of the "around 50" we caught in those five days, we had one keeper. Nearly all of the rest were between 17-18 inches but not quite 18. They either know when to quit growing or that lake is about to be slam-darn full of keeper "Walters." At the time we were there, we fished from the dam up the Theodosia arm to the bridge. Every flat gravel point with flooded green brush was loaded with walleye. Caught nearly all of them on a 4-inch Kinami grub in Natural Shad color rigged on a quarter-ounce leadhead.

Hey Denny, maybe my tree-sitting Beaver Lake roadrunner got smart and moved to Table Rock. I used to fish Beaver pretty often but finally moved my efforts north.

Would like to think that's an old pic from back in the days before C&R became the norm but I kinda doubt it.

To clarify, by "can't believe you posted this" I meant it's hard to believe someone else saw the same thing we did. Nothing wrong with the post, of course.

Denny, can't believe you posted this. Donna and I ran into the same thing up in the Hickory Creek arm of Beaver Lake a few years back. This one was sitting in the very top of an old dead tree about 40 feet tall and was hollering every breath. Its odd call is what attracted our attention. Didn't have a pic but described the thing to everyone I knew and no one knew what it was. Finally I e-mailed a professor at the University of Arkansas and he said without a doubt it was a Greater Roadrunner. While fishing a few weeks later in the same area, we saw the thing running along the ground on the bank. Cool birds for sure. Like you, never crossed my mind that a roadrunner would be sitting way up in a tree.

You can't fix stupid.

A good post indeed, gitnby. It's so easy to get consumed with fishing that folks often don't take time to grab a bottle of water from the ice chest and chug it down.

I've always said you can't get a free cup of coffee and hang out with your fishin' buds at Wal-Mart or even Academy or BPS for that matter. I'm with ya bluffboy on supporting the little guys. And don't let Techo get you down about the hair deal ... I don't have much left either.

Thanks, Tim. Gotta give my partner credit ... she contributed 3 of our 5 keepers including the biggest at close to 4 pounds. I really needed the help since I was bucking the big waves up on the trolling motor.

Denny is right — it's a zoo out there on the weekends. Just have to buck and roll if you're going to fish main-lake stuff.

We ended up third with 12.15. Winning sack was 14-something. Second was 12.48. We scratched out a limit of five but just couldn't get a kicker bite. And let me tell you, it was cactus-hot out there.

That's fun fishin. Chasing bass derbies around like Donna and I do, we don't often get a chance to enjoy action like that. Thanks for the report.

If Bill comes in drag, I'll pay you guys' entry fee

Hey Denny, tell Webb if you see him again today or tomorrow that I'm gonna check his boat for crawlers Saturday morning before that Guys & Gals derby. Or maybe he's just training those fish to hang out in certain areas.

Thanks much, Bill.

Hey deecee, this is the first one we've fished but they had 21 at the first Table Rock tournament in April.

Good stuff, Denny. Looks like you're gonna hafta break down and make that trek to Branson for some more twin tails. You might call first, though. About half the time I go to that store for something, they're fresh out and I end up making a run to Springfield the night before a derby. One time it was for line ... could not believe that a Bass Pro Shops store was out of 15-pound fluorocarbon (or 14-pound in the OWN XPS brand) but they did not have a single spool in the house of any brand. Keep after those swimmers. Glad you're having a great vacation and I'll take you up on that Stockton offer. I'll be fishing Central Pro-Am up there July 31, the day that I turn half-a-century old.

Those are OK fish, Bill, but you could do much better if you'd get up on the bank and fish shallow. I distinctly remember reading that somewhere. Seriously, very nice brown fish and great pics. Love the detail shots of the tackle. Denny and I had a great time Sunday. Ended up with about 14 pounds — mixed bag of LM and K's, mostly on jigs in the Kimberling to Baxter area. We'd have done a little better but Denny lost the big un I put him on. Just kidding, Denny. Not sure I've ever fished with a nicer guy. I wimped out about 2:30 p.m. since I'd been up at 3 a.m. and made the drive two straight mornings. Hope to fish with him again real soon. Fishing the Guys & Gals derby Saturday out of Schooner Creek with Mizz Donna.

That's a darn good day. What species of topwater plug is that?

Gracia, SKMO. I shall print that out and stash it in my boat for when owners/users of noncommercial docks start spouting off about no fishing being allowed around their docks.

I'll put my shallow-water skills against anyone's on this forum but from June through September, conditions have to be perfect in order for me to get five quality bites in a day's time beating the banks. Otherwise, the "deep-sea fishermen" will beat you every time. As for guiding, I spent several years doing it myself, mainly on Lake Ouachita in west-central Arkansas, which is big, deep and clear like TR. There are year-round shallow fish there, too, but they don't live 20 feet up in the trees along the banks, which is exactly where 75% of guide clients will throw their lures given the chance. Bill, your skills aren't the point here. Your clients pay you to put them on fish, not squirrels and birds. No one is going to get as many bites a day in hot summer beating the banks as they will fishing out. And bites are what clients are paying the guides for.

I'm with Tfsh4bass and Capt. Joe both. I don't believe the lake is at all in trouble but it could only benefit from closing down some of the spawning areas on an annual basis. Wonder if there's any way to get MDC to listen to such a suggestion and give it a try? P.S. Again, it's partly a money issue, but if you want to see poor game and fish management, come to Arkansas, where the striper is king.

Obviously a great trip for ya, Bill. Glad you got to spend a day fishing and not baby-sitting. Super report, too. As always, thanks for the info.