Bill Babler

9guide trips from point 7 on the White to point 18 and point 7 on the white to point 12 on the James. All of us did pretty much the same ranging from about 15 to 25 fish and from 3 to 10 keeper size ga-loompers. Before my triip I hit a couple of points in Aunts Creek in the mud, and caught two keepers and then picked up the guys. 8 spinnerbait fish in the creek with 6 keepers, in the first 2 hrs. Then fished up to point 18 and continued to catch fish in the range of from shorline to about 22 ft. on a shaky Head. My total for the day was 22 fish with 8 keepers including a 4.5 pound LM and a 3.5 pound spot. Only 1 SMJ. the rest of the boys, doing the same thing , about the same results. Beck had 8 keepers on a stickbait and Tetrick had nine on a grub. Water temps reached 60 today in the James, but it was really tough because of the wind, just brutal. I was running my new fourtrax Minn-cota at 90 and it would just make grond. I am physicaly exhausted, after this 8 hr. trip. Took 2 sets of waves over the bow, and it was all from wind. Good Luck out there

Your probably right. I would not continue to throw a stickbait on either bluffends, pea gravel spawning flats, major secondary points or the major transitions going into the creek or larger cove arms. The fish have stopped biting it. Just kidding. From what I am hearing the top 10 finishers at least in yesterdays derby, the better part of their limits came on stickbaits. I know for a fact that a couple of the top 5 finishers had as many as 5 limits on the stick. Wed. Thursday and Friday, there were hundreds of fish caught on stickbaits. In the two derby's today, there will be again, many limits on the stickbait. Water temps are still for the most part in the mid-50's. I don't care what the daytime temps are, look at the nights. Tonight is suspose to be 41 Monday 39 the rest of the week low 40's to a possible of 50 for Friday night Until the nighttime temps at least maintain a 55 degee average, and surface temps break and stay above 65. Not pockets but main lake, it should still be a tool in your box. Good Luck

Joe that is a great point. I usually run my 10 amper and it will fill the batteries to 15.5 amps, over night. On a morning off where I can switch. I unplug the boat charger, let them sit about 30 minutes and hit them with the 50 amper starter charge till it shuts off. It will run them up to a charge of 17.5 and then turn off, calling it a full charge. Takes about 20 minutes per battery. I usually trade them in at 24 months and have done very well with this. Lane Shumaker advised me on the charging procedure. I buy all my tires and batteries for every vehicle we own there. They are just swell country folks that support our community and I will do business local everytime, where possible.

Great Job Buddy. Glad you caught them good. You had a Far better day than the 5 guide boats we were running out of Indian Hills at Baxter. Sure could not arm these guys with stickbaits. I could not get my boat far enough away from the bank for them not to hit either a tree or a low hanging powerline. Grubs, rigs, and Heads were our soft-plastic tools and we still had mucho problems. I had to take off my prop when I got home because at least 3 times they wrapped the rigs around the prop. Had one guy calling ralph two different times off the back of the boat and had to put the other guy out on the bank with TP 3 times. When you called today, I was just climbing back in the boat from getting a grub off a tree limb, and was not in the best mood. We had already broken off at least a dozen up the bank and in the trees, and I got tired of loosing junk and went to get it. Thank goodness for rain. They wanted to go back in and start drinking at 1:30 so I took them in. Good Luck in your derby, I believe all the big boys with high dollar toys will be your competitors.

Wes Endicott won it of course, with 16 pounds. Jig Dirk and for the life of me I can't remember is last name was second with 15 pounds Stickbait. My client from a couple of days ago was boat 101 out of 117 and he came in 5th. and won the Ranger cup money as the highest finisher in a Ranger with about 14 pounds. Not a Grub. Endicott has won the last 3 major derby's here and and all that Tracker Boat money. 7 grand times 3 in the last month, not including other promotional monies and of course the derby money for winning. Not as much as the boat and motor company money. But lots of Green. Congrats Wes.

I must have misread my post. Did I refer to you as a slug? Thought I said, "Any Guide?" Are you now guiding here? What is your Federal Guide lic. number? Did I say any resort owner should be put out of business? Can't find that in my post and I just looked. Last time I looked at my balance sheet, I didn't find were I was either being paid or compinsated for posting here, and if you had any record of my participation on this forum, you would find I have never solicitated any guide business here. As a matter of point, my goal is to provide viewers a means to catch fish on TR without the need of a guide. I am very free, along with Don House and Eric Prey, with information, much to the distane of most of the guides here. Again, if you are stating otherwise you have not done your research. If my opinion of killing pregnant female bass, reading to spawn is differnet from yours, so be it. It is mine, and that is my stance, but it is supported by facts rather than fiction. As I stated before, please feel free to kill all the pregnant female bass you wish, that is your right, but please give us your personnel opinions without the untruths of either the resort owners or conservantions agents you have never spoken to. Your's or any other individule's opinions are very important here, as long as they have a truthful background. You do not have to give us untruth's to support your opinion. It is your's, and you have a right to it. Table Rock lake is a very small community, and we know everyone here, including all the MDC agents, Resort Owners, Guides and lake Biologist. It is very easy to see, with very little effort that untruths are in your posts. You are more that welcome to post, and your post can disagree with mine totally if they are true. If not appropreate action will be take.

