Bill Babler

Bill fished his Dixie Jet on 12# Maxi. Rod was either a Falcon Swim Jig which is MH and he used this rod for just about everything or a Falcon Micro Cranker, that is Med. He liked the wide gap mustad that came on the bait, I prefer the Death Trap At times he fished a barrel or sampo type swivel and at times he tied directly to the split rig. You have to add both to the jet. I fish it on Carbon 10 to 15 pound. I could always out throw him and he could always out catch me. In close to 30 years fishing together I cannot ever remember seeing Bill Beck set a hook. His favorite saying was "Point the rod at em and wind it." Don't care what we were fishing from a jig to a fin. On a drop shot he would say "LIFT EM." He got us on a pattern in the early 2000's where we were fishing docks with 1/4 and 3/16 oz. jigs on 8# Maxi. He was a master at this and would just pull them to the boat. I miss my Buddy. Either way line twist are rare. Tom Murphy the owner of DJ fishes without a swivel and likes the spin. Bill was not a fan of braid or for that matter FCarbon. He did fish Carbon on his jig rods at times but never on Lake of the Ozarks he was died in the wool maxima and used it on just about everything. Bill also liked full handle rods. He did have some split handles but much preferred the full cork handle if he could get it in the rod configuration he wanted. He had big meaty paws. He wanted a pretty fast fall on the spoon to create a reaction bite. Said he didn't like them to be able to read the label on it or study it to close

Good Stuff Bo, thanks

The Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rodgers, Springdale metroplex is a monster for trade, due to the presence of WalMart. A huge percentage of companies both foreign and domestic do business there and the majority of products they sell have to go thru there. Our Watch Dog is the Federal Trade Commission/Consumer Product Protection Division. Long title for saying this is a division of the government that makes companies tow the line on what they say about a product is true. In the Metroplex there is a private testing lab that tests for the Commission and tests everything from dog food to drones making sure the claims are all with a tolerance what they say they are and this varies from product to product and plus or minus if you will. Nothing is exact, and all companies get a tolerance in their claims of similar products. We have hosted their upper management here at the Lodge on business retreats several times and what I'm saying here is strictly hearsay or second party. They really have no dog in the fight and could care less about any company or manufacture. Some of the most honest products they test are WalMart brands, they come in very close to tolerance. (These may not be the best products on the market), but they don't lie about them. They cost what they cost and are what is stated on the label. Truth in advertising. And again I state completely hearsay on my part. Most often the worst is BP and their brands, right at the lowest end of the Tolerance Time after time right on the bottom line as you can make it on a tolerance level and still claim it to be what you say. Is this wrong? No, its not it is what the CPPD says it has to be and falls within the guidelines. Is the advertising embellished are we led to believe a BP split rig tested for 20# is a good as a Spro split ring tested for 20#? According to the CPPD it falls within the guidelines and is marketed as such and can claim to be every bit as good. On the 10% tolerance line the Spro holds 22# and the BP 18# The Spro is 20% stronger but can only claim to be equal. Marketing. There was a not flattering article a few years ago in the Wall Street Journal on JM being one if not the best Master Marketer of our time and also having the ability to take advantage of any and all government programs to work them in his favor. This is business marketing. BP makes it not quite as good as national brands and sells it for less, and can claim the same degree of effectiveness as the tolerances allow this. As RPS said Cabelas went the other way. Make it at the top of the tolerance and as good or better than the National brands and sell it at the same price. They were competing with the National Brands and BP is not. Strictly a Marketing Strategy and we see who won out. This is not a condemnation of BP in anyway, it is business. JM has done and created some of the most wonderful things we have here in the Midwest. You look at this guy with an extremely quiet demeanor and an "Oh Shucks Attitude" and think how did he do all this from where he started? How? He is probably one of the top 1/2 dozen business minds of our generation, a true marketing genius.

