Phil Lilley

Just so everyone knows... I'm not putting down the White River. These are only observations from a 2-day trip there. I know fisheries go in cycles too. The White River is a mighty river in its own right. I wish Taney was more like it in structure.

I'm not sure what's going on with these images... but I think they're all there. Not sure of the order though... The last image is the smallest rainbow although there's another image of a rainbows caught below Fall Creek. I caught several there but only took the one photo.

While fishing the White River this past Thursday and Friday, I couldn't help but notice that most if not all the rainbows we were catching were fairly small and all silver - hardly no color. We threw marabou jigs of varied sizes and colors, fishing mostly between Cotter and Rim Shoals with either minimum flow or 100-150 mw of generation. While I didn't take any pictures of the rainbows we caught on the White, I did take these pictures this morning while fishing a jig on Lake Taneycomo. I drifted from the dam down to just below Fall Creek, a 3.5 mile stretch. They're running 25 mw of power with is 1/2 unit. I used an 1/8th ounce white jig, 1/8th ounce sculpin jig and a 3/32nd once sculpin/peach jig. Note- I made a short drift when I first got up there and caught maybe a dozen rainbows and one brown before deciding to make the long drift and take pics. I caught the smallmouth on the first cast. The second to the last rainbow was about 11 inches - the only rainbow under 12 inches I landed. I lost a couple of smaller rainbows at the boat. It's not so much the size but the color that struck me as odd. Why are Taney's rainbows so much colorful. Granted, it is the time of year when we see our rainbows color up so pretty - mostly because of the spawn. Our water is darker too more silt because Table Rock is turning over. The water on the White was much clearer. Now if you compare the rainbows you'd catch below BS Dam in their trophy area and Taney's, the White has bigger rainbows on average. But it seems, at least right now, Taney has better sized rainbows overall, throughout the lake/river system than the White, This really surprises me given the fact the White has had a minimum flow in place for a year now. I'd think their food population (bugs and forage fish) would be through the roof. That's another thing we noticed. Didn't see many if any forage fish on the White. Taney has tons of shiners all up and down the lake along the banks. That's what is visible. I know we have sculpin, but so does the White.

There may be a place at Rockaway that rents boats- might call the chamber there. Otherwise Scotty's is the closest.

Ok boys. Trying to plan the day. Hopefully everyone gets notifications on their phone. Griz will be here at Riley's about 8. Pete is here, he'll go with Griz and mike. What's everyone else doing? Should we wait on anyone else?

Quick report- Duane, Cody and I put in at Rim about 8:30 this morning. Rain stopped but cold and cloudy. Minimum flow. No one fishing. Duane has a Tracker 185 Sport Jet. We decided to see how it would do getting up past Red Bud Shoals - we did - then ran up almost to Cotter. Drifted back all the way to Red Bud throwing a variety of jigs and did fairly well. Dark jigs did the best. Ran back up and did it again. Did better. Ran back up but this time we met some water. Looked like the 150, 10,000 cfs they were supposed to run this morning. We ran on up to get past the junk that comes with the first wave, almost to the RR bridge. Drifted down to Red Bud again this time throwing white jigs and did better on bigger fish. Don't know numbers but had numerous browns, lots of rainbows and 9 cutthroats. Duane caught his grand slam.... brown, rainbow, cutt and a arctic brown. Pics when I get home tomorrow night.

Duane and I will be probably at rim access about 8. Float all day to lodge. We have room for one more. We will be wading part of the time.

We could just wade in at Rim all day - or till the water gets there and then float to the lodge. We'll be in Duane's jet - no prop.

Last minute advice - They're supposed to run 150 from 7-10 tomorrow - plan to start 8 at. Can we put in at the White Hole and drift with the generation down to ?... Can we make it all the way to the lodge? Or wait till the water is to Rim and float to the lodge which we did last year.

