jdavis

It was a very slow night last night below the dam. I fished from 11:30 - 2am with very litle activity. Used just about everything in my flybox between the 2nd outlet and the big hole. I caught one fish the whole night. A 17" brown out of the big hole on a black wolly (Still never been skunked on Taney). Although I have to fish when the opportunities present themselves, I haven't been very good at picking productive nights. What kind of conditions do you look for on summer nights?

I would like to plan a weekday float on the Current in late July. I'm looking for a section of the river that holds plenty of smallmouth. One or two days possibly. Any recomendations? Reliable outfitters?

How has the night fishing been since they started running water daily? About what time is the water back down so that you can wade? Been away from Taney for a while. May try to hit it tonight.

I hope you are planning at least an overnight trip. That is over twenty miles. Take a look at the James River Maps on this site. They have milage markers on them. If you really want to fish the water hard don't pick a float that is to long. You will end up paddeling over some real fishy looking water.

Put in at Kerr about 6:30am. Floated very slowly to Galena and took out about 3:30. Started very slow as we were looking for some top water action with spooks. No luck until we went to grubs in deeper water or on shaded banks. Lots of smallies in the 12"-14" range. Three measured right at 15" and the biggest was 16". The water was up slightly from a week ago.

Is anyone having any luck with top water early in the day? I heard one person say something about spooks.

I checked the MDC fishing regulations online. According to what I found it is a 15" minimum length for all black bass between hootentown and highway 13. And only one can be a smallmouth. I think 18" would be a good idea though. It would limit a keeper to being closer to a trophy than table fair. I specifically looked for the regulations at the Kerr access and they were not posted on the MDC board. Wouldn't that be an obvious step to educate people? Especially in a part of the stream with special regulations. I agree though. Smallmouth should be left in the stream. If you need to keep some fish to fry, keep the goggle-eye.

I also fished the James Sunday with a buddy. Kerr to Blunks. We put in around 6:30am and didn't see another boat until noon when we were almost to Galena. Caught a lot of healthy smallies between 13" and 14". A couple may have pushed 15". Almost all on double tailed grubs. Either pumpkin or green pumpkin. We seemed to do better in the top section of this float. Although, that may have been more about the time of day than the location. A few rock bass and a 7-8lb carp were caught throughout the day as well. I will probably either take out at Galena or float Galena to Blunks next time. It took us nine hours to float this stretch, about seven miles. RSBreth, Where is the trophy area and what are the specific regulations?

Lilley, I am planning on trying the Kerr to Blunk float you suggested Sunday. Should I expect to see many other boats on this part of the river? Do I need to put in early to avoid the booze crowd? I was planning on throwing various grubs and Rebel Crawdad crankbaits. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I had also considered bringing my flyrod. Any guidance would be helpfull. I have fished the lower strech of this float from the bank during the white bass run, but have never actually floated it. I will be sure to post a report.

With the the fish population as dense as it is below the dam, what do you suppose the chances are that these little guys will survive long enough to make it in the slot (over 12")? My guess is they become a great new food source.

Has anyone had any real success fishing for whites on the James this week. I went just bellow McCord's Bend Friday night. Caught one bluegill and one dink crappie. Has the lack of rain killed the run? It was my understanding that they were stacked in thick last week. Where have they gone? Surely someone is willing to shed some light on this subject.

Where do you access the river at McCord's Bend? I went down after dark last night and couldn't find anywhere to get to the river. I went to Rollie Blunk afterwards. Not much going on there but it was after 10pm by then.

I have heard there have already been some whites being caught on the lower end of the James. Is anyone else hearing this?

I'm going to try and do some exploring on the upper Finley River in the next couple of weeks. It is a great little body of water close to home but I have limited experiance fishing Ozark streams during the winter. I'm guessing I need to try and find some of the deeper holes and throw something that I can work fairly slow. I know people don't like to give away there secrets but I would be greatful for any hints as to where, when and what to throw. I will probably be using my spinning rod until I get a feel for what is going on.

I fished for about four hours sunday afternoon. Sleet and snow all day long. Started at the rebar caught about ten. Eventually got cold, so I went to the car to warm up and drive down stream. Caught another ten or so below the boat ramp. Used a scud all day. It was just to cold to try and tie on a new fly voluntarily. :ph34r: Several of the nicer sized rainbows had the most brilliant electric pink stripe on them I have ever seen. A memorable day on Taney! P.S. If anyone finds a camo gravel gaurd at the parking lot down stream of the boat ramp, please let me know.

I am going to try to make it down tomorrow. How do the roads look heading down to the dam from HWY 76?

How might the low water levels effect the white bass run this year?

I prefer the old rag wool gloves with the fingers cut off at the knuckles. They will still provide warmth when wet and after a while I forget I'm wearing them. Also, I try to take the fly out with out actually getting my hands in the water when possible. Smaller flies make that hard sometimes but at under $3 you can keep two or three pairs inside your waders.

Butts, You mentioned the lesser fly line to leader connections being frustrating. Are you refering to the way they cast? As Brian mentioned, I often go from fishing a 3x leader at night to 6x the next trip. So I have always used the loop to loop connection.

I'll bring the Stanleys Ice Off paste to keep the guides from freezing up to bad. (do not use Chapstick.. it'll clog the tiny pores of the fly line ) best fishes - Brian Brian, Where can I find Stanleys Ice Off?

I won't be able to get down until Sunday. How did everyone do in the trophy water today? If the conditions were like they were in Springfield it had to be good. Many People? Any big rainbows around?

I would like to introduce a friend to Taneycomo. However he has never flyfished and doesn't even trout fish. Does anyone have any suggestions on some standby lures for both day and night fishing in the trophy area? I do not have a boat so we will be wading and only fishing in low water conditions.

I was in Fort Lauderdale last week. I only caught one fish. But it was the one I wanted (83").

What is the proper way to tie tippet to your leader? I tend to fish off of straight leader so that I don't loose fish on account of a poorly tied knot. Also, Is the improved clinch knot still the go to knot for tying on your fly? Thanks for any help. I just hate getting strikes and then finding that little curled end to my line.

I'm in. It's going to be windy though.