Table Rock Lake February 1st. 2016 Report

[Bill Babler]

Oh my how Table Rock changes from day to day this time of the year.  You can go hero to zero or in my case yesterday zero to hero.  Hero at least for me,

Was a participant in some very somber and not fun at all fishing this past week, fishing the Long Creek to Kimberling City run.  Surface temps ranging between 46 to 51 and the difference in water color just crazy.  Long Creek to  point 5 is a nice 6 ft. visibility color or aqua-green but the further up the lake you get it gets plum dirty.  Kimberling to close to Campbell Pt. is very off color with temps at an average of 48 degree.

I for one and a couple of guide buddies have not done well in this area all week.  I went 2 days without a bite, but was not looking deep and trying to bend them to a jerkbait and a A-rig.  Just could not get anything to go for me.  Friends looked deep and really struggled also.  I have heard of a fish here and a fish there on dropshot.  Not so much on a jigging spoon and a few on a RK Crawler, but slow would be a kind way to phrase it.

Helped Becky serve breakfast to a full house here yesterday at the lodge and did not get out until 9:30.  Dumped the big Phoenix in at Eagle Rock to very cool 44.5 degree water and a pretty stiff wind.  Water was very nice color with about 8' visibility.  Finely some good news to report.

Regardless of surface temperatures the fish up the White River always seem to be the first to turn on every year. Yesterday was no exception as they were on a feeding frenzy at Eagle Rock.  From 9;30 till 3;30 I fished a total of 7 locations between the 86 bridge and Viney Creek.  Conservatively I caught and released between 20 and 25 keepers and 3 short fish.  Nothing big, 3.5 was the biggest but just fish after fish in that 2.5 to 3.5 pound range.  The 3 short fish that I caught were on a wareagle jigging spoon.  I saw them chase the A-rig up, looked to be a school of at least a dozen.  I dropped the spoon 3 drops before they vanished and caught the 3 short K's.  Those were the only K's I caught all day.  All the other fish I caught were either LM or Jaw's.  All keepers.

Fish up the river were exactly where they should be.  Every fish I caught was on a transition bank with some pole timber and all fish were located in short stretches, of 100 yrds. or less.  Had my boat in 45' most of the day on the outside of the timber throwing to the bank.  A full cast for the Lew's Super duty, spooled with Lew's braid and a modified A-rig.  I caught every fish yesterday on the A-rig outside of the 3 short K's.  On the A-rig, I caught every fish except for one I snagged on the rear extended hook.

Threw a stickbait on every location and could not get them to take it.  Reason is the fish were not suspended in the water column, they were very close to the bottom.  Majority of my strikes and they were simply violent for 45 degree water, were in the 18' to 25' range with the majority at the deepest part of the retrieve.  I saw quite a few fish follow the Rig, as I was most often reeling it straight up to recast.  Very slow moving of the Rig, mostly just pulling it and letting it flutter close to the bottom.  Caught all the fish  on a Keitech Swing Impact in Rainbow Shad.

Don't know how your going to get anymore information that that.

Kind of a funny story, I pulled up near Viney Creek to fish 3 little short stretches.  When I went to look at the stretch I really wanted the most, there were 3 boats on or near it.  Got to watching and one boat the guys were flipping bushes.  There was another boat with fishermen fast winding spinnerbaits thru the pole timber and the other guy was jerkbaiting  This is a very good early location.  There is a channel that runs between the bank and a short rock runnout, that runs with the lake.  Every boat was fishing either the channel or the shoreline.  None of the 3 was fishing the rock runnout.  I have seen Quill fish it many times so he would know this location.  I caught fish off the other 2 locations and good ones, but I really wanted to fish those rocks.  I went back to take a peek and all the boats were gone.  1st. 5 casts were all keepers, 4 smallmouth and one nice 3.5 pound LM.  Had my boat setting in 50' here and threw up on top of the reef, in about 15'.  I had been catching fish all day so I was on my toes.  1st. fish slammed it on the drop, and I nabbed him.  The other 4 I let the rig settle and then started it back.  Most hit at the very edge just as the bait was about to drop off the hill.  Moral of this story, is don't assume that the guy in front of you caught all the fish.

 

 

Good Luck

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[marcus]

im so jelous sitting here in my cubical

[Quillback]

That is some good fishing!  Thanks for the report.

[Dewayne French]

Not much else needs to said right there.  That can apply to all these lakes up here this time of year..  Well said Mr Bill

 

[dtrs5kprs]

Nicely done. 

How is the Lew's braid working out?

[Bill Babler]

Seems very good to me.  I used it a little last Fall when the Whopper Pooper bite was on and now I have switched it to the Stupid Rig and it just throws a mile.  I have been extremely happy with their F. Carbon also.  Both of those products since they are new have been on sale at the store for some really nice savings.   Got to say I'm hooked and will probably keep my line money for upper end rods and reels, since this is working so well for about 1/3 to 1/2 off the name brands.

I kept jamming that rod butt in my chest ie another word for belly yesterday and I looked like I been kicked by a Kangaroo.  Caught a huge number of Smallmouth up the River yesterday and they simply hammered that Rig.

There are as many Jaws showing up this year from Rock Creek to Devils Dive as I have ever seen.  Kind of like Bo's thinking, I think they are on the march.  This lake has really turned into a GREAT small jaw pond.

[abkeenan]

5 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Seems very good to me.  I used it a little last Fall when the Whopper Pooper bite was on and now I have switched it to the Stupid Rig and it just throws a mile.  I have been extremely happy with their F. Carbon also.  Both of those products since they are new have been on sale at the store for some really nice savings.   Got to say I'm hooked and will probably keep my line money for upper end rods and reels, since this is working so well for about 1/3 to 1/2 off the name brands.

I'm sure Seaguar is very sorry to hear that. Nice report Bill. Any double's on the Rig?

[Bill Babler]

Nope, not yesterday.  Couple of times I thought maybe.   I'm also surprised when I got into that nest of K's that a couple did not latch on.

I did see a guy in a Green BC catch several K's deep across from Big M, but the way the big fish were biting, I didn't have time to dangle deep.

[m&m]

Bill, thanks for the nice report and pictures.  

Mike

[176champion]

Thanks Bill for the great report!!