Bill Babler

Don't care who you are, Table Rock Got Kelly today. And can you believe the guy fishing a FROG!!!! Just shows how little we know and how this pond can be. Almost makes me want to go and buy 2 Power Poles, NOT. I have said it before and will continue to say it. "The more you know, the less you know." 16 pounds a day. That is more Rochish.

I have been making a Ned rig for years. As soon as they break the 5" Yamamoto Slim Senko i just bite it in half and put it back on. Talk about Finesse fishing. That is a entire new level. Usually is a 3 inch bait. We do the same thing using a Zoom Ceneipede, it is onlly 4 inches. A very tood one that Buster has used for years is a Zoom Meat Head on a Shakey Head. That my friends is a very small presentation.

I have some water spots on the Bird Boat, you available? Recond those Nip Offs, were Eyes?

I believe several years ago, maybe 20 there were some derbys won on the same location swimming a grub deep. Just hard to figure so many of these guys on the same area. Had to be some quality bites out there. Only a couple of the guys from yesterday kept on keeping on. Way to go Kelly. He was not in the chores line on the bluff. Guy yesterday that was leading said wind would not matter as he had them. Guess he was wrong with 3 keeps today and 8 pounds. Don't believe for a minute that you ever have Table Rock figured out for more than one day in a row. Bad mistake on his part. Would be great to see Kelly take this thing home for the area. He said he missed some keeper bites today, so maybe he can latch onto those tomorrow. Lots of zeros, today.

The Pro's are doing something I have not been. There were at least 30 derby boats working the bluffs from Point 9 to Point 10 in the lower James River this morning. Idled down the long long stretch of bluff and tournament boats one behind the other. Most boats were in 125 ft. of water throwing an A-Rig straight into the bluffs. I fish those bluffendds with topwater and have been on all these bluffs, but never have I fished them like these guys are. Unbelieveable. There were so many A-Rigs flying the electricity from those things blacked out my graph. They were fishing suspended fish over the pole timber tops is all it could have been. There is really not that many tops out there and the trees only come up for the most part to 50 ft. or so from the surface They were just after suspended fish. My question how come so many boats in such a small area doing the same thing. Answer, someone is catching them like that. Saw Rick Clunn right in the middle of them. Everywhere we went in the James today they were throwing the A-Rig. I had a very tough day in the 3 ft. swells. Could not get on anything and sucked it up to the tone of only 7 short fish today. Should have fallen into the line of A-Rig fisherman on the bluff I guess.

Said he caught all his own bait. He was catching perch off the dock at Fish and Fun Resort when we talked to him. His Jugs were in deep narrow timbered pockets with chunk and shelf rock. Had a mixture of flatheads and looked to be channels.

Spoke to a guy today at Shell Knob that was running jug lines. He was catching the complete heck out of them. Perch and Crawfish, in the timbered pockets. Saw one of his jugs in a pocket and there was a cat on it. Don't know how much string he had from the jug to the bait, but he was sure catching plenty. He showed us some on a rope and in a fish box. Looked to me to be close to a 100 pounds of fish in the two places.

Real simple deal. 7' spinning rod spooled with 6 pound Maxi. 1/4 oz gamagatsu jig head and either a 4 inch chompers singletail smoke pepper grub or a Yamamoto 4 inch smoke grub. 6'6" baitcaster spooled with 12 to 15 pound Maxi and a Zarra Spook Jr. You chose the color. I like clear and Christmas Tree. 7' spinning rod with a 2500 series spinning reel spooled with 8 pound Maxi and a Chompers Green Pumpkin Tube on a 3/8th. or 1/4 oz tube head. Fish all these baits on the flat gravel runnouts in and around the dam early and late. Put the spook right on the bank at daylight and just before dark. Set the boat in 25 and swim the grub and work the tube in the same locations once the sun hits the water. Swim the grub slower than slow letting it scrape the bottom on the way back to the boat. When you bring it up to recast it should come straight up. Either drag or hop the tube in the same locations. Smallmouth here love flat gravel Points, flats and pockets and wind. Good Luck

I pretty much stunk it up out of Aunts Creek today on my morning trip. Only 4 keeps, and 9 shorts. Just could not get it figured. 3 super quality fish came on a PigSticker 3/8th. oz. early and then one really nice jaw on a tube mid-morning. Those 4 weighed 13.5. Rest of the deal was tough as shoe leather for me. All 9 shorts came on the grub, one here and one there. Tried to find my same pattern from yesterday in a different location, and it failed. Going to try Shell Knob tomorrow. Hope its better. I have not even seen a fish on the surface in the last 3 weeks. I think they are scared to go into the light. Has anyone heard of any type of a A-Rig bit. Have thrown it the last few days, but Zilch Good Luck.

