Bill Babler

I don’t think the forage base is a problem on TR. You can really see when Winter fishing the amount of Shad. With crayfish and gills, the forage is more than amply to grow and sustain the bass and walleye populations. I think the constant 12 months a year 365 day a year pressure is more of a factor than forage. They are constantly under pressure I think a pretty good point by Phil. The fish adapt and the next new bait or technique what ever it may be will again produce older wiser fish. For a time.

The finest wire hook you can get is by far a much better penetrator. Everyone misses some deep bites but a lite wire hook really helps. On another front Keitech makes a ball head for swimming its small swim baits. It has a Daiichi hook and it’s really sticky

Looks like they put parking back over by the ramp again, however it’s limited. Of course there’s will be others using the ramp, but it would be nice if OAF members would not take those few spots if they are able to walk from the big lot. This would allow some of our guys that aren’t as frisky to use the spots right by the ramp. I think there may be 8, but not sure. Just a suggestion.

Great day Quill. That’s a really fun morning.

Just shows the diversity of this pond. I never caught a single K. Location, location. Those K’s are kind of ganged up and if you get on a spot like that as you did, you need to stay a while. I only threw the Keitech along the fence row 26’ to 32’ and basically just dragged it on either side of the row. Lost 4 baits. As RPS will tell you, that location gobbles baits. Phil and I caught a few there in the OAF derby a few years ago. Funny location really you think it would hold fish all year, but when the water hits low 60’s they skedaddle. As I mentioned yesterday I’ve caught a couple of walleye there, but for some reason it was loaded with males Thursday. You can easily tell a walleye bite from the LM. The walleye will give it a couple of tugs either on the A-rig or the swimbait and really just mostly glide in. The LM in the cold water, it just gets heavy, but when you stick them they try and fight back. Course with the size I was catching there was not a ton of resistance by either😜 Saw that biggest LM catch the A-rig, pretty exciting stuff to see fish eat the bait 50’ from the boat, 30’ deep. Spoke to some guys on a dock at Rock Creek. They were catching some really nice crappie on minnows, said they would have nothing to do with a jig but we’re crazy on the minnows. Got a feeling if a guy would start at Leatherwood and fish up the river throwing a stick bait and a swimming minnow all day he would catch a nice mess of Walters.

Wow Bobby that’s fantastic. I have neither seen a loon or a gull to this point. I’ve only been in the White from SK to Leatherwood creek.

Got out at the crack of daylight this morning to close to 60 degree air temp. Surface temps main lake at SK ramp at 46.7. Checked 3 major creeks that were packed with millions of Shad prior to the cold snap and none to be found. Lots of small pods of Shad main lake, with a few fish in, under and around them. Surface temps back in the creeks at 41/43 degree early. Started throwing the A-rig pretty quick as I had a very reliable report of some huge bags being caught on Wednesday. I mean several 7 pounders and quite a few 4 plus. All in the dam area as usual this time of year over the deep trees. From the Kings River to Eagle Rock bridge I could catch both walleye and buck LM on almost every stop on the rig. Think I had 5 buck walleye early up to 17” and a dozen bass with one double up to about 13”. All LM, didn’t have a K all day and I fished till 3 pm. Now for RPS. The stump/river channel fence row is totally loaded with LM and walleye. I caught a dozen of each with no keeper walleye. Looked like they all were males. Could have maybe stretched 2 to the mark, but if their short they’re short. Just a total load of walleye in this lake right now. I have never came close to catching this many this time of year. Guy’s, I caught close to 20 on an A-rig, jig and Keitech. Not fishing for them in the least. I have fished that stump row above ER for years and years and caught bass and a couple of walleye, but it is covered with them now. For the LM I had 2 keepers in the bunch but everyone of them was a buck. I left them biting. About a 1/2 mile stretch of main lake main channel roll off. You know the location. Hard to fish a rig on the fence row caught most of them on a fb jig and a 2.8” Keitech on a 1/4 oz. head running parallel with the channel. I think they probably would have hammered a C-rig. Had not been that way in close to a year and simply could not believe the amount of new homes going in from ER bridge to Arkansas line. Huge homes with lots on the bluffs up there where a buzzard would be scared to roost. Probably at least 30 new starts on that short stretch. Incredible. Lots of boats out with folks still being off for the holidays. Surface temps late in the day main lake right at 50 degree with air temps at 76. Good Luck

Haven’t had a drop and can’t find a single miss step in my post. Just have to agree to disagree. I’m tickled pink.

Mizzou Pounds Kentucky. Only loss to the program that has without a doubt been the most cheating in the history of the NCAA. For the last two years allowed to play with 5 level one violations that encompasses money laundering and tax evasion. Toupee bill would cheat a 2 year old out of a lollipop if he got a chance.

That was horrible that celebrated penelty after the interception was total a horrible call by the officials. just a horrible call. Kid did nothing. Jeez let’s just not make it fun at all

Woooooo Pig.

Not thinking so. They beat number 16 Illinois by close to 30. Bit overwhelmed by kU but it probably will help them in the long run. Game is sold out. 1st. Time for back to back home sellouts in a decade.

Mizzou has Ky, and was just sitting outside the AP Poll. See what kind of a fight they put up this evening against No. 22 Ky.

