9-30-11 Table Rock Lake Fishing Report

[Bill Babler]

CB, thanks. I am going to leave that question to the big boys that throw that blade year about. I am but a novice and know enough to generally get me in trouble with it. I'm much better off with another type of fish ketcher in my hands. I don't however on the Rock fish it with a chunk or trailer. I do use a trailer hook. On Lake O, Grand or any of the colored up ponds, I do fish the bait bigger with the wiggler on the back.

Lots of the guys on this forum fish that blade year round here and I hope they will give us the scoop.

Good Luck

[denjac]

Not a balde expert, but on the Rock I seldom use a stinger hook and never use a trailer. Like Champ said : just throw the dad burn thing. I dont burn it, rip it ,wake it , just a nice medium retrieve , and let it fall when needed. Like all baits on the Rock, keep your foot off the troller when the bait is approching the boat, ya never know when they are going to hit it when you are lifting it out of the water. The smallies will either rip your arm off hitting it , or will take a swipe at it and miss, just keep it going like nothing happened and 9 times out of 10 they will hit it again and again. I think they get madder when the miss there meal. The Smallmouth her are the baddest cats in the water and I think they know it. Dont know why I turned this into a Smallie thing ?

[crackleback]

very interesting and informative info . . . . much appreciated . . . . love to read some more comments on individual preferences, techniques, setups and choices for "blading the Rock" in the Fall . . . . thanks so much

[abkeenan]

I am also less than even a novice with the blade and about a week ago (+ or -) I started a thread titled "Spinner Baits" because I like throwing them I just stink at it. I got AWESOME responses from the blade experts (Tfish4bass and Champ188) as well as others so you might want to read threw that thread as it is loaded with helpful info. I also "youtubed" some spinnerbait videos and saw one with KVD (spinnerbait GOD) and watched it so you might want to check that out also. KVD said that he "always" uses a trailer hook on his spinnerbaits and you will have more hookups. Don't think the trailer hook would hinder the action and only give you a better chance of sticking them, but then again what do I know about spinnerbaits?

[Fat Boy]

Well here go's I'm not a Big Boy but I catch alot of fish on the blade this time of yr. I will start everyday off with it. I do things a little different, I don't use a stinger hook unless I'm in a tournament ( they go to deep in the fishes mouth) I don't use any type of trailer water is to clear. As far as speed I don't want to see the blade comeing back to the boat, now if the fish are on the tress I will burn that bait to the trees and then kill it. 85% of the time I throw a 1/2 oz blade, best sit up I have found is a Fatboy blade red head or silver and blk head, #3 blade nickle #5.5 blade nickle off white skirt with some gray or dark silver pulled into it. If there is some color in the water or a dark day I like to use a gold #3 blade. Other colors I use are off white with some puple or light blue or just a mouse color. To me it is what color you have the most trust in. The last thing I feel is Important is to make as long of a cast as you can, if you feel you have bumped something in the water kill the bait just a sec. This set up is what I use on the Rock best clear water sit up I have found. Just my 2 cents worth

[crackleback]

thanks abk . . . . I'll check that thread out . . . . . and thanks also Fat Boy, your "2 cents" is worth a lot more to me than 2 cents :-)

[edwin]

As always, great feedback folks. Looking fwd to a long overdue return to TR this weekend. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't had the Bass Cat in the clear water since May. Will be coming down to host 4 long time friends for the weekend. The info provided here sure gives us a great idea where to start...thank you.

[Champ188]

No plastic trailer for me in clear water. I fish War Eagle spinnerbaits exclusively and half of the skirt on them is cut long, providing a built-in trailer of sorts. Many times I'll even trim that part completely off for a more compact profile. It's easy to overwhelm fish in clear water.

Trailer hook depends on the cover I'm fishing around. This is mostly a spring thing, but if I'm tossing my blade back into the bushes or other wood cover, I don't use a trailer hook — even in a derby. Neither do I use one when working a blade over and around cedars, like we often do year-round on TR. Nothing is more infuriating to me than to make a good cast and have it ruined by the trailer hook snagging on a limb. As few fish as I've missed or lost over the years for lack of a trailer hook, I'm not willing to take the chance of spoiling a promising tree or stretch of bank by having to barge in and get my hung-up spinnerbait loose.

That said, if I'm fishing rocks, dock corners or other solid cover — even sparse wood — I'll generally use a trailer hook in a derby. Never when fun fishing, though. As Fat Boy said, they'll sometimes get that stinger hook deep or in their gills and no sense in taking a chance of injuring or killing a fish for no reason.

The retrieve speed question is just a matter of experimenting. When water temps are above 60, I usually start with a medium-fast steady retrieve, keeping my bait about 3 feet deep. I may flutter it occasionally around cover, but for the most part I keep it steady. I know that KVD strongly advocates an erratic retrieve and that obviously has helped him win millions of dollars, but over 30 years of developing my style of spinnerbaiting, I've come to favor a steady retrieve.

Hey Edwin, hope you get some wind or cloud cover this weekend. If not, could be tough going. Might try pitching a little jig down into the hearts of the cedars or in boat slips with 10-20 feet of water under them. I'm sure there's some kind of drop-shot bite around the deeper docks, too.

[edwin]

Thanks for the suggestion Champ.

[snakem]

Not a balde expert, but on the Rock I seldom use a stinger hook and never use a trailer. Like Champ said : just throw the dad burn thing. I dont burn it, rip it ,wake it , just a nice medium retrieve , and let it fall when needed. Like all baits on the Rock, keep your foot off the troller when the bait is approching the boat, ya never know when they are going to hit it when you are lifting it out of the water. The smallies will either rip your arm off hitting it , or will take a swipe at it and miss, just keep it going like nothing happened and 9 times out of 10 they will hit it again and again. I think they get madder when the miss there meal. The Smallmouth her are the baddest cats in the water and I think they know it. Dont know why I turned this into a Smallie thing ?

Denjac, I have had lots of again & again,And i do like the stinger, cause it sure cant hurt and cant tell the diferance with or with out,but i do get more hook ups with the stinger than not. Just my thought.

Snakem out.