Again Stock Jocky. Give me the name of the resort you are staying and the names of the Federal licensed guides that are killing fish out of that resort. If you are a guide killing fish, we will see how much longer you stay in business. If you are a guide on this lake and you kill fish, you are nothing more than a slug, and I will bet my last nickle and it's more than most, that you won't last a year. The best guides on this lake do not have to kill fish. I have not killed a bass in over 15 years, and I guide here over 200 days a year. Also I know for a fact that by speaking to the guides in the area today that there were no multiple trips from one resort, other than Indian Hills, and they are strickly catch and release. Absolutely no multiple trips today, outside of Indian Hills. Stock Jocky, this is not a Big Pond and we know everyone, including all the guides and all the state and federal agents. Guides give guides business, not some "Piddle butt Resort that for the most part turn over every year." If you were truly in a derby today and some of the participants killed pregnant females, they were wrong. Why are you bringing these untruths and BS. You had better come up with the truth, or you are done on this forum. Group Moderator.

T. My client got in the boat today with 8 brand new Johnny Morris gold series reels and 8 Johnny Morris elite series rods, only used them for a couple of weeks. Mined you these are between 4 and 5 hundred dollar outfits. Within about an hour they were all in my rod box and he was using Shimano and Falcon. I will just about bet that the total weight of each outfit was nearly twice as much as the compairable size Falcon Shimano rig. Falcon's Cara stickbait special with the Shimano MG50 comes in at about 9 oz. He was a very good caster, and he kept backlashing and his distance was terrible, throwing the megabass. I was outthrowing him 30 feet. Even directly into the wind. I never saw him not once backlash the Mg50 and he fished it in the wind all afternoon. I said, "Let me throw that thing". 6'6" medium using 10 pound Segar same as on the Shimano falcon rig. I could do no better than he was doing and backlashed it twice throwing with the wind. Felt like I had a 5 pound stick in my hand. I want you to think how good KVD must be having to fish with this stuff. I have told this story before, but when I first started guiding I got all my gear at Bass Pro. My first trip out of Big Cedar, I went in with all my Pro-Qualifier Power hump and Pfluger reels lined neatly on the deck of my boat. Just a flat "Show Piece." I was so proud of my new BP gear. BAck in those days, it was not uncommon to have 12 to 20 guide boat tied to BC dock on a corporate trip morning. As I looked in all these gleaming BC Guide boats, all I saw were Stradics and Calcuttas on the decks. Made me think.

T. Today was very different than yesterday for me. I took a derby fisherman for this weekend, and that is always tough, as they don't want to be guided to catch fish, they want to be guided to where they can catch fish. Fished 28 locations today and the morning shift, as Donnie said was a real chore. Yes we did catch some on the stick, but not a real humdinger. Afternoon as Don mentioned much better, starting for me around 1 Pm. It is amazing, you can take one of these guys, that has never weighed in a fish on the rock and he can think he had a slow day with 14 keepers on about a dozen different locations. 4 pounder was big fish and to tell you the truth not a huge ammount of shorts, however, after we would catch 1 he was ready to pull the troller and move to a new spot. These fish are not everywhere, and when I have to move everytime we catch one as to not stick another, it makes it durn near impossible to continue to come up with location after location of feeding fish. I did that 28 times today, and my guess that may be a rock record. Probably for inepttitude. Wore me flat out. Rig did produce very well today out in the deep water to 28 ft. But still 90 percent of the fish came on the stickbait. Wind is an absolute must. Caught several shorts swimming a grub, but still even thought denjac can do it, I just don't have the faith in it to keep flinging. By far best area of the lake is from point 9 to Longcreek, Slowest is from point 9 to point 21. Good Luck

