Phil Lilley

Great story - thanks for post it. Had to point this guy out in the pic -- he looks like he's up to something!

I like this one too.... http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/clothes-workwear/mens/mens-outerwear/75007.aspx?feature=product_2

Brian- I don't EVEN like the looks of that Simms jacket so, no, I'm not going to spend the big bucks for it. If I ever win one in a contest, I'll give it to you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mountain-Hardwear-WindStopper-Tech-Large-Black-/230500018446?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_MC_Outerwear&hash=item35aadf290e#ht_500wt_1154 http://www.amazon.com/WINDSTOPPER-Tech-Jacket-Mountain-Hardwear/dp/B001EN1OQG/ref=sr_1_57?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qlEnable=1&qid=1279579123&sr=1-57 http://cgi.ebay.com/NWT-Mountain-hardwear-mens-windstopper-tech-jacket-Med-/320563170904?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Men_s_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item4aa30dce58#ht_500wt_1154 http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mountain-Hardwear-WindStopper-Tech-Large-Black-/230500018446?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_MC_Outerwear&hash=item35aadf290e#ht_500wt_1154 http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,2635U_Columbia-Sportswear-Anchorage-Explorer-Fleece-Jacket-For-Men.html and this one http://www.dealsonthefly.com/ is very tempting!

Thom did a great job describing what you need to do. I'm assuming you mean outlets 1 and 2. If they are running more than one unit, you can run to the dam and drift these areas.

Mountain Hardwear - anyone own a Mountain Hardwear jacket. Found very good reviews.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me? I'm looking for a good windproof fleece jacket. Exclude Orvis and Patagonia.

Selling a jacket I bought up in Alaska. Hardly worn, never washed. Heavy, quality. It's large but has long sleeves. Hooded (fleece also). http://www.grundens.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=99 $75. I paid over $150 for it.

PJ's jigs aren't round but oval. Those are the jigs we carry. Good colors- they need to add sculpin though. I can't touch the price.

Head of the worm - ask Babler.

