May 1, Big M area

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5 hours ago, merc1997 said:

nice brownie, and you can thank leonard and i for bring all the brownies up from the lower end and turning them loose at eagle rock.  goes to show why the lower end has more bass than anywhere.  all the tourneys are held there.  but, the upper end never did have any brownies, and our efforts form long ago at big m is a big reason for all of them around there, and now there are a lot more  catches showing up around eagle rock.  you guys really had a nice trip.

 

bo

Bo...  it that case I am indebted to you!  We  almost always fish Big M/Eagle Rock area- that fish was caught in between them.  I don’t have anywhere near the history some of you all have but I can say the numbers and quality of smallies have improved there in the 4 or 5 years I have been fishing that area.  That is probably the 3rd of 4th smallie of that size we have caught in the last 2 months.  
 

what did you guys do?  Load your load your livewells and import them up from the lower end?

[Guest]

20 hours ago, bferg said:

Bo...  it that case I am indebted to you!  We  almost always fish Big M/Eagle Rock area- that fish was caught in between them.  I don’t have anywhere near the history some of you all have but I can say the numbers and quality of smallies have improved there in the 4 or 5 years I have been fishing that area.  That is probably the 3rd of 4th smallie of that size we have caught in the last 2 months.  
 

what did you guys do?  Load your load your livewells and import them up from the lower end?

yes, we just left off another 6 at eagle rock the other night.  did not get to bring very many last summer because of depth we were catching and water temps.  we live in cassville and the upper end is on the way back home.

the lower end has such a great brownie population that there is hardly anytime that you can't go and catch a bunch of brownies.  fronts and what not do not seem to bother them.  it would be nice to have that many up here on the upper end and not have to drive as far to go catch them.  so, every trip possible, we bring some back up here.  back in the late 80's early 90's there was a weekly night tournament out of big m.  we would run down to kimberling city and catch a limit of brownies and bring them them back for weigh-in at big m.  over a period of time, that is how the brownies got started around big m.  they are now taking hold around eagle rock from our efforts.  they are successfully spawning too because we have caught a few sub-legals.  

this also demonstrates that stocking does work, and the mdc could really help the bass population on the upper end with some stocking.  up until we began hauling the brownies up here, it was extremely rare that one was ever caught up on the upper end.  i have fished table rock since 1963, and grew up fishing just the eagle rock area.  it used to be one of the best areas of the lake to fish.  but, when they started stocking trout below beaver dam, and we got the constant releases of cold water out of beaver to keep the trout alive spawn success went downhill.  couple that with the fact that all the tournaments are held on the lower end of the lake, there is constant removal of the bass on the upper end to never be seen again.  the brownie transportation proves two things.  when you transplant a bass, it stays in the area.  then, it proves that stocking works.  ARE YOU LISTENING MDC!!!!!

bo

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2 hours ago, merc1997 said:

yes, we just left off another 6 at eagle rock the other night.  did not get to bring very many last summer because of depth we were catching and water temps.  we live in cassville and the upper end is on the way back home.

the lower end has such a great brownie population that there is hardly anytime that you can't go and catch a bunch of brownies.  fronts and what not do not seem to bother them.  it would be nice to have that many up here on the upper end and not have to drive as far to go catch them.  so, every trip possible, we bring some back up here.  back in the late 80's early 90's there was a weekly night tournament out of big m.  we would run down to kimberling city and catch a limit of brownies and bring them them back for weigh-in at big m.  over a period of time, that is how the brownies got started around big m.  they are now taking hold around eagle rock from our efforts.  they are successfully spawning too because we have caught a few sub-legals.  

this also demonstrates that stocking does work, and the mdc could really help the bass population on the upper end with some stocking.  up until we began hauling the brownies up here, it was extremely rare that one was ever caught up on the upper end.  i have fished table rock since 1963, and grew up fishing just the eagle rock area.  it used to be one of the best areas of the lake to fish.  but, when they started stocking trout below beaver dam, and we got the constant releases of cold water out of beaver to keep the trout alive spawn success went downhill.  couple that with the fact that all the tournaments are held on the lower end of the lake, there is constant removal of the bass on the upper end to never be seen again.  the brownie transportation proves two things.  when you transplant a bass, it stays in the area.  then, it proves that stocking works.  ARE YOU LISTENING MDC!!!!!

bo

Bo...

