Bill Babler

I don’t know, but I have seen them that deep many , many times. Kind of like Dock said. Fish are really scattered and your durn Lucky if you find a group. In Phil’s current Taneycomo report he said 44 degree water temps on Taney. So, we know from surface to 160’ the water is the same temp on the Rock Yet there are A-rig and I’m sure jerkbait fish on the bank as Becky saw 3 caught in a 20 minute time frame.

Visited this morning with a couple of TR guides. Shad on main lake at 80’ to 120’ with fish holding just above them or in the bait balls. Not easy by any stretch. Shad in the creeks 40’ to 80’. Some fish on the bottom. Not easy. This morning Becky watched a guy going down the bank in our cove and said she saw him catch 3 on an A-rig. She said at least one was a monster. Others were big enough for her to see them with naked eyes at a couple hundred yards.

I’ve put them on both flutter and jigging spoons, but I don’t think I have ever, not one time had a hook up on them that was not on the lure body original hook. Sounds like a great deal and you do miss a ton of fish one both spoons, but the stinger just doesn’t seem to hook up. For me anyway

Every guide since the beginning of time has his non-fly fishing clients fishing them with ultralight spinning gear. Usually a double scud rig or egg and scud. I tie some of mine weighted and some not. Instead of a split shot tie a small inline swivel a couple of feet above your top scud. This allows you to use a larger diameter say 6 lb. Mono on your spool to the indicator I usually use 4X carbon from the indicator to the swivel and then a carbon 5-6-7X tippet below the inline swivel to your flys. The larger line on your spinning rod makes for a way better delivery as it turns over and separates the flys and the strike indicator and allows a much better non-tangle cast over 2or4 pound test. Lots of the guides use lite braid on their spools to the indicator. Your choice. If you don’t get bit on the BP Scuds stop by Lilleys and get a better representation. Good Luck

The last few years we have had pullets on the ground by the 1st. week of May both at Climax Springs in Camden Co. and here in Stone County. Gobblers are going strong last week of February thru March. I believe lots of these hens are getting bred in early to mid March now. By the time the second week or late season rolls around the breding activity has really slowed where I hunt and I will tell you there’s tons of birds.

Wow!

We are so lucky to live here in South Missouri/North Arkansas, one of the most beautiful places I’ve been with loads of opportunity for really anything you want to do. Since Becky and I moved to SK, we do most of our shopping in Arkansas. We just moved our banking to Berryville. Yesterday we sold a piece of property on TR and after our banking business we Splurged a little. Went to Eureka to the Grotto. We tried with Phil and Marsha a couple of years ago to have dinner there but it was closed. Last nite on a spur of the moment, we got in. This is a very, very special place, dinner was unbelievable, I mean fantastic. The price goes with it. Most expensive evening we have had in 47 years of marriage. It was worth every penny, to enjoy it with my best life buddy. Service was spectacular, our server knew the menu in and out. You knew she had tried every item on the menu. She also knew the drink menu as well🤪 Becky started off with a really nice cab. And I had an Ozark Lauger. They told us it was from Ozark Brewing Company in Fayetteville. One of the best brews I’ve had, served in a heavy frozen glass. Appetizer was bone marrow with house made garlic toast. Server called it meat jelly. If you like ribeye it taste like the best bite of ribeye you have ever had. Becky is not a grease or fat eater but she for sure gobbled her half. Much to my shigrin. I thought she might not like it, and knew for sure I would. Picture was a bit blurred I was on my second Ozark Ale🤗 I had the Smoked Prime Beef Rib and Becky had Smoked Duck Breast, our sides were asparagus and their famous baked potato. Potato is HUGE. we split it and I did not get my half down. It comes with a horsey/yogurt cream cheese, butter topping that you could just drink. I’m guessing I had at least 16 oz. of the smoked juicy Rib meat, again I could not get it all down. They said it’s smoked 18 hours and finish/charred on a wood fired grill. I will today for lunch. Becky’s duck was cooked perfectly med/rare and was just about as good. They also have small plates and the sides are $4 so when or if we go again we are going that route. Just a quick note to our North Arkansas friends to tell you how happy we are to be neighbors. Good Luck

I think you’re right Steve. Problem with the Pig’s is just no depth. Really just 6 guys with their 2 starters out. Mizzou should have won the first meeting squandering a 17 point lead. College basketball with the number of fouls that past 5 years has been almost unwatchable. There were a couple of totally bogus calls on Arkansas last night and 2 that the Hogs should have gotten intentional on. So I guess it evens out.

