Bill Babler

Stone would be your man.

Mom would scale them then cut a horseshoe around the head as to not waste any. she would then slice along both sides of the dorsal fin and pull it out. She then would cut 3 or so diagonal slices across the fish, bread it lightly in flour and cornmeal mix with a lot of salt and pepper and fry it crisp so she could eat the crispy tail. She did the same thing to crappie regardless of size, if you filleted it she would not eat it. She was the best wild game cook I have ever seen. Made mushroom venison that made you want to eat the old blue roaster she cooked it in. Don't think the ole gal ever served a tough piece of deer meat in her life. Spend hours making wild rasberry, plum, grape and blackberry jelly. Have never had its equal. She always got a load of chiggers during blackberry picking time. I can remember one time she had them under her arms on her neck and waist. She was a total mess, soaked in the bathtub in Epsum salts. Don't think it helped much till they ran there course. I miss her.

True, very true. That is Phil's trout boat. It is really pretty and that Black/White/Grey camo looks fantastic in person. Numb nuts even has matching boat shoes. That boat is Steel Grey with that camo and a grey 4 stroke hammer and is a beautiful rig. Don't think he was about to take his Big Phoenix for a day like today, to messy for him. Phil very seldom fishes crawlers or for that matter a drop shot. The guy is very good with a jigging spoon and gets his clients on fish with artificial baits as good or better than any guide on Table Rock. He was spooning yesterday when he found the bluegills. Said it looked like the entire bottom lifted on his Livescope. His folks today were wanting some fish to eat so he suggested trout and then he told them about the gills, and they were all in. My mom, God rest her, would have scaled everyone of them and fried them whole.

Palm size Gill Phil Stone put his clients on some big blue gills today. Said they are just stacked on inside secondary pole timbered points in 22' to 28' of water. Caught them on 1/2 nite crawler on a drop shot. Those things are Stickery I'd use a boga too. Love the hats. Phil said he stopped counting at 50 and they kept throwing them in. He won't clean them, but he will put you on them. Great trip for that family.

Where did you launch?

That is still more than impressive with every fish being a keeper. You all were dialed in. Again I was not doubting, but that is a Super, strong report for this time of the year, especially for Long Creek, and more impressive yet was on a jig. Good Luck and thanks for the Pic's. We see those kind of days from time to time on a live bait drop shot. Not so much so far this year, but that is a fantastic jig bite with excellent quality, on non-grouped up fish. Congrats again

You caught 18 keeper bass up Long Creek on a Holiday weekend in one single morning on a jig? All I can say is wow and that my hat is more than off to you. Not doubting you in the least but that is the most impressive fishing report that I have read on here since the forum was started. Gives the rest of us hope. Thanks for the post

Fish will position themselves in bait moving current. Very seldom does TR have that type of current. Due to the sheer size and depth, unless there are flood gates open or an influx of rain in the river systems, due to the volume of the lake, current position for predator fish for the most part is a non-issue here. 4 units at time will get them interested but does not position the fish. Only seems to stimulate feeding activity. Depth is a much more predictable fish locator than current in most of the White River Impoundments. I don't think in close to 30 yrs. of guiding here have I heard either a guide or a top tournament fisherman ask another one what bait he caught his fish on, over a couple of dozen times.. The only question that is repeated on a daily basis multiple times a day is, How Deep are They. Pretty much all you need to know. Right now the majority are 26 to 50 ft. suspended with not a ton on the bottom or for that matter even relating to structure much except the bridge piers at times and then they may not be on the pier but in the shade between the piers. Take a look at the post made by Dock it and look at the graph pictures that he so kindly provided that pretty much tells the story Entire fishing report just on his graph photo. Good Luck

