Ramps are off Highway 24 near Calamity Beach and off Highway 551 at the Bridges Creek ramp. The lake lies in Fulton, Baxter and Ozark counties.

Breckenridge Guide Service can be reached at (870) 488-5555 for a spring-run booking. For additional information, contact the Ozark Region office at (417) 256-7161. The Lake Norfork Marina can be reached at (870) 488-5229.

SMITHVILLE RESERVOIR
"There are plenty of 12- to 14- inch fish, with the occasional larger one," said fisheries management biologist Todd Gemeinhardt, who declared Smithville to be his top pick for 2007.

Smithville's Little Platte River is the likely spot to start trolling or casting when the whites start moving. During the next few years, the size of the run may be increasing in proportion to the increase in the number of whites in the reservoir.

Anglers aren't limited to March and April for good fishing, said Gemeinhardt. Watch for the white bass to be surfacing early and late in the day throughout the open-water season as they chase down a meal. Rattletraps and Roadrunners retrieved through the boils will mean plenty of surface action, while heavier spoons trolled across the bottom points during midday will also cash in on active fish, especially on the deep points near the old Trimble Dam.

Mike Colvin, a resource scientist for the MDC who has studied white bass for years, gives the thumbs-up for Smithville. "Smithville's white-bass population is taking off," said Colvin. "For the last few years anglers are reporting that the white-bass fishing is excellent. The fishery is up and coming and looking good."

Trolling a three-way rig with small plastics or a spoon works well when the fish are suspended out in open water. Gravel areas over deep water are good spots to try; electronics can give you a sneak peek, but otherwise, you'll just need to experiment with various depths to fish.

Smithville, covering nearly 8,000 acres, is about a half-hour's drive from Kansas City. Ramp access is good, and a special dock for disabled anglers at the Crows Creek access provides access to the white bass when the fish are in the area.

Contact the Kansas City Region Office at (816) 655-6250 for additional information.

TABLE ROCK LAKE
If, according to fisheries management biologist Matt Mauck, you're looking for a good white-bass bite, Table Rock is one option you'll want to keep open.

During the spring run, bass move up into the James, Elk Fork, Roaring, Kings, Long and Salt Fork rivers. Well-placed anglers can catch all the fish they want if they hit it right. Stream flow, temperature and probably a few factors we don't know about trigger the reproductive instincts as if someone flipped a switch. In the summer months, the fishing gets a little tougher, but being in the right places can pay off.

"Anglers have waylaid some really big white bass right in front of the spillway structure near the dam during the summer," said Mauck. "If you're willing to troll or fish jigging spoons, you can take some bass. Gravel flats from 25 to 40 feet deep are the best areas to troll or spoon for these whites. This lake is a good one for white bass."