Phil Lilley

One is closest to the dam, then 2 and 3. If the lake is at 704 or above, it should be ok as long as you keep it on plane.

Steve Dally - NOTHING STANDS in the way of Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher’s Annual Streamer Lovefest. Not snow & ice, not terrible hangovers, nor the boss’ monumental case of “Bali Belly” in the leadup to last year. Start tying and they will come. This year its January 31. This year’s tying list is promising to be phenomenal with “The Godfather” of Articulation Nation, Kelly Galloup, heading down to join us this year with a truckload of schlappen, wire and deer hair, alongside our own Chad Johnson and Alex Lafkas. Kelly will also be holding a tying class earlier in the day on the 31st, stay tuned for details. So far we have commitments from Mike Schmidt from Angler’s Choice Flies who stocks many of the finest streamer patterns in our bins, musky guide Chris Willen, our mate from Missouri, fly tyer and filmmaker Brian Wise. Dun Magazine editor Jen Ripple is in proving that big streamers aren’t just some macho boy’s game, northern Missouri guide Jeff Trigg is back and the boss, Rainy’s Flies designer Steve Dally is also in. And we are awaiting confirmation for several new tiers to round out the night’s entertainment. Alongside the meat being tied up, there will be the meat being cooked. Pork guru Matt Tucker is promising to top last year’s pulled pork spectacular with a whole pig going on his handcrafted smoker. Shawnee/Supreme Boats have also come aboard to help Matt with the food project, which is awesome to have another killer local company onboard. As well there will be the usual schwag and assistance coming from suppliers Rainy’s Flies, Umpqua Feather Merchants, Montana Fly Company, Sage Fly Rods, Rio Products, Wapsi, Flymen Fishing Co, Clear Cure Goo and more. We will also be hosting a drawing of a streamer box containing flies tied on the night, plus our regular giveaways. And there is a bunch more cool stuff on the way. http://ozarkflyfisherjournal.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/the-streamer-lovefest-2015/

Got out today. Boated just about to Rebar and started my first drift. The lake was hovering around 705 feet and there was a breeze out of the west which meant blowing down lake. Started with a sculpin/ginger 1/8th ounce jig and stayed with it. They liked it. Made 2 drifts down to the boat ramp before drifting on down last Lookout. Caught some nice rainbows, nothing over 18 inches. They were hitting pretty light and I missed a lot of strikes. For Lookout, the jig bite dropped off. I saw rainbows midging along the bluff bank in the seams where the water was breaking around points and big rocks. So I switched to a fly rod and tied on a #18 crackleback. Had one take and a couple of looks. Next I tried a #18 Elk Hair Caddis with same results. No fish to hand. Last I tried a #18 Ugly (green) Zebra under a palsa 6 inches deep and caught a couple of rainbows - finally. These trout look easy to pick off but I've always had trouble fooling them. If I had more time I'd try a thread midge or other small midge patterns. Not many people out fishing today. The sun peaked out a couple of times. Guess it's going to cool down tomorrow.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/2014/dec/21/driftwood-outdoors-defending-funding-mdc/ Brandon Butler Before the 2015 Missouri Legislative Session could even begin, bills were pre-filed to repeal the conservation sales tax and to eliminate fees for fishing, hunting and trapping permits. If this proposed legislation were to become law, conservation as we know it in Missouri would cease to exist. Rep. Craig Redmon introduced House Joint Resolution 8. It calls for a complete repeal of Missouri’s conservation sales tax through a ballot measure. This means, “That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November 2016, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, the next time there is a general election held in the state of Missouri,” voters will decide whether to sustain or repeal the conservation sales tax. First of all, it is vitally important to understand what the conservation sales tax is. In Missouri, our general state sales and use tax is 4.225 percent, which is distributed into four funds to finance portions of state government. Those are general revenue (3.0 percent), education (1.0 percent), conservation (0.125 percent), and parks, soils and water (0.1 percent). So when you spend $8 on taxable goods, one penny of the sales tax collected goes to conservation (8.0 x .00125 = .01). Over the course of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s fiscal year 2014, those pennies added up to $107,076,440. The sales tax revenue makes up 59 percent of MDC’s funding. It provides woodlands filled with wildlife, waters teeming with fish, public shooting ranges, hiking trails, rural fire protection, native species restoration, education centers, seedlings, The Conservationist and Xplor magazines, and so much more. Without the conservation sales tax, we would lose all of this. And for what? It’s not like the money can just be redistributed. The tax would just go away. Individuals would only save a few dollars a year but would lose the conservation programs they cherish. Most of the rest of MDC’s funding comes from permit sales and federal reimbursements. Those funding sources are also under threat of elimination. Sen. Brian Munzlinger introduced Senate Bill 56. It reads, “The department of conservation and its permit issuing agents shall not charge a permit fee for the acquisition of a hunting, fishing, or trapping permit for a Missouri resident.” Eliminating fees for hunting, fishing and trapping permits would strip another $40 million from the Department’s funding. MDC would not only lose the permit fees, but also associated federal reimbursements. The Department of Conservation’s budget represents less than one percent of the entire state budget, and the Department receives no state general revenue. If HJR 8 and SB 56 were to pass, the Department would be left with basically nothing to fund the programs, places and pastimes you and your family cherish. Here are just a few examples of losses Missouri citizens will endure if these bills pass: • Closure of Department shooting ranges; • Closure of Department Nature Centers; • Elimination of partnerships with rural fire departments; • Closure of fish hatcheries; • Elimination of public and private fish stockings; • Closure of Department maintained boat accesses; • Significant reduction in habitat work on conservation areas; • Significant reduction in resource enforcement by conservation agents; • Most fish and wildlife research projects and monitoring will end; • Significant reduction in efforts to control invasive species; • Limited support for the Share the Harvest program. Why attack our Department of Conservation? The Department is the catalyst of recreation for millions of Missourians. And hunting, fishing, trapping, outdoor recreation and forest management supports 100,000 Missouri jobs and have an economic impact of more than $12 billion dollars. Conservation works in Missouri. It is one of our most powerful economic engines in the state. Missourians cannot stand idly by and let these catastrophic losses occur. These blatant attacks on our Department of Conservation must end. It is going to take a significant amount of citizen involvement to defend one of the greatest state conservation agencies operating in America today. See you down the trail … Brandon Butler, executive director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, is an outdoors columnist for the News Tribune. Contact him at bbutler@driftwoodoutdoors.com.