I have an aluminum boat that has livewells custom built to keep trout alive with not only a recirculation but a timed intake. This works well in cold water for the trout and keeps them frisky, but I would not even think about putting a bass in there with these water temps and maybe even worse is the amount of boat traffic creating a washing machine affect especially on the rock on a July weekend. Run the recirculation and not the intake on a constant mode with a block of ice then a bag with a rejuvenate product of your choice and only weigh 2 fish and I really think they would be alright if they were not deep fish at 30' plus, that needed fizzed. Have no problems with Derby's and have fished 100's, but not in July and not with this heat and boat traffic. And yes the Yaker's have it right. That's the way to go in the Summer, measure them and get em back in the same place you found them. You leave a bunch of dead fishing floating around a boat ramp this time of the year and everyone gets a black eye. And by a bunch 3 or 4 white bellies floating around looks like a dozen, cause it probably is. Good Luck

We have totally hammered them the last few days on the Wlure 606 in any type of dark green or crayfish/sculpin pattern. I'm running the small hard shell minnow crankbait on 6lb. test Excel green on the reel to 5 lb test maxima leader using 1/16 oz. wt. with a 6' leader to keep it moss free and it is really working. Few browns but tons of big rainbows. Had 3 over 20" today on my guide trip but the guys didn't want certificates. Phil has that bait in his shop. I do not know if he has any of the white mega worms. Steve Dicky and I were the only guides in the restricted zone until after 0730 this morning, but as soon as the onslaught came the fishing tapered off. Steve had one client that was dead drifting from the cable to Big Hole using a Big white mega worm or white mop fly. bout the same deal. Looked to me like his client was fishing a 10' 6 wt. with at least 12/14 foot of leader from the float to the fly. They were catching them really good like we were early. It got really rough when the boats arrived in drove. My back client got his line cut by a prop as a guy pulled right in front of us. I knew at that point it was probably time to find less restricted water and at one point this morning about 0800 there were several dozen boats drifting from the cable to the conservation ramp. Moved to the lower restricted zone from Andy's down without as big a boat problem Good Luck

On a 519 the 50" shaft should be plenty

Bobby, I'm sure you got the 57" with the Fish and Ski, but for those with a straight Bass Boat the 50" would pop out of the water if it were very rough at 10" I think mine is at 7 inches and that seems pretty good unless a wake boat goes by. I was also able to order the Latch Kit and it is on the way. Good Luck and thanks for the thread.

The head is the top of the trolling motor with the directional signal on it. There are 3 coils of heavy black wire below this head. Below that is the turning block. The head must be maintained at least 6" above the turning block so the coils turn freely and are not crushed by the head putting pressure on the coils against the turning block. If the head is touching or putting downward pressure on the coils crushing them against the turning block that is when it damages them and causes the problem.

Not throwing a wet blanket, but the water temps are rising like crazy. We had 84 degree surface temps yesterday and it will be upper 80's to 90 by July 18. 99% of the fish we are catching are at 26' to 36' so it is going to be really, really hard on them. The water is moving so slow thru the dam a thermocline is building and there will be a well established line by the 18th. Fish care for any derby in the heat of the Summer like that is going to be a major issue. Don't know your program, but if your transporting and weighing at a central location, 2 fish might be the best bet. Good Luck

I think Wrench pretty much hit the nail directly on the head.

Also after it has been on the boat for a couple of weeks, every nut and screw will need to be tightened. Mine has several loose nuts. After that check them from time to time as general maintenance but they should be good. On another note, don't let any boat dealer or non-certified tech touch anything and I mean anything. Just got off the phone with Garmin getting the Active Capt. app installed on my phone and everything registered and the conversation got around to unauthorized people installing Garmin Marine equipment. Big No, No. If your dealership is not authorized take it to another dealer that is regardless of the boat brand. Preferably to Marine Repair Center in Springfield, Mine was installed by a former Garmin Regional Tech. that handled the pro-staff. He represents a tackle company now but all the big boys on the Elite/Flw and Bass Pro Tour use him as a reference. Took him 9 hrs. to do mine. He also pointed out the Livescope box needs to breath, Mine is in a side carpeted box with nothing around it. I told him about your box being placed in the nose Bobby and he did not like that one little bit. Said he likes to have at least a 6 to 8 inch clean buffer around the box, with no nothing in that space. And, yes Bobby on further info from my boat rep, you have to have a second unit for a thru hull and the GT54UHD. His thru hull oil bath unit is a GT15 so I had the wrong number. I'll try and keep up if I can.

