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  • Johnsfolly
    Norfork Tailwater and the White River are great trout fisheries in Northern Arkansas. Both have great numbers of big rainbow and brown trout. Norfork also have brook and two species of cutthroat trout. The Dry Run Creek empties into the Norfork tailwater just below the national hatchery and receives a lot of its water from the hatchery outfalls. It is a tremendous trout fishing stream set up for children under the 16 years old. It is catch and release with only single barbless hooks. On Friday I was there with Ham and my daughter Livie. Livie has only caught rainbow trout while fishing the trout parks and urban trout lakes in Missouri and she has never fly fished before. She was looking forward to trying to catch a couple of new trout and possibly one of the giants that swim in this stream. We started fishing at a plunge pool at the lower end of the stream. Fishing a black and red Zig jig she was getting the attention of the multitude of brook trout in this hole. Livie mostly fishes with a float and was having trouble seeing / feeling the bites of the trout on her jig. The fish were all very cooperative and she landed her first brook trout and several more on the zig jig.

     In fact after we switched baits and fished them with a yellow float the trout kept busting the float itself. She also caught one each on a San Juan worm and orange/yellow egg with the fly rod. Never did get the brown trout hooked up from that hole. We headed to the upper part of the stream next. The next hole contained several giant rainbow and brown trout as well as loads of trout and many of them were actively feeding. She fished several baits and flies. We finally got a number of strikes on a John Deere microjig under a small white float. Livie landed a few rainbows.

    Never was able to get the hook set on a couple of the bigger fish that struck her baits. She finally caught a small brown trout on an elk hair caddis with the fly rod. This guy slipped out of the net before we could get a better picture.

    Every stretch of water held trout, often lots of trout, and most held a couple of giants. The fish were cooperative. Though she never got one of the giants, she caught two new species of trout and several rainbows including one that was 12 to 13" in length. Now she did have to put up with the peanut gallery telling her when she had a fish on the bait or that she just missed one of the big ones. I hope that she is able to get back down to fish this creek again. I have to get her practice on the fly rod to get the feel on how to read the fish's behavior, anticipate the take, and to set the hook. I would anticipate that there may be less "One's got it ... Oh boy that was a big one..." 
  • Cobra 188D
    Put in at 815 and off water by 1150 caught 8 bass with 4 keepers biggest being 3lb smallmouth fish came off cedar trees in 20-30 fow spinner bait a rig and shake head did the work no bites on top water or crank bait never did get a jig in the water caught a keeper on first cast with a rig so stuck mainly to moving baits with the exception to the shakey head cpr pics of 3 best 



  • m&m
    Finally after two weeks we got out for a couple of hours today. Launched at Moonshine and headed to the keeper Mitch off of that no name cove so we could get our confidence. Mary caught a nice giggle eye out of an empty boat slip in a two stall dock. We caught 6 bass altogether with the largest coming on a shakey head in the picture below. If abk zooms in under my right elbow he will know where I caught it. The watch dogs were out for a while so we waited til they left. WT was 80.4 to 82.3 when we took out around 2:30. 
    2 Wake boats wouldn't move from the mouth of the little nitch. So it was fun fighting the rollers. 
    Mike

  • Joenothum
    Put in at Moonshine and fished from about 6 till 11 and caught quite a few. Most fish were 15'-18' caught them all on a jig or creature bait on a wobble head. Caught a good one pictured below probably 5 or 6 pounds  Also had about 6 other keepers but nothing of any size. Also caught what I think is a meanmouth? The fish just looked different than a smallmouth. It did have the rough patch on the tongue. Fish measure 16 1/4". 