Thanks Dave I'm up there tomorrow and will put this info to good use. Any particular area better for the topwater morning nip? Sounds like the head is the ticket for fish. Need to figure something out for the biggins. Again Thanks for the report WRO Guide Service

Dtrs5 read your report this AM and followed it to the T. I slowed down and put 15 keeps in the boat, with close to 40 fish. Yesterday I just went to hard. Fished from Cow Creek to Baxter and fished extremely poorly. Today I fished from Schooner to point 5 and slowed way way down and fished pretty good. No giants mind you. 3.5 was our best LM, and had a mixture of all 3 types. I will tell you this. We flat just crawled the grub. Really only fished 3 locations in 9 hrs. Yes it was a long guide trip. Most fish I believe came in the 12 to 16 ft. range in the steeper pockets. We lost 20 jig heads and 3. 20 packs of grubs, keepiing it as close to the bottom as we could. I am worn slick. Billy's tube did not work as well today and he told me it was not going to. Said with 9 keeps and 20 shorts he maxed out what he was doing. He is usually right and was today. Just could not get changed. I have fished this pond the better part of my life and for me it was almost impossible to find a place to fish. The lake is just jammed with boats, by the hundreds. They are completely all over my usual junk. Really had to improvise and you really helped. I appreciate it. This is not the first time, and I have pointed it out more than once. Read deep and put on a thinking cap and ozarks anglers helps everyone. Good Luck

Man did he fall hard. About one more deal like that and I'll just have to put the old boy out to pasture. He still Kicked my tail. He had 9 keepers and all we could come up with was 5. Thanks for the report. You should have told us who you were and came over for a hand warming. Sounds like you did the deal real well. I think I stayed to shallow. Good Report.

Listen to my audio report on our home page. Also Phil has his weekly report.

Just guessing, but I am going to say it will be mighty tough. IF it were me the way the trout are biting I would consider Taney. Lots and lots of action for the kids, with some very nice fish. Launch at Cooper Creek and float to Branson. You will catch fish and have a great time. Table Rock Crappie this weekend in the Big Cedar area, may not be so kind. Wish I could help more on the Crappie, but believe that deal is getting close to ending, unless you are a real Crappie pro. Good Luck on your choice As said in the old Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie, you need to choise wisely.

Really is ashame. Jim is a great guy and sure hoped he would do well. It is all in sponsorship. You have to have major sponcers to run big derbys. With fuel, lodging and the cost of todays current equipment, it has really narrowed the fields down. I remember back in the Redman days, 20 years ago, lots of the fishermen were young men in their 20's and early 30's. Now on the local stuff it is mostly only us older dogs that can afford to play. Got to have lots of disposable income, cause you sure are not going to get rich, or for the most part even break even.

TFish mentioned the backs of some of the creek and larger pockets has begun to clear. These places are extrememly popular for fluke and topwater bite early

You were on the wrong site. www.indianpointmarina.com 417-338-2891 They have stalls for rent. You were on Indian Point Resort. Very confusing as they have put the word marina in there web address, to fool you. Good Luck

How deep are you catching the spawned out Blacks? Beck and I neighter one has caugth a spawned out fish yet. i am catching lots of thin Bucks on the banks up to 3 pounds. I have personally not caught a fish with a fanned tail or rubbed belly or head. All the fish I'm catching are clean male LM up close. Are you catchin those post spawn fish out on the ends? As you know most all of the fish that spawn won't hang around up there to long and go out to feed. It is a strange year with the water color. So it would not suprise me. We are just not catching an spawners yet. Had 5 on a fin yesterday with the biggest at 6 pounds and two others over 4 pounds. over deep trees off bluffends. All were sows full of eggs and not a mark on them, as clean as could be and getting ready.

I may be way off base here, but I did not know that the marina was owned by Indian Point resort. Indian Point Resort has lots of slips, but there is also Indian Point Marina and unless someone has bought something that I did not know of they are completely seperate. Couple of miles apart by water as Indian Point resort is in Jakes Creek and Indian Point Marina is in the Big Indian.

That area is pretty much ice tea color. As has been stated fish don't seem to care.

I would try some little blue back or black back rebels. Almost always good.

Thanks Bill. Wish I could have done more for you guys, but it seems you figured it out pretty well. Thanks again for the item, I owe you big time it is just beautiful and will always have a place of honor at the lodge. Sincerely BB

Just a wonderful report. Thanks for sharing this.

Ya, really the point of my post earlier when I asked where he might have caught the crappie, I had a upset stomach feeling they might have been spawning bass. When I saw the 12 number, I hoped it was crappie. I'm sure he must have had a companion, "I'm guessing he did." as everyone knows that is twice the legal limit. He or anyone with a proper fishing licenses can kill the legal ammount of bass anytime they want, even in the spawn and off the nest. "Just don't need to hear about it here." This Table Rock forum is supported by some of the best and most conservation minded bass fisherman in the world. They know where the Rock has been and we all love seeing it headed in the way its going now. We want our children's children to experence it for decades to come. We are truly blessed "Let Them Swim" God Bless and Good Luck

Thought they must have been crappie. Not to big here on killing spawning bass.