Travis just answered your question to a T if your fishing a 3/4 up the Amistad is best if your at a 1/2 oz with either a swimming bait you will not beat the Swim jig. Your trying to lump 2 different baits and actions together and if you just want one rod to do the heavy lifting the Amistad is probably your guy.

GotaFish l like the Amistad better with its length. But for that type of deal you cannot beat the MMC-5F172 or the CCB-5-172SJ-S Swim Jig Kind of what the Swim Jig was designed for

Not going to find a better post than that anywhere on how the "Cookie Crumbles." Randy you forgot Legend Boats, bought and scrapped.

Falcon has not had a sale or a discount for the last two years due to pretty much not having inventory as all the Signature, and Cara series sell just faster than they can make them. I believe they have caught up as they are having a Dealer sale If any of you are interested in a Falcon please go to their website and let me know the rod you are interested in and I'll give you the price I can get it to you for. I need to know pretty quick as the dealer discount goes off in the next ten days. I will also have a huge selection of my guide rods for sale at deep discounts Due to this opportunity I'll turn my entire inventory over. This is the first time I will be selling two year old rods as usually I sell them after one year of service. Falcon has not been in the mood to give these good discounts to their pros or dealers the last two seasons and that is why I have hung onto the rods I usually sell. My rods are in good shape but have been used an extra year. My rods are Cara's, Cara ST micro, Cara Reaction and MMC Signature. I can get but do not use the BuCoo's. I am also a fan of the LowRider but currently do not have any used ones but can order any product that Falcon sells. email me with any Falcon questions. Thanks Bill

Falcon as you know is one of the top two or three premier Rod builders in the country with all its upper end rods being made in the good old USA They are extremely light, durable and have a fantastic warranty along with one of the top professional fishing staffs in the country. They have not had a sale the last two years, but have a Dealers Sale scheduled for Fathers Day If you have a rod in mind or have been thinking about a Falcon please go to buy sell trade for more info. Thanks Bill

From the entire OAF family our deepest condolences.

There you go Carl. Let me point out one thing however and we have discussed this here before. Large lake sections of fish will start to congregate post spawn in very small locations. It is again at this time that we need to experience CR as you can go a mile and not catch anything and then it seems every fish in the lake is one location. They are, and on live bait and drop shots you can do damage, if you find them. Lots of these hot spots in the James and the White. Most fish on the long runout points where they break into deep channel water. In the dam area they seem to go to the tops of the deep trees, not so much up the White or the James, as they more relate to the breaks. You can also watch where they are surfacing and chasing and a lot of times this is where they will be only deep when the sun hits the water. They were scattered and way out even to the middle of the lake yesterday in the dam area. Lots of singles and that should have clued me as they had been busting in droves. I had been on Taney all weekend and the change at the dam happened on either Sunday or Monday. If we get some cloudy or rainy weather they especially the jaws may move back, but I'm pretty sure the K's are out deep for the Summer now. Bill Beck would have been right on top of it for me yesterday, there has never been a better fish dog than Beck, the friggin guy thought with them and he made decisions quicker than a bull rider. I'm blaming my tough day on him. "I miss ya Big Guy."

Reality struck today at 5:45 at old 86 for me and my clients. Flat water and blasting heat, even at that early hour really defined our morning. Started out to very slow top water activity and the place I did find with some at 6:30 two wake boats ran right thru the middle of the fish with us casting at them blaring hard country rock, or some kind of cat scratch loud twangy I guess you could call it music. Only had 5 top water fish including a monster white bass. We did lose several and had quite a few blow up on it but missed it. The water was as flat as Kansas and the blue sky was high as the moon. Tried the swimbait and the ned and could catch one here and there, but just could not put it together. Did catch 2 on a Dixie Jet and 2 on a tube and we lost about as many as we caught. Still trying to fish the gravel. Ended the morning with 15 with a couple of keeps. After the trip I talked to Buster and he said the Big Cedar guides went to live bait yesterday with fish either on the bottom or suspended in the 28 ft. range. Said this pretty much happened overnight in the dam area. I'm guessing we now have a thermocline and I'm guessing its around 26' cause that is usually where it starts. Was not prepared for that my mistake, I'm ready now. To tell you the truth I did not even look for it on the graph as I had just been wacking them in that 15' range either deep or shallow, suspended or on the bottom. Surface temps at the start 82 degree and at 11 AM were 84 degree. I'm sure its even warmer now. Be interesting to see what's happening up the White is they moved out also.