It's been an amazing year so far here on Lake Taneycomo. In the past three years our lake/river has seen a great deal of water -- water from the upper White River basin, Beaver and Table Rock lakes, as well as major river systems feeding each lake. This constant flow over this period has created fertile conditions for trout food, namely freshwater shrimp. These small crustaceons, that live in the gravel at the bottom of our lake, are very high in protein. You'll find dried freshwater shrimp, called "scuds," sold in pet stores to feed various small pets like turtles. When a fishery has an abundant population of scuds, its fish will exhibit very healthy growth rates. That's what we're seeing for our trout right now. In the past, we would see big, fat rainbows after a lengthy shad run from Table Rock Lake. Threadfin shad would flow from the dam, dead or stunned from their trip through the turbines, and our trout would feast on them until their bellies would bulge. They would grow so fast that we'd see two-pound rainbows in no time, but that wouldn't last. In less than six months, most of these rainbows would move out of the trophy area and be caught out of the lake, ending a seemingly steller trophy run. The resident food base would not handle the growth spurt and the larger rainbows in the system. Why? In time, we'd experience long periods of no generation on our lake when water would not run, would not move, thus depleting the population of freshwater shrimp down to levels that could not sustain the size and number of rainbows. Because of the three years of flowing water on Taneycomo, we are seeing big numbers of big rainbows throughout the lake, not just in the trophy area. Our scud population doesn't stop at Fall Creek, the lower boundary of the trophy area; it extends down further that anyone suspects. Back in the "hay day" of big trout on Taneycomo, the 1960's and early 1970's, huge schools of scuds were found in the Branson downtown area. A friend who then worked on the Sammy Lane Pirate Cruise remembers how the crew would stomp on their dock to knock the scuds off the floatation, causing a trout feeding frenzy. They would drop their lines in the water and pull out three- and four- pound rainbows one after the other. We might not have that kind of scud population, today but it's still amazingly good when we see two- and three- pound rainbows caught fairly consistently well below the trophy area. Fishing Report Generation has been, well, difficult to gauge. Southwest Power Administration's generation schedule is set midafternoon the day prior, but it was off yesterday after holding closely to projection for a couple of weeks. We've had front after front cross our area with downpours that last 5-10 minutes, but these rains are localized to the degree that we might get a big downpour here at the resort, but up the road two miles on the Branson strip they might stay dry. . . and visa versa. Table Rock has not seen a bump in it's level, but Bull Shoals has jumped almost two feet. Yesterday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ran, for the first time in quite a while, some serious water through Table Rock Dam, opening four turbines but not quite full. Our lake level topped 710 feet, nine feet higher that our power pool which is 701.3 feet. Fluxuating water levels: Typically when generation is started at the dam and water starts to move, our trout start feeding. Bugs and worms get washed into the lake when the water floods the bank edges, weeds and grassy areas. Scuds might start moving up out of their hiding places in the rocks. Midge larvae don't usually move unless we see a drop of movement, say when the Corps is shutting down the turbines. But when the trout see generation flows they haven't seen in a while, I believe they don't feed as well as they do when they see consistent flows. When the Corps fluctuates the levels during the day, for instance, the flow and level of the lake will vary by six inches to a foot several times an hour -- up and down -- and our trout don't seem to like that or at least they don't think about eating during those periods. Not sure why they do that, but we wish they'd stop! Guessing what the Corps will do the rest of the week would be tough. I would just go fishing and take whatever comes. You should start early in the day, not necessarily because you'll catch more fish early but to give yourself the best chance to find when the trout will feed the most. I'd say later in the afternoon and evening is going to be the slowest, assuming that the Corps might be running a lot of water at that time. We're finding the best times to catch trout are from 8 a.m. until noon, but that depends on cloud cover. We've had cloudy days for the most part this month, which is great for fishing, but if the clouds clear in the afternoon and it is supposed to hit the 90's, the rest of the week, mid- to late afternoons will be unconfortable at best. High sun and no wind together yield the poorest fishing time. But early, catching has been pretty good. Our guides have been doing the best, bait-wise, on night crawlers. It's surprising how many anglers step into our office and ask what the best bait is and expect a colored answer -- "pink Power Bait" is what they want to hear. When we answer "night crawlers," it's as if we said that the fish were all dead, or at least not biting. Live, "real" bait generally catches more fish than artificial bait. Now Eddie Ketchum, my Berkley fishing buddy, may not agree, but we see stocker rainbows being caught on Power Bait more than the larger, wiser rainbows. We float our worms, injecting them with air using a blow bottle. This floats the worm off the bottom so that the trout will see them quickly and eat them quickly. The best area has been from Short to Fall Creeks, but this area has been the hardest hit the last few weeks. Fish numbers have been dropping from the pressure, so some of our guides and clients have been heading down to Monkey Island, just above downtown Branson, and finding good numbers of rainbows. Same thing, floating night crawlers off the bottom. Use a pre-made drift rig or just a small #6 hook and a split shot up the line about 18 inches. Use only the head half of the worm but save the tails. Hook the worm once, leaving each half of the worm hanging off the hook freely. You don't have to hide the hook!!! Inject the worm on the head half and let 'er fly. One more helpful hint - set the rod down and secure it. Wait for the bite, lift the rod and let the trout take the worm, then set the hook. If they swallow the bait, and you want to release the fish, don't touch the fish, just cut the line close to the fish's mouth and drop it back into the water. Digging the hook out will likely kill the trout. Yes, Gulp Power Bait eggs will catch rainbows, too. Use one white egg with another colored egg. The odd color varies, so buy all the other colors and keep switching until you find the right combination. Only use two eggs, though. I've seen people using a whole chain of eggs on larger hooks. I don't think rainbows are into eating candy necklaces. Jig and float fishing catches more trout than just about any other technique. Tie on a small barrell swivel, but before that, slip on a float. Then tie on about six feet of two-pound line, preferablly flourocarbon. We use Vanish. Then tie on a 1/256th-ounce micro jig, either tan or olive. We've been fishing this rig anywhere from Lookout Island in the trophy area down to Monkey Island and catching trout. Throw it out and let it sit a minute, then twitch the float a bit and watch for the slightest movement. Have to be quick at times, but other times, they'll take it under. Fly fishing below the dam is very good, but you have to know what you're doing. Early is best. It does get tough as the sun rises high in the sky. The water is clear and shallow and the trout up there are pretty smart -- they've seen and have eaten a lot of flies. As I told a young man the other day in the shop, you can use 6x tippet, but if you want to hook up more often, use 7x. The other thing you must have is an arsenal of flies in your box of different colors and sizes of scuds, midges and woolies. If the water is running, you'll be limited where you can access the lake . . . and there will be a crowd at those accesses. Scuds will be your friend. Weighted #16 to #20's in various shades of gray, olive or tan. San Juan worms in red, brown and purple. Zebra midge #16 to #18's in red, black and olive. Small egg patterns in orange, white and brown. If you catch the water down, strip a #16 red or yellow soft hackle or an olive #14 wooly bugger. If you catch the water down at night, we have some great night patterns created just for our water. Hibernators and PMS, as well as leaches and buggers in large sizes (#6 to #2's) and mostly dark colors. If you're fly fishing from a boat in the trophy area, if the water is running you'll need to drift your fly on the bottom. Best way is to use a fairly large indicator and allow plenty of line below it to drag the bottom. From Lookout down to Fall Creek, stay in the middle to shallow side of the lake and fish your fly about 10 feet deep, depending on how much water they're running. Add a split shot if you think your fly isn't making contact with the bottom. You can sub your scud or egg fly for a micro jig. Pink with a chrome head or a tan jig has been working pretty well. If you catch the water off, shorten up your line under the indicator and use a micro jig in olive or tan. If you're using a scud, get it to the bottom and switch it to attract a strike.

Excellent! Thanks for sharing!!!

ACtually they opened a theater with their name as a headline and didn't last but a month or less. I was really surprised at Cash... they just didn't advertise. No one knew he was here. Nelson- who knows. I doubt if he wanted to stay. Brenner- that's a whole nother story. I'll have to tell it sometime.

You might go back and read some of Trav's reports from a couple of years back. Not many people fish the lower end but it is good fishing for bass. I posted ALL my Taneycomo maps on http://ozarkanglers.com. Was alittle frustrated that I created some maps but didn't get them in places where people could find them. Hopefully this will help.

http://ozarkanglers.com/taneycomo/maps/lowermap-web.jpg

I posted this on facebook a while back and I'll share it here. There's been a lot of music artist come and go here in Branson. The ones that are still here had several things going for them - good promotion, deep pockets/or/good budgeting and living on pennies, and the will to stick it out even when the crowds don't show up at first. Those that didn't make it: Johnny Cash David Brenner Willie Nelson Tony Orlando There are others... can't remember them all. Point is, you can have a name and decent show but if you don't promote and don't stay with it, you'll be one of the has-beens of Branson. My guess, Nelly will be a has-been. Nothing against his music, there are other factors I see that don't look good.

John Richardson, a Healing Water Rep from Springfield, MO, sent me this pic of a halibut a friend of his caught on a recent trip to AK. "They had to tow it back and have it lifted up because they were aboard the big boat in Alaska when they caught it! It was caught on one of my 1-pound, homemade spinners. 300 ft deep."

Reminds me of a game we played as kids - get in a big circle and whisper a "secret" to the person next to you and pass it on. When it comes back around, annouce the secret and see how it differs from the initial story. Pretty fun stuff. Works on the internet too, I guess. For sure it works in angling "circles".

Hey- why did I get drug into this!

I almost went last night... I bet it was good!

Here's one for ya - Mike Zimmer. The 33-year-old angler from Menomonie was fishing a lake in Menomonie on March 15 when he hooked a 4 pound, 5 ounce white crappie.

I don't know where you were but if it was in an outlet and the water was running, you can expect it, basically. There are limited places to fish when the water is running - not an ideal situation at all. If you have a good spot near an outlet to yourself for a lengthy period of time, consider yourself fortunate . . . enjoy while you can because anglers will move in because there's no place else to stand and fish. When the water is running, expect someone to come and stand close to you - that's basically the way it is at the outlets. But I could be way off in your situation. You may be fishing a different area in which case this may not apply - or it may.

They ran a bunch today... hope they get it out of their "system". Tomorrow it say no generation will afternoon BUT they wasn't truthful on today's guesstimate. Table Rock is at 917 and although we've had some rain it's not enough to raise the level much. It's cool so I don't think they need to run it much. We'll see.

Must have been close to a spring.