Phil Lilley

I revised the article a bit. Clients caught rainbows between 12 and 19 inches with 2 rainbows measuring 22 inches (the were taped). The group had a contest for the longest rainbow for the trip. Had a few others 20-21 inches so good rainbows were caught for that size of creek. I didn't know grayling grow so slow... Peter said the 16 inch grayling could have been 8 to 10 years old. They can live up to 18 years. I didn't fish on the float trip. Peter and I fished a couple of half days before the guide days and caught some grayling and rainbows.

My recent trip to Alaska was a working trip. My friends scratch their heads and ask, "How can a trip to Alaska be working, when it comes to fishing?" Well, when you help guide a group of eight clients on a four-day, three-night float trip down a remote river, that's work -- albeit the most fulfilling kind for me! I was invited to the Denali foothills by a good friend, Peter Mathiesen. Peter and I met one day in 1984 in front of my office here at the resort. He drove up, got out of his Toyota Four-Runner and introduced himself as a writer, and representative of a magazine called "Hunting and Fishing Journal." He wanted to know if I wanted to buy advertising. My reaction was, "I have no money!" Peter and I talked fishing . . . yes, we hit it off. And, yes, Peter could talk -- and still can. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know in the field of hunting and fishing gear. And his resume proves that out. He has worked as Field and Stream and Outdoor Life's editorial staff, F & S's gear editor, radio producer and still writes actively for many publications. And he just finished his first book, "Tales of the Alaskan State Trooper," due out next February. Five years ago Peter and his wife, Sandy, picked up from St. Louis and moved to Talkeetna, Alaska. They've never looked back. He still writes while Sandy teaches as a professor at the business school at University of Alaska in Anchorage. Peter has also teamed up with a local bed and breakfast owner and operator, Tom Redmon, to take visitors fishing on the many rivers and creeks in the Talkeetna area. Tom and Renae Redmon own Talkeetna/Denali View Bed & Breakfast outside of Talkeetna. As a bush pilot, Tom flies people in his wheel plane to see the mountains and glaciers in the area. He also drops anglers with professional guides like Peter near small rivers and creeks to fish. When Tom booked the group of men on a four-day, three-night float trip which admittedly was a big venture for them. They had not had a group this large before, especially taking them on a big float trip like this. They needed help, and Peter called me. Preparation for this float trip started weeks before. Tom ordered and received hundreds of dollars worth of camping equipment including big dry bags, sleeping bags, air sleeping mats, filtered water bottles, waders and fly rods and reels to add to his already large inventory of outdoor equipment. Days before, he planned all the meals, started packing dry goods, cooking utensils, cook ware and cook stoves. Propane, tents, chain saw (which came in handy), camping shovel, two stand-alone canopy covers and camp tables were also packed. And all that gear all had to fit into four rafts and a Soar (inflatable canoe) for the trip down the Peters. I don't think Tom knows how to pack light when it comes to food. And good food it was! We ate well -- rib eyes, salmon, pork steaks, eggs, bacon and hash browns every morning. And we needed it as hard as we worked getting down the river!! Peter's Creek is in a gold-rich, famous area, best known for its gold rush back in the late 1800's into the early 1900's. The Petersville Road, which we drove out on to get to the river, was started in 1917 to give miners access to the mines in Dutch Hills, the foothills of Denali. We started Tuesday morning by shuttling a vehicle, with trailer, to our takeout. It was a private access, "off the map." Peter's all-terrain Yamaha made the rough,two-tire lane road look easy, although I don't know how it climbed out of some of the holes we drove through on the two-mile off-road trip. Peter and I hiked back out, past a couple of side paths to cabins and a small air strip hidden back in the woods. Peter said he found this place on Google Earth. We made the trip back up to the headwaters and the public access there. It was close to a man's gold mine claim -- and he came down to see us off. Peter said back when they started using the access, the old miner would come down and give them the "evil eye." But once he found out Peter wasn't interested in his gold, or gold prospecting, he warmed up to his visits, even showing Peter his operation. I wish we would have had time to engage him on this trip for an interesting tour. The rafts were already inflated as we packed them full of equipment and provisions. Some pushed off and headed out. My raft and two clients stayed and fished the area at the access. Dan and Rod both hooked and landed their first grayling. Then Dan landed a small rainbow. I had tied on an Elk Hair Caddis for Dan, and the trout were taking it in the fast chute we were