Phil Lilley

Cleaned. Had 11. 7 sows. One had bloody egg sacks. The rest weren't ready to spawn.

April 27 By BRENT FRAZEE The Kansas City Star EAGLE ROCK, Mo. — Had it really been that long? Had it really been almost 15 years since I drove down the Ozarks back roads to J.D. Fletcher’s resort on Table Rock Lake? It didn’t seem like it when I bounced down a country lane and set eyes on Devil’s Dive Resort, where I spent some of the best moments in my career at The Kansas City Star. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/04/27/4204921/one-last-fishing-trip-with-jd.html#storylink=cpy

Oh yea- I caught them on smoke/purple flake swimming minnow, 1/16th oz head. Duane used several kinds of baits- he'll have to post his report.

Well... we caught a few. Me and Duane put in at Flat Creek Resort about noon today and fished up. Didn't find 'em so we pulled out and went to Cape Fair ramp. Water was good color there and 54. Just couldn't find them. At Cape, we hit some of Duane's spots. Most were coves or cut with brush, all up lake (I think). They weren't on the banks at all- some were within 15 feet but most were off in the brush. One common denominator was there had to be fairly deep water close- 16 ft plus. The shallower coves we didn't do as well. We quit at 4 with I think 15 crappie (haven't cleaned them yet). Had that many shorts. We found 59 degree water on the main lake.

John, This caddis hatch- is it THE hatch of the spring? I fished the caddis hatch last year- thought it was in May. Lots of white caddis flying around. Is that still to come?

The ones you taught me to tie! That and I was using too light of line. I need to change.

This has to be one of my favorite times a year here on the lake. The green foliage looks so fresh, contrasting are the dogwoods in full bloom. These showers hinder fishermen but it's still pretty to see in as it hits the lake. Do fish bite in the rain? Definitely, but this rain is cold and not many are getting out in it. Marsha went out with me last evening. She took pics with the new camera and I tossed a jig. She got some good shots and I caught a few trout. I stayed with the white jig vs changing to something I knew would catch more rainbows because I wanted a better shot at a brown trout. I had one small one on but my knot came untied.

Depending on how much rain we get, Long Creek might be muddied up. You might have to go out to the main lake. The big cove, east side, just south of the 86 bridge has a lot of standing timber and an old friend of mine said he used to clean up on crappie around that timber.

There are a lot of things that could be offered here... I'd like to see pictures of various ponds. Best ways to build ponds. How to stock a pond, resources, kinds of fish. And of course >show the fish< I grew up fishing farm ponds, rock quarries, tanks and strip pits. This should be fun!

YOUTH FLY FISHING PROGRAM Saturday, June 15, 2013 (Fathers Day Weekend) - ALL DAY Mountain Home, Arkansas at the fabled waters of Dry Run Creek Troutbusters will be hosting a wonderful day just for the kids. If you are a parent, a grandparent, a great grandparent, an uncle, an aunt, or in any size, shape or form connected with a child under the age of 16, you should seriously consider taking them to this event. It is one of the most amazing places to fish for trout (rainbows, browns, brook, and cutthroats) on planet earth. There are reported to be more than 10,000 trout per mile. Who are Troutbusters? Troutbusters is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people of all walks of life recover from trauma, from combat to cancer, via love and fly fishing. Troutbuster members are passionate about fly fishing and are enthusiastic about helping others heal through sharing their love of the sport directly through teaching fly fishing skills and indirectly through fundraising. Troutbusters focuses its fundraising efforts on committed, grass roots organizations that make a significant difference in the lives of others. Through an act-locally approach, we will focus our support and passion for Fly Fishing directly on the people and organizations in our community. Dry Run Creek Fishing Regulations: Flies only Barbless hooks only Catch and Release only Must be under 16 or handicapped What is Included? All of the gear (fly rods, reels, leader, tippet, flies) River helpers available to ‘guide’ the kids on Saturday Continental Breakfast on Saturday, June 15th Lunch on Saturday, June 15th Giveaways/Raffle Prizes What is NOT Included? Lodging Transportation to and from Dry Run Creek (0ver) This is an absolutely amazing experience for the youth and you will have memories that will last a lifetime. A special thank you to Ozark Fly Fishers & Feather-Craft Fly Fishing for sponsoring this event. DETAILS: The program starts at 9am on Saturday and will last until late afternoon A suggested minimum donation of $25 per child payable to ‘Troutbusters’ will help fund the event and will secure your reservation Please make donation checks payable to: Troutbusters Children (under 16) must be accompanied by an adult. You can fish on Friday on your own and you will want to fish on Sunday if you have time. If you would like to get involved in getting kids hooked for life, we are looking for stream helpers also - everyone is welcome to join us! CAMPING: There is a campground (The Dam-Quarry Campground) just below the dam that is right next to Dry Run Creek and the Hatchery, this your best option to be close. It accommodates tents, pop-ups and RV's and has some services including showers. To reserve a campsite on your own go to: http://www.recreation.gov and search "Camping / Arkansas / Dam-Quarry (AR), Norfork Lake, AR". We have reserved the following campsites: 14,16,18 and a group shelter on Saturday for our meals and gathering. If you would like to reserve one of the sites that we have please contact T.J. Branson and they will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. There are many other sites available. Reservation for the campsite will be confirmed upon receiving the payment for the campsite. The cost for our reserved campsites is $50 for two nights of camping. HOTELS: If you wish to stay in a hotel room there are a number of options in Mountain Home, Arkansas (ZIP CODE for Hotwire or Priceline is 72653) including: Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inn, Hampton Inn, Days Inn, and many more. HOW TO SIGN UP: If you would like to sign up, or if you have any questions, please contact T.J. Branson. Email address: bransontj@att.net Phone: 636-262-5515 Upon reserving your spot (by contacting T.J. Branson) you will receive directions and further instructions for the trip.

