Phil Lilley

Hey Jim- when did you catch this? Below Powersite? Looks like at night. Do you own a Supreme? That's what the boat looks like.

You might check out RSBreth's blog on crank baits. Excellent article. http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?a...;blogid=16&

http://bigbrobranson.org/ssp_director/gallery.html

As a professional fly fishing guide, I spend a lot of time on the river. During the past year, most of that time has been in my river boat, due to our seemingly never ending high water conditions. When on the river, it is vital that my engine is operating at the peak of performance, particularly in high water. Recently I have encountered some problems with my outboard motor. It would start fine, but when I put it in gear and revved it up, it balked and sputtered. It would eventually get under way but not at maximum output. I had a dilemma. I was in the first day of a two day guide trip. I only have one boat and motor and it was not operating at one hundred percent. I needed to put the motor in the shop but I needed to finish my trip. I somehow managed to finish the day. Luckily the trout were cooperating and we had a good day fishing. That night, at the lodge, I discussed my motor woes with my colleagues. I heard a few opinions but the consensus there seemed to be spark plugs. I pulled the plugs and they looked okay. The next day I returned to the river to finish the trip and my motor really started acting up. I limped back to the ramp and borrowed a motor from Gary Flippin at Rim Shoals Trout Dock. I was able to finish the day. Once again we were able to boat plenty of fish but I was a nervous wreck from hassling with the engine. The next day I was at Bearskin Marine as soon as it opened. I explained to Floyd what was happening and he went to work. I picked up the motor the next day. Floyd said the motor looked pretty good and the spark plugs showed little wear. We discussed the engine problem and he suggested that the problem could be the fuel that I was using. A number of our local gas stations had begun carrying gasoline that contained approximately ten percent ethanol. Ethanol has several qualities that make it a poor fuel for outboard motors. It attracts water. Since outboard motors do not have sealed fuel systems they can take on water if ethanol is used. Water and gasoline don’t mix. The water settles to the bottom of the tank where it enters the intake tube and goes into the motor. You can imagine the results. Ethanol is also a powerful solvent. As we walked through Floyd’s shop, he showed me several fuel lines that had been put out of commission by the use of ethanol. One fuel line was inoperable because the ethanol had dissolved the glue connecting the intake tube to the line itself. This allowed air in the fuel line which severely hampered operation. Another intake tube had stretched and when the owner had pushed it into the fuel tank bending the now too long tube and crimping it in the process. This cut off the fuel supply to the engine. I had been trying to use pure gas but often for convenience sake I would fill up at my local gas station that carries fuel with ten percent ethanol. On at least one occasion, I had stopped at one of the area stations that advertises that they carry pure gas only to find out that they had been delivered fuel that contained ethanol. I was short on time and I filled up any way. It was a bad idea. I put my motor back on my boat and filled my gas tank with fresh pure gasoline. I took it to the river and launched. My motor was running better but it was still not up to par. I was concerned. Once again I discussed the problem with my colleagues. Gary Flipin suggested using high octane gasoline. Gary maintains several rental boats and he said that he had experienced the same problem and had switched to high octane (93) pure gasoline and the problem had gone away. The next time that I filled my tank I bought high octane pure gasoline. The improvement was instantaneous. My engine is now running at peak performance and I am much more confident in its general operation. I have since learned that there are additives (made by Stabil) that you can add to fuels containing ethanol that will overcome its problems and help the engine run properly. They are available locally and cost about twenty dollars for enough additive to treat three hundred and twenty gallons. I have not tried any of them. I will take a more conservative approach and will try to only run pure high octane gasoline in my motor from now on. I think that I will also buy a bottle of the additive to use if I get stuck with some ethanol fuel. If you are experiencing any problems with your outboard motor check the fuel that you are using. A change to better fuel may cure your problems. John Berry (870) 435-2169 berrybrothers@infodash.com www.berrybrothersguides.com

Heck Sean, I was thoroughly entertained by your stories about the crab boats, your insight on the show and it's characters and the boat tour was awesome! Pics and my attempt to describe it all fell short of the thrill of actually being there. I knew even though we had 19 hours of daylight, the day was too short to cram everything in. The fishing, the cruise in and out, the seals, the banana trees, fishing, the crab!! and the company and stories were more than anyone could have asked for. I don't see how we could have done more! I didn't share everything you told me about some of the cast... interesting stuff though. There's always next summer!! Thanks again Guff.

