Phil Lilley

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For this October, we're met with a "new normal" here on Lake Taneycomo. The minimum flow we enjoyed for most of two months ceased -- replaced by no flow. Yes, officials shut everything down on Wednesday, Sept. 28, and it's been off in the mornings and part of the afternoon ever since. When the water is running, it's anywhere from one to two units. I believe this pattern will continue well into the fall. Conditions play such a big part of fishing, especially with no water moving. I'm talking about wind . . . chop. If it's dead still out, it could be tough fishing. If you're using bait, you have a chance of having a good trip, but the wind does help even when using bait. It's that time of year when our water quality starts to wane. You could call it a natural tailwater occurrence, when the water down deep in Table Rock Lake loses its oxygen content. It's call stratification, when the lake forms layers due to the density of water varying in temperature. In Table Rock where we get (130 feet deep), the temperatures are colder and denser but the dissolved oxygen content drops to basically zero. That's where the Corps comes in and injects liquid oxygen into the turbines when they are running bringing the dissolved oxygen (D.O.) up to at least 4 parts per million (p.p.m.). Subsequently, when no water is running, no oxygen is being added. But there are more ways oxygen is added to lake water such as wind, sunlight and in Taney's case the hatchery outlets. When fishing the upper part of Taneycomo, keep in mind our trout may struggle with low oxygen. So if you're especially a catch-and-release angler, pay close attention to how you handle and treat a caught fish. 1. Keep it in the water except to remove the hook and take a quick photo (if warranted.) 2. Pay attention to how long you fight a bigger trout. You can literally fight a fish to death in low D.O. conditions. You should consider using heavier tippet, sacrificing more takes. 3. Do not transport a trophy fish. Again, keep it in the net in the water at all times except to get a quick picture. I have taken a fish to shallow water (along the bank) and gotten out of the boat in the water to take a picture of a big trout -- sacrificing dry clothes and shoes for the survival of the fish. 4. Keep you fingers out of the gills. It is incredible how many trophy trout are living in Lake Taneycomo right now. Anyone, amateur or experienced, has a chance to catch one on any given trip. Have a plan if you're planning on releasing a trophy. Catch-and-release IS the reason we have such a great fishery. Those who know me know I love to fly fish. That's my favorite way to fish next to throwing a marabou jig. Low water is the best water condition for fly fishing, so I'll go over a few things that will work this fall. I will not cover the wading area below the dam. I rarely go up there and fish mainly because of the crowds. I can jump in a boat and run to great fly fishing areas on the lake and not be bothered by people standing too close to me while fishing. Boat traffic . . . well that is a thing. But I can usually avoid a lot of that, too. With the water off, there are a few places where you will find some flow. Those are at Lookout Island, the Narrows and a little at the mouth of Fall Creek. These are necks in the lake where the lake becomes narrower, shallower or both. These are great places to fly fish. Trout like current, even if it's just a little bit. It moves food, and they like food moving around, especially towards them. You can use this to your advantage. The main food base here is scuds (freshwater shrimp), sow bugs, aquatic worms, midge flies (larva and adults), snails, sculpins and, I would add, crawfish, small trout and other forage fish. I would also count the grasshoppers, ants, beetles and bag worms that fall from trees. So conditions for fly fishing, now that the water is off most of the time, should be off-the-chart wonderful this fall season. We've had real good midge hatches, so zebra midges (#14 - #18 red, black, green, brown) fished under an indicator, thread midges (#18 - #22 green, black, red), stripping soft hackles, cracklebacks (#14 - #18 yellow, black, green, red) should be fished about anywhere trout are actively feeding. An angler at Lookout told me he caught three rainbows longer than 20 inches Thursday (9/29), stripping a green, flash crackleback. He was wading around Lookout Island. I've got a couple of reports on scuds, both are a little different. One person said he's had to go to small scuds -- #18's and #20's --to get bit, but another said he really catching fish on #12's. Could they both be right? Of course. The big scud guy is an accomplished Taneycomo anglers of 50 years and fishes gray or brown, weighted scuds. He fishes them under a float and deep enough to get to the bottom. He adds weight if the water is running. The small scud guy fishes a weightless scud under a float and adds enough weight to get close to the bottom, too, no matter whether the water is running or not. Both, I believe, use 6x fluorocarbon tippet. Captain Jeremy Rasnick reported he's catching fish on a jig-and-float rig using a black 1/125th-ounce black PJ's jig. He's fishing it four- to six-feet deep, mainly above and below the Narrows, but that setup should catch trout about anywhere. Look for the chop on the water for best results, no matter where you're fishing a jig and float. Remember to try other colors, too -- black/yellow is always a great color. Brown, olive and, of course, pink are good colors, too. I've had a few reports of good fish caught throwing jigs lately. One group this week caught three trophy rainbows, including a 25-inch beauty in the Short Creek to Trout Hollow area. I sadly didn't learn the color of the jig used. Night crawlers are doing well, but with the water off you really need to inflate them so they float off the bottom. When the water is running, it doesn't make much of a difference, but with no current, the worm will just sink into the rocks and hide itself. Best to keep it up and in the trout's face. View full article

