Bill Babler

I'm going to try a 10' 8 wt. and see.

Have not but it would probably work

I believe quality control is probably the biggest issue. Uniformity in products and material cost for higher quality raw materials and also quality workmanship are a factor. I have nothing against BP, and their marketing department has always catered to the beginner or the guy that is very cost concience. They copy a known product and have it made for a little less with a little less quality. Lower cost materials. A good friend worked in Springfield for them at the main store for 20 plus years. When he first started over 90 percent of their product was national brands. He moved on a year or two ago and now national brands are only 10 percent so they did a complete reversal, and every experienced angler or hunter knows this. There is plenty of places to buy quality stuff online so that's what I do.

Mitch, that is a total lie that you were told. It is a simple Bait and Switch that they have been known for the past 20 years. They have tried to pull it on every name brand they stock. They can make way more off their copy cat junk products. Tried to pull it with both Shimano and Daiwa on their reel discount/trade in program and both companies said we will no longer be involved. When you buy a name brand your buying Prime or A-1 Choice. When you buy Bass Pro Brands your buying Cutters and Canners. Still meat, you just don't want to eat it.

It is really odd here on Table Rock, but in speaking with fellow fishermen that have fished this method for years in standing timber on most every bluff end and channel swing point, none of us have ever caught but a short handful of crappie on it. Just strange. I know we don't have a ton of crappie here but you would think in 100's of hours fishing a 1/16 oz jig you might luck into one. Both Bill Beck and Bill Richie never caught a single crappie as we discussed it many times. I think I caught 2 one day in back to back casts and that is the only ones I remember Caught plenty of crappie on a jerk bait in the same areas. Have caught a couple of gills, but that's it other than bass. If anyone here has caught a crappie on the Rock with the float and fly let us know.

No, It won't work. It's been tried multiple times on all the float n fly lakes No go on the bobber stop. You can't get a 1/16 oz. jig to pull 12 plus feet of line thru a float, to much friction with the line laying on the water. My article is pretty much a tried and true technique if you want to fish like that. Thanks James

Michael uses Ranger Boats and fishes the MLF Bass Pro Tour, both have BP influence. I'm sure he is not happy about BP dropping Spro. Have they also dropped Gamakatsu as that is the umbrella company for Spro? They have totally ruined Cabelas I won't go in either place.

One of the Table Rock Guides is up that way. He just called me to see if I knew anything as he said he was struggling mighty. I pointed a couple of fingers, but these days after 10 or 11 o'clock its about time to go do something fun. That bite gets pretty slim.

I can't watch it, but thanks for posting. Check out the Float n Fly primer.

