Don House

rps, thanks for the report! I will give that a try.. I have a late day today a chat group that did not want to get up early? But I'm going up the white on Monday for a full day and will try that one. Looking forward to a little top water action in the am.. Then I will go drag football jig's and shakey jigs on the bottom as Bill explained.. Let you guys know if we do any good.. Good Fishing everyone.. Capt. Don

Well, lets see for Christmas, I want a new 21 foot boat, new truck wrapped like Mr. Webb's, a lot of tackle, man we go through tackle, 3 or 4 new hot spots on both TR and Taney that never get found, a 40k job from Dec - Feb, blessings for all of my friends and family, peace and good will to all. Well that should do! How about you Bill, I'm sure you can add a few more things... Well Back at it this morning, Good Fishing everyone.. Capt. Don

Well been taking a few morning and then some afternoon trips out this week. Morning trips are slow but still catching a few bass, a lot of shorts and a few keeper mixed in around Kimberling City Area up to the Dam. And of course by now everyone knows about the white bass bite going on, some days good some days slow but still a lot of fun.. Just look for the boats by the DAM. White and Chart spoons depth changes every day.. Get up early you have about an hour per day to get them and then they are gone. Still having troubles finding a top water bite, anyone out there having any luck at all with this?? All I can find are these really small spots chasing shad early and that is it. Afternoon trips have been really strange most are from 4:00pm to 8:00pm so stay in the A/C and sleep for the mid afternoon, was up around Big Cedar a few nights ago, stunk bad, not very many bites but all that we caught came on spoons in deep water trees, but very slow in that area. Maybe some of those Big Cedar Guides will speak up and tell us what is going on in my backyard? Moved to Kimberling City for the next afternoon and had a blast, found two new trees loaded with fish, drop shot and spoons were the ticket in and around 60 - 80 feet, fish are suspended right in the tops of the trees in 30 - 45 feet on the big flats around the main channels. Spoons were producing the bigger keepers but we could only get three or four to bite, but boy they were really nice fish. After that we go back to the drop shot and pick off a few more then move to the next spot and start all over again. That day we were hitting about 5-7 trees just looking for fish, drop a spoon down nothing comes up move on to the next one. But when you find the right one, fish will come up like mad, seems like the whole school is in that one tree. And Yes boat traffic was really bad but by 5:00pm or so they went in for dinner and things calmed down a bit. Hope that helps some of you out, go fishing and have some fun.. Good Fishing Everyone

Ryan, I'm vertical jigging my spoons on 14 pound test. Sizes are from 1/2 to 3/4 ounce all white. There are some minor changes, like a more high performance Gami hook for better hook sets. Sometimes I use the double trouble rig. I use a number 3 or 4 Gami treble hook on a oblong split rig, I run the main line threw the spoon eye and then I tie the split rig with the other hook onto the main line and then allow the spoon to float up and down the main line. This setup will allow you to (1) catch more fish (less missed fish like a stinger hook) and (2) even better sometimes a double hookup. Give it a try!! Good Fishing Everyone Capt. Don

Been fishing everyday this week with clients, seems the morning is slow until after 9:00am or so, still some top water first thing around 5:30 - 6:00 am, with smaller fins and chug bugs, but most of these fish are small at best with one or two bigger fish mixed in with them. You will find a lot of surfacing action with these fish, all on main lake and secondary points in the backs of the big creek arms. Started going back to some of my old hangouts in the big creek arms and still fish on all, just a little bit deeper. Most fish are coming out of 45 plus feet of water on structure of any kind. Total for morning trip for Thursday 10 fish with 3 keepers. Went back out in the afternoon on Thursday with J.E VanNatta to play around in his boat, by the way thanks for the break JE it was fun, very hot but still a lot of fun. Found some really good fish in the deeper trees on spoons right off the bat. But you could only get two or three per tree, but they were fat spots all good keepers. Biggest problem was the tubers running around the main lake, waves were out of control. Went back out on Friday AM, chased some whites around on top water and spoons, then went back to deep fishing for spots, found some good fish in the Indian Point area that lasted just an hour or so, then nothing, went down to cow creek and found some more in the trees, day ended not too bad.. Boy you can tell its the weekend, about 9:45am you could see the boats coming out of the marinas and condo resorts in very large amounts, looked like a parade.. We got out of there ASAP and went to the house.. Good Fishing Everyone Capt. Don

