Hello from Branson West.

[John]

Hello all I am the newbie to this site but a fossil to Bass fishing.

I started fishing Table Rock as a kid the year after the lake first flooded, the submerged trees still had foilage on them, and grew up watching Virgil Wards Championship fishing shows. I got into a bass club and fished tournaments back in the early to mid 70's .

I was pretty lucky finishing in the top six in the 1974 and 1975 Missouri State Bass Federation Tournaments which qualified me to fish the National Bass Federation Tournaments those years.

In 1974 Our Missouri State Federation team went on to win the National Tournament thanks to my friend Charlie Campbell who finished first in the Tournament with the now famous Zara Spook which qualified him for the Bass Master Classic that year.

Going into the last day of the 1974 Federation National Tournament our Missouri team was not doing real well, we were almost dead even with the Virginia Team and I drew out with fella from the Virginia Team named Woo Daves who had probably 10 lbs of bass in the boat before I had a keeper. He was probably one of the nicest tournament draws I have ever shared a boat with and also taught me a lot in that day of fishing. I know why he became a Pro and I went back to work.

Charlie Campbell and I also qualified the 1975 National Bass Federation Tournament to represent the Missouri Federation team at Clark Hill Lake.

We did not win in 1975 but I was honored to be able to fish with and get to know Charlie and the other five guys on our State Federation Team.

I bought a home on Table Rock in 1982 and now enjoy fishing with my Sons John & Tim and my wife Connie.

Hope to make a few new friends here!

In2Bass aka John

[crappiefisherman]

john, who is the fellow in the front of the boat?Is he a Clements?

[John]

Yes his name is Bill Clements and he used to have a auto body repair shop in Branson and was one of the best at catching Kentuckies.. If you see him tell him I said hello.

Pictured left to right Evon "catfish" Austin, Charlie Campbell, John Haley,

Gary Wilkerson, Bud Bartold, and Bill Clements.

[Phil Lilley]

Thanks for joining us John. I'm sure we'll be picking your brain in the future!! You must have tons of good stories to tell.

[John]

Hey Thanks Lilley here is my motto!

"I have made it a matter of policy to disbelieve all fishing stories on their first telling; they begin to have the ring of truth, however, after I've repeated them several times ! " LOL

[crappiefisherman]

He looks the same today>I see bill occasionally.He always asks about the bite and hes sincere in his replies if you ask if any things bitin, allthoguh i think he mite be 100 yards off of the true honey hole .By the way if you see a blue champion like that one pictured at k dock its me( i guess it mite be a ranger in photo but looks like the ss crappie destoyer i pilot