Bill Babler

Was talking to one of the guys at the gas station from Louisiana. He said he can kill a thousand pounds a night, every night there. He said this was hard. Those boys spent a bunch of money here. We appreciate it. They did not hurt a thing.

Trophy Fisher, Your wife had one of the best days any client has ever had on Table Rock, either guided by myself or anyone. And that is a fact. I know of no one that has ever caught 3 Small Jaws in a day between 5.1, 5.5 and 6.1 Charlie Campbell weighed in 4 one day that weighed 21 pounds, Her best 5 weighed 23 pounds. She would have placed higher than the Great Charlie Campbell. I will never exceed that day the rest of my life. Very few if anyone can say they weighed in a 23 pound bag of Jaws, on Table Rock Lake. On the Gull deal. This is not a Striper lake. When these shad are dying as they are they completely fill the bass to maximum. I have never caught Largemouth bass near dying shad and diving gulls, it just does not happen. As is the trout, when a few are coming thru the dam the fishing for big trout is great. When rafts of millions come thru, the fishing is terrible. That is what is happening in the dam area of Table Rock and has been going on for at leasts a month. I would estimate at least a thousand gulls between the dam and Long Creek. On the fish weight, I checked the old Rapala. I weighed a unopened gallon of milk on my wifes digital baking scale. it is balls on. It weighed 7.13 oz. I took it down and weighed it on the Rapala, and it weighed 7.10 oz. I'm sure the old gal was flouncing as I weighed her and it is very hard to do as I just did not want to hurt her in the least as she was just so full. I'm guessing I got it pretty close at around 9 pounds. I know this, That great fish that Don had the other day would not have wanted anything to do with this one. She was just way bigger, Not a Webb fish for sure, but one of those big ole biggins. Good Luck

Rumor has it they weighed in 16,000 pounds of rough fish. All the fish went to a turtle farm for feed. I may be off, but it was said the winner had between 3 and 4 hundred pounds of fish.

My old Rapala was reading 9.1 pounds, but I don't know. Her girth was so great it was really just obscene looking. I have never caught a Table Rock bass that was 25 inches around. She was a clean as a pin and just unbelieveable fat and heavy with eggs. I think that scales may weigh on the light side, I'm going to go and test it on a 10 pound weight in a little while.

Might be my biggest Table Rock Bass Really struggled this morning launching at Old 86 and fishing Long Creek to the Dam. Still millions of shad and gulls swooping on them Surface temp at 49 degree. I did everything I could think of to get a bite. Called all my buddies that were fishing and they were doing exactly as I was ZIP. Fished 4 hrs. without anything and tried everything I could think of. Just got a dose of it and cranked the big engine for Kimberling City. First stop after I started running out of gulls and shad and I had 5 keepers on a timbered transition. And stopped several other similar places in the next couple of hours and caught fish on every location. The Largemouth was 22-3/4 inches long and had a girth of just over 25 inches measured with Becky's yellow dress tape. It is the first time I have ever caught a fish with a larger girth than length. Don't know what she would have weighed but she was just about as big as I have caught here. 15 keepers in 2-1/2 hrs. after nothing the first 4 hrs. Don't even tell me that dying shad and gulls don't matter, cause I here to tell you they do. Spoke to two other boats while loading out at the ramp that fished the dam and mouth of Long Creek. First boat the guys were at the ramp when I launched at 6:30. They caught zero. Other boat with a coulple on nice you guys said they caught about 20 very small shorts on a shaky head right up on the bank, with no keepers. I will not fish this area again, till the gulls are gone. There are fish biting really well on this lake and it is a waste of time from Point 1 to Long Creek. Good Luck

Float and Fly Fish

Big Cedar, usually carries really a wonderful ammount of stuff that is revelent to Table Rock, in their marina. Trouble is you cannot buy it if your not a guide or staying there. I'm hoping that Long Creek, will stock a good supply of Table Rock baits. You all know how I most of the time feel about Bass Pro and their stuff, but I harbor no hard feeling for the merchandise they carry at the landing. " It is not for us." It is for tourist. They just cannot have much line and stuff there that gets old. Especially Bass stuff. Champ was probably the only customer in the past 8 yrs. that wanted some bass line. Which has been pointed out is pretty questionable to begin with. Went in there yesterday after I called them to make sure they had an item. We have been usiing the 3-3/4 inch RCSTX on White bass. We are replacing the rings and hooks as the hooks immediatly break and the rings straighten out even with 6 poiund line, but they did have those baits. Funny deal the sales person immediatly starts telling me how to fish the bait and what it will catch. I asked where the split rings were and he told me how good the ones on the bait were. I finaly got a dose of him and asked "Kid, have you ever fished this bait?" He said "Well no, but I know what it suspose to do and how good the bait is." The only split rigs they had were BP so I passed on them. Asked if he had any Owner or Dainelson and he said they were not as good as the BP. I just said thanks and went to the register to pay. He was more than clueless. The rings on the friggin bait that were gettng pulled straight were BP. My Gosh. I'm off to the river. Good Luck

I went to Bull Shoals, and I was thinking about Butler while I was there. That is probably the most boats I have ever seen on Bull and I bet there is more today. Great report Ya'll and thanks.

