Phil Lilley

Okay... this is the deal. In numbering each day on One Cast, we miss a day. We went back and double checked this summer and got the days right as to when we started in January, 2015. I think it was in July I figured when the 1000th day would be and announced it to the staff. Lisa posted it on our online work schedule as today, 10/5. But the number on OC says 999. The guys this morning read the schedule and decided to do something special (I was gone) so... we have the 1000th One Cast today instead of tomorrow. And like they told me, it is too good to scrap and do over!! So we'll go with it.

This is my take... Last year, I was surprised at the results. It was better than I thought - we weren't seeing the quality trout then but the survey said different. This year is the exact opposite. We're seeing a lot of good quality rainbows, and now browns. But the survey says it's not so good. You have to take these reports with a grain of salt. Fish move. I think the more mature fish get out of the way of the shock boat. Some of the bigger fish can run through the field but keep going and not be captured. The study is helpful to MDC because this is one tool they use to manage the lake.

It's always stinky in the fall. It's the life of a tailwater... some years are worse than others.

That was strange... after update I couldn't access this text box. Cleared cache and it's fine. MDC has given up on browns up the ladder. They've already ordered brown trout eggs from a supplier. Yes, they've had to do this in years past.

Sorry I don't know my bridges.

Robbed these off FB, Sunburst's page. Ozark's Aerial took the pics. James and Blair Bridges.

Yes there are....

Thanks Mitch, but don't spend much time. Wasn't asking anyone to do anything here... just wanted to get me comments online where google can pick them up if someone's looking for info on them. There's not much as far as reviews when is strange... most are good reviews too. Can't see where my situation is different... if they say they can beat Google ads, good for them. But they didn't come close in my case.

Sovrn Review: A representative from Sovrn peppered me with emails, asking for a chance to prove Sovrn's ability to make me more money. I gave them 3 days to prove it. It didn't go well. This is an attempt to put something out there on the web to advise others about my experience with Sovrn. I placed Sovrn's code in the proper places on my site, Ozarkanglers.com, and my earnings went from averaging $12.00 per day to $5.00 per day. And this stayed constant for the 3 days with Sovrn. No improvement. I'm sure Sovrn works for some... but it didn't for me.

I can do it!

Every year, the Missouri Department of Conservation takes a sample of the fish in Lake Taneycomo by electro-shock to see how the trout are fairing. The following are this year's findings. 2017 Lake Taneycomo Sampling Study View full article

That's ^^^^^^^^ funny.

"Oh, that's just a hicky".

Saw this on a news site... comments of the people helping are hilarious!

Headed out this morning about 8 a.m. towards the trophy area. Not many boats out, cloudy, a little breeze out of the NNE and no generation. The lake looked a little lower than normal too, and as soon as I got up to the Narrows, the big gravel flat out of the water confirmed my suspicion. My objective this morning was to get out and wade the gravel bar there at the Narrows but I made a detour and started throwing streamers just above the bar to what I through were feeding rainbows in fairly shallow water. I went through several patterns -- olive bugger, light gray sculpin, brown sculpin, olive Mohair Leech and a brown PMS - no bites. There was a good chop on the water but very little midging activity. I tied on a #16 olive soft hackle and caught a small rainbow on the first cast. After casting a couple dozen times and only one fish on, I decided to get out and fish the channel. Started (and finished) with scuds, small at first. Remember the Trout Crack scud? Never did like the name but the pattern is a good one. I tied on a #16 light T.C. and caught one nice rainbow. Tied on another simple gray scud #18, nothing. There was a fairly good current moving through and I could see fish milling around but they didn't seem to be feeding. I decided to tie on something they couldn't ignore, a #12 mink scud tied on a 200R hook. Someone hit the switch. . . fish-on! I was thinking about going from 6x tippet to 7x (which I really didn't want to do) but it wasn't the line, it just wasn't lunch time yet. In quick fashion, I caught about 10 rainbows, most of which were bright red, colored up 15-17 inch trout. I shot a picture of the first 2, then just kicked the rest loose. I worked down lake and spotted several very nice, red rainbows but I couldn't get them hooked. But did catch another dozen fish before turning around and headed back to the boat. It was a quarter after noon and time for my lunch. Chop on the surface made a big difference. It got calm a few times... I could see almost every fish in front of me, and they could see me. Had to wait it out till the next breeze blew by, then it was fish-on! again. View full article

They're not running this morning.