Disappointed. With the 1200, they were adding O2 and keeping it high. Now DO levels will be low when water isn’t running so take care of those fish!!

Over the 39 years I've been here, I've gotten really upset over illegal fishing and poaching on my lake.... until I realized that even with all of it going on, we STILL have a great fishery. Despite everything mentioned, there's plenty of big trout swimming in our lake. I guess it would be better if there weren't anybody taking fish out that weren't supposed to but it's always going to happen. There is enforcement, just not (and never will be) as much as we'd like. But as one agent told me this year, "I check from the cable to Trophy Run and write a bunch of tickets, and can turn around and check again the same stretch and find more violations... it's endless." Bottom line, we can do our part and report, educate. After that, fish and enjoy what we have.

They had 7 over 20 inches last night. Size of fish is really good.

We’ve talked to the conservation department at length back in the 90s and since about the language of the signage but that’s about all they can say legally. They can’t use brand names like Berkley in there signage. Plus I don’t think signs are going to help really. Most people don’t care and or they don’t think they’re gonna be caught. Take pics and text them to agents.

https://www.facebook.com/LilleysLandingMarinaBranson This post, uploaded video from this morning, contains FB ads. About 3 weeks ago, we noticed ads were running on our posted videos. We went in and edited the posts and turned the ads off. Then we started watching how we added the videos and made sure we were doing it like we've done a thousand times. When the video loads, the ads are on. After a half day or the next day, we edit the post and turn them off but we've never caught it right after it loads, like today. It took an hour but today's One Cast loaded and was live a few minutes ago. So I went in and tried to edit the post and turn the ads off - I can't. It won't give me the option. Some people have complained. One guy said he'd never watch OC again... I understand. We have made about $2/post on average. It's a joke. That's why I don't run ads - that and I never wanted to. I've googled it and don't see anyone else complaining but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Youtube said a year ago that I may see ads on my videos - just because they can. To my knowledge, they haven't run on YT. Had fun this morning throwing a beetle. No fog. Could run all the way up to Rebar. Nice.

There's been some discussion on FB on our flow situation and water quality. When they're not running water at the dam, the only O2 the upper lake gets is from the hatchery outlets - that's always been the case ( in the fall months). Because of this constant flow, the upper lake will get decent water all the time. I say decent because the Corps only adds enough liquid O2 to keep the levels above 4 ppm. There's some concern about the hot summer temps thus warming our water we get from the dam. So far we're not seeing any big difference in temp. Water temp has run about 55 for the last month. I remember our water getting up in the upper 60's. It's going to be a different fall season to say the least.

It was an error in labeling on the trophy page. I talked to the guy who caught the brown. They were well below Fall Creek - never fished above the line on their trip. The error has been corrected - thanks for pointing it out!

I have edited my report. I had reported information about the Corp's turbine that was inaccurate and should have been edited before posting. The edited version did not get posted. The info about the turbine "might not be able to be restarted" is not true. The problem with the turbine is complicated--I don't have any details. I'm sorry for this confusion.

The flow we're seeing in the mornings - some call it minimum flow - but it's 1,2500 cfs or 17 mw. I've been told by reliable sources that there's an issue with one turbine and the fix is months away. So we're not going to see any "down water" for the "foreseeable future". Good for our trout! A lot less pressure on our trout below the dam during fall months. Not so good for ppl who like to wade below the dam.

