Phil Lilley

A much better quality video can be seen on my facebook page.

Pics-

Not the best quality, esp on the images. But we had a grand time together. "> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"> A much better quality video can be seen on my facebook page.

Generation began this am on Taney and it's still running. It may be because Table Rock shot up almost 3 feet. Regardless, it's cleaned out alot of the dirty water on the upper lake. Not sure how fishing was today. Was running around in town and down to Bill's today.

I've never heard about the taxi- it is a great idea!!! I might even have to explore the idea. John, you should have Gary email me- I'd love to promote his place here on OA. I've been in his shop but never introduced myself.

Got out and fished yesterday from about 1-5 pm with Tom Burckhardt from St Charles. He's one of our tournament buddies. First we fished from Fall Creek to Short Creek, working both jigs on the bottom straight and jigs under a float. Didn't have much luck with the float but did catch a few on straight-lining... but it was slow. Tom and the other 2 guys, Bob and Gerry Dwiggins, also from St Charles, did well in the am in the same areas but the pm was slow. Quite a bit of boat traffic- not horrible but enough it may have kept the trout moving around. Tom and I boated up to Andy's (lookout) and started there on the second drift. No water mind you, just working the trolling motor. We did much better and as the sun dropped below the trees, it got good. Didn't find a special color- I caught rainbows on white, olive, sculpin and purple. Tom stuck with sculpin/little bit of ginger and did better than I. The best was working a jig under a float there at the last 30 minutes of the day- they wouldn't leave it alone. Tom ties a scud of sorts on a 1/80th oz jig. Dubbed body with a pine squirrel tail, brown head. He isn't a fly fisherman at all but is a very good jig fisherman. I've seen this pattern but Tom proved to me it's something to seriously experiment with in the near future. He used it under a float. Water yesterday- lower section was colored. I could see a jig 18 inches down. At Lookout - 30 inches. But it will change today- they are running water as I type. Not much but it will push clear water down the lake. How far is yet to be seen. I did see people catching fish on both gulp eggs and night crawlers below Fall Creek. It wasn't hot but at least they were catching some for the dinner table.

Saw them up there yesterday.

From the forum or OA in general? OA's format makes it difficult to place ads on it. The forum, there's one at the top of every page. It's not dominate- it could stand out more I guess. I do appreciate suggestions- thanks.

and... it depends on color and grade.

We probably use this technique with a spin rig more than a fly rod. The rods are usually at least 6 ft and ideally longer. 2-4 lb line. Jig size depends on water conditions. Water running, heavier jigs. 1/32nd with water running. 1/50 down to micros for not. I use carrot floats for most applications. I do have an article on jig fishing someplace on this site. Babler has a jig and float rig someplace too. May be he will find it and post it.

Just what I heard. Water cleared up kinda at Fall Creek up at the end of the day. It will be better tomorrow. Bill may not report so I'll do it for him. They did well using sculpin micros under a float and they threw a purple 3/32 oz jig and crawled it on the bottom. Did the best from Andy's past the tennis courts mid lake. At Fall Creek, clients came in off the lake and said they did well using night crawlers just below the line. Down in this area and lower it was slow. Did have a nice smally come in. A gal caught it below the resort, released it at the dock. It was about 16 inches, 2.5 pounds. Not sure on what.

But is it a new problem?

After the rains yesterday, our lake is pretty muddy. But they're still catching trout. In our area, off our dock, it's slow. Up towards Fall Creek it's better but no fishing reports yet. Up further in the trophy area it's much better. Babler was out and they caught alot of rainbows on jigs. I'll let him do his own report. Fly and spin fishing below the dam is good. Report of anglers doing well using sculpin 1/80th oz jig with an orange head under an indicator very good in the MDC boat ramp area down into the KOA area. Water is clear up there. Not supposed to run water today but the clear water will gradually move downstream today. If they run water tomorrow, the water will clear quickly.

They closed the ends. No canon because the herons can't get into the stock pens. I tend to agree- there are alot of herons but in the end it's MDC's call.

I would think if fisheries in AR and MO thought that herons were a problem they'd create a season and put a limit on them. I wonder what the reasoning is behind the season and limit on Sand Hill Cranes are in Kansas?