Generation has been consistent for the last 10 days - they're running about 2,200 cfs at a lake level of 704 feet, generating 30-35 megawatts of power from midnight till 2 p.m.. Starting at 2 p.m., they're building it up to 3 units (not full), almost 9,000 cfs at a lake level of 708 feet. That's a lot of water! But it goes back down to 704 feet by 8 p.m.. There's a weather change happening tonight though that might alter this pattern. Cooler weather most of the time means less power demand, thus less generation. We will see. Some are hoping for no generation at least in the mornings, like it was back a couple of weeks ago. Others like the low flow in the mornings... I think it's boaters against waders. Who will win!? Catching the last week has slowed down, especially off our dock. Most anglers are catching their limit but it takes a considerable amount of time to do it. Night crawlers has been the best, for both trout and suckers. White suckers put up a great fight and cleaned/prepared right are great eating! With a lake level of 704 feet, boating to the dam is tricky, even for us locals! But if you can get up there to the cable below the dam, fishing has been pretty good. First fly fishing. Hoppers thrown against the banks is catching bigger than normal rainbows and a few browns. Also other dries like beetles, ants and stimulators. You won't catch a lot of fishing but if you love dry fly fishing, a few bites is worth trying. Drop a #16 or #18 red zebra midge under the dry about 18 inches for an additional chance. The white mega worm is also catching trout. Use it tied on a small jig head under a float and make sure you have enough line below the indicator to get it to the bottom. The water is clear enough to follow the white worm and if it disappears, set the hook -- it's probably in a fish's mouth. Stripping an olive, brown or black beaded wooly bugger is pretty productive. I caught several nice rainbows stripping an olive wooly bugger against the bluff bank from Lookout through the Narrows. They like to chase! Duane is still throwing the MegaBass 110+1 Ozark Shad stick bait up below the dam (from a boat) while they're running that big water in the late afternoons and catching some nice trout including browns and rainbows over 20 inches (all released). He's hooked some really big fish but those are getting away, so far. Guide Tracy Frenzel showed me he's catching trout drifting beads. This is something we do up north in Alaska to catch big rainbows feeding on salmon eggs. Trout beads come in many colors and sizes. He was using a pinkish 12mm bead (yes that's a big bead) pegged with a toothpick about 2 inches above the hook. He said it actually catches less moss than using bait just on a hook. Yes we do carry beads in our fly shop. And yes you can use these in the trophy area. I'd think they'd work good up close to the dam where browns should be ready to spawn soon. Marabou jigs are working real well. Depending on the flow and conditions, I'm throwing 2 and 4 pound line and 1/16th, 3/32nd and 1/8th ounce jigs in several colors. Best is still the sculpin/ginger 1/16th ounce with 2 pound line... but that's probably because I'm throwing it 80% of the time. When the water is running harder, I'm going to 4 pound line and 1/8th ounce jigs. I talked to a guest today that said they're catching good rainbows up close to Short Creek on 1/8th ounce sculpin jigs. They're throwing them in this slower generation. He asked if that was ok... I responded with "If you're catching fish, it's perfect!" Tracy also told me that he was catching good numbers of rainbows from Cooper Creek down in a section of about a quarter mile. His clients were fishing the pink Berkley Power worm. These fish are staying together, may be following the midge hatches morning and evening. There's usually a crud line in the lake - floating leaves and stuff that clumps up from wind and boat traffic - and that's where these trout are coming up and midging (dimpling) the surface. Several ways to target these fish. Throw something and run it through them like a spinner or a spoon. Cast a small jig, like a 1/16th, and wiggle is through the schooling trout. Or use a small jig or fly under a tiny float (fly or spin rod) and fish it pretty shallow - 18 to 24 inches deep. The pink worm is still a guide's best friend - and it can be yours too. For whatever reason, this bait has been a fish's favorite for well over a year now. P.S. After writing this report, Duane and I boated to the dam this afternoon for some fishing. He took his bait casting rod and MegaBass 110+1 stick baits and I had a spinning and fly outfit, I was ready for anything! This report is littered with pictures from the outing. Duane caught the first trout, the biggest of the evening. We didn't measure it but I think it pushed 20 inches. He did hook and lost a couple of other nice browns (pictures). I started with throwing an 1/16th ounce sculpin/ginger jig but didn't have any luck. They were running 5,200 cfs or a little over a full unit, lake level 706 feet and the weight wasn't enough to get down deep enough. I switched to a 3/32nd ounce white jig. I was using 2 pound line. Duane did catch some rainbows too. Oh, and a few smallmouth bass. I didn't catch any browns but I didn't catch rainbows, a lot of them, and most of them were quality trout! Actually, I told Duane that it was one of the best catching trips of the summer for me. Crazy! I didn't work the jig very hard at all. I'd let it go to the bottom and lift it fairly quick, not the pop I usually work a jig. At the last, when the wind picked up, I just let it drift and they eat it right up! We stopped taking pictures after a couple because it took too much time away from fishing. And I forgot to take the video cameras... We made 4 or 5 driftes from the hatchery outlets down to the top of Trophy Run. We didn't see another boat, only the people wading around the outlets and one guy at Rocking Chair Access. I guess white jigs are a hot item after all... I've had several people tell me in the last week or so but every time I'd throw them - nothing! Told Duane I guess I didn't give them a good chance. View full article

Knock em in the head, no need for bogas 😀

Try 'em and see what happens.

I threw an olive #4 beaded bugger this morning above and through the Narrows (by boat) and caught a lot of rainbows. I don't throw it much but they really liked it!

We attended the Missouri Heritage Foundation's Lewis and Clark Awards presentation last night. Toured both museums first. It was cool to see Houston, Martin and Dance up close and in person. Their acceptance speaches were pretty funny. The aquarium part was be far the best of the two. If you only had time and funds for one, I'd go there, especially if you have kids. It is way over the top... Highlights- Walking under the stream and seeing the smallies from that view. The HUGE alligator gar. Beaver and Otter pens, again up close. Jellyfish Room - I've seen them at other aquariums but they're still a wonder to see. All the tanks including the HUGE ones all look like HD TV screens - you can't see the glass separating you and the fish.