fishing. After wearing those fish out, we started our float down the Peter's. Tom set camp up about four miles downstream on a gravel bar. We worked our way through small water, dodging sweepers and rocks, stopping and fishing places where fish would be holding up. One fly the rainbows seemed to like was a Dolly Lama, a streamer tied with rabbit strips with a cone head. Peter had shown me how to work the fly by simply casting it close to a cut bank or brush then pulling it out while shaking the rod tip. It really worked well, especially fished out of the boat by my clients as we maneuvered around structures. I hadn't camped out in years. The smell of the campfire smoke brought back good memories of our family camping in Colorado as a kid. So did the frigid air as the sun dropped behind the mountains, dipping down into the 40's. Nothing like my family was experiencing at the time in the lower 48 . . . humid and 95! These were big chunks of coal that dotted the shore of the river. Tom told me some of their past clients had not believed it was real coal. He would light the rock to prove it, and most times it would burn all night long. After a fairly good night sleep and a great breakfast, we set out for day number two. I guided Tyler and Macrum. Tyler is from the Chicago area and is in sales. Macrum is a retired engineer and lives near Washington D.C.. It was still mostly cloudy with a little rain. The fish were not as agreeable about taking flies as the day before. This section of Peter's isn't floated by many people. In fact, I think we were the only ones who have floated it this summer. We saw no signs of humans. Matt, one of the young men who guided with Peter and myself, had floated the whole 26 miles just two weeks prior exclusively to cut out any blockages on the river so we wouldn't have to portage our boats. But on the second and third day, Matt cleared seven new blockages. That's why we carried a chain saw -- with extra gas, oil and chains! The group caught rainbows and grayling, measuring between 12 and 19 inches, fairly regularly, on a variety of flies and styles of presentation. Dry flies were doing pretty well, using Stimulators and Elk Hair Caddis. The Dolly Lamas caught mostly rainbows in the runs and breaks behind rocks and logs. Behind what salmon spawning beds we saw, we were ran beads and egg flies. The contest for the biggest rainbow was a tie -- there were 2 rainbows that measured 22 inches. Tom and James set up shore lunches for us each day, rowing ahead of us and picking a nice gravel bar to pull up on. I know we guides were always ready for lunch after rowing all morning. At the end of another day, a new campsite was welcomed. Rowing three men and gear through the obstacles on the small river was a challenge for me. I hadn't rowed in years, although it all came back quickly. The physical part I enjoyed (thanks to years of continued gym workouts.) The campfire, dinner and soft air mattress in my tent completed a restful ending of a wonderful day. After we floated by the biggest log jam we encountered, the river was jam-free. The river's characteristics changed a bit, too, opening up to be a wider river with more boulders to dodge. Another emerging creek added more water which was nice, too. But navigating the "boulder fields" was challenging, to say the least. Both apprehension and anticipation were expressed in the group concerning the possibility of bear sightings -- or confrontations! But to my surprise, we didn't see any animals on the river. Only occasional prints appeared in the sand -- which were often times very fresh -- but no sightings. These wolf prints were as big as my hand -- and very fresh! The only salmon we saw in Peter's Creek was an occasional pink salmon or king salmon. Most of the kings had already spawned and died. The last day of floating was a little tough on catching. I guided Chris and Zach, a father and son from San Diego. They hooked both grayling and rainbows on eggs and dries but not in good numbers. I did work on their fly casting technique and hope that the improvement I saw will encourage them to pursue more fly fishing together in the future. We finished the trip at the takeout, thankful that the all-terrain vehicle Peter and I had stashed in the woods was still there. We started tearing down the rafts and hauled them up the two-mile trail to the road. All in all, our anglers were happy with the float trip. The weather was typical Alaskna weather with a mix of cloudiness, little wind, light rain at times and moderate temperatures in the 50's and 60's. The comraderie was unmatched. Friendships were forged and stories written that will be told over and over -- about the fish that got away, about who caught the biggest rainbow, the bear and wolf prints in the sand and the refreshing quiet of the remote stream away from the hustle and bustle of our "real" lives back in the lower 48. It was a blessed trip. From right to left: Dan, Zach, James, Macrum, Tyler, Peter, Rod, Joe, Chris and Tom. Tom Redmon not in attendance. ~~~~~ Additional Links: Hear Peter read one chapter out of his upcoming book, Tales of the Alaskan State Trooper.

