Branson, Missouri; A Sportsman’s Paradise with World-Class Entertainment!
I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual AGLOW (Association of Great Lake Outdoor Writers) conference. This year the conference was hosted by the city of Branson, Missouri, home to the world-famous Tablerock Lake. This trip was a dream come true as I’ve known about Tablerock ever since I was a little kid, fishing the Dutch canals and rivers after school. I vividly remember playing the Rapala Pro Fishing video game on my PlayStation; Tablerock Lake was one of my favorite levels to play. Add to that the countless lure brands that named their yellow-purple color pattern after Tablerock Shad and the dozens of articles I read about this place; it all makes this lake a legendary fishing destination!
The conference allowed us to shake hands with fellow outdoor writers from all over the country (not just the Great Lakes region), but more importantly, a chance to experience what the city of Branson and its gorgeous surroundings have to offer for outdoorsmen and women.
The drive up from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex took about 7 hours, but I had already got a taste of the beauty the southern Ozarks would provide us for the next week when we crossed the border of North-East Oklahoma and Arkansas. Post-oak-covered hills quickly turned into limestone gorges covered in bright green shortleaf pine and white oak. When drives become this scenic, they never take long, so before I knew it, we had arrived in Branson, Missouri.
Our hotel is situated on the picturesque shores of Tablerock Lake. Checking in was a breeze, so we spent the rest of the day driving around Branson and getting a feel for the area. A quick visit to Branson’s famous strip highlighted the sheer size of the entertainment available. Still, I was also pleased to find out that the form of entertainment Branson provides wasn’t just limited to one-stop attractions like the Hollywood Wax Museum, the upside-down “Wonderworks,” and the Castle of Chaos. Since 2006 Branson has been home to Branson Landing, a 1.5-mile-long strip of specialty shops and restaurants along the scenic Lake Taneycomo. We made sure to stop by, grab a bite to eat and a well-deserved beer and pay a quick visit to the Branson’s Bass Pro Shops location. Although Branson’s Bass Pro Shops dwindles in size compared to its Springfield location, it was exceptionally convenient. It allowed me to grab some lures and a fishing license last minute without making the 45-minute drive to Springfield. Everything at Branson Landing was very clean, there was a great variety of shops and restaurants, and people were exceptionally friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of that famous Ozarks hospitality.
Since I arrived in Branson two days prior to the start of the conference, I was able to visit Springfield the next day. Obviously, I had to pay a visit to the largest Bass Pro Shops location, which also happens to be the second largest store located in the United States! To be frank, I could write ten pages about this place, but in short, this place is an outdoorsman’s (not necessarily dry) dream. Never-ending aisles of fishing baits and lures, rods, reels and combos, outdoor clothes, boats, ATVs, firearms, and ammo only obstructed in view by mind-boggling taxidermy and aquariums, and I didn’t even get to the best part. The Springfield Bass Pro Shops also provides its visitors with an exceptional display of outdoor history. From Geronimo’s bow and arrows and Herbert Hoover’s fly-fishing gear to Theodore Roosevelt’s hunting rifles and trophies, this place has it all, and it’s all for free, available to the public!
During my stay in Branson, I got a taste of the outdoor opportunities sportsmen and women will be able to experience while staying in the beautiful western Ozark region. I kicked off with a morning session of bass fishing on Tablerock Lake. Our guide, Mike Webb from Webb’s Fishing Service, has over 25 years of fishing experience on Tablerock Lake, so it was safe to say I was in good hands. Fishing early fall on Tablerock is always tricky. Luckily Mike’s brand-new bass boat was decked out with all the bells and whistles to aid in locating this morning’s quarry: spotted, smallmouth, and largemouth bass. It wasn’t long before Mike found schools of shad being harassed by some hungry bass, and before I knew it, I was onto my first Tablerock largemouth. Crystal clear waters and pressured fish require specialty tackle on this lake, which in this case meant sizing down to a 6lb line and jigging a small vibration lure; it was a recipe for success!