White River Outfitters Guide Service Let's face it, there are lots of ways to catch fish on Table Rock that don't involve getting snarled up or having a Master Fly Caster's certification. In Springtime is there a better way to catch big fish other than fishing a barbed wire contraption that's named after a Southern state. Probably not, with one exception, the Float n Fly. The Table Rock Lake, Float-n-Fly history goes back to a guide by the name of Bill Richey. Bill went to Dale Hollow Lake one early Spring and they fished the fly and had really good success. A light switch went on and he thought that will work on the Rock big time. Bill introduced both Bill Beck and myself the the technique and we kind of took off with it winning multiple tournaments and guiding clients to the biggest bass of their life with it. I caught my personal best Table Rock Bass on the fly, at 10.1 pound. Bill caught 2 over the 10 pound mark and also had a 12 year old girl, catch a 10.3 on it. My biggest on a guide trip was a whopping 8.3 pound a client caught about 6 yrs. ago. The Float n Fly works between late January and May if lake conditions are correct. We have not had a good year for it for the last 4 or 5 yrs. Good year is clear water, pool between 914 and 917 and if possible small shad die off. This is the perfect year as they are just inhaling it. I hit 3 different bluff ends today after guys fished A-rigs on them and caught keepers right behind them, no problem. Fishing a Float n Fly is a bit like a Ned in that it is pretty slow fished, but a better analogy is you fish it as if your were flipping a jig in a bush. Cast it out and let the fly settle, bounce it or jig it several times and then rinse and repeat. Both Bill and I bought specialized equipment for the technique. We both bought St. Croix rods that were 9' as they are tournament legal in most derby's. Some do not have length specifications and you may use any length rod you wish. i prefer a 10' to 12' rod. Any good large arbor spinning reel, at least 3500 series works great. Spool the reel with the 10 lb. braid, you select brand, it don't matter. I like white or hivis yellow. Just like a fly line you can see it and tell if you have to much slack. You need a Mr. Crappie high Vis float and a 3 way swivel. I use a Spro 3 way. First you attach your swivel to the float then you put your braid on one arm of the 3 way. I use a palamar and pull it super tight. Then for your leader you want to use carbon as it sinks. Bill Beck used 4lb. but I think 4, 6, or on the outside 8 works OK. 8 is easier to cast. At this point attach the carbon with a improved clinch with at least 6 wraps. I'm using 14' of depth right now as these fish are suspended deep, as deep as 30' and they will still come up for it. There are a ton of companies making Float n Fly jigs/flies. The best by far not even close is the Spro Phat Fly in 1/16th. in blue or shad. My favorite is the blue. It has a super sticky Gamakatsu size 1 nickle hook that you need to be careful of. There are a couple of things you now need to do. First you need to trim the fly back a bit. Yes its looks like a waving tail would be better but its not. Trim the fly. Attach the fly to your carbon leader with a 6 twist improved clinch and put the knot at the rear of the eye so the fly rides level, cinch the knot tight and it will stay at the back till you get bit. There you have the basic FF rig. Correct posture for the fly. Incorrect posture for the fly. After you have it attached use gulp or some type of attractant on the fly, you can pretty much just sop up the tail with it and that great. Casting and retrieving and fishing the rig needs some explaining. With 14' of leader below the float it takes a while to get proficient. First this rig is light, so you are casting or lobbing the float, the fly and line just follow, somewhat like a fly cast. Pull out at least 3' of braid to the float, dangling your leader and fly in the water as far as you can reach out with a 10' to 12' rod. Length really Really helps. Back cast the float and watch your back cast, when your fly hits the water, lob it forward at height and it will shoot right out there after a little practice. If your a fly fisherman no problem, Phil lilley was casting it better than me in about 5 minutes. The trick is watching your back cast making sure the fly is completely behind you prior to coming forward. Easy Peasy. When the fly hits the water it takes a few seconds for that to sink. Wait about a minute and then jig it several times and repeat. If nothing raise your rod tip as high as you can reach and them smoke it in as fast as you can turn the reel handle. Reason, You cannot slowly reel 14' of 4 or 6 pound test leader thru pole timber, cannot be done. Reel in fast and the fly will come to the surface following the float and rethrow to a new location. Strikes can be very easy or the float is just gone. Sometimes it starts walking, just like crappie under a float. When setting the hook set to 12 o'clock, this is a lift and not a snap or you will break that light line keep your rod very steady in that straight up attitude, allowing the rod to absorb the shock of the fish. Keep a big bend and if you need to use the trolling motor to pull the fish out of the pole timber to deep water, making sure previous to fishing that your drag is very loose. The better the reel the better the drag. Float n fly does not work well in wind or choppy water, it is best as a smooth water technique. It's hard to keep slack out of your line and for some reason the fish don't like the constant action of the chop. Go figure Location, most any bluff end or runnout pole timbered fast drop point I usually make a dozen cast per location and if nada, hit the road. At times they will get on the bluff walls in the small cuts and pole timbered pockets, where ever fish stage Pre or Post spawn. Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Beaver or any of the White River Lakes it will catch them between now and May. Watch your electronics, if I see suspended fish in the 10 to 30 foot range off those points they will eat it. Don't be intimidated by it and you will catch your biggest bass, maybe of a lifetime right here on the Rock Good luck This post has been promoted to an article

One of those speckley fishes is all I need for a pretty nice supper. Thanks for a great update on the river. Be up there later in the week to join ya.

Thanks, I don't lose many like you Dock as I can tell when it hits solid and just go behind it, but some clients think most everything is a bite and whale on it like there is no tomorrow. I bought some Rigs from W-lures for $2.95 each and with a little tuning they seem to work perfect. Very heavy wire they just lack a extra set of blades. Your still losing 5 Keitechs if they break so nothing is free.

Bass on the Rock are simply full of Daddy's weather you catch them deep or suspended. They like shad too but just about every one has a pincher sticking out of its gullet.

How do you have that dog rigged to retrieve A rigs, anything special?

Current Fishing Report KImberling City, Mo. 3-3-20 White River Outfitters Guide Service Can you see the Mr. Crappie Float? I have tried and I have tried, I have put in more than enough time from point 2 to point 5 and I just cannot get it to happen. I guess you can call it fishing, cause you sure can't call it catching. I can scratch a few out of pre-mo locations, but that is totally that. Those fish are just not where I can get at them or they just don't like my junk, and I'm thinking that's a big part of it. I'm sure its a matter of time till my old tricks work again down here, but for now they are thinking most of my lures have been in a Kitty Litter Box and not a tackle box. Man that was a dark one. UPDATE: Kimberling City this morning and wouldn't you know there are fish in the lake, that want to snap. I fished a float-n-fly off bluffends from 6:30 till 9:00 then, the wind started I had 15 solid keepers with a 4 lb. largemouth anchoring the string prior to the wind event. Lots of really nice 2.25 lb. jaws, and enough K's to keep you setting the hook. Ouch, that's sticky I moved around quite a bit and caught them on every end I tried. Spro Fat Fly set at 14 ft. below the float using 6lb. Invisx. Boat in 40 ft. to 70 ft. Fish suspended in the 20 ft. to 30' range and they would come up and eat it. Young One's like it too I fished some straight wall bluffs with pole timber and they were not on it on the fly but if you sat off a way you could swim a Keitech after counting it down to 30 and catch some nice K's Trouble is you will lose some baits, depends on how bad you want to catch Most catches are top lip. If their mouth is big sometimes it goes a little deeper, especially if the fisherman is sleeping. Lot's of really nice Jaw's were after the floater. And, some K's too. Wind started howling at 9 and I couldn't catch any more float fish as it will not work in the wind very well, but I continued for another hour to catch some swim bait fish. Tried the jerker but got the same response that I have been getting, they no likey. Good Luck This post has been promoted to an article

