Bill Babler

Buster had this 10# walleye yesterday along with 5 other keepers that the total weight on would have been in the 35# class. That big Gal had this LM bass in her. Buster measured it at over 14" Those walleye are playing for keeps.

Wow, fantastic. Buster was at it again yesterday out of K-Dock. He and his client had 6 keepers with one over 10 pounds. Total wt. of the stinger of 6 was 35 pounds. The big walleye had a 14.5 inch LM in its stomach. Nice adaptation. Got a feeling even though its early up there they may hit a night crawler rig. For sure a shiner behind that bouncer. However when you are catching limits on artificial, why look elsewhere.

Splashed in at the Knob at 07:30 and had quite a bit of help at the ramp. Looked like about 2 dozen rigs. Wanted to check a couple of creek channels to see about deep fish so headed down stream on a beautiful but chilly 33 degree morning. Surface temps at the kick-off were 43 degree and the water is very clear with visibility to I'm guessing between 12' and 15' No breeze, just the right kind of a morning for the deep bite. Did not find it but I did find the creek channels full of Gizzard Shad. Thought at first they might be White's, but snagged 3 and never had a bump on the 1/2 oz. spoon. On the slick water I then had only a couple of choices, being the stupid rig and the Varmint. Tossed the rig a few times and caught 2 and lost one big puller, did not see it so have no idea. Started on the Varmint on a chunk rock interior point with the boat in about 30' of water and a full cast off the bank. Fished it on a slack line with a 1/8th. oz head and they would just load and load and load on it. Fished only 2 locations from 0800 till I saw Champ, around Noon and it was silly. Lots of short fish with a 15" to 16" every forth or fifth cast. Not going to guess the number, but I was busy. Spoke to James and he brought a curse on me. Only 2 more in the next 2 hrs. Ran up the lake above the Kings and Quill was plying his trade in that area. Always good to see him. Quill I caught on really nice LM in that timbered main lake pocket on a Rig and that was it for me. I fished 4 locations this morning and caught fish off 3. Had the Table Rock slam and also caught 2 off a Stain Reaction Plus when the wind puffed up a bit. All the Varmint fish were just spitting crayfish. Had several small craw's that were under an inch spit into the boat. I know nothing about the cycle of crayfish reproduction, but those sure could not have been very old. Surface temp at the ramp when I cam in a 3 was 47.7. Good Luck

Very nice day. Seems like rather than the bait you were using, you were on fish. When that happens and they are willing to eat on multiple presentations like that it is very special. Thanks so much for the report. I bet that Jaw was just beautiful this time of the year coming out of that cold crisp water. Thanks for the post and continued success.

We took pictures on Hobe Beach, it was beautiful. You guys should have been making those types of buying decisions 4 or 5 years ago. Was talking to one person that sells down there and they say the price of homes and property has came back up to 1995 prices and it is going beyond. One of our guide buddys looked at a place down there last year that was on the market for $225 grr. Nice 2 bedroom 1,400 sq ft. with a pool right on the water. It is a VRBO. This year it just sold for $375 grr. over a 50% increase in 12 months.

I put 1/2 dozen baits on all day and took off a total of 4 fish. Oz. said he very seldom lets clients either bait or take anything off the line. We fished with his tournament gear as he and Bill are pretty tight after all these years. To tell the truth I wanted to stay in the bay and catch Red Fish and Trout, but Ozzie, Bill and Kent another one of our friends wanted to catch Grouper so offshore we went. Ozzie said the Reds and the trout were petty small this time of the year around Captiva and really that would have suited me fine. Not in for the gut wrenching. WE were over at Stuart and Jupiter for a couple of days and they were really catching some nice trout on the Atlantic side up a couple of different brackish rivers. Would really have loved to have done some of that, but time restraints. I liked the Stuart area the best over all. Lots of views. It is pretty hard on the Gulf side to see the water no roads much along the coast with much of a view. IF you are a golfer however it is the place of your dreams.

