Bill Babler

LongCreek to point 5 was our assigned playing court today.

Nice morning on the Rock for my crew out of the Lodge this morning. Hit the drink at 0500 and pointed the Star Ship in the direction of what I hoped would be a topwater popperie. Right off the bat on the third cast, Sandy boated a double on Keepers with a very nice Jaw and a K both pinned to the Cordel Redfin. She thought it was pretty easy at this point. "Can't blame her for that. Ron was having to work abit harder for his payback. Topwater bite for us lasted only until about 7 AM. But before it died, Sandy struck again on a Giant Table Rock Lake Largemouth Bass she nabbed on her Fin. I had given the Kids instructions on the proper technique of running the Redfin, and she was a listening. Sandy and I both saw the Huge Largemouth coming for her presentation as it was waking water just behind her fin. I had told her to just reel thru the strike and just continue to reel and keep a heavy bend in the rod. She did. Just like a pro and the 7.4 pound Largemouth engulfed her offering. She caught the fish and landed it to perfection. Something that would have been even hard for me to do seeing that Monster coming at the bait out of the cedar top. Little after 7 the fish went down and we continued to catch them on a drop shot. All in all just a wonderful morning with surface temps at 77 degree and clarity at 10' If they all went this good, I'd be in La-La Land. Good Luck

Plug, you got my whole attention on those Big Kitty Cats on Lite line. If you don't think that's fun, you need to stay home. One of my good friends Tom Knox or the Rod Shop in KCMO sponsors a couple of guys on the Professional Cat Fishing Tour, and yes the do have one. Just a little bit about how sophisticated this has gotten, is these Pro's find there cats on these big River systems using side imaging from either Hummingbird or Lowrance. They then pull above these fish and feed them the baits on a natural dead drift. What is really suprising to me is that the cat fish are not always on the bottom. They can tell thru the side imaging where the fish are in the water column and feed the baits to that area. Who would have Thunk it. On another one of your points, I find and I'm sure you do to lots of fish with my eyes. Just keeping them open and watching the water and nature. Love my electronics, but nothing beats common sense and observation. Thank you all for your thoughts. Good Luck

That is more than good and ok for you for fun fishing. This is my lively hood and I have to produce at a rate of 7.5 fish per hour, or about 30 fish to the boat in a 4 hr. tour. That is what is more than expected, and should 90% of the time be reached regardless of seasonal patterns or the time of the year. "There not bitin today is no excuse." "I don't catch them I made a mistake, cause someone did catch them." Without my electronics on this White River Impoundment, I would be SUNK. From June thru September, I see 90% of the fish my clients catch and see them bite the bait or the lure. I am a vertical fisherman and during the Summer months on Table Rock, you had better be if that is your living. This is nothing new. We were using the paper X15's and the flashers back in the 1970's and it more than turned Table Rock into what it is today, one of the best lakes for Progressive Electronic Users in the country. From Capt. Rick LaPoint and his Hummingbirds to Capt. Mike Webb, Capt. Bill Beck and many others, the electronics you use and the way you use them will indeed make hero days out of zero days. I'm always going to have the best I can afford and use them to the best of the ability that I have. Good Luck

Good Luck, I wish you the very best.

Couple of tips when changing or upgrading your electronics. The price in the box store catalogs is usually just that. Most often it does not contain the entire package of hardware and wiring system that you will need. If you are upgrading you need to go from the battery completely to the unit. Leave nothing from your previous equipment. You don't start completely fresh and you will wonder why you don't like the new one as well as you should.<br /><br />On the gen II some people like the touch screen, and some do not. I hate finger prints on my screen.<br /><br />I know lots of you are do it yourselfers, but installing and making sophisticated electronics work as they should are not for amateurs.<br /><br />I would give Scott a call at Marine Repair Center. Tell him your budget and how you fish and he will recommend and install the electronics best suited for your particular needs. They will sell you what you should have and nothing more. This is the place for electronics and installation in this area. They know clear deep water basin. 417-833-9191 They handle both Lowrance and Hummingbird.<br /><br />Good Luck