  • Quillback

    Above is my big fish of the day.  2 lb. flathead that ate a crank.  Only crank bait fish I caught.
    I launched at noon and fished until 5:30 PM, not a recipe for success, but I had a morning appointment so I got out there late.  I was hoping the cloud cover would hold, but it did not, skies turned partly cloudy. 
    I caught a half dozen bass, biggest was a 14" meanmouth.  I got one on a Ned, the rest were on either a 3/4 oz FB jig, or a 3/8 Nutech jig.  Chunk rock banks, fish in 5 - 15 FOW.
    Had several chasers that chased the jig back to the boat, they did seem to want a moving bait, but not the cranks I tried.  Might be worth trying a finesse spinner bait, Road Runner, swim jig or maybe even a lipless.  I didn't have time to try any of that stuff, maybe next time.
    Ran into Champ176 at the ramp, it was a pleasure to chat with him.  Funny thing that happened, he had mentioned in another post that he had never seen the MO Water Patrol on TR.  As we were talking guess who pulls into the Big M marina?   Yep, the Water Patrol - I think they eat lunch there sometimes. 
    WT was 82-83, water is a bit murky with a few feet of viz.

     
  • ckjacks
    I ventured out Saturday afternoon with the plan on fishing until dark. I thought with most schools starting or started and the overcast conditions, it might be light traffic. Wrong. Put in at Aunt's Creek and ran to the mouth of the James. Found a few, but this one really stuck out. I didn't weigh it, but probably be around 4. Seemed very healthy other than is upper lip.


  • kdc
    quick report fished Sat. and Sun . morning water temp 80 to 81 caught fish in 1 to 20 ft  had 3 keepers both days and caught around 8 to 10 shorts no real pattern caught fish on plopper , spinnerbait, and shakey head most fish caught on mix of chunk and gravel, points to midway back of cove pic of best fish

  • N9BOW
    Special Thanks To @Ham for putting us on the fish in Norfork Saturday!
    It was an awesome day for Myself and Friend who has just taken up trout fishing this year.
    Ham was gracious enough to meet up on Saturday morning and run his boat.....needless to say it was pretty awesome! Rob and I each caught a Grand Slam!
    All on the Zig Jig.. My Buddy caught his whole slam on Black\Chartreuse
    Ham netted a ton of fish but that goes without saying... he was 1 brown short of having 3 Slams in the same boat (I think 3 might have been some sort of record)
    Below are some pictures of a few of the fish.. of note is Ham's big fat Cuttthroat and a good Walleye as well as the parting shot it gave his finger!

    All in all not a bad 3 day trip (Rained out Friday morning till about 1) we boated and released 100.. 99 trout and one smallmouth Thurs, Fri and Sat
     












  • Phil Lilley
    I can honestly say this has been one of the best summer fishing seasons in many years here on Lake Taneycomo.  I say that for a couple of reasons.
    First, catching trout hasn't really varied all summer.  It's been pretty good.  Normally we see slow times, either in early June or in August or both.  We haven't seen that slow down.  One reason why is our lake water temperature.  It's held at 57 all summer, which is warmer than normal.  Typically we see some of the coldest water of the year in May when it averages anywhere from 45 to 49.  I've seen it as cold as 40.  Then it starts warming up in June and July but we usually see 50 degrees until August.  

    Joe Merendas with a 28-inch brown.  Released.
    Our trout are more active at 57 verses 45 degrees, and that means they feed more, plain and simple.  That's why fishing has been so good all summer.
    Second, we've consistently seen bigger trout caught, in the trophy area and below.  We're even seeing big rainbows caught in areas down lake like by Monkey Island and the Branson Landing.  And when I say big, I mean 15- to 18-inches long.  I credit the flood we had in May that brought the influx of food over the gates from Table Rock Lake.  Also, the water temperature is another reason.  More activity and more feeding means good growth.
    We're also seeing a lot of trophy brown trout caught, and thankfully, most are being released to be caught again.  This is attributed to the increased numbers stocked by the Missouri Department of Conservation in the past six years.
    So in short, I'm looking for a very good fall season.  
    In a couple of weeks, we host a benefit trout tournament for the Branson Area Professional Firefighters.  It's on Saturday, August 26th.  I use these tournaments as a way to see what's in our lake -- where the trout are and how big.  The tournaments bring some of the best trout fishermen to the lake, and they pull out and show us a segment of what's there.  Most of the trout will be caught on marabou jigs, either thrown straight or fished under a float.  I'm looking forward to see what's caught on that day.
    We've been getting a wide range of good reports from different areas of the lake.  I'll start with the lower portions of the lake that we send anglers to and work my way up lake.

