RandySBreth

Booyah Baby Boo with the skirt cut finesse style, and backed with a PowerBait Craw. PB&J color. Or my own hair jigs.

If it's a small enough stream to wade,I'm usually using my 9' 6-weight fly rod, but I sometimes use a 7' med/light spinning rod for that, too. 4/10 Fireline Spooled on a 2500 size reel, and I use 8- or 10-pound test Fluoro leaders, depending on cover and lures. I carry everything in a fly vest whether I'm using fly gear or not, just easier than anything else I've tried. Can't beat wading a nice stream for Smallies.

I see now. I would use epoxy, and (VERY LIGHTLY) scuff the inside and outside of the ferrule (where the two pieces fit together) with sandpaper, then epoxy together. Most short (under 8') spinning and casting blanks that are one piece have the "bands' as you called them, they are just decorative.

I see now. I would use epoxy, and (VERY LIGHTLY) scuff the inside and outside of the ferrule (where the two pieces fit together) with sandpaper, then epoxy together. Most short (under 8') spinning and casting blanks that are one piece have the "bands' as you called them, they are just decorative.

Yeah, it's busy during the warm weather period, but in April you should have the lake mostly to yourself, you'll need to check the water patrol website for how many Tourneys are going on that week. Could be lots, but it'll be mostly on the weekend. http://www.mswp.dps.mo.gov/regattas/RegResults.asp?RegMonth=4&RegYear=2010&RegWaterway=Table+Rock+++++++++++++++&SubRegatta=Search Sorry I can't help on the cabin info, I live just up the road so I sleep at home. ;D

I haven't been in a while but on one of the local fishing websites a guide service posts weekly reports from Stockton. http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showforum=46

I fish with 2, 3, 4, and even 5 piece rods, both conventional and fly, and have never had one come apart when fishing. Either the rods are bad, or you're not getting them snugged up well enough when assembling them. I love multi-piece rods. How else are you going to take them on a trip where you can't haul one of those bazooka rod carriers you need for one piece rods?

Superline (Braid or fused) doesn't make the line twist you get with spinning reels go away, but really helps make it a non-issue. I sometimes throw a Fluke-style bait half the day when float fishing, and never have problems with twist, but I use the Fireline/Fluoro leader set-up. Or you can try the swivel thing.

Worms for Smallmouths aren't a joke. Like any lure you just have to know how to rig them and how to present them. Texas rigged on a small wide gap hook with a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce bullet weight is great for pitching behind current breaks (logs, rocks) and curl tail worms are great on jig heads - use just like a grub. A small baitfish-colored finesse worm drop shot rigged is awesome for bass that are tight to current breaks like bridge pilings- pitch right at the current break and use just enough weight to let the current slowly sweep it through the current seam beside the cover. The lure will trail out downstream - and look just like a minnow trying to fight the current. There's way more than that, but that's a start. Here's a couple of good In-Fisherman article about Smallmouth worms. http://www.in-fisherman.com/content/smallmouth-worms http://www.in-fisherman.com/content/smallmouth-worm-different-animal/1 My favorite is the 4- to 6-inch curltail on a 1/8-ounth jighead instead of a grub. It's a killer.

I'm a huge In-fisherman fan, but this isn't really new, just a wrinkle on the "one ton tubing" thing by Yamamoto. The blurb from the 2004 Yamamoto lineup about tubes says: "Power fish deep using the latest one ton torpedo tubing tactics". The main thing is the bigger "Goby" head, and Blalog's knowledge of those huge Erie Smallmouths. I don't think anyone is ripping off someones idea or anything though-what probably happened is they both arrived at this point separately, but from looking at the presentation of tubes in the ways they both use them, and the fish they are targeting. Brilliant minds sometimes do think alike. Oh- and In-Fisherman rules.

I like 40- to 65-pound Superline for Spinners and Buzzers. You will need to go down in rod power. My former river Smallie spinnerbait rod was MH, but now I use 40-pound test braid (10-pound diameter) and use a medium rod. Better. Never lose fish, even in the nastiest timber.

You can use bait for trout, but considering that you have a chance at huge Browns, ask your guide what they recommend, but usually it'll be jerkbaits like the XRap in size 08 and 10 or Rogue Jr. and cranks like the Shad Rap. Last report from someone I know has the new XRap shad in regular and shallow versions nailing big fish. Another fun option is Little Cleo spoons or Vibrax and Mepps spinners. Let them swing across and down in the current-the fish hook themselves. Colors? A few bright (yellow/orange) a few dark, a few subtle, natural colored models. Experiment. Lot's of fish in the White. I've had days of flyfishing down there where I don't know how many fish I caught. Conventional tackle is so easy, you can catch 100 fish in a good day, easy. Bull Shoals lake will require some deep fishing, drop shot, and stuff like that. Again, a guide will help. I'd fish the river this time of year. Cooler, more fish.

