Bill Babler

I"m gong to start this in reverse order starting today and going back thru the past week. My work load has been totally Table Rock 8hr. trips with the exception of a trout attack on Sunday. Most of the past week has been corporate stuff. This year with really good clients that wanted to be there and fish. At times this is not the case. 4-30-19 National Crop Insurance group staying at Tall Pines Pete Wenners and Phil Stone helped on this trip today and it was really pretty good just prior to the storm. We started in the lower lake area fishing topwater on a cloudy overcast morning with surface temps at 56 and water clarity at clear beyond clear. All of us had huge blowups and swats and nothing to show for it. Fish would just blow up all over or behind it and follow it to the boat but Pete's group was the only one that captured one on top and that was mid morning. I believe Pete's best deal where he could find a slime free location was a 5bites Ned Rig. Both Stone's group and my group caught them on a 2.8 inch Keitech. We had 15 keepers and 19 total fish in my boat which was excellent keeper to catch ratio. This was a 4 hr. trip. I think Phil did about the same. 4-29-19 Six hour bass out of Shell Knob. We caught a butt load of fish yesterday but the keeper ratio was really bad. Lots of spawned out and male LM. Several on top but the majority on a Keitech either 2.8 or 3.3 I think we had close to 50 fish with only a dozen or so small keeps. Surface temp at 56 and water clearer than the lower end. 4-28-19 was a trout day. We had 41 for anyone interested on a Berkley Power Worm 7' under a float. Had some just flat excellent fish. 4-27-19 Dental Group of Missouri. We had a fantastic day in the wind and boat traffic on the Rock. " Truly Stellar." Lots and lots of boat traffic but not bothering us one little bit. They were not fishing what I was fishing. Surprise, surprise. Had 35 bass with 15 really nice keepers, all Jaw's. Boat was in 30 to 40 feet letting the 3.3 inch Keitech hit on the very ends of the long runnouts just before they dropped into the channel. We were fishing with a 1/4 oz. Keitech tungston head with a 2/0 hook. We would let the bait sink to the bottom and then slow wind it back. Most times it was hitting in 15' to 20' to staging fish. 4-26-19 Fished out of Shell Knob with a pair of fishermen about to fish the Shriner derby. Struggled all day, catching crappie and short fish. Probably had 20 bass a dozen crappie and a couple of squeeker keeps. Keitech. 4-25-19 Fished Mid-lake Baxter 56 degree water and they were biting on the long runs, most fish were staging in the 15' to 25' range and we caught them swimming the Keitech thru them. Had 21 quality keepers, mostly SM and most averaging 2.6 to 2.9 pounds. Thats a slim range but most were males and cookie cutter. Had 8 crappie 4-24-19 Same as on the 25th. but had 26 keepers and no crappie. Mostly fishing the long run out ridges near the big spawning pockets I will tell you I only fished the same location once all week and it was a huge gravel flat up the James a bit prior to point 10. We hit it twice Saturday and on the 24th. It is really solid with keepers. Saw at least a dozen boats fish near it on the bank and in the pocket and never seen a fish caught while my guys were really sticking them off the end of that gravel. With all the boats Saturday we had no problems, I think everyone including the tournament participants knew the lake was crowded and everyone so as to speak stayed in their lanes. This lake right now is in great shape. Not a load of 4 to 8 pounders, but absolutely great on 2.to 4 pound fish. Good Luck out there.