You might read through the posts on the Buffalo forum to start. There's already a lot of good information already shared. Then check out http://www.ozarkanglers.com/buffalo-river/.

Thanks for the report!!!

I don't know... I used to hunt around Parsons years ago but can't find time to get back. You'd have to research Kansas code unless someone else knows the rules.

Sorry to hear... going to miss that old dog Seriously - get the back in shape so you can fish. Most of us have had issue with the back. I go to the Chiropractor couple of times a month. But strengthening the abs has helped me the best. Old situps. Hate them but gotta do it. If you feel better- run down and spend the day with us.

Can't help but post these pics. Good friends of mine farm outside of Altamont, KS. Mom killed this buck first of November - crossbow. Her son Nate killed this one last week - rifle I believe.

Me and Duane. Thursday night only

Do you think they'll be running as much water as they did last year? What's been the pattern lately? I don't know how to read flows on the White- just don't get there enough.

I'll have my boat Thursday all day and most of the day Friday. Can fish me and 2 more. If they're going to run enough water, I'd like to take my Grizzly. It's got a 115 hp /prop but if all I'm doing is floating, then I'll be fine. It drafts better than my Shawnee. Thoughts?

Gezzz... talk about putting pressure on the boss.

Baltimore, MD is probably a little out of range of everyone on this forum... Do you have a fishing report for us?

I fixed it. Thanks for the report!

I'm planning on pulling into an access about 8 am Thursday, probably with a boat in tow, and fish Thursday and most of Friday before heading back home Friday afternoon. I'll bring a couple of smoked chickens and salmon filets.

Yes- still doing it. Just call the office 1-800-284-2196 and ask for the FB special. Send the fishing report to me or post it directly to the forum (with pics ) within 24 hours after getting home.

Generation on Lake Taneycomo the last few weeks have been fairly consistent. There's been some flow but not much. When they do run water, it's in the mornings and/or evenings for a couple of hours. There are exceptions (of course). No real pattern to the day of the week but they've been running from a half unit to 2 units all day and night. But again, that's may be one day a week. Colder temperatures could cause this to change. The lake's water quality is good. Our trout seem to be strong and active, feeding on midges all during the day on the surface. And when they're hooked they fight as hard as they do in the winter and spring. The water is getting darker which means there is some movement in Table Rock's layers. When Table Rock turns over, silt from the bottom mixes and we get turbid water every winter. This doesn't affect fishing or the trout's activity. It does mean that we anglers don't have to use 7x tippet any longer though! As I mentioned, rainbows and browns have been keying in on hatching midges. You'll see them dimpling the surface all during daylight hours. The best times, though, are early and late in the day and when its cloudy. We've been throwing Zebra Midges, setting a float anywhere from 12 to 48 inches above the first fly. Small jigs are also working. If there's no wind or chop on the water, a Zebra is the best to use. If there's a chop, then a jig will work. What's working best for us has been a black #14 or #16 Zebra with either a black or copper head. Good jigs have been a 1/125th or 1/50th ounce sculpin, ginger, brown/orange or sculpin/ginger jig, either a orange or brown head. We've been catching more brown trout lately--yes on jig or midge under a float. There's not any certain area we're finding them--really anywhere and everywhere. They've become very active after their spawning period. We've also been fishing the scud, mainly in the trophy area. Fish it anywhere on the gravel, just make sure it's dragging the bottom. I'm still using a Peppy or Mink scud tied on a 200R hook, #12 and weighted. I'm also wrapping it with a small copper wire. Lincoln Hunt and I fished the other evening and did well using the fore mentioned Zebra. Here's a short video showing us catching 12 rainbows out of the same spot. Almost every fish was a dark male in their spawning colors. Some were even milking already. Same trip, I caught a nice brown trout on a zebra. Fishing out in front of the dock the other evening, I caught this really pretty brown on a Zebra Midge. Our brown trout have really made a comeback since the floods knocked the numbers way back. I'm looking forward to 2015 and lots more pictures of trophy browns caught. Fishing off our dock has been pretty good lately too. Every morning is the best and the best bait has been Berkly's Gulp eggs--one orange and one white egg. Garlic is still a good scent either to add to your bait or buy with it already applied. Duane and Ryan have been throwing a black 1/16th ounce jig off the dock lately and catching some really nice rainbows and even a few browns. December Expectations From what I've heard in the media, we're supposed to have a cold winter with lots of snow. May be mother nature got it out of her system a couple of weeks ago . . . and may be not. But regardless, trout don't mind, only fishermen. If you can get here and if you can stand a little cold, our trout fishing should be excellent--the best of the year in December and January. If you've asked me when's the best time to come fishing here on Taneycomo, you know what my answer always is. Winter. December and January. Most people are surprised at my answer. So why do I say that? Two reasons. One. As our water quality (increase in oxygen) changes for the better in early December, the trout's reaction is pretty incredible. It's like they get a shot of adrenaline. They're more active, feeding like they've just come out of hibernation. Our water quality improves all through the winter into the spring but fishing pressure takes its toll later in the spring. Two. In the months of November and December and on into January, our fishing pressure is at its lowest, giving our fish a chance to settle down and live and feed in their natural environment, all the while more and more rainbows are stocked in the lake. When January hits, we really do see the most good quality rainbows we see during the year caught BELOW Fall Creek because even these trout are given the change to put some weigh on during the slow angling months. What is different about this late fall fishing season is that our water quality has never really gotten as bad as most years, I think mainly because our water temperature hasn't risen into the 50's--it's still in the upper 40's. The colder water is the better it retains oxygen. So we've gotten a head start on our good fishing plus I believe our trout have been feeding better than normal all through the fall months. All good news for Lake Taneycomo's trout fishery.

