Jump to content

Phil Lilley

Root Admin
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    18,821

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    118

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Phil Lilley

  1. Phil Lilley
    I got a friend in Kingfisher, OK that's very jealous right now.
  2. Phil Lilley
    It’s stuck in West Oklahoma.
  3. Phil Lilley
    I don’t like to go over on that side when someone is fishing on the bank but next time I see the canoe I’ll come over and say hi. Did you see me almost knock Jackson (black lab) out of the boat? I misjudged my speed and ran under the cable. Freaked him out and almost push him in the lake.
  4. Phil Lilley
    Trying to find some catchable fish today. Duane found them behind the big island above Lookout in the river right and in the big eddie in front of Andy Williams' house. Caught them on dark jigs - he can report. Babler's client caught them stripping a brown bugger against the slack bank before Lookout - he can report too. I'm going out and anchoring (safely) in slow current along choice banks, usually where there's an eddie, and tight lining a minnow behind the boat. Using minimal weight - split shot - #10 hook and hooking the minnow up through the lower and up through the upper lip. Got to let the fish have it to hook it. I anchored in front of the lower C of O waterfall first and then anchored below the small point just below that. There's good eddie water there. If it stops raining, I'm going back to that eddie and try a couple of things. I'm going to try some more spots too.
  5. Phil Lilley
    I got it via email. Not sure about a presentation.
  6. Phil Lilley
    Not too much though. Might put Beaver over limit and they'll have to start dumping.
  7. Phil Lilley
    Looks like Table Rock has crested... finally... at 919.02 feet. Looking forward to seeing it start dropping. They're running 15,000 cfs... unless they start dumping Beaver, we should see TR drop pretty quickly.
  8. Phil Lilley
    Are you in a green canoe?
  9. Phil Lilley
    OK, I edited and updated the report.
  10. Phil Lilley
    Well... this wasn't supposed to be posted till I finished it. Sorry about that.
  11. Phil Lilley
    Recent rains have brought our lakes up in elevation again. On Wednesday, 3/28, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened 5 gates and released water at a rate of 5,000 cubic feet per second, along with running water through 3 of its 4 turbines totallying 15,000 c.f.s.. The Corps is required to release 15,000 c.f.s of water if Table Rock rises above the spring time power pool level of 915 feet and they will continue releasing that amount until the lake is back down to that level. On Thursday, mid day, the 4th turbine came back online and the flood gates were closed. We are also watching Beaver Lake's level. They typically hold Beaver's release until it gets above 112???????? at which point they will release water to keep it from going any higher. In the past, Beaver's lake level is held even at this high level until Table Rock and Bull Shoal's levels are equal to it's capacity. It's all a little hard to understand but everything the Corps does in managing our lakes is mandated by congress. Bottom line, we are going to see heavy generation on Lake Taneycomo for quite some time. The question is what future rain may be heading this way and how would that affect additional releases over our flood gates. Four units of water is a lot of water and pretty intimidating to a lot of anglers. There's no a whole lot you can do bank or dock fishing - the water is just too fast to present your bait or lure to the fish. Boat fishing, on the other hand, can be very good. The best way to catch trout when there's this much water is running is to drift with the current and drag something on or real close to the bottom. That goes for anywhere on the lake -- at the dam or the Branson Landing area. Trout will be heading to the creeks during high water. Typically Turkey and Roark Creeks are prime targets for rainbows seeking less current and warmer water temperatures. A few weeks ago, anglers found fishing in both creeks excellent including catching some bass, crappie and blue gills. Fishing below the dam and drifting through the whole trophy area should be very good after flood gates were opened for about 24 hours. Our trout were treated to a run of threadfin shad from Table Rock Lake which should make using white jigs, spoons and hard baits, as well as shad flies hot lures for the next few weeks. We also saw a few warmwater fish end up in the tailwater from Table Rock Lake -- smallmouth, spotted bass and I'm sure a walleye or two.
  12. Phil Lilley
    Recent rains have brought our lakes up in elevation again. On Wednesday, 3/28, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened 5 gates and released water at a rate of 5,000 cubic feet per second, along with running water through 3 of its 4 turbines totallying 15,000 c.f.s.. The Corps is required to release 15,000 c.f.s of water if Table Rock rises above the spring time power pool level of 915 feet and they will continue releasing that amount until the lake is back down to that level. On Thursday, mid day, the 4th turbine came back online and 4 flood gates were closed and one left open. We are also watching Beaver Lake's level. They typically hold Beaver's release until it gets above 1128 at which point they will release water to keep it from going any higher. In the past, Beaver's lake level is held even at this high level until Table Rock and Bull Shoal's levels are equal to it's capacity, or I guess they think it's safe to start dropping Beaver. I've never been real clear how they handle Beaver Lake. It's all a little hard to understand but everything the Corps does in managing our lakes is mandated by congress. Bottom line, we are going to see heavy generation on Lake Taneycomo for quite some time. The question is what future rain may be heading this way and how would that affect additional releases over our flood gates. Lake water temperature is about 45 degrees at the dam. Four units of water is a lot of water and pretty intimidating to a lot of anglers. There's no a whole lot you can do bank or dock fishing - the water is just too fast to present your bait or lure to the fish. Boat fishing, on the other hand, can be very good. The best way to catch trout when there's this much water is running is to drift with the current and drag something on or real close to the bottom. That goes for anywhere on the lake -- at the dam or the Branson Landing area. Trout will be heading to the creeks during high water. Typically Turkey and Roark Creeks are prime targets for rainbows seeking less current and warmer water temperatures. A few weeks ago, anglers found fishing in both creeks excellent including catching some bass, crappie and blue gills. As of right now, they have not found the creeks. There's a few in them to catch but not the big numbers like there were a couple weeks ago. Generally, it takes these rainbows a few days to settle in to a flow pattern. The Missouri Department of Conservation stocked a couple of days ago down in the Branson Landing area but so far our guides haven't located them. They are looking... Freshly stocked rainbows will stay together for a few days and are easy to catch. We have had some anglers boat down and catch them around the Fish House, the floating restauant at the Landing. Some of the trout people have caught and cleaned from below the dam are full of scuds so drifting #12 or #14 gray scuds is the go-to fly right now. One complaint is that the trout below the dam aren't being aggressive right now. This should change, I just don't know when. I took a couple of guys up there yesterday afternoon and we found the rainbows biting but taking our jigs short. We were getting bites but missing them. Our guides reported that their clients were hooking fish but some of them were coming off before getting them to the boat, another sign of not being aggressive. I had several rainbows follow my jig to the boat, just not acting like they wanted to engage. This "attitude" is not uncommon at all... it's all part of fishing, and it will change. We're going to keep at it and figure out what these trout want and report back. View full article
  13. Phil Lilley
    More information about "Great Missouri Smallmouth Bass Source"
    This is the best source for smallmouth bass fishing there is. Bookmark this!
  14. Phil Lilley
    Very few days where you're going to find everyone not catching fish in a day... but today was that day here. Guides said it was tough... guests said it was tough... I took a couple of guys from 2-5 pm and it was tough. We caught 5 rainbows on white or white/gray jigs within a 1/4 mile of the cable at the dam. Fished slack banks the rest of the way to the resort - nothing. We saw a few fish caught on flies - drifted on the bottom and under a float (fly fishing). Mainly scuds, #12' and #14's. Some fish caught in the creeks but they were crowded with boats. Sunny and beautiful... first sunny day in how many days? Might have had something to do with it.
  15. Phil Lilley
    They have in the past.
  16. Phil Lilley
    I had 45 last evening, up from 43 before this started.
  17. Phil Lilley
    Yea the 4th turbine came back online. Says only 1,000 cfs coming over the top.
