Critique Me...

[sholder02]

I was going to fish as a co-angler in the CPA tournament on Saturday but didn't get in. For some reason, they only pulled 27 boaters...I was co-angler #28. I decided I would head to the Rock anyways to do some fishing and compare my results with those fishing the tournament on the boaters side.

I used Saturday as my pre-fishing day. It took me until about 2:00 in the afternoon to figure things out. On Sunday, I fished from 7:00-1:00 and had 4 keepers at 9 pounds (I have the Rapala digital culling scales). I fished between Emerald Beach and Eagle Rock. I started out on a main lake point throwing a spook jr. Lots of shorts and one keeper. After that bite died down, I spent the rest of my time in the bigger creek arms working plastics pretty quickly. I targeted the first 50 yards inside the main lake point as well as all the secondaries that I found within the first 1/2 of the arm. I found most of my fish on either side of the secondaries...especially behind boat docks. Deepest fish I caught came in about 12 fow. I probably caught 15 fish yesterday, but only 4 keepers. The biggest one was just under 3 pounds.

I know 7:00-1:00 wasn't a full "tournament day" so there would have been an opportunity for a 5th fish. With the 4 keepers, though, I would have placed 20th out of 27. ...not that great.

Anything you guys would have done differently?

Here's the CPA results:

http://central-proam.com/table-rock-lake-results-5512/

FYI, I was in a red Bass Cat. There were a lot of fishermen out yesterday. I saw more fishing than catching going on.

[dblades]

Can't comment on the fishing but pretty sad when the FORMER premier tournament trail in the midwest can only draw 27 boats.

[Bill Babler]

1st. I would have never gone that far up the White River if I were fishing a derby. You were catching pretty much what you catch where you were fishing.

You also mentioned you had more time. Not so. You run from Kimberling City to where you went, and you would have burned up everybit of your tour.

Sounds to me like you did pretty good. Your 4 keeps at 9 pounds would have been very close to what Pete Wenners did and better than Scott Pauly a very good TR fisherman and a very good guide on the Rock. There were lots of guys jamed into that 9 to 14 pound range.

The location you were fishing has lots of nice long runout points I perhaps would have ventured a bit further from the bank and either thrown a jig or a deep crank on some of these locations. I may have also fished the docks abit harder with a 3/8th. oz jig.

There are lots of keeper fish up there in 18 to 30ft. of water to work on with the jig, rig or deep crankbait. You were working a solid fish catching pattern, but not a tourmanemt pattern. You cannot go to Shell Knob and throw a spook on the runnouts up there and win. Just does not happen often. Just to many young and eager fish to eat your junk. Great guiding and fun fishing but not derby stuff.

Your dock deal was the best deal you had for quality fish. Probably would have gone instead of from Emerald Point back toward the Main lake rather than further up the river, and worked that pattern.

All and all I think you did well.

[dtrs5kprs]

Deep docks at the mouths of spawn coves should start to hold some better fish soon. Pole timber same places. Say, from Baxter back to the dam. Long and skinny girls should be showing up.

[sholder02]

Thanks for the feedback, Bill and everyone else!

[bjovan]

Your hair is funny and your bait stinks. Just kidding. Sounds like a good keeper catchin pattern for the day just went up river instead of down. Good work