By John Neporadny Jr. The first winter storm of the season for central Missouri arrived just as competition began for the 1997 BASSMASTER Central Invitational at Lake of the Ozarks. The heaviest snowfall occurred on the first day of competition when some areas around the lake received 1 to 2 inches of accumulation. Light snow mixed with rain was the norm for the next two rounds. Snowy days scare off fair-weather fishermen, but hard-core anglers know it’s worth the trouble to bear the wet and cold because snow turns on bass. “I think it makes (fishing) pretty good actually,” says Jay Yelas, the winner of the Lake of the Ozarks event he has dubbed the Snow Bowl. “The first thing it does is it acts like a rainstorm. It’s a low-pressure system coming in and it gets real dark. You can catch fish a variety of ways then.” The Texas angler relied on a slow presentation with a 1/2-ounce Berkley Rattle Power Jig and a Berkley Power Frog to take 11 bass weighing 41 pounds, 4 ounces during three days of miserably cold and wet weather. Yelas’ pattern consisted of crawling the jig-and-frog combo through brush piles and along the rock bottom about 10 feet deep next to docks. Even though the dark skies should have kept the fish active throughout the tournament, Yelas stuck with his slow presentation because he believed the dropping water temperature drove his fish to the bottom. The weather prior to a snowstorm can affect how bass react. Bass become active if the weather has been warm for awhile and then a drastic change leads to a snowstorm. However, if it snows after several days of cold, big bass in particular get locked on the bottom. One Lake of the Ozarks angler looks forward to snow days. “I like to fish those days,” says Roger Fitzpatrick. “Normally (the snow) makes it a lot better. If it is snowing there’s a front coming through and whenever that happens any time of the year the fishing is a lot better. But the day after when it’s gone and there are bluebird skies is when it gets tougher. That even holds true during the winter. When you have wind and clouds and the water is clear, the fishing is a lot better.” While some guys stay inside when it’s sleeting or snowing on practice days of a tournament, Fitzpatrick bears the inclement weather. “If I’ve got a day off or a chance to go fishing, I go regardless of the weather because sooner or later that is going to happen on a tournament day,” says Fitzpatrick. “And then I will know those spots where a load of big bass might show up on those type of days, whereas under normal conditions those big fish don’t bite.” Snowstorms throughout the seasons affect fishing differently. “The fishing is a lot better during a fall snow than it is during a spring snow,” suggests Yelas. “A spring snow just knocks the water temperature down so low that there is hardly any activity, but generally in the fall the main lake is still petty warm so the falling water temperature doesn’t affect the fish nearly as much.” The situation is reversed in the spring as the main lake is cold and active fish are in the warmer, shallow pockets. So when the snow and cold hits, the water temperature drops drastically in the shallows and bass become lethargic. Fitzpatrick has taken Lake of the Ozarks bass during snowstorms in the fall, winter and spring. He recalls catching bass on a buzz bait on a day mixed with snow and sleet around Thanksgiving. “That’s different,” Fitzpatrick says