Bill Babler

Sounds like justice to me."err" I mean, I'm going to give that a try.

Your doing a little better, at least you are having some kind of a dead animal. Yard Bird sounds pretty good to me. Thanks for the invite, however I'm so stuffed I couldn't eat another morsel. Have you ever tasted a Soy Meatball, What an Oxi-Morron. "Where's the beef?" I really think she just went into the garage and ground up a cardboard box and splashed some sodium free tomatos on it. How she can treat the guests so go and me so bad is just beyond me. She thinks she is doing it for best interest. YUCK....

Salt to the wound Rusty...salt to the wound. I bet you had a steak!!!

Boy's, in the last 90 days I have taken 116 guided fishing trips. Thats alot of days on the water and you would think a man producing those kind of numbers should get some kind of preferential treatment at home. Quite the Oppsite. Today the menu for the B&B Guests was Texas French Toast with Bananas and Walnuts, Maple Syrup, Maple Sausage, Apple wood smoked bacon and Guda scrambeled eggs. I got up at 4 Am to take a full day trip and then follow it with a 1/2 day trip, and got nothing. I even set her tables and made the juice and 3 different coffee's. Had a microwave sandwich at Lilleys' between trips. Got home, and here is my supper. Flax- Seed ground and made into Spagaitti, Soy meat balls and a sauce that was made with no salt or sugar, Basicly ground up tomatos, and a few spices. I know I need to lose a few pounds, but come on. I got her Lobster on our aniversery. I need real meat after a day like that, don't you agree. We have to band together and end this foolishness.

Another quick update from Phil. Marsha reports that yesterday might have been the best day yet. Phil told her they dressed over 30 Sockeye, and caught absolutely huge numbers of quality Rainbow. I belive Jim's group caught the majority of the Sockeye, but am not sure. I believe from what I gathered Jim Johnson, guided a group across Naknek lake to the Brooks River. There were over 35 bears on the river, and it is only 2 miles long. Jim and his group, I believe caught the salmon in Naknek lake and then played catch and release with the salmon and the bears on the river. Marsha said they had to break lots of fish off so the bears would not associate, them splashing on the end of the lines with the folks catching them. Truely an unbelievable day in Alaska. I guess the rangers had no idea so many bears were on the river. When Jim's group starting catching fish, the bears just exploded from the brush. I guess a ranger ran up and was going to cite Jim for fishing to close to the bears, and Jim said "there were no bears there a minute ago, I don't know where they all came from." About that time the rangers radio broadcasted an alert that bears were simpley all over the river and had just arrived. Jim got off with a warning to break off any fish when a bear was present. Phil on the other hand thought he was having a day to remember, guiding a group on Idavane Creek. From the way Marsha explained it, probably the best day that Phil has ever had in Alaska. Great fishing and no bears. Lots of Big quality Rainbows, Char, and Grayling, with constant action and good weather. He was ready to brag it up till he saw all the salmon coming from Jim's boat. These 6 to 10 pound, chrome bright Eye's, will really pull your string, and then catching the huge bows that are chasing them is nothing but the biggest bonus in the world. I'm having spasm's just wishing I was there. In stead I'm here guiding for that creep that is in Alaska catching fish. Something about this is just not fair!!! I also asked about the Kings and she said she believed about 10 or 11 had been caught, thus far. I don't really believe they fish very hard for the kings and they are mostly caught by back trolling up there. From what I understand, talking to people and reading, very little fly fishing for the king's One bad thing happend however, on the way into the camp, after such a great day, Jim hit his lower unit on a boulder, on the still very low Naknek. I guess it was totaled. They were going to have to use Phil's boat, until a unit could be shipped in from Anchorage and installed. No more than a few days they hope. Huge cost however. People wonder why things cost what they do, here is a great example. I would bet you a tea leaf to a totom pole that little hick-up is going to be 3 to 5 thousand bucks on that 175 4 stroke yama. Maybe a lot more. Can't do that a lot and still make money at $1,795.00 per guest. If you can get away too go to this camp at that price, and they have openings you will never find Alaska for less, Never. Phil will be home on Sunday, and I can hardly wait for the full report. Hopes this help tide you over.

