Table Rock BFL results

[Champ188]

Champ are going to give us a tournament recap?.... We would like to hear what went down.

Not a lot to share worth repeating but here are the highlights ... of my five keepers (10-6), two came on a War Eagle spinnerbait (blue shad) and one each on a Red Fin, Ned rig and a War Eagle 3/8-ounce finesse jig in pond scum perch. Yup, five keepers on four baits.

Talked to fellow OAF member Alex Heitman and he too had a 10-pound sack. I'll let him tell how he caught them if he chooses. I will say this ... he's a class act and anyone reading this should pay attention when he posts. He knows his stuff.

Only thing I might have done to upgrade was go bed fishing in hopes of finding some bigger fish to cull the 2-pounders I had on board. I had my five at 9:30 a.m. But my co-angler was a young police officer from STL who is fishing the entire Ozark Division circuit and needed points to help him qualify for the regional. Had I stuck the nose of the boat on the bank and my foot on the trolling motor pedal looking for bedders, he wouldn't have had a chance.

I ended up fixing him up some Ned rigs, loaning him a spinning rod to fish them on and making a friend. He learned a lot about clear-water fishing, he managed two keepers and I slept a lot better Saturday night knowing I helped him get the points he needed to stay on course to fish the regional at the end of the year. I saw a lot of co-anglers that day sitting on the back deck doing nothing while their boaters spent hours targeting spawning fish. I just have a hard time doing that to someone.

[dtrs5kprs]

Not a lot to share worth repeating but here are the highlights ... of my five keepers (10-6), two came on a War Eagle spinnerbait (blue shad) and one each on a Red Fin, Ned rig and a War Eagle 3/8-ounce finesse jig in pond scum perch. Yup, five keepers on four baits.

Talked to fellow OAF member Alex Heitman and he too had a 10-pound sack. I'll let him tell how he caught them if he chooses. I will say this ... he's a class act and anyone reading this should pay attention when he posts. He knows his stuff.

Only thing I might have done to upgrade was go bed fishing in hopes of finding some bigger fish to cull the 2-pounders I had on board. I had my five at 9:30 a.m. But my co-angler was a young police officer from STL who is fishing the entire Ozark Division circuit and needed points to help him qualify for the regional. Had I stuck the nose of the boat on the bank and my foot on the trolling motor pedal looking for bedders, he wouldn't have had a chance.

I ended up fixing him up some Ned rigs, loaning him a spinning rod to fish them on and making a friend. He learned a lot about clear-water fishing, he managed two keepers and I slept a lot better Saturday night knowing I helped him get the points he needed to stay on course to fish the regional at the end of the year. I saw a lot of co-anglers that day sitting on the back deck doing nothing while their boaters spent hours targeting spawning fish. I just have a hard time doing that to someone.

Amen, and good for you for treating him that way. I'm sure he went home happier because of it.

Ditto on Alex. Had the pleasure of meeting him and his dad the last weekend I was down. He can fish.

Would have been hard pressed to put the Ned down on a tough day like that. Did they make all of Schooner off limits? Remember them doing that when Ranger had their owner's derby.

[holleybob]

Not a lot to share worth repeating but here are the highlights ... of my five keepers (10-6), two came on a War Eagle spinnerbait (blue shad) and one each on a Red Fin, Ned rig and a War Eagle 3/8-ounce finesse jig in pond scum perch. Yup, five keepers on four baits.

Talked to fellow OAF member Alex Heitman and he too had a 10-pound sack. I'll let him tell how he caught them if he chooses. I will say this ... he's a class act and anyone reading this should pay attention when he posts. He knows his stuff.

Only thing I might have done to upgrade was go bed fishing in hopes of finding some bigger fish to cull the 2-pounders I had on board. I had my five at 9:30 a.m. But my co-angler was a young police officer from STL who is fishing the entire Ozark Division circuit and needed points to help him qualify for the regional. Had I stuck the nose of the boat on the bank and my foot on the trolling motor pedal looking for bedders, he wouldn't have had a chance.

I ended up fixing him up some Ned rigs, loaning him a spinning rod to fish them on and making a friend. He learned a lot about clear-water fishing, he managed two keepers and I slept a lot better Saturday night knowing I helped him get the points he needed to stay on course to fish the regional at the end of the year. I saw a lot of co-anglers that day sitting on the back deck doing nothing while their boaters spent hours targeting spawning fish. I just have a hard time doing that to someone.

There is alot to be learned from the back of the boat ; frustration, humility, disappointment..and creativity.

I was at a seminar years ago with Geoorge Cochran and he was explaining how to fish a rip rap bank by positioning your boat parallel to the bank and casting parallel to the bank. Someone from the audience asked "what about the guy in the back of the boat?" George replied

" tell him to get his own boat"

Being a back of the boat guy teaches you how to behave when you're a front of the boat guy. I was both, and remember vivdly the guys that treated me well. Good for you Champ !