Well, everyone, here is what we guides mean when we talk about the dog days of summer.. Went out yesterday with a group of 4 plus myself. Fished from 5:30am to 10:30am, Fished all of Indian Point and the DAM area. Went to over a dozen spots that I have and a few more new ones we could only muster up 1 small fish??? Could not believe it, we fished deep trees, points, docks, brush piles, I mean everything. No Fish to be found.. Even stayed out an extra hour to see if my deep tree fish would come to life, nothing!! So I just caulked it up to a bad day, apologized to my clients and went home with my head hanging very low and dreading the next day of fishing. Well went back out this morning at 6:00am to some of the same places, by 7:30am we had 4 large white bass and by 9:30am we had found a bunch of keepers spots. I had kids in the boat and they were just catching spots everywhere we went we had a blast. These fish have moved out even deeper, had to go out and find some trees that are in over 100 plus feet of water and come up to 60 feet of water at the tops. My group thought I was crazy making them fish way out in the middle of the lake. The fish were right down in the top of the tree and we watched them come running up to take the bait. All of the fish we caught today came out of 45 - 50 plus feet of water including the white bass. Most came on drop shot but the spoon came on strong also. Now explain how 12 hours can make that big of a change?? Well I guess they moved and I did not easy as that, I was too caught up in what I had done before to change my own game plan. Well learned a very good lesson. Good Fishing Everyone Capt. Don

Mart, nope good bait choice, just left it out... Have not had the chance to fish with clients who can throw one here lately. But still a good choice anytime really, 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce football jigs in PB&J with a small craw or Brown and Purple flash with a matching twin tailed grub and also one of my favorite is a small 1/8 to 1/4 ounce Eakins Jig with matching craw trailer in the same colors. Put the boat in 15 - 30 feet of water and drag or bounce (Hop) them back to the boat on the bottom.. Good fishing everyone and see you on the water.. Capt. Don

carolina-rig-01, well this lake can be very hard, but here are a few things to keep in mind this time of year. 1) Fish move deep, very deep. Understand this and you can unlock the secrets of Table Rock this time of year. Start looking for deeper hangouts, Mouths of big creek arms, Bluff ends, channels swings, deep water flats with structure. Locate these and you are half way there. Spend time just looking for these spots, I will spend 2-3 hours a day if I can just looking for new spots and some times it really pays off. Get a good topo map of that part of the lake and study it, mark areas and then go out and give them a look over. 2) Yes, spinning rods are a big key, I used to be a power fishermen also.. I have a rod box full time bait casting rods and reels which I really only use a 1/3 of the time now. Spoon fishing, top water and crank baits are all I use these guys for now. On your spinning rods you will need a mono line no bigger than 6 - 10 pound max and most of my rods are rigged with 6 pound test. It does make a difference! I like to fish with a Medium Light rod or a Medium rod at max. 3) Electronics, big need!! You don't have to go out and buy a 2000.00 dollar unit, but you also get what you pay for. You will need a unit that can be mounted on the trolling motor with an external or internal transducer, which will allow you to vertical fish better. There is a lot of them out there, I would recommend that you look at a color unit at least. GPS on that unit will also be a big help, when you vertical fish you are always looking for new places, 75% of the new places I find are from just fishing and coming across a new tree or ditch or what ever I might find in which I mark with my GPS for later review and a quick stop by to see if anything is hanging out or around it. 4) Try a lot of different ways to fish, drop shot for me is key, but it's also my confidence method of fishing this time of year, more than likely too much, but it's my way of power fishing now. I will use night crawlers to located the fish then return and attempt to use plastics on them. (for you tournament guys) Spoons are another great way to located fish very fast and it is easy to do, I use an all white 1/2 and 3/4 ounce spoon with a few minor modifications, like changing hooks to better sharper hook, or even adding a second hook called the double trouble rig, in which I add a second hook to the line and allow the spoon to slide up and down the main line. It is really fun when you get two fish on at the same time!! Top water early and late in the same places listed above are always a good way to locate some good fish, spooks, redfins, chugbugs, pop-r's and the list goes on and on. Deep trees and bluff ends are really good for this. Flukes of all sizes are a lot of fun this time of the year also. Even better when you can't get a bite on top water, run these just below the surface with small twitches or even weight them for a deeper approach. 5) Night fishing, well I'm not one to venture out in the dark on Table Rock, but I used to do it a lot, Texas rigged salty craws was one of my big tools, give them a try sometime, Maybe there are guys on here which are much better at this than me, I will let then give you some ideals on this subject. Play with all of these items and you will start to find and catch better fish on Table Rock Lake, but there is so much to discuss and I have rambled on way to long now. Maybe we can get Mr. Babler to chime in also with a few tricks that he may have also. He has a lot more experience than I do and even more in that area of the lake. Just keep trying and don't give up, that is what I had to do to try to keep up with these big name guides down here. Good Luck and Good Fishing Capt. Don