Thank you, excellent report. I fished Indian Point yesterday and it was really hard for this old lure flinger. Ended up with 5, 3 LM on a float-n-fly and 2 big K's on a swim bait, boat on the swim bait fish in the 40' range. I threw a jerker on wind for at least two hours and just could not get them to touch it. Surface temps at 47 to 48

I was going to say, I also know "How To Drive," but thought it sounded like bragging. Not really against that cause I fish, but wanted someone else to mention it first. Thanks James 😄

Couple of things on Florida, I don't like 85 to 90 in December, January and February and I for sure don't like lots of 75 to 80 year old guys with 22 pounds of gold chains around their necks with their shirts unbuttoned to the navel driving Jag's. The late great Bill Beck had a home in Ft.Meyers and I visited a couple of times. Was always glad to get out of the heat and mess and come back home. Driving is far worse everyday than 76 country blvd in July. Louisiana, Alabama and Tejas are by far a way better option. Way better fishing and not nearly so congested.

21 PHX length 21'6", 96" beam, Diamond V Hull. 250 Merc 4 stroke, it simply eats big rough water. Have never once been sprayed with a cross wind. You can see one at the BFL weigh-in at the Phoenix tent. Completely set up with Garmin Panoptics and 4 12" 126 SV graphs. Phoenix Regional Field Sales Manager Greg Wood will be at the booth, go by say you saw this on OA Forum and tell him you want a gift. Good Luck on the gift.

Heard yesterday that there might be as many as 205 boats in the BFL, don't know that for sure but that is a lot of hammering on them.

Table Rock Lake Current Fishing Report 2-27-20 Took a BFL client yesterday in the KC to Aunts Creek Zone. Water clarity is kind of a greenish and frothy color if that is a color. Surface temps at 46.6 and a pretty stiff wind that really made no difference to the Big Phoenix. Did restrict our fishing locations somewhat but still got them figured out early. BFL is a Ranger tournament somewhat, not like OMTT but still lots of Rangers. When we got back to the resort 2 of his other buddies that were also prefishing and both with new 21 ft. Rangers were at the dock, both soaked. They had tried to go from Mill Creek Ramp up the James and from Mill Creek to point 9 there were 3 foot cross blow waves. We never got a drop of water on us and they were totally miserable. Both said it was a nightmare. Just Sayin. We had 12 keepers with my client and good buddy catching 10 from the back of the boat and me hoisting the 2 smallest out of the front. Not a real guide trip cause we are searching for derby fish and I get to fish pretty hard. In other words he laid the wood to me. Good for him. Fish were positioned really similar to where they are up the White and every year I am learning. With the cloud cover and the water staying pretty much the same temps all day and not rising at all with the lack of sunshine and churning water they are staying deeper than in the past. They are on channel swings and major cover channel banks, but they are not up in the water column, and that is why its hard to catch them on a jerk bait, they are just staying deep. ie swimbait and A-rig. Every fish we caught yesterday had a big crayfish in its gullet, even if we were around shad, they all had shrimp cocktails sticking out of their throat. I was positing the boat deep, in the 40 plus foot range throwing into 15 plus and slow swimming the bottom with the rig, most fish coming on the bottom out of 18' to 30' on very vertical channel banks. You can see them hovering and rising up at times in that depth range. Very seldom did we see one up in jerb bait range, almost all were bottom dwellers. We could have caught more per location, but since we were prefishing we would catch one or two and move on. Biggest fish was a 3.8 K and had 3 Jaws that were 3.75 and and 3 more jaws that were 3.60. These fish are by no means everywhere and for me between point 5 and Long Creek with the exception of the float-n-fly it is totally dead water. I'm kind of sick of pounding it to death with poor results. Get away from Branson/Indian Point and the dam area and its a totally different lake that has fish in it. Most years the dam area is the last to turn on and the same is happening this year. Another factor is just the sheer traffic in that area and the numbers of baits the fish are exposed to on a every day basis, it just seems like a never ending amount of constant fishing pressure. If you want to catch fish on Table Rock, you have to be willing to go look for them or figure out a method or location that no one else knows of. Then please let me know what or where that is and I'll keep your secret Good Luck I had the two smallest with a 1.80 K and a 2.10 LM. We had 9 Smallmouth keeps 2 K keeps and the one LM. This post has been promoted to an article

What he said.

Miss Johnson passed away today at 101 years old a true American Hero and Pioneer in space exploration mathematics and aeronautics . She and her team led the way in the space race, as well as the human race. Hidden Figures a movie that chronicles her work with NASA is a must see. God Bless and may she rest in peace.

Those Tour guys fishing Okeechobee if Fl. would give a pinky finger for a 5.78. Another deal is them talking about shiner fishermen. Said they make you look like a fool, your not even getting a sniff and they are catching one pig after the other. I have always wanted to go do that. About 90 percent of my clients that have fished Florida say its crazy fun and most of them have caught their fish of a lifetime doing it. Anyone here ever shiner fished in Florida?