New To The Area,tablerock Walleye?

[Jeff Olson]

Hello everyone,just want to say thanks to all of you for all your posts and reports. this is a great site and I have really learned alot about the area here.we moved here in january 2012 from WI,we live by the state park marina here in hollister.I love fishing of all types,but I really like chaseing walleye!,I have been fishing from the dam up to cricket creek marina,trolling crank baits,and have not caught a walleye yet? are there catchable numbers of walleye on this end of the lake?any info,tips,spots and advise would be great! I have a east end tablerock lake map, but there is no walleye info on them.any sites or other maps with walleye info? THANKS FOR ANY INFO!

[Feathers and Fins]

I think the greatest resource for all our local lakes is this site... For Table Rock "RPS" is a valuable resource an I bet he replies. Walters on the Rock are to my knowledge more a Western sections of the lake near the river arms. There are some VERY LARGE Walleye in the lake but they are few... Bull Shoals on the other hand if you want walleye is the better of the two lakes right now. Another 5 Years and I would bet TR will be standing its own against any lake though.

[rps]

Welcome! There is a small but avid community of walleye fishermen on TR. The lake is stocked annually a has a very small natural recruitment from spawn. The lake limit is four fish over 18 inches. Some days that is possible. Others it is not. I have caught a 13.75 and have seen first hand a 14.5 caught by another so I can vouch for size. With all the shad and bluegill I would imagine a 17 plus is out there. Most of us fish in the upper half of the lake so that is where most fish are caught. However, I would bet there is a good population in the James and probably a riprap related group at the dam.

As for crank trolling, go to the main Ozark Anglers site and search the technique articles for the one I wrote about trolling for walleye on TR. Be advised two things: 1. the classic methods you learned in WI (crawler harness, jigs, Lindy rigs) will work here 2. By September the thermocline on TR is usually down around 32 feet so be prepared to hunt deep.

Others will chime in.

Again, welcome!

[Jeff Olson]

thank you 2 guys for the info and welcome! I will keep searching and learning this end of the lake. and will have to try the west end sometime. hopefully some more posts will come in.thanks again!

[bass1]

I to am a walleye fisherman from Iowa, try around the kc area, there are walleyes in there, I have caught several trolling cranks.

Long line trolling is the best to get the bait down deep. And dont be afraid to troll 4 to 5 mph for walleye, make that crank bait hit the bottom, use your depth finder to find points, rocky point and humps in the lake. There are some good spots out there.

Randy

[Jeff Olson]

thanks randy! I will try that area, wow I have never trolled that fast for walleye, but I will try it. are there certain types of cranks that can be trolled that fast and still run true? and how much deeper would they run compared to 1.5 to 2.5 mph?

[rps]

With cranks, unless you are using lead core, speed does not really affect depth. The key depth factor is the length of line out.

I find the Storm baits - Wiggle Wart, Thundercrank, and HotnTot - the best combination of cost and effectiveness.

[Jeff Olson]

thanks RPS, I use them storm baits along with shad raps and jointed shad raps, can they all be trolled at speeds up to 5 mph?

on tablerock and bullshoals what speed ranges work the best on average for cranks and i assume a slower average speed for crawler harnesses. it sounds like speeds are alot faster down here than I have ever used. thank you!

[bass1]

Rps is right if you use lead core line your bait will get down deeper, I will sometimes put a rubber core sinker in front of the crankbait to make it go deeper. You have to be careful down here, if you let out alot of line there is always somebody that wants to cut your line when pulling in behind you to fish or skiers that think just because you are fishing they can cut in behind you.

DD22 also work good down here, I have caught alot of bass on them.

[Feathers and Fins]

My max trolling speed is 2.5mph, I run my baits from 100ft to 150ft behind the boat. Most of what I have been using the last week is Rapala crank baits 17ft depth rating in Fire Tiger and Black and Chrome, Black n White.

I carry a 1000 yrd spool of 10lb on the boat for people who want to cut in to close. I do my best to wave them off but when they just dont get it, they get it and get it all.. It doesnt happen often but when it does its simpler to give them the spool and watch them trying to get the mess out of the prop while i just respool...

On a good note popped 5 Walters this morning from 18'' to 26'' on Beaver before the 5th Fleet launched for the day.