    Zach Behlmann with a nice rainbow caught down by Monkey Island on a jig.
    Branson Landing -- On any given morning, you'll see a flotilla of guide boats around the twi big docks in the Landing area.  They're fishing the Berkley's pink power worm under a float about five-feet deep and catching almost all rainbows.  Duane Doty talked to a party the other day that was fishing the pink worm -- without any luck.  He noticed that they were using a curved hook and running the worm up the hook.  He showed them the jig hook we use and explained how the worm had to be completely straight to get bit.  I'm sure that's not 100% of the time, but it did change this party's luck after they adjusted their rigging.
    Monkey Island -- The pink worm is working here too but so are jigs, Power bait and worms.  Dam operators have been running water in the afternoons, any where from a half unit up to three units.  When enough water is running to create a good current through this area, drift pink Gulp eggs on the bottom.

    Lilleys' to Cooper Creek -- Yes, the pink worm is working here.  I've seen some boaters trolling small inline spinners and doing well.  If the water is running, work the bluff bank using 1/8th - 3/32nd-ounce sculpin or white jigs, as well as #5 or #7 Rapalas in silver/black or rainbow colors.
    Trout Hollow to Lilleys' -- This would be the hot spot on the lake if you ask most anglers, including guides.  Either the pink worm under a float, or fishing a white 1/80th-ounce white, brown, black/olive or pink jig under a float four- to six-feet deep has been the ticket for most anglers.  Also throwing a 1/16th-ounce sculpin/ginger or brown/orange jig using two-pound line.  Towards evening, the black or black/olive is killing them.

    Mike Stevens with a 23-inch brown caught on a jig.  Released.
    Fall Creek to Trout Hollow -- Air-injected night crawlers if the water is off or drifting them on the bottom if it's running have been catching some great quality rainbows and some browns.  If the water is running, drift a Megaworm or a #12 gray scud on the bottom, too.  The 1/16th-ounce jigs are working really well if the water is off or just barely running, and 1/8th-ounce jigs produce if the water picks up in the afternoons.  White, sculpin, black, sculpin/ginger or sculpin/peach colors are working.
    Low Water Warning:
    On two days this past week, Friday and Saturday, the lake was drawn down lower than "normal."  I don't know if there was a reason why or whether it just was an oversight by Empire Electric (owner and operator of Powersite Dam).  If the turbines at Powersite are run too long -- too much after Table Rock shuts down -- it pulls water out of Taneycomo past the normal level.  This impacts the upper lake the most, although it does not affect the area just below the dam.  This water is held at its level by the shoals at Rebar and the shoal below the boat ramp.  So you won't see any change in the official lake level, both online and on the phone recording.
    Where we saw the biggest change in level was from Short Creek up lake.  There is a tree in the lake, right of center towards the channel, that will grab you even at normal levels.  It's been there since the December 2015 flood.  But there are two more trees or stumps close to that area that are lower-unit busters, too.  We're going to get buoys on them as soon as possible.  I hit one Saturday when the lake was low -- bent my prop pretty well.
    If the lake is low, you're going to have to watch from in front of Fall Creek Marina all the way to the Narrows.  Then at the Narrows, well, you'll see.  It's just shallow, but a great fishing spot!!!
    The Narrows to Fall Creek -- This area is full of trout, good ones.  Use two-pound line with the jig-and-float method.  Micro jigs are hot again in black or olive.  Marabou jigs in 1/125th- and 1/80th-ounce, sculpin/ginger, brown (both with orange heads), black/olive and brown orange are working.  Throw a 1/16th-ounce jig with two-pound line and work both sides as well as the middle of the lake.  If there are fish rising to midges, work it shallow and fast.  If not, let it go to the bottom and work it back.
    Fly fishing -- Zebra midges haven't been working as well as normal but scuds are!  The best flies have been #12 to #16 gray or brown scuds under an indicator and fished deep enough to be on the bottom.  I usually fish it 50% deeper than the depth of water I'm fishing.  If you're fishing four feet, I set it six-feet deep.  Our scuds are weighted and generally do not need extra weight to get down, but use your own judgement.
    At the Narrows there's usually at least a slight current, so fishing flies under an indicator is most productive.  If there's a chop on the surface, I'd throw a soft hackle or crackleback.  Or if you want to, strip a streamer like a pine squirrel, wooly bugger or sculpin.  There have been some big browns cruising in this area.
    These are images taken Saturday afternoon just as the water started running.  The lake was super low, as described.