On the Garmin recall: The latch bracket is not yet available, I am looking into it, as Marine Repair Center has requested them and have yet to receive any. The other issues are just some things that need to be tightened in the head. Do not let your boat dealer take off the head or your warranty is gone. Only certified Garmin tech's can do this. The final issue is the Gps Lock coming off and the motor going on an erratic high speed romp. Reason is crushed coils. You can fix this your self by making sure your motor head is at least 6" above the block and that the coils are not compressed and float freely on the shaft. You can also request the latch from Garmin and see if you can get it. I'm going to email my tech and see if he can send me one prior to Marine Repair Center getting theirs.

Your right, even with the new lock down bracket Garmin is saying the motor must be strapped down when the outboard is in operation. Not a brand made that has not flown out of the cradle and caused serious damage to the motor and the boat. Common sense, especially since the invention of the wake boat.

Great report Randy, magnificent fish. You get any thinner and you'll blow out of that boat. Keep us informed on your fishing.

Pretty much been out everyday this week, with some days better then others. I have not had huge numbers on trips this week, but mostly have not been fishing for numbers, but concentrating on quality fish and we have accomplished that. Want to give a shout out to Ducky as I watched him a bit on his guide trip this morning with 2 lady clients. He was teaching every time I passed him, and was really interesting to listen to. Not only teaching in a professional manner but demonstrating technique and proper form. He said they did extremely well this morning on a jerk bait and then continued with good success on a sculpin/orange head jig. Great morning for him and his clients. Fishing a jerk bait for trout is not easy, it is stand up hard work and it takes total concentration and continued good form or you are spinning your wheels. Duane has developed the right cadence for brown trout. We have had it dialed in for rainbows for some time and there is a difference. Continued head turning and constant movement are the key to catching the browns. A constant Zara Spook walk-the-dog head turn non-stop. For the bows the traditional early season bass approach works great. Just a 3 peat twitch-twitch-twitch pause, turning its head bang-bang-band and then pause. I heard him a couple of times this morning advising the ladies they had lost their cadence or technique. Take a breath make a long cast downstream a bit put your rod tip slightly above the water reel the bait down to maximum depth and start twitching. Best fishing is early from 0500 to about 0800 and that is starting to push it at the 8 number. I have been starting clients if they can and want to do it on the megabass 110 plus 1 or 2 early and then have had excellent success switching to a Wlure 606 or the smaller size in sculpin patterns on a drift rig. I am floating the small 1/16th. oz weight free on 6 lb. line above a size 12 swivel, and then dropping to 5 lb.test maxima moss color line to the crankbaits. I'm fishing them from the cable down thru Fall Creek. and doing well after the jerk bait bite slows. One of the tricks is to use a suspending or floating small size crank on a long leader to keep it out of the moss. I'm using 6' of leader and it allows the bait to suspend above the bottom while the small weight keeps it in close but not touching the mossy gravel. I'm also running a scud, egg or san juan worm combo at times. I am running two rods per client to keep them clean and am constantly trading rods with them to make sure they have un-mossed up presentations. Use an extremely long 4lb. leader on the rig and as light a weight as possible. I am running the 1/16th. most of the time. They will still get terrible in very short order and you can see the guides smacking them on the water as we drift to remove the moss. I think for most of us the mega worm has really slowed down as has dead drifting. Yes you can catch some on it and it should be better than it is. After 8 am the best bite by far has been a jig bite in the restricted zone, but you must be willing to work and fish it with technique. Fall Creek to Lilleys has really gotten hard. I drifted it 3 different times this week with the pink worm on a drift rig and of course crawlers. 1 to 3 fish per drift and that is not worth the effort. Best bite has been the flat from Short Creek to Trout Hollow and you may get one bite there. They at times have just been mashing the worm and nothing there. The past few days I have had catch and release fishermen and have been totally glad as gathering keepers out of the restricted zone is not easy. Phone has been burning up from the guys fishing the pink worm downtown as they are really looking for another bite. Talked to Rick Lisek this morning and he says the number of bites this year has been extremely low. Really low right now. I believe he only had about a dozen fish this morning on the pink worm under a float and for my money Rick is the best on the lake with that presentation. Get out as early as you can, work at it and you will be rewarded with some excellent fish right now. Not numbers, but just about the best quality you can possibly ask for. Good Luck