You can take grayling- there is a limit. You can catch them on small spinners and I'm sure jigs. Rainbows same- jigs are real good (leech imitation). Fishing on your own- that depends on how much water you want to see. Yes you can get along fine on the Naknek after a day or two of guiding but that's all you'll see - is the Naknek. I know you're used to big river and fast water being on the White. The nakenk is much faster and shallow in the rapids with big boulders... you can get in trouble in a hurry if you're not experienced. I found using a jet on this water is challenging too. I've been in some scary situations on this river. Let's just say I would be very choosey about who I'd let take one of my boats on this river, esp down in the rapids. I find that most people who make the trip to AK want to see as much different water and scenery as possible and that would take a guide... unless you're very adventuresome.

I'll take that as a compliment.

I posted all of Leonard's flies on our e-store last night. Click the LilleysTackleStore icon and click Leonard Keeney. It should bring them all up. I still haven't gotten his jigs up yet.

Paul is correct. I believe Shepherd will become, if it's not already, one of the premiere brown trout hatcheries in the country. They also do alot of work with hellbenders there.

By Phil Surratt BDN Staff Writer psurratt@bransondailynews.com http://www.bransondailynews.com/story.php?storyID=9871 A year ago, Shepherd of the Hills fish hatchery took on a new look with the addition of a state-of-the-art brown trout rearing facility. The operation now allows the Missouri Department of Conservation to raise thousands of brown trout annually. But in the first year of operation, the facility hit a few bumps in the road. Coldwater Hatcheries Supervisor James Civiello said high water in the spring and elevated water temperatures caused some problems. “This year, water temperatures got up to 66 degrees and that increases the number of parasites in the water. That, in turn, causes fish loss,” Civiello said. About eight thousand gallons of water a minute comes into the new facility from Shepherd of the Hills rainbow trout hatchery via Table Rock Lake. “We had a bit of a struggle dealing with the warm water but we got around it,” he said. Civiello said the new facility is a step up in the department’s effort to grow more quality trout, not only for Lake Taneycomo but the region’s other cold water fisheries. “The design is great. We put in 12 new rearing raceways and several intermediate raceways as fish get larger,” he said. A big addition to the new rearing facility is a fish ladder — a concrete stair-step from the river to the hatchery — and big browns are finding their way home. Civiello said it is natural for brown trout to return to where they were hatched and the ladder makes it easier for them to get back. “Over the years, I’ve found that a fish ladder is very important to good production,” Civiello said. “We got a very good return of 3-year-old broodstock. In three egg-takes, we got 300,000 eggs. It worked just the way we designed it,” he said. The early life-stage of a brown trout can be touch and go. At a critical time, fish need to be protected from disease. Civiello said incubation goes well, but when the fish hatch, they go through a life-stage called the sack fry. “That’s when they have the embryonic sack they absorb. In that life-stage we cannot treat for parasites because you kill the production,” he said. Civiello said they lucked out and had more fish available during this past year’s spawn. “We took another spawn and moved those eggs to another building, which is protected from high concentrations of parasites,” he said. Systemwide, the conservation department wants to increase brown trout volume by 20 percent. Approximately 700,000 rainbow trout are released into Lake Taneycomo each year. The number of brown trout is around 10,000. Other hatcheries in the state are being renovated to increase production capabilities, as well. Renovations include the addition of liquid oxygen to help trout grow faster. The new Branson facility has allowed Civiello to spread out production and create better fish quality. Other state hatcheries will also benefit during times of drought and poor water quality. Shepherd of the Hills will be able to provide fish to keep their production numbers up. The last renovation at Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery was back in the 1970s.

Great!! We need more fish pics on the forum!!! I can't even get Babler to post any of his bass pics...

Bill- is that number right? It's a 417... that's not KC.

Just wondering- how many people listened to this audio file? Was it helpful? Did anyone have a problem with it?

Very nice- we have another AK guide on the forum. We welcome your knowledge and experience- look forward to seeing what you have to say. What lodge did you guide for?

JS- I always enjoy your posts...