What I heard...

[Tablerock]

I too have heard those kinds of stories but being a certified diver since 1979, I kind of doubt that anybody got very scared. If you are qualified to dive that deep, you're not going to be scared of a fish in a freshwater lake....
Still, the fish many of us see at depths well beyond our fishing experience is fasinating. I regularly graph large fish, suspended here at Tablerock at 48 to 60 feet. These babies are bigger then bass. And out in the middle of nowhere. I think it's time to get a camera down there. Wouldn't it be nice (song??) to crack that code. No matter what the species, a fish that big on a rod and reel has gotta fun....

[Ozark]

I've always heard stories like that too, but legends aside, that doesn't mean it's not partially true.

I don't believe in catfish the size of cars, but some forty-pounders wouldn't surprise me. Whatever they are, I think there are sometimes clusters of big fish in that area at a surprising depth. There can't be much oxygen down there, so it seems odd that they could stay that deep.

I'd like to see someone send an Aqua-View camera with a light down there on a calm day. That would be interesting.

[ackermannsacre]

CW - For monochrome GPS units I would go with the Eagle Intellimap 480 or the Lowrance GlobalMap 4800M. The Eagle can be had for $303.78 and the Lowrance for $352.28 The only difference is the Eagle has a amber backlight and the Lowrance is white, like the X-135. The are both the same size screen as the X-135 and they both use the Navionics Classic and Gold chips.

[T HAUS]

I hate to bring bassin down here to the wally forum and by no means am I an expert, but I've heard tell of fellas catchin wallys on spoons, similar to spoonin for bass.

Chitty way of fishin, especially in this heat, but with the water temps as warm as they are, it just seems that the fish would congregate at those extreme depths. Makes sense that those boys did good that deep.
Just a thought..

[coyotewhacker]

AA....thanks for the info. I was going through both BPS and Cabela's websites last night, and the assortment of available units was really confusing. I wish BPS would hurry up and come out with their own line of navigational aids so there would be a basis for comparison. The X135 screen, while considerably bigger than the standard size, is still a bit small for my failing eyes. I'm thinking that I really want a 10" screen mounted on a Ram extension so I can stay on a contour....some of us don't have those PST trolling motors on the front of our boats like TR has.
CW also hates to mention the "b#ss" word, but I need some positive reinforcement, so I'm off to the Lindley arm of Pomme de Terre this morning with a good supply of Gulp turtleback worms, some bullet weights and some 2/0 hooks to see if I can go one-on-one with some meanmouth walleyes, or maybe some pelagic white walleyes that roam up and down the steep banks up there. A loaded up rod does wonders for one's outlook no matter what's on the hook. Hope all you guys have a good weekend and put lots of filets in the freezer.

[powerdive]

I believe there's plenty of oxygen below the thermocline in the lakes around here, for several reasons:

1. Trout.

2. No winter ice cover to inhibit oxygen exchange.

3. No vegetation to decay and burn up oxygen.

4. Walleye In-sider Magazine said so.

So for me, the question becomes, what forage is down there, and also what about the water pressure?

(T HAUS, thanks for chiming in. We spoon for walleyes in the winter also. It's a blast when it works!)

[Tablerock]

I have seen HUGE schools of shad at 70 feet....many times. They have filled half of the screen on my old X-85. And on the 100 foot scale on the sonar, half a screen is a really, really big school.
Still I wonder if those really deep fish are there mostly there "resting"....?? The PWT guys pre-fishing were catching the heck out of really deep walleyes but I believe most of those fish were suspended above deep timber. REELXTC knows alot more about that. Gary, where are you ?

[Hellbender]

One thing you might add PD, is that water is pulled down during generation. I don't know the effect, but I'm sure it pulls some of the upper levels down.

[Ozark]

Not talking about lower Tablerock, of course, but in places around here where there's a current it should put oxygen all the way to the bottom regardless of depth.

Wednesday night when we drove across the bridge in Branson, we noticed Taneycomo was really rolling. When we launched on Bull Shoals I was surprised at how much current there was. With no wind, our boat was moving at 1 mph and we were 'way down by Bee Creek. We had to drift with it, as it was hard to constantly go against it with the trolling motor.

In those conditions, there's probably as much oxygen at the bottom of the deep channel as anywhere else. Sure enough, that's where we scoped most of the fish, 45 to 55 feet deep where we couldn't really reach them.

[coyotewhacker]

Somebody here said it earlier that they basically fish all the highland reservoirs like rivers. If you get right down to the nitty-gritty, when the generators are open and water is flowing through, there has to be current the entire length of the lake to some degree. I saw it last year in Stockton fishing way up Maze Creek near the bridge. There was almost no wind, but there was a debris line moving back out toward the mouth and main lake. It was definitely a current indicator. Have we been totally overlooking the current thing that drives the bite at Bull Shoals ? Kick me in the ankle and pass the jigging spoon box.............

[Tablerock]

Last year at the Bull Shoals PWT tournement, one of the pro's, Gerrick McComsey, said he set on his spot all morning not doing much but when the opened the gates at BS dam around noon, they had no trouble catching their limit.
Totally a current related event.
Scott, thanks for reminding me of that. Now, If the Corp of Engr's would just give me control of all the dam's in the area, I'd be all set.

[coyotewhacker]

All spring long the COE kept the Stockton gates closed so they could store up "money" for this time of year. As long as it stays hot, it's fairly reasonable to believe that they will draw down the lake for generating purposes. That water goes into Truman, so it can be used again, then again as it passes into LOZ. Pretty good business the COE has there. Build the lake with taxpayer's dollars, use it to store free water, then generate electrical power at least three times with the same water before it can no longer be controlled.

[powerdive]

Yeah, I keep forgetting about these manmade reservoirs. It's all natural lakes back where I come from, and if they fluctuate 6 inches it's drastic weather that year. Current is surely a factor at some times down here, probably even down deep. Wish I could figure it out.

[Hellbender]

I'm not sure about the 'Eyes, but the Spots and Smallies will often react to generation by ducking downstream behind points, where they set up in ambush.

[Shannon Woods]

Ok I have a question: This year during the PWT tournment some of my pro's was talking about how the generating controlled the bite last year so here goes.........If you are not SUPPOSE to use a cell phone during tournment hours and if they was not close enough to the dam to hear the horn ( I guess BS has one Beaver Dam does) to know when they start generating and they do not have a generating schedule how do they figure this out?