And rumor has it there is going to be NO Cabela's pretty "Toot Sweet." Rumor from Big Cedar here on the Rock is what is now know as Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's is going to be know only as BP really quick. Neither Shimano or Daiwa have a good working relationship with BP. They are never involved on their reel trade in program. BP has burnt bridges with both companies.

Slacker

That's way to heavy for the flutter spoon. I usually fish it on a Falcon 7' cranker with 10 # Flora. Your not fishing this bait thru the trees, your either fishing open water or over deep trees on bluffends. Dixie Jet has spoons in 3/4 and 1 oz. that work well here and most of the time I use the 3/4 The threadfin currently are the right size for the DJ and I have caught some suspended fish already on it. It is good for chasing top water fish also. Bites on this bait are usually light, no more than a tick as the bait falls, not on a completely slack line but one that you are maintaining the spoon on a free fall so it of course flutters. The Flutter spoon is a great post spawn bait and works thru the Summer into the Fall where you have suspended chasing feeding fish at shallow to medium depth in the water column. Not bottom fish close to the shore, but fish up in the water column over depth. It is a fun bait and catches anything that swims. It is surprisingly really good for walleye, as lots of these fish tend to suspend in the Summer off the bluff ends. You really never know what your going to reel in using it. It is also a big fish catcher, catching big post spawn suspending females, it was kind of our go to bait prior to the swim bait. It takes a while to master the fall rate and really is not a throw out and wind in bait however I have caught a ton on it just doing that. I remember Beck telling me when I was not doing well on it "Are you throwing it out and reeling it in or are you fishing it?" Most flutter spoon fishermen are excellent with their electronics and see these fish suspended and fish to them or throw it on traditional locations that hold post spawn females. 1st. couple of weeks of June are killer There was a poster here sometime ago that really caught them up the James River on a kastmaster using it as a flutter spoon. I liked to read his post, but some thought he might be embellishing his results a bit, none the less he had it dialed in. And of course we all know that a fisherman would never embellish his catch Good Luck

If you will remember I had the exact post out of Shell Knob a couple of years ago. 5:45 wake boarding in the simi-dark and fog. Just simply stupid with a capitol S.

I believe Dave will be down next week from what he has sent me. Hoping I can have lunch with him one day. On the Ned head deal, don't know his status but you can get a fine substitute at Sportsman's Outfitters in lots of different sizes till he is ready to get geared up again. Best wishes to his family and ready for some good news from him. They are for sure in our prayers.

There has been quite a few problems with the Ulterra Self Deploy lots of guides have tried it on Taney, and I have had tons of customers with it. Most all now are using the Ultrex The Ultrex has a power assisted recovery and deploy that is super easy to raise and lower and according to the new brochure I got last week from MinnKota it has been completely "Reinvented for 2019" I thought it was already durn good, but for 2019 it is said to have a faster better holding GPS response and a much better lock with out continually coming on and searching. Another of the complaints is faster response to the hard drive foot control for dock fishing and they claim for 2019 it was totally redesigned and the response is much quicker. Kind of a funny note on the Ulterra if it has not happened to you is you need to be really careful where you put rods. It can flip them out and it can also crush them. Keeping your junk away from the mechanism is important. If your not willing to part with $2,700 to $2,900 you can use the Motor Guide Xi5 for $1,500 with still the best GPS lock, but a much slower wireless response from the foot control. There is also new word from Garman that it is coming out with a system that is going to completely revolutionize the entire market from deployment to GPS tracking and response to your electronics. From what I'm hearing also is that a new player is also coming out with an electric motor system. I don't know who yet, but the pro's are whispering about it. If you can hang on for a year there is no telling what is going to be out there.