The Livescope unit gave us a fantastic view of where the fish were feeding. There’s nothing like seeing a fish chasing your lure 30 feet under the boat on screen. Live sounder units have given a new dimension to fishing and fish-finding opportunities. As the name suggests, Livescope provides the angler with a live view of what happens under and around the boat instead of that single snapshot in time a traditional sounder would provide. Where conventional sounders could be compared to a picture, live sounders could be compared to a live video. The unit on Mike’s boat accurately displayed fish movements, feeding habits, and, most importantly, the fish’s location. Numerous times we witnessed groups of bass plowing through schools of gizzard shad, leaving a big hole in the middle of the school. Mike referred to these baitfish school formations as “doughnuts.” The Livescope unit also picked up our line and lure, allowing us to accurately present our lures to the fish. I was used to playing the Tablerock Lake level on the Rapala Pro Fishing video game, but this Livescope unit gave me the feeling I was playing a video game on Tablerock Lake! Let’s call it Finception! After a quick move to a new spot, we were able to see a nice Kentucky spotted bass slam my lure live on screen… high fives all round!
A solid Kentucky spotted bass hit the deck shortly afterward. Since we only had a little bit of time to kill before our conference obligations filled in the rest of that day’s schedule, we headed back after a couple of hours of fishing. With a couple of solid spots, largemouth, and a handful of bluegills, it was a productive morning nonetheless!
Next on my list: bowfishing! After a 30-minute drive to the river, the two guides met my group at the boat ramp. Bryan from Stained Water Bowfishing and Josh from Branson’s Full Throttle Fishing Adventures. Since it was my first time bowfishing, I was a little worried about how I would fare, but with some helpful tips from Captain Bryan, I was ready to give it the good ole college try. The exceptional quality of these waterways and the abundance of fish filling them became ever so clear when the sunset and the custom-built bowfishing lights were turned on. If you’d take all of the shad out of that river we were on, I’m sure the water level would drop by 60%! This was excellent news because I would need all the practice I could get.
Understanding a fish’s movement and, most importantly, getting a feel for the refraction of light through water is key to making a good shot. While others were focused on carp and gar, I set my (bow) sights on gizzard shad. Although exceptionally plentiful, shad swim relatively fast and erratic, which, combined with their smaller size, make them a rather tricky target to shoot. I’m sure my success rate was only somewhere between 2 and 5%, but that didn’t suppress the joy or the action! A handful of shad and longnose gar hit the deck that night. Experiencing this in the quiet of the night, in between these beautiful, steep limestone cliffs, was nothing short of spectacular. Add sightings of owls, whitetail deer, armadillos, skunks, and other wildlife on the river bank, and you have a bowfishing trip to remember.
Last but not least was fishing the famous Lake Taneycomo for trout. At last, I could put that Missouri trout stamp to use. Unfortunately, due to some logistical hiccups on my behalf, I met up with my guide Josh from Branson’s Full Throttle Fishing Adventures later than anticipated. The morning bite had already shut down; the guys had done well with over 20 trout for the morning. I was hoping to join them for a miracle afternoon bite. The water was crystal clear, and it was easy to spot lots of free-swimming trout. The high sun, lack of overcast, and high temperatures made it challenging to catch fish on artificials.
I kept my fingers crossed for that one hungry fish. If there were one little jerkbait that would pull this miracle bite off, it would be my old reliable Jackall Squirrell 61sp. When we drifted through a deeper pool of the river, I noticed a nice little rainbow trout charging up behind my jerkbait; I twitched the lure twice and was able to get the fish to commit boat-side. Fish on! After some quick pictures, that gorgeous rainbow was released to fight another day.
The Taneycomo trout session was the cherry on an already delicious cake; it was also a sign-off on a very successful outdoors-themed week in Branson, Missouri. One of the challenges many outdoors people face is finding a balance between the outdoors and family time. Branson is unique because the city combines world-class outdoor adventures with all the family entertainment anyone would need at their fingertips. It is the perfect getaway for families wanting to enjoy the beautiful Ozark outdoors but also experience great food, a comfortable hotel, and a wide variety of entertainment. Whether you’re looking for that potential world-record trout, wanting to see some fantastic live shows, or going on a scenic boat tour, Branson, Missouri has everything!
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Sebas moved to Australia for college and work and now is fortunate enough to call the great United States of America home. Ever since he can remember, he has been exceptionally passionate about the outdoors, sport fishing in particular. While in college in Australia, he held a job as a fishing guide and deckhand for a sportfishing charter operation on the Great Barrier Reef; an experience he will never forget. Sebas has been published in various publications for Dutch, Australian, and US-based magazines and online platforms and runs a Youtube channel with sport fishing and lure building content as well. Now that he has been living in the United States for six years, he has been able to pick up a new passion in the form of hunting. Hunting Nilgai on the King Ranch and Whitetail along the Red River has been a tremendous experience and is hoping for more to come!