Probably the best advice yet. Don and I are out there every day and see it all. One of the guides got checked way up the James this Am. His client had forgotten to buy his one day lic. even after the guide had reminded him as early as just last night. Ruined a great day of fishing. You have to be responsible for yourself. Great to see these guys out.

Capt. Rick LaPoint 1-800-869-2210

Okie, hit the nail pretty much on the head. Knowledgable fisherman know the water. What fried my green tomato's, was a drift boat guide throwing up his hands and asking me what I thought I was doing coming thru the channel while his clients were fishing it. He should have known way better. Not only trying to show me up in front of his clients, but also mine. Unbelieveable. Maybe before they turn these new unlicensed guides loose, it might be a good idea for them to have been on the river at least a couple of times. OH! I forgot, they don't need a License, or any knowledge of the river. It would have been so easy for him to have said. " Boy's hold your fire and let this guy quickly idle thru, as this is the only water that he can navigate. Soon as he passes make your presentation directly into his wake, won't take him but a second to get past us." As Okie said we all wave people thru the narrow's every boat guide I know, and I could care less if you are a guide or not. If I see you heading for the shoal I'll scream like crazy and tell you to pass so close you can touch me if I'm in the channel. There is just a right and wrong way to do everything. You don't want people to run a ground just to try and get around you. In the time it takes to make one cast a fellow angler can get thru the pass and I will guarantee you it won't affect your fishing abit. Most of us try and stay out of there to not hinder boat traffic. Lot more dramatic to throw a big fit. You all know me, I didn't take it well and made him aware of it. " Me Bad."

Boys as you know, I couldn't agree with you more whole heartly. I do have a problem with the confrontations. We are not law enforcement officers and let me tell you, confronting people if you don't have a badge, is never a good thing. If we just all do our part and think with a mind toward the future it would be wonderful. I have reminded people many times of the limits and the length of bass on the rock. I have also on a daily basis mentioned in a friendly way the rules of the restricted area on Taney. You always hope you are doing some good. I would however, be very careful, about mentioning anything to the creel checkers, locations, numbers or anything. Seems some of them really have an appitite for spotted bass.

Frekey, we have some really good agents, but they are spread as thin as butter on jailhouse bread. Even if the fish they are catching are 15 inches, it is a really good thing to remember that lots of these legal fish are females, and have years of spawning left in em. I just don't believe we are far enough back from the fish kill to fill the freezer without doing some harm. If a guy deep hooks one deep, or needs a couple thats his business. But catching limits with crawlers and then going back and staying after them too freeze is insane. From what I heard yesterday, we need to probably keep a very tight lip on how we are doing when we are approached on the water by anyone other than a Conservation Agent. ANYONE !!!!!! This may even cover people that are free lancers taking serveys. Seems they have a taste for bass and its easy to find locations talking to other guys on the water.

Seems like we have officially kicked off the deep fish eating season. Spoke to several guides fishing the Aunts Creek, Kimberling City to Campbell Point Run and the fish seem to have moved out on the deep humps and channel swings. Most guides reported much to their shigrin- lots of boats throwing fish of various lengths in the jailhouse. One of the boys reporting saw one boat crawlering the KC Bridge and throwing every fish they caught in the box. The guide was fishing the quary and said it looked like a slaughter at the bridge pier. Another in the Baxter area said there were at least two boats bait fishing near him, keeping everything they caught. Both boats had Kansas tags and he told them there was a 15 inch minium on this lake on spotted bass. They asked if he was the game warden and told him they would keep all the fish they could reguardless of what him or his clients thought of them. Could have gotten really nasty. I just cannot figure out why people feel they have to kill these fish. I guess the reason they do it is because they can.

That is one great morning. Thanks for the report.

I think Rich has hit it pretty well also. Another pet pieve of mine is the guys standing in the outlets snagging. A pile of split and a couple of size 12 scuds about a foot apart getting slammed into the outlet and snapped out after a 3 ft. drift is just about as sad as it gets. Maybe they could start a season from March 15th. to May 15th. To coinside with the spoonbill season. It happens from daylight to dark everyday, reguardless of flow. Sometimes its just hard to understand people.

Spoke to Marsha Lilley, after todays trip. She had spoken to Phil, last evening. The Sockeye were in the river, and it seemed the Naknek River Camp guests were doing pretty well on them. She also told me that they were catching huge Bow's 30 inch and above. And very good numbers of 20 plus inchers. I think today will be the first really big day with the Sockeye. Phil has not been able to get us any info, because of the cloud cover and fog. It has not permitted him to hit the tower transmitter to get out any email or posts. I am sure he is just flat to busy, HA HA to go to Naknek to the library and send us any of the pic's and info. that we are all starved to get. WE need our fix. Hope this helps a little.

Guys, the water in question is 4 miles from the dam in the extreme lower section of the restricted area. It is a narrow chute above the fall creek ramp, where the channel runs along the bluff, off of the shallow shoal just above fall creek. This channel is just a few yds. wide and then goes to a shoal that is 250 yrds across of barley ancle deep water. The jets can get over the shoal, but the prop boats need the channel. This is an extreme narrow gap that allows us to run to clay banks, Lookout and the flat at Andy's house. Nothing near the dam. I stated the area in my first post. I do agree that no boats reguardless of power, weather it be oars or a 225 opti, need to be above the conservation ramp on zero flow. There is just flat no reason to be up there bothering the waders, none at all. On high flow, that changes everything, and gives the boat fisherman a chance to drift fish this wonderful area, without disturbing the wading. In turn, all we want is just a little space from lookout down. Not to much to ask I hope.

As most of you know, I fish the lower restricted area hundreds of days per year. I operate a powerboat with a draft at idle speed of about 24 inches. On plane I can operate at perhaps 18 inches, but for the most part need just a couple of feet of water to keep the prop from bending. There are probably no more than a handfull of people that know the area as well as I do, and maybe less than that, that know it better. It is my home, and has been since the early 70's. I have been thru there over 10,000 times. I know the water. If I am coming by a boat in a certain area, there is a reason for it. There is a reason why I am there. To mess up or disturb another while fishing is something that I just don't do. I however have to be able to manuver my boat thru these tight areas, without ridiucle, or have guides that are fishing the only channel throw up their hands and have there customers fly cast in front of me in a channel that is 12 ft. wide. The channel off the Fall Creek Flat is one of those locations. At 1 generator or no generation, the power boats simply cannot get thru on the Fall Creek side. The water outside the channel is no more than 8 inches deep. Most of the drift boat operators know this, and float the short water and cast to the channel. If they drift the channel, and cast in the channel and too the shore, there is no room. You simply can't have it all. The time frame to idle past a boat in this location is no more than one fly cast. If the thru passage disturbs your fishing, you are doing something wrong, as the fish will eat in the wake as well as flat water. I have absolutely no problem with anyone coming past me in this slot, as I really should not be there to begin with. This is the only Navigable passage to the upper area, and really should not be blocked. As most of you know, I do spin cast trips, but I also will take in the area of 150 fly fishing trips per year in this area, and know what it takes to guide fly fishing clients. Lilleys' was guiding fly fisherman 15 years before any of the current fly shops were here. There is plenty or room for everyone, but we must be aware of each others limitations. Is throwing a fit and trying to show someone else up over 1 presentation worth this? I don't work a job and take a dozen or two guide trips per year, this is my sole livelyhood and I am a professional at what I do. This is my home water and I know it like no other. I guarantee, I will never wake you or get in your way if there is any possible way I can avoid it. Those of you that know me know how I operate.

Great Report, Stranger. Much Love. Hope the wing is doing well.

Any type of motorized propulsion, with passengers for hire. Rowing or wading no lic. required.

Hey Skukin!!! Thanks for the shout out. It just would not be as fun around here without you. Us old dogs, wouldn't have anyone to pick on. And by the way, stay off all our stuff. Chief, You must have a federal Capt's lic. to guide on any Navigatable water in the state of Missouri. Mo, unlike Ark were you can just buy a state Lic. at Wal-Mart, has no State Lic. for guides, but you must have the Federal. The major resorts where the trips come from must have a copy of your lic. and insurance on hand before they will send clients with you. I have had some of the guys in Arkansas tell me they are insured without the federal Lic. They just think they are. You get in a problem, and I will guarantee you the insurance will say "Where is your federal Lic." We had a big raid here about 6 years ago, and it really hit us hard. There were fines aplenty and lots of new regulations. We now have a lot fewer guides, as drug testing, insurance and lic. are a major commitment, we all have to follow in order to guide. It weeded out the part timers.

The Group here at Lilleys' would like to thank Kevin Miquelon's Foodman Group for fishing with us today. Fantastic bunch of guys. Lunch was great. Fishing was a bit of a challange for some of us, and others were on them from the get-go. Heavy generaton and fog as bad as I have seen it in the last couple of years made everything a challange. I have not seen that many boats on the upper river in quite some time. 8 guide boats with most of the fish, coming on size 10 scuds, sanjuan worms, peach egg patterns, and jigs. Our bite was better in the afternoon than morning, as I just could not keep my gear fishing. Just about as many break offs and tangles as I have ever had. From what I can best figure about 300 trout were caught in the 8 boats on full day guide trips. Sounds like alot, but it was way more work than that. Big thanks to the guides that braved the fog and for sure did as good a job, under very tough fishing. Tony Weldele Don House Bob Klien Bill Beck Buster Loving Bill Lawrance Tracy Frenzell B. Bab's Thanks Boys,the Lilleys' crew really appreciate it.

The bridge piers black out the Lowrance units. The Hummingbirds with the side view, may work if they are away from them, I don't know.

denjac, I really noticed the spotted bass populations changing to the biggest extent in 1998 thru 2001. Kind of in the same time as the fish kills. With the LM at extreme low numbers, everyone started targeting the spots. I fished a spot that Jeff Fletcher had shown me up the White River, from 1990 to that time frame. It was a very deep channel swing with a bit of a teet that went from about 60 ft. to a top of 22 ft. This spot was about 50 yrds. by 50 yrds. In the 10 years I fished that spot I had seen ZERO other fisherman on it. One Saturday I went up to the spot and there were 6 boats on it. I very seldom go by there now that at least one boat is not sitting on it. Another spot, up the White that the locals and most of the guides call the Babler Bank is a deep ridge, surrounded by 100 ft. of water, and is absolutely in the middle of the lake. I found after Jeff had mentioned to look to these types of locations for K's. We fished it for years with little comp. Now it is covered up 365. Lot's of fisherman, and everyone knows how to fish.

Boy's always love the feed back. Techo, Have heard of a very good shallow bite. Both blades and topwater around the bushes. Buster just pointed out, this water is only 74 degrees, I think we are fishing to deep. I think both of you guys maybe right. Our big smallie yesterday came on a football jig in 8 ft. I for the life of me, thought I should have been swimming a grub, but had taken the grub rods out. Probably should put them back. I can remember at that time walking around moonshine beach, state park beach, old 86 beach, and long creek, just casting a purple ring worm off the bank rigged texas style and catching as many blacks as we wanted. 1973 thru 1977. Chris and I would also fish nights, and fish the pockets and bluff ends from the 86 bridge to old 86 campground. Unbelieveable. All Blacks, usually 2.5 to 6 lbs. You know, I never remember catching a smallie untill I started guiding here full time in the early 90's.