I would probably rethink the BB-1. This reel is a monster for distance and is very capable of throwing a very lite bait, if paired with the correct rod. It is not a Curado. Go with the breaking system on the Tournament Pro and you will be much happier. You would be coming way down on price fro the Curardo to the BB-1 and expecting as good or better performance, and it is not there. Was not meant to be that. No one here is a bigger Lews fan that I , but keep it as close as possible to Apples to Apples when comparing products. Good Luck

Thanks very much, appreciate it. BB

Went to the site and then called them on the phone. Very limited amount of product on that sale, and also very limited amount of products in stock. Just about no Shimano Reels. Please advise me if I'm goofing up on this cause it is a great discount. Thanks Bill

I believe it was 1992. I was fishing the left hand point going into Viney with a Client. Jeff Flectcher had a 2person group in his boat fishing the swimbeach area. He was just banggin them in. I finely went over to see what he was doing and he threw me a bag of his Hula Grubs. If you all remember they were almost the color of the XPS red/smoke copper flex single tail we do so well with in the dam area early in the smallmouth season. At any rate, I used those grubs which you could find a walmart for years with terrific results. Really don't know why I stopped using them. I think walley world still caries them. Excellent early season White River bait.

There is still a shallow bite if you can do that. As Dave said, I believe the Ned or the best for me is a rig bite in front of the bushes or thru some timbered pockets, very early and keeping in the shade. Have also heard of a dock bite on the shady side. I probably should have thrown the shaky abit as my guy was having a hard time with the rig. It is a process to fish that light of a drag system if you have not done it. I bet the straight line would have done him better. I'll put that in the cold storage and remember it next time.

Everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel. "Good Golly." There are 10 million baits with legs, if putting them on a Centipede makes a hoot in heck difference, It would really amaze me. Like Bry said that Arkie bait has been around since Jeff Fletchers Grub at least. Which still works by the way, if you can find it.

My first Stratos had one. Sold it with the boat after 3 yrs. and never had an issue with it. Wish I could say the same about the new ones.

it just always amazes me how fast this bite changes. For me it seems the biggest change of the year is from the 72 to the 80 degree range. It really puts those fish down and moves them out. Especially if there is no breeze and a high sun. I missed a day guiding on Taney, and in just that period of time it got away from me. Buster said he caught 17 this morning and thought that was pretty good. When I talked to him and said I thought my 14 stunk, he said I needed to rethink that, since yesterday, things had really changed. Beck said he cranked his graph way up and so did Lisek looking for a thermocline to establish a depth possibility, and said there is not one yet. Got a feeling there will be soon as it is 94 degrees here with a SW convections blowing wind churning the top layer of the water column.

Had to come to an end. You did me no harm, it is just a big pattern change. These surface temps are going over 80 by this afternoon, and with no end in site, I'm betting it will be drop shot time early and often. What a great run we had and if we get some overcast days with breeze they will be on again, but the pattern has gone to Summer. MixerMark, Most guides on the rock are towing a split-shot on 8 pound mono on a spinning rod. We are using about 3ft. of leader and either a Fish Dr. a Dead Ringer a Double Dead Ringer or a centipede. Weight is usually 3/16th. or a 1/4. I almost always use 3/16th. I can fish it 1 ft. deep or 30 ft. deep. For those small thin baits we usually use a size 1 shouldered worm hook. Good Luck