They are way behind the times. I got a bulletin for a recall 2 weeks ago for the 3 issues. And automatic start when the motor was on spot lock. A lock washer in the head on the power source and an additional stabilizer for the motor when its in the bracket to prevent deploy in very rough water. I've seen both a Minn Kota and a Motorguide come out of the bracket on lake O. My best client had his Ultrex come off snap the wiring and sink to the bottom on lake O and while in a derby one day I saw a Bass Cat hit a wave up there and his Tour deployed anb busted the entire front cap off his rig and it all fell in the water.

Bobby, my boat rep is running two 126sv Echomap Ultra's on his dash. He is using a GT54UHD for his side and down scan and a B258 thru hull for 2 D sonar. He can run run either on each machine no problem, with Hi def down and side scan. That thru hull unit shoots a perfect bottom picture running over 50 mph no problem. It is an oil bath unit I believe. I'll get a little more info.

Wheeler again, Guy could catch a 4 pounder in a 6" mud puddle. Can you imagine being as young as Wheeler and Lee are and know that much about anything, and then being able to preform at that high of a level. Special people

Extremely erratic generation patterns as well as fluctuating water temps are a huge culprit. The trout really like stability. They do however at times feed very heavy as the water initially open as it flushes scuds, sowbugs and other goodies past greedy mouths. Best however is just a constant flow or a predictable repeated generation pattern. Currently on any flow increase coming thru the power house there is about a 30 to 45 minute clean out period as moss and other debris coming thru right now is pretty bad. So a constant pattern is by far the best. Warmest water I have recorded has been 58 degree one day last week on flat water at Cooper Creek Launch around noon. Coolest has been 50 degree on running water at Clay Banks. Good Luck

As I mentioned on the 19/20 report I didn't want to talk about last Thursday. I'm going to now and throw in today. Both days extremely fickle and hard to explain. On Thursday zero generation it was extremely tough for most all the guides and I know as the phone was ringing on both ends. We have an excellent guide community and do everything to help anyone with clients, be successful. No one could figure it out in our group. Fish numbers on guide trips ranged from 7 to 14 and that is totally out of character for Taney, especially fishing the pink worm or live bait. On Friday we caught 42 on the Same Flat Water fishing a verity of baits, just about anything from a micro to a pink worm to a inflated crawler out of the zone. Can't explain it. Thursday was flat water with zero drift but today was a perfect 2 units at under 706. Usually prime time to put the hammer down. They totally were not having it. Since they started the water last Saturday it has been an absolute feast on artificial in the restricted to crawlers in the catch and keep areas. We ended the day today with 2 fish in the restricted zone on the Mega worm and 14 out of the zone on crawlerrs. Talked to a couple of other guides fishing from Monkey down and they said it was horrible, one catching only 8 with 3 clients and the other a dozen with 2 guests. Really no need to move around, just fish as it was that stingy all over the arena. I did notice one thing. My clients kept 4 fish for dinner. As I cleaned them the fish behind Lilleys' dock were really lethargic in as much as when I threw any parts in the lake even intestines with scuds or egg skeins they just let them pass. They would come up on some of that but then just turn away without eating it. Very seldom do you see those reactions from fish behind the dock, especially on the eggs. Kind of goes back to a topic currently running on the Table Rock Forum on electronics, even with all the technology, they still have to bite and some days are just harder.. I'm sure they will be starved tomorrow,. Good Luck