I guess Buster, Bill Beck, Tim Paige, Tim Sainato, Pete Wenners, Chris Tetrick, Myself or about 90% of the area fisherman that fish 300 plus days a year, from daylight to dark have not tested them properly. Interstates, I can get free. I still pay for the Pro-Guides, but I'm probably confused. Here is a tip. If you are counting on your boats 10 or 15 amp charger to maintain and keep your batteries of any make running loud and long, you are making a huge mistake. About every 14 charges put your trolling motor batteries on a 50 amp charger the kind used for a quick start. You can buy one of these little chargers at Walmart or any auto parts for about 50 bucks. Keep it full of distilled water and boil it on the 50 amper until it registers full and shuts off. Usually about 20 minutes per battery. You won't believe the difference. My batteries are over a year old, and I can run them all day in any wind. A couple of weeks ago I used them on two trips in a howling wind. One a 6 hr. and the other a 4 hr. trip. I had to run my trolling motor on high just to maintain in the wind on the points I was fishing and did so the entire time, and at the end of the day I was as good as at 7 AM. Just a thought.

Have you looked at Pro-guides out of Golden?

Stock Jocky, I never say this and people on this board can back me, but that is a "non-truth." There has been only two agents on the Rock for the past 3 years. Briant Ward out of Shell Knob, and Quintin out of Branson, that gets up there only on a very limited basis. I know for a fact that neither one of these gentlemen told you we need to Kill SM. Just did not happen. Smallmouth populations have no baring of any kind on either Spotted Bass or LM populations, or densities. They occupy far different ecosystems and forage in a completely different manner. What you are saying is an MDC officer with a degree, most probably in fisheries or wildlife management, told you to kill SM because of a compitetion for forage factor with LM or K's. Did not happen, they all know there is no competition for forage, between the sub-species of Black Bass. Table Rock bass limits are not set as a means to control their populations. They are set at levels that promote the usuage of the resource. MDC knows that 95% of sportsman that fish TR, for bass, are catch and release. If people ate the bass, you can bet your last dollar, the limits would reflect that. Before you come with a statement that an agent told you we need to kill Smallmouth Bass, you had better have names and dates. You go ahead and eat all you want, along with everyone else that has his or her pemit, you paid for the right, but don't come here looking for information on how to do it, or telling us MDC told you to.

Had a taney trip this AM but kept in touch with the boys upstairs, and most reported very cool water, little wind and a extremely slow bite from daylight till about 11 oclock. Dennis told me if I would show him some stuff on the stick he would let me in on how he is swimming his grub. Thought we were going to do it tomorrow but booked a full day for menyona, so Denny, Phil and I headed out at 1:30 out of the Little Indian. Dennis, true to his word, had a stickbait and a 4 inch grub hooked up and ready to feed. I picked the first spot, and we swam a grub on some steep gravel, and got a big zero. Dennis had fished all morning and was only able to come up with a couple, during the slow period. Next spot was a compilation of mine and Dennis, and we captured 4 keepers, including the big Jaw in the photo. 1 on the grub, and 3 on the stick. Next spot a little wind on a ledge main creek rolloff and Phil started us out with two nice keepers, and a couple of swings and misses. I then caught 6 straight and then Phil snared another one, and Dennis grabbed another grub fish. He put down the grub and picked up the McStick, but that was it for that location. Very similar location with trying to keep the boat in about 20 ft. I caught 3 toad keepers on the expensive stickbait and the boys thought it was time to move on. Couple of no-go's due to no wind and we landed in a big creek, south of the dam. About the third cast, I caught a small K, and then Denny made the day by capturing that 5 pound 7 oz LM. Swimming his white grub. He was making me a believer, now. He had also caught one over 5 on it last night. Great work with the grub, being very patient and just letting it ride. Phil then caught one of the very nice 3 pound plus K's I am holding and we preceeded to catch 4 more all keepers on that bank. I guess I caught them. Next location, a large cove point and timbered channel swing bank with some breeze on it. I have pretty much been plowing them here and it continued this evening, with Phil catching 4 Denny Catching 4 and me catching, Well lets just say a couple. Most all over 3 pounds looking like clones, in green and white. That is except for the 4.7 pound K I am admiring in one f the photo's. Sweet!! it liked stickbait meat. You can add the 4 hr. swa-ray up to see the numbers, but the best deal was the best 5 at a shade over 20 pounds with a 5.7-LM, a 4-SMJ, a 4.7-K and 2 more 3.7 pound K's. Gently weighed them and sent them back to the maturnity ward. Surface temps averaged about 53 saw some water warmer and some a bit cooler. Wind and keeping the boat in the right location is the key, along with speed control on your lure. Great afternoon on the water with two good friends. Good Luck out there.

You have mentioned catching your limit a couple of times now. I hope for the life of me you are not killing these pregnant sows full of eggs. Love to have you on the board, and am glad you are doing well, but if you are, please don't kill these fish. Look forward to your continued participation.

