BleacherBum28

Thx everyone. We were fishing a point in the main channel. Most fish came in the 25 ft range. As Forrest would say, dragging crawlers is a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. Trip to bass pros - $35 in gas Florocarbon line - $20 Four bottom bouncers, beeds and hooks - $20 Spending time on the rock with family- priceless

Thank you so much rps, Martin. Took my nephew, brother and pops out this morning. With your help we had a wonderful day. Landed 4 bass, but the table rock gods were teasing us. All measuerd 14.5. We managed a 2 lb channel and 1 keeper walleye @ 21 inches... along with a slew of blue Gill... family fish fry tonight. Thank you for your candid responses and wealth of info. You made my week.

Found a couple flats this morning. Was fishing 12-20 hooked a few small Kentucky's but found a bed of blues. Got out my ultra light rod and had some fun. I know whenever I've found big blues, the larger fish will be there... just gotta refine the presentation. Tux for the help rose.

Thanks for the quick response. This forum is amazing... the info and generosity amazes me. I should have read my post. My fish were all bottom bouncing a shelf in 30 ft. Based on your info, that's below the thermocline and are accidents... unless bass and/or walleye don't mind being below it so much. (I've read both opinions). I'm going to give the shallows a try tomorrow morning... I fished a gravel flat the other afternoon after the rains in the overcast... but was fishing too deep...20-30 ft.

Rps - you make me jealous. I've been a fan of yours for a while. I'm visiting until the fourth. We're up by the kings river Marina. I do the same techniques as well as I can with my parents boat. Its been slow going for me. All the flats and points I know are too deep with the lake so high. A few questions for you. 1) Do you ever fish the kings for walleye, or is the water too warm for them... seems you are always way up the white. 2) how are you fishing in 12 ft of water? On shore or is the white alot more shallow than the kings 3) I picked up 3 bass this morning with a bottom bouncer using same basic rig you showed earlier. Is that too deep? Is there a thermocline, and do walleye care about it? 4) do you normally troll fast or slow. Seems the slower I go the more gills I get. If you ever see an old Boston whaler, stop by... its prolly me. I doubt the rock has 2 of these boats on it.

For rod and reel: Catch yourself some small blue-gills (3 or 4 inches) and cut them up. First chop off the head and hook it up through the lips. Fillet the body in half and hook those up. Make sure to use c-hooks. I'll catch channels and flat heads doing this. If your getting hits but no hookups, you're bait is too large for the smaller channel cats mouth... no worries for flat heads. Go out around 7 and fish until dark. I quit at 10... only because I'm lazy. On Monday I caught a 6.5 lb channel doing this off of my dock in 25 ft of water.

Thank you Bill. I've already convinced my father to give you a call next year to see how you guys catch all the fish (as my time here on the rock is ending Sunday). I appreciate your candidness.

Thanks for the quick response/update Bill. I've always fished with live bait, and am now just trying to use artificial. I've researched on the net and found some how-to's about drop shotting so I'm definately a newbie, but looking at the action it places on the baits, it has to be "da bomb" as you put it. Couple more questions... Drop Shotting: 1) Why do I need to see the lure? Won't I just feal the weight on the line? I doubt my sonar will ever pick up the drop-shot, so if this is needed, its time to upgrade 2) What size weight do you recommend? I've been using 1/4's but fear it might be too light to keep in the zone when drifting. Location, Location, Location.... Is there a tip you can give me to find new productive areas? Right now, we basically only have 2 spots, and find the fishing slow alot of mornings. 3) Is there a download-able detailed topograpghical map I could print/view? I've seen the 20 foot incremental one, but as most of the people here have posted, its not detailed enough to find those humps/points less than 20 foot...

I'm new to the forum and love the information provided here. I am from a Chicago suburb and my parent live right by Viola Marina. We have been coming here since I was a kid and love the lake. I basically come down once a year in August with the family and am looking for any pointers/tecniques. I am going to describe as much as I can about our fishing style, so bear with me as I have a ton of questions... My parents own an old boston whaler style boat, which is quite difficult to control in any kind of breeze or boat traffic. We have resorted to dragging crawlers over tree tops and points which we have found. This has been quite productive for years, but seems to have slowed over the last couple years. One of our favorite honey holes is near where the White and the Kings rivers join. We've caught bass for years there dragging crawlers from 20 - 40 ft in 30 to 50 foot of water using a carolina rig. The last few years we've caught a few nice walleye, but have never gotten more than 2 in a session. We've gotten intrigued about the walleye in the lake and are trying desperately to figure out their patterns. 1.) Drop Shotting - I've tried drop shotting using both 3" gulp minnows and leaches, but have found it difficult. Is this technique only used when the boat is stationary over a school of suspended fish? Are the fish always tight to the bottom when using this method? As I've said earlier, our boat is terribly difficult to hold stationary. I truly beleive this is the technique to use to catch fish in late summer heat. 2.) In all of my reading, walleye hug the bottom and hate sunlight. With the lake so clear, it would seem night fishing for walleye would be most productive, but we've never caught any. We went out last night from 8PM to 1 AM, but didn't land 1 fish. We marked them all over on the sonar, but nothing was active. The strange thing is we always seem to catch one or 2 walleye in the late morning with the sun blazing on half crawlers trying to sustain our anual fish fry fishing for 'gills in the trees. Is this just a fluke, or is this really a pattern I should concentrate on? This flies in the my general big bait for big fish mentality. 3.) Jigging - I've never done this before, so I need some tips. All the fish we mark on the sonar don't seem to be holding tight to the bottom... or the old sonar doesn't see them If the fish are holding at 20 ft in 40 ft of water (I imagine these are Kentucky's), is it worth jigging for? Whenever we find fish tight to the bottom, they are in DEEP water (70 ft or so). Is my sonar picking up paddle fish or a school of cats? I can't imagine walleye/bass hanging out that deep. If they are, how do you fish for them? 4.) Is there a guide service who specifically fishes for walleye on Table Rock? I really think the populations of walley in this area of the rock are on the rise and seem worth fishing for.