Phil Lilley

Nice!

Welcome back... it's been a while.

This is fun... thanks for all the ideas. How about Rivertown ... Not sure what goes with it yet but it would be the guts of the name. There's a Rivertown fly shop in Maine so not much competition close. SDC has coined the phrase for a smokehouse dinner place and a show (I googled to find them). Never heard of them before today. Nothing is registered or copyrighted. Thoughts?

Fished there 15 years ago. They said no scuds... but we caught them on #16 to #20 scuds. Strip woolies and buggers in the faster water... I don't think they see that allot. I fished a jig in the bigger, deeper water and did real well. Again, they don't see many jigs. They are known for their midges.... tons of them. They group up and make midge clusters. But they see a ton of midge flies -- that's why I kept trying different stuff. Some worked, some didn't. Try to fish areas that don't get hit very often too.

The algae isn't bad from Cooper down. Should be some good browns down there... bet cha!

I used to think the same thing but I've seen big rainbows eat a gob of algae floating by... Shane Bush told me they eat it and do get some nutrition value from it.

Yes it did. Lots of algae kicked up. Those trout eat the stuff too. Moss green jigs!

Gotta stay on the edge... and it's fun too. New stuff.

Love the pics. Great info too! Thanks

I like that... but there's already one in Heber Springs/Little Rock. The Ozark Angler. They had the name before I started Ozarkanglers.

Scuds R Us... I feel like that seeing as many scuds we sell.

The goal is to make the shop a destination. Brand it like the resort. New logo, new Facebook page. My media guy just needs a new project

We are looking for a catchy new name for our tackle/fly shop. I figured this would be a good place to ask.

Bought in 2019. Three years use (rental). No issues with either. Work horses! Serviced semi annually. Lower units Pressure tested. No control boxes. As is. $4,750 each. $9,250 for both.

that was Rex Grady

I guess I should post an update - 6/3/22 From the map dated 2014, there's no gravel bar at Fall Creek. There is a rock pile on the west side in front of the mouth of the creek. At the Narrows, the middle is getting deeper every year. That's doesn't mean you can get through there on plane when the water is off FOR SURE. It depends on your draft. Some can. I wouldn't take the chance. The channel changes every year. Some years it gets more narrow, some it deepens. I think it's gotten deeper but I haven't had a chance to look at it with the water off. Lookout is about the same. Shallow. No channel. The chute is the same. Rebar area has really changed. The channel is now almost right up the middle, may be a little south of center. The water is deep on the south side of the stump but the cross over isn't very deep and not worth taking the chance to navigate. I'd hammer it up the middle. All the rock piles are still there and need to be avoided. They are hard to see.

Looks like the locals are having good conversations.... saving world issues.