Don't know if this helps, but on our best spots, I was just able to hold the boat, with the trolling motor, jumping out of the water in the pounding surf. It would have been pretty tough to both soak a stickbait like we were doing, and hold the boat. Could not get bit out of the wind, but it was everywhere and not a problem. Fished 7 locations, and got bit big time on 4 of them. I will tell you this, the boys I had today were real "Hand's" They could flat fish. Never worked a stickbait before, and it took all of 10 minutes and they were working it PERFECT and I mean GREAT. Ed in the Back, let the bait soak, and dragged and tickled it and they ate him up. Tecnique and beliving is so important for this bait, and I have never had a set of clients work them better. It was truely a dream trip. I get fisherman about 5 times a year that are even compairable to these guys. Never have fished their equal or better. Water temps at the start 50.3 at the end of the day 51.7. Good Luck

Water temps today are just flat jumping and that means, big bites and lots of them. Had Ed and Joe today out of State Park, and it was my best day by far, this year on the Rock. Keepers, I don't know. Well over a massive ammount in 3 hrs. With a 4 pound SMJ and a 3.6 K leading the way. Will tell you this, One inside main lake dam area point with the breeze a strokin it we had 9 Spots off it and all were absolute toads. Best 5 off this point alone well over 16 pounds. Could have used some of them last Saturday. Nice guess on the baits, all were suspending types. Wonder what? Scum moss line at the dam from 5 to 20 ft. anything that hits the bottom comes back looking like a green tennis ball. My answer, don't hit the bottom. Cool nights and morning and warm afternoons, means big fish late. Good Luck

Just a quick piggyback from yesterday. Had two trips and the first was out of the Lodge. Started at old 86 6:30 airtemp at 57 water surface temp at 51.8. Ok for the first hour, then the wind started to blow and it cooled off in a hurry. My little gal got cold, so we took her in and her husbund and I finished the first trip around noon. Surface temps had dropped to 49.9. Caught 3 on a grub early and then 5 more on a stickbait, all by the back hook and just a sponge bite. At 2 PM I went to State Park, with 3 footers rolling in on the ramp to pick up the afternoon crew, and if was just to cold, and the fish had really quit. 42 degree air temps and I told the guys to hang on till this afternoon and maybe we could fish a little more pleasant water. Since I was out, I went ahead and fished to 4 PM catching 5 more really quality keepers, that I really don't believe my clients could have caught, as the bite was not even a tick, but just something there went I touched the bait. Never felt a one of them, and I bet I missed at least that many or more. When I cranked them in, they swam right to the boat, including a 4 pound jaw, and we all know that just aint' right. 4PM take out at old 86 with 47.7 surface temp. Really, Really tough day. Surface temps fell like a rock all day, and that will just kill the bite for me. Talked to Buster and Tim, and believe they faired about the same, with it ok early till the water started to cool off.

Anglers in Action Derby today out of Kimberling. Only 35 boats, and for the life of me I cannot figure it out. It pays way more than any series we have on this lake. Huge Dollars, and if they have enough boats, the manufactors kick in their derby money, so its sad a great derby like this only draws 35 boats with a payback of at least $2,500 for string, and $2,500 for big bass reguardless of boat numbers. As usual Wes Endicott collected the entire deal, with I believe a 7 pounder for big and a 22 pound bag of goodies for the rest of the bucks. Davis boys were runners up and they had a great bag of nearly 22 pounds. These boys can really fish. I just love to see them and how time after time they weigh 20 pound stringers. Great Job Guys. Beck and I nailed about 16 pounds with a 4 pound LM topping the list. Didn't drag them to the scales as why stress them further as we were short a 5 and 6 pounder that would have nailed us a check. Would have, could have,should have, may have helped, but I doubt it. We had 30 keepers, but the wrong kind for a derby, and the perfect kind for guide fishing. Wonder what we do for a living? Early on FLAT WATER, WE SUCCKEEEEED!!!!!. I cannot tell you but you should know how much flat water hurts me on this pond. Wind started at Noon, with the fog burn-off, and we just flat killed them for 3 hrs. in the breeze. Bluffends in the wind were on fire with very nice 3 plus pound K's and LM. Fish after fish came in on the stickbait in the 2.5 to 3.2 pound range. We culled the livewell 4 times just by onces. We needed that big nip and just could not get it no matter where we flung. Bill Beck is the one of the best friends, I have ever had, and a fisherman that has no equal on this pond, it is always a complete joy, win or lose to be his partner. We tend to like the same methods, which most usually are guide methods rather than strictly tournament methods, and sometimes that hurts us, however we always have a big bag, just sometimes not as many LM as we need. We knew we needed LM and really fished exclusive spots for them, and we caught 3 pound K's. Should I fuss about 3 pounders? It's hard too. If you can get out there with a breeze, it is fantastic, if the water is still, Good Luck.

