Bill Babler

1 1/4 is close enough, just didn't want anyone turning into Jim Bakers traveling road show, wanting to catch a white bass.

Wow!!! did you get a pic of the "Big Girl?" I am pretty sure since 1999, there has only been 2 documented at 10 pounds. R. LaPoint may have also had one, but I don't know if he got it weighed on an official scale, only heard he or a client had a big one. Pete Wenners has had two clients catch 10's in that period, both out of Big Cedar, and both weighed on official scales. Both Biggins, came out of Long Creek. In 1997, Bob Tindle had an 11.5 on a spoon during a guide trip, while fishing Gore Hollow. True official weighed 10 pounders are as rare as hen's teeth on the Rock, even before the fish kill. You guys really did well. Expecially if you caught her on a spook, this time of the year, when she would not have all the egg weight. The biggins Pete caught were March fish on a stickbait. Super day, thanks for the report.

Fishing should be excellent. Instead of posting what you should or should not be doing and how and where the bass are in the area at that time, I'll let you just keep watching the forum. You will see how and where we are a catchin-em as I'm sure there will be current informatin posted here for the time of your arrival. Keep commin back for the current lake fishing reports. Thanks for registering with Ozark Anglers and welcome BB

Joe, better check that mileage from Blue Eye.

The new ramp is in the small cove just north of little cow. it is just to the north and in the back of the cove from where the old ramp was, which is now a boy scout camp. If coming from Kimberling City the turn off is approx 2 miles from the 13/86 jct. at Blue Eye. On your left, look for the Boy Scout Camp sign and follow it down to the dead end at the ramp. If coming from Branson, take 65 south to 86. Go west on 86 approx. 9 miles to the Boy Scout Camp sign. It is about 2 miles past the JJ jct convience store on your right hand side. WARNING: No restroom faculities are at this ramp, and it is a very steep ramp, with a severe climb back to the parking lot. There is really also no handicapped access. Usage requires you to be a good backer of your trailer and be in good physical condition, to use the area. Though brand new, it is located in a very challanging location, and this should be kept in mind if you are somewhat timid about backing a trailer, or don't like to walk, to the parking lot, about a city blk, straight up hill. Also due to the steep ramp, please always set your E.Brake when launching and loading your boat. Docking faculities however are excellent, for 2 boats at a time to either launch or take out. Good Luck

Really is just hard to describe, unless you live on Grand Lake. We have white or as my lodge guests from Oklahoma and Texas say "Sand Bass" coming out our gills. Put in at the new ramp at Little Cow Creek last evening at 5 PM and the water was just on fire with them from Cow to Point 5. Beck had reported he cleaned 30 for clients yesterday morning and had caught and released well over 100, from point 8 to point 9 and then also in the point 16 area. Boats ran thru schools and it really didn't matter, as other schools would be breaking just outside their boat wakes. Could not resist and caught about 20, keeping 8 that weighed just exactly 1.5. Their meat is white as snow at that size and they are really good. This morning on my guide tour, we litterly saw thousands of them from the back of Brushy thru Big Cedar. Mouth of Clevenger to Jakes, Chateau cove thru Point 1, Branson Belle island thru the visitor center at the dam, Beardsly Branch to Point 2. State Park Cove in front of the wave breaker. Instead of casting and chasing them like a maniac, try just motoring over to the activity and dropping a 1/2 oz spoon down about 25 ft. and jerking it. Sometimes you get hit 3 or for times as the spoon falls back. Lots of smaller and larger ones, but just a slug of those in that pound and a half range out there by the bucket loads. Bill reported he cleaned one that weighed about a pound and it had 13 threadfin shad in its gut. Hope they are leaving some shad for the Green Basses. Ya'll get out there and catch ya some of these shad eaters.

