September Weekend Report 9-21-14

[Bill Babler]

I was throwing one for a bit Friday at schooling fish, I put one in the boat on it while Jeb probably caught 1/2 dozen in the same time frame on a spoon. I put it away at that point.

There my friends is the perfect answer.

Thanks Q. same deal for me.

[Bill Babler]

James if you stopped in 100 ft. and shut your boat off it would automatically restart and put you where it knew you belonged.

Probably would also give you a slight electrical shock for such a foolish idea.

[Champ188]

James if you stopped in 100 ft. and shut your boat off it would automatically restart and put you where it knew you belonged.

Probably would also give you a slight electrical shock for such a foolish idea.

All kidding aside, there's a lesson here, folks. There probably isn't any two people on this forum with more polar opposite fishing styles than Mr. Bill and myself. In our collective defense, neither of us are one-trick ponies. Bill can fish shallow when he has to, and I can manage a few deep fish when absolutely necessary.

However, neither of us is likely to have a banner day fishing a method we don't like. Thankfully, we don't have to venture too far out of our comfort zones very often. There are always some fish deep and there are always some shallow, especially on Table Rock.

The lesson here is that everyone should lean heaviest on the style of fishing they are best at and enjoy the most. That's not to say you shouldn't learn new stuff. By all means, get out of your comfort zone at times and try something new. Read up on it (on this forum, for starters), gather up the right equipment, then get out there and figure it out. It's rewarding.

But when you really need to catch em -- such as in a derby, with friends aboard, etc. -- fish in your comfort zone. You'll fish harder and catch more because you're doing what you know the most about and have the most confidence in. Using his graph, Mr. Bill can spot a single fish sleeping on a limb in the top of a tree at 37.3 feet deep in 120 feet of water and catch the rascal. At the same exact time he's doing that, I've been known to "power finesse" my way around some chosen shallow areas and cobble together a pretty decent sack of fish. Table Rock accommodates both styles of fishing most of the time, which allows us both to fish to our strengths.

Hope this makes sense. It did in my head when I started typing.

[magicwormman]

Well said Champ!!! Thank God that many like to fish deep, or the shorelines would be very crowded. I would prefer to fish shallow, all the time, but the Rock has taught me to follow the food supply. I know there has to be plenty of food shallow, but conditions usually send me deep in the summer. Now, if I could only figure out where those 3-6 lbers go in the summer.

[balsabee]

Champ you are exactly right and it's why I love fishing the white river lakes so much. It's the very best playground for fishermen to master so many different techniques.

[fishingaddiction]

Well said Champ. A perfect example is the way I fished this past Saturday. Fished shallow, 5 to 10' first thing in the morning up a major creek with a square bill and war eagle blade. Caught 8 bass with 2 keepers being SM and LM. Around 10:00 am I ran to a deep dock (about 60' deep on the end) nearby and saw solid shad at between 30' to 45' on my graph. For the next hour I caught 4 fat keeper K's and 2 keeper LM on a war eagle spoon.

The Rock has something for everyone deep, shallow & everything in between. Unless you just want to fish a certain way with a certain technique, be aware of what is going on while your fishing and modify your approach, and of course if you run into Bill while your out, do what he tells you to do!

Thanks for a fine report Bill, always appreciate your timely posts.

[Champ188]

Perfect illustration to what I was talking about, addiction. If you aren't catching em on the Rock, go try something else. They're always biting somewhere on something.

Good job Saturday on the keepers. Ready for the bigger river fish to show up in the shallow water myself. With the low water, I bet a guy could catch em right now dragging a Carolina rig, wobble head or fb jig on some of the inside channel bends up the Kings or James. Just thinking out loud.

[fishingaddiction]

With the massive shad migration up the rivers and creeks well underway the bigger fish should follow and get shallow. I have been catching a lot more small mouth up shallow in the KC area of the lake.

[denjac]

I am going to Stockton tomorrow, where shallow is in the dirt and deep is 30ft. It's all relative on what body of water your on.

[Champ188]

You should go to Aldridge. Love that stretch of water. Donna and I should've won a Central Pro-am Team Championship up there a few years back.