Great stories and fun looking at that stuff. I don't believe however that a 14 pound plus came from Table Rock on the Arkansas side. Really could not have up the Kings River, as it is just not conducive I don't believe with extremely skinny water. Don't think the White River either, Long Creek on the other hand would probably be the place as there for sure would be room to roam up there and there are big fish still caught up there from time to time, so it is a remote possibility. Frank Fenson's is was probably the biggest but it is all speculation, and fun.

I remember Tommy Martin caught a 7'6" K and weighed it on certified scales abouut 15 years ago during a Bassmaster Top 150 here and it was not the state record.

BP at Branson is the dead sea. We have talked to them time after time to stock products that are relivent to our local fishing and they just tell us they cannot sell it. They stock stuff for tourist, cause it sells. Cannot blame them. Best for sure in Springfield is Sportsmans Outfitters and Fin and Feather, for locat knowledge and everything Table Rock. Mark is also still open at Table Rock Tackle and Marine. Another 0ne which is the best in the area, is Rock Springs Tackle at Harrison Arkansas They also have Ark Rod company there that makes a huge ammount of Falcon Rods, and other custom fishing equipment. You will not find a shop with this much stuff outside of Springfield. This is about 25 minutes south of Branson on 65 HWY. Lots of great resturants in Harrison, so it is a nice drive for Lunch and to pick up a goodie or to for your fishing pleasures. Good Luck

Great point. If it is slick enough to see them following, most times unless you see them come out of a cedar, it is pretty hard with the jerker. Jerkbaits just hate flat water most of the time.

Could not find TR, but LM is 13.14 1961 bull shoals----Smallmouth is Stockton 7.2 1994---------Spotted Bass Table Rock 7.8 1964 I do not think they list Lake Records, but maybe someone can find them.

More than good advice.

Which one of those was the one that Roland Martin sold? I think it was the flying lure or maybe the helecopter. My brother-in-law kicked my A$$ one day on a banjo minnow, it is pretty much a soft jerk bait, so I'm reserving my vile comments on them. There were however some colors in the mix that were pretty much outragious. Seems like the whites, silvers and blacks would catch them. He rigged them like sluggo's. The Banjo was just before the sluggo, and I think it helped develop the soft jerkbait. The sluggo, pretty much put it out of business as you could buy any color you wanted and as many as you wanted with out all the junk that came in the B. minnow kit. Good Luck

kind of funny, I ran into Mike at the ramp, and told him I was headed up LC to check on the whites. Told him I would call if I found them and he said great, call me, I am waiting for some clients. Glad for him I didn't find them or call. That is one special fish anywhere, especially for the Rock.

Buster did this morning and said he is going back this afternoon. Said it was great over on Bull Shoals, but he is way tougher than this old kid.

Boy you can really tell we can't get outside. I used to respect Jimmy Houston, but is there simply nothing that he nor Bill Dance will try and sell? It simply boggles the mind.

With nothing better to do today, I have just watched 3 videos and read about a 1/2 million reviews of the RC STX jerkbaits. Con sences is that the bait is designed to be similar to a megabass vision 110 but it is not identical or for that matter the same bait. Colors similar and some very nice color but the action as most will agree is not as pronounced as the vision 110. Head turns and snaps for the 110 are clear and sharp,flashes of belly color and top rotate extremely quickly. the STX are more of a glide or a softer slower reaction. I believe this is due to the weight of the bait. It is without a doubt lighter, and as 90 percent of the reviews said will not throw nearly as well. It does throw very nice, but both the vision 110 and the pointer 100 throw better. The hooks and rings on the megabass are much better. Now megabass is putting the barbarian barbs on the outside. I thought for years the inside was wrong. I think they have had enough complaints they have changed them, making the hooks on these baits more than good enough. Both the hooks and Rings on the RTX have broken and are very brittle. While the megabass if fished on mono suspends in a slightly tail down attitude, the RTX can and will suspend in either a head or completely tail down attitude. Some folks didn't like this. They didn't mind the tail down, but most don't like their jerkbaits head down. Price being the main factor here. $8.99 vs $22 to $24 dollars. With the proper modifications, the RC is a very close,but not a vision 110, no matter how we chose to cut it.