Steve- thanks for the report. But have to correct you on one thing. Generation has not been full blast. At four full units the level would be about 712 ft. and it's been about 705-6 at best. Yes they are running 4 units but only about 40%. Don't mean to be critical at all... just don't want to give some the impression we're at flood stage. I agree, it is hard to wade and fish below the dam with any water running at all. Thanks again for the report!

I don't know if there's a difference between shooting and running lines. Here's an image I drew up of the rig. You cast it upstream and hold the rod high, then dropping it as the rig sinks, then following the fly with the rod. You have to be careful not to get ahead of the fly or you'll drag it. At the end of the drift, I usually hold the rod low and pointed downstream till I can't feel the bottom anymore. Of course there could be varied conditions that would require modifications to the drift. Just like any new technique- the more practice you get the better you are. I've been using this technique for about 22 years mainly on the Pere Marquette River in Michigan, where I first learned it.

I'd bring it. It gives you more options.

I've gotten out several times over the last 4-5 days. Back when the water was down and they were running "fish water" last week, I boated up to Lookout and fish both sides of the island using my shooting line and caught rainbows on a red san juan- best fly. Dropped down to the narrows and did real well doing the same. The current was perfect for using shooting line- perfect presentation. Again, stopped at Fall Creek and fished the channel shoot on the east side and did ok. Fished yesterday with John Johnson from Kingfisher, OK and friends. Boated to the dam in his boat and fished white 1/8th oz jigs and caught some real nice rainbows from the cable to the island. A couple pushing 18 inches. All were good looking and fought pretty hard. Caught others downstream but not as big. This morning I boated up to join the guys. Brent jumped in my boat and we drifted from Lookout to the narrows, first the shallow side using a red san juan under an indicator and caught a couple. Then drifted the other side and caught a blue gill on a stimulator. Then we worked 1/16th oz sculpin jigs and caught several rainbows- small. Boated to the cable and started throwing white jigs again and caught several rainbows, not the big ones though. I drifted a natural bead using a small split shot and caught 4 trout, one brown. Caught a rainbow spewing eggs just before putting on the bead. Earlier in the morning the guys caught a smalley, a kentuky, a white bass and a crappie on jigs at the dam. I have no idea why they continue to run the water all day like this. I'd think they'd start conserving since Table Rock is now below power pool- regardless that Beaver continues to dump it's water. ????????? But didn't see any browns below the dam, nor did I see any jumping. Not a good sign for the brown run. Not a good sign for our hatchery and harvesting eggs this season. Guys are catching rainbows from Fall to Short Creek on night crawlers.

Sounds like Crane has recovered well from it's drought/flood events. That's great!

Where is the bridge pic?

Do you have a phone number? Seems like they'd be better off with emails or... maybe... a FORUM?

Not sure. Haven't had time to mess with it. Will go into that account, if I can remember the user pw, and see if I can change it back. No big deal.

Last time I checked it it was 59 coming straight from the dam. It won't go down till Table Rock turns over in December.