  18. Phil Lilley
    Many of you have read the story of the new state record brown trout landed by resort guest Scott Sandusky two weeks ago as he drifted rainbow PowerBait by Cooper Creek with his Arnold, MO, buddies. What we haven't disclosed until recently was our special Thanksgiving blessing of fishing for and finding the lunker a second time -- this time out of a trash truck . . . At 37 inches long, 24.75 inches in girth and weighing 28.8 pounds, Scott obviously needed to mount his prize, which was roughly a pound heavier than the previous record. We needed to make a decision what to do with his brown while the Missouri Department of Conservation processed the paperwork needed to make his fish the official new state record brown trout. Clint Hale, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery manager, told us that the fish could not be consumed or taken to a taxidermist until the paperwork was complete which would take a few weeks. So we needed to find a freezer big enough for a 40-inch fish to lay flat, since its bulk had been wrapped in towels to secure its shape. The only one we could find was in the kitchen at the First Baptist Church here in Branson, so dad and I took the fish and placed in the freezer. Honestly, I did think about labeling it somehow to identify it as belonging to someone but . . . I trusted that no one would mess with it. That was our downfall. Dad flashed the fish off in the freezer Sunday night to some fellow church-goers, at least showing off the bulk size of the fish. The towels were frozen to the skin of the trout so he couldn't back the layers, but it was still an impressive sight. On Wednesday morning, dad drove to the church to retreive the record fish to transfer it to a freezer we had. Once the fish was frozen solid, it could be stood upright, fitting into another freezer. The trout was gone. No fish in the freezer anywhere. Jerry asked in the office, but no one know about it. Then he learned of the fish's fate. It had been thrown out into the dumpster on Monday -- only to have been picked up that very Wednesday morning by the trash truck. "I've never been so down in my life as when I saw that fish was gone," Jerry said. He began asking us all to pray for a miracle, and Carolyn, my mother, even called friends to pray. I was headed to a meeting, and resigned myself to the fact that the fish was gone for sure, but dad's tenacity paid off. He called the Alllied Waste company and found out where the truck was headed, drove to Reeds Spring and met the truck there prepared for dumpster diving. The attendants there were experienced in finding the treasures people have thrown out. (Once retrieving some tossed diamond earrings.) They dumped the contents of the truck on a concrete pad and started picking through it with a small bobcat. Mom had accompanied dad for "support" and both were holding their noses and hoping they'd find the fish in decent shape, but with every move, the bobcat did not turn up any light teal-green towels or fish remains. My mom is a woman of faith. Her relationship with the Lord is astounding, and she told dad she was hearing the Lord say it was in a pile "over there." Dad had all but given up on the search, but mom pushed for one more swipe of trash in the area God was directing her to. Then she saw the towel. She waded in and dug it out. The fish was still wrapped in the towel. A small tear in its back was the only visible damage to the fish they could see. They headed back home with the trout, praising God for His constant faithfulness and mercy -- this time exhibited in finding the fish. Scott's brown trout is once again in a freezer, but this time it's in a safer place. Trout that large are actually replicated by taxidermists and not mounted in the traditional way of using the actual fish and its skin. But when the mold is made of the actual fish and a replica cast, Scott will have the mount of a lifetime, representing his "knee-shaking" treasure of a memory: Scott and his friends, Scott Hawkins, Greg Lawson and Craig Thomas, had planned to catch some keeper rainbows to fry for dinner Friday night, then hit the trophy area for lunkers on Saturday. They drifted downstream, using rainbow-colored, paste Power Bait, bumping it on the bottom as you're supposed to. Just below Cooper Creek, Scott set his rod in the rod holder to help with another rig. Thinking he saw a bite, Scott picked his rod back up, set the hook and knew -- he had something big. But he didn't know what it was . . . a catfish? A big carp? If it was a trout, it was a really, really big trout. Then they saw it. It was a brown trout. He had his spin reel set to wind backwards, not trusting the drag. Smart guy because this fish didn't want to play. The brown surged for the far bank, spinning off so much line, so fast, that it was all Scott could do release the handle and watch his line fly off his reel. Then he stopped. Working it closer to the boat, his team of anglers started to plan their attack. One retrieved the net and the other pulled up the trolling motor -- just in time. Four-pound line doesn't last long against a prop. When most people buy a fish net, they don't expect to land a 37-inch fish, right? Scott's net could hold half this fish. It flopped in, it flopped out. Then Scott's net man, Craig, muscled up and got it in the boat. All was made official by Missouri Department of Conservation officials at the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery. Shane Bush, MDC fisheries biologist and Quenten Fronterhouse, MDC enforcement agent, both helped in this process. Clint Hale, hatchery manager, was also present. View full article
  19. Phil Lilley
    We're heading up there in a little bit and will report back. Someone told me they shut them all but one... which makes no sense. But I'd take one over zero.
  20. Phil Lilley
    No measureable rain in the 7-day forecast... rooting for a long, dry spell and let all this water drain out.
  21. Phil Lilley
    There were a dozen or more people fishing by outlets 1 and 2. There should be some warmwater species above outlet 1 including walleye. But yes it's very limited.
  22. Phil Lilley
    Your going to see quite a few articles posted in the coming days, mostly from Taneycomo but some on other waters, in the content section of OA. I am transferring all content from the wordpress side of OA to the IPBoard side and will drop the WP site altogether very soon. Unfortunately, I can't do this and keep it off everyone's news feeds. Thanks
  23. Phil Lilley
    Yea- just don't tell anybody.
  24. Phil Lilley
    I wish I knew. Chances are they came over the gates from Table Rock... but if they did, it's amazing that they are eating.
  25. Phil Lilley
    More information about "Lake Taneycomo Overview"
    Flowing through the heart of Branson, Lake Taneycomo is the most diverse fishing lake in the country, sporting world-class rainbow and brown trout as well as bass, crappie and blue gill angling. But it's most famous for its trout fishing. Why is trout fishing so consistently good year round? The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks Lake Taneycomo with about 550,000 trout annually. Stockings occur on several days of each week and are dispersed by pontoon boat throughout the lake. In the summer months, when fishing pressure is the highest, as many as 64,000 rainbows averaging 11.5 inches or longer are placed in the lake, ensuring everyone at least a chance to catch their limit of four trout daily. Both rainbows and browns are reared locally at the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery, located just below Table Rock Dam. Article - Justification for Rainbow Trout stocking reduction in Lake Taneycomo, 12/2017 Brown trout comprise a small percentage of stocked trout in Lake Taneycomo. MDC stocks about 15,000 once a year in the spring. Browns are considered a "trophy trout" in Taneycomo and, thus, a special lake-wide regulation mandates that a brown must be 20 inches or longer to keep, and only one may be kept per day. Four total keeper trout are allowed per day with a two-day possession limit of eight trout total. Lake Taneycomo is a part of the White River Chain of Lakes. Our lower dam, Powersite, was built in 1908 and actually is the oldest hydro-electric dam built west of the Mississippi River. When Table Rock Dam was constructed in 1958, water from the bottom of the 200-foot dam was cold, thus supporting coldwater species of fish. As a federal project, the government appropriated Neosho Federal Hatchery to provide rainbow trout to the once warm water fishery. In 1957, construction of the state hatchery, Shepherd of the Hills, was started at the base of Table Rock Dam. Shepherd provides the balance of trout stocked in Taneycomo, as well as providing trout for the rest of the state's trout program. Table Rock Dam is managed by the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers. The Southwest Power Administration tells the Corps when and how much water to flow through the facility. Flow is dictated by flood control and power demand. As much as 20,000 cubic feet per second can be released through its turbines, but even more can be moved over the top of the dam through its 10 flood gates. As much as 78,000 cubic feet per second was released in the flood of 2015/16 (winter), a record release that will hopefully never be broken when Table Rock. But the highest Table Rock Lake has ever been is 935.46 feet in the flood of 2011. Water flow dictates fishing conditions and techniques. When the water is off, there is little to no current, and Taneycomo acts like a lake. But when water is released, depending on how much water is released, the current increases and water level rises -- and Taneycomo shows her river heritage. Random Information: Table Rock Dam: Elevation at the top of the spill gates is 933 feet, when the gates are closed. Of course when the gates are opened, this elevation will rise with the gates. The spill over elevation is 896 feet. The spill gates are 45 feet wide and 36 feet tall. Good Radio