petertherock

WebFreeman, Listen to Don, stick with the Wiggle Wart in his suggested patterns. It's a great crankbait on the Rock. It's like fly fishing for trout: MATCH THE HATCH! Same goes here MATCH THE BAIT!. Don I appreciate your report; glad to here the whites are just now starting to rock'n'roll as I will be down the week after next. I'm bringing three native guys from out here in PA/WV, it will be there first time ever on the Rock. We will be primarily bass fishing but it's good to know what the options are. So keep the good reports coming! In fact after this reply I've got to go back and read a couple of things you said! Thanks, good fishing! petertherock P.S. lilley's right, think of the rumor one could start by using Photoshop to make the bass in one's pictures appear to be Peacock Bass. Peacock on the Rock! HA!

SKMO IS RIGHT! I don't know why people want to bother with the walleye in the Rock. While they exist they are elusive in our lake! Stick to the bass and crappie, especially on that end of the lake! Just give us more information please! I know when you get hungry, just pull up and tie off at the Pizza Hut dock(that is if it's still there). The walk up the bluff, will be good to stretch your legs after being in your boat all day. The bluegill hangiong off the dock like pepperoni the best! petertherock

Fellows, This swimmin' minnows are a killer on white bass during the spawn! petertherock

Hey Guys, I just wanted to tell you about the 7.25 lb largemouth I caught two years ago horsing around on my boat dock. This big 'O' sow was swimming between the dock and the bank apparently feasting on or just picking on sunfish on their nest. I caught her, no kidding, by catching a sunfish, threw him back in with plenty of hook exposed, and danced him on my line. Splash, bang she hit him and I landed her, took a picture and released her out off the end of the dock. I know the Rock has some big fish! My son 6 years ago wasn't even trying too hard, just letting his white Triple Ripple Tail trail behind the boat and he caught a 6.75lb between two boat docks. I've caught quite a few bass in the 6 to 7lb. class. There are some big fish in this lake! petertherock The majority of my fish caught have been in the 3.5 to 5lb. range.

Tom, You can call me Tom, or you can call me Thomas, or you can call me Tommy. I have the same name as yours! You don't want to attempt my last name, so Bogie will suffice there! I'm a preacher so you may also call me Preacher Bogie! petertherock

Howdy, I believe I read Bill Babler's note in this direction. The largemouth population has bounced back in the last couple of years. I have caught some hawgs myself, always taking a quick picture of them, then carefully releasing them back into the water! Please practice catch and release of largemouth on the Rock. I hope the others from the Rock will agree, there are plenty of other speciies this time of the year for you to catch, and if you try, you will catch them, and you can have your fish fry! God has given us the earth and the fullness thereof to be good stewards with. Be good stewards with our largemouth, take a pic, and easily let them go! Amen? Amen! petertherock P.S. Can you tell I'm a preacher!

Tom, Listen to SKMO, he ain't steering you wrong! If you set out off of Indian point bass fishing at that time of the year, trust us you'll leave the walleye for later and another lake. You're going to be in PRIME SMALLMOUTH WATER as SKMO said. Look for my article posted as Just Beyond Point 5. That secondary point and cove is not far from Indian point! petertherock P.S. If you just gotta fish for walleye or Jack Salmon as some locals used to call them in the Ozarks, try the drive over to Forsyth just beyond Branson and put in at K Dock on the Bull. If you don't mind me asking Tom, where are you from? You seem to be fond of walleye fishing. Come on out East here for that! Where I once lived on the Rock, I now live in Walleye Capitol USA. Lake Erie and Mosquitoe Lake Ohio Baby!

Jim let me get you straight, you want to rent a bigger boat than the one you're bringing, but you want to know about some honey holes that you can fish close to where your staying, where you might use the small boat your toting with you, right? petertherock

