edwin

Glad it wasn't worse...be careful out there, esp as the water temps drop

Absolutely fantastic Bill!!!! Great job, what an incredible fish.

Great point re: those that don't fish often and getting frustrated. I used to take my Dad and brother fishing this time of year when the fluke bite was on. My fix would have been a nightmare for you guiding folks...but I'd put a treble hook on the main hook as a stinger. You have to jerk it a bit quicker as it sinks faster but sure helps the hook-up ratio. I also saw a note earlier about the double fluke / donkey rig. I love throwing that on a 7' Cara jig rod, esp once they back off the bank just a bit as it sinks pretty quick. Great setup for sure. Thanks for the reports Bill, always a pleasure to read. Tried to book you for the past few weekends and the Mrs. made it pretty clear that you're busier than a one armed wall paper hanger

Just watched the video, glad to see the gent is ok. Wonder how it happened without a wake boat there to cause the incident...

Truer words have not been typed. Let me summarize as best I can. My parents built their home in Aunts Creek in the early 70's with a few contractors and ton of sweat equity. My brother and I had more 'go find something to do' time than we really wanted. Kids in the neighborhood were non-existent, so we spent time on the water in the blue boat...think 15'6" aluminum hull painted blue, stick steer up front, and a 50hp Merc. It was basic at best but we learned how to be safe boaters while enjoying ourselves safely all the way into 2019. The skills that were fine tuned and experiences enjoyed over those years helped make us cognizant of the fun to be had, while keeping in mind the responsibility of what can happen when monkey dodo goes sideways in a hurry. I point this out as the wake boat folks that are the ones we all notice fall into two groups (for the most part) - the high school / college kids in Dad's boat that will blast foul music at any time of the day, and flip you off as it's 'their water too'. I saw the same thing in the 1990's when mountain bikes were getting popular and the horse back riders were being overrun by a-hole kids on their bikes. Not a good scene. Second group are the oblivious ones, often first time buyers with some dough, or moving up from a run-about. If you spend a few minutes and look at the current wake boats, they have every amenity of the highest end run-abouts, plus they can do a lot of things well in addition to pull a tube. The challenge is the folks haven't a clue about the mess they're creating for everyone else with the huge wake they leave behind. Honestly, they really don't get it's. They're not trying to cause grief for others but they don't know any better. Go spend an afternoon at the boat ramp and you'll see it on display. Final thing to understand is why the surf thing is big and gaining momentum. - Slalom skiing at a high level is like casting a bait caster into the wind..takes some skill and practice...even once you got it, you're still gonna get some bird nests along the way. The crashes hurt and the learning curve is steep. - Wakeboarding is like throwing a ned rig with an eight ounce weight on an ultra light. Not as hard as the bait caster, but still a challenge. Some try and do it for a bit with lots of smiles and laughs. -Surfing is like casting a 2 ounce practice caster with a Zebco 33. Learning curve is almost zero, the crashes at 10mph are no worse than jumping in a pool, and people can enjoy well into advanced years without the pain. It's a social event and a ton of fun to see the smiles. Everyone can have a turn and it's easy to learn. That said, as snagged mentions, it's really, really tough for some of the folks to identify a way that it's fun for everyone in the wake boat, while not doing so at the expense of everyone else.

Sir - I don't disagree with you one bit...not one. I've owned 4 bass boats and 3 shallow draft inboard ski boats (think 3-4 inch wake, not 3-4 feet) so I'm keenly aware of the big wake issues. Heck, the reason we sold our last small ski boat is that we were relegated to using the lake before 10:30am on weekends...after that it sat on the lift all day. There are a few things that I try to keep in mind re: time on the water at TRL. 1) I work a ton of hours, have a very busy family with limited free time , so I have to fit in time when I can go...and that means being on the water with the crowd and the BS associated with it. Not my preference but it's what I've got. 2)If I'm going to be on the water, I need to have a boat that's appropriate for the conditions that I'm entering. 3) There are an increasing number of big boats operated by folks that haven't a clue about safety and being courteous of others. 4) The wake boats get the bad rap (deservedly so, BTW) as they're normally going / doing something, vs sitting and swimming. They create more opportunity to negatively impact others' enjoyment of the water. 5) Most importantly of all, a vast majority of the folks that are throwing out the 4' wake buzzing past you, my dock, close to shore, etc. are clueless / oblivious to the fact that they are causing challenges to other. 6) Finally, I fully expect there will be some sort of legislation that will limit the wake enhancing capability of these boats. Going to be a long time out, but I see it happening at some point in time. I can't guarantee too many things, but this one if for sure - you'll never see my boat go even remotely close to a boat that's sitting still, we'll find an area out of the way as to not pass docks, we hang it up for the day when the conditions don't allow, and you'll get a friendly wave anytime we pass each other on the water.