Confluence of the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers in Talkeetna, Alaska. It's owned by the city of Talkeetna.

You think you're fees are high... And they're doubling next season.

I do love this place... and the people here.

I'd call for reservations. Anytime- but PM or email me first.

The original post didn't say this is good for the months of November, December, January and February. Need to PM or email me before you call the office for reservations!

I carry a couple of types of Sculpin at my shop. Leonard ties some and I have some tied by Brad Wright. Brad's are pricey... both work pretty well.

On my way to Amchorage. Guiding out of Talkeetna for 2 weeks. Will post reports.

Mdc stocked at Cooper on Monday!

No time for a show... but thanks. Yes- white still is the color, for browns at least.

Generation patterns here on Lake Taneycomo have been fairly consistent this past week. Our water has been off every night and morning, running in the afternoon until just after dark. The "running" part has varied a bit. Most days it's been about three units, but it's been as little as one unit. Trout fishing this summer has resembled a roller coaster -- it's been up and it's been down. Right now we're in the down cycle. Our lake water has cleared up, and the rainbows have gotten wise. Some anglers are still doing well, catching their limits early in the morning. Most are fishing with PowerBait Gulp Eggs and boating down to the Monkey Island area. Early is the key. Before the sun gets high over head is your best chance to catch your limit of rainbows. Fishing up between Fall Creek and Short Creek has been fair on air-injected night crawlers, but these trout are averaging a little bigger than the ones down lake. These might be rainbows that are swimming out of the Trophy Area. Four-pound line is okay, but two-pound is better considering our very clear water. I suggest anchoring your boat over on the shallow side of the lake (off the bluff side.) The water from the mouth of Short Creek up to the boat ramp is very deep along the docks, up to nine-feet deep. You'll be out of the boat lane of traffic and still catch fish. Plus there's not as many snags on the bottom. After the water starts to move in the afternoon, drifting Gulp Eggs from Lilleys' down past Cooper Creek has been fair. Jig fishing has been slow. When using either, the trout seemed be to just picking at the offering, not taking it aggressively at all. You'll get bites and maybe a hook-up, but the trout are coming off the hook before being landed. That's been my experience when throwing jigs. This video shows exactly what I'm talking about. Drifting and throwing a 3/32nd white jig, I "hooked" two trout on successive casts, both hooked in the side of the fish towards the head. This tells me they're slashing at the jig with their head, not trying to eat it. This happened to me again a couple of evenings ago. One thing you can do to help hook these tentative fish is pinch the marabou tail on the jig and make it shorter. If you're fishing with bait, let them eat it a little longer before setting the hook. Also in the evenings, our guides are boating to the dam and fishing a tandem of flies under a float. Depending on how much water is running, they're fishing an egg fly and scud combo, #16 gray scud and peach egg, using 5x tippet under a float any where from six to 12 feet deep. You want to set your flies deeper than the water you're fishing. Add a split shot to get the flies down. Best drifting has been from the cable below the dam down past the Missouri Department of Conservation boat ramp, then from Lookout to Fall Creek. I would suggest throwing a dark-colored jig against the bluff bank or out in the channel close to the bottom. Use either an 1/8th -or 3/32nd-ounce jig, depending on the amount of water running. If it's less than two units, use the smaller jig; with more than two units use the 1/8th ounce. I'd try sculpin, black, olive, sculpin/ginger or brown colors. I'd still try a white jig ,but white definitely has slowed down the last few weeks up close to the dam. You do have a better chance catching a brown trout on white, but you'll catch more trout altogether if you use dark colors. I am still on a quest to catch that trophy brown on a white jig down here around the resort. I've been going out in the afternoons and evenings when the water is running, working either a 3/32nd- or 1/8th-ounce jig in the channel or close to the bluff bank from Trout Hollow down past Cooper Creek. Here's a video of me catching a big, heavy brown the other afternoon. I didn't get a good hook set at all on this trout. I knew it after the fight began and tried to keep pressure on the fish. Sure enough, when pulling the hook out of its mouth, the hook tip wasn't even in the fish's flesh, it was stuck in its teeth. Last evening, I got out and fished while they were running only about a half unit. Fished an 1/8th ounce white jig from Lookout to the Narrows and the trout actually bit a little better than my last couple of outings. I caught some nice rainbows (image at the beginning of the report) and a couple of medium sized browns. I boated back closer to the resort before calling it a day. Fished in front of the old Riverlake and Sun Valley Resorts with a sculpin 1/8th ounce jig. I let it go all the way to the bottom before working it back. Caught 5 nice trout including 2 browns. It was a better than average evening!

You mean Artist Proof? Or doing something else? When he gets back from vacation, David will get me all the details and we'll get this going.

You can fish below Hwy 65 bridge with no trout stamp and catch and release. There's good trout fishing down lake from the Landing to Rockaway Beach although I would not call our fishing lately good. Fair is better. You can rent a boat from Lilleys or Scotty's. Can't speak for Scotty's but we rent rods and reels for trout fishing.

I don't trust drags...

Mic system on my camera isn't the best. In editing the video, I turned up the volume as far as I could. I enhanced the brightness when I turned the camera because it darkened the fish against the white sky. Wasn't thinking about how it would look on the video at the time.

When buying the framed print, with flies mounted in the frame, you can pick what flies you want- you could even send the flies you want and David will place them in the frame. I think. He is in Montana right now. I'm trying to decide what to order to sell out of the shop which will save on shipping costs. If he sends them from his location, the shipping will be higher for one piece, of course.