Got out just a little each day with son Steven, and just had a blast. If he would come and see his Mom more, he would without a doubt be my best fishing buddy. Caught some very nice quality SMJ's in the dam area, fishing the shelfrock, keeping the boat in 20 ft. Really liked those banks that with the boat in 20' your heave would leave you about 10' off terafirma. Best deal for us the weekend was a 3/8th oz. Chompers FB jig. dressend in the new brown/round rolled spider skirt, with any of these three combo's on the tail Yamamoto, GP/BLK flek, 4 inch twin tail, Same in PBJ, or a Chompers Watermellon candy 4 inch twin. We were kind of letting it fall down from ledge to ledge and draging it some and they would just eat it "Big Time" Had two or three in the 4 pound and up range on all the days we went. Funny thing is one trip was a afternoon and the other two were late in the morning, as we helped Becky serve breakfast before we went. Most days the bite is usually over by 10AM. Went out this morning, with Tom Cooprider, who is fishing and in the contest for Field and Stream outdoorsman challange this weekend. Very High Sky, no wind, but we did ok. 4 decent keeps and lots of short fish. We really never fished one location very much at all as we wanted to leave as many as we could for him to catch during the derby.hour and a half at the front of the boat, he should be able to get some measured. By the way, last year Tom won the Table Rock Bass fishing challange. In a 3 hr. stint, he had a 6 pound black 2-4 pound jaws and two other keeper jaws, for a total of 5 fish at 94 inches. That is a big bag ot TR bass, under any condition for a 24 hr. day, let alone 3 hrs. Of the 3 hrs, his co-boater got to have the front for 1/2 that time, so it was indeed a fantastic day. Gave him 3 or 4 good locations, that in his short stint at the trolling motor, he might be able to get at. Good Luck all

Here it is I think. Your not going to believe this, but I did this myself, without Becky's help. GO MIZZOU

Don't know, but it seems to be a very heavy weekend as far as the fisherguys are concerned. Of course our lodge is full, but most of these folks are shoppers, and eaters, not lake people. T, if you have a chance, hit her early as I believe these fish are ready to be good to us a mite. The way you like to fish is what's goin on right now, and you had better be out there to grab a little bit of it. Usually I'm with Champ, but I believe that early shallow bite may be worth the headache. Give it from 1st. light till 10 Am and tuck you tail and head for Nixa and I believe you will do considerable. Best luck

Got out this AM at 7, and was really shocked to see the number of anglers already on the lake. I know it is Labor Day Weekend, but that for the most part does not start until tomorrow. Fished from 86 bridge to point 5 and it was pretty much covered. Beck fished from Kimberling to point 5 the other way and said the same. Both of us really had never seen this ammount of fishing prussure at anytime. Sitting at the point going into the spillway at the dam, I could count 24 boats actively fishing across on the flats, and when I made the count I could also see 7 more just running. That is tremendious prussure. Still, had a great morning the three hrs. I was out with 3 keeper Jaw's, 3 short jaws, and 1 short K. One of the Jaw's was a legit 4 pounder that I called Becky to come to the 86 park and take a pic of. Fished some secondary locations, with shelf rock and some wind. Very nice bite in the 12 ft. range on a Chompers 3/8th oz PBJ and a Yamamoto green pumpkin 4 inch twin tail. Good conditions this AM with overcast and a little wind to break up the surface. Got wind the dropshot bite was a bit off, but the shallow fish seemed to be biting. I believe if the weather keeps being sour, the SMJ's will continue to nip, with some very nice size fish up close. Good Luck out there.

If you tell me your a K State guy, I might help. If your a Chicken Hawk, your pretty much on your own.

Stony, don't quote me on this, but I don't believe the Govt. cares if you put a cedar or two or even a dead oak limb or pile of them in a cove or two. That is not what this is about. I may be giving them way to much credit, I hope some similance of commen sense would come into play. {I'm probably wrong, as the law is the law however.} What I'm talking about is chain sawing mature living trees off points and dragging them out into navigatable waterways. If you get a chance just go from Baxter Marina to Campbell Point and look at the deep bluffends off the North side. Trees up to a foot in diameter were not hand cut, but chain sawed and drug out leaving 3 to 4 ft. stumps on the points. These are some of the best deep cedar points, on all of Table Rock Lake. On any of them you can catch fish, some of the time. This area is very close to my heart as it is where I have fished since the early 70's. I hate to say, getting close to 40 years now. To see them treated like this really is a crime. I know I fuss alot about the Shell Knob area, but it is my home and I can fuss if I want. Big boats and big traffic is a problem, but it saddens me to think that fishermen would cut these beautiful trees, really for no reason, and drag them into a location that is really useless. Like Crappie said, enough is enough and that is my last comment on this. Let's all try and do better, our grand children will really appreciate it. Best to all and good luck out there. BB

Crappie, thanks for the advice, but frankly I could care less if it makes some body mad. If they feel "Froggy" about it, they can come and jump right on, I'm not hard to find. When I'm done with them, I'm sure the United States Corp. of Engineers would like to have a go. This is blatant distruction of all our property by a person or persons, for their individule gain. It looks like HeeeeK. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping to stir the low-life up that did this. Some body wants to stick a tree or a few limbs under their dock so be it, but to come to Table Rock and chain-saw big live trees on our points, leaving 4 ft. snow-white stumps, scaring the bank, something needs to be done. I'm pretty hard to rile, but I am serious about this, it in my opinion is pretty close to stealing. It is stealing. On a brighter note, utilizing the dead trees by the Conservation Commission, would be a very nice idea. Thanks Bill

Chris, thanks a bunch for the report. If you don't mind, could you tell us what method you used to catch-em. I know you folks that fish Grand, are experts with slab spoons. If you were fishing spoons, size, color and presentation, would help. I'm getting lots of PM's about finding them but having a hard time getting them to bite. It is funny, the other day in front of beardsley branch, they were boiling 3 inch shad everywhere. I was throwing a minus 1 in shad and they were eating it up. My client was casting a jigging spoon that they had been eating and they just would not touch it. I gave him the cranker and I took the spoon and even I could not get them to bite it, until I started reeling it as fast as I could turn the crank. Did find them at 25 ft. and vertical jigged to them with the spoon and the game was on. Just could not get the surface chasers to eat it. Hate to use a multiple hooked bait, as it is just to dangerious, with all the flopping and head shaking. Appreciate your participation, and if you would rather keep your methods to yourself, we fully understand.

Boys, I think it may be considered littering to put any materials in the lake, but don't quote me on this. I would check with the Corp office at either Table Rock or Little Rock. As far as putting dead brush in, I believe you can around your dock, but I believe this also requires a permit. May or may not, we need a ruling on it. It would be nice to get Clint to come on the forum and give us the do's and don's so we would know without guessing. I know they have been very strick on where MDC puts their habitat, as to not impeed navigation at certain levels. I really sure would not want to get caught putting anything in right now. I think this is a thing that the Corp is really watching for and looking at on the entire White River Chain. Really foolish to get introuble doing this. Fishing is pretty good as it is, and life is just to short to have to wage war over it if you got a ticket.

Got a very nice call from Clint at the Corps this morning concerning the cutting of live trees in the Shell Knob area. He said the only permits issured at this time were to MDC for their Habitat Reconstruction project, and to give Shane at MDC a call and see if they were working that area. Called Shane and had a very nice visit, and NO they had not been cutting Sycomores at Shell Knob. I knew they were not, these guys are professionals and don't leave 3 foot white sawed off stumps gleaming on the timbered points that already have massive structure on them. He also had some great news on some of the habitat projects they already have in place, but I didn't ask permission to give away any news, and I'm sure you will be able to read about some findings soon on the MDC site. Very exciting stuff. With all the Fall fish off's and derbys getting ready to start, my guess in it is not locals, but a tournament guy, trying to get an edge. Might be totallly off base here, but it sounds like money and greed to me. Only my opinion. As far as the tree poaching, whom ever did this, had better watch his or her P's and Q's, cause as gitnby posted, this is not a joke to the Corp, "It won't get you a warning or a Me Bad, it will get you a fine in the Thousands to 10's of Thousands of dollars." There will not be any second chances, only arrests. If they find out who did this or for that matter is doing it, "Katy Bar the Door." You will be in deep deep Dog Do-do. As far as the Corp is concerned, cutting live trees on US Government property is just about as harsh as it gets. This is a complete no win situation for whom ever has done this. Good Luck Out there.

Helped out around the Lodge till about 10:30 and hit the lake a floggin at 11 AM. Wanted to see just how I might have faired if I had decided to fish Heartland today. Had a feeling after yesterday, that I would have really struggled, kind of similar to what my boys did, as fished some of my deep spots. First 3 deep locations, are all within about a mile of each other, so I got started quick. First drop on the pearl 1/2 oz spoon and I saw one coming to greet her. Very nice 2.3 keeper K. Kind of at this point noticed nothing else worming up or coming with the caught fish. Dropped again and worked the entire tree with no more fish or even a looker. Next 3 locations, where I had been catching 1 and seeing multiples I saw nothing. Next spot is a football jig location. Heaved her out and wack, had not drug it 30 ft. when a very nice 2.3 keeper came to the boat. 1 more hour of dragging and zip, no more fish. At this point, I thought I would just get off the flats and start looking at high speed on the graph, and when I found one, I would drop the little purple drop shot worm. Lots and Lots of singles 2 hrs. later, I had my 3rd. Keeper, my best fish at 2.6. Kept looking and caught no more. Wanted to try a big worm for just a little bit before I came in and threw a 10 inch zoom Monster Worm in Green Pumpkin, on some pole timber. First cast I felt a tap and I thought "Man of Man, this may be a good one." Squeeker 15 inch K at 2 pounds even with the hook on the inside of his cheek, and the entire 10 inch worm on the outside. Looked like a big leach. That pretty much took care of 5 hrs. 4 Keeps at under 9 Pounds. Beck reported he only had two keeps in the derby today, that it was one of the most brutal days he has fished this year. Don't know what it took to win, but I can guarantee if I had been in it, I would not have even sniffed a check today.

Whites, seem to be pretty much lake wide. Dam area, almost everyday from Gage's to point 5, just have to go lookin for them. Kimberling City to Baxter and then up inside the Big Indian same deal Mouth of Big Bay and White Oak Kings River mouth to Emeald Beach, by the milliions most any day, but you have to look for them. Big M area and Viney Creek. Folks are going out and telling me they are not finding them. My first question is how and where are you fishing? Are you really lookin, or have you just went to a spot and started fishing, hoping they will come or you will see some? A typical morning for me looking for whites, is I may launch at 86 and run up to Gages, then go to the mid-part of Clevenger and then to State Park, and then to Beardsley Branch, then over to point 1 then across to Combs, then to point 5 and If I don't see them, I will run midway back again and start looking or bass fishing. The Big Cedar guides are running from Cedar Holler to point 5 and just cruising waiting and driving and looking for the fish to break or surface. They are trying to look in the locations they were the day before at the time they surfaced then. Usually not there and they continue the search, for at least an hour or two of a 4 hr. trip. If you just bass fish for that 2 hrs. in the dam area, you may if things go well, catch a half dozen or so, maybe a dozen. If you find the whites you can catch 50 in the same time period. The deep K's are still there after 2 hrs. and you can still catch your dozen for the clients. It is just a calculated time factor risk. You can also ask your guests how they prefer to fish, and pretty much tell them the numbers before you ever start. The other day, I fished from the Shell Knob Bridge to Big M, Back down the lake to Big Creek then Back to Big M. White bass fishing is a reactionary sport, you have to seek the bite for the most part, and if you feel on an 8 hr. fishing trip, you need to fish the entire time, you may be in trouble. It is never that easy for me, I have to not only look for the whites I also have to search for bass everyday. I have locations that are good to check, but usually hit about 30 percent at best. Right now on the K's its better as some fish are just locked in. With these cool nights however they could leave me in a heartbeat. Bill said they left some of those locations yesterday. I'll let you know when I check after the guests leave. You need to put in the time and the effort to find them. I just don't know if it is possible to launch and start fishing and catchin. It sure isn't for me, I have to go to work at it. I may on an easy day only run 10 to 15 miles lookin and fishin. People just want things to easy

C4F, It is not tough a bit right now. Only catching big LM is hard. It was not as hard as I thought it was, yesterday, with the Dodsons, and B. Sullivan weighing in Monster bags of-em. My trouble is that is just not how I roll. LM for me are a treat, rather than an every day occurance. The reason for the most part, is I just never fish for them, I have to catch numbers, and there is not a guide on TR Lake that could make a living catching LM. For the most part and I am being general here, is you have to totally not worry about catching a limit of fish. You just have to go and fish big baits in big fish locations, and let the dice land as they roll. Not so much during stickbait time, but right now for sure. As far as the electronics are concerned, I am pretty much going to stay out of that discussion. It always turns into a sales pitch. One thing I will tell you, is your best electronics, belong on the bow. Any global mapping unit on the console will put you on your locations, seeing whats down there after you arrive is a totally different matter. Good Luck

Went and watched the weigh-in. Probably could not have done as good as Pete and Brian, probably closer to Beck and Lisek Between 12 and 13 pounds, and that was worth a big zero. Told Bill the locations of most of the fish I had been catching and had also fished with him several days this last week. He was a scufflin and spent time on most of those locations, and did not fare well. I'll just run up the White today and fun fish abit. Really don't want to spend the $300 plus it would cost to fish the derby and work that hard, just to try and get that ammount back. I am just not on any kind of a quality LM bite that my wife and Banker would approve of that kind of an investment. Want to catch 50 K's or unlimited Whites, and I'm your guy. Maybe I could weigh-in a quality limit of Whites, with a walleye or so thrown in to boot. Good Luck out there.

There is a person or persons cutting very nice trees in the Shell Knob area and dragging them out off the points. If I catch this person, I will turn you in in a heartbeat!! The trees in question are anywhere from 6 to 12 inch and fully leafed out. It is creating an eyesore on the shoreline and simply cluttering up points that don't need the structure to hold fish. And for the most part where they are putting this trash, they are going to ruin the point. Just to much green leafy crap. They are cutting in particular big fully leaf white bark Sycomores. They are not getting them weighted and the tops are sticking from the bottom to the surface in 25 to 30 ft. way out off some of these banks. If these idiots had spent a little more time on learning their electronics, they could find entire forrests of pole and cedar trees just abit further out. It is against the law to cut trees on Corp. Property and clutter the lake with the debris. I'm not a tattle tale or anything, but this is just not right and for that matter it helps no one, including the fish. Table Rock is full of structure, go and find it or use the structure that MDC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars adding to the lake. Don't cut beautiful full grown trees off the shoreline and drag them out onto prime points that are already holding large quanities of fish. If I get time next week, I'm going to throw a hook, on all that I can find, and drag them off. GEEZE...

Gave it one last try today, to see if by any chance I could catch a decent bag. "NOPE" Fished the derby hours, 6:30 to 3 PM. First 4 hrs. I just flat tried as hard as I could to catch a big LM. Timbered points and runouts up the White River. Threw a 1 oz Flutter Spoon and a Big Fat Free Shad, caught about a zillion Whites, some not as big as the Fat Free, or the spoon. No Largemouth, NONE. Guys and Gals, I have been on the water and fished my entire life, and never have I seen the fish activity that was going on today, up the White River. From the mouth of the Kings to San Succi, it was solid white bass, millions upon millions of them. They were not only on the top of the water column, but down to the 35 ft. range, almost solid, just unbelieveable. I fished Lake O in the 60's when Rainey Creek would just fill with them, I have fished Grand and Northfork and also fished here when it was fab. Nothing touches the ammount of Whites I saw today. They stayed on the surface for about 6 hrs. Wanted to throw the spook and the fin some on the Pole timber bluffends, but as soon as it hit the water, I would have a 1 pound white bass. You could feel them time and time again smacking that big crank bait. I must have hooked a dozen in the side, back, belly and top of the head. As the flutter spoon dropped, you could feel them wack it at least 4 or 5 times each cast. The Big Size 2 Gami, caught about as many as the cranker. At 10:30 with nothing to weigh in if I were in the derby, I decided I needed a limit. Took me exactly 1 hr. to catch-em. My usual deal, and I fished not a single place that I normally fish. First location, 1 dropped the 1/2 Real Image in pearl color. Wack, and the wormmin started. The big K hit the spoon at 25 ft. and when it did the location came alive. I could see at least a dozen strong lines zooming after the one I caught. Put him on the scale before a quick release 2.7 pounds. Dropped the spoon again, Thump, 2.6 pounds. Lines were shooting across my graph everywhere. Put the rod up and moved to the next location, just in case I fish, I didn't want to educate them all. Same type of location. These fish are locked in at 25 ft. reguardless of being on the bottom or suspended. Dropped the spoon a couple of lifts, and the line stayed slack. 2.2 pounds. Dropped again and good golley all heck broke loose, wack. 2 pounds even and at least 6 more just like him followed him up to the surface, trying to steel the spoon. Next location, a pole timbered bluff point I just normally don't fish as it is a bit hangie, when I have clients, but I thought there might be a LM out there that would eat the spoon. Pulled way out on the point, the boat was in 80 ft. and there were about 3 or 4 pole timbers that their tops came up to about 20 ft. Dropped the spoon, and when it was at 15 ft. I saw 3 lines coming. Bam!!! and this one pulled me down hard, and I thought it might be a big LM. This fish pulled drag on two runs. Huge white, about 3.5 pounds. Dropped again and the same thing happened, only this time the fish was a very nice LM at exactly 3 pounds. I had my 5 and it was 11:30. Trouble is my 5 weighed, 12.1 Boy this is sounding familiar. Made up my mind with the last 3 hrs, I was just fishing big, and did so to the best of my ability. Did get luck and catch 2 more very nice LM, 2.13 and 3.3. 13 pounds 13 oz. was my final total, but of course this does not really tell the story. Had this been a guide trip, the fish that could have been caught today would have been off the chart. Derby fishing and guide fishing are not to be compaired in any aspect. Sheer numbers of quality fish make guide trips. You have to have a quality fish or two to do anything in a derby. Don't know, maybe its tough, and my 13 to 14 pounds a day would get me a small gratuity, in the derby. Probably won't however.