I don't know where to start this report, as far as the generation/flow. I usually include an educated guess on what officials may do with generation, but I have no idea at this point. So all I can do it state the facts. Beaver Lake, I think, is about at 1,128 feet, but there's no way of telling that I can find because all of the online indicators are not working. Table Rock, on the other hand, is at 922.62 feet and steady. Dam operators are running zero to 3,200 cubic feet per second of water in the mornings and about 6,100 to 6,700 c.f.s. in the afternoon, which is one unit. https://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/reports/remote/curcond.htm Since both lakes above us are pretty high, Bull Shoals is even higher, so they're holding Beaver and Table Rock until they can start releasing water at Bull Shoals Dam. There's high water on the White River way down south towards the Mississippi River-- I suspect that's why they are holding Bull Shoals. So for now we're seeing some slow flows here on Lake Taneycomo. The other morning, operators didn't run any water which made for some fun fly fishing. I caught fish on micro jigs, zebra midges in black and red #14, a #14 gray scud and a peach mega worm all under a float above the Narrows. For tippet, 6x fluorocarbon is fine. And I was fishing them about four-feet deep. If there is a little generation, up to 6,700 c.f.s., you can fish the same flies the same way except add a little split shot to drop and keep the fly down. And you'll need to fish them a little deeper. Of course, the scud needs to be dragging the bottom, but the other flies don't have to be that deep. The Mega Worm is tied on a jig head so it should get down pretty well. The marabou jig is working pretty successfully, too. Depending on the flow, we're throwing all sizes -- from 1/8th to 1/32nd-ounce. For the smaller 1/32nd- and 1/16th-ounce, we're using two-pound line and four-pound for the heavier jigs. White has been good, best from the cable below the dam down to the third outlet. Darker colors are good everywhere--sculpin, olive, brown, black. The pink worm is making a comeback now that the water has slowed down. Drift it on the bottom like bait or use it under a float with the water off or running up to 6,700 c.f.s.. The best area has been from the old Riverlake Resort to down past Lilleys' Landing. Seth and Becky Garrison just reported white jigs are good from the dam to the Narrows . . . I'm jealous. I can't buy a bite with white past outlet #3. They are also catching warm-water species close to the dam -- and a random fish anywhere in the upper end of the lake. Jerk baits are starting to work now that the spill gates are closed. Early and late in the day are best, as well as cloudy and/or windy days. The Magabass 110+ in shad colors is good, and rapalas F7 and F9's and shad raps will also work. Suspending Rogues are good and of course our own Duane Doty's Signature Series rainbow and sculpin style baits. Drifting scuds when the water is running is still one of the best ways to score a trophy. They're working anywhere from the cable at the dam down to Lilleys' Landing. We're dropping from a size 12 to size 14-16 in gray shades as well as olive and tan. If the water is running pretty slowly, you can fish a weighted scud under an indicator, but make sure it's set a foot or two deeper than the depth of the water you're fishing. A good place to do this is the Pointe Royale side of the lake from Lookout down through the Narrows (shallow side.) I've seen some boats spot locking and/or anchoring in the main channel below Fall Creek. While the water is running slow enough for this to be safe, it does cause navigation issues for boat traffic. It is illegal to block a channel to the degree that it causes these issues, although it is a matter of judgement for law enforcement (which is sparse on this lake). Anchoring towards the side of the lake is both safer for the ones using it and for the drifter and boater. And I expect that you'll catch as many fish, too. I did see three boats spot locked at the mouth of Fall Creek today -- and that is a problem! Too much traffic for that. That said, night crawlers are working for those who are anchored in the right areas. Steve Dickey has had trips this week on our Trout Machine Pontoon and he's spot locking on the flats above Trout Hollows, on the far side, using night crawlers and doing pretty good. This is with 3.600 c.f.s. of water running (one unit.) View full article

That's isn't old... but I like to see the lake at that time. See how much it's changed. Just talking to someone about the gravel bars at Short and Fall Creek - how they're almost gone. Everything is flattening out.

Thanks for joining!

Thanks for joining. Hope to see you here with a lot more nice fish to show off!

This morning, we had no generation. No generation since midnight. What with the lakes above us pretty high, why aren't they running water??? While contemplating this today, the answer came into my head. They're balancing the lakes in the system. Former Corps ranger, Jeremy Rasnick, confirmed this a minute ago when he told me he called the Corps office and that's the answer he got - about no water this morning. And they are holding Bull Shoals because of high levels at St Charles, Arkansas. The level there is 24.75 while flood stage is 25 feet. The river at other locations isn't that high so it's not inundated with water like some years. https://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/reports/remote/curcond.htm Bull Shoals is at 78.3% which is higher than all the lakes above it so they're holding the other lakes so that BS doesn't get any higher. Table Rock is in the best shape, although it's well over it's normal pool - 37.7%. And Beaver is real close to it's power pool but interestingly it's at 59.2%. Before I figured this out, I was telling some of the guides that after this rain coming up we may see gates again. Now I'm not so sure. Depends, I guess. The lakes should have a great spawn again this spring! Lots of brush for fry to hide in.

Well geez when you got excellent conditions and a lake full of big trout, it’s easy to demonstrate technique. Thanks David. This morning was fun. Sorry I ran out of battery. I couldn’t stop fishing. Going to have over 140 registered trophies this month. That’s crazy!!