Bill Babler

Derby is cancelled for this weekend. Did however just see my first boat of the week headed up Long Creek

We haven't had anything like this since 1933 so I don't think you can blame us😀 That being said it's 24 degree here at the Lodge and a few minutes ago a boat passed headed toward Long Creek. First one I've seen in a week

No running, speed walk, climb stairs anything with heel down. Running pounds the joint and is a No,no after TKR

140 degree flex is 10 degrees past maximum. I can almost touch my heel to my butt so I'm thinking that's pretty good My non arthritic knee is at 128 so I'm tickled. On that note I pushed snow on my ATV for a couple hours yesterday and I was sore from spending that long on the machine. No shoveling or lifting for at least 8 weeks like Ness said as there is still tissue in there that is healing, so I am being super careful with that. I worked out hard for 3 weeks prior to surgery following the Force Therapeutic program and have continued with it. Lots of my success is just from not sitting around but working my tail off walking and following my PT guidelines. Its hard as heck to make yourself do it and it can be uncomfortable but I'm happy I'm doing it and the results are pretty clear. Thanks guys

I'm going to just bet that floater is going to hammer them this year. We are setting up perfectly for it. I can't wait. Oh I guess I can as I can't get the boat out yet

Thanks Phil. South East side of the house is dripping and temp is 16 degree. North West side is still 8 and no drips

Quill my sister-in-law in KC that's how they told her they were going to do hers. They need to wake up and come into reality. We had a nurse from St Louis that works at Washington University and she was told if you want the best, go to COG, there is a reason they're one of the top centers in the country. We also have a lady at our church that had an ankle done at kU orthopedic and they fused it. Told her there was to much deteriation to fix it. She could barely walk. A friend told her COG could fix it. Not only did they defuse it, And clean up the mess she has total movement and no pain what so ever. If you live in the Midwest and don't go to COG for orthopedic care when we have one of the best in the world right here you might be messing up

Prior to therapy or any heavy workout I'd take 2 Tramadol. About 2 hrs before. After workout I would ice. 2 hrs later another Tramadol. This was a preventive to any pain. From the day of the surgery on I'd walk with a walker 10 minutes per hour during waking hours. After 1 week I no longer needed the walker and used a cane for several more days on my walks , then I really had no more use for it, probably about day 12. Ask any questions you wish and I'll do my best

Surgery took under 2 hours was doing therapy 3 hrs after surgery. Moved to lodge COG Lodge that evening. Short walk down the hall. My wife was my support person and we both stayed in their wonderful lodge. Just like a fine hotel. Had therapy again that evening and walked stairs. Next morning full work out with therapists and headed home by 10 am. No pain what so ever I had a spinal for surgery and that blocked any pain. Only uncomfortable I had was the 3rd. day at nite. Took 1 oxycodine. Hated it but felt better. Never took another one. I used an ice machine and tramadol as needed. Still got 1/2 a bottle of that I had been exercising with the Force Therapeutic program prior to surgery and continued following the program. Therapist came to the house on day four with nurse to check wound. Both were totally amazed. At COG they do not cut the end of the femur Nor do they staple or stitch. This increases recovery time and cuts the pain to extreme minimal. They rebuild both the femur and the tibia and glue the incision Not 4 weeks out I'm totally pain free and ready to go with more flexibility than I can ever remember. My Xrays were beautiful and my leg is totally straight. I have also lost 12 pounds as a side benefit from my workout

It will all be gone by Monday probably to not be see again by us more mature types. Great pic. Thanks 10:24 am. Balmy 11 degree but the sun is hitting our East front and the gutters are starting to drip. Come on Sun Shine

As most know I had a total knee replacement about three and a half weeks ago. This was done by Columbia Orthopedic Group in Columbia Mo. They are not affiliated with the university and rated a top 5 ortho, by the Wall Street Journal in the United States. They do a lot of things different with a total knee. They have their own campus with clinic, surgery center, lodging and therapeutic center. They also prescribe to an online home fitness program thru Force Therapeutic. I am now totally pain free, can walk up and down steps without hand rails and can stand in one place indefinitely without pain of any kind. My knee flex is 0 to 140 with total ease of flexibility. Average 65 year old knee without osteoarthritis is 10 to 120 degree flex. I am going to continue my Force Program at home by my PT says I'm completely done with his 8 week program after 3 weeks and signed off after 8 total visits. This is the first time in 15 years I have been totally without knee pain. I waited for Medicare. If I had, had good insurance I would have done it sooner. This is life changing. Thanks for all the good wishes. I can even start driving tomorrow. I'm Free God Bless

Huge kills are neither good for the Rock or Taney. Moderation like in most things is the key. We want some but not rafts of them. 4 degree was my low at the Lodge this morning. We had 1 degree for a low yesterday. We have not seen a minus number yet.

It is for most of us but the fish seem to just follow Buster to the cleaning table and then jump from the water up to it. When he launches at K-dock the walleye seem to know it and meet him at the ramp. 😀

It’s 10 degree in Blue Eye. Very little snow. They say now the big snow is scheduled for Thursday we have had 2 cancellations at the lodge from guys that were fishing it so I’d be surprised if it went off

Sorry been away a few days with the total knee replacement. Had to go back to Columbia for a check up Originally most all the jigs for the FF were duck feathers. I had mine small ones custom tied with hen hackle on a size 1 gama hook in the lighter sizes. Take a look at the perfection of the tie on my pictures. I'm a pretty good fly tyer but I can't do that good. Glad I bought a bunch cause I can't get them anymore. Bobby your rig sounds good to me but 20' is pretty close. 40' would be better. I'm not so much fishing drops, mostly looking for staging suspended fish in transition areas. Same place you would use an A-rig a stick bait or a swim bait And no spot luck is not a make it break it deal for this type of fishing. Hardly use my lock when FF fishing

I have just the Rod for you 😃

As you all know I love the phat fly but early cold water season the smaller flys work much better 1/80th, 1/64, and 1/32. I had these custom made with the size 1 gammy. At times the shad this early in the season can be smaller than a dime. Again if you can see bass in either TR or Bull sitting under me which is seldom with the naked eye I can't catch them. I have to get away and cast to them.

That's the biggest one I have seen. Congrats. What a fish.

Quick report from Buster and he has been several times in the past couple of weeks. One day great next day Zero no rhyme or reason. I know he has has several days with limits of quality walleye and some pretty nice crappie and some days skunk. Best baits swimming minnow and of course a mega bass plus 1 or 2 Good Luck

Going to be very interesting to see the water temperature after next week with highs predicted in the 20's and lows in single digits to low teens. I'm looking for a major shad kill Water clarity in the point 9 to point one regions of the lake if we get no further precipitation could be in the 20' to 30' range on the white spoon test.

As was just posted this is also popular for walleye. The exception is they are putting live bait on a 1/8th, 1/4 and 3/8th oz. Jig head to get the depth they desire just way to big to interest White River Bass Another question that was posted was on landing fish. No problem if you have a partner as a 12' rod in a 6' man's extended hand/arm standing up, easily reaches close to 18 to 20 ft. Little more difficult when your by yourself

I have watched that video multiple times. If you look they are pitching that jig a few feet in front of them. Won't work here for our early season clear water suspended bass. They are basically drop shotting it. You need to stay away from our fish, for the most part a full cast. Getting over clear water bass that are suspended in 15' to 30 ft. Over depth and they are gone in a flash. You must get it away from you. Here is the problem and you all can help me with this. On a full cast I cannot get the jig using a 1/16th or 1/32nd. Ounce to fall. It stays near the float and the jig and the float are pulled by the weight of the main line and the friction of the line on the water back to you, or it just sits there and won't fall Early in the season in cold water and I'm saying water in the under 45 degree range I can get twice as many bites On a 1/80th. Or a 1/64th. Oz jig. I have these with a size 1 hook. As the water warms I can move to a bigger bait in the 1/32 or 1/16th oz. size. If I go at any time to a 1/8th. oz. bait it just does not work as well and I get very few bites In the last 10 years myself, clients and friends out of my boat have easily caught 2000 plus keepers on a floater on Bull Shoals and Table Rock. I would love to have a better method than the long line but I just cannot make it work. Lines I have tried are 3,4,5,6,8 pound test Maxima. I have also tried 2,4,6,8 pound carbon. Best deal for me is braid to the float and 4lb. Carbon to the fly Couple of things here, rate of fall makes no difference as they very seldom take it on the fall. 99% of the time they just move up and eat it as it suspecteds there. And, for sure if there is a ripple or wind they just don't want it. Works way better on flat, slick water What am I doing wrong on the slip float. I have worked with it for hours as did both Bill Richey and Bill Beck and none of the 3 of us could get it to work here

Not even near the end of their life cycle at just 7 years old. They grow slow and live long. Former biologist for the Rock told me spotted bass can easily live into their middle teens I'm one of the poorer fisherman on here and I understand that but I would bet you quite a few of those teams that blanked did not catch a single fish short or otherwise I know a couple of guides that fished it that couldn't catch a short. I fished 3 days prior to my surgery last week and caught a total of 7 fish. All nice K's. That's 22 hours in the water for 7 bass Check out Quills reports he fishes a known area for spots and he catches some, but I'd bet the farm he would prefer to catch twice as many On a trip last Sumner with clients using live bait we caught 19 spotted bass. We caught them off 4 locations that I had not fish last season prior to fishing them that day. We had 19 with 7 keeper size. 18 of them had hook holes in their mouth and had been released. I'd have been in pretty big poo poo if someone had not taken care of them I'm not a huge fan of killing fish in an unstocked Corps of Engineer lake when the pressure continues to be simply unbelievable and water fluctuation during the spawn are the rule. In the 70's thru the 90's was not uncommon to not only catch lots of 5# plus quality LM but you would also catch about as many spots as you wanted. Not happening now or my guess is never again Don't think I would steal eggs from under the hen hoping that the ones you left would turn into double yolkers Someone mentioned Texas and their disdain for spotted bass as soon as Missouri starts stocking millions upon millions of bass a year as Texas does i'll climb on board. Until then I'm going to be pretty protective of the ones we have left

Yes I have. More than once.

He got sick. There was a lot if behinds the scene stuff here also with an affair and some embezzlement prior to his illness. "Alleged." One thing I do know for positive is that they kept all the components, materials and technology for each manufacturer complete separate and were very proud of the trust they had with every rod builder they worked for