Dock Cables?

[Guest Buck Creek Mike]

I have people allude to vertical jigging dock cables. I fish LOZ a lot and everyone knows about all of the docks that lake has. My question is most of not all of the dock cables run horizontally from the corner of the dock to the shore, never usually getting below 2' deep at the most. I have researched where they say the will be suspended 25-30' below the dock cables, and to me it seems weird that they would suspend 25' down underneath a 1" diameter cable. That would only lead me to conclude that the docks are anchored to the bottom with vertical cables like you see at big marina docks and breakwaters? Thanks a lot to anyone that wants to chime in. Also do any of you have luck shootin for crappie in the docks? It is very productive at times at LOZ.

[Bill Babler]

Mike, most of what we are talking about is Table Rock Junk. Down here the majority of our docks are multiple slip deep docks. Most will range from the back end of the dock being in 15 to 20 ft.of water and the front or lake side end will be in 50 to 100 plus feet of water. Most all these deep docks have "Dead Man Anchors." These anchors are out in the front of these docks in very deep water for the most part. Most all these docks have at least 4 cables with some having as many as 8 to 10.

The deep end cables will sometimes be as much as 200 ft. long. Kentucky bass will suspend off these cables usually just above the thermocline, out in front of the docks on the cables and sometimes on the cable of a NO Wake Bouy that also sets infront of these big community docks. Usually 26 to 35 ft. I have however seen them suspending on the dock cables at 60 plus feet and have seen them on the concrete dock dead man anchors at 60 plus feet.

You can find them early in the day or on cloudy days in these locations. On very sunny days they will most often pull off the cables and retreat under the shade of the big docks.

What we are talking about is not the cables that anchor the dock to shore, but the cables that anchor our Table Rock Lake docks on the deep ends of the docks.

On Lake O. however I would like to have a dollar for every crappie I have caught in the Spring on shore cables going from the dock to shore. If that dock cable gets 3 to 6 ft. under the water on the back side of those Lake O. docks, the crappie will also set on them. Not much cover, but neither is a small tree branch and we all know they hold fish.

Hope this explains it.

Wro. Guide Service