Bill Babler

Good luck with that😀😀. I’m using an Aaron Martin 4/0 wide gap. I’ve also used a wide gap screw lock with either a belly weight or plain hook with a weight pushed into the bait. Probably best way is the wide gap 4/0 fine wire as you can get. Put the fluke on over the eye of the hook and run a tooth pick thru it and the eye with a pinch of glue. Put your little pencil weight in the bait and when it breaks put another one on. That last MLF I think all 80 guys using a floating worm/ soft jerk bait. were doing it different. Couple of them were using a O-ring like a senko. I don’t like the way it acts with the O ring. One guy had a treble hook on both the bottom and top. I throw mine right in the mess so I’d hang up with that rig. You still miss a ton of fish on that type of deal. I’m usually one out of 3 but I did a little better the other day cause they were eating it. Probably get a better answer from other members.

I thought it was tougher than buck meat. Anytime I have to count on Ned as much as I did today, it’s not ideal. Friggin surface temps dropped 8 degree last nite and I don’t think that helped my early bite. For all the 30 plus years I guided out of Shell Knob the SM bite was good to excellent from the swim beach and boat launch at Campbell Point on down to Long Creek. Really the Point 19 area to point 9 was just crazy good. Last couple of years it’s really changed. Lot more LM on the locations we caught the Jaws on, and of course K’s. A new resident however is walleye. Not uncommon now to catch several a day just bass fishing that area. I have no explanation for their demise or where they are. Today we saw 2 schools of Threadfin swimming just under the surface while we fished. Nothing around them but both schools had thousand upon thousands of Shad. Most every fish you catch will have 2 to a 1/2 dozen big Gizzards follow it in.

Y’all had some good ones. That brown fish looked like he was lost Did you take him down to point 9 and head him toward Kimberling?😁😁

Didn’t exactly go as planned this morning. Hit the ramp at Turkey Mountain II at 7:30 to surface temps of 62 degree. Air temp was 48 degree. Slick high blue clear and cold. The Garmin picture was as black as looking into space with no stars. Swim Bait bite was totally nonexistent. We had to scrounge a little fish Ned bite. Was way to big for my britches the last few days And got taught just how little I know today. About 10 am the wind started a little and the water warmed to 64. Started seeing and catching but it was still sparse Ended the morning with probably 18/20 fish with maybe 5 keeps, that were just that couple were spawned out. Surface temps at 1pm were 65 degree. That cool nite sucked the warmth right out of the lake Didn’t mess with them but saw huge crappie suspended on pole timber maybe 2 feed deep over 20’. Saw 3 different crappie on 3 different trees in the same pocket. I’m done till Monday, letting the play for pay guys have at it. Good Luck.

Took a good buddy this morning. He owns an architectural firm in Wichita kS. They have 30 architects, 20 draftsman and 25 support staff. They work a 4 day 36 hour week. With a BA/BS they are starting at $80,000 with his firm. Plus an MBA, they are Starting at $100,00.00. He said in 2015 they started at 40 and 60 thousand. Our son started at $90,000 with his Chemical Engineering degree 15 years ago. There is a lot of money out there. Just hard to believe that 100’s of thousands go for toys.

I absolutely feel your pain. As I said yesterday I got cut off close twice. I also had to wave a guy around me cause he was coming right down the bank plowing. At the Knob yesterday there were at least a dozen wrapped trucks and boats. It’s BFL for cripes sakes. Theses guys ARE NOT GETTING PAID FOR $6,000 WRAP. That’s on them, they are want to be. Everyone of them has a new Toyota dragging a new Mercury/Phoenix package. Fully equipped with all the toys it’s $200,000.00. 99% of them are paying every cent of that. I simply can not understand that kind of money. How does a 25 to 40 year old guy get that kind of disposable income and still be here practicing a full week prior to a derby not working? If you don’t think there is money to burn in this country, you’re in gaga land.

