Whack'emGood

Mr. Babler-- if you don't mind sharing... What clarity of water seems to be best right now? Are you looking for clear water or is the stained water the best? Also... is the temperature a few degrees either way making much of a difference right now or are they all in a range that the fish are really active everywhere? Thanks for all you do.

A 3-15 crappie? Wow!!!!! Nice fish. I would like to see that one. Did you take any pics? Nice job finding them.

I didn't say everybody who fishes with live bait was a moron. I was just saying everyone who keeps and eats everything they catch whether they are legal fish or not, or no matter what species of fish are morons. These people that keep every fish no matter the species, size, etc. just mostly happen to be the nightcrawler guys. Not that most of these nightcrawler fisherman aren't knowledgable, size limit and creel abiding fisherman. The thing is (and this applies to just about everything) you just tend to notice the bad ones and generalize. I apologize to anyone that misinterpreted what I was trying to convey. I grew up fishing with my grandpa and catching them on nightcrawlers too-- during that time, my grandpa taught me to handle the fish with care and only to keep legal fish up to your creel limit, to conserve, and only harvest what you needed. Yep, you are right, those were good times.

My view is that if the Kentuckies hadn't taken over like they have, we would have alot more bigger Largemouths. If we want to have really big fish like alot of the premier lakes in the country we need to somehow get the LMs to make a big comeback. I grew up fishing TR and catching 80% LM or so... Then I moved away for 13 years. I moved back to the area about a year and a half ago and most of the LM are gone. When I got back all I heard about was how great the Kentuckies are. I was very sad to hear that the Ks are taking over and the LM were few and far between. I thought everyone was crazy to love the Ks. I have caught some really nice Ks this spring (not near as large as the potential for LM... but nice) and have enjoyed catching them-- but I still long for the good ol' days of big LM on TR. Like I said- I do enjoy the Ks some and can kind of see what all the rage is about, but they don't have the potenial to grow near as big as my beloved LM. Doesn't anyone else miss the LM? P.S. Love the Smallmouths... no complaint there.

If there was a stupidity test, they would all get an A+.

OK. I will put my 2 cents in... All Jet Skiers and people with "ride around and do nothing but make waves" boats (what a thrill-- let's go out and ride around like idiots...) should be shot on sight. Seriously though-- I don't have a problem with people being out on the lake (although I don't get it) doing things other than fishing... But they need to treat fisherman and everyone else around them with respect. The problem with these half-wits is that 90% of them have no respect for anybody or anything. S&M... you have more patience than I do. I probably would have ran that guy down the first time he went between me and the bank. The Water Patrol should have given that guy a huge ticket... You shouldn't have had to explain yourself. These people need to learn some manners.

You're right. The fishing has been good. Hard to argue with that for sure. I wouldn't have a problem if they shut down the lake for April and maybe even part of May every year. It would be worth it to me. The whole deal for me is-- I don't like guys purposely taking fish off of beds. The fishing is good... but could always be better. Look at some of the lakes that the Bassmasters fish in the Mid-South (forget the TX and FL Lakes-- no way TR could be that good, for multiple reasons). Couldn't Table Rock fishing be closer to those great Mid-South lakes if we managed it right?

Its not the same. To me... if you take a fish off the bed, the eggs have no chance. If she is staging... she still has a good chance to spawn when released.

Way to go Mr. Babler. You are too nice of a guy to be mad too long I guess. I wasn't criticizing you Gary... I was just making light of a few posts by Mr. Babler a couple of weeks ago. Its nice to laugh about it after all of the tension that was abound on the board. Good luck tomorrow. Catch'em good.

Just kidding Gary. JoeSki is right, all of the ramp info has been posted several times... You should be able to find it. And... just a word to the wise... don't let Mr. Babler see you asking about ramps!

Uh oh... DUCK AND COVER!!!!

I am a night fisherman too... I have been itching to try it. I would imagine the water isn't quite clear enough to do well though. Does anyone have an opinion on that? Has anyone been or heard any results?

