Champ188

She likes it because I'm way too fat to have ANY overall action and I certainly don't shimmy ... when falling or not.

Don't send me any freebies, please. I don't care to do business with anyone who'd rip on a good dude like QB for all to see. That was uncalled for and not at all what this forum is about.

Glad you were here and enjoyed your time. Y'all come back now, ya hear? 😃

Definitely a meanmouth. Lovely family. Kudos for getting them out there.

Jerry, I read in an MDC document online one time about crappie stockings in the James and Kings rivers. I could probably find it again but a quick search right now did not turn it up.

The ONLY Ned head worth using.

If I'm not mistaken, didn't you publish a study comparing the Titleist Pro-V1, Bridgestone B330RX Tour and the Callaway Chrome Soft on Ozarks region golf courses occupied by the black mamba?

You boys did alright and then some. Good report and thanks.

I've spent hours on end up in the trees during my last two trips and have seen a grand total of one snake, which was a watersnake.

Got my typical late start, launching off the parking lot at 9:30 a.m. Have to say, it wasn't a bit harder than using the ramp under normal conditions and the caretakers of the courtesy dock had it pulled up and usable. Started out with a blade and square bill on the deck and found the scattered hardwoods and flooded backyard grass I was looking for without much effort. Finding the bass wasn't quite as easy. Ran several good stretches without a sniff. Finally pulled out a finesse jig, started flipping it in some willows and came up with a keeper LM. Probably should have stuck with that approach but frankly, it just didn't appeal to me. Having the boat to myself and the opportunity to position it however I wanted in the flooded timber, I was determined to catch em on the winding baits. Could go on ad nauseum but will save you guys the boredom. Story of the day was about one bite every half hour. After that first jig fish, the rest came on a 3/8-ounce War Eagle spinnerbait with double willows and a Strike King replacement skirt in some shade of blue shad. Finished up throwing a sunperch colored War Eagle 3/8 with a single willow and Colorado kicker. With the cold front blowing thru, it seemed critical to bump the trees with the blades as you came by. No bump, no bite. Fished a lot of very good stuff that on a better day would probably have produced more fish. Did manage five keeps for probably 10 pounds and change. Nothing to write home about. Water clarity was very fishable from SK bridge down to Big Creek, with noticeable clearing down around Campbell Point. I'd say visibility ranged from 15 inches to maybe 3 feet. Water temps were 76 to 78. Might go back Thursday but not planning to join the Memorial Day fray this weekend. Anyone who does please be careful out there. It's crazy enough in normal conditions, let alone this flooded mess. Launch ramps should be a real hoot. Back in my drinking days, I'd have set up a lawn chair and enjoyed the show.

And if we knew all the reasons and had all the answers, it wouldn't be fishing as we know it. And not nearly as challenging as trying to figure them out.

Yep, and MDC stocks crappie and walleye.

Donna caught a 3-pound rainbow drop shotting near Shell Knob a couple of years ago.

Amen, and legal or not, you can only eat them once.

Misfitfishingco, First, thanks for taking my post in the spirit it was intended and also for the informative article. As one who speaks out often for bass conservation, I pretty much owe it to those who endure these posts to at least know what I'm talking about. So I try to read everything credible that I can on the subject. Second, the fact that you guys were holding a contest changes everything. I fished tournaments for 35 years and still toss my hat in the ring on occasion, and although I'd like to see fewer of them on Table Rock, they are a fact of life. Two boats or 200, tournaments are here to stay. As for fishing during the spawn, I'd be all for closing a certain section of the lake each year on a rotating basis. Not the entire lake and not even half of it ... just a section. Anyway, glad to have you guys on the forum and thanks for the report.

Wrench, I think what you're saying is true for lakes with colored water, like LOZ. But I've found over the years that they'll often respond better to a steady retrieve in clear water like TR. Thus the late spring wake bait bite on the clear lakes.

We go thru this every few months here. Table Rock does not get supplemental stockings of bass, and even if it did, why potentially pull fish off beds for the sake of a group picture when you could just as easily take individual photos of them and let them go on the spot so they could get back to their business of spawning/protecting their nest? What if we start a spring deer season where we use darts to tranquilize doe deer, haul them off to be revived and released miles away, and leave their young to die? All for a picture. And no, Deadstream. I don't drink --- not during or after the round.

Not sure why you'd gather them up for a group pic. It's May and there are still fish trying to spawn despite the yoyo water temps and levels. Seems best to let em go where they were caught.

Wow.

Good job, Rodmaker. Thanks for the report and for practicing CPR.

Moot point, because anyone with that mentality likely doesn't catch many LM or SM anyway. They're pretty smart creatures.

Two of my favorite things ... a dead striper and another dead striper. ??

I know it, moguy. I had to dig to find it. Seems they'd make the format info more readily available, especially when it's different than the normal four-day Elite Series event. In my days of journalism, which wasn't that long ago, we'd have done a highlight box within the article that gave the dates, launch and weigh-in times/places, and a brief description of the format. Of course, we also published the news plain and clear (just the facts, maam) and let the readers form their own opinions instead of spinning things whichever way we wanted them to feel about it.

Been seeing what appeared to be some launching activity over on the marina side of the bridge, too.

You can launch off the lower parking lot at Eagle Rock ... over by the bridge.