That fluke bite was the most fun. Missed a couple of Goodins. Water just dingy enough not to see them clearly. I usually miss 3 to catch one and today was no different. Really didn’t care.

Buster has fished BS the last couple of days and told me today he launched at 2 different ramps. 1 rig at each ramp. Said he saw no more than 5 boats per day. He is catching crappie, whites and walleye. Ramp at SK was full beyond full with rigs parked across 39 Hwy. in the old motel parking lot. Crazy amount of traffic. In retrospect we probably should have looked at something over there.

Started at 0900 to 63 degree water at the SK Bridge. Fished around Campbell Point till 4pm, surface temp at that time was 69 degrees. Beds everywhere, they totally rushed the bank If Wheeler would have been out today on an every fish weigh 1.8 minimum he would have had 200 pounds. Maybe more. Can you get bored catching fish? Right now maybe. I just flat out put down the Keitech and went looking for heads. I could have bed fished but just don’t like to. Lots of LM in the pockets, K’s off the flat points, swarming. I tried just about everything in the box like a fly fisherman. As soon as I’d catch one I’d change baits, really didn’t matter. Wakebait, Ned, C-tail grub, swimbait, fluke, shaky head, jig, wobblehead and jerkbait. Even the little Jaes liked the wake bait. I’m sunburned and exhausted. Threw the Glide bait quite a bit, but no follows and no takes. SHUCKS. Good Luck.

Yes there are SM up there. Mostly on gravel and certain locations. Campbell Point is really the beginning of more jaws, but they are at SK. From your description of your day that would not be great target locations for SM up there. They can be anywhere, but think flat gravel. Good Luck.

Dave, you need to move the South Boys operation to Shell Knob. Lots of places to stay as good or better than where you’re at excellent restaurants and the fishing is on a totally different level here. Not as many small jaws, but a lot less pressure on the LM and K’s. Same locations up here, only difference is there are fish on most of them. Harter House is never more than 20 minutes away.

Dave, for me the FFS has really improved my swimbait bite or for the old school, and there are many the C-tail grub bite. Folks were catching them here swimming that grub in the 80’s. I mostly use a 1/4 oz. head but at times will swim a 3/16. I prefer the quarter. I like my Swimbaits to be 2.5” to close to 4”. 2.8 to 3.2 you can’t go wrong. Your electronics will pretty much show you where to fish it in the water column. Bite on the swimmer is best when you can see them. You can however cover water like a morning fog with the little rascal so it is a good search bait. Back in the day we lost tons of grubs swimming them to either suspended or staging fish in trees on transitions or bluffends. With the FFS we can not only dodge these sticky locations but see if there are fish present just out of reach of the hang ups and lure them out of those hidy holes. As with everything on Table Rock the secret is always depth. I’ve never heard a guide ask another guide or person what he or she caught their fish on. The question is always how deep are they. Yesterday depending on our location, I had the boat in 36’ on flat or long run gravel and to bluffenders I was as deep with the boat as over 100’. Fish seemed to be 12’ to 20’ in either of those locations. On one location up near Big M yesterday I saw a couple of chasers and went out there. It was flat gravel. They were pushing Shad up depth was 50. I got to looking at the Garmin and there were tons of targets “wolf packs” 3 to 10 fish, just scattered. I’m saying 15’ deep suspended over that 50’ bottom It was really unfair. I’d get within 50’ to 60’ and toss the little swimmer and watch it drop just past them and slow reel it thru the group. I fished that location 2 hours and could not begin to say how many I caught. At times I had a dozen swimming in with the one I had hooked. Livescope pictures would have been crazy, but that was before I picked Becky up. No camera person and I was busy🤪🤪 I pretty much don’t do much but wind it in. The C-tail or the paddle tail do all the work. I just try to fish where there are fish on the electronics. I’ll just swim it near them or if they’re on the bottom you can scrub or scrounge the bottom on a slow retrieve with it I like the Big Bite heads for my 3.2 inch baits and up and I like the Diichi heads for the 2.8. Another key factor when fishing this bait is to let the fish load on the rod. Your tip will start bending toward the fish and you will feel its weight. Don’t jerk or snap set, just lean back or pressure set. If you snap set or jerk, you’ll come back with the tail or half the swimmer gone. Guys keep telling me that’s a walleye bite. Wrong. Let’s just say it could be? These fish will jump, most of the time, when they do, pull them toward you, don’t let them jump on slack line or bye bye baby. For rods I’m using a 7’ Falcon medium lite with a fast tip paired with a Shimano Stella or Stradic. 5lb. Maxima or 6 pound BPS mono. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Today, probably as good as Table Rock can get. Started at 6:50 to 58 degree surface temps with fish busting off the long points. Looked all over and not a single bed yet. Surface temp at 3 pm when we quit was 63 degree Fished from SK to Emerald Point and not really much traffic. Only ones were folks that should know better that pulled in front of me and threw the trolling motor in. Guy in a Bass Tracker pulled in front of me less than 50 yards. I went around him and he just threw a total fit. ????????? Unreal. Fish were not up early other than the chasers and I had to work for about 3 hours. At 10:30 the water hit 60 degree and it was crazy stupid. I got on one location and it was literally shooting targets with the Garmin Livescope, at least 2 dozen staging at 20’ over 35’ Picked up Becky at noon, she brought lunch. Should have left her on the dock as she put a Bigtime Whipping on me with the little Keitech. Haul today was 1 short walleye a 1/2 dozen whites, 3 crappie and I’m guessing 60 plus bass with perhaps 15/20 fifteen inchers. Becky had a great time and that matters most. We’re Retired. 😜😜😜😜 Good Luck