Give Mr. Babler a call if he is not on Taneycomo he is up at Baxter,Shell Knob area a lot!!! Ask him to take you to the Baxter point or what I call the wall.. He knows were it is, he can put you on some really nice fish in that neck of the woods. Call Him White River Outfitters 1-800-554-0257 Good luck and have some fun Capt. Don

Well guys, A very nice old man up on Truman Lake show me this trick a few years back when I was heavy into tournament fishing, they work very well. Smaller bait profile matches the hatch on Truman and Table Rock very well. But don't melt or try to bend the bills on a red fin.. Bad choice, I wasted a lot of good money trying this one.. They will break.. I've tried too thick of a bill they heat up and crack. What I did was to go out and buy the cheaper double jointed and single stick bait from rapala 4" and 6" floating, I liked the color choices better, (Tennessee Shad and Silver Minnow) and then these guys have a smaller plastic bill on them, you can heat these up and bend the bill down to get the Wiggle-Diggle affect really nice. I have some old picture on this site somewhere maybe I can find them if you would like. Red Fins work very well down here as Bill has shown, so it is just a matter of choice or just playing around to see if you can make a better mouse trap.. Good Fishing Everyone

Bill, yes he did.. I think Mike's was 5'6" and the new record is 5'10" set 2 or 3 years ago at the BASS Federation regional tournament.. Matter of fact in that same year the record was broke 3 times in 2 months all fall tournaments and to this day that fish is still living well in one of Johnnie Morris Tanks at Bass Pro in Springfield. From what I heard the was from out of state and he donated the fish to Bass Pro so everyone could see the state record.. Good Fishing Everyone

Tightline, yes it looked to be a Mean Mouth, cross between a Smallie and a Spot.. I have only caught a few myself, so this was a real pleasure. Thanks again for the help in placing this picture on the Board. Once again just go out and have some fun, fishing will get better like it always does. But if you want sleep in until 8 or 9 or go throw Bill's topwater Red Fin.. Going to give it a try this morning have a group out of Aunts Creek, good place to give it a try, I will let you know how we did.. Until then Good Fishing Everyone Capt. Don

Ok, lets try this one more time.. Ok finally got it.. Needed to covert to Jpeg file... Enjoy.. Capt. Don

Guy's, well the morning bite is very slow in all parts of the lake for me, 3- 5 fish at best for right now, I'm not sure if it is because they are not running water in the mornings or that it really is, but also I'm not fishing any top water fish, I'm just going right to the drop shot, need to give the top water a try in the morning.. But once that sun gets up high and hot man it really turns on for me. Seems like after 10:00 am, my deep trees really come to life.. We can jump from Kimberling City to the DAM to just past State Park, about 7 - 15 trees and get into some really good fish, around 20 plus with 5 - 10 keepers all on drop shot. All of these trees are in the 70 - 100 plus range in the mouths of the bigger creek arms and on the deep flats and come up to 35 - 40 feet tops. Just turn on your electronics and start looking for them. I might find and GPS three new ones a day but they have no fish in them, but I will keep stopping by them and once in a while they are there big time!!! Night crawlers and plastic both, some days are better for plastic and some days are better for the crawlers.. Some of my deep water docks are still producing some good fish but most have been found out by others and fished to death. Fishing the bigger deep water docks with a lot of cables on them, fish are right on the cables at 35- 40 feet, but can be very hit and miss and really is an afternoon bite when very hot. If I can figure out how to post a picture I want to show is guy I caught yesterday.. One big Mean Mouth, a little over 5 pounds, thought for a few minutes that I may have broken the state record.. Well found a good scale and well no cookies.. But If I had caught this fish in the spring I would have crushed the record.. Fish had the length but the belly was just not there.. Still will make a great picture for my business cards and one very nice plastic mount!! Took some pictures, used some line for measurements "length and girth", gave her a kiss and watched her swim under my dock.. Does not always happen like this everyday but they are there, just do me a favor, if you find these trees just fish them, enjoy and please put them back so everyone else can enjoy also... By the way how do you add pictures to this site?? I found how to add attachments but not pictures.. Please someone let me know.. Good Fishing Everyone Capt. Don House