RPS - glad to see you got out there despite the crowded ramp. Question for ya - the ill mannered folks you mentioned. Were they the guys fishing the T, or the wake boat that came back and forth three times? Also, I appreciate the comment "Talked with Colin, the HI concessionaire, when I came in. He told me he made very little money off the fishermen. They all had gas and oil when they arrived and bought no items other than a few pizzas and beer." If you asked Colin what he thought about the wake boat crowd, I'd venture to guess he's more than happy to see them show up and buy gas, food, drinks, and ice. I know for certain that the folks at Hideaway, Cape Fair, and Hwy 13 sure were happy to split my $2100 in gas money last season. Finally, I've never seen a more grateful bunch of people when you throw em a $10 tip for helping with the gas and holding the boat. You can guess what they have to say about the folks like Colin mentions above. Just my opinion, but without the wake / pleasure boaters, Colin and the rest of the places like his would be in a pickle. Tight lines, Edwin

I'm all up for helping out when the weather takes a turn, but we've had tons of things on our dock go missing after folks seek shelter from a storm. Life jackets, towels, fish finders, rods and reels, cans of gas, and even had people go thru the cooler of our boat and take all the beer. As mentioned - tie up, stay in the boat if possible is a good rule of thumb. Things go south when folks start wandering around looking into folks boats. Tight lines, Edwin

Happy new year, Bill! My uneducated vote goes for folks getting a line wet before the weather rolls in. Tight lines, Edwin

Awesome!!! Great pics, puts a smile on my face to read the thread. Well done, sir.

It's already been done. I guess you don't recall Spanks, located right by Old 160 and 160 in Reeds Spring. It was there long before the new Hwy 160 was built. Guess it was there for 15+ years..closed 5-6 yrs ago.

I'm happy to hear everyone was ok , but I'd be curious to hear details of the incident mentioned above. For all the folks here bashing the wake making crowd, do any of you read the Water Patrol website accident reports? Take a few mins https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/WP03/SearchAction?searchTroop=D We do have some TRL incidents but I'm unable to find any reports that include a wake making boat...not a single one this year. That said, pontoons are certainly in quite a few of the reports. I certainly concur that the lake is busier than I've ever seen in my 40+ years of using it. On top of it, I'd agree that there are quite a few stooges out there that are completely oblivious to their actions. That said, it doesn't even come remotely close to LOZ. No where even in the same ballpark... EDIT : I stand corrected - I found incident# 170480309 - a pontoon boat ran into a 2016 MasterCraft, while that MasterCraft was tied up in at dock at the State Park Marina.

So sorry to hear the news, Bill. You always spoke incredibly highly of Mr Beck...my condolences, sir.

Thanks for the note Champ...all good here, just busy as ever. Happy New Year to you and the Mrs!

Thanks again folks! I've spent some time chatting with the Aurora folks, will be having them do the work. They've already got a template for the boat and need nothing to press fwd other than a check or credit card I truly appreciate the help. Tight lines! edwin

thanks folks...truly appreciate the insight!

Hi folks - I'm looking to have my boat cover modified, adding a skirt on the back to keep the morning sun off my boat. Anyone have a suggestion of a cover / upholstery shop around the lake that you've used and does good work? Closer to Kimberling City is definitely more convenient. Thanks in advance! edwin

I got down to TRL for the weekend with my 12 y/o daughter Sam. We'd been hoping to get out for a trip with Bill Babler, but his bum wheel forced a change in agenda. Got in 18 holes of golf on Saturday am, some skiing in the afternoon. After she skied 4 sets and could hold on no more, it was time to find some topwater action. I know, I know...who does that at 3:30 in the afternoon w/ blue bird skies? Ended up hooking up a few around the Hwy 13 bridge. We caught 4, one that would almost keep if ya stood on it a bit. All things considered, a fun time and good enough to put a smile on Sam's face until Bill gets off the injured reserve list. Beautiful weekend!

Get well soon, Bill!

...and an even better time to tee it up

Thanks for the kind words Bill! We certainly had a blast for sure. It's all been said here many times before but it's worth repeating - your professionalism, friendly demeanor, equipment, and dedication to your customers' success / enjoyment is without equal. I've been fortunate enough to fish with a couple dozen guides all over this fine country and you are heads and tails above the rest. You'll be happy to know that Sam has been working hard at casting the spinning rig off the dock almost nonstop since the trip. She'll be ready to cast for herself on the next outing. That said, I'll gladly share the front deck with ya just to make sure neither of us gets a scalp job I'll let you know, the letter was 100% her idea from the get go. She'd be tickled to have you share the letter. Thanks again for a great trip...look fwd to the next one! Scott ( aka edwin )

I've hit the SLDR a couple times...great stick. I really do think the lower spin rate would help me. Maybe I'll use my rod / reel proceeds to fund a new driver My only rule of giving away golf clubs - if I give em to someone, I want em gone enough that I don't ever see it again. I go out of my way to take care of my stuff and it's a kick in the groin to see em thrashed by someone. I once gave a buddy a fairly new set of Callaway X-22 irons. The second time he played with them, I watched him pull a 6 iron from the bag, hit the ball thin and into a lake. Out of anger, he helicoptered the club down the cart path...almost made me sick, hence the not seeing em again rule. Back to fishing

Looks like the reels are sold. Thanks Jeremy!

Heck yeah, Champ...got lots of those too. That said, the sticks get used lots more than the fishing gear. Looking for anything in particular? I just might have it I used to donate my old stuff to the high school kids but sheesh, seems like everyone of them these days has custom clubs.

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