I thought it might be appropriate that i introduce myself, since I've posted a few on the forum. My real name is Tom. I used to be a preacher up in Cape Fair and I substituted full time for the ReedsSpring School district. I started fishing Table Rock religiously back in 1983. Prior to that I considered my home lake to be the Lake of the Ozarks. My pap broke me in to fishing the Dragon when I was just a little tike, It was crappie fising on the Little Niangua, in specific crappie bed 41. We originally lived in St. Louis but made several trips to the Lake of the Ozarks in the summers and stayed at an old fishing camp resort there called Bowers. The resort was between Kon-Tiki and Sportsmens. Any way I started bass fishing in my teens. Later as an adult I fished BASS Federation tournaments and local tournaments in the Mid-West. In retrospect I hated tournament fishing, too much anxiety, too much hype! My folks decided to retire to Table Rock back in 1983. They bought a piece of property up on Eagle Ridge off of DD highway from Doug Blevins & Rick Miller two fine local young men(then) that owned and still do Miller-Blevins excavating and DD Dockbuilders (Commercial) that included a slip in a boat dock just below them.(A funny part of the story) in negotiating a price for the lot, Doug called my momma the first Jew in the Ozarks!(were not Jewish)but my momma is shrewd for sure, he pegged her right! If the property and home ever goes up for sale, while my momma's still living I'll let you know, becuase you'll want to negotiate through me, trust me! My parents plans were originally to retire on the Lake of The Ozarks, but it just became to commercial for them (imagine that) I came To Cape Fair back in the Mid 90's and stayed through 2000. I always have and will consider the Rock to be my home! I live out in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia now where we fish up on Lake Erie, Pyatumming, Mosquitoe, Berlin, Tappan in Ohio, the Ohio and Mongehela Rivers, trout fish many streams in PA and West Virginia as well as hit the streams for smallmouth. I am still a preacher of the Gospel within the Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. But God always gives me opportunities fish probably as a reminder that we real in people to a relationship with Christ, one at a time, just as we do the bass. petertherock

Did the rain you got help? How much has the lake come up? I see your forcasted for some more rain this weekend, AMEN to that! petertherock

Don, Tell this boy about the great crappie fishing down your way too! petertherock

Hey Don, Bill, Buster & lilley, Keep me posted on the move of the whites up into the James and down into the Arkansas area of Long Creek.In fact can you tell me where there at right now so I might judge where they will be the first of April! I'll be out there first of April and I like to fish for them as variety! Thanks, petertherock

Hey fellows let me share a great Smallmouth honey hole with you during the Spring transitional period. Just north right around the corner from Point 5 there is a sweet spot you don't want to miss. I have attached a map for you. This secondary point and the cove beyond gives up some pretty good fish and numbers besides, even as early as the first of March. Typically hit this spot in April when the weather warms a little more. I've caught numbers of smallmouth here using the technique Bill Babler describes in his article about spring fishing on the Rock. The technique is slow swimming a grub from the bank out to about 20ft of water. While I often hear described the use of 1/4 oz or 3/8 jig heads being used, I prefer 1/8 oz with a Bass Pro Shop Triple Ripple Tail grub in white. Juice that grub up too with a little crawfish Bang or Baitmate Bass. You may get snagged here a view times but that's alright because there are alot of cedars on this point, but that is typically where the fish are. This point and cove has a good mix of structure and cover in it, from chunk rock to pea gravel, lay downs, to standing timber. It ain't just smallmouth that migrate here either , you'll catch some Kentuckies as well as largemouth. As the weather warms up especially during the spawn go back into the cove and look for places where chunk rock meets pea gravel. Fellows I typically run all over the Rock, but there are days I never have to leave this area. My family's boat slip is in the back end of this cove. Which brings up another point, don't fail to explore the boat docks in this cove as the weather warms. You'll find schooling Kentuckies and largemouth off the front of these docks in the back end. I'm letting this one out of the bag because I need a few people to check it out between now and April 2nd when I will arrive on the Rock, my home lake that I will never give up allegiance to. petertherock

Ain't it great, to see the structure and the cover! Let's hope, as you say it gets back to normal though soon, so there is a good spawn. I don't think we can warn new comers enough though be CAREFUL RIGHT NOW! petertherock

Just want to share this funny story. One day Dean Voekel from the Bridgeport subdivision in Cape Fair and I were fishing up in Piney Creek. It was post-spawn so we were throwing Spooks and Pop-R's early in the morning at some schooling bass. As I was conversing with Dean, looking at him and not where I had just cast my lure, my Pop'R landed 6 ft from a whooping crane perched on a stump. I turned and looked to see the bird taking a dive at my lure. Fortunately for the bird it one it's prey but only got hooked in the bill. That dad'gon bird took off down the lack sending my drag in into orbit. I tightened up on my drag and that dad'gon bird starting pulling our bassboat along with him. Finally he lighted on a stump on the other side of the cove and I was able to reel to him and free him. I don't know if there is a limit on whooping cranes or not, and I certainly didn't want to check it out with the game warden. Get this! Dean is out on the lake again a few days later fishing off of Virgin Bluff, when somebody's lost pet cockateel lands in his boat. Dean ignored him and kept fishing. The bird never flew away! Well, Dean took him home, got him a cage, and the bird is still with Dean and his wife today. Dean coached him to talk. You can only imagine the fish stories that that bird can tell. Why there is no telling how long he was perched above Virgin Bluff watching the action. So a word of advice if you're headed up the James to go fising, watch out for the whooping cranes and the best info and report you might get, could come from Dean's bird, call him, the bird that is! petertherock P.S. lilley, Can we add spell check to the forum: it's won not one; lake not lack; fishing not fising! Maybe it's just because it's 3:00 in the morning and I'm still awake! petertherock