Doc, we fished with the Wizard of Oz. on Captiva. Bill Beck has fished with Ozzie over 20 times in the past 10 years. Extremely nice guy. Nice equipment. As you know I'm a gear horse. We used Shimano Stella 8000's and Shimano 8' rods. We caught Gag Grouper, Red Grouper, Red Snapper, and I caught a 150 pound spinner shark. Would have rather not caught the shark. Just to much battle. Took me about 35 minutes and it was a complete load. Beck caught a 20 pound Gag and Ozzie said it was his biggest in 25 yrs. on the water in the gulf. Pretty special trip. We went 20 miles offshore, and fished rock reefs and ledges. 60 pound braid with a 40 pound invesx 4' leader. Only problem was getting in and off the island, took us roughly 2 hrs. each way to go 18 miles from ft. myers going and coming. Ozzie is a great guy and is one of the best tournament fishermen on the salt in the gulf. He is a very good guide and treated us very well. Enjoyed him, but the best deal of the trip was being able to spend the day on the salt with my buddy Bill Beck.

That would be my guess too.

You know I have encountered this for the 20 plus yrs. I have been in the business. Folks want to believe what they want to believe. Even when I first started guiding here in the 1990's crappie were really starting to decline as a yearly fishery. YES, you could catch them during the spawn, for a few weeks, and in the Winter around the docks, but in reality if you were a crappie guide you would have starved even then. There is so much misinformation out that it would be extremely hard for a person to know what is truly possible when it comes to catching the elusive Table Rock white perch. Go online right now and look at the websites of the resorts on the Rock. The stories are just unreal. Lots of them saying that Table Rock is stocked on a annual and even a Simi-annual basis with; crappie, walleye, largemouth bass, catfish and bluegill. You as a person that just sees this magnificent lake would assume it to be teaming with the above mentioned. Here is the kicker. IT AINT. There is not a lake in this state that gets the pressure that the Rock has. It is dark now, but just minutes ago right before dark there were 4 bass boats in sight from the lodge. It is fished and fished extremely hard, 365. Here is a pretty good analogy. We fished the gulf of Mexico day before yesterday out of Captiva Island with a very good guide. We fished 4 different GPS locations up to 20 miles offshore that he said by his book he only hits every 6 months. During the rest of the year they go untouched. He said his locations are not fished by other guides and I can believe it as they are marks in nothingness. We would catch a dozen of each stop. He said if he went back the next day or within the month it would be very slim to nothing, he had to rotate. He said he had over 1000 locations on his map to keep his clients in fish, and kept a very detail log of how often he fished each and his clients success on a seasonal basis. I was telling him there were location here that get fished 300 plus days a year and at times a dozen times per day. He just shook his head. It is just not as easy as folks coming into the area are sometimes mislead to believe

One of my buddy's told me the 3 things to never do when you turn 60 Never pass a restroom. Never turn down $E--yum yum Never trust what you said of the stinkum. I'm throwing in the Realtor deal. for a 4th.

Usually this time of the year folks start to come out of hibernation and have paid that last Christmas Master Card bill. Their thoughts turn toward plying the depths for the fantastic fishing we have on the Rock. My phone has been busy and I have gotten the usual amount of calls from newbies that have just purchased a lake home of the Rock. OK, they have got their digs and are ready to reap the bounty of crappie that their Realtor has told them the lake is full of. They tried a little last fall and put a few beds under their new docks but just have not had the success they were led to believe they should be having. After all they were told the lake was STOCKED ON A YEARLY BASIS WITH CRAPPIE, and was if not the best one of the best crappie lakes in not only Missouri but the entire country. The question, is why are we not catching any and would you guide us and show us where these boundless limits of crappie are. My new response is "Have your Realtor guide you and demand his fee back if he does not produce said crappie as he or she were more than willing to tell you leap onto your unbaited hook here." Of course that was prior to you signing the sale papers on your new lake home. Maybe it is selling real estate everywhere, but the folks here that do it would tell you the sun was shining if you were standing in a pouring rain. I guess if you believe it, its on you. Just because there is water, does not mean fish live in it. I throw up my hands. Sheee!!!!

Thanks, I know how long it takes to load up a 27 minute video to Youtube Quite a while

The rod is a much bigger player in this type of fishing than the line. You use the correct rod for the deal and you will have no trouble with the hook set on the mono-verse the braid and I'm lumping Nanofil in this category. I have been using a Jeff Kriet Squirrel tail for the past two years, and it is perfect for the rig. I have also used a Falcon Nestor Falls spin and it works just about as well. I can cast the 6# Maxi just as far as I can the 6 to 8 pound braid products, and not have to worry about it breaking on the cast. Nanofil or any of the braid products work extremely well on the feel, or the straight line pull, it is the cast that seems to separate you from your hard earned expensive lures. I know we are mixing here on the Ned topic, but really I don't think myself or my clients are missing a lot of fish, or for that matter breaking any off. None that I can remember. Same with Beck.

What he said. This time of year we are strictly fishing it vertices. One guy usually on a spoon the other on a 3/8. Head with a 4 inch Yamamoto grey or a Chompers salt and pepper. Will on a very rare time throw it at fish that are up in the water column but not very often

Personally I have to have the bait on the bottom. Have yet to catch one on the drop. Caught 100s on it last year. Quicker to the bottom the better for me

I have done all I know to make Nanofil work. Have not solved it yet. Not at all the deal for the Varmint. I have had to go up to 10# test to get it near the same break ability as Maxima in 6 # to throw the spin bait

On the first shot the contour break might have caused it, I have seen that before, but usually a zoom in or zoom out will knock that out. I have never seen the green screen but has been mentioned it could be a color deal. I will text Rick Lisek and have him look at your shots and he will know he is Lowrance top pro-staff guy here.

Personally I wish I could get some from him. Seems to be keeping them pretty close to the vest. Oh. I forgot, I have to wait my turn. Just kidding Dave. Not really HEEEE

Something about that location looks very familiar. I might have driven past that a time or two.

I believe that Wrench just posted a big string of whites from just a few days ago, on the loz forum. On the sticker there have been some wonderful information posted on this blog. One of the best was in Champ pointing out the quality of equipment and the setup that puts you in the proper frame to get bit. I really cannot think of any other bait where such a multitude of different very little things make such a huge deal to accomplishing the whole. The Spro Blue Bandit has become one of the best baits on both the White River Chain and also LOZ. It can be fished in any type of light situation, from bright where it really excels to a cloudy dreary day. One of my very favorite suspending baits. Another very important bit of info to consider, and I have had a multitude of clients tell me this is that the bite at times can be a very nice thump or jump, but most often as one Client described it "A Drive By." Most often it more reminds me of a crappie bite on a light jig, just a quick tap or line movement. I have caught so many on it that I can a very good percentage of the time tell what critter is checkin it out. A white bass won't fool with it, you know you are bit. A walleye is the lightest, only a whisper. LM at times only line movement or the tick, tick, K's will put a jolt in it. Not every time, but you should know you been bit. A jaw is the hardest one to figure. Hit soft, fight big is the usual deal with them however as the water warms and you fish it shallower, the jaw will put the hammer on it. To me a jerkbait is somewhat like a buzz bait. I cannot put it down when I should. Great information gents and go get em.

It seemed like the smaller versions of the RC suffered more from the poor quality rings and hooks than did the full size version. We have just caught a ton of white bass on both sizes, and with the way they pull it is still a problem on the smaller ones. A big Sow White bass in 50+ degree water will straighten out that BP swivel in about a half a heart beat and where we have had problem on the hook is with it breaking rather than bending. Really agree here with Champ. If I'm fishing a derby I would want nothing to do with either the rings or the hooks, but for everyday, good to go.

If I had one jerkbait and one only, it would be a vision 110 in stain reaction. French pearl is also good, but the orange belly of the stain reaction is without a doubt the best bait I have found in over 40 years of stickbaiting on TableR Rock. I have well over 200 stick baits, with about 1/3rd being custom painted, and the stain reaction is the one that is on one of my rods at all times, either bright or cloudy, it is one deadly sonofagun. It is also one of the best colors for lake of the Ozarks, not to mention a Bull Shoals walleye getter.

Randy, I think Champ was clearly addressing you. He is right, sometimes the bottom of the page on specific topics that either have lake sections for banners or specific baits as banners get lots of lookie lou's. And he did point out that lots of those are coming from folks that are not fishing due to frozen water to the Artic North. We always appreciate posts and responses from those locals that fish here on a weekly basis. It is the blood of any fishing forum, up to date current and relevant fishing information. Most of the gang here that post on a weekly or daily basis are just exceptional with their hard earned "If you can call it that," information. We all appreciate it. I think we also have folks looking that just do not feel comfortable posting. And of course Champ is right in folks that it is just flat all about me, that will never post. You take the good with the bad and this fishing forum is for sure about the good. God Bless and Happy New Year to you all, posters or lookers.