Phil Lilley

Generation has been very constant and consistent the past couple of weeks. Operators at the dam have run 40 megawatts most of each day with the exception of a blast of water in the mornings of about two units. Forty megawatts is a little less than one full unit; the lake level is about 704.5 feet. It really is a nice flow of water, allowing you to boat to the cable at the dam if you know where you're going! And it's a perfect flow for drifting down here out of the trophy area. There have been some changes to the upper lake due to the heavy flows back in early January. There's some new root wads dotting the lake in the stretch from Short to Fall Creek -- one right in the middle of the lake. There's also some new trees on the inside bend in the same stretch. No changes at the mouth of Fall Creek that I can tell yet. The water is still too turbid to see the bottom. The channel is still on the far side of the lake away from the marina. Above Fall Creek is still a mystery, too. The gravel bar coming off the island on the left, just up from Fall Creek, has changed some. There's some deep holes there that weren't there before. The Narrows has taken on a whole new look with the lower bank washed out and more trees laying long-wise in the channel. There is at least one deep hole with a steep drop-off off the shallow flat, and the channel may be deeper in some places. The lake from there to Lookout seems to be the same, but we won't know until the water is shut completely down and we can see the bottom. The next change up lake is the cut above Trophy Run, where the lake's channel shoots up the right side to the clay bank hole below the boat ramp. The channel is much more defined and is very close to the right or NE bank now. Plus it looks to be much deeper. Rebar chute and hole is still a mystery, too. I tried to look at it yesterday, idling up through the area in my boat. I could not find any kind of channel or deep run, only very shallow, flat gravel. There may be a chute or deep channel running straight up lake just off the island. If this is the new channel, rebar will look totally different. Fishing! Fishing is still very, very good. There seems to be an abundance of trout in the lake, and they are very healthy from all the food they got during the high water. We had some of the best bags of fish weighed in at last Saturday's private trout tournament that we've seen in many years and fishing continues to be good this week, too. Our water color is still kind of chalky in color, but visibility is still about five-feet deep. I think that hurts the jig fisherman because of the limited sight of the fish in the water, but it doesn't hurt the use of scented baits or live baits, like Berkley products and night crawlers. Drifting bait from Fall Creek down has been very good, but you have to watch how much weight you use. I'd only use a #7 split shot or may be a 1/8-ounce bell weight at the most because the water is so slow. Stay in the middle of the lake, too, because of the wood along the sides. The best color of PowerBait has been white and orange. There's been a lot of people trolling and finding browns and rainbows down lake from the Branson Landing. They are trolling Shad Raps mainly, but other smaller trolling baits will do. In the trophy area, throwing an 1/8-ounce jig and working the middle of the lake has been the best. I've been faring better in the middle compared to working the sides, I think because the fish aren't holding in slower water. The water is slow enough that they can hold anywhere and be good. White still is a good color, but it's cooled off a bit. Dark colors have come on strong -- black, olive, sculpin and brown with highlights of ginger and orange. Dan Boone, Stillwater, OK. caught and released this 25-inch brown this morning while fishing in the trophy area on Lake Taneycomo. He caught it on a white, 1/8-ounce jig, in very tough, windy conditions. I've tried drifting scuds and have not done well, but I wouldn't cross them off your list. Egg flies, as well as San Juan worms, should be good to drag on the bottom, too. I've also done well fishing a 1/32-ounce jig under a float from 7 to 10 feet under an indicator. The best color has been an orange-headed sculpin/ginger jig. The trophy area isn't the only place this will work. Fish it below Fall Creek in the middle to the inside bend. View full article

Big rainbows and browns will hang under docks where fish are cleaned. There's a good reason they're big... Rainbows are stocked mainly below Branson, either by boat or right off a ramp. Following this reasoning, you'd find those big browns in those areas.

I honestly think there's more browns - big browns down lake - down past Branson, than up here. Going by fishing reports the last month.

Lake level has been about 904 feet, 3 feet high. You can barely get a boat to the dam. Water isn't high at all. Saw ppl wading yesterday below the dam and catching fish. I think I'd prefer this to no water at all actually- but that's me.

Also- another article on Ducky... http://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/outdoors/2016/02/09/once-again-february-best-month-trout-fishing/80007494/

Dan Boone, Stillwater, OK. caught and released this 25-inch brown this morning while fishing in the trophy area on Lake Taneycomo. He caught it on a white, 1/8-ounce jig, in very tough, windy conditions.