The whites are a rommin in the 86 bridge to the dam area mostly early in the morning, but day before yesterday, the 86 bridge area to Gages was on fire with them at 5 in the evening. Last couple of days they have been at the mouth of Beardsley Banch, and Point 2 area on the Lakes West Side thru all the small coves up to Combes Ferry across from the dam. Week before they were across the lake at Clevenger and Jakes ranging up thru the Branson Belle to the visitor Center. Where they will be tomorrow???????? One tip, the gulls are back. Look for gulls and mass quanities of boats, and you will probably find the whites. If you get to go, be very careful of these little beasts, as they are as dangerious as a PorkyPine, with all their fins and sharp gill plate, not to mention swinging hooks from their quivering mouths. They seem to never stop wiggling. My hands are torn to pieces, and a client swung one into my brand new boat and its dorsal fin went right thru the seat. "What a Crapper" I tell clients fishing for them, time and time again, don't put those "Stickery Son's of Biscuit Eaters, in my boat, just let them swim and I will handle them in a safe manner. They still swing them in letting them flop their sharp fins and hooks into legs and ankles. Grass Pickrel Must have a trip today or is practicing for the Heartland Good Luck and Stay Safe

Joe that swimmer, has a place here, but it is EXTREMELY SEASONAL. If you watch the big play for pay boys, they are not continusly fishing it on every pond they have a derby on, it is only at best fished for a certain season. It is also a bait that is thrown almost exclusively for LM preferably Large Ones, Most often Florida Strains or crosses. Not at all saying that our K's or big Jaw's won't gobble it from time to time, but Gizzard Shad for the most part is not what they eat on a day to day basis. Yes the Gizzards are Kentucky and Smallmouth fodder from time to time, but I believe they prefer the threadfin and the crawpappies. With LM being the 3rd party on our party line, and the other guys taking center stage, it is pretty easy to see why we have trouble with it here. Then, when you cut the body mass of the lure into the proper perportion, of a threadfin shad, you come up with swimming a grub here, which is very similar works like a charm. You can throw from a 3 to 5 inch and have great results, even now to some extent. Tie on that big in depth and body mass swimbait, and the picture changes, it is just not as good on the Rock. I will be the first to tell you, I have caught short K's and Jaw's on it. I have caught Whites that are 10 inches on a 8 inch swimbait, and even caught a gill or two on that big bait. For the most part here however, there are as you know, better mouse traps. We have all thrown it to pieces, I have thrown them for Hours in every LM place on this lake, and I have caught some very nice fish. I have also gone days, without hooking any on a swimmer. You will get bumped like crazy on it most anywhere you throw it, but getting it into the mouth of a Jaw or a K, is the problem. They just have to be a good-ole-goodin, to eat that bait. Continue with your research, it is fun gathering the data. Good Luck BB