Jeremy Hunt

Overall Report for Taneycomo 923.5 Table Rock Lake / 713.1 Taneycomo 5 flood gates and max (4) generators online steady. Scheduled to run until April 8th. Fishing conditions, The lower section is fishing better than right up at the dam. Current seems to slow down as the river gets wider starting at the houses at Point Royale all the way down to Fall Creek Resort. Fishing along the banks is probably the best bet for hooking fish on a consistent basis (the bank the houses are on). Plan on hooking bottom occasionally to get fish, but worth the gamble for sure. Were fishing anywhere from 9-12 feet for the most part with two AAA split shot on 4x fluorocarbon. Fishing midge patterns deeper where you see submerged trees are catching a few, but not like fishing deep. Flies of choice, To be honest with you, throwing big red san juan worms in the standard chenille fishing on a size 12 hook is out producing everything else fly wise. The water is still dingy so make sure you throw flies that they can see. I’ve also done well fishing sink tip stripping white and gray double bunnies. Cast to the bank and let it sink a little bit, then start the strip. Where do you think the best place to fish is if you had to fish Taneycomo? Roark Creek hands down. A lot of trout holding in there right now. I’m sure it has something to do with getting out of all the current. The water is a little more clear the shallower you go if fishing with a fly rod. We’re catching the most on olive streamer patterns in a size 6. The sink tip were using is 9’ 3.9 IPS in shallow water and 7.0 IPS in deep water. The water still a little too cold for the white bass and crappie, but once it warms up I’m sure that it will be “HOT”. Best fly to use is smaller clouser minnows tied up differently from unweighted to heavy and from bucktail to the softer materials. Also tie up several color combo’s depending on the water you’re fishing. What’s the rub? A lot of boats sharing this one area so it can get crowded, but the area I would go that you will hardly see any boats is right at the start of the mouth. A lot of these boats are bass boats and pontoon boats that have a hard time getting way up. Flat bottoms with small motors definitely have an advantage and to be honest with you, that’s where all the fish are anyways. We caught over a hundred the other day without ever moving. Plus the water was shallow so we were putting the fly right in front of them where the could see it. I’m sure now it’s back to being dirty form all the rain we got last night, but once it clears up I’m sure the results will be the same.

Pink and chartreuse, but they're not has effective.

It really boils down to the way the fish see the real thing. I would practice with several different presentations. That's what it takes, trial and error until you figure it out. They'll hit them if they look right. Just my two cents. The middle one looks good. In my days of figuring out sculpin patterns I believe it comes down to rabbit for the body. I've tied the fanciest sculpin patterns but they have hard materials along with soft mixed in. And because they don't have enough "action" really makes me think it's really about how it rides in the water. Sculpins have to be fished on the bottom. That's where they live and rarely will they be swimming in the water column. They dart from rock to rock. So with lures I would retrieve them slower and tried to figure out ways to keep them on the bottom. That's why I say the middle one looks like it would be dangerous if fished right. And because the hooks keeled style it wont get hung up from keeping it on the bottom.

Congratulations Leonard!! You deserve it. You definitely wear your passion on your sleeve. Keep up the good work!!

It just depends, I would say more on the tiers end and not the fish.

All I know is, BIG FISH always hang out around those docks. And it doesn't matter what they're doing with the water. Loved the stories Whisky. I wish bait fishing wasn't so popular around those docks because fly fishing would be great, but there's always to many boats anchored in those holes to really have a chance at them. Charlie's dock one time had one of the biggest cutthroats I've ever seen. I bet it was over ten pounds. What a sight to see. Beautiful fish!!

I've had my best luck fishing it like a dry when trout are sipping in the shallows. It's tied with CDC and you can see it from far away fishing it like a dry. I wade the sides of the banks and cast up stream, strip the slack line as it comes to you and watch the trout sip it. Great stuff and very stealthy approach. You can cut the wing to be higher so you can see it as well. If fished in the film or deeper cut the wing to be real close to the shank, like it's coming out of the shuck. Good luck, hope this helps you out!! By the way, this fly is one of the best flies fished when tricking the most pickiest trout. Especially when their feeding on midges and want the adult.

I'm sure you can, but the way it moves in the water I would say egg yarn is the best.