Thanks for the call... I didn't return it because I have the same problem. Too much stuff I'll never do anything with.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/article58899573.html

Notice the weighs. All teams with one exception fished below Fall Creek. This was a private tournament in which bait was allowed. I believe most of the bigger rainbows were caught on bait. This brown was caught on a crank bait trolling. Lots more pics on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LilleysLandingMarinaBranson/

Not this one. We'll ease into photos as we develop this type of tournament. I still consider these experimental -- working out bugs and see what works best for everybody. But I can see that as an option in the future.

They've cooled off on white but I'd still throw it a little. They're back on the dark colors - sculpin, brown, black and mixed - with orange and ginger. I have a big tournament starting at 8. Might have one or two teams go above Fall Creek so that's the place to be. FC down will be a zoo. If you're coming by the shop to pick up jigs, be there well before 8 or you'll get caught in the takeoff. Dock is full of boats too - you'll have to find a place to tie up. Don't drive in with a boat in tow... parking lot full too. Should be a good day. Had 2 big trout brought in today and heard of 3 stories of losing big fish.

I'm thinking about having several of these throughout the year. May be one in the summer. My staff will kill me if I have one on a Saturday because it's our change-over day but... we'll see.

It's also a way to enjoy fishing the trophy area. Everything counts.

When we held this contest in December, Shawn Pingleton won with 43 trout scoring a little over 500 inches. Going by memory...

No. Total fish caught. If you caught 50 trout, you total all 50.

Crane has a Blue Ribbon section. No hook restriction.

Anybody want to buy an ad on OAF? $100 for a year. 500x100 px banner on a forum of your choice. I can provide numbers, stats. This is my only big ad push for the year -- no complaining about being strong-armed.

Yea- the tournament is a blast... volunteering gets you in all the games.

I'm planning on it... unless our team plays on Saturday. NAIA 2 Basketball National Tournament in Branson.

Looks good - you might want to turn the documents sideways and attach them again.

You missed my other post... I was joshing him. There's no barbless rule anywhere in Missouri.

Lilleys' Landing will host a benefit tournament for C.A.M. on Saturday, March 26th here on Lake Taneycomo. Christian Action Ministries is a local food bank providing food for families who are in need of a hand-up. From their website: Each year Christian Action Ministries food pantry distributes tens of thousands of pounds of food and grocery products to hungry and needy people in our community. Last year CAM provided 625,000 lbs of food. This distribution process is made possible by companies in the food and grocery industry and individuals who regularly donate surplus, distressed, and damaged food and grocery items to us so we may help those Taney county families who need it most. C.A.M. serves over 1,000 families per month on average. C.A.M. also guides people to other service ministries in Taney County, dealing with finances, job training and counseling. ~~TOURNAMENT FORMAT~~ Time: Start 8 am and check in at 4 pm. Lilleys' Landing will provide fish rulers to be returned after the contest. We will also provide a small notepad and pen to write each measurement to each individual. EACH TROUT caught will be scored. Note: All trout regardless of species or legality. In another words, brown trout less than 20 inches will be scored, as well as rainbow trout caught in the trophy area that measure between 12 and 20 inches. All trout MUST be released. Scoring is by measuring each trout caught by placing the fish in the measuring tray with the nose against the head of the rule. You may pinch and/or swing the tail. Length will be scored up to the half-inch. If a trout is 14-1/8th inch, it's scored 14.5 inches. Each measurement will be written down in the notepad provided along with the time it was caught. Also initial R for rainbow or B for brown trout. At "weigh-in", notepads will be turned in for tally. All measurements will be added by the tournament director and a total length will be the angler's final score. SCORE - The total of the lengths of all trout caught and recorded is the final SCORE of each contestant. If you catch 48 trout, the length of all 48 combined is the final score. Ties will be broken by the longest fish, second longest and so on. Tournament fee is $25 per person. Cash and prizes will be given to the top 3 finishers. All proceeds from entries will go to C.A.M.. Other rules- All contestants will fish from a boat OR from Lilleys' Landing's dock. No wading will be allowed. There is no limit to how many anglers can fish out of a boat. It is an individual contest and each angler measures and scores his or her own trout. Each boat will have one measurement ruler. This is an artificial only fishing tournament. No live bait is allowed. No scented or soft plastic baits are allowed. No Powerbait or corn is allowed. No chumming will be allowed. All Missouri Department of Conservation rules apply.