Upper End

[Bill Babler]

You would absolutely never know it from the BassMaster Derby that is going on, that it is getting better. 22 pounds for a two day lead?. That just about sucks as bad as it could. Brian Snowden today with 8 pounds for the day in second. Robbie Dotson with 4.4 pounds for the day. Who ever says they are catching them might want to take a poly graph, cause its BS, Big Time.

I had 8 or the best not only guiides, but fishermen on Table Rock working for me today and I don't believe them or their clients could have weighed in 8 pounds.

Absolute no sence Candy Coating this. It is FLAT MISERABLE.

If they don't have Pic's to prove it, better keep their flappers closed.

Good Luck.

[edwin]

I was able to catch 11 this morning, 9 of them on topwater before the fog lifted around 9:30. 8 of the 9 were on a Sammy, the other was on a Redfin. 3 of them were keepers but probably wouldn't have weighed 5.5lbs total. Gravel banks pretty close to docks were where I had success. Two shakey fish after the fog was gone...tough most of the day once it was sunny.

I was around Pt 10, seemed to be about 9:45 or so before I heard the BASS guys come my way.

I embarrassed to attach a pic of barely keeper, but Bill asked for it

[Champ188]

I'm with Martin, it's gotta bust loose sometime. It's a fact of nature that fish feed up for the winter. Maybe it has something to do with the incredibly hot summer and water temps/oxygen levels. And after the great spring we had, no one can dispute that the fish are there.

What makes me think it's related to the summer weather is that it's not limited to Table Rock. Grand is fishing unusually tough, too, and so is Beaver. Not sure but bet it's the same on Bull.

Whatever it is, I know we're all ready for em to snap out of it.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

You would absolutely never know it from the BassMaster Derby that is going on, that it is getting better. 22 pounds for a two day lead?. That just about sucks as bad as it could. Brian Snowden today with 8 pounds for the day in second. Robbie Dotson with 4.4 pounds for the day. Who ever says they are catching them might want to take a poly graph, cause its BS, Big Time.

I had 8 or the best not only guiides, but fishermen on Table Rock working for me today and I don't believe them or their clients could have weighed in 8 pounds.

Absolute no sence Candy Coating this. It is FLAT MISERABLE.

If they don't have Pic's to prove it, better keep their flappers closed.

Good Luck.

Hey, Bill, considering you had such a powerful forum of Table Rock fisherman on the water Thursday, is there a prevailing theory on why TR is fishing so tough right now? With all that experience, I was hoping you could offer some insight on the situation. What is the fishing typically like for the last two weeks of October?

[Bill Babler]

Great job edwin. The proof is in the pic. I bet Brian Snowden would have loved that fish, since he blanked on Saturday. Robbie had only 1. Leader did find a deal and catch them.

Another 8 guides on Saturday 4 different so I pretty much used up the Table Rock Guide List. 42 fish to the guide boats on Saturday with 8 keeps. Best fish was a Redfin fish in the Fog by Tim Paige's group. 3.5 pounder After the fog lifted and the light hit the water, that was pretty much it. Makes a long 8 hr. day when the bite shuts off after the 1st.

hour.

I fished my guys till 5 Pm and we only had 8 fish and one keeper in 10 hours.

I have no explanation for this. My records show we are usually catchin them with water temps at 68 this time of the year. Yes I struggle in September as does everyone, but it is just hanging on and hanging on. Realy no concentrations of fish. One here on the bank and on over there. Buster caught some early on the bank and then had a client catch a keeper K at 60 ft. on the bottom dragging a football jig on a midlake hump.

The most fish on any single location was 2 on a drop shot spot or so.

Good Luck

[powerdive]

I was trolling shad cranks on leadcore for walleyes at Bull Shoals yesterday and couldn't keep the bass away. Caught about a dozen total, including LMs of 22, 20, 17 and 16 inches and a 16 inch SM. All quite beastly--huge bodied--except for the 16 inch LM and smaller fish.

Walleye-wise, Table Rock often fishes like Bull Shoals...I dunno, maybe the same goes for the bass. You guys would know better than I would.

Anyway, I caught them at 22-28 feet near the edges of the gravel flats on a large inside bend. There were tons of shad and other show on sonar, esp. bunched in in 30-40 feet. I think that's the general problem: the extended high water and time of year have created a smorgasbord of shad. The walleyes have been very fat and stuffed with 3" shad.

[edwin]

I caught em pretty good yesterday on the dropshot right at off a gravel point. Boat in apprx 45-63' of water, most of the shad balls were either at 20' or right off the bottom. There were more fish down near the bottom bait balls, but none of them would take the bait. I had 13 (no keeps but 5 that were 14 and change) all from the 20' shad balls. Also had 4 more on a topwater whenever they'd break loose on the surface. If you enlarge the pic, you see how I worked the area between two GPS waypoints back and forth.

One thing I noticed - being in 60' of water put me about a cast and half off the bank. Lots and lots of power pole'd rigs came awful close to me at 50+ mph, some really packing the mail. Even had 2 that went between me and the bank . The funny part was the look on the dudes faces that had come past as many as 3 times in the 3 hours I was camped out there. The look of "that guy is still there?" was cracking me up.

I was really pleased with yesterday's catch. My success in finding fish was attributed to taking my dog out with me. He can't stand the wind when you're going fast, so I had to slow while running. It's amazing how many surface blow ups I saw running at 30-32mph than the normal 45-50mph. I saw some activity around a pocket near the point..stopped to take a look and ended up catching some fish as a result. Great weather, a couple cold beers, and the company of a guard dog!

Only 3 shorts early this am before I had to pack it up and head back to STL.

[denjac]

It's amazing how many surface blow ups I saw running at 30-32mph than the normal 45-50mph. I saw some activity around a pocket near the point..stopped to take a look and ended up catching some fish as a result. Great weather, a couple cold beers, and the company of a guard dog!

Only 3 shorts early this am before I had to pack it up and head back to STL.

You said a mouthful right there. Dont know how many blowups I woulda missed if I had been driving fast. That there is a Table Rock fish finding method. Doupt many will heed the advice though.

[Ozark Outdoorsman]

Of course someone else likes to throw an aurora black sammy.

[Bimmer]

I caught em pretty good yesterday on the dropshot right at off a gravel point. Boat in apprx 45-63' of water, most of the shad balls were either at 20' or right off the bottom. There were more fish down near the bottom bait balls, but none of them would take the bait. I had 13 (no keeps but 5 that were 14 and change) all from the 20' shad balls. Also had 4 more on a topwater whenever they'd break loose on the surface. If you enlarge the pic, you see how I worked the area between two GPS waypoints back and forth.

One thing I noticed - being in 60' of water put me about a cast and half off the bank. Lots and lots of power pole'd rigs came awful close to me at 50+ mph, some really packing the mail. Even had 2 that went between me and the bank . The funny part was the look on the dudes faces that had come past as many as 3 times in the 3 hours I was camped out there. The look of "that guy is still there?" was cracking me up.

I was really pleased with yesterday's catch. My success in finding fish was attributed to taking my dog out with me. He can't stand the wind when you're going fast, so I had to slow while running. It's amazing how many surface blow ups I saw running at 30-32mph than the normal 45-50mph. I saw some activity around a pocket near the point..stopped to take a look and ended up catching some fish as a result. Great weather, a couple cold beers, and the company of a guard dog!

Only 3 shorts early this am before I had to pack it up and head back to STL.

Hand that dog a rod!