One of my client’s Russell recently hooked this huge red fish on the fly. He was fishing in Titusville, Florida at mosquito lagoon fishing at “the space coast“. He caught several that day, but this was the jewel of all jewels. Caught this on a black clouser minnow. He said he looked down at his watch when he hooked it and 29 minutes later he looked again when he landed it.

I do, but the fish don't. The color is a little off from the uni and it really makes all the difference in the world on more hook ups. I know that seems strange, but I listen to what the fish are telling me. I've use both on trial and error for a number of years and they would prefer the uni in this particular color.

I would agree as far at it comes to thread body midges. With saying that I always use UTC for thread body midges, but they don't make the rust brown in the right color I would prefer. The reason why I like it better is because it is a floss thread and lays flat against the hook shank. Just makes the fly turn out better, plus if you epoxy the body it stands out better then Uni.

On what exactly, the pattern or the difference between the two?

Yeah, it's good to see him back at it.

Sure, I can bring an extra vise or you can watch. It's up to you. See you at class.

Yes they will. You need to bring the basics, vise, bobbin, scissors. We will furnish material. See you at 7pm.

Where do you like to fish? Have you fished Taney? This will help me choose the flies you need to tie.

This has been going on for years. I used to see it when I fished the outlets back in the day. Brad Wright used to catch some big ones during the flush. Throw white flies the same size as the dead trout and you should hook into something big. Pay attention to weight because you don't want it to sink fast. And you don't want it to float either.

That's sounds great. I thought some of those areas would be a little tough. I think a little later I'm going to swing by and take a look at it. You feeling better?

Palmering marabou is best done using the select marabou. It has a longer stem that can be wrapped around several times.

I fished today as well. I fished the slack water down by the steps at marker 7 if you're walking the trail. I would say three hundred yards past outlet one. I was fishing two midges with a black zebra midge for the first fly and primrose and pearl as a dropper. I was fishing the lead fly about two feet below the indicator and the dropper was about eighteen inches below that. I had most of all my hits on the primrose and pearl. I fished for about three hours until the water started to rise again around 3pm. They were running two units, but they weren't a full two. It got a little deeper and we couldn't stand in the same spot we had most of all our luck at. I would say then it was a full two units with the tailwater level at 705.3. We hooked alot of fish and had plenty of doubles. We decided to call it a day and on the way out I went for a swim, but not all the way in. I'm sure it was a good show for some of the guy's watching. There's one guy wading way out in the center of the river that made friendly conversation and told us he wasn't doing so good. He asked what we were using and I told him midges, but since he was in the faster water I told him to switch over to a san juan worm and he started hooking fish immediately. I’m glad I could change his luck. I guess if you were wading it really depended on where you fished. I did see some fish caught in the outlets, but that’s always a guarantee.

Trav it the nail right on the head. Couldn't have said it any better.

The Original “Sowbug” Recipe: Hook: TMC 3769 size 12-18 Thread: UNI- thread 6/0 Tan Antennae: UNI- thread / same color Back: Swiss straw/ brown Body: Antron/ cream Rib: UNI- thread/ same Lead wire: 0.15 TYING INSTRUCTION: Step 1. As you can see I already weighted the fly. Do enough wraps to cover most of the hook shank ,but leave enough room for a head to tie in, and in the back as well. Step 2. Start you’re thread in the front of the lead wire making a thread dam and wind over the lead doing the same thing to the back of the lead. This will lock it into place so that it will not shift or move when you go to complete the fly. Step 3. Once you do that you should still have a tag hanging of the back. What I do with this is make a loop with the tag to create my antennae’s. You will cut that after you complete the fly. Whatever tag end you have left after making the loop, go ahead and cut it off. Step 4. Advance the thread back to the center of the shank. Now you’re ready to tie in your swiss straw. Cut a piece of swiss straw and cut it in the center. Now you will have two pieces. You will only need to use one of those. Tie it in an wind to the bend. Advance the thread to the eye to start the dubbing. Step 5. You can’t really see how the dubbing is put on, but I’m sure you know how. The only thing in this step is not to dub too much dubbing around the shank as you wind back. Build the dubbing up as you go. Step 6. Once you are at the back, grab some kind of pliers that has a flat surface so you can pinch the lead flat to create the flat body. I like to use the de-barb pliers from Tiemco. After you pinch the lead you are ready to start the segmentations. Your thread should be at the back. Now start the segments wrapping the thread to the eye. I usually do about six to seven turns creating the segments. The bigger the hook the more segmentations. Step 7. Cut the loop in the back to form the antennas. Step 8. Whip finish the fly and glue the eye.