White River area is classified usually at point 9 to Beaver Dam. Shell Knob, is Shell Knob. Point 19 to Cedar Creek would cover the Knob, pretty much. Make the bend up past Cedar at Emerald Beach and you get into what the locals call the Big M area of the White, Probably up to Owl Creek, and then from there up to the State Line would be called Eagle Rock, and from there on up Deliverence. Just Kidding RPS. Whole she-bang up there is called the White for the most part, Hope this helps.

My Mistake Sorry. Usually trolling for the bass species, thru my experences and recolection, means harvesting for consumption. Most of us that use that method here are trolling for fish fillets, I know when I troll, I am. Usually for White bass. You are right however, we do catch a larger number of spotted bass than we usually do walleye. Shell Knob, has fantastic flats both on the main lake and up the Kings river for trolling. Good depths seem to be between 16 and 26 ft. I know there are a bunch of new kids on the block that have gotten really soficticated here, with planer boards and lead core line to maintain certain depths for the walleye, maybe one of the more knowledgable fisherman will respond.

What Lake section, are you fishing? RPS can tell you far more about the walleye, than I. As far as the bass, trolling for bass is something that I know very little about. That is also the time of year that we are working on the heavest spawn for the basses, and so we are very careful of them to help with the procreation. If you are talking about consumption of bass, during April thru June, I would be hard pressed to give up much information.

Sounds great. Lets try and get out next week for a little Swarray. Would look forward to it. I believe I am booked everyday, but I'm sure some are half day morning trips, and we can sneak out afterwards for my school time. It will be like a work-school program. I'll get you your item then. Thanks Bill

Not a scientific explaination, but stradification of water due to the temperature. A layering of the warmest on the surface to the coolest on the bottom due to the weight as cooler water being heavier. Usually here it is about Mid-June or later before we can see any real stradification. A very good judge is the temps coming thru the tubes from Table Rock to Taneycomo. The Intake tubes are at 160 ft. and the water temp on taney is very similar to the surface temps here on the Rock. Yesterday morning I had about 50 degree surface temp in front of the dam, and a couple of days before on Taney, I had 48 degree. Thus, the difference between the top and water 160 ft. below, was marginal if any. Pretty much the same thru the entire water column. As the surface warms significently there will be a layering and we will see diffenences. Usually surface temp and I'm just trying to remember, seems to me need to be pusing low 80's, before we really start to see a thermocline. Usually around to top dozen feet or so, and then when it really effects the fishing it establishes in the 22 to 26 ft. zone. This is pretty much how it works here, but I might have my dates mixed up a bit.

Denny, I would like to take that grub, and have you sit on it. I just can't for the life of me get bit on that thing. YES!! I know you have told me what you are doing, but I have tried and still can't get them to eat it. AH!! the Stickbait, that is another matter. Good luck in your derby this weekend. Don't beat up the fish your on, look for some new ones. Got your item saved, will shout at you later. If you find those crappie, and need someone to help you catch-em, give me a call. Bill

Will try and post some pic's of todays fishing when Becky can get them up. Picked up Rich and Greg at State Park at 7:30. Wish it would have been 6:30 as when the sun hit the water this AM, it got slower that slow. I got out early prospecting and stopped on 3 locations. I caught 1 per spot including a nice 4 pound K. My biggest of the year. Got the boys and Rich already a Rocker, was a little easier to train that Greg, with the stick. I believe Rich caught 4, including a MONSTER 4.7 pound K. My biggest of the year, and I believe the biggest I have ever had a client catch. This was pretty much before it got FLAT, no breeze and sunny and blue. Really got slow. Went out after lunch around 1pm and I have to appoligize to Rich, as I thought it would be a better morning bite, but the afternoon, was fantastic. Wind howled and it got a little hazy and they turned on. Had my second best K ever at 4.14, 2 measley oz. under a 5 pounder. I have only caught 1 over 5 in all my years. and lots of friends to go with her. Again, if I can I will get Becky to post the pic's. The pic's of my afternoon fish really suck, as I had to take them myself, except Chris took a pic of my early 4 pounder. Surface temp when we started this AM was 49.8. When I came in at 5 this afternoon, it was at 54.2, so had a really good warming day. Rich, you need to send me a PM with your email and I'll have Becky send a picture of your Fantastic Spotted Bass. Not fast action, but the best quality of the year, by far. Good Luck