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Bass Fishing Table Rock
Missouri Fishing Articles, Regional Fishing, United States Fishing Articles | Missouri theangler PM
Ever notice how your life seems to be more stress-filled than your father’s or grandfather’s? In fact, the tranquility of being out on the water and a part of the natural scheme of things is fishing’s allure for many folks. Many folks also consider the fishing found in the crystal-clear lakes and streams of Missouri’s Ozarks as the definitive paradigm for blending the simpler times of yesteryear with today’s high-tech bass fishing.
The world just seems to turn a little slower when you’re in the scenic tree-covered Ozark hills. Admittedly, today’s Ozark bass fisherman streaking across the water at sixty miles per hour represents quite a contrast to the angler of fifty years ago who slid silently down the White River catching a creel full of smallies and spotted bass.
But, if you’ll disregard the high-tech fish-finding electronics in your boat for a moment and reflect into the gin-clear water, you just might realize that not that much has changed here. Let your mind drift and you may catch the spirit of times past when a bass fisherman moved silently in an old wooden johnboat with hand-made paddles. Occasionally a mountain man would “guide” some city slickers down the White for a week or more to earn a little pocket money. Crowded together in the little boats, the fishermen cast to placid pools and precariously thumped down rapids seated on old folding canvas chairs as the guide sat on a cushion or his rolled-up clothing. The locals used short tubular steel bait-casting rods, while the “sports” might use bamboo, and most of the lures were hand-carved.
Time and technology may have made quantum leaps, but the camaraderie of fishermen and their relationship to the fish lingers on. Bass fishing here is steeped in tradition and it’s easy to see why the Branson area is regarded as the cradle of modern bass fishing.
Bass Fishing Table Rock
Table Rock LakeTable Rock dam is located just south of Branson and forms a gin-clear 52,000-acre impoundment that contains over 850 miles of shoreline and is 220 feet deep at the dam. The bottom wasn’t cleared of trees, so the lake is full of structure although it may not be visible to the eye. It’s chocked full of old cedars and hardwoods, in some places you’ll find oaks peeping out of water that is as much as 60 feet deep. You’ll find sheer-wall bluffs and sloping points, rocky coves and pea-gravel banks. Table Rock has the habitat to hold fish in all seasons.
The well-known White River reservoir is stocked with three species of bass: smallmouth, Kentucky bass and largemouth. Trust me when I caution you bank-thrashers from the southeast, Texas and Oklahoma–this lake requires a different kind of fishing than you may be used to. If you don’t know how to finesse fish in crystal-clear water, a guide is in order to put you on spooky Table Rock bass.
Tim Sainato’s Gone Fishin’ & Co.
You won’t find a better Table Rock guide than B.A.S.S. pro Tim Sainato, owner of Gone Fishin’ & Co. Sainato grew up with a rod and reel in his hand, fishing the Mediterranean along the North African coast as a boy before moving to Branson as a young man. At the age of fourteen he began guiding down the White River and Tanyecomo in a john boat, and bought his first boat at age sixteen with money he had earned guiding. Tim is a world-class bass fisherman and nobody knows Table Rock better.
A member of the Nitro pro-team, Tim fishes a new Nitro bass boat loaded with first-rate and meticulously maintained equipment. He can furnish everything the visiting angler needs to catch Table Rock bass. A winner of numerous Table Rock Fishing tournaments, Tim is a well-known regular on the B.A.S.S. Central circuit.
The Branson pro is not one to name drop, but some of his fishing clients include Reba McIntyre, Steve Wariner, the Judds, Sawyer Brown, Ricky Skaggs, the Beach Boys and Kenny Loggins, to name a few. It’s plain to see that Sainato is one of the most sought after guides in the tri-lakes area.
“Table Rock can be a frustrating lake to people who haven’t fished here before,” cautioned Sainato. “Springtime is probably the easiest time to catch fish here, but a lot of people just aren’t used to fish that bed in fifteen to twenty feet of water.”
Tim’s favorite springtime baits are topwaters like Zara spooks and Chug Bugs in the early morning. Spinners will work if the fish are aggressive, but when the sun gets high, finesse techniques like mojo’ing French Fries are required to catch fish on beds as much as twenty feet deep.
“Summer fishing can be especially frustrating to a lot of fisherman,” warns the Table Rock pro. “The fish suspend deep off main lake points, but are easy to locate and catchable if you know how.” French Fries, topwaters and Gitzits can produce summer bass, but there are days that even the Table Rock guides have to resort to live night crawlers to catch suspended summer bass.
“Night fishing is particularly effective in the summer on Table Rock,” added Sainato. “My
favorite lure is a dark jig ‘n pig thrown along sheer bluffs located on the river bends. I’ve caught a lot of big bass night fishing Table Rock.”
In fall the Table Rock bass scatter and can be found anywhere from two feet of water to fifty feet according to Sainato. “I favor the north side of the lake in the fall.” Sainato added. “The more direct sunlight keeps the water a little warmer. Crankbaits in just two colors–crawfish orange and green–are about all I use as crankbaits. Spinners work well, too, and you can cover a lot of water with them to locate scattered fish.”
“You can even catch Table Rock fish in the winter,” exclaimed the enthusiastic Sainato. “In fact, I am working on my second fishing video concentrating on techniques to catch deep water bass. In the winter I fish submerged timber close to deep water.” According to Tim, you can catch Table Rock bass on stick baits and spinners even in the dead of winter. But, locating schools of sluggish Kentuckys and smallies and vertical jigging is probably the most effective cold weather technique.
Tim Sainato is a fisherman’s fisherman and a man for all seasons on Table Rock–truly a lake for all seasons. Tim can be reached between B.A.S.S. tournaments at 417/334-8113 or 1-800-GO-FISH1. You can visit his website at https://www.timsainato.net/ and order his video “Table Rock Bass” to learn more techniques for fishing this beautiful Ozark lake. The video is also available at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield.