Bill Babler

Sweet. Gravel bite is still pretty strong up the White, but there are for sure fish on the steeper stuff. It is really hard right now trying to determine a bait. They will bite everything a little, and nothing a lot. Timing is a huge factor and sometime early is not the answer, it is being in the right location at the right time. Fish are really starting to suspend and as Dave mentioned tree tops are not a bad thing. Seems like that 22' depth is really the deal weather it be bottom or over depth. Good Luck

Guys keep your Southern Cousins informed. Be nice to know how they are working the lake now. Just talked to Big Ed's guide service and he said it was hot and slick. They had 5 nice keeps early on a Pop-R and a wacky rig behind docks, but he said it is getting tougher as the morning goes on. He said yesterday he had a client catch two 5 pounders on back to back pitches behind a dock in the way back of a pocket in less than 2 ft. of water. Sometimes the very back end and the last shallow dock on the channel side of those LOZ pockets hold fish in surprisingly shallow water. That is a very good pattern up there.

How were they doing? Did you see them catch any Hog MaMa's? Fill us in on the Lake O page of their techniques and tactics for Lake O. Tks.

I'm surprised that it was Alex that had some of those little jewels. Should have known. Dave surly has a couple lurking somewhere in that mountain of Oldies but Goodies. The blade on that little Terminator is very heavy and the bait itself is like a rock. It is very well put together. I have 4 of them. The only changes I have made on them of course was to put a Nasty Sharp Hook on them. SOP for me.

We threw every manner of little George at those schoolers the other day and they did not eat a single one of them. Both the George and the 1/4 oz Grey Roadrunner are my favorites for finicky fish, and they thought they were poison. I also have some 3/16 oz. Terminator inline spinners, that I bet none of you have and they thought those, also came out of a Kitty Litter Box.

Thanks All, Beck sold here car.

They are in full production by Bass Wishes. Just about everyone stocks them in the White River basin. Sportsmans Outfitters in Springfield has hundreds of them on display. basswishes.com will ship them to you also.

Top water A-rig.

Dave hit it in the head. Probably a Strike King. Never Ever Heard of anyone that disliked the way a Dixie Jet Fluttered. Every guide I know here has a special t box full of them. They do however just love the Jet reeled slow across the bottom. I throw it for distance. Let it fall on a somewhat tight line. You just feel the thump. When they jump pull them toward you. Don't try and jam your rod tip in the water it does not work. Just stay really tight on them. They were jumping 4 to 5 jumps yesterday

I don't think I'm retired. Just tired

Had the pleasure of seeing Muddy and Quill up the White this morning. We for sure had a love hate relationship with the fisheys. We would have loved to caught more and bigger, and hate it that we didn't. I had fish schooling around me like cattle in a pen and just could not get them to eat the scraps we threw to them. They were bounding off the sides of the boat chasing shad and we just picked off very few of them. After speaking to Jeff, we slowed down a bit and started catching more on a Dixie Jet. You had to let this spoon drop. Yes they were still chasing around us, but most of our bites happened about like where Muddy was tagging them. Just a thunk as the spoon fluttered down in the past 20 ft. range. Ended the day with around 40 but that sounds better than it was. I think we had two decent LM keeps and the rest were really young. Lost fish after fish we had hooked and had them just flat pull off any top water we were throwing. When you reeled it in regardless of the color of the bait there would be 1/2 dozen just following. Surface temps in the 81 to 82 range.

Plus 1

If you are in the Knob area, the evening bite is subsurface. Shell Knob is the total Wake Boat capital of Missouri. Narrow White River channel and lots of Summer folks down now. Top water is good, but you just have to get on the water when the fish are biting it. Seek shade and be on the water casting at 5 AM. For each minute you are later than that you have lost time. I fished Kimberling today with Beck. He said he had some chasing up to about 7 this morning. I did not see any at all as we were late on the water about that time. He had over 20 with some excellent fish on the Dixie Jet. Those are most often suspended top water want-to-be's. We had just a tremendous drop shot bite today at 26'. Most all our fish were heavy K's that were post spawn and suspended at that 22' to 28' number over depth. Between 30 and 40 fish with a lot of 17 plus inch K's. I was out in the Shell Knob area till just about dark last night and did not see a single rise. I did see 30 ski and wake boats in any direction that I looked. Get out early and get em.

That selection was OK, but his car front plate had some kind of a Redheaded Vulture imprinted on it. Either that or he had hit some kind of crud on the road and it had flown up and stuck on his front bumper.

