Our Anniversary Trip

[OzarkKid07]

My wife and my parents and I came down to Big Cedar and stayed from Monday to Friday of last week. The weather left a lot to be desired for a vacation, but we had a great time nonetheless. My dad and I fished almost every morning from sunrise until around 4 and I even got my wife out on Thursday and Friday. She didn't enjoy the 40-55 degree temps or the rain that we got almost every day, but the turning leaves and the pristine water, even with the high levels, were enough to coax her out a couple of times. As far as fishing goes, here's what happened:

Monday: We arrived around noon and were on the water (dad and mom in their Ranger, me and Angela in my Tracker) by 3. We went out from Big Cedar and to the left, under the 86 bridge. We kept to the right and passed a large house on a bluff, but went straight across to a point with a small cove. I don't know what this area is called, but I know that we were just down and across from Long Creek. We split up and dad went to a little pocket with some standing timber near Long Creek. Dad caught one short spot in his spot on a T-Rigged centipede. In my first 5 minutes I caught a 3-pound largemouth literally IN a submerged bush on a centipede also. My wife was already asleep in the back of the boat. I ended up catching 2 spots on the 'pede in the next hour and a half, both about 14 inches. Ang was cold so we went in for dinner.

Tuesday: Dad and I were up and on the water by 7. It was pretty chilly and raining all day. We went out of big cedar and to the right this time and fished in a flooded flat, back in the trees and brush. We were throwing centipedes and Powerworms in green pumpkin and brown. We caught about 6 smallies from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and about 10 Ks in the same weight class. We thought some bluffs might be a good choice in the afternoon, but it got so windy and rainy that we decided to call it by 4. We had noticed that 95% of the fish we caught were either tight to tree trunks or in submerged bushes with leaves on them. The other bushes held nothing. We tried buzz baits and spinner baits throughout the day, but only the plastics yielded fish.

Wednesday: Raining pretty hard in the morning, so I stayed in bed with the wife. Good brownie points and not missing out on much, so it was a win-win for me I think. Dad and I hit the water and noon and, not knowing where to go, I convinced him to try a stump field out on a main lake point. When we arrived, there was a boat with 3 guys in it sitting way out from the point. I figured they might have been trolling or drop-shotting, but then I reaized that it was a guide with the same idea we had. I told my dad that we should probably go, since I understand it to be bad etiquette to fish someone else's spot, but before we could agree on that, we both hooked up, him on a centipede and me on a PB&J jig with a green pumpkin paca chunk trailer. This was literally about 25 yards from the guide and I am sure he was cussing us on the inside. I felt SO bad and told dad that we should abandon NOW, but the guide took his clients inside the point where there were more stumps, so we moved to the other side of the point. That all being said, if that guide is a contributor here, I want to offer my sincerest apology for our rudeness. In retrospect, I wish I had apologized right then and left, or better yet, not landed on your point at all. Anyway, dad caught about a 3-pound spot and mine was about 1.75. We only caught a couple more that day off of stumps that we located via the MDC website. We went to Branson that evening and saw the Dixie Stampede which was really a great show, delicious food, and some pretty great riding, not to mention beautiful horses.

Thursday: We went to Long Creek at 7 a.m. and fished a long, windy, gravel point that had a broken road coming down to it. I put on a Tennessee Shad Wiggle Wart and caught 2 in 5 minutes, then nothing for 30 minutes. We moved back to another long point and I caught about 5, all 7 of which were between 1.5 and 3 pounds. Dad didn't have any Warts and I didn't have anymore in that color, but I gave him a silver one which he threw relentlessly, but only caught 6. We moved back to the point that is on the MO/AR line and I caught about 20 spots, all between 1.5 and 3 pounds. Dad threw everything from Traps to Spots to Bombers to Rapalas. He couldn't get a bite on anything but the Wart. I also caught about a 15 inch walleye. Then the wind changed direction and the fish disappeared. We looked for them the rest of the day, but only found more fish on plastics in 20-30 feet of water, but nothing over 2 pounds.

Friday: We went back to Long Creek in hopes of a repeat, but it was much slower. I caught 6 bass on the wart, 1 from each point I went to, and 2 on plastic. Dad caught a couple on a centipede.

I had been telling dad all week that we needed to be spooning or drop-shotting in deeper water, but neither of us took the initiative. As I was fixin' to trailer my boat around 11 am, I tied on a 1/2-oz spoon in white and orange and dropped it next to the boat, literally the first time I'd ever tied one one. It hit the bottom and I gave the rod-tip a little jerk. Felt the old "thump" and set the hook on a 1-pound spot. Regret swept over me as the realization of how many fish we could've caught manifested in my brain. I guess I learned a valuable lesson about changing tactics and following my instincts.

All in all, an outstanding trip, but probably a week too soon. The weather report looks great this week for Branson. I learned a lot about myself and about Table Rock fish, and had a great time with my parents and my wife. We are looking forward to coming back to Big Cedar many times in the future and definitely learning more about this amazing fishery. I'd like to extend another sincere apology to the guide who we were inconsiderate to and lastly, a huge THANK YOU to all who have answered questions in the past and who post information every day for us to prepare for trips, and for those of us who live vicariously through your adventures between vacations.

[eric1978]

Sounds like a great week of fishing, all things considered. Those spots in your pictures haven't been missing any meals. Good report!

[OzarkKid07]

I noticed that there were no Table Rock reports from this entire week. Did anyone else fish at all during the week? If so, how did you do? Was the drop-shot/spoon bite on?

[Forsythian]

Great post Mr. Mooney... thanks for taking the time to post, I enjoyed the read!