You're right but defending it, if it goes to a vote of the people, will cost MDC millions, money otherwise spent on conservation.

Below 704 feet, you can run to the boat ramp for sure, just watch the shallow shoal at Lookout Island. You'll see the shoals by the riffle it makes coming off the top/north side of the island. Stay to the right but not too far. Then ease back to the middle. At the top of the Trophy Run, you should see the "V" in the channel to the right. Stay in the middle of the V. Above the boat ramp about 200 feet, the lake get shallow again. At 703.5, you could stay on plane and get to the Big Hole but avoid the rocks on the left side. The first rocks are closer to the middle than the left side though. You should see the water breaks off them. If you're uncomfortable, don't go past the ramp.

I don't think you should watch the # of units running as this is very deceiving. Rather look at the lake level! You can make this run if the lake is at 704-705 feet. Under 704 I would not try. It's possible but only if you REALLY know where the rocks are and where to run through at Rebar. At Rebar, stay just to the right at the root wad or stump, cutting it back to the right as soon as you're past it to the middle of the lake. If you go to the left, you'll never cut back fast enough to miss the shoal. Over 705 feet - pretty much down the middle. If it's 705.6 feet, you'd probably feel safer taking the safe line. It's up to you. But 705 to me is the magic number.

Chief beat me to the punch. One vote... next time it may pass or a bill like this one. Point is, there are people who want to drastically change how conservation is run in this state because ppl want the money. The boat ramp issue... no one mentioned liability insurance. No insurance, no trespass. It's that simple. That and all the rest that was mentioned. Is MDC perfect? No way. Do they squander money - yes. It's the nature of the beast - government. There are ways to change or improve it but I'd think most conservation minded people would agree cutting off a big chunk of funding would only hurt fishing and hunting interest in this state. That would include us fishermen and hunters. This bill, eliminating permit fees, just might have possibilities. On the surface - who wouldn't be for FREE fishing and hunting (but nothing is really free). And if a bill that would take away management of deer from MDC almost pass, this bill just may. I seriously doubt if Nixon would sign it though- but you never know. He's probably looking for ways to look good right now, after Ferguson.

Going to see the Hobit tonight. I'll get to it tomorrow.

Don't think a topo map will help, if there's such a thing for Taney. 2 units. Up the middle. Less than, I'll have to draw you something. It's all subject to depth and that varies due to generation. In another words, it'd be extremely hard to be 100% descriptive in this post as to when to try to go above, say, lookout, then rebar. Those are the 2 biggies.

Brandon Butler - Before the 2015 Missouri Legislative Session could even begin, bills were pre-filed to repeal the conservation sales tax and to eliminate fees for fishing, hunting and trapping permits. If this incredulous proposed legislation were to become law, conservation as we know it in Missouri would cease to exist. Representative Craig Redmon (4th District) introduced House Joint Resolution 8. It calls for a complete repeal of Missouri’s conservation sales tax through a ballot measure. This means, “That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2016, or at a special election to be called by the governor for that purpose, the next time there is a general election held in the state of Missouri,” voters will decide whether to sustain or repeal the conservation sales tax. First of all, it is vitally important to understand what the conservation sales tax is. In Missouri, our general state sales and use tax is 4.225 percent, which is distributed into four funds to finance portions of state government. Those are: general revenue (3.0 percent), education (1.0 percent), conservation (0.125 percent), and parks, soils and water (0.1 percent). So when you spend $8 on taxable goods, one penny of the sales tax collected goes to conservation (8.0 x .00125 = .01). Over the course of MDC’s fiscal year 2014, those pennies added up to $107,076,440. The sales tax revenue makes up 59 percent of MDC’s funding. It provides woodlands filled with wildlife, waters teeming with fish, public shooting ranges, hiking trails, rural fire protection, native species restoration, education centers, seedlings, The Conservationist and Xplor magazines, and so much more. Without the conservation sales tax, we would lose all of this. And for what? It’s not like the money can just be redistributed. The tax would just go away. Individuals would only save a few dollars a year, but would lose the conservation programs they cherish. Most of the rest of MDC’s funding comes from permit sales and federal reimbursements. Those funding sources are also under threat of elimination. Senator Brian Munzlinger (18th District) introduced Senate Bill 56. It reads, “The department of conservation and its permit issuing agents shall not charge a permit fee for the acquisition of a hunting, fishing, or trapping permit for a Missouri resident.” Eliminating fees for hunting, fishing and trapping permits would strip another $40,000,000 from the Department’s funding. MDC would not only lose the permit fees, but also associated federal reimbursements. The Department of Conservation’s budget represents less than one percent of the entire state budget, and the Department receives no state general revenue. If HJR 8 and SB 56 were to pass, the Department would be left with basically nothing to fund the programs, places and pastimes you and your family cherish. Here are just a few examples of losses Missouri citizens will endure if these bills pass: • Closure of Department shooting ranges • Closure of Department Nature Centers • Elimination of partnerships with rural fire departments • Closure of fish hatcheries • Elimination of public and private fish stockings • Closure of Department maintained boat accesses • Significant reduction in habitat work on conservation areas • Significant reduction in resource enforcement by conservation agents • Most fish and wildlife research projects and monitoring will end • Significant reduction in efforts to control invasive species • Limited support for the Share the Harvest Program Why attack our Department of Conservation? The Department is the catalyst of recreation for millions of Missourians. And hunting, fishing, trapping, outdoor recreation and forest management supports 100,000 Missouri jobs and has an economic impact of over $12 billion dollars. Conservation works in Missouri. It is one of our most powerful economic engines in the state. Missourians cannot stand idly by and let these catastrophic losses occur. These blatant attacks on our Department of Conservation must end. It is going to take a significant amount of citizen involvement to defend one of the greatest state conservation agencies operating in America today. See you down the trail… Brandon Butler is the Executive Director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri.

Fat bike in the snow... I'm sure there's a youtube there someplace.... Thanks for posting. It's always good to have new people posting on the board.

"When is the very best time to fish for trout on Lake Taneycomo?" That's a question I am asked quite a bit, and my answer is always the same -- December! And the fishing right now proves that out!! It's been very good. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has still been varying the flows from running a half to two units all day to running a little water in the morning and leaving it off the rest of the day. We never know what to expect. Of course, the people who want to wade below the dam get understandably frustrated when the water is running, but the boaters, for the most part, like the constant flows during the day. Regardless, the trout don't seem to care -- they're hungry and biting whatever the water condition. As I mentioned in my last report, our water quality is very good. Table Rock Lake has turned and we're getting good, oxygenated water through the dam now. Our fish like it! We've been a little busier this December compared to last year at this time when we were digging out of the snow amid frigid temperatures. This past weekend, anglers reported some of the best trout fishing they'd ever experienced here. John Johnson of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, who has been coming here for more than 30 years, fishing five or six times a year on Taneycomo, said the size of rainbows his group caught were much bigger than in years past. One group who fished in the Short Creek area said their rainbows all topped 15 inches, some measuring up to 18 inches. These looked like freshly stocked rainbows, too, so our hatchery must have put in a batch of bigger fish lately. This might sound like a broken record, but I have to write it -- jig fishing has really been good, especially in running water. The trout have been very aggressive ,too, tapping the jig pretty hard on the bite. We're using mainly 1/8th-ounce jigs in the usual colors: Sculpin, black, ginger and combos of sculpin with ginger or orange and peach with brown or orange or olive. White has also been good and will continue to yield results as winter rolls on. We are seeing a few smallmouth bass show up below the dam already. This isn't unusual in winter months although it's a little early. From the cable to the bottom of the first island, the fishing has been crazy good. Whether you fish in the middle or along the sides of the lake, the rainbows are looking for our jig. Then the action picks up again from Rocking Chair down to Lookout. I even caught a nice rainbow drifting through the shallow area at Lookout Island where I usually don't fish since the water is so fast and shallow. From Lookout down, work the channel and bluff bank. With a half unit running, I drifted from Lookout down past the Narrows one day. Keeping the boat on the shallow side of the lake, I fished a Zebra Midge under a float 24-inches deep and caught some nice rainbows. The idea was to fish the shallow 18-to 30-inch water on that side and pick up trout that aren't targeted by most anglers. It worked. I found some nice 15- to 18-inch rainbows. You can fish this using either a fly rod or spinning tackle. Just tie a scud on 18 inches below the midge and double your chances of catching. If the water is off, fish with either a jig and float or fly and float, either with a spin or fly rod. The trout are really liking Zebras right now in a variety of colors. Use a 6x tippet, #16 red, black, P&P, rusty or red flash Zebras under a float 18 to 48 inches down. Tie a jig on above the midge for a tandem rig. Jigs that are working well are 1/100th to 1/50th ounce in brown/orange head, scuplin/brown head, pink, olive or black. For micro jigs I'd use an olive or black. Work the bottom using #12 to #16 gray, brown or olive scuds. Crawl it on the bottom to make it look like a scud swimming. Work the shallows and deep water as well as along the bank. Below Fall Creek, Trout Magnets have been "killing them" from the mouth of Fall Creek down past Cooper Creek with the "hot spot" bring from Short Creek to Trout Hollow. You don't need to move them a lot either -- just fish them about four- to six-feet deep. Pink, pink/white or chartreuse/white have been the best colors. The jig-and-float technique has also worked well in the same areas, in the same colors and sizes. Night crawlers and Gulp Powerbait has worked just as well as jigs or Trout Magnets. Garlic-scented bait as well as Gulp eggs using a white/pink or white/orange combo. Four-pound line is fine right now since our water has quite a bit of color to it. I fished with Brandon Butler, director of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Thursday morning. Boating to the dam with three units running and threw white 1/8th ounce jigs at them for a couple of hours. We landed several nice rainbows including the ones pictured. After generation shut down, we broke out the fly rods and tried Zebra Midges under an indicator. We fished for rainbows midging in the current seams against the bluff bank below Lookout and caught a couple. We then moved down below the Narrows and fished the gravel bar on the east side of the lake using scuds, catching a few more before heading back to the resort.

This is a push back from the ppl who lost the deer management fight... they're asking for the sky and will settle with a piece of MDC. Lots of MDC haters out there.

I have scales...

Let me clear it with staff (my wife & daughter mainly). We have a big writer's event that week but this shouldn't create too much work for us. I think it'll be an off weekend being between tournaments.

Again- I'm not a bass guy but are you going to run into conflicts on any weekend you pick? Might look at the regatta's already issued in March.