Now, Now guy's... This was all about persons taking very short fish. It's wrong and I and a lot of others will go L.A Police Department on you about it!!! Not about guides or other tournament fishermen killing fish, (by the way guides are the best about not killing these fish, so I'm not sure were that came from??) or everyone using night crawlers, Heck, I use night crawlers a lot myself and so does every guide on this lake, and we can do it without killing the fish! So if you want some fish go get them, enjoy!! Let's just stop trash talking on everyone and talk about fishing!!! Now go fishing, see you on the water Capt. Don

Talk to Bill Babler.. White River Outfitters 1-800-554-0257.. He can really work Eagle Rock to Shell Knob area... Good Fishing Capt. Don

Fishin Freak, go to www.maout.com, and look under Table Rock Tournaments they are listed there.. Last tournament there was 6 boats I think and 3.4 pounds won it.. Little Club, but could be fun.. Good Fishing Capt. Don

I seen them twice last week taking 12 inch fish or just about everything they catch, so here is what I do, worked for me last week, yes I did it and will every time I see someone doing this, I can tell a short fish every time and law is law.... Place this number in your cell phone 1-800-392-1111.. MO Conservation poaching hotline. Give these guys the boat numbers, colors and type of boat and were they are (location) on the lake. They will take it from there, do not talk or confront these guys, some are real rednecks with guns not worth your life, also don't give them any clues as to what you are going to do to them, let them keep going so our good guys can get them in the act!! They will be watched and caught. I've talked to other guides and there are MDC reps out there right now checking everyone up by the DAM and all over the lake, so the word is out. Good Fishing everyone Capt. Don House

Sorry guys wrong spot.. Capt. Don

Bill, thanks for the kind words... And yes I will see you at 7:30am on that day. Don House

Bill, WOW! All because I had a really good day with a group of guys that could really fish. Bill, what I told you was real, it really happened and I was very excited over it. Does not always happen to me, matter of fact sometimes I really struggle to keep up with the other guides around here, that includes you, I don't have 30 years of experience. Just a mere 3 years as a guide. Did I tell you everything no, but I could tell by the way you looked at me when I told you was one of those I don't believe this guy look. Did it hurt my feelings YES, I was telling you what happened to me on that day no lies, no BS, I was very excited that it finally happened to me!! Did it bother me YES!, I have no reason to lie or BS to you, what will that get me nothing! So I just chalked it up to a life experience and next time just keep my mouth shut and keep it to myself, and then your post, was it really needed? Hear is what you said and how I'm taking it, And I quote... "One guy told me it was as easy as it gets. His clients had 45 fish, on a drop shot. "Don't know", but if they did they are twice as good as the rest. I fish somewhere every day and am usually very intune with what the fish are doing, but I just have not seen that kind of bite. Maby it is starting and the rest if us have just not found it. At least 4 other guides that have fished the lake for 30 plus years fished the same water and didn't come near these totals, or for that matter, even close. I know it only takes 1 good spot, "on the drop to really produce, but we have just not caught fish as deep as what I was told, especially in those numbers." So the way I read this is because 4 other guides did not do it, it is very unlikely or rare that I could, "especially in those numbers"? I "don't know" just feel it was unneeded, just my opinion, just like the above was your opinion. It's all in how you put it on paper and how others will read it and take it. How would you take someone doubting your reports? That is the question I ask you to think about, just think about it. As far as my day last week, believe it or not, it was one of the best I have ever had, got lucky, right place right time, I just found fish that no one else had found yet in 35 feet of water on a drop shot, and then I put it to work in every place I went just like it there were the same type of fish! I know it was 45 fish because my clients were the ones counting, counting every fish, it mattered to them, that is why they hire guys like you and I! It's really sad, I used to love to come on this site and post reports about my days fishing, but then I started getting a lot of slack by other guides out there for giving out too much information or my reports gave out too much detailed information, so I stopped! Just like now I guess I will just not say anything to anyone anymore, I will just smile and wave as we pass and keep it at that. Sad Really Sad! One more thing as far as the tip goes it was one of the best I have ever had. As far as you and Rick, I feel he was just teasing you and maybe you are taking it too personally just like me and your post. But I will let Rick speak for himself. As far as improving, may I suggest spell check? As referenced below: intune? intune is not a word, it should be in tune maby should be maybe dropped shotted? huh? that should be drop shot barley should be barely = unless you're talking about grains and breads gurb? I think its grub technolegy should be technology hidding? that should be hiding vinue is actually venue medeoaker (LOL) should be mediocre allegance is allegiance and last, monicar is moniker And that was just on this thread, I didn't bother going back to all 400 of your posts. By the way if you feel it unnecessary for my services on next Wednesday business trip, that is fine with me. Well that is that, you know how I feel now and I'm out of here. Don House

