mclothier1

Good luck KC, hope you get into them!

Yes I agree about Don, He may be a little rough, but he can get you on the fish (if his girlfriend isnt killing the shad! lol) and in my opinion... thats what its all about. Ive got a trip with him this coming weekend, I am taking my two boys and my dad on a full day trip, been watching the gallery and it seems to be hit an miss on pulling the big ones.... I would love to see my dad or either one of my son's fight a 20 pounder! I will report back and let you know how we did.

Will do Jeff, Im hoping its not a river trip like before! At any rate, Im not that familiar with the lake and locations, but I will report back and let you know what we find. hmmm... maybe I can take along my gps!

Phil, respectfully... who cares what their beef is, they post good reports and advice and thats why the Table Rock forum is the best anywhere!. I hired Don House for a couple half days and he seems like a pretty laid back guy, and he also posted reports and was as helpful as he could be without actually setting the hook and handing you the rod. Now we're not sure if he's even on the forum anymore. Thats true... we all love to fish As someone that hasnt been around since the beginning, I dont know the history on that, If he has a lot to offer, I sure wish he would share it instead of trying to run off the guides. No point in doing that, it would make the thread unreadable, I can only hope the damage has been contained, and I hope this guy drops his trolling ways, and actually contributes something of value to the TR forum.

Well for me it is interesting too, and I have no use for the ignore button. But... what I mean by destroying... Meaning if it upsets guides to the point they want to walk away or stop posting reports. Is that REALLY what we want? The person causing all the trouble is nothing more than a troll. While it may be entertaining... I would rather have boring, and keep the reports. There is nothing wrong with differing opinions, it makes people see that there are several sides to a story, but a troll isnt about all that, his only intent is to upset people and goad them into arguements. If this was my site I wouldnt allow it, but its not... so I will live with it like everyone else.

I tried Jack Stack (on the plaza) and was not impressed. The ribs were flavorless, they smelled good, but didnt have any flavor, its like they boiled them or something? Also had a side of their baked beans... they had some flavor, but it tasted more like chili than baked beans. Wont be going back

In my opinion... For the life of me I cant figure out why the mods allow one person (one that contributes no value) to run his mouth and obviously upset some of the guides and other regulars to the point that they stop posting fishing reports, and some even walk away from the board. Phil posted a short blurb about this person being on one of the earlier forums? And seems to be ok with him? Maybe if let the rest of us in on the inside joke it wouldnt be so bad, and we would understand the situation? Just doesnt make sense to let one person destroy a great thing that took a long time to build.

Hey Quillback... Looks like I will be doing another Striper trip with Don. We will be down there next Friday the 4th and fishing all day Saturday the 5th. Not sure what part of the lake we will be fishing, but if you see us.... say hi.

One tip I learned from a guide... Get yourself a small lunchbox sized cooler and fill it 1/3 full with ice and water. Dump the crawlers out of the box and rinse the dirt off and put em in the cooler. They will stay lively as long as it stays cold and you dont end up with worm dirt all over your hands... and the boat!

Bill, I did the same exact thing when I was there in July. Crawler bite was slow, so I decided to play with a spoon and after jigging it up and down I noticed the fish would charge it, give it a sniff and then run off... So after a while of this I figured I could "call" them in with the spoon and then drop the crawler in on em, and it worked! Not fantastic by any means but I caught a few doing the switcheroo, and it was fun! probably looked like a fool fumbling around with two poles... but I didnt care

....

I second what Bill is saying... a Guide trip can really open your eyes to new locations, methods, etc. it really helps! And yes it sounds like you need to upgrade your electronics, After taking a guide trip last year for the first time, I was enlightened as to the value of a good fish finder... So I purchased a Lowrance x-510 which came in around $300 but is still powerful enough to pick up a split shot and hook. The new finder has greatly improved my chances of catching some fish! On our trip here in early June, I was drop shotting down mostly on the bottom, and it was a hoot watching the screen.... you see the bait go down, then you see the fish move at it... then your bit!! I think it took all of 15 minutes to catch my first fish using the new finder. Then we took another trip in mid July and I found the fish suspended... easy enough just drop it down to the level they are holding at... shake it in their face, and your bit!! I also played around with a spoon for a bit, and it was amazing seeing the fish dart to the bait, give it a look, then run away! I did learn more about how to use it, and to understand what it is telling me and found that If I could also mark schools of baitfish, the fish were usually hanging out right under them. Caught a few nice ones when that was the case! and be ready to reel FAST, cause they seem to come straight up to get away from the other fish trying to steal a meal. After I tell people about the new finder and tell them its like playing a video game, they say "well... thats cheating" and I say NO WAY!!... its a fish finder, and it helps me find the fish, money well spent! Only problem with the new finder... Whenever I take the son fishing, we have a fight to see who's gonna sit in the front seat! LOL, silly kid, DAD always wins!!!