of the fall snow days. “The water hasn’t gotten cold yet and the fish are feeding up for the winter.” During the mid-November 1997 Bassmaster invitational at Lake of the Ozarks, some of the contestants fared well on buzz baits and spinnerbaits during the snowy weather. “Any time it’s raining or snowing, a general rule of thumb is to pick up a spinnerbait,” advises Yelas. He recalls Springfield, MO, competitor Basil Bacon took second place and caught a limit all three days on a spinnerbait. The tournament veteran used his Brush Rat spinnerbait, a long-armed 3/8-ounce model with a pair of large Colorado blades, that he waked over launch ramps and secondary points where the bank changed from gravel to chunk rock. Van Buren, AR, angler Ricky Scott tied for third in the Bassmaster event by relying mainly on a crankbait pattern in the snow. Scott bumped a shad-colored Bandit crankbait into the tops of brush piles to take most of his fish. A fast-moving bait also worked for St. Charles, MO, angler Chris Randell as he finished fifth in the Snow Bowl event. Despite the dropping water temperatures, Randell stuck with a 1/2-ounce white Strike King Pro Buzz with a red blade and finished with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 37 pounds, 6 ounces. During the winter and early spring, Fitzpatrick drags a plastic grub along the bottom on calm, sunny days, but when the wind starts to blow and the snow falls he prefers a faster moving lure to catch heavyweight bass. If the water temperature is frigid, he depends on a suspending stickbait for snowy days. When a snowstorm hits in March after the water has warmed into the upper 40s, Fitzpatrick uses either a spinnerbait or Storm Lures Wiggle Wart crankbait. Water clarity plays a key role in determining where to fish on snowy days. Both Yelas and Fitzpatrick prefer fishing the lake’s clear water when it snows. During the BASSMASTER invitational, Yelas noticed the action continued to slow up the Osage arm where the water was dirty. So he concentrated on the clearer water of the Osage arm around the Grand Glaize bridge. Bacon consistently caught fish each day in the clear-water stretch from the Grand Glaize bridge to the Shawnee Bend bridge and Randell also took his fish on the lower end of the Osage. Any time it’s cloudy, windy, rainy or snowy, Fitzpatrick seeks the clearest water he can find. Even when he’s fishing the stained upper end of the lake, Fitzpatrick looks for the clearest water available if the weather turns from sunny skies to clouds and snow. “The fish can see the lure better (in the clear water) and I think they are feeding then so they are going to come and get it,” says Fitzpatrick. Tournament anglers have proven throughout the years that snowstorms produce big sacks of bass from late fall to early spring. So the next time you’re on the Lake of the Ozarks and the skies look threatening, you might want to start singing that old Christmas jingle, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention &amp; Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at <a href="http://funlake.com"target="_blank">http://funlake.com</a>. Copies of John Neporadny's book, "THE Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide" are available by calling 573/365-4296 or visiting the web site <a href="http://jnoutdoors.com"target="_blank">http://jnoutdoors.com</a>.

Bad link. Thanks for pointing it out! I guess it's never worked.