I know they don’t want to be there and really it’s a totally no win situation. As a guy on Hogville put it, “just another reason to hate Missouri.” With the portal and opt outs they said in jest Arkansas was just driving up in a couple of minivans. Woooo Pig

Guys there was a tremendous tip in that post, if you read it closely to get deep fish to bite. Have used this technique for years and years, Buster Loving showed it to me in the early 90’s close to 30 years ago on Bull Shoals for white bass. At times it’s a killer way to fire them. Again Dock, thanks so much for the insights. Can’t remember one of your deep fishing posts that hard to learn knowledge was not imparted. Your so much appreciated here.

Man you all are tough. Congrats. I’ve never been that mad at em.

Personally I’m not a fan. In the early 2000’s we donated over 100 stump piles to the project. JM as was told to me by the lake biologist at the time wrote off 100’s of thousands of tax dollars for his participation and equipment use and labor by BP employees. Most of those areas in the point 9 to Long Creek we’re fantastic SM flats. The structure totally ruined them as they filled mostly with flatheads. To this day there are locations that are not as good as they were prior to the piles. It has however enhanced other non-traditional areas as the fished moved into them The structure made it almost impossible to fish theses locations with techniques of the time. You were just almost always hung up It turned SM flats into junk fields, I believe in an effort to get crappie into traditional bass locations as the cover was not needed for our roving bass populations. With current FFS these trash locations will be more accessible to anglers, we’ll see if they inhibit catches like last time or provide angling opportunities I hope for the best but am highly skeptical.

Thought it was getting close to Dockit season. Great report thanks. Seems the deep bite is somewhat shallower. We had some last week as shallow as 22’. Everything for us and some nice concentration at 35’-38’.

No sooner do I post that and there are 3 boats in sight and running hard.

We had a lot of both outside and inside work here yesterday. It was cool but eventually got to 52 degree. I have a pretty good view of the lake here from Hobbs Hollow to Campbell Point to almost the Shell Knob bridge. 1st. Saturday in December and the deep bite is really fantastic. I know there were at least one maybe 2 derby’s yesterday and I never saw a wave or a single boat. Hard to believe. I would have been out if not for the work. I also know we are in our second deer season so that might have slowed it down. I’m headed back up to the farm in the morning to try and harvest a couple of does. May also set a few coyote traps, as we seem to have plenty. Good Luck out there.

Great morning on the water with Joe Lane. Got on em pretty good. I fished till 12:30 he finished the day and said they bit really good.

Now it begins. Mizzou about to lose Lovett to the portal. They are thinking Burden stays but it’s just about to turn crazy. High School and player development is going out the window as the kids can transfer at the drop of a and I would say dime here but in reality it’s 5 and 6 figures. NIL now rules. As crappie as Texas A$M was last year their NIL was assessed at $60,000 per all 81 players average. That’s was the highest average in the country at over 4 million. This year that is expected to double The top schools are expected to have a 10 to 15 million NIL budget. USC. Some are saying we might see a school with 20 million in NIL. Lovett will be a 1/4 million plus type guy, maybe more.

Not what they are saying out of Columbia. Saying likelihood is to play or a pac 12 team in Vegas on December 17. Very good bowl in the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium. National TV and a night time game Most are thinking maybe the Hogs to face kU In Memphis.

Play calling was not as bad as Cook over throwing and throwing behind receivers. He played a very good first half but the guy just for the sake of him cannot throw to a WR at game speed. It’s always a 50-50 ball they have to fight for or make a great catch. His vision is also terrible locking in on a single target with guys running open he never sees. Arkansas has some injuries and defections, but that poor defense hurt a very good offense this year. Wonder who to blame for that. I like Jefferson, he is a very accurate passer and a total steam roller. Not a top 1-2-3 round NFL guy, but a very good college player. Color guy was being nice comparing him somewhat to Josh Allen but that’s not even close. Allen is BIG and FAST and has a rocket arm. KJ is Big. NFL safeties and outside linebackers would tear him apart. In college he is facing 235 pound backers and 200 pound safeties. Those NFL boys are bigger and WAY MEANER. I know Hog fans are disappointed at 6-6 after a 9-3 season last year, but you have to remember Arkansas had the oldest team in D1 last year as coach had them all coming back from their Covid year. Lots of experience graduated or went to the NFL this Spring. They had KJ back and Bumper for his 15th. season but it was a huge rebuild. I like Sam. On really a sad note, The voice of Arkansas football Mr. Chuck Barrett this past week not only embarrassed himself, but the university and the state with totally inappropriate comments about Missouri as a state and our university. Drink used it as motivation, but really it was totally unprofessional for a journalist to make such disparaging comments about another SEC opponent. I don’t really believe in bulletin board material, but why would a professional journalist go to such extremes to antagonize an upcoming opponent. Hogville called him Chucky Ducky and think it’s time after 30 plus years for him to to be put to pasture. I think he owes the entire SEC an apology. Especially his football team. Great 2 point game that either team could have won. I’ve always been and always will be a Razorback fan as long as they’re not playing my Tigers.

Your absolute right, we really did. Home needs a new deck top and we’re going to change the siding but the location is one you just about can no longer find. We negotiated the price some, but it was really priced fairly to begin with. Garage is a 3 car but we’re going to add 1200 sq. ft. Metal building for the fishing and hunting gear and black top the drive. Not going to rush.