    Looking up lake from the middle of the Narrows.

    Looking across at the bar.  Notice there's a new channel that splits off the main channel and creates an island.  This middle channel isn't very deep, but it has the makings of possibly deepening and becoming the new channel through this area.  It's hard to say.

    Looking down lake.


    Looking from above the Narrows.  You can see where someone could get out and fish from the middle gravel bar, fishing towards the channel.  There's some great holes just off the bar holding a lot of nice trout.
    Lookout to the Narrows -- I've been trying dries in this area, especially when the water is running and doing less than fair.  On one drift down, I may get a half dozen looks, four takes and two hookups on a hopper.  I look for this bite to get better as fall approaches.
    The jig-and-float method is working really well.  A good friend who fishes up there almost every day uses that 1/125th ounce- sculpin/ginger jig with an orange head, and he said he's caught a lot of rainbows lately.
    We are seeing a good number of BIG browns from the Narrows to Lookout -- some longer than 30 inches cruising around.
    Dam to Lookout -- I have not been up to the dam yet to see what it looks like since the May flood, but I've heard Rebar has changed a lot -- and holding a ton of trout!  A gentleman who lives at Pointe Royal told me Monday  morning that he drove up there early  and threw a jig and caught a bunch of fish.  He was amazed how many trout were stacked up there.
    When they're running water, throwing jigs is very, very good.  Work the bottom with anywhere from an 1/8th- to a 1/16th-ounce, depending on how much water is running.  They're still hitting white pretty well  but also biting dark colors, too.

    Ryan Miloshewski spent the week here on Taneycomo fishing.  He's an independent outdoor writer who attended our writer's conference in January.  Fishing almost exclusively jigs, he landed a lot of good quality rainbows, both in the trophy area and below.
  • arsenal1477
    In prepping for a trip down to the rock in September, I've been messing around in some creeks recently and wouldn't you know, the big ladies love the rig. Found a sweet little hole, maybe 60foot by 30 foot and not more than 6-8foot deep. Gin clear water, golden hour sun shooting through the trees and as I pitched the rig up under a tree she darted out like she hadn't eaten in weeks. The sight of her was amazing and she fought with every ounce she could. Beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather and perhaps the biggest bass of my life. She was around 21 ounces and right at 6lbs. Released to fight another day.


  • Seth
    I was down at Lazy Valley for a family reunion the past few days and got plenty of fishing in as well. My dad and relatives had no problem catching their limits with crawlers and salmon peach powerbait off the dock in the AM when the water was off. They also caught 10 nice white suckers on the crawlers. That was a nice bonus since we haven't done very well on them in several years. Myself and the fiance mainly fished out of the boat using the pink power worm and 1/16oz jigs. Jig colors were black and orange head sculpin/orange. Black was the most productive. Monkey Island produced decent as did Short Creek area, but there were a lot of runts. I ended up finding better quality rainbows in front of the first long dock above Lilley's with the wooden shack in the middle. Most of the fish we caught in that area were 11-15". My fiance got big fish for the stay with a chunky 17.5" bow that weighed 2.55# on my digital scale. She caught it on a white thread jig Friday morning just below the buoy near Lilley's.
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