That May usually be the case but this year they are moving thru open water like the Daytona 500. By the way, that is a wonderful screen shot. Those could be either gizzard Shad or crappie. Could also be blue gills. I don’t think they are yellow perch as that school has to many numbers. Really don’t think they are crappie due to the movement and configuration of the image. One of the best Live Scope guys on the Rock however told me that the crappie schools are looking like gizzards. Please correct me here but usually the crappie are not in a total round swarming configuration. If they are in open water they seem to have a leader. They’re not schooling for protection like the totally round graph photo with the swirling movement inside the school. I’m betting those were gizzards.

Arkansas played 5 guys an average of 36 minutes and really only one sub. for 13 minutes. They were up 10 with 8 minutes to go. On the under 8 timeout It was easy to see they were totally exhausted. Mizzou coach Gates told his team to look at the Arkansas huddle and told them that team is simply worn out. Mizzou had played 10 guys an average of 20 minutes. Man that is a lot of minutes. The Razorbacks are going to have to find some more bench players cause as the season progresses these kids are just gassed.

On Mosley, took it for granted he was going to be Top Dog. “WRONG”. Also thought he didn’t have to service his NIL sponsors or attend online class. He found out otherwise.

Mizzou is a 2 pt. Home favorite over our visitors from the South, No. 25 Arkansas. Both Mizzou and the Hog’s off to rocky starts in the SEC. Word from Columbia is the last two game and now this one, that a very tough bout of flu is literally running through the Tiger squad. We’ll see how it plays out and no excuses for what ever happens as usual, it’s next man up. Arena is sold out and the students are back so it should be rockin. If the Hogs can hit their threes and not turn it over they win on the road. If not their road woes will continue in the Show Me State. Good luck to both clubs best team wins.

I feel his pain. If you’re fishing deep 15’/25’ with them a good size white bass, catfish or black bass will pretty much ruin your day. Last Spring on Lake O, the small 2 to 5 pound blue cats caused me a lot of grief. I’ve got multiple snap swivels on mine and lots of pre tied hooked and weighted rigs. End of the day I usually have a nice little wad of these to dispose of. Even with that, it’s fun to watch those poles 3 or 4 times a year. Really wouldn’t want much more of it than that.

The crappie up the White River in the best location have been hammered on this Winter. They are really spooky and you cannot vertical fish them. May get one and then the entire school moves, whether they are in structure or just in open water schools. Really good friend has been doing well with live scope on open water schools. He said on the scope they look like a school of gizzard Shad. They have been on the bluffs up long creek from Gage’s on up, but just swimming in the open water. They have been using a 1/4 to 3/8 oz head and throwing to the schools in front of the boat. Said you can just chase them all day. Fish have been in the 20’ depth range, so you need a big jig head to not only launch, but to get to depth. Big road runner or a Underspin is also working for them.

That is not as extreme as it looks. Pretty much right on🤪🤪🤪

Did the same thing in I’m guessing near the same location about 10 days ago. If it’s the same spot there are a ton of deep tree tops and the fish are just running around out there like crazy. Schools of a dozen or more. If it’s the least bit breezy, no way to keep up with them, and you pretty much have to fish up and down cause of the trees. Can’t just throw in front of a moving school. I think a guy could just spider rig out there with a depth set at 15’ to 18’ just above the trees with live bait and just gently drift and catch them. I might try it coming up. Appreciate the nice report. Good Luck

There are I believe 3 different Arkansas fan forums you can get quite a bit of info from as long as you read through the BS. Some pretty good insider info from folks pretty close to all their programs.

I think he did and it didn’t go well. Black and Musselman got into it in the locker room. Players sided with Black. Musselman might need to take a deep breath. Talk is cheap, but they better beat Mizzou or he may lose this team. Champ hit it. You may be recruiting 4/5 star HS talent that is totally undisciplined. Those stars don’t tell you the type of person you’re getting. They just say he is a fantastic athlete. It is just darn near impossible to win on the road in the SEC. You had better win every home game lose 1 at the most if you want to be in the top portion of this conference.

Used to be a place like that in Harrison and Mountain Home. The Unlimited. Tons is Sage and Orvis gear. Bought an Orvis sweater for over a hundred under catalog price. Also rain gear and waders way under catalog Unfortunately they closed.

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.