i need help....this lake is hurting my feelings.

[carolina-rig-01]

i am in desperate need of some helpful hints for the shell knob area. in the spring i was having good success around this part of the lake, consistantly catching solid limits (always catch and release). now that summer is here i am lost, from what i hear this isn't too uncommon on this part of the lake. i am looking help and advice on what i should be doing for the last few hours of daylight and overnight (to avoid a lot of playboat traffic). not asking for anyone to tell me their spots or anything too specific, just what kind of water, cover, maybe baits in general. let me say that i consider myself more of a power type angler but finding myself using a finesse rod more and more as i see it to be valuable on this deep clear pond. a dropshot is something i have never done but would love to learn so maybe one day i can talk mrs. carolina rig into letting me go with bill or don to learn this. guys let me say in advance i will appreciate any info you are willing to offer.

carolina rig

[rps]

When it comes to fishing, the only thing I will pretend to be good at is the eating part.

Before I moved over here from Oklahoma, I fished TR and BS fairly often. But always Spring and Fall. Post spawn until leaf change embarrassed me the first two years. I learned that while the sun is up you fish the thermocline, go upriver until it turns color, or take a nap. You may have noticed, most of my posts start "went out early this morning..."

Some things a power fisherman might feel comfortable to try:

1. Many of the points near where the Kings River enters the lake are long, long fingers that break into the channel eventually. Graph the edges of these to find concentrations of bait fish. Fish under the bait fish jigging a spoon or hopping a fluke on a quarter ounce road runner head.

2. Watermelon red lizards carolina rigged and dragged at the deep tree line around the island.

3. My largest TR bass came out of the tree tops on the bluff where the Kings River ends. Unless you troll a crank, vertical spoons and drop shotting are the way to fish these.

4. My after dark standby is a black twin spin with black pig fished either slow rolled through and over timber or pulled and dropped down a sloped bank.

Each of the above has worked for me at one time or another in your part of the lake during the summer.

Another thing to try:

Message SKMO. He seems to know a huge amount about that area and seems willing to share.

[Don House]

carolina-rig-01, well this lake can be very hard, but here are a few things to keep in mind this time of year.

1) Fish move deep, very deep. Understand this and you can unlock the secrets of Table Rock this time of year.

Start looking for deeper hangouts, Mouths of big creek arms, Bluff ends, channels swings, deep water flats with structure. Locate these and you are half way there. Spend time just looking for these spots, I will spend 2-3 hours a day if I can just looking for new spots and some times it really pays off. Get a good topo map of that part of the lake and study it, mark areas and then go out and give them a look over.

2) Yes, spinning rods are a big key, I used to be a power fishermen also.. I have a rod box full time bait casting rods and reels which I really only use a 1/3 of the time now. Spoon fishing, top water and crank baits are all I use these guys for now. On your spinning rods you will need a mono line no bigger than 6 - 10 pound max and most of my rods are rigged with 6 pound test. It does make a difference! I like to fish with a Medium Light rod or a Medium rod at max.

3) Electronics, big need!! You don't have to go out and buy a 2000.00 dollar unit, but you also get what you pay for. You will need a unit that can be mounted on the trolling motor with an external or internal transducer, which will allow you to vertical fish better. There is a lot of them out there, I would recommend that you look at a color unit at least. GPS on that unit will also be a big help, when you vertical fish you are always looking for new places, 75% of the new places I find are from just fishing and coming across a new tree or ditch or what ever I might find in which I mark with my GPS for later review and a quick stop by to see if anything is hanging out or around it.

4) Try a lot of different ways to fish, drop shot for me is key, but it's also my confidence method of fishing this time of year, more than likely too much, but it's my way of power fishing now. I will use night crawlers to located the fish then return and attempt to use plastics on them. (for you tournament guys)

Spoons are another great way to located fish very fast and it is easy to do, I use an all white 1/2 and 3/4 ounce spoon with a few minor modifications, like changing hooks to better sharper hook, or even adding a second hook called the double trouble rig, in which I add a second hook to the line and allow the spoon to slide up and down the main line. It is really fun when you get two fish on at the same time!!

Top water early and late in the same places listed above are always a good way to locate some good fish, spooks, redfins, chugbugs, pop-r's and the list goes on and on. Deep trees and bluff ends are really good for this.

Flukes of all sizes are a lot of fun this time of the year also. Even better when you can't get a bite on top water, run these just below the surface

with small twitches or even weight them for a deeper approach.

5) Night fishing, well I'm not one to venture out in the dark on Table Rock, but I used to do it a lot, Texas rigged salty craws was one of my big tools, give them a try sometime, Maybe there are guys on here which are much better at this than me, I will let then give you some ideals on this subject.

Play with all of these items and you will start to find and catch better fish on Table Rock Lake, but there is so much to discuss and I have rambled on way to long now. Maybe we can get Mr. Babler to chime in also with a few tricks that he may have also. He has a lot more experience than I do and even more in that area of the lake.

Just keep trying and don't give up, that is what I had to do to try to keep up with these big name guides down here.

Good Luck and Good Fishing

Capt. Don

[bassman1308]

caro rig: It seems there is always a very tough bite around this time of the year as,IMO, the bass are still scattered. Night Fishing should pick up as the lake level drops below 915. Recent tournaments ( 7:00 pm to midnight ) i've fished in the shell knob area the last 2 weeks indicate how tough its been.. The most consistent team has been catching fish in the 10 to 20 ft depths, out of submerged trees on worms. I'm talking light weights fished slowww. It takes a lot of patience and concentration. i hate fishing this way, but i hate losing worse. Through the middle part of june until july 4th, we had several 5 fish limits dragging the bottom but since the 4th, its been really tough for most of us. We had only 3 fish saturday night ( 2 keepers). However one was a 6-15 caught out of a tree in about 20 ft at 11:45. That obviously made our night better. The winners had 5 fish over 11 lbs and coincidentally, is from carthage. rps has pointed out some good areas. Hope this helps.

[Mart]

Don,

You didn't mention jigs with a trailer. Is this a technique you use during the summer in the early AM? I had some success over the last week on secondary points in the main lake / long creek area before 8 AM. Using a PBJ jig and trailer and bouncing it through chunk rock with a long cast (long for me anyhow). Boat at about 25-30 feet and casting as shallow as 10-15. I caught a couple of smallmouth every AM in the just keeper range and one real nice spotted bass before my family woke up.

Just wondering if this is a legitimate pattern or just dump luck.

[Don House]

Mart, nope good bait choice, just left it out... Have not had the chance to fish with clients who can throw one here lately. But still a good choice anytime really, 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce football jigs in PB&J with a small craw or Brown and Purple flash with a matching twin tailed grub and also one of my favorite is a small 1/8 to 1/4 ounce Eakins Jig with matching craw trailer in the same colors. Put the boat in 15 - 30 feet of water and drag or bounce (Hop) them back to the boat on the bottom..

Good fishing everyone and see you on the water..

Capt. Don

[J.E.]

Don,

Rick probably did not tell you but, I took 16th and had big bass at 6.22#'s up at lake O this weekend.

[Gone Fishing]

Good report guys. I don't know about everyone else but it seems like no matter if I am throwing a spinnerbait, jig, or worm, the slower the better at night.