Travis Swift

That's a possibility yes BUT if you've been on Taney very much at all the fog can sock in quickly and it can get thicker than you would believe. Even at an idle you could be on them before you even know it. That being said there's tons of people that go WAY to fast in the fog and alot are in rental boats that don't normally operate a boat. When the fog is that thick I usually hug the bank with my trolling motor to state out of the middle of the lake. The morning Seth was talking about it was hard to see 10 feet in front of you. It had actually burnt off then reappeared with the coming storms in a matter of minutes.

Whe we were there 2 weeks ago and the storms were rolling in an older couple in the Kayaks were coming by us and everyone up river was flying by fast and you couldn't see 10 yards in front of you because of the fog and they were going way to fast trying to beat th storm. We were at Riverlake fishing the bluff side and this nice couple paddles by and the lady looks scared to death. I said how far do you have to go? they said they were supposed to call when they got to the nearest take out point. I told them that was Cooper Creek and they were a long ways away in those conditions. I told them where Lilleys was and to get their ASAP and to call from there. I told them Phil probably wouldn't mind at all given the circumstances. When we idled by them they were getting ready to pull in there thank goodness. I looked at my buddy and said "someone is going to die on this lake soon in a kayak". I just couldn't believe they let them out on the lake knowing storms were coming

If you put in a cooper and its foggy simple shut the motor off and get on your trolling motor and go directly across from the ramp. Tons of bows in there and they alot are fresh stockers that are eager to bite. Your family would love it. As an added bonus listen for the water falls that are directly across from Cooper creek resort. They are beautiful and always have fish around them as well

I was able to get my bass boat up to lookout last week. From Andy's house to the narrows was our best stretch. Just idle and you will be fine. You can run between the narrows and Andy's house once you float it once and have a good idea of where your going.

Sculpin/ginger and sculpin/orange and white were our best. I threw 1/16 my buddy threw 3/32. Below fall creek was trout magnet in white, candy corn, sassy and cotton candy

Thank you. I can't wait to get back down there either. I use about 80% of my vacation each year trying to get the family there as much as possible. I would give anything to move their but not sure about jobs in the area...... It's a dream of mine to one day live their for sure. Taney gets in your blood and inbeds in your soul. No place like it in the world in my book.

After a quick trip down to Branson on Memorial weekend and catching 30 off a dock at the Landing I had high hopes for this past week since i was bringing my boat. We arrived on Monday and honestly the week was basically a struggle. Most mornings fishing from 6 to 9 we only caught in the 20 fish range which isn't what i expect from Taney. We usually average closer to the 60 range in a 3 hour morning trip. We stayed from Short creek to Cooper creek the majority of the time. We caught our fish on trout magnets and crappie magnets. Some with a float but the majority fished straight. When they did flow some water in the evenings we caught several nice browns on the bluffs between sun valley and cooper creek. The browns have really made a nice come back and we got lots of nice follows from some really good sized browns which is what i remember from the 90's. I'm really happy to see that, even when they won't bite it's still a blast to watch big ones swim right up to the jerkbaits. Then midweek the rains came and turned the lake to complete mud. To my suprise I think it actually made some bigger fish bite as we caught some nice ones off the dock at night. Friday i had enough of the small numbers and decided to try something different. We ran by Phils place and bought some jigs and headed for the Trophy area. I hadn't been up there in nearly 15 years so i shut down just before fall creek dock and idled in. I went right the first time and we fished the deep water bank next to the condo's and drifted back to fall creek. The second time i idled on the left side all the way up to the island past Andy's house. We started on the slack water at the island and caught a few nice fish then started drifting the bluff back. Action wasn't as steady I would of liked so i hit the trolling motor and went to the shallow flat and fished the drop from shallow to deep and that did the trick. We caught fish almost every other cast for the last 2 hours of daylight. When we got back to the narrows I felt comfortable enough to run my boat on plane so we ran back up to Andy's house and by this time the water was off and we just hammered fish non stop from there all the way back to the narrows. It was amazing and those fish seem to be a different breed from the rest of the lake. They fight harder in my opinon, they are full of awesome color, they have big full bellies and are as thick as they can me. I caught my 2 biggest rainbows ever and my friend caught his biggest as well. We caught them all on 1/16th ounce jigs from Phil's place on 2 pound test line. I almost couldn't sleep that night waiting to get back up to the Trophy Area. My buddy ran down to Cooper to try jigs for a half hour that morning while i was waiting for momma to wake up and he caught just a beautiful pig of a rainbow down there. Right as I was getting ready to leave to head to the Trophy Area the phone call came that my basement had flooded back home in kansas due to a failed sump pump so we had to leave in a rush. So the week didn't start t well fishing wise but we sure ended it on a high note! I will be back in Sep and again at Thanksgiving and i'm already counting the days!

