Phil Lilley

Here's a bit on youtube that gives this service credibility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_Rc06s2g4

Boy that's some clear water!

Signed up with this group today. I've looked it over and like what I see. All I ask is that you add this site to your travel selection of sites.... expedia and such.... and compare rates. Take a look at some of the packages. If you're flexible and can plan last minute trips, there's some incredible packages here. Seven Day Cruises, if you leave this weekend, for $149. Chris, the guy I signed up with, did say there are fuel surcharges and fees added to each cruise but still there are some great deals. I booked a flight this evening on my own site for my son's return from Boston for Christmas. Cool stuff! Get a commission on my own travel.

Gotta jump in here. I'm not going to micromanage this forum BUT the rules clearly state that members are to respect each other. Unfortunately, I see more and more rude and personal comments by the same people, old and new alike. Some are clearly instigators and others react. I think there's been some good points brought up in this thread, good ideas for the most part. But I would suggest do the research, give references to what you're saying and quit the personal stuff.

Free parking at Bass Pro's dock at the Landing. Food at Cooper Creek and our place. Candy bars and drinks at Scotty's. May be more- not sure.

Today?!?!? I knew I should have went fishing!!! DD- call me next time you go and have room.

Sorry about that Kelly. That's terrible no one helped. The waders who make that judgement... "should have gotten out when you had the chance" don't reallize the lake can go from 705 to 703 within 10-15 minutes and with wind and other distractions, getting caught up there is pretty easy. How did you guys do? Sorry I didn't get together with you guys while you were here. My mistake.

I see a very strange thing happening at least on Taney. Yes the water is warm (around 60) and I'm know the DO levels are low, which is normal for this time of year. But most of the rainbows we've caught the last 2 days have fought very well. Actually I was surprised how much some of the 15 inchers fought- making 2 or 3 runs, taking up to 2 minutes to land. Didn't have any problems releasing fish either- all swam away fine. We are fishing 1.5-2.5 miles below the dam. Maybe that makes a big difference... not sure. Saw Duane guiding yesterday in that area and he said they'd had a great day. Maybe he can speak to how his fish fought. But all in all, I thought our fishing was good Saturday and Sunday. I am disappointed not to see more 15-inch-plus rainbows after a summer with running water all the time. But after such an odd year, I'm not complaining.

Since the high water in the spring, I have been concerned about the lack of what I would call good midging by our rainbows here. Most mornings, days and evenings when the water was either running slow or not at all, rainbows would be dimpling the water's surface all over the place- out in front of the resort, really all over. I hadn't seen that until this weekend. Fishing last evening around the narrows above Fall Creek, I pointed out to my buddy Ray how many dimples we were seeing- there's were dozens of rainbows feeding at any one time. Great site. The midges were really coming off thick most of the afternoon and the trout were responding to them in a big way. Good to see.

Orange Soft Hackles #16 and #18's $3.50 / dz This fly- another no name. #10. I only have 10 of these. $2.50 for all. #16 cream loop wing. 24 count. $4.00/dz This is an olive green body, the pic looks more like light green. #12. 18 count. $4.00 for all. This is a royal coachman. #12 and #10's. I have a bunch of each. $3.50/dz Parachute Adams, orange. #18. Only 12. $3.50 for all.

What you didn't like my sucker pics.......

Have to check that prop!!! Great advertising.... There's a reason Scotty's limit where their boats to some areas of the lake. We're not that smart.

Another nice evening today. Took Ray again up to the great wall and started stripping soft hackles, #18 black, and worked the mid to shallow side all the way down thru the narrows. Didn't leave the boat this time. When the wind would die, I'd switch to a scud or a zebra but never did as well as staying with the soft hackle. The wind would kick up and die- we'd do the best when it blew. Nothing huge but consistently in fish.

Could you tell if they were rainbows or browns?

First batch sold to Rusty. I found more natural beaded hare's ear. #8's. I have 24. $3.50/dz

Water off yesterday and today in the afternoon. Nice. Windy and cold today but I used it to my advantage. Boated up to the "great wall" about 4 yesterday and took the boat to the shallow side where rainbows were midging like crazy. The great wall- below Lookout- the wall is the block wall constructed this summer on one of the lakeside homes in Pointe Royal... can't miss it. Wind put a good shop on the surface- perfect for stripping soft hackles and that I did. Caught 8 very nice rainbows in short order. Had a couple over 16 inches. Fought hard too. Got dark and headed in. Today I took a couple of friends to the same spot but this time we got out about 2:30. Not as productive as yesterday so we went back down to the narrows and fished there. We fished soft hackles (black #16's)- short, fast strips were most affective. Wooley buggers in dark colors, #12's, I used an olive #10 pine squirrel and caught a couple, #16 black zebra under a float 6 inches did ok- was surprised it didn't do better under those circumstances. The soft hackle produced the most trout- all rainbows, most 12 inches with a couple about 15 inches. We fished almost the whole flat till dark. Good times! Did catch this on a #16 mink scud- this guy fought the hardest of 'em all.

We sell gas without ethanol. I bet most marinas sell it if they can get it.

How Many Dogs Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb? Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb? Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code. Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp! Rottweiler: Make me. Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark. Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please! German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation. Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture. (how true)! Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb! Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark. Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. Or "We don't need no stinking light bulb." Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares? Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle... Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

Harvey Ragsdale and I are having Wapsi die up some pine squirrel skins - PURPLE!! Should be just the ticket for night fishing. They will come already cut. I can get crosscut pieces done too I'd imagine. $13.95 each. Can ship. Am taking pre orders right now. Should have first shipment in a couple of weeks if not sooner.

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!