I know where one is at but I cant remember where

I bet that was a hoot to catch with that ultralight rod!!

Wow very nice!

RIP One Tree Island is just north of the 86 bridge. And Yes at normal pool it is definetly an underwater hazard, all you see is a tree trunk sticking up out of the water... which would be VERY hard if not impossible to see at night. I also agree that a lighted buoy would be a very good idea.

Yeah, but thats not the point. It would be nice to get reviews all in one place, plus from people like us. I can also imagine it would be a great resource for a newbie as far as what resorts are in what areas and so forth, and what activities or attractions are nearby. Just an idea, maybe Phil will have something to say? I know I could contribute at least three reviews to it.

I just had a idea! or maybe just a brain fart. I know this site has a Lodging forum, but what if there was a way to have a thread for EACH resort, and then have people write reviews when they stay there. That way a person looking for lodging can read up about the different resorts and make their own choice? Or maybe have a subforum by area? say something like Indian point lodging, and then DD point lodging, Kimberling City lodging, Aunts creek, shell Knob, Baxter...etc, etc. Sound do-able? good idea or bad?

Thanks Techo! Im no writer, but I was hoping it came across with some of the feeling, I was like wooo-hoooo this is a nice fish! then all the air got let out of my balloon!

Ahhh... that very well could have been the problem. Ill have to give it a shot. I hate the ones that shake a hook down deep where you dont even get a look at him, at least I got a real good look at this one!

Don, I had this one happen to me on the trip I just got back from. Was dropping in on them with a crawler, and I got bit on the drop... I was sitting there wondering why it hadnt bottomed out, so I started reeling and as soon as I got the slack out of it I knew I had a fish on, once I realized this... I was reeling as fast as I could trying to catch up to it, becasue it also seems that he was coming up... and fast! I finally got some good tension on the line and set the hook then the fight began! We fought back and forth for a little bit and I was able to get the upper hand and had him close to the boat, got a good look at him and it was a nice fat Kentucky, Well I think when he saw the boat he got kinda pissed off and took off again and tested my drag, but after a short battle I got him back up at which point I grabbed the net and swung it over the side and that must have REALLY pissed him off because he made one final thrash and BOOM he was gone. Obviously I didnt get the hook set real good so now that Ive learned that lesson... next time I will set the hook at least twice!

I just got back from the rock, and found a few bigger gills down deep around 25ft or so. The place we stayed at had two docks and they are both fairly shallow, so I didnt have any luck there... except real small ones. Caught them mostly on worms, but I did catch a few messing around with a chartreuse beetle spin casted toward the bank where you can see underwater ledges and drop offs. Found them out on points pretty much the same place you go drop shotting for bass, but I also found a few back in the coves

Denjac, I am heading that way, will be on the water Wed thru Sat, leaving Sunday. Staying at Lazy Lee's will be driving a Purple/white Glastron fish n ski, Give me a wave if you see me or stop in and say hi. Or yeah I could always use some help locating the fish, especially since Ill probably be by myself this time around. Eric, Thanks for the advice, I will give it a shot! Ok im outta here...

Coming to the Rock tomorrow and staying on the west side of DD point, usually I dont take real long boat trips to go fish, I mostly fish from the dam to mill creek. But I've heard that for this time of year, Up the James is the place I want to be. At any rate I thought I would try fishing some new places. Im not asking for any specific spots or secret honey holes, but Im wondering what general area would be the best right now? how far up the James do I need to travel? Also reading the weather reports it appears a strong front is coming in and will cool things off, this is a weak spot for me as I have a hard time catching fish after a front. Any tips you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks for the help!

Keyboard warriors, they are quick to complain, but I bet not a one of them will get on here. Hey Bill, here's another idea... For those that PM, e-mail or call you complaining about the fishing reports.... post their username on the forums! Maybe that will make em think twice.