Not sure if anyone posted this. https://www.anglersatlas.com/tournament/602/blotchy-bass-bonanza-2022

It's been a wild summer here on Lake Taneycomo. Dozens and dozens of big rainbow and brown trout have been caught -- and 95% released to be caught again! That figure isn't official but just my estimate of what I observe on the lake. "Catching" in general has been good, but our guides report it's slowing down a bit. Our water quality is actually very good for this time of year, though. We have our guesses as to why the trout are not as aggressively feeding during the day. We are seeing a small release for most of the night through mid day on weekdays with heavy flows in the afternoon and evening. The morning release is strange if you don't know what's going on with the dam's turbines. I've been told that one turbine is having technical issues. This minimum flow will continue for the foreseeable future. Our water temperature is holding at about 55-56 degrees which is normal for September. Our trout seem to be in good shape. They're fighting hard and swimming off fairly well when released. Note that in the fall months when our water quality starts to wane, pay close attention to each fish's condition before releasing. If you catch a trophy and want to release it, we advise you to keep the fish in the water as much as possible (in the net) and only take it out for a quick picture and measurement. We ask that you do not bring it into our dock, especially if you're a good distance from our place. Captain Steve Dickey says most of the time he's fishing with night crawlers, either drifting or spot locked, and doing fairly well. He said the trout are not ingesting them as well as they did a couple of weeks ago. "They're chewing it and spitting it out before we can hook them," he said. Captain Jeremy Rasnick told me the bite has slowed down for him, too. He's using small scuds and midges (#18) and still catching nice rainbows and a few browns in the trophy area. But the bites are quick, so you have to pay attention. Both guides said they think the trout are loading up on food in the afternoons when heavy flows are occurring. The blast of current always kicks up scuds and sculpins off the bottom, making easy meals for our trout. Later in the evening when the water is dropping out, we're seeing absolutely huge midge hatches, and the trout are feeding all over the surface. The trout caught are very fat, probably nourished with all the free food mentioned. Throwing marabou jigs is working fairly well early during the slow flow and later when the water is running hard. Of course, you have to make adjustments in the weight of the jigs you're throwing. I'm using 1/32nd- and 1/16th-ounce jigs with two-pound line early and 1/8th-ounce jigs with four-pound line later with the fast water. Best colors have been black, sculpin, olive, sculpin/peach -- and I always try white or white/gray. For the heard color, try orange or brown but white on white. We're selling our own micro jigs now. We've finally trained some tiers who have produced enough for us to stock our shop with them. We don't have all the colors we want, yet, but we do have black, olive and sculpin. They're working on tan, ginger and white. These are perfect jigs to use under a float with two-pound line early in the morning almost anywhere from the Branson Landing up to the dam. Early in the morning, fish them two- to four-feet, and as the sun comes up, go deeper -- down to six- to eight-feet deep. View full article

Hoppers are a thing... but not all the time and not everywhere. I haven't been out enough to figure out the pattern but I've best fishing the bluff down from Lookout to the Narrows when they're running at least 2 units. Other times, not as good but still draw some takes. Off the dock - mix up some dough bait using tuna oil and wheat bread. And oh, gold glitter.

Hope your O2 holds up. Ours is real good for late August. Temp 54. They are blasting in the pm. 240! Keeps it cleaned out.

Taking Marsha to a game in a couple of weeks. Plan to spend the night in St Louis. Looking for something nice and handy to the stadium. Thanks

They've always had good growth rates... when there's food there. Less fish, more food. We haven't had a high water even since 2016 so theoretically, we haven't lost any browns to Bull Shoals, or very few. So our population of browns should be very high. It only took Taney to grow a 40 pounder (triploid) so why shouldn't we see a ton of big fish this fall/winter. Let's hope for decent water quality conditions this fall. It shouldn't be too bad I believe.

I caught this 21” brown on a dry last evening across from the resort. Awesome! I love that they’re taking dries!!

This really has been building over the last three or four years. The numbers of trout over 20 inches caught and released and reported has been increasing monthly. These fish are just getting bigger and bigger. 2- 30 inch rainbows within a week caught is extremely impressive. Our fishery, because of the ever growing population of big trout, is changing the way we fish. Big fish eat bigger food. They eat more food, more varieties. So now we are seeing trout eat big streamers and more bigger flies on the surface. I think this trend will continue as long as people keep releasing these trophies. The department of conservation deserves a lot of credit for the adjustment of stocking numbers of trout as well as the trophy area. But also our guides for strongly advocating catch a release with their clients. I can’t remember the last time we saw a guide bring in a 20 inch trout and clean it. That’s pretty amazing.

But I find all kinds of line around our rental props… are you talking about “smart braid”? 😂

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Like I told Travis, I killed a nice rainbow last week on One Cast throwing a dry fly. Hooked it deep in the gills. It was bleeding real bad when netted. Cut the line and let it go. Didn't swim off well. Probably died. Caught another 2 days before that - same thing. But this one didn't bleed. Cut the line and it swam off. May have lived, may be not. It happens. The only way not to kill a fish is to not fish.