Had the extreme pleasure of taking out Dan and Tony Alderman, yesterday. Both young men had grown up coming to the Rock on their yearly family vacation, for the last 35 years. Back in the 60's when the Rock was the Largemouth Capital, their father was a Spotted bass fisherman. He was interested and completey taken with the deep water K's. He dropped shotted for them before there was a drop shot. He deep trolled for them, but most of all he live bait fished for them. The boys told me of place after place and locations all over the dam to Kimberling City and Indian Point area that their father could catch not 10's or 20's but 100's a day. His best was a 6 pound 8 oz. monster, he caught while trolling. The boys said even in those days, he kept, very few, only those that were deep hooked or maby 1 or two per day, never more. Most days none. Sounds like my kind of guy! Starting about 10 years ago, he stopped finding them as well, as he used to and he tried even harder. He has since pasted, but the boys still come and fish his old haunts. They booked me, because they said all the fish are gone where they caught them by the buckets full as early as 10 years past. They hoped I could show them were the fish had moved. Sadly I couldn't. Yes, we caught fish, but not like the old days. We ended the morning with 17 with a 4 lb. Smallie and a couple of very respectable 3pound K's, but not the magic spot or the numbers they had hoped were still here. They related to me that their fathers favorite spot was Point 5 and Point 1. He would put the boat in 25 ft of water on point 5 and toss out a small crawdad with a 1/8 split shot and catch fish from sunup to sundown. They said they had many days on point 5 of well over 100 fish, catch and release. He would fish the suspended K's on Point 1 with crawlers, letting the crawler skim the tree tops in the same 25 ft. range. Those trees are in from 50 to to 130 ft. with the tops in that 25 ft. range. One weekend total on point 1 was for the 3, disputed amongnst the brothers, but between 2 and 3 hundred. They believed it was 1968. Every spot they told me, are places we fish on an everyday basis. Some of these locations are fished 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There are just not that kind of fish there, they are too much in demand. The boys said they can catch a 1/2 dozen a day anymore if they really work hard at it. That's a real shame. I was really hoping they would show me a spot or two that we had not found. They pointed out about 20 locations during the morning, and unfortunatly, we all have fished those locations, and do now from time to time. In 1974 Rex Grady took myself and a good friend, Chris Brooks, to fish K's. We fished the bluff end called High Dive, on the West side of the lake, across from Clevenger Island. We let our head hooked Crawlers down about 16 to 20 ft. if my memory serves me. We fished that one area for at least 6 hrs, and never went any where else and caught, I would think at least 50 or 60 apiece. Well over 150 fish for the boat. Narry kept a one. These fish were running in the 2.5 to 3.5 pound range, and I remember Rex saying, you just can't get the big ones here anymore. I was 18 at the time, and had fished and guided my entire life on Lake Ozarks, and had never seen fishing like this, it was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. It just started a love afair for me with these spotted bass. I have fished that location 1000's of times since that day, and regreatfully they are no longer there. I still check from time to time. Tim Sainato has also fish the same spot with Rex and related much the same story to me. The extreme magnitute of fishing prussure on this pond is tremendious, and we are thankful for what we get, but the really good old days, may not be commin back. Today report, Bill and I had a trip form Baxter this AM, in the storms high water and fronts. Total for the two boats, was a megar 18 bass with 6 keeps. We both found the fish, but for the life of us both, could not get them to get to worming on it. They would rush the baits but not take it or just bump the bait. For the ammount of fish we saw, we should have had better days. Bill however saw the whites a jumpin, and called. I was there in a heartbeat and we caught big whites for an hour. Threw most back, but did clean 15, monsters. The whites, pulled our bacon out of the fire. Always better to be lucky than good.

Ryan, depending on the unit you have you can find post after post to answer your question in the Archives. Last fall when the BASS Elite Boys were here it was discussed and rediscussed. I'm running my speed and Ping Speed wide open. Grayline at 85 and Sensitivity at 88. Your unit may be different. I know Bill B. is running his 112 at only 70 Percent on the Sesse. It is hard however even for me to mess it up so bad, that at almost any setting I can still see the line. If you tell us what unit you have, I'm sure some of these boys will have the same one and tell you how they have their unit set. Right now I have the top 10 ft. knocked out and am setting the bottom at 60. I am running 2X and splitting the screen at times. You just have to play with it. Make sure your grayline is in the 80 Plus range and keep adjusting your chart speed and I bet it will help. I am not a guru, as some of these boys are. If I need help, I usually have Mike Webb play with mine. I have an older X17 and will be looking at new models next year. The new X38HD may be something I would consider, and I am for sure going to take a look at the Hummingbirds. Both of the units are in the $2000.00 range, so a man must choise wisley.