No, It's kind of like having a couple of kids, you don't love one more than the other, but maybe you appreciate them for different things. Beaver has Striper's, so that's interesting to mess around with when I'm down there. Table Rock has bigger fish as far as the Largemouth, Spots, and Smallmouths. I caught my best Largemouth out of Beaver two years ago- Just a tad over 5-pounds. A five-pounder on The Rock is nice, but nothing unusual. I mean, there's 5-pound Smallmouth in there, too. Monster Spots, also. My favorite thing about both of them is the thing lot's of "traditional" bass guys hate- water clarity. I know one guy who thinks he's really hot stuff, and fishes some little night tournaments. He still uses bass gear from about 1983. Baitcaster with 12-pound mono, and a big full skirt jig'n'pig (blue-black of course). That can work, but mostly it's finesses jigs or shaky head worms. He makes fun of spinning gear, but gets beat every week by a couple of much more versatile, up to date younger guys. He blames the Conservation Department (he thinks there's not as many fish in the lake as there used to be) or the recreational boat traffic (scares the fish) when in reality, he just can't can't (or won't) keep up with what it takes to fish a highly pressured super-clear water environment. I know right where you're at there in Fisher, I usually launch out of Mill Creek, right across the lake from your spot there. Good spot.

Winter. Any fool can catch fish when it's warm out...

I live up the road a bit in Ozark. A spot on The Rock would be sweet. My in-laws live on Beaver, so I do get the privilege of waking up there and fishing it often when we visit. I don't get to fish Table Rock as much these days due to working waaay too much, but it's a great lake. Like most locals, you'll probably come to like the colder weather, keeps the tourists away, and the fishing is still great, all Winter long. We don't ice up, either. ;D All the White River Lakes fish pretty similar, you'll have some time to get used to them.

So using a spinning reel instantly makes you a better fisherman? :-? No, you missed the point. Very often a super long cast w/ a very light lure is the ticket where I fish. You just can't do it with baitcasting tackle, and people who fish tournaments know it. You may want to fish with the baitcaster and 10-pound test, but the fish tell you if that's gonna work or not. Beaver Lake is even clearer. You can see bottom in 30-feet of water. There's another wrinkle, too. Drop-shotting. The Table Rock Bassmaster event back in '06 is a great example. Edwin Evers would reel in a fish and the second he put the spinning rod on the deck with bass in hand to unhook it- he would open the bail on another spinning rig that had a drop-shot rig on it hanging over the gunnels, sending it to the depths as he unhooked the fish at hand. If you freespool a baitcaster maybe you can do that, but it's sure not as easy. He didn't win, but came close running from spot to spot and getting in little flurries of activity like that. I should just let folks miss out and fish the same way they have for eons. More for me.

Because here on Table Rock people who refuse to pick up spinning gear get waxed to a high sheen by those who do. Shaky heads, long cast w/thin deep running superline for deep crankin' and even the new flutter spoons are all better down with spinning gear. Smaller swimbaits. Oh, yeah, suspending jerks work better on Spinning tackle, too. How far can you throw an 1/8-ounce jig w/5-inch grub on a baitcaster, against the wind? Not far enough.

Wacky rigging works. Just try to match the hook to the lure size. Weedless helps, too. Check your P.M.s topwater.va

Spinnerbaits burned by the cover will sometimes bring them out. Otherwise, yeah, usually jigs or some soft plastic pitched in there is the ticket.

Superline (whether braided or fused) make spinning gear so much better it's ridiculous. The main issue is to decide whether or not you use a leader, or tie direct to the lure. That's another topic, though. You'll have to decide for yourself after you switch.

Superlines (not just braid) are spinning reels best friend. You'll see.

Shhhhh! That's my go-to size and color for Winter Table Rock Bass. Great lure. The tiny (06 and 08) sizes are fantastic for panfish and trout, too.

Well, how did it go?

My 1/8 ounce brown/tan/pumpkin hair jig w/ Zoom Shaky tail as a trailer.

I do the "different leaders for different conditions" thing, but if you haven't gone completely that way you might want to stick with mono or fluoro, especially for the crankbait rig. I'd definitely spool some superline for the spinning setup, though.