Bill Babler

It's getting less everyday, with this wind it will break it loose and I think really with the water temps where they are it will be mostly gone by this weekend. You will see like Dewayne posted that there is sections with it in the water column and floating, but it is getting completely beaten off today. We have easy 4 plus footers in front of Clevenger today with the wind coming right out of the South and that stretch being a 5 mile straight shot North. Don't worry about the moss, it is not hurting this fishing a bit. Good Luck

I've been launching on the front ramp no problem. Have not been to the back.

Dewayne, way above and beyond the call. Thanks so much for that great information. Hearing stories of fishing the tube always makes me laugh, thinking about a story Beck told me. This is way, way back in the day when they first came out and at that time, they were not tubes, they were Gitzits Beck told me of these two old hillbillies with big blue suspendered overalls on winning this derby with just a huge bag of fish. When they came to the scales to get their checks the MC asked them how they had caught their wonderful limit of fish. One of the old boy's piped up and said," it was on a brand new wonder bait. it's called a Gid-Jet. Said, boys, this is a for sure miracle bait, only troubles is they get it way back in their Craw, you kind of got to pull the trigger real quick like." The way Bill tells this, gets me laughing so hard tears come to my eyes every time he tells it. Usually after I let a fish swallow something. Thanks again Dewayne and Good Luck

Thank you very much Dwayne, that was exceptional. You were extremely versatile in what you did. I'm going to guess right now and I may be completely wrong, but for me I'm stopping the boat in 90+ feet, way out off the main lake points, channel swings and bluffends. If you are stealthy, you will see fish. If you run into the 40' and under before you shut down, you are most likely setting on them. I got another great tip today guys are also targeting these same fish on the bottom with a big jig in the 3/4 to 1 oz size and catching some nice LM in the 30' to 40' range on the bottom. These fish can also be targeted with the Dimiki rig or for us old dudes a C-tail Yamamoto or Chompers grub fished vertical on a 3/8 homemade bullet head. Thanks for that wonderful report and Good Luck in your derbies.

Dude, that is one Super Report. If folks on here need vindication about how to fish to suspended fish, you just threw the bacon in the skillet. That my friends is how you catch excellent bags of Table Rock Bass this time of the year. Thank you so much for reporting. Tell us where that ramp is that you released those pigs and we will try and keep them exercised for ya. Thanks and Good Luck

Fantastic, thank you very much for such an excellent read. If you don't mind, what kind of stuff lake structure was Carriere throwing that Damiki rig on and approx. how deep? It is getting very close to Spring Break and there are lots of posters here that would just love to get there grand children and children on a bite like that regardless of the size, it does not matter as long as you are getting the young ones bit. Thanks Mike that was just Super.

Guy, who was that poster fishing big creek last year with such wonderful results shallow? Man he had some nice fish on a sort of yellow crankbait. I believe he was starting to catch some like that just about this time last year. I do remember however 2 yrs. ago when I was on that deep fish pattern in Big Creek the surface temps this week were 41 degree. Some kind of different.

Bill Beck, (Table Rock Lake Guide Service) had just one of those wonderful days yesterday with good friend and Client Troy Majors. The mission was originally slated as a walleye seeking deal, as the week before they had caught several nice keepers. Today however turned bright and windy to quickly for that and the boys set out to try and tame the elusive Table Rock bass. Fishing up the White River section of the lake Bill targeted suspending fish with a homemade under spin in 1/4 oz. using a 3.8 inch Keitech fat paddle tail as the trailer. To say they had a really fun day would be an understatement. Bill said they had 21 keepers mostly fishing to suspended staging fish. I believe some locations held bait and some were just prime locations for that type of bass movement at this time of the year. Read the BASS blog on how Mike caught his fish on the 3.4 inch swim bait and you have the same deal. 30' to 50' suspended. Only difference is that Michael only used about 10 gallons of gas fishing the dam and take off area and Bill fished the same types of locations up the White River. Judging from the up coming forecast and now getting into March, I don't think these will back off, Many of you know way more then I do, about fish movements, but I think the pre-spawn and the staging process are well under way and will continue. Get out there and try these techniques and see if they will produce for you like they are for a lot of us. Good Luck

Thanks Bo. You did a bang up job. Great derby with some really fantastic results for this early in the season. Very exciting. Wish they could have gotten the coverage to have worked out. I live almost right across from State Park and stream 5 Verizion Bars, so really I don't think they can say the cell or internet coverage is bad here. I'm kind of thinking like everyone else posting on their site that they may need some new IT people or better equipment if they are going to do this. If their not going to do it right, just don't get peoples hopes up and just flat don't do it. I'm giddy over Mikes win and they way Pete finished. 15.5 on the last day was strong as heck. Good Luck All

Mike you had a great derby, tough day today but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Congrats, and cannot wait to hear about your fantastic time. Thanks for being a member.

