Bit of a Lake Report

[Champ188]

On 5/15/2022 at 7:59 PM, Ron Burgundy said:

Walleye numbers won’t last with the way people keep the females that are full of eggs up the kings and beaver tail waters , they absolutely slaughter them. 

Plus, upper-White River guides seem to be growing in numbers each year and they are posting pic after pic on Facebook of super sized females getting their sides sawed off day in and day out. 

[Bill Babler]

5 hours ago, aarchdale@coresleep.com said:

I love my crappie and i have my creel limit, so im on the bass headspace now. That being said i agree i think they need to lower the limit.  I also love my livescope but it is hurting our crappie. 

I got into Scuba 10 years or so ago and i didnt do much on Table Rock because with the boat traffic and most people dont know what a dive flag means, so My brother basically taught me on Bull. But he said back in the day the flatheads around Kimberling were so thick.  People need to utilize this, to me a flathead taste every bit as good as a crappie.  Trotlines can be a pain for a bass fisher but when i see one and it labeled and visible i respect that and move on.  

So many cats in TR that dont get fished for,  I think i sad this in a different report but a few weeks ago but i hooked a little bass on a crank and i was just barely wiggling and then it just stopped like it hit a log. I popped it a few times and then i realized it was a fish, i never saw it but it went from 5ft out to 20 and i have never had a  rod bent over so far but it came off. Pretty sure it was a big cat that tried to eat the little bass. 

Just simply a great post. Thank you. 
personally I was totally shocked to hear that 99% of keeper crappie were harvested each year in Table Rock 
Makes you wonder if any type of a flub up In nature with only a 1% cushion is mighty close.   Of course that’s keeper, not total population. I think Shane told me they are keeper size in 2 years and have a life span of 7-8 years. 

I will say again the brush and shoreline is brimming  full of bass fry. 
 

[Bill Babler]

4 minutes ago, Champ188 said:

Plus, upper-White River guides seem to be growing in numbers each year and they are posting pic after pic on Facebook of super sized females getting their sides sawed off day in and day out. 

Wow, haven’t seen that but I don’t do Facebook. I will say there are guide business cards all over the place that I have no idea who they are. Good thing I retired to make room for them. 🤪🤪🤪

[Champ188]

1 minute ago, Bill Babler said:

Wow, haven’t seen that but I don’t do Facebook. I will say there are guide business cards all over the place that I have no idea who they are. Good thing I retired to make room for them. 🤪🤪🤪

Several of them operating up there out of Bertram Access and for the most part, they seem to be the type who couldn't give one popcorn fart about the resource. Killing limits every day they can ... many of them big females spewing roe. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

6 hours ago, aarchdale@coresleep.com said:

I love my crappie and i have my creel limit, so im on the bass headspace now. That being said i agree i think they need to lower the limit.  I also love my livescope but it is hurting our crappie. 

I got into Scuba 10 years or so ago and i didnt do much on Table Rock because with the boat traffic and most people dont know what a dive flag means, so My brother basically taught me on Bull. But he said back in the day the flatheads around Kimberling were so thick.  People need to utilize this, to me a flathead taste every bit as good as a crappie.  Trotlines can be a pain for a bass fisher but when i see one and it labeled and visible i respect that and move on.  

So many cats in TR that dont get fished for,  I think i sad this in a different report but a few weeks ago but i hooked a little bass on a crank and i was just barely wiggling and then it just stopped like it hit a log. I popped it a few times and then i realized it was a fish, i never saw it but it went from 5ft out to 20 and i have never had a  rod bent over so far but it came off. Pretty sure it was a big cat that tried to eat the little bass. 

I posted about this before.   Get some Doritos and chum up some bluegill.   It won’t take long and you’ll see how many catfish are in table rock.   I’ve done it from the pontoon near the island across from the state park with the grandkids.   Those cats come in and pound those bluegill.   

[Champ188]

17 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I posted about this before.   Get some Doritos and chum up some bluegill.   It won’t take long and you’ll see how many catfish are in table rock.   I’ve done it from the pontoon near the island across from the state park with the grandkids.   Those cats come in and pound those bluegill.   

Agreed that catfish are very underutilized ... I personally think a flathead 5 pounds and below eats about as good as anything in the lake. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, Champ188 said:

Agreed that catfish are very underutilized ... I personally think a flathead 5 pounds and below eats about as good as anything in the lake. 

This is river flathead and I thought about eating it.   Smoked a square bill.  

[DADAKOTA]

Why not close the season on walleye during the spawn.  For that matter bass too.

[Flysmallie]

8 minutes ago, DADAKOTA said:

Why not close the season on walleye during the spawn.  For that matter bass too.

That would help the walleye. A lot of them get caught by people fishing for whites. And  you can bet they are going to keep it. No matter how many fish they already have. 
 

Can’t close the season on bass because that’s a very profitable time of year. 

[Quillback]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

This is river flathead and I thought about eating it.   Smoked a square bill.  

Caught this dude on Beaver yesterday.

 

Transformed into fillets.  I'm going to make some fish chowder and needed a fish with firm flesh, not flakey like walleye or crappie.  Still need either another cat, striper or a white or two.  Another excuse to go fishing.  😀