Yeah it wasn't the call I wanted to get as we were headed fishing in about 10 mins this morning. Instead of hammering fish I was headed home

Phil our basement flooded at home in KS so we have to leave a day early. Sucks leaving there but we are staying at your place the week of Thanksgiving and staying at your moms house (24) so I'm looking forward to meeting yiy and maybe even fish together? ?

We will head up this afternoon for our last evening here gotta go pick up some more jigs from Phil first though. I have to idle most of the way up in my bass boat cause I don't know it very well at all up there and man are some parts shallow. Its worth the idle though!

That was us buddy and I was reeling in my 2nd biggest of the day. Your boat is awesome that jet engine will get there fast and shallow!!

Seth were you up there in a jet boat tonight? There was only one other boat up there besides us tonight and it was a jet boat that went by.

We went to the trophy area tonight. Hadn't been there in 15 years and we had the most amazing night of our lives trout fishing wise. I caught an 18 and a 19 inch bow which were the biggest I've ever caught. Those fish are so fat and healthy. We caught close to 70 in 3 hrs tonight

Water is starting to clear nicely. We are going to go out this afternoon when they generate more. This has been my toughest trip in 25 years here. Fishing from short creek to cooper creek we usually average 60 to 100 fish most days but this trip has been a struggle to get 15 or 20. Mainly using trout magnets but we have caught a few nice browns on jerkbaits when the water is flowing. Just been a real grind on rainbows and I've never ever had that problem before in this section of the lake. Last weekend I caught 30 off a dock at the landing and this week I can't buy a good bite from the boat. I may have to go down lake by boat??

Was it muddy or just trashy at monkey island? Its really muddy here now

I like to fish trout magnets and jerkbaits alot but there's no way to fish them in this muddy water. Might have to do so.e adjusting.

Never seen this thing this muddy. Any idea how long it will last or how far up river you have to go to get out of it? Its basically unfishable in this cooper creek bluff stretch

We are coming down tomorrow for the week and I need to stop in and refill the jig supply so I might holler at you. I've been up there alot in the last but not since the flood so I know the channel has changed some. We are staying with you the week of Thanksgiving as well so it would be handy to know for then also.

Can you idle a bass boat up past fall creek with no or little flow?

Made a quick trip down to Branson for the weekend. Had a free place to stay so we didn't get to say on the water this time. Fished the last hour of daylight on Saturday the 24th from the bank at the branson landing and caught 13 on trout magnets. Went back down Sunday evening the 25th and fished the other end of the branson landing this time and caught 25 or so again on trout magents. Some straight with no cork and some with a cork didn't seem to matter. Alot of fish in that area i'm sure they released because of the holiday but they seemed to be about anywhere you wanted to fish down there which is way better than shopping. Be back down next week with the boat and can't wait! Travis

i could do them in a football shakey head with a screw lock for you but it would have to be 1/8 or 1/4. I would do them for $.75 each. Sorry i know it's not exactly what your looking for but thought i would throw it out there.

one last question. do they just completely quit biting the wart after early spring? do they ever bite it in the late spring or summer?

so this is a silly question but i stopped by a tackle store here in kansas yesterday and the guy showed me the Luck E Strike G5 which looked just like a wart. He said they are made to be like the old wart including the duller sound. They were basically sold out on all but one of them. So before i go to buying some what are your guys opinons on them?

dave are you willing to share or pm me what mold your using for your heads? The worm nose mold only goes down to 3/32nd. How are you guys getting the 1/16th ounce poured? Right now i'm using a 1/16th ounce head with no collar and putting it in a vice and hammering it down flat like a button. I would like to maybe pour the bullet nose head but wondered how you got them that small? thanks, Travis

what size hook is that sickle? is that just a round head shaved down? they look good!