Way to go Michael I just knew that Bertrand was going to be a load today, and he was more than that. Bo's guy Sloan made a huge recovery, that I did not think was possible and had an excellent finish. Let's not forget Pete, really nice derby and again MM rules the Rock.

Bo, you can see where Mike M. is fishing. The gulls were there on my Guide trip on Monday, and have been for some time now. We did very well there Monday. As for MikeS. please give him my best and tell him he is in our thoughts and prayers. This is the same location that Mike M. was fishing the Gulls

Thank you James, it would be a great story of two guy that are not familiar with our lake and one of our own helped put them in contention for a Central Open. That's the kind of stuff folks come here to read. We don't need to know any of Bo's spots, but the human interest side of this for us would be really special. Thanks for considering it.

Bo, you did really good with those boys and should be proud of that. Trouble is both of them backed up on weight yesterday and it is hard with everyone catching about the same bags to make that kind of a jump Betrand made it thanks to Joe Long, and he is a better contender I think than your guys. You can catch all the 15 inch fish you want, but like I said yesterday, you have to weigh in K's and your toast. Fantastic job Bo to put both of those fisherman in the top 12 and a last day start. Someone should talk to them and it would make a great story for OZA.

Are they done. My leader board stopped moving again 35 minutes ago.

12

Man we have hit a stop sign or I'm just not getting any results for the past 30 minutes. 40 minutes of no movement now I have it going again. Looks like Pete had a nice day and for now has jumped into the top 12

We will be sending him our biggest hopes. Thanks Quill I always guess these things to lite. Guess it comes from my no-fishing ability. Its going to take 15 pounds to win this thing tomorrow at least.

I bet with that bag, every fish that Stacy weighed in had to be brown.

WHOOOOO HOOOOO That's my Guy.

Just saw, NO LIVE WEIGH-IN today. They are simply a disaster especially at these lower events. We can watch a realtime leader board but no weigh-in to hear the anglers. Fuddy-Duddy.

Ab's is correct this is not an Elite, the opens do not garner the coverage and to tell you the truth, there may be only 1 photo journalist covering this for them. He seems to be doing every piece. You can tell pretty easy where Mike is fishing and how he is catching them. He is very close here, and may be fishing something with a 1/4 oz head and a paddle tail. That very bait this time of the year won an Elite for him here. He is fishing pretty shallow by my standards, but these fish are coming where they have been in the 15' to 20' range, weather it be on the channel swings or the fish suspending over deep structure at that depth. Looks like a 15 pound plus bag at least, but it is always hard to tell from photo's, no matter how good they are. You simply have to weigh in LM and maybe if you are lucky a 3.5 pound Brown fish. If you weigh in a K it most often hurts. I liked seeing his K being culled. Looks like my guy is having a good day so far. Interesting to see how the rest of the bunch is doing and we are just about to.

Kenny, very astute comments about Long Creek. A few years ago during I'm thinking a high water period I believe a FLW was won on a jig up there fishing a 100 Yrd. stretch of bank in front of Delmonico's. Might have been an Elite, I cannot remember now. At high water Long Creek fishes much bigger. With what is up there now, it fishes extremely small in comparison You can bet Long Creek and Brushy spanked some bottoms up there yesterday. Probably the reason so few ventured that way today. I would suspect that is fishing much better today To Quills point, running and gunning is very common in these types of derbies, Trouble is, it is probably to fast. The guy that rammed Quill could have guessed he had just fished that location, or just got that feeling that we all have gotten. I don't know how many times and I bet we can all agree to this that I have pulled up on a very good location, and just felt it was not right. I don't care how many fish I have caught there in the past, today just does not feel right. The other option of course is stupidity.

Your right Bee, but I have seen this so many times in the last 30 years I cannot even count they. Some folks just can not adapt from the success they have had and think no matter where they go they can do the same. Pretty hard here on the White River

Seth, both you and Quill were spot on. I was pre-fishing a BFL guy last week out of his boat and I just literally kicked his tail throwing out the deep or back side of the boat. I just kept telling him, I'm not doing you any good when you see me throwing out the back side of the boat and catching them out there. You are positively wasting your money on me. I fished him two days and he weighed in 2 keepers in the BFL. At times we were in under 4' of water, fishing the dam area. One day I had 9 keepers fishing the back side of the boat and he had zero. Still just could not force himself to get off the bank.