[big c]

Very nice champ. Apparently officers are drawn to ya.....and we're better off because of it!!!! Many thanks to all that post on this site.

[abkeenan]

Very nice champ. Apparently officers are drawn to ya.....and we're better off because of it!!!! Many thanks to all that post on this site.

Well it is criminal what he does to those poor innocent fish when he brandishes a War Eagle.

[big c]

Now thats funny and I'm sure true.

[Champ188]

Thanks for all the kind words, guys. For the record, Alex didn't bed fish either and his co-angler was appropriately grateful.

Dave (dtrs5kprs) hit the nail on the head when he said he'd be hard pressed to put the Ned rig down on a tough day like that.

I found a spinnerbait bite in practice that would have let me cover a lot of water in the late morning/afternoon and given me a good chance to cull up, but I needed at least a 10 mph wind for it to work. The weatherman had said 10-15 mph Saturday but it just didn't happen, so I was pretty much stuck with what I'd managed to catch that morning. Besides, the varmint will catch big fish, too. We've all seen proof of that.

There will be other derbies. This ol' dawg still has a hunt or two left in him.

[jaspy111]

class act there champ!!

[Bill Babler]

This is really going to relate. I prefished a BLF guy that is a very close friend and a great client. In a Top 150 quite a few years ago, he fished with George Cochran down here. They ran to Leatherwood and up past Holiday Island and threw warts. Cochran was so close to the bank all day even after catching over 30 keepers that Dave never got to fish other than throw behind the boat, or out the lake side. Cochran told him that was the way it was going to be.

He also fished with Zell Rowland and got the same treatment, only worse as Rowland was quite demeaning. Said if he ever drew him again he would just forfeit his entry fee.

He also has fished with Mark Davis and Davis told him, "If I catch fish, you catch fish." All these guys are way different.

The day we pre-fished We had 7 solid keepers and to many shorts to count. Caught them all swimming a big Kiethch on either pole timber or flat gravel. I noticed all day that Dave was not following his swimbait when he casted it out on the drop and told him to let it fall on a tight line at least a dozen times. This would come back to haunt him.

He started out in the Kimberling area with a non-boater that brought one 6' white spinning rod. It looked to be a med-heavy, with what Dave said was Clear Stren in at least 12 pound, on a 4000 size older spinning reel. He had this attached to a GP tube with a hook described as rusted to the point of being without a point. Dave told him he had Tube jigs and would be glad to give him a handful. Nope, he thought his would work.

First location, Dave threw his swimbait and was counting it down and said right where he threw a nice 4 pound LM jumped. He was kind of amazed and watehed it jump a second time before noticing his line shooting sideways. Of course it spit the SB. Dave said OH. SHIRT!!!! BAb's told me all day to not let it fall on slack line. His next cast he caught a keeper Jaw, Squeeker.

Nothing for a couple of other locations, and then he was dragging a Varmint on a long point and heard his Non-Boater say I got one. Reeled in a nice Jaw, that Dave netted and unhooked for him. Dave tossed his tube back and was measuring this fish and the guy squeeled I got another one. Dave did the same deal, measuring the fish and be durned a third time the guy says "I got another one." 3 keeps in 3 cast that Dave said were going about 20'. By this time Dave was tying on a GP tube and getting ready to get in on the action, and again, the guy in the back says, "I got a Big, big one." Dave looked around and there is easy a 5 pound LM gong airborne multiple times behind the boat. Really not to airborne, but mainly just shaking its big head and whollering on the top. The old boy started to pull pretty hard on it and his line broke Dave said right at the tip of the rod. He lost is 4th. fish which would have been a kicker for anyone and his GP tube and enough line off his reel that now it would not cast even the 20'.

He sat down in his seat and Dave said he did not fish for at least an hour. He finely tied on a peach tube as he only had one GP and Dave only had a couple as he had left his tube box at the truck as he was not fishing tubes. Dave was not catching any on the tube however and offered to give him his. He would not accept.

He did however end up catching another on one of the peach tubes and finished the day in the top 10 with 4 keeper jaws. Dave on the other hand weighed in 3 keepers and said he caught at least 30 fish between 14 and 15. He did not catch them on the Varmint, but had the best luck dragging a GP fish dr. on a splitshot.

[Champ188]

A good friend and retired pro angler had a similar experience with a guy on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, AR in the old Red Man series (prior to it becoming BFL). The guy brought only a couple of rods and on one he had a white Arkie jig on which he proceeded to hang a red pork frog. When my friend questioned him about his color choice, he said it was because he was an Arkansas Razorbacks fan. Mind you, they were fishing in the 3 Sisters area, where the water was clear enough to see the bottom at 20 feet. Within the first hour that morning, this fellow landed four bass that totaled well over 20 pounds, including one over 8 and finished in the top 10 of the tournament. My friend, who never missed a check on Ouachita, was so spun out by 8 a.m. that he didn't even place.