Brad Wright was experimenting and tied a jig the night before the big day. Knowing that the trout bit on cracklebacks and woolys, he thought a small jig made with both a tail as well as hackle palmered on the body would work. It was a rainy, foggy 40-degree Wednesday morning with winds blowing out of the northeast and no water running. He started about 7:20 in the morning by outlet #1 with a rapala. “I jerked and twitched, jerked and twitched, and nothing ever bit,” he said. He switched to the jig and float. First he tried the jig with six-pound line on his spinning rod, then switched to four-pound spool with two-pound tippet tied past the indicator. On the first cast he caught a rainbow, about 18 inches long; consecutive casts yielded another rainbow and then two or three browns, approximately three pounds. He then re-tied his knot to the jig and continued casting. On the second or third cast, the big bruiser hit, taking off downstream. As Brad followed, he slipped and fell onto a big rock. “I lost my footing and my right elbow hit on the rock – but I didn’t drop my rod.,” Wright recalled. The fish continued its run, and headed right in front of a man from Kansas. As Wright was regaining his balance and in pursuit, the other angler called out,”Son, do you know how big this fish is?” About 10 pounds, Wright ventured. “Try doubling that,” the man replied. The race was on. After a joint downstream, the fish led him back upstream past outlet #2 and to the far side of the lake. Before catching up with him, Brad managed to fall several more times in his pursuit. He and the fish were all the way past the cable when the horn blew, warning that generation was starting. Once the whistle blew, to Brad’s surprise, the fish headed back downstream. Wright knew he had to get back to the hatchery side of the lake and at that time the fish had reeled off over 80 yards of line. As the water level rose, he started across, bobbing up and down trying to keep his feet beneath him. Suddenly the big brown made a beeline for a log just below the first outlet and stopped. At that point, Wright and the onlookers who had been witnessing the chase for and hour and a half, gathered around. Brad wanted to see where the jig was hooked now that the brown was resting. Positioning himself over the fish, he put his hand into its mouth; he could see the jig was caught between two front teeth. Later he surmised if the jig was anywhere else the 2-pound line surely would have been cut. With his other hand he grabbed a gill plate and slung the huge brown onto dry ground. Brad took the brown trout up to Angler’s Archery for Chuck to inspect. Unofficially it weighed over 26 pounds. Chuck, after looking up the current world record for 2-pound line, told Brad he needed to take it and get it officially weighed so off they went to Consumers grocery to be weighed on one of their meat scales. By the time it was weighed on the Consumers grocery store official scales, two hours had elapsed. Wright figures the fish probably actually weighed about 30 pounds right out of the water. After it was all said and done, Brad’s brown trout is in the record books as the biggest, recorded fish caught on 2-pound line in the world. The fish was mounted and now is on display at Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Missouri. View full article

I've joined the MAC ranks. We now have 3 mac's in the family/biz. I bought a Mac Pro last week and just got my cs4 web software today so I'm loaded for bear. But it's tough getting used to the different way this works and acts. One thing is finding/saving/moving files around. Explorer was easy. I understood c:/ drive and the filing system. Mac is difficult to read, IMO. I've connected my 2 screens today and having alittle trouble keeping them inline. One screen wants to bleed over into the next. The curser in the corner to change apps is a pain too. Gotta find a new way. I have to go to the right screen and upper right corner and that's along way to go if you're working in the left screen. Any thoughts?

I've joined the MAC ranks. We now have 3 mac's in the family/biz. I bought a Mac Pro last week and just got my cs4 web software today so I'm loaded for bear. But it's tough getting used to the different way this works and acts. One thing is finding/saving/moving files around. Explorer was easy. I understood c:/ drive and the filing system. Mac is difficult to read, IMO. I've connected my 2 screens today and having alittle trouble keeping them inline. One screen wants to bleed over into the next. The curser in the corner to change apps is a pain too. Gotta find a new way. I have to go to the right screen and upper right corner and that's along way to go if you're working in the left screen. Any thoughts?

Gavin is right. Kings are hard to find and will cost you big bucks. I like sockeye best but it's hards to tell the difference between sockeye and coho.

WOW- if you like fish straight from the source- you gotta jump on this! Awesome price too. Sean is the guy I got to go out with and fish a bit in Bristol Bay this summer.

Branson is always .15 to .30 cents higher than surrounding areas. We try to buy gas in Springfield as often as possible.

Is this statutory rape??? This is a forward I got today. Off color- yea. Funny- yes. Cure your boredom?

You're killing me here.

I didn't say it was coming.... it just hasn't come yet.... IF it comes. I would think so BUT you never know after such an unusual year.

Jon- we have a rule. You have to type more than one word to start a topic. Unless it's a word like, "fishon!!" or something like that.