Bet ya didn’t catch another one and the same spot. In every lake in the world crappie are a schooling fish. They didn’t get the memo for Table Rock, 90% of the time.

Don’t you just love Montgomery. Dude would be the perfect son-in-law. I think they need 2 officials a drone and 15 cameras on Sprague in a snagging event like this. That guy is about as slippery as goose grease.

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Durn the Luck. Great day boys. We’re going to give Baxter a try in the morning

My wife likes her burgers med-well to well. I prefer mine med rare to medium at most. Blue Eye Burger cooks them well done then bakes them an additional 2 hours just to make sure. Most everything else on their menus is very good. Great strawberry shakes.

I’m thinking everyone of those location were off limits. 😎😎😎

Got it. How in the HE Double K did you ever find it? That is in a location that has to have a dream if I build it they will come. Welp, wife and I are always looking, so we will go. Thanks much for the tip, we foodies appreciate it.

I’m drawing a blank on how you get to it. Do you turn off at Golden, like your going to Viney Creek, at Ball and Pier tire? Man I must be losing it I can’t for the life of me remember a diner type on 86 Hwy. I’m over that way at least 3 days a week and cannot picture it at all. 🤪🤪🤪 Ill googley boogly it

Check out Pete’s report from yesterday, he said it was good up there

Is the Depot Diner the old Office Restaurant and Pub, or is it the one that has been 20 different places right next door to the museum? Harter House in Shell Knob probably has the best Kitchen Scramble in the country. It’s a store and not a sit down restaurant, but they use hash browns, ham, bacon 2 different sausage and 3 cheese blend and eggs. You can get sausage gravy if you wish. A portion double the size on your plate is $3.50. Your pic does look yummy however. Thanks for the restaurant post, we eat them up around here😁😁

Welcome to the forum, nice fish. Check out Pete Wenners current video report he posted yesterday. Exactly what he said was already tied on in my rod locker, with the exception of the RK color selection for the dirty water. I just have not done well on RED. Staging fish are off the long gravel points if you like that type of fishing using FFS. and the little 2.8 or 3.3 inch swimbait or you can chunk and wind the off color stuff. Let us know more about you and how you like to fish and how you’re doing. Lake section is very important here for good intel. Good Luck

Avena, and I’m not a fan, said he easily caught 40 strippers today running clay points. Unreal, what a fishery.