Phil Lilley

Horsepower limits have been discussed for years on Taney but it's not going to happen... Missouri Water Patrol is on this lake may be 30 days a year and even then it's a courtesy run up and down the lake at best. As mentioned on the board in the past, it's not the speed that kills, it's how you operate the boat at low speeds. Know your boat- know your wake. Know what it does it certain situations and don't take chances. But enforcement is most of the issue of changing the laws, just like in game rule changes.

I'm in the process of getting my OUPV license to guide in Alaska this summer. I went to St Louis today to hand in my application and other paperwork (listed below) in hopes to get approved to take the test by May. I was told it may be longer. So I'm regrouping a bit- checking my options. Here's what it takes... Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) "6-pack" 1. Completed application with oath 2. Yes, on application explanations 3. Proof of Citizenship Social 4. Security Card 5. Finger print (Done at REC) 6. First Aid and CPR with in one year 7. Three character references 8. Physical exam with hearing and eye test 9. SAMSHA Drug test or enrollment in drug testing program 10. Certificate of Completion (with one year) 11. Sea Service forms (total at least 360 days) Wanna become a guide? You simply apply by submitting a complete application, once approved make an appointment and take the five exