Bill Babler

The Pop-R has always been a great bait, but as has been stated the Chugbug and the Yellow Magic have kind of replaced it as the lure dejure in the chugging worlds. Still here for topwater the wake baits are probably thrown more than anything, with the invincible Zara Spook a close second, if you can walk the dog. Hopefully this warm weather will bring those fish back up as the TWB has just been non-existent for about a week. Good Luck

Super fish, way to get em. How many times have I told you to stay off that location?

It was silly today. Even Beck jacked with it and said it was completely Goofy.

I just purchased 8 bulk spools of maxima and it is the same color and the same strength as always. It is fantastic with absolutely zero memory for 2500 series spinning reel. I can easily break 30 pound test of any line by holding the bait in one hand and pulling against the knot regardless of what kind of knot with my pull hand a ft. or under from the knot. I can also wrap line around gloved hands of up to 30 pounds and pull it against its-self with no knot and break it. If you are fishing a 4 or 6 pound line on the Ned rig on a 7' med light rod with the drag set on a quality reel, you will not break it. The rod more than absorbs any shock and will keep the fish on in good shape. I have been fishing the Ned Rig today and it was a monster. I'm fishing it on a Falcon Jeff Kriet Signature Squrrel Tail. It worked Killer. Like most anything you need to know how to fish it. My client did not know or for that matter, neither did I that you had to soak the line in the water. Every presentation we fished was of course with a low rod regardless of the wind. The wind yesterday however seemed to just pick his line up off the water and away it would go. He also was having a terrible time at first joining a piece of Fluro. to the fill. I solved that with an Albright. Still for what I do, I'm sticking with the maxi. Good Luck

Had a client try and fish Nanofil yesterday in the wind. It was completely useless. We were fishing pretty lite and that stuff ccaught the air like a kite. it skated the 1/8 to 1/4 oz baits to the point my client put down his rod and picked up one of mine with Maxi on it. It changed his day. Said he was done with the fil especially if there was any wind. Guys, Maxima is not broken and does not need fixin. It is the best mono on the market and has been for more years and 10's of thousands of fish for this old fishin guide.

Table Rock Lake, Kimberling City, Mo. Surface temps today 58.9 degree. Last two days out of Kimberling with wind gust swirling and up to 45 MPH. it was a complete disaster. This lake has chilled to what I know of as extreme levels that I can remember since 1976. Last two day we have had a total of 41 fish with 11 keeps. It is the annual early Spring derby and from what I can remember the worst derby ever. Our 20 boat tournament was won with a 2.13 pound bass caught by a client of Bill Beck. I had a 2.11. WHOO HOO>!!!!!!! We Are expecting a freeze tonight so get prepared for the pain. Last week we had temps at Shell Knob at 69 degree. This will really give them a come upentence.

Way to go buddy. Feel lucky you missed yesterday, the wind was so bad you fluke would have been a water skier.

sounds like my day to a T

I think the bait has been around under a several different names for quite sometime. Ralph Lambert out of Shell Knob used to fish it almost exclusively except for a spook in the mornings. Where it has been changed somewhat is in the presentation, now as I believe Dave has redefinded it into a very slow through presentation that completely covers an area that he knows is holding fish. Regardless of how or what it is, the proof is in the pudding, and the results are here for everyone to see. I really appreciate the info on it and it tickles me pink that it is doing so well. Continue to bring us these great results, Its amazing.

That is a super day with the 9 keeps. My fish today were more than knot-heads. We fished to 1 pm and just could not get it going. One of those days for me, kind of got my come-upence.

You probably scored the best day in the area. Speaking with at least a 1/2 dozen guides that fished the same water, at the same time you more than doubled them. Good work and a fantastic day on the Rock during a very hard day.

Kings River to Baxter, was a complete zoo. All ramps were full and even that flat horrible ramp at Campbell point had 25 rigs on it. Slick, blue and lots of boats and fishermen made for a very hard day. You caught a limit of good fish today and you did good. Boys reported from other lake sections that their morning trips were really hard.

Shell Knob, Mo. Picked up the boys, Jerry and Larry Horseman this morning out of Quail Cove as they are fishing the Shriners derby this weekend. When I launched at the knob, the surface temps had dropped from my reading at Baxter from 67 degree yesterday afternoon, to a chilly 55 degree at the ramp. Air temps this morning at the Shell Knob bridge were 39 degree. Clear as a bell and high pressure to boot with not a breeze one or a cloud in the Azure Blue Sky. Boys, the Rock takes care of itself and for me today, she came back as a pretty hard taskmaster. I think I needed to have used Dave's little rig more but I have been catching them and today was fishing. 27 bass to the boat and 1 Googler. Lots of follows and only 2 keeper K's about 16 inch. I did not do the Horseman boys much good for their derby. Really the only thing we could get bit on was the wobbler, and it was not good at best and the fish we caught were my smallest of the year. Quite a few small buck LM and several 11' k's. All and all the lake got even with me today. On a side note, I would stay away from Shell Knob this weekend as the lake is just full to the brim of fisherman. Really did not land on any location that I thought had not been fished already. Most coves had a boat on the points on both sides and at least 2 others going down the banks, good or bad, there was really just no place to put all the fisherman. I never fish water that I have not been on in the past few days or water that I think may not hold fish, but I had to this morning due to pressure. Pretty much just take a number at the Knob this weekend. Good Luck

Good work J. Those are some nice big bass weights also.

Walk the beach at Campbell Point, and swim a smoke grub. Throw it as far as you can and wind it in slow scrubbing the bottom. You will catch fish. Good Luck

absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing. They look scary good. Paint the one on the lower rleft hand corner with a white bill and it would be off the chart. Would love to have any of them, your work is magnificent.

Both of these gents had just retired this past year. Think they were tickled or what? Lots of nice smiles and giggles today as the misses were as good as the catches when the fish are biting like this.

Bill Babler 4-24-14 Table Rock Lake Fishing Report Ozarkanglers.com Good friend and client John Dickerson and his buddy Todd played the bass catchin video game with me today. This is a test of Eye/Hand coordination. That is to see if you can set a hook before the bait is all gone. These guys did a great job and had a wonderful day putting the Bite on some very nice Table Rock Lake Bass. Todd got the ball rolling with a quickie on a Keitech swimmer about 5 minutes into the trip. We had 3 on the swim bait and the same amount on the Redfin, but the majority of our fish came on the wobblehead. I am just addicted to this bait as you know immediately when they have it and for the most part you can put the steel to them before it is all the way down. This bait is fished tightline and when they grab it there is no delay like a C-Rig or swimming a grub, or something pulled or pushed. Again today we had a mixture of all 3 of our Black Bass Species, completing the slam as I have everyday now for ? getting to be a while now. Absolutely fantastic day, but not the size or numbers of the last 3 days as we fished a completely different lake section that I have not been on in a while. ie since last year at this time. I believe Todd still got near 20 on his own. Even in the clear water below Baxter, these fish are shallow. Most are under 10' and wind is your friend when they are this shallow. Don't know how many fronts blew thru today, but the weather was just crazy. Did not seem to matter, as I don't believe in an 8 hr. trip we went over 5 minutes without a bite of some kind. I'm starting first thing with a topwater and then going to the swimbait. As soon as the sun hits we are switching to a Yamamoto 4' grub, a c-rig and of course the wobbler. Lots and lots of brown fish bit the wobbler today, did not matter what craw I had attached to the 7/16 oz Chomper Wobblehead. They also really like the smoke red/flex grub. Notice how different each of those Jaw's were marked, everyone of them was a completely different color and marked so differently. Stay after them. Good Luck

Their Lodge is 110 miles from Kenora so I don't know if they do or not.

Nicely done my friend.

Dave I believe your right. Again look at the size of the K's I am catching. Lots and lots of 2.75 to 3.50. Up to 18 inches and really that right now is the norm at 15 to 17 inches. We did not catch a K under 12 inches in 3 days and way, way over 125 fish. That is kind of scary. Leads me to believe in 2008 and 2011 due to high water there was no or very little spawn for the k's. Just to much water over their nests and they did not do it. Enjoy it now, as we never know what is coming.

I really cannot claim anything. I had my Walleye guides from the far North and they did it for me again. They had read of Table Rock for years and said it was finely time for them to come here. They researched it and I was extremely fortunate they chose me as a guide and Becky as their host at our lodge. They had asked me when to come and I got more than lucky and hit it on the nose. These guys guide on Lake of the Woods and Rainey lake and said this was as good of bass fishing as they have at the best of times. Yes they will catch some good Jaw's, but if your really honest a good jaw there is 16 to 18 inches now-of-days. We caught many the last 4 days there were that. Both boys of course caught their best LM and K's. They were really excited about the K's. Said they had never seen such beautiful fish. Both really could not believe the lack of docks or housing on Table Rock and said how blessed I was to guide here. I could not have agreed more. What a wonderful week I had with these visitors from the North.

In 30 years on Table Rock, I don't know if I have seen it like this at this time. Please get out there and enjoy it. Remember this is a big lake and for Gosh Sake, go where the fish are biting, do not try and bend them, do what you should and you will be successful. Good Luck

White River Outfitters Current Table Rock Lake Fishing Report 4-23-14 Golden, Missouri I have not seen this type of early season pre-spawn fishing in, really I don't remember when. Water Clarity is dingy with visibility of only about 4' from Viney to the Mouth of the Kings, and surface temps are from 64 to 69 degree. Jeff and Greg were the victims today and it was INSANE. Got somewhat of a late start on the water at 7:30. Had just a lick of a fin bite boating 3 nice LM and missing the same amount. Went with a very short leash C-Rig with a fish Dr. in Green Pumpkin snuggling it up close to the bushes on the points of the gravel and chunk mixed cove mouths and for gosh sakes it was on. On to the tune that we had to put it in the box as they were just inhaling the bait and pretty much gave us no time to react, just gone. Jeff and Greg had a little bet on numbers today and Greg lost with 39 to the boat. Jeff won the deal and I'm not even going there. At one point after 9 a.m. when the wind started Greg made 5 straight cast that put 16 pounds in the boat. Just crazy. At about 1 p.m. we were just trying to figure out what they would not bite or swallow whole. I was fishing a Spro Blue Bandit and twice the bait was just gone when I brought the fish to the net. Had to put it up. Again today we fished with the best success the wobblehead as if we kept it moving and kept in contact with it we could avoid them swallowing it to there posterior. Most of the time! Most all our fish came in under 10 ft. even the stickbait fish. Nice mix of LM, K's and Jaw's. Better get out there, this will not last forever.

Sweet. Did you guys fish the floater any?