Program/Podcast - Outdoor Guys Radio Show featuring Phil Lilley talking about Lake Taneycomo. Fishing License and Trout Permits Before heading to the water for a fishing trip, be sure that you have the required license and permit. Anyone fishing in upper Lake Taneycomo (above State Highway 65 bridge) is required to have a trout permit. Adult trout permits (age 16 and older) cost $10 and a youth trout permit (age 15 and under) costs just $5. Both expire on March 1st following the purchase. In addition to the trout permit, a general fishing license is required for anyone 16 years and older. Non-Missouri residents can purchase a one day license for $8, or a 3 day license for $24. An annual license is also available for $49. Missouri residents can purchase their annual fishing license for just $12. Missouri residents over age 65 are not required to purchase a fishing license. Note: To KILL a trout, whether intentional or unintentional, is considered possession, so be careful. It might be safer just to buy the trout stamp. Costs: Missouri Resident Annual License is $12 Non-resident annual license is $49 Trout permits are only sold annually, and they are $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 16 years of age All Missouri licenses and permits expire on March 1 Non-resident One Day - $8 Non-resident Three Day - $24 Missouri Residents over age 65 only need a trout permit $10 Buy Missouri Fishing Licenses Online! Did you know? The name Lake Taneycomo was derived from its location in Taney, County, MO, hence Taney-co-mo. Lake Taneycomo looks like a river, but dams at both ends impound the water, making it a lake. Lake Taneycomo is one of four lakes in the chain of the White River system. Beaver, located in northwest Arkansas, is at the top of the chain, followed by Table Rock, then Taneycomo and lastly Bull Shoals. Lake Taneycomo's lower dam, Powersite, brought into service in 1913, is the oldest hydroelectric dam west of the Mississippi. Table Rock Dam was constructed in 1958. The dam's height made the water released from Table Rock cold year round, turning Taneycomo into a prime place to stock trout. The Missouri Department of Conservation's Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery stocks Taneycomo with approximately 500,000 rainbows and 15,000 browns annually. In addition, 200,000 rainbows are trucked in from the Neosho Federal Hatchery located in Neosho, Missouri. The number of rainbows stocked correlates with the fluctuating fishing pressure Taneycomo receives. In another words, 90,000 rainbows are stocked in each summer month when fishing pressure is high but only about 30,000 rainbows in each winter month, give or take a few hundred. There are four turbines located at Table Rock Dam. Two warning horns are located below the dam to warn anglers of impending water release. Water levels can rise as much as 12 feet below the dam, and the currents can be swift. Be wise and be safe. The current Missouri state record brown trout was also caught on Lake Taneycomo on September 4, 2019 by local fishing guide, Bill Babler. It weighed 40 pounds and 6 ounces, measuring 41 inches long. It was caught on a Berkley's pink worm fished under a float, 6x tippet which is less than 4-pound test. Here's a link to the story. The second brown trout Missouri state record was caught on Lake Taneycomo on February 23, 2019 by Paul Crews of Neosho, Missouri. It weighed 34 pounds, 10 ounces, measuring 38 inches long, 27 inch girth. It was caught on an 1/8th ounce sculpin colored jig, 4-pound line. It was released successfully and this brown, named Frank, has been seen and videoed many times since. Some years back, the dock manager at Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina retrieved a dead brown trout floating above the dock. After measuring and weighing the dead fish, it was determined that it would have been a world record, measuring 44 inches long. The story made the Paul Harvey radio show. State Record Fish on Lake Taneycomo: White Sucker - Four pounds, eight ounces caught Nov. 19, 1990, by James E. Baker Jr. of Reeds Spring, MO Brown Trout - 34 pounds, 10 ounces caught February 23, 2019, by Paul Crews of Neosho, MO.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.

  I accept