Well, Mr "B" pretty much hit all of the good points, but one thing I have found is that the size of the fish that relate to the Thermocline. I have found that the smaller fish will be just above the Thermocline and the bigger fish will be just below it.. Also when drop shotting and you get down to the T-Cline the bigger fish will rise up to your bait but will not go above the t-cline line. Same with the smaller fish, they will not go down past it.. Anyone else seen this? It's pretty neat.. Find the Thermocline and you will find the fish, spend some time looking for spots (Humps, Cables, Brushpiles, ect.) in that range and the fish will be there.. Good Fishing everyone..

CJ, you might find some fish hanging on pole timber but down deep, other guides might be on that type of bite, but my fish that I have been catching are relating to really deep water structure such as deep water dock cables, Bridge pillers, No Wake Bouys cables and deep water brush piles and deep water trees. We are getting into that summer pattern where these fish and schools of fish will hold above alot of these types of structures and move around with the bait fish, try fishing some of these types listed above you will be surprized what you can find.. Good Fishing

Bass Pro XL low vis green, 6 Pound.. Cheap but strong and if you want to go to a heavy line do not go past 8 pound! Just set your drag lite and have fun. Good Fishing

Dallas Bill, Welcome down to the Lake, You will be staying on my side of the lake and the fishing is good but alittle hard if you are not used to deep water fishing. So first off everyone else is right. The First Day I would get a guide for atleast 1/2 of a day.. But hurry, during that time frame everyone is booking up fast.. Phil Lilley @ Lilley Landing, has guides and so does Big Cedar and of course my company Chauffeured Guide Service as well. But if you can't afford guide services here is what I would do and what I have been doing every day for the past two weeks. All of my fish have moved deep, and can be found in and around the Islands and the big deep docks from Big Cedar to Indian Point and on into Kimberling City. I have been fishing these on the deep side with a total depth from 65 to 125 feet, the fish are suspended in 20 - 35 feet of water, The best depth I have found is around 25 - 30 feet. Fish these areas with a drop shot rig and small plastic worms, like what I have been using are Robo worms about 3" long in colors of brown and chart or Silver and Black shad color. Look for shad to be bunched up in these same depths or even higher up like 10 -15 feet, most fish are right below them. Next the best choice if you don't like plastic is to go with the good old night crawlers rigged on the same drop shot rig, this is your best bet to catch alot of Spots this time of year. Drop these worm down and watch your rod tip very close, bites are slow and light. If you start to get alot of small blue gill bites you need to go down deeper. We have been catching between 10 - 30 fish per day in the 1.5 pound to 4 pound range, mostly all Spots but a few Blacks and Small Mouths mixed in. So they are biting but you just have to look in places alot of folks do not look or fish!! Hope this helps alittle, just get out there and have some fun.. Good Fishing