Fellows like lilley, Bill Babler, Buster, i think we would do a great public service by talking about safe boating to first-timers on the Rock, during these low water level conditions! You all be CAREFUL! petertherock P.S. as you can tell I'm not fishing in the morning, I got to go to bed! Good Night! Good Morning! petertherock

ranger2bass, In my opinion listen to lilley and Don, i know these guys. They won't steer you wrong! petertherock Buster is right on too! petertherock

Right On Bill, Once again, good information. The way those guys fish Baxter Lampe is very similar to Harry Smith's method up on the James River Arm around Cape Fair! Harry has been one of the best crappie fisherman on the Rock I know, I just don't know if he is still living? It's been 5 years since I moved away. petertherock

Hey lilley, How about an updated lake level report? I know you recently had a little rain. Let's pray for more! See you guys in April! I just hope I can get the boat off the lift! petertherock

I'm sorry made another typo: my folks live off of DD! petertherock

Bill, I give you kudos on that. Thing is this guy didn't say when he was coming to the Rock! I know I'm coming the first of April, and I expect to catch fish. While some of the best fishing will happen later in April, I love those transition fish! Been away for awhile, but we know the lake well. My folks still live off of DD. Answer me this, if you know, is Harry Smith still living up in Cape Fair? Is he still alive. If you can get it out of him you know he's one of the Jame's best local yocal crappie fisherman, I think I've ever met. About those whites, this guy needs to get in touch with Mike Fischer up in Galena. All Mike does is fish for whites. He's quite successful at it too, from March 1st on! Do you know him, Bill? Please say hi to Dale Patton for me! petertherock Harry Smith has been Whitey Herzog's crappie fishing buddy for years up in Cape Fair. petertherock

Glad you chose Table Rock you can't go wrong! I miss the Rock, lived there for years up in Cape Fair. Now I'm out here in West Virginia, 30 miles from Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. As you might imagine fishing is quite different. But for the years I lived on the Rock, and with my parents still living there, off of EE across from Indian Point and Coombs Ferry, I think I know the lake well enough to steer you right. So here goes: First of all you'll be there before the typical spawn for bass, which is normally in the later part of April, first of May. The good news is you're going to be there as the fish are transitioning and loading up there bellies before the spawn. You have the baits right but how you use them and where you fish will be the key. Warning, the lake is extremely low right now, which doesn't hurt the fishing but could kill you without a good depth finder and topo map. I've seen a lot of props and lower units lost, and a few totalled boats, due to the lack of experience boating on the Rock, by first time comers. BE CAREFUL! Typically the Northern major rivers and creek arms exposed longest to the afternoon sun are the first to warm up and produce the earliest best catch for generally all species on the Rock.(The Kings River Arm & Long Creek being the exception where they warm up quick and are good but they are Southern arms on the lake - just fish their afternoon sun exposed areas). But, these major river arms and creeks are like little lakes in themselves, as Table Rock is a very large lake overall. So when you go up into these river arms and creeks, narrow your choice of hotspots down by common sense fishing, channel swings, bluff ends, creek mouths and points that have one side as shallow and the other side breaking into deep water (the same way you narrowed down to fish these areas, narrow it down further. As the water begins to warm up you can start fishing shallower looking for the long pea gravel points and cuts back in the coves, typically 60's degrees and up. Look for the Mid-Lake Area from Joe Bald to just below the dam to warm up the last. But don't over look this area for transitioning fish at the time you'll be there, especially the Rock's smallmouth population. If you're not getting the bass bite, but you should. Try going after some of the nice crappie up in the Flat Creek and Virgin Bluff areas of Cape Fair. Run Up the James River a little further for some white bass action. You should be able to do well on these same species down in the Kings River Arm, also around Baxter-Lampe, and down in Long Creek. You're really making your trip at normally a good time of the year on the Rock. Some people may say you're a little early, but you'll catch fish. Pray for rain and warm weather between now and then! petertherock