Could you find any clear water in the back of the creeks/coves? I was told Bear Creek isn't bad - catching some crappie there.

I got out this afternoon. Fished from 4 till about 7. First tried bait in the Short Creek area - night crawlers and Gulp. Nothing. Wind blowing upstream made it very hard to get a good drift. Between that and few bites, no hookups. 2 units - good flow. I finally pull out a jig and caught some rainbows across from Trout Hollow on the eddie bank - ginger 1/16th oz. Felt like if I worked that whole bank I'd done well but wanted to move. Headed to the dam. Drifted south bank using a 1/8th oz white jig. Had to pinch the tail cause they would only take the end - short bites. Wind again was blowing me upstream so I worked behind the boat along the bank, But it did die down a few times. Next drift I tried a sculpin color jig - few bites. Put on a ginger/sculpin and they liked it. Caught quite a few rainbows, no size. Kept 4 10-inchers for dinner. Dickey was guiding 3 gals and they were catching pretty good drifting an egg/scud combo on the bottom. Some other guys from the resort said they did good working the south back between the cable and first island using Krocodile white spoons behind the boat. When the wind is blowing like it did today, getting the bait or lure in the ideal place and keeping it there is very hard. You got to use a little imagination and try different things to get them to bite. The water is running slow enough you can tie up close to a bank the try tight lining against the bank is slower water using minnows or night crawlers. Might try that tomorrow if I get out. I think they're going to lessen the flow in the next few days, even leave it off unless this next rain system dumps a lot of rain on us. Doesn't look like it's going to though.

As Table Rock Lake hit its power pool level, generation at Table Rock Dam was adjusted down to less than 2 units this morning, down from about 90% flow. This is making fishing on Taneycomo much easier. No fishing reports yet today but should get something up before the day is out.

3 grand kids. 2 by our oldest daughter, Sara and Josh (Overland Park, KS) and now Megan and Jimmy, Rogers, AR. Looking forward to teaching them all to fish!

After the rains the other night, Table Rock and Beaver have risen to the point the Corp as saw fit to release A LOT of water. They're releasing 4 units at 200 mw which is close to full capacity. With this release, the water temperature in the lake has dropped to 46 degrees putting our trout into shock. I say shock... they're not eating very well. We see this every time we go from little generation to a lot. We haven't seen water like this for may be 18 months. I think it sends the trout to the bottom and it takes them several days to get reoriented. Once they do, they start eating again. It's been 3 days now and we're seeing some trout caught today although conditions are hard. With this much current, getting to the bottom is a trick and if you're not on the bottom you aren't going to get bit. Period! Guys this morning caught fish drifting from the cable at the dam down to the boat ramp using an egg/scud combination. Use a bigger scud- #10's and #12's. Bill also was dragging a small floating crank bait using a drift rig and catching fish- he said catching bigger trout than the scud was. I've sent some people down to Roark Creek to see if trout are moving in there with the cold, high water. They usually do, may be not this quick. But when they do, they'll be in there thick and be easy to catch. Should see some crappie and whites in there too. More later.

Wow... you're a long way from home here! Welcome!! What type of fishing do you do there in Nigeria?

I'm humbled by the article... I didn't know it was going to be about me so much as the fishing. It did get me thinking about people's perception of me in regards to trout fishing on Taney... I'm not the guru people think I am here. I'm not that diverse. I jig fish, fly fish only some areas. I don't bait fish and seldom fish below Fall Creek. Yea I've been here 30 years- the old man on the block (except for Acton's at Blue Haven) but that doesn't make me any more of an expert than the next person. Now Ken White, the writer, that was a treat meeting and fishing with this guy. Somebody needs to write a book about him and what he's done in his life. The most impressive thing - 12 kids and 42 grand kids! Then there's the people he's met, photographed. I really enjoyed fishing and talking to Ken. Hope to again soon.

BassFan.Com One of the things that differentiates competitive bass fishing from most other sports is the degree to which a particular venue can change from one year to the next. The world's best golfers go to the Masters every year and know they'll find lush green grass on the famed Augusta National layout, and tennis players head for the French Open knowing that the clay at Roland Garros Stadium will be red and firm. http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?ID=4568#.UXCp5oITGek