 

That is amazing- and awesome!  I hope I meet you so I can shake your hand someday.  Your efforts are paying off for sure.  If you ever want to bring up livewells full of 5 lb largemouths I wouldn't mind that either    I have a box full of your jigs that will surely catch them!

Speaking of your jigs- I am not near the jig fisherman I would like to be.  I have watched a few of the NuTech videos on You Tube...  I would love to see more YouTube content from you guys.  Most of your videos are about the jigs which is awesome but I would love to see more about how you decide where to throw them, how you decide what size/color to throw in different situations.  Kind of a Table Rock Jigs 101 for those of us trying to learn more...  just a suggestion.  Thanks for making such a great product.  I plan on ordering a few more this week actually.  Last order I got that new elite mega blade.  Holy cow- extremely well built!  Now I just need to learn how to use it!

[Guest]

21 hours ago, bferg said:

Bo...

 

That is amazing- and awesome!  I hope I meet you so I can shake your hand someday.  Your efforts are paying off for sure.  If you ever want to bring up livewells full of 5 lb largemouths I wouldn't mind that either    I have a box full of your jigs that will surely catch them!

Speaking of your jigs- I am not near the jig fisherman I would like to be.  I have watched a few of the NuTech videos on You Tube...  I would love to see more YouTube content from you guys.  Most of your videos are about the jigs which is awesome but I would love to see more about how you decide where to throw them, how you decide what size/color to throw in different situations.  Kind of a Table Rock Jigs 101 for those of us trying to learn more...  just a suggestion.  Thanks for making such a great product.  I plan on ordering a few more this week actually.  Last order I got that new elite mega blade.  Holy cow- extremely well built!  Now I just need to learn how to use it!

yes, there is a learning curve to the "Big Wobbler" (Elite Mega Blade).  it will become effective again once we get through spawn and the bass move back out and go to feeding.  it is very effective when fishing out on flats where you might be throwing a deep diving crankbait.  i caught a couple on it in the kings river last week while night fishing.

as far as videos, i have got to get chane to get the stuff mounted unto my boat.  we got the stuff so that i can film while i fish, but have not got it wired and mounted.  the other problem now, is the fact that it is time to fish at night, at least for me.  way too many people out in the daytime for me, and it is getting too warm.  but, the plan is to do more informational videos.  bass catching on table rock has changed so much over the years.  it will never be like it once was.  even pre-spawn habits have changed.  i never go fishing anymore with a plan in mind because the bass are doing something different everyday, and are in a totally different location.  you literally just have to go hunt them up each trip.  when the spawn gets over and they move back out, use your electronics to see which areas have the most bait.  the bass literally just seem to move around with the bait.  which makes sense because they eat for a living.  there are not too many crawdads in the lake anymore and all you have to do is to take a look at the rocks to see why.  they are all covered with the brown sludge left from the sewer moss that grows each spring and then dies.  there is nothing for the crawdads to eat.  i know several folks that put out crawdad traps, and everyone of them have the same story.  very hard to get any.  so, bass for the most part just stay with the shad.

here are a couple of pics from friday night.  fished from kc to indian point.  did not have very many bites but had some good ones.  best 5 would have weighed 23 very easy.  everything we caught was 15 to 20 feet deep.  the two in the pics were both 20 ft. deep.

bo

 

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Thanks Bo...  you might convert me to night fishing!  I am an early morning guy right now but even that gets tough here in a month or so.  I love that this form has so many experienced guys who fish different styles.  I learn a ton.