Tough day on the Rock

[Bill Babler]

Gosh, when I thought it was really tough, then came today. High Prussure and cold, really has these fish in a turned off mode.

7 fish on a half day trip with one squeeker Ky. in about 40 ft. suspended.

T. Paige had 8 on his trip with 2 keepers, same type of junk, in the dam area.

I am back on the rock out of the Knob, on fri. Will be on taney, until then.

Have heard there is a 30 minute topwater bite at the knob, between 7 and 7:30 I will try and hope I can luck into a couple of the gimme fish before I have to bottom suck.

If its cloudy and the wind will blow, I know I can get bit on a blade, but you must have the right condition. Flat coves with trees and lots and lots of wind and clouds.

They say its going to warm back to the mid to upper 80's next week with very fair conditions. That will continue this kiss of death, we need water into the upper 60's and at best 70 degrees and the smallies will really get to munching that football jig.

Until then, its one here and one there. Good luck, I'll let you know how friday turns out.

[WebFreeman]

You said something the other day about P-line. Do you use the florocarbon or the other (CXX I think?)? Also, do you any tips for drop shotting w/o really good electronics? We've got a depth finder, but not a great one. Finally, this will sound stupid, but is the "blade" a spinnerbait?

[Bill Babler]

I have not gotten along very well with florocarbon on my drop shot rigs, seems to twist up very badly, even with a swivel and a swiveling weight. I use either green pline in 6 or 8lb. test.

Yes a blade is a spinner bait. Wareagle makes great ones.

A very good way to fish the drop shot is to just get your depth from the finder, and go from there. Fish seem to hanging in the 35 to 40 ft. range right now, so get on a flat or point in that depth, and then just keep moving out at the same depth to find suspended fish. Currently they are both suspended and on the bottom.

Remember the drop shot is not a fish finding bait, it is a fish catching bait.

It is not a bait to cover water with, it is a bait to catch concentrations of fish that are schooled or are located on deep structure.

Thats where good electronics and the ability to read them comes in handy, to optimize the drop shot. I encourage anyone that is going to make Table rock their main squeeze to invest in superior under water fish getters. If you can't see em, your going to have a hard time sticking em.

If a man needs to cut a few corners I would sacrifice alot of things to be able to afford good electronics. There is nothing anymore important on my boat.

You can also mark your line in 10ft. increments with a magic marker to let you know how deep you are. Lots of guides do this for their clients.

[SD bass hunter]

Man!! I got my electronics tuned in today and boy does that make a differance. The only problem I had is I would blow off the fish once I found them.

Do you guys look for multiple fish, a single fish, or just baitfish??

I fished off of pt 16 today. Saw a lot of baitfish and larger fish, but the fish didn't want the drop shot or the spoon. Fished around that pt for a long time just trying to find some active fish. Moved over to a island and didn't do any good there. Finally at the end of my day I pulled up to a wooded cove. I got a couple bites fishing right above the wood in about 40 ft of water. Broke my line right at the boat on one that would have pushed 3.5-4 lbs.

[Bill Babler]

It's just hard right now. Sounds like your on the right track. Fish have been very spooky. I will target 1 or a group, it dosen't matter

Keep after it and you will getem.