I agree with you Trav. Its one thing to keep fish for a weigh-in... even then though, I will turn a fish that I think is spawning, or on the brink of spawning, back to the water right away... nothing says you have to keep her for the Tourney just because you caught her (I don't fish spring tourneys for that very reason)... To me, its more important to preserve the spawn than win the tourney... Of course, I don't fish Tourneys for a living either. Nobody should ever keep a bass for eating though... There are too many other species of fish that are easy to catch that are better to eat anyway. I will never accept any argument that people should be keeping keeper-sized bass to eat. To me, that is a big reason why we don't have very many bass over 15-16"... there is always some moron, that is fishing with live bait or something, that accidentally catches a keeper or two and eats them. And with the fishing pressure at TR, multiply that guy by several thousand every year. Then there are guys who know what their doing that catch and eat bass (no excuse for that... they oughta be shot). Multiply those guys by a few thousand... No wonder why we dont have more keeper sized fish. Also, a 5 fish limit is too many. They should make it 3. Tourneys would be more interesting for everybody involved (better chance to be in the money for guys that don't catch 5 keepers). Also, even the idiot who is keeping bass to eat wouldn't be able to kill that extra 2 fish every trip.

Yeah. I was thinking that its too bad you dont have a little jon boat or something to get back and forth. Hang in there RPS. Once you get out there and catch a few you'll feel better. Good luck on both the expedition and the fishing.

Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. Good luck on the water.

Thanks for the replies guys. This forum, and its members, are awesome. Since I am new to the area, I don't know too many roads yet... I know the 160 bridge location... How do I get to that low water bridge access Trav? Also, what are my access points and how to get there where the Finley flows into the James? Also could I get some access points on the James below the Finley? I don't know how to get to these places and such. Thanks for the information. You guys are great. When I fish, I will post reports-- hopefully I will be able to return the favor then. Thanks again, Lance.

Hello, I am new to Ozark. I grew up over in Jasper County floating and wading Shoal Creek and Center Creek. This Spring I will definitely be float fishing the Finley on day and half-day trips and I think I have my locations for that figured out. However, I am looking for a spot where I can go and wade fish (or even bank fish if I have to) a few hours in the afternoon after work and catch a few Smallies, or even a Largemouth or two if they are there. I am a catch and release only guy when it comes to bass fishing. Does anyone know where I could put a few hours in and catch a few? I would appreciate any information. Thanks, Lance. Good luck on the water.

Right on, guys. I never purposefully target spawners. If you want your lake to have a healthy population of bass, it just doesn't make sense. Is it really worth it to catch big spawners for a few weeks and, in the process, put a hurting on the repopulation of the lake? I say no way. If you love something, it doesn't make sense to hamper its future existence. These guys need to, instead of being selfish, think about that awhile. Staging fish are easier to catch anyway... there are always some stagers to catch... they don't all spawn at exactly the same time. Do the rest of us, and yourself, a favor and leave those spawners be.

Keep your head up Dennis. After that big front (Thurs-Fri), it seems like nobody is doing that well. I fun fished Saturday and, lets just say, it wasn't that fun. Maybe they'll recover from that front (and all of that fishing pressure!) and turn on again with the warm weather we're supposed to get all week. Check out the reports guys are posting from this weekend... Nobody has too much good news to report. Hang in there... Even a bad day is better than staying home!

That's the way I look at it alot of times. I always say... well everything in the boat worked and we didn't break or lose anything (except a lure or two). Not going to jail is a good thing too... for sure! HaHa! Most times it is just good to get out and fish. Thanks for the report.

Cajunangler... Thanks for clarifying. I went back and read your post again after my reply and realized that I didn't take it right the first time. Probably blinded by the frustration that I found out on the water earlier that day! Sorry, hope I didn't offend... once again... frustration. Good luck on the water!

Cajunangler, did you say "perfect conditions today offered"? You must have fished a different lake than I did today. Post front-high sky conditions... Gusty, swirly, downright nasty winds (if you tried to fish the main lake at all) out of the NW and switching to the North (in the late afternoon)... and a Tourney fisherman every 100 feet of bank. We launched at 1PM, and I bet every bass that saw my spinnerbait had already saw 20 just like it by the time we got there. Those conditions aren't anywhere in the neighborhood of "perfect" in my book. Or... maybe I'm just not a very good fisherman. Seriously... I'm beginning to wonder. I hear that everybody has been slaying them, then I finally get to go and... Well, maybe next weekend I'll get'em.

LOL. I'm just messin with ya KansasBoy. The Cards didn't have a very memorable season just last year... You should've reminded me of that! Its cool... Love the Rivalry. Makes baseball just that much more entertaining. Should be a good pennant race this year with (hopefully) both teams in the race. Good luck on the water. Lance.

When it comes to baseball, I root for two teams... 1) The Cardinals. 2) Whoever is playing the Cubs. P.S. The teams I root for usually do pretty well. LOL

$3.20-$3.25 here in Ozark. Good luck!