Thought it had been far to easy, but the door got slammed in my face today to the tune of calm flat water and a high boiling hot sky. Started at 5:30 in the Dam area, with the fin and I will tell you I have not seen the amount of fishing pressure outside of April here. By 0600 there was a boat on every runnout I wanted to fish and sometimes as many as 3 boats fishing each location. RPS was right, the Lake paid me back in spades today. Bought like the Irish did to the Sooners last year. 2 boilups on the fin was the extent for that. Had 3 very nice keeper Smallmouth dragging a Fish Doc. in 15to 20 feet of water and 2 completely stupid White bass on spoons. Only savior for me was the dropshot in 28' and that bite was durn poor. We did manage to snatch 9 from the bowels of defeat. Rick and Bill were out together today with a big party trying to find some up and down crawler fish. Think they might have had a bit better luck than me, but I think it kind of smacked them today also. Water temp at the dam when I started was 74 and when we crossed the finish line in dead last place, it was 78, so it is for sure turning into Summer. I will catch them better tomorrow, and they will again start to change from friendly Spring fish to tempermental Summer fish. Good Luck

Sam, I've heard that old trick, but never tried it. We caught one this year on a fin. He was small. I have also caught several dropshotting a crawler, but it is really unusual. About 5 yrs. ago Phil and I caught 4 or 5 up longCreek winter Crappie fishing. We did not get a single one to the boat. We were fly fishing and they were hitting our small white streamers. They would sky rocket just like tarpon when hooked. They either cut us off of broke us off everytime. Good Stuff.

Very nice Meanmouth. I was on Taney this morning and told Beck the who what where and when. "Like he needed it." NOT. But he did start there and said it was just ShowTIme on the Big Jaw's. Said they had shad pinned in the pocket and were just tearing huge holes in the water. His clients just ripped them on topwater, till about 7:30. Then he went a dropshottin. Said Whites blew up all over the point also, which we did not have yesterday. Just another day in paradise.

I'm going to say it was probably a good thing the engine didn't start. That is a really good Table Rock day. Good Luck

Accidently posted one pic twice. I'm having trouble editing my post, don't know if anyone else is. I'll try and get this straight. Seemed to have lost one pic also and instead double posted a pic. Found it. Great.

Table Rock Lake 6-9-13 Kimberling City, Missouri, Bass Fishing Report White River Outfitters Guide Service Just one of those perfect mornings that we have been having for the past month. This one clearly or should I say cloudily was without a doubt my best Jaw morning of the year. Picked up Glen and Charlie early at Kimberling Inn. 0500. Told the boys about the danger involved with mean Brown Bass and Redfins and forbid them from bringing angry fish into the boat. Knew this was appropriate this morning due to the wonderful overcast conditions. Put the troller down on a point between KC and Little Cow, and did not lift it again until quitting time. 37 Brown Bass, 6 Big K's and 6 Big White's came to the cautious guides boat in the 4 hrs. we chased the chasers in a 4 city block area. Surface temps at 72 at the start and the same when we quit at 9:30. Water was a perfect light green to blue and you could see them come for the fin and see almost the entire fight as they flashed down to mayhaps 10' deep or so in their struggle to rid themselves of the bothersome sticky thing that led them where they didn't want to go. Lots of Sky Rockets today as these fish just slammed the bait and preformed like gymnast to rid themselves of it. We didn't loose as many as we caught, but for sure the Smallmouth won their fair share of the battles. I hooked one just about out of sight as I heaved the 1/2 oz. Spittin Image Spoon to a boil. She jumped 4 times in route 1/2 way back before she said, "No soup for you and flung my spoon back at me." By far my biggest Brown Bass of the year, she would have been. These fish were feeding on both threadfin and gizzard shad. Most coughed up their breakfast as we boated them. Had one big Jaw have a gizzard in her mouth that was at least 8 inches long she spit about 10' from the boat as she battled her potential captors. Glen had asked the night before if we would catch any smallmouth, and I said weather permitting. I told him we were topwater fisherman and he said he didn't think a smallmouth would eat a topwater lure. I said. " I think I have one they may like." He now agrees with me. Another great day on the Rock. Good Luck

Great fish, thanks for sharing.

I think it really depends on the amount of CFM's and the size of the pond.

Remember a few years ago we had a thread on this. Again, Capt. Don House had great success with that bait. I tried it but it is pretty big and the gas and oil requirement for it is huge. Good Luck

Rough guess is 12 yrs. plus