5-18-06 Table Rock Fishing Report

[Bill Babler]

Lots of guide trips this week on the rock, some very successful and some not so much.

With the big lake rise, it had kind of put me in a quandry until today. Don't know if it was just dumb luck or what, but 37 bass with 12 keeper size on my thursday morning 4 hr. swaray. Previous 6 days I had only been able to come up with 110 fish. With under 25 keeper size fish.

Would like to tell you guys how and where, but it was just so spread out that I don't have a clue of a pattern, except they bit everything we threw except topwater. Fished from Kimberling to almost Shell Knob and about every bank we stopped on, something came off. Smallies were in the under 15 ft. range and Ky's the same to 30 ft. on the drop shot. Fish were really spread out and could only catch 1 to 3 per spot, so as you can guess, thats lots of spots in 4 hrs. I started at Ahoy's and fished clear to Hobb's Hollow at the Knob. We are covering lots of ground. 90% of the fish were on the cenipede.

Here is what some of the lakes top pay for play guys are doing. They are averaging about 18 to 24 fish per 4hr. trip. Most are fishing two clients. About 35% of their fish are at or above 15 inches.

Tim Paige, Buster Loving and Tim Sainato. Point 5 to Cricket Creek Marina.

Paige, is sticking with a split-shot rig cenipede in watermellon candy. Bass are coming from mid-lake humps, channel swings, and long gravel points. Depth range right now is extremely hard to pinpoint. Tim said the smallies are coming under 14ft. and the spots in the 24 to 26 ft. range.

Sainato, Same area fishing long gravel points and alot of community guide banks in the 18 to 26 depth range catching nice spots on shakey head worms and big tube baits in green pumpkin.

Buster is being Buster. He could catch a keeper in a bathtub in Alaska.

Buster is still swimming the grub abit, as he is still catching some really nice gogs on the grub and also a green pumpkin cenipede. Said he is putting the boat in about 26 ft. and fishing really slow. Smallies are abit shallower than the spots with the spots coming in that same 24 plus foot range. He is catching his fish on secret locations numbered 1 thru 7, I know alot of them but would not be caught dead fishing his spots.

If word got out that it was even mentioned, I would have to move to Arizona.

Kimberling Area to Shell Knob,

Bill Beck, Bill is one of the really good guys on the rock, if he can help you he will. And most of the time he has a tip or two for his bud's.

Most of his topwater bite, which was really good, has dried up a mite and he is fishing the same cenipede on long slopeing gravel points and mid-lake humps. His fish are Ky's and are coming in the 24 to 26ft. range and most of the smallies are coming in the 10 to 16 ft. range. Most everything that Bill has been on is still that flat gravel, next to deep water or channel swings. Bill also reports that the football jig is starting to catch some of these deeper fish.

Bill Babler, I'm not in the catigory of these guys but here is where I am stumbling on a few of those green slimmer's.

Dam to Kimberling. Flat gravel ajacent to any major main lake of channel swing. Ky's are coming in the 24 ft. range and smallies a little less. Secondary points in major spawning coves. Follow the long secondary points out to the 30ft. depth range looking close at your elecronics for shad or suspending post-spawn fish. If they are on the bottom you can split shot the cenipede. If they are up a ways, try a drop shot with a plum chomper dropshot worm. Worked really good on Sat.

Kimberling to Shell Knob, I am catching some post spawn fish in the back of pockets of flat gravel in the middle of the pockets in the 26 ft. range. If there are shad present and the wind in blowing into these large main lake pockets, look out. Also in the same type locations as my buds. Check out the flats at Joe Bald, lots of nice fish, coming off these flats.

Shell Knob to Eagle Rock, Fish seem to be on a little chunker stuff up there. About the same depth but I like a little chunk in the gravel. There is alot more chasing and schooling action in this area. From what I understand there has been a good bite in the Kings early in the mornings on the 5/16 Black and Blue Jewel Jig. Up in the Royal Point and Deer Bluff areas of the Kings.

I don't know how many of you guys ever look at a topo map, but if you haven't, now is the time. Look for those main lake humps on hard turns in the main channel. You can fish either the inside turn or the outside turn on the flat gravel, where it dumps into the channel and there will be fish there.

Most of the Ky's are deeper than the smallies. Smallies, are still coming for me in these areas in under 15ft. I have not tried the bushes yet, but would love a report on anyone who has.

They should be there, but it looked to me that the lake dropped a couple of inches. If it continues to drop, they will not stay there at all.

That gal in the pic's could really fish.

Again look at my locations in the photo's how flat is that gravel?

[Don House]

Bill, someday I will get to your level as a guide, and then over to the other guides level.. Someday..

But anyway, The report from some of the other guides is the James River From point 12 to Cape Fair, the fish are in the bushes big time, shakey jigs are the best bet right now. Jigs are also comming on strong, and also like you said spinnerbaits with the wind in the bushes..

Just my 2 cents worth..

Good Fishing

[Bill Babler]

Thanks alot Don, Some of the boys including SKMO were up there a couple of days ago and just couldn't get them to go shallow. I'm sure as it clears out amite that the bite should be in the bushes unless the water starts to drop.

Appreciate the info.