Ron and Susan Bland We arrived at Lilley's Friday afternoon, December 12th, and two units were running. We unpacked and I drove to the dam to check out the water level. With two units running I hesitated to try fishing because of the limited wading. I finally decided to give it a try and fished below the boat ramp for about half an hour just before dark. I had a couple strikes on a micro jig and a Crackleback, and hooked and lost a nice-sized fish. On Saturday I woke up to two units running again. With my wife along and knowing wading was going to be tough, I volunteered to take her to the outlet malls because I knew she wanted to go, and I thought it would be good time to get it out of the way. I thought it would only take a couple of hours max (I should know by now!). Anyway, about 3:00 she agreed to let me go back to our room to retrieve my fishing equipment and then drop her off again at the outlets (mall) while I fished. Long story short, I got to Taneycomo about with two units still running. I walked down below the boat ramp a ways and fished along the bank. I really wasn't set up like I should have been for the heavier current, and didn't have a lot of time to fine tune things. I hooked a nice fish on a black/yellow micro-jig and fought it for quite awhile before the hook popped out as I prepared to land it. One more fish was hooked that gave me a short fight before escaping. I was on a quick-release roll. Finally, as it was getting dark I noticed a few midge rises close to the bank, and the current appeared to have let up a tad. As I prepared to change to a midge pattern, I realized that the light was too dim to see to tie on a fly with my prescription sun glasses, and my regular glasses weren't with me. (I made a mental note of that situation for future reference!) Anyway, I finished off with the micro-jig without any other strikes, and the current seemed to pick up again. As I was leaving I made a decision that if the water releases were high again, I may try to hit either Crane Creek or Roaring River. Up to this point although conditions had not been ideal for wading and my fishing times had been short, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't be too hard to exceed the low bar of fishing performance I set so far. Sunday I stayed on Taneycomo and was able to fish for about six hours. One unit of water was supposedly running so fishing was easier for me than the previous couple days, although there was still quite a bit of current. I fished again downstream from the boat ramp and caught several fish this time. I didn't really hammer them, but had enough action to make things interesting and caught fish on a variety of flies. That was part of the problem because I never could really narrow it down to one fly they were really hitting (most likely a personal problem). I would catch a couple fish on a particular pattern/color, and that would be it. I caught fish on zebra midges, micro jigs, soft hackles, and a nymph. The fish I caught were all rainbows that were all pretty normal-sized for the trophy area. A couple fought like wild trout, making long runs and jumps. It was one of those days that makes fishing so fascinating to me. I always leave the water trying to figure out what I can do to improve things the next time out. No day fishing ever quite reaches perfection and some days make me wonder how much I really know about the sport. Fishing is not like some sports where you can determine pretty quickly are going to require skills that you were not blessed with and will never achieve. Fishing can participated in and enjoyed at a multitude of levels as a life-long sport for just about anyone. (A little off the subject there.) Monday morning Taneycomo was running four units, and the wind was howling. I decided it might finally be a good day to try Crane Creek. I didn't arrive at Crane until after , and not being familiar with the area, it took me a while to get my bearings about the lay of the land and access points. I ended up fishing maybe three hours, and caught a handful of trout. The trout weren't big but fought very hard, and were beautiful. It was a fun afternoon, a little like a combination of hunting and fishing. Casting was tough with the brush and the wind, but I somehow managed to get back with all of my flies. Crane Creek is definitely a place I would like to fish again when I get the chance. One of the things I have heard mentioned in reference to Crane Creek is that is a snaky place. I will have to say, at least in the area I fished, it looked like that could be the case at the right time of the year. Maybe that helps keep people away.

OK- the only weekend we have openings is the last weekend of January - 30-31. Would that work?

I like it. I'll do whatever I can to help. I'll supply the trophy- we're making custom trophies for our trout tournaments right now- can put a couple together for this. I can cook too. But I may even put in a team. See if this trout fisher can put one on you bass guys...

This is actually kind of interesting... I wonder when you click the like button it records another page view. Heck this might be a money making deal for me!!

I'd like for everyone to consider Taneycomo for the next group outing. As far as lodging, a weekend in December is easy for me to offer a next-to-nothing rate. There might be a weekend in January I could do something. Boats - stalls I could comp. We may put something together for this January.

Depending on the forum and the traffic it gets, it takes a LOT of traffic to make google ads pay anything, and again, depending on the site, there are expenses. I pay 2 companies hosting fees (one for the forum and one for the main site), domain fees and support fees for this site. After that, I do make a little money but I try to do things with that money like OA decals, functions and sponsoring events. I also advertise OA a little.

Can't like your own post... sorry. To "unlike" is to reverse the "like" vote. Carry on...

I can turn on "negative" votes too but I thought that would brand too many members as being negative all the time. And we wouldn't want that... not PC.