Big Shout Out Phil Stone

[Bill Babler]

Phil and his partner Brian Vaughn won the AIA yesterday in horrible weather conditions.  Fishing the Lower James and Mid section White River they caught their fish on a swim bait and a jig. producing a bag of over 21 pounds that included two whopping 6 pounders.

The 97 team event paid the winners nearly $11,000.00 which included a check from the Phoenix First Flight Program for $7000.00  with Phil driving his 2019 Phoenix.

In second place were long time friends and clients Don and Dustin Gossett of Shell Knob that bagged nearly 20 pounds of Table Rock Bass.  Their 2nd, place bag included 2 hefty 5 lb.  lLM.

Congrats to all that braved that cold windy, rainy day.

[eyedabassman]

Phil is one of the class acts on this lake. A great guy that will always help out with information for other anglers. I have fished with him a few times and a great angler and more important a great guy and friend! Congratulations!

[Bill Babler]

Love the guy like he was my little brother.  He is.  Reminds me of Bill Beck almost to a T. and that is not a comparison to be made lightly.  He treats everyone with respect and would not say crud if he had a mouthful.  Not enough good things could ever happen for him.  He is without a doubt a guy that if he tells you something you can believe it EVERY TIME.

As a matter of fact, probably 8 yrs. ago, he put Beck and I on a crankbait bite that won us a tournament.  I don't mean he gave us a tip, he put us on the exact spot with the exact bait and there was no question to it.  Back then, you could win a Spring Derby on a crank bait and Phil took care of us.  Probably does not even remember.

Phil Stone is like the rabbit and the turtle, slow and methodical wins the race.  Very analytical fisherman and I have the privilege of being one of his close buds.

Great Job yesterday Bud 

[Royal Blue]

That rain was relentless on Saturday, but in typical TR fashion the bass were biting in that weather like trained pigs.  We ran all the way and fished the upper White river well above Shell Knob.  I quit counting, but we caught well over 30 keepers.  Had a limit in maybe 20 minutes at our first stop.  Never ever had a big bite though.  Having a day like that was a blast.  Wish we'd have weighed more than 11lbs, but I'd go out and probably do the same thing again.  All of our fish were on stickbaits and spinnerbaits.  Never had a sniff on a jig.  With certain structure you could literally call you shot.  Just a really good time fishing. 

[Bill Babler]

The Gossett boys that came in second only had 12 fish all day, all keeps 10 LM 2 Jaws.  2 of the LM were 5 pounders all on an A-rig. 
Spoke to Stone a couple of times and he also had 11 pounds pretty quick. Told his partner we might as well dump them, we need to do something else.  Started flipping docks and caught two 6 pounders really quick and knew he was on the right deal. 
I fished yesterday for 2 hours and had 17 pounds of SM with 2 over 4 pounds. A-rig. Perfect SM Day. Just thumpers. If the rain stops I have a guest waiting here at the lodge to go

Good Luck and Have Fun. It’s starting

[Royal Blue]

2 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

The Gossett boys that came in second only had 12 fish all day, all keeps 10 LM 2 Jaws.  2 of the LM were 5 pounders all on an A-rig. 
Spoke to Stone a couple of times and he also had 11 pounds pretty quick. Told his partner we might as well dump them, we need to do something else.  Started flipping docks and caught two 6 pounders really quick and knew he was on the right deal. 
I fished yesterday for 2 hours and had 17 pounds of SM with 2 over 4 pounds. A-rig. Perfect SM Day. Just thumpers. If the rain stops I have a guest waiting here at the lodge to go

Good Luck and Have Fun. It’s starting

We were committed to NOT throwing an A-rig.  Obviously not a great decision...

[ozarksfishin]

Thank you guys for all the kind words, especially Babler. You are truly one of the great ones! The fish are on the move big time right now, that was apparent Saturday. All we need is a week of nice weather and things will bust loose! Thank you all for the kind words!