Nice point Champ. What a lot of folks do not realize is that the big K's are still trying to spawn, especially in that Shell Knob area. A few years ago at one of the locations that 196 marked we caught K's trying to spawn on that long gravel runnout. When you released them you had to be mighty careful as they were nesting in 15 to 20 feet in that clear water. Our old lake biologist said the spawn on TR usually ends with the full moon in June so there is still some baby making going on. Good Luck

Welcome Steve, Go out and throw the Whopper Plopper at Turn Around Island at the mouth of the Kings River and on any of the flats and long points in the same area and up the White River away. I'm going to guess you will have from 5:30 till about 7 each morning before your run over, flipped over or washed up on the beach. Make the best of it and try not to get mad as the wake boats drive between you and the shoreline It may not really be that bad Good Luck

You kind of know your day is starting out right when about the 3rd cast your client catches a double on top water small jaws. Both of those rascals were solid keeps and ate the 110 WP in Loon color like they meant it. Surface temp at Moonshine at the 5:45 AM start was 77 degree, with wind, fog and not a ripple, but a solid 5 inch chop. Probably the perfect morning to throw the top water and it was. Fishing long runnout points that dumped into deep water we caught surfacing fish and also fish that we just waked up. Also caught mid-pocket chasing fish in the deeper guts of the flat coves from pt. 5 to pt. 1. Top water deal worked this morning till durn near 10 AM that is 4 hrs. of top water action and you just flat cannot beat that. Kids took lots of pictures of lots of jaws. The ferocity of the attacks on the Pooper were amazing. In the years I have fished top water I have very seldom seen this kind of a strike, it was like a mini-car wreck when they slammed it. I've caught more top water fish in a morning, but never and I mean never have I seen the strikes that Pooper produced with that amount of speed on the strike and just the fish wanting to destroy the bait. I was a fantastic thing to witness We jumped a couple of big, big, big fish off, that hit right at the boat. Kevin also had a brown bass completely smash it from top down, as the fish jumped behind it and landed right on it. CRAZY ACTION. At about 10 the fog lifted and the wind died and we started to come to reality, but then No, it went crazy again catching them on any wind or surface chop on a 3.3 inch Keitech. I was just hunting wind at that point and ever location where it was the least bit windy, the jaws and LM would get all up on the swim bait. Only had 3 K's swimming deep, but man were those SM out there suspended. We were sitting off a main lake point and a guy trolling came by and stopped and watched the Kids catch 7 in about that many casts, all SM, and all suspended. I was living the guide dream. This post has been promoted to an article

Is it time to put the jerk bait away? No!!! I just pounded them last week in 80 degree water at the dam on windy banks. Jaws were hitting it at Full Throttle

Indian Hills and Table Rock Chalets possibly the two nicest resorts outside of BC on the lake. Both in the Baxter midlake area one in Big and one in Little Indian Creeks. These are not fish camps, they are luxury Table Rock Lake resorts that the wife will be plenty happy with. Indian Hills has its own ramp huge pool and a big family or convention center and probably one of the nicest docks on the entire lake. TR Chalets has an excellent dock, salt water pool and extreme luxury amenities but no launch that I know of. There is a small fish camp resort next door that has a ramp however. One problem for each is KK camps are there and it can be somewhat of a traffic mess. You need to motor out to the main lake and its fine there. Big stretches of open water and perhaps the best topwater bite thru the summer on the lake. Good Luck

Nice K. If laying a fish on a carpet is the only thing I do wrong during the day, I have had a very successful day. Hate to hear the ocean liners are already out midweek up that a way. Good Luck

5Bites. My wife saw your post and said you must have been the Jerk-bait😁 i stuck up for you but had to giggle