They are out down here along with the ornamental pears and the plums. Boy have they been fooled

Weather of course is part of this business, but I cannot in 23 years now ever remember it being this cold, rainey, windy for so long. Even the high water events didn't bother us too much, but this has left a mark. I guess thats why the normal is 68 and 44, not 28 and 40 like its been. I'm ready to go fishin. Good Luck

James, I'm with you on that. The RCStk is very similar. It is a bit lighter and I am not a big fan of the hooks in the bait.I am betting they are mustad. They will straighten and they will for sure break. Once they straighten you cannot bend them back or they will break. Broke one yesterday, on a white bass. It is for sure a great price alternative. I think the action is very much like the MB, except for what I have stated. I was wondering about that grape. Now I know.

This is insane. The weather this year has put most of us guides so far behind the 8 ball it is unreal. We lost 90% of our Spring break business and this week for most of us has also been a total "Wash." Today the normal for Blue Eye for April 2nd. is 68 and 43. Setting here tying some flys and looking at the lake temperatures plummet by the moment it is 34 air temp and spitting ice, rain and big flakes of snow. Next two days look pretty much the same with lows in the high 20's to low 30's and highs maybe 40. Probably be cursing the heat in a month or two, but right now "I be more than Chillin."

How fast were you all working the baits? PS Your wife knew what was important in the picture Great report.

With well below average air temperatures forcasted this week, the rock should not change much from her current patters. In the past few days I have fished most lake sections and here is just a bit of what I believe will go on into early next week. Again for the most part, I don't think this is going to be a huge numbers fishery, unless you find a bunch of fish on a point or two up the Kings River. It is for sure right now out fishing the rest of the lake, on numbers. Most of the rest of the lake is producing size but not tons of quanity Fished Long Creek yesterday morning and the water was really a nice aqua marine, with surface temps early at 55 degree. Warmest water I have found on Table Rock for a early morning start. Messed with the whites abit, but nothing, so I started slow rolling a wareagle blade and fished it for about an hour thinking about the post from the Kings River of the person catching them their. Nothing. Switched to a megabass and went back over some of the same staging type locations and immediatly started catching them on an elegy bone sticker. had 5 LM all keepers before I headed in really only fishing for bass for an hour. Long Creek to point 9. Yes this is a big area, but it is also being thrown into a whole because it is HARD, HARD, HARD. Spoke with some of my Big Cedar guide buddies and they are more than struggling. Also others fishing out of Kimberling City are havng a tough go of it. Few Big fish but no numbers, mostly coming on the rig. Yes we have read some reports of people catching them in the Indians, but you hear 10 extremely poor reports for every good one. Again locations and timing is the key. I know Mike Webb had a 11 pound plus fish in the dam area, yesterday on a Alabama Rig. This area gets good when the tube and swimming the grub gets going and right now, it is not in the arsenal. Point 9 up the James to Point 12 including Aunts Creek, has been another fishery that is producing very nice quality fish but not huge numbers. Again here stickbaits and A-Rigs are the key. Locations are of the upmost importance here with not even thinking of fishing just to be fishing, but selecting locations based on staging and weather patterns. TRANSITIONS are more than important here and if you don't know what a transition bank looks like after all we have put on this forum you never will. Point 9 to Mouth of the Kings River. This area has as much visible timber as any lake section we have. Being able to fish cedar and standing pole time at the mouth of major coves in this area has led to some monster weights being brought to the scales in recient tournaments. There is also a numbers bite to some extent here but coving ground is the most important. Again look for the transition areas, in the Big Creek region of the lake. Kings River. Perhaps right now this is the nerve center of the entire Table Rock White River area. The Kings really has been no warmer than any other lake section, but the fish as usual really get started up here. Best baits here have really been any you want to soak, from blades to jigs. I have been in the Kings River extensively for most of the last month. Still for me the best bait for numbers reguardless of where you are in the Kings River, from 86 hwy to the mouth has been the suspending jerkbait. My best numbers are coming on it. Best size without a doubt has been on the A-Rig I have caught fish here from shallow to suspended on the stickbait, but my A-Rig fish have come deep. Most suspended above the trees on transitions in the 30' range. Lots of young stuff up on the bank however and have really had some good trips on either a wart or a Flicker Shad. Kings to Holiday Island. For me here I have to be very selective on locations. Not a lot of fish on anything that I have been fishing here, mainly channel swings with deep water near spawning pockets. A-Rig for sure has beat anything. I have caught them as deep here offf the bluffends as 30' and as shallow as 4'. Most of the fish I am catching here really want that deep water present. Wind in this section as been very important, and being the first boat on a location has been important. I like to milk run fish this time of the year,as I think they replenish with staging fish. Has not worked here. On a good location, I catch two or three, and it seems there are not do overs, it is done for the day. Even swithching baits and presentations does not seem to matter. Just the first deal there is the deal. Stay in constant movement lake wide and catch them where you find them quickly and move to the next locations. By this I mean, when you are on them, don't screw around. Fish the best locations and don't try and expand them to bank running, just move to the next good rock or river transition and fish it a 100 yrds. or so and skidaddle. Good Luck