Not sure if David has ever done a painting of a lake or bass... probably could. But you better be ready to shell out the bucks to commission a painting!

This is the painting. No customizations.

Those that know David's work will appreciate this new painting for Lake Taneycomo. He's done many painting of famous rivers all over the country. I wanted him to do a painting for us of Lake Taneycomo. Here it is. We will be selling signed/numbered prints soon, framed and unframed. Prices have not been set yet. Stay tuned! ~~>> Think Christmas Gifts <<~~

I use Vanish 2 pound which isn't as thin as mono. Other 2 pounds line Trilene - I have to be more careful.

Generation patterns have held true here on Lake Taneycomo the last week, although our daytime temperatures have not. We've had nice hot days and nice cool days, but I don't think anyone is complaining! Our water has been off most mornings and running hard in the afternoons and evenings. Some days a half unit is running in the mornings, then the flow is cranked up in the afternoons, but there's no rhyme of reason for the difference. We're taking whatever is given to us. Trout fishing has been getting better each week from the lackluster "catching" we experienced in June and early July. I believe the sole reason is the Missouri Department of Conservation is stocking rainbows here in the upper end of the lake again. In June, they were stocking the lower lake, and not many trout were finding their way up here , which made finding fish a trick. But it's all good now . . . as much as fishing can be. Our guides have been doing well mainly early in the mornings, taking their clients down lake to the Landing area and fishing Trout Magnets under a float. Steve Dickey says they're using pink and cotton candy colors seven- to eight-feet deep, still using two-pound line and catching good numbers of rainbows. They're also stopping and catching them close to Monkey Island all the way up to Cooper Creek. I'm still finding a lot of rainbows across the lake from the public fishing dock at Cooper Creek, especially when the water is running. These rainbows vary in size but are schooled up behind some downed trees against the bank, holding in slow water. I'm catching them by throwing 3/32nd-ounce jigs up in the eddied water and jigging back fairly quickly. The colors I'm using are white, brown and olive. I bet you could use a jig and float to catch these fish too. I fished this morning in the Short Creek area. I threw a 3/32nd-ounce jig and changed colors several times, but didn't get a bite, so I switched to a jig and float. That's what the fish wanted -- something hanging from a float. They didn't want to chase anything. In the video, you see I'm fishing about seven-feet deep and fishing the middle of the lake. The chop on the water would be great for 10 minutes, then it would go slick, but it didn't seem to matter. I caught fish under both conditions. I used a 1/50th-ounce brown jig with an orange head on two-pound line. On the third fish I caught, I noticed that the marabou had completely come off the jig. I wondered whether the marabou had come off before the rainbow bit the jig or after, so I didn't change out the jig but I threw it out. Crazy! I missed a strike!! Then I hooked a fish. . . on a bare hook! One of my guides told me once that he sometimes will start with a bare jig hook and fish it until he started not catching fish. Then he would start putting "things" on the hook like pieces of plastic worms or chenille (yarn). He uses bright-colored heads on his jig heads, too, brighter than my orange head. I wasn't sure I believed him, but now I do. When the water is running, I've done well using a white 1/8th-ounce jig from Fall Creek past our place (Lilleys' Landing), working the middle of the lake (not the bluff.) I'm either catching or I'm not. They're either biting good or not at all. One day last week, I made a drift and caught a dozen brown trout (video) but I haven't been able to duplicate that drift since. When the water isn't running, in the morning, fishing Powerbait anywhere between here and Fall Creek has been good. Chartreuse or orange paste has been the best followed by Gulp Eggs in white and orange. The bigger trout, including brown trout, are coming on night crawlers, either drifting or fishing them when the water is off. Most of our guests are using four-pound line and doing just fine. In the trophy area, our trout are a little more picky so we're using two-pound line to catch their fish. Early in the mornings, flies or jigs under an indicator is best. Good flies include #16 Zebra Midge, black, olive, rusty or P&P, #14 dead orange or gray scuds and #16 black or red soft hackles if there's a chop on the water. Trout are also taking an olive 1/16th-ounce jig thrown straight with no float on two-pound line. If you're working the area between Lookout and the Narrows, you'll find there are stretches of water where you won't see a lot of trout and others that are loaded. Do I have to say it -- fish the areas where there's lot of trout!

Just so everyone knows... I don't catch fish every time out. I threw a jig today from 3 till 7 and didn't catch one brown. Only caught may be 6 rainbows. Fished hard too. Also - I fly fished - threw a dry (stimulator) from Lookout Island to the Narrows against the bluff bank this evening and didn't have one rise. Water could have been running just a little harder - for both jig fishing and fishing the dry.