Table Rock 2013 - Nearing Peak Performance?

[*T*]

Looks to be quite an ongoing 2013 season on Table Rock. The high water year's great spawns have shown up for most all fishermen out there.

Are we maxxed out on numbers, but maybe not on sizes? Great numbers coming in as well as many larger fish. LMBV hopefully a thing of the past and seem to be more LM than years past. Shad population is vgood. At capacity? Still room for growth? Water conditions seem good to common person. And, other than the late warm up, should be another vgood spawn this year.

Interested in thoughts of Table Rock guides/regulars. Thanks

[Quillback]

I have only been fishing the Rock for 2 years now, so I will be interested also to hear what the veterans have to say. There are certainly a lot of shad this year in the White around Big M. Plenty of 13-16" fat healthy spots and a good population of 13-16" LM's as well. The LM's are fat and healthy looking for post-spawn fish and I am hoping these fish will provide us with a bumper crop of bigger LM's in the next few years.

[Champ188]

It's as good as I've seen it in my 12 years of living in this area and fishing it regularly.

[magicwormman]

I think the Rock is coming back strong!!! For numbers, I would give it about 75% of it's peak back in the early 70"s. For lunkers (5 lbs plus) I would give it around 50%. For those that never experienced this fishery back in the 70's, you can only imagine how mighty the Rock once was. I've had a summer home near Kimberling City for 30 years and lived here permanently for last 15 years. I've fished the Rock since the early 70's and love it with all my heart. I had the experience of being on the water during the fish kill of 1999 and it was the most sickening site, that I've ever experienced. I thank the Lord, the Rock is coming back as good as it is. I think the secret is consistent water levels during the spawn and good conservation practices by most everyone. Just for comparison, I generally fish around 200 hours per year (since 1997), prior to the fish kill I would usually have 4-6 bass over 6 lbs. This year (most of my spring fishing was near pt. 13 on the James) my best was 5 lbs and one 6 lber was caught by my partner. This year the James got so tough for me that I brought my boat back to Kimberling City, so I could catch some decent fish. The water in the James has been a nasty color for the last few weeks and I saw a lot of nice crappies floating dead, during the Oakley bass tournament. I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful part of our country and to be able to fish such a great lake as the Rock.

[2 in a boat]

I know that out of the 100 or better blacks we caught over Memeorial Day weekend, 50% of them were 14.5 -14.75" long. I wandered if that was just a great hatch class 2-3 years ago, or is that just because they get thinned down to that length because to many people keep them if they are 15 or better? Or a third more likely answer is I suck at catching the big ones. lol

[Champ188]

I would suspect that's a year-class thing rather than stockpiling just below the length limit. It's only my personal opinion but I don't think enough people catch and keep bass these days to create a stockpiling effect.

[Rodmaker]

What caused the fish kill in 99?

[Rodmaker]

Coming down 3rd week in august.....typically, hows the fishing then?

[rps]

Rodmaker:

Deep but rewarding if you can dropshot, jig spoons, or fish at the dawn and dusk times.

[magicwormman]

The fish kill was a result of largemouth bass virus(LMBV).............at least that's the answer the experts gave us. It affected many lakes from Missouri to Texas.