THE BIG DRY Recipe: Hook: Standard dry fly hook # 4 Thread: Uni- thread 3/0 black Body: Peacock herl (4 strands palmered) Wing: 1/8 “ foam cylinder and calf tail with flashabou accent Legs: Round rubber med. (black) Hackle: 2 Grizzly hackles palmered TYING INSTRUCTIONS: Step 1. Start the thread somewhere in the center of the hook shank. Tie in four strands of peacock herl and wind it to the bend. Advance your thread up the front again. Step 2. Twist the herl and then wind it up 3/4 to the front of the hook. Leave a little space for the foam post. Cutt of the excess. Step 3. Know if you buy the pre made ones from Wapsi you will just grab one and tie it in. The length you want is a little past the bend of the hook. I also cut the foam at an angle on both sides. This will help you tie it in better and the back just gives it a nice look. You don’t have to cut the back, but the front one is really important because of the way you tie it in. Step 4. Cut about 8 to 12 strands of flashabou and tie it in. Cut it to the same length as the foam or a little past it. Step 5. When you go to cutt the calf tail, get it as long as you can because you will need it when you go to tie it. measure it the same length as the post. Step 6. Tie in the rubber legs on each side of the hook shank. The legs will be fairly long so make sure cut them longer. Tie them in the center of the legs. You can trim them to your desired length after your finished with the fly. Step 7. Once you tied in your legs you are ready to wind the hackle forward. I do about four to five turns with each one. I don’t grab both at once though. I like to wrap one and then the next one. It just makes a better profile with how the hackle will look like. Step 8. Whip finish the fly. NOTE: I use this fly in high water and in fast riffles. Throw it in the riffles and when it gets to the tail out of the riffle try skating it. That's where you'll get a lot of your strikes. I have caught a lot of big fish on this fly. Also if it windy this fly will work just as well. Good luck!

Wilson’s Trout Crack Recipe: Hook: 2457 TMC size 14-18 Thread: .004 mono Body: Antron (sand for the color) Back: UTC V-rib on spool TYING INSTRUCTION: Step 1. Now I don’t know if you have really tied with monofilament thread before, but it sure doesn’t want to hold like other threads. This will slip if you don’t secure it right. You really need to wind over the tag end of the thread with a lot of thread turns. Once you get it secured tie in the vinyl rib. I tie it in at the front and wind the vinyl to the bend. Pass the hook point. Step 2. Once you are at the bend wind you’re thread back up to the eye(front). You’re ready to dub the fly. Step 3. This part can be tricky. You only want enough dubbing to hide the shank. Too much dubbing will make this fly look bulky. The key is a sparse body, not a big body. Step 4. Wind to the bend and you’re ready to start the ribbing with you’re mono. Step 5. Your thread should be at the bend. Fold the v-rib over and start segmenting the body until your up at the eye. Make sure you space them evenly. Step 6. Whip finish and glue the head.

Hunt’s Hybrid Crayfish Recipe: Hook: Di-Riki 700b size 4,6 Thread: 6/0 Uni- thread color to match body Mandibles: Spanflex SX4 color to match body Antennae: Sili legs (speckled flake) Claws: Barred squirrel (Wapsi product) Shellback: Swiss straw Body: SLF (Dave Whitlock) The crayfish color blends Legs: Grizzly Hen saddle Rib: UTC wire size (BR) Tail: Swiss straw Weight: .25 lead wire I came up with this pattern for Feather Craft's catalog in 2003. All I can say is this pattern works and has been tested on many different waters by thousands of fly fisherman. Make sure you have this one in your fly box. TYING INSTRUCTION: Step 1. Secure the lead on the bottom portion of the hook shank. I do about twelve wraps of .25. Step 2. Tie your thread at the bend of the hook and do enough turns to get the thread started. Cut the tag end off. Step 3. Cut two strands of span flex and tie them in at the bend of the hook. You will notice how long mine are. You can trim the excess off or tie it in around the hook shank. I like to cut mine off. Make sure the antennas are cut even at the tips. Step 4. This is an easy technique to learn if you don’t know it already. It doesn't show you how to do the step so i will try to explian it. Fold the sili legs around the thread. You’re going to hold the bobbin with the other hand and the hand holding sili legs you’re going to hold it while turning the bobbin around the shank. If you keep tension as you go around with the bobbin (thread). By making that first turn around you will see the sili legs slide down the thread as you make the turn. The sili legs are going to be on top of the hook shank once you've made a complete turn with you’re thread. You will be able to adjust them once you tie them in. You will notice that they are sticking straight up . Go ahead and wind on top of them once you have tied them in. This will force them to lay back with the spanflex. Step 5. Cut a strand of swiss straw to the length of one fold on the cord. Poke one end of the swiss straw through the hook point. Make sure that when you poke this through the swiss straw you’re at the end of the swiss straw. If you poke it in the middle of the swiss straw you will not have enough for the shell back that goes across the whole fly. You also will have a tail hanging off the back with the same piece. This step is kind of complicated at first. Since you don’t have a lot of excess swiss straw to tie in around the shank after you poke it in the hook point. I have noticed that you have to make sure with the first wrap that it grabs all the swiss straw when you go to tie it in. Step 6. If you’re going to add eyes now is the time to do so. I don’t mess with them so I skip that step all together. Now dub a little ball of SLF dubbing around the thread. You don’t need a lot, just enough to make the pinchers flare out when you tie them in. Step 7. You will need to cut two pinchers the same length using squirrel. This is a newer material, but you can find this in shops now. Step 8. Tie in the squirrel strips right behind the little ball of dubbing make sure that you really tie them in securely and butt them up to the ball so you get that flare from the pinchers. Step 9. Split the barbs evenly on each side of the feather at the tip section of the of the grizzly hen saddle and tie it in with tip end of the feather hanging concave to be palmered up to form the legs later. Note when tying the feather in make sure not to wrap any of the barbs that form the legs when you start to wind the feather forward. Tie in the feather where you split it. Step 10. Once you tie in the feather and its hanging off the back, form dubbing loop. You will need to make a fairly good loop because you will need a lot of dubbing to fill in the loop. I like to make the loop about three to four inches long. And you will fill that whole loop with dubbing. Make sure you don’t put to much in one area. You will need to spread it out evenly. Spin the dubbing with some kind of dubbing twister. Once you got the loop tight and dubbing secure, tie it around to form a small to big and back to small tapered effect. Tie it along the whole half of the shank until you get to the first bend in the hook. Which is the middle section of the hook. That is key to the fly. That is your main reference point to proportioning the fly correctly. Step 11. Palmared the hen saddle forward to create the legs. I do about four to five turns until I get to the middle of that first bend on the hook. Step 12. Cut a piece of wire. Tie it in at the bend in the middle. After you have tied in the wire go ahead and advance the thread up to the other half of the shank where you see all the lead wire and tie that in. Build thread dams on each side of the wire so it doesn’t slide or move, make sure that you don’t push you’re lead to close to the eye or you will not have any room for the swiss straw to be folded over and tied in. Always Leave a space of metal showing between the lead and the eye. Advance your thread back to the middle where you see the bend. Step 13. Grab the swiss straw, fold it over, and tie it at the bend in the center of the hook. You only need to tie it down with two to three turns. If you tie anymore you definitly start to see your thread wraps on the outside of the straw. Step 14. Fold the swiss straw back after you make your two or three wraps. Go ahead and dub the fly up and make a smooth even body all the way up to the eye. Step 15. Fold the swiss straw over the dubbed body and tie it down at the front of the eye. Step 16. Wrap the wire up until you get to the eye and tie it off. I do about six to seven turns of wire and you should be at the eye. If you’re not it’s because you wrapped the wire to tight to the next wrap. Make you’re angle bigger and that will fix the problem. Step 17. I don’t like to use scissors to cut the wire. Make sure you use dull ones or bad ones. Or you can move the wire back and forth fast and it will brake off from the heat of moving it. It will make a clean brake with no tag end hanging. Fold the swiss straw over and tie off. Whip finish the fly. Step 18. With some curved scissors cut the swiss straw to make the tail the right length. Brush the bubbing out along the tail part. Note: I epoxy the whole swiss straw to make a nice shell back plus a durable fly that will not tear up. I also like to brush out the dubbing on the under side with a dubbing brush (if you have a gun cleaner wire brush that will work the best).