Sorry guys, I have just been covered up guiding. Thank you James for answering the questions. The Swim Jig rod is absolute excellent for anything 3/8, 1/2 oz. to 3/4 as far as the SB. I use the Micro Cranker and yes it is small diameter for 1/2 oz and under on the SB It also depends on your blade size. The Amistad is great in Micro for any size blade. If I had to only have one, Yikes!! for any size blade It would be the MMC-5F-172 Signature Micro at MH 7'2" 10 to 17 pound line and up to 3/4. It is pretty much M. McClelland version of the Swim Jig, only Dolled up and Microed. Falcon does not make a Spinning rod at 7'6" that would apply to your Father. When it comes to a diversity as far as spinning rod sizes, you are not going to beat St. Croix. Ab's also answered this just about as well as I could. The Falcons are most often going to fish better, but the fit and the finish of the SC is fantastic. The Falcons on the Signature Rods with the Copper inlays against the Black Blank are simply beautiful. As far as the discounts, email me or PM me for prices. Each rod has a different price and the discount to the dealers varied. I'll be more than happy to let you know what mine was. If you have a rod in mind let me know. I have a bunch coming in, and I already have at least 30 here at the lodge along with a few Pre-fished ones at very special prices. This has really been Ned time for me of late, and again, you are going to be hard pressed to beat the Kriet Squirrel Tail. My gentleman was from Kansas this past weekend and was fishing it on a St. Croix Legend Xtreme that he just paid $400.00 bucks for. He broke off and I handed him the CS-17M-T7. He slung the 1/8th. oz. Ned about 30' further than he had been casting all day and the fish must have caught it on the drop. He told me he would fish my rod the rest of the day. He landed this nice 3 pound LM on 5 pound maxi. He was throwing 6 pound carbon on his Xtreme, so that was not a real test. My junk was just set up better, but you get the drift. That is a $200 rod vs a $400 and to tell you the truth, the Falcon would eat it up. I was also really surprised by the weight of the Xtreme, it was just way heaver, of course with that handle it would be. He was super sad he did not buy a Falcon, but to tell you the truth, he said that was the first time he had even heard of Falcon, he goes North and that is for sure St. C. Country. Let me know and I'll do the best I can for you. Good Luck

Just got a call from Falcon that they are having a Fathers day promo. I don't know the exact amounts yet, but if you have a rod that you are interested in please send me a PM and I will get you the price as quick as possible. I might have to order them in. I do have a decent supply but need a reorder anyway, so if you have a rod in mind that your sweetie might want to get ya. Now is the time to let me know and I'll do my best to put it in your hands as reasonable as I can, for Dad's day. Good Luck

Thanks Randy. Are you buying a new boat?

I for one am glad to see the increase in population here in the Southern Missouri Ozarks. The great folks in Arkansas and Tenn. have lived along side these furry neighbors from the beginning. At Gatlinburg, a sister city to Branson, they seem to be in large numbers. Folks there have learned how to live with these trash stealing varmints. Seeing one on the shores of Bull Shoals lake would be a thrill for me. Electric fence will keep them at bay, just like their Bigger Northern Cousins. If you have an orchard or bee hives I for sure would run a couple of strands around it. I think someone mentioned Bear Creek having a population in Missouri. Most of the sighting have been from Bee Creek, North thru the Stonebridge area and North and West of Rockaway. Almost smack dab in that Bear Creek Country. Lots of Mark Twain Forrest up that way and lots of empty land for critters to roam. Shell Knob to Golden to Eagle Rock and over into Eureka Springs and in that country the same deal. Lots of Hidey Holes for big Coon type critters.

Thanks Thumbs, I really appreciate it. That car is just clean as a pin. I would let my wife's sister's 18 yr. old daughter drive it anywhere coast to coast with no worries. It is in perfect shape. I have been offered $9,995.00. The same guy had a 2011 LS not even in the same ball park setting on his lot for $14,000.00. Clean top wholesale in $8,795.00 plus the Diamond Tricoat that adds another $395.00 Dealer retail is in the middle $13,000 range, but this one is absolute exceptional. As I said if anyone can find one that has been cared for any better than this and looks like this for less, let me know and we will adjust it, but I have been working on this for about a month and have seen nothing even close.

Guided Friday, Sunday and Monday. With 2 units on Friday morning the fishing was excellent from Fall Creek to Short Creek. We had 29 extremely nice fish on a Trout Magnet in Salmon color. Sunday with the water off, I fished the restricted zone from about the narrows down to Fall Creek, with a very good hand with a fly rod. Almost zero boats except 4 guide boats. Kirby, boated 43 up to 18 inches on a TJ Micro in Ginger with a Copper head. This is a size 14 or in jig speak 256 oz. There was a blanket of moss on the surface that seemed to roll as you eased thru it. You had to find open water to present your fly or it would just be covered instantly. Monday saw me back to the restricted zone starting at Lookout with the water off. It was extremely low and there were wade fishermen completely across the lake to Lookout island and they were walking back and forth from Point Royal over to the Island. Again the Moss was pretty much like a blanket covering the lake. There were holes however and Brian and Ken placed their cast into these. Again we were using the TJ. Micro in Copper Ginger. Surface temp was 53 degree on the flat water. the Boys boated close to 40 fish each, We fished from 5:30 to 9 AM and were the only boat in the restricted zone. I have never seen this in 25 plus years on the lake this time of the year. Lots and lots of big fish. Most in the 13.5 to 16.5 range and they are really thick and just full of brown to Ginger scuds. Some of the bugs I'm going to say were at least size 12 maybe even pushing 10's Everyday is different, when they start running the juice again, it may get tougher than a boot with moss moving. I personally have not noticed any change in the water color. Our fish when coming to the net are really not visible until they are close in and even in 3' of water you cannot see the bottom. Still pretty dingy, but the fish are munching. Good Luck

Sweet, glad you all got them so good. That is just an amazing weekend. It is especially good in the fact that there was no water movement to speak of. No wind and they did not have the water running all weekend on Taney. I was down there every morning until 10 AM and it was flat as a mill pond. Trout bite well also.

Making and hanging on to are way two different deals. It also just cost a complete fortune to fish. 6 figures easy and you can put that number into the low 6 figures to mid 6 figures if your the least bit extravagant. That is why the sponsors are so important to help foot the bill on expenses and entry fees. The biggest tournament year I ever had, I made $19,000.00 It cost me right at $19,000.00 to do it. I've met KVD 3 times and he has always been polite and he does not know me from Adam. Not Buddy, buddy polite or lets go to lunch polite, but cordial. He always has to be somewhere and has just about no time to get there. He has a thousand people pulling his strings and is under the same type of people pressure as any baseball player or movie star. His time is never his. That is the price you pay. As for his net worth, I'm sure he is comfortable, but I have also heard there has been a couple of deals that went sour for him and cost some dough. Don't know it for a fact, but we all make mistakes with investments. You just hope they are not huge mistakes. Mistakes for him and mistakes for me however would be on a totally different monetary scale.

Guys, my wife is wanting a new crossover and she has her 2010 Malibu 2LT for sale. It is a one owner car that she bought new and has kept care of like a bird in a nest. It would be a great car for either a graduating teen or a fantastic second car for anyone. For those of you that don't know us we are a bit anal about our vehicles and keep them serviced to the max and clean as we can. This is a fantastic car with only 61,650 miles on it. That is about 10,000 per year and it is all from Blue Eye to the Branson area. The Malibu 2LT features an eco-mode with a 6 speed automatic transmission or you can engage a touring shift. mode in manual. It has: New 65,000 mile tires purchased on 5-28-16 New Wipers, New Brakes and Shocks and a complete tune up last Fall' This 2010 has the 100,000 mile power train warranty and is absolutely beautiful Color is White Diamond Tricoat Interior is Cocoa/Cashmere with leatherette seats. Power adjustable Drivers seat. It features XM Sirius Radio/ On-Star with CD Remote keyless entry and Remote Start. It has heated front seats, Mirror and Rear Window defogger. All Chevy mats including a trunk mat. Engine is a 2.4L DOCH with a 6 speed auto transmission or you can go into the touring manual mode. Power Sunroof, Splash Guards, Body Side Molding and a Compact Spare. You will not find a nicer one anywhere. Dealers have offered her low retail on it but we would love to sell it to a friend as it is so nice for maybe a bit more She is asking $12,000.00 and that is a bit above what she has been offered by 2 different dealers on trade in. We saw one that was not near as nice on a lot in Springfield but it had 47,000.00 on it. It was a LTZ but not nearly as clean as Becky's. It was $14,500.00 Here are some photo's. Feel free to give me a call and come by and see and drive this wonderful car. 417-332-7016 The car has the premium carpet and mat package and also the premium interface package with USB ports front and rear. Give me a call 417-332-7016

Branson had at least 7 bears last year in the city limits. They were caught digging in trash cans and did some damage to bee hives in the rural areas. I know the folks up the Kings River used to see them on a weekly basis, just at the Carroll, Stone and Barry county line. I believe that a few years ago Denny's son had a trail camera picture of one near Roaring River in his deer feeders Barry/Carroll Counties. Also last year Phil Stone took a video of one swimming Bull Shoals near Elbow Creek. It was on KY 3 news and I think he just took it with his phone. It was a total Monster Cinnamon colored Black Bear. Huge Boar. At Harrison at the Archery Shop they have an entire counter top of pictures of Archery Killed bears within 30 minutes of Branson, with some absolutely huge bears. I know Lisa Lilley's husband Paul has a hunting lease just inside the Arkansas Border, I believe also in Carroll County and they are about as common as seeing deer. He said last year he helped load one into a Pickup that he estimated to be 400 pounds. He said it took an army of guys to get it in the back of the truck. There is some great TV stuff from Arkansas about how their dept of Conservation is working with the bears in this area. Fantastic

If you wanted to go or simply had to go this weekend you should consider Bull. A holiday weekend on Bull Shoals is pretty much like a week day on the Rock. The fish there are biting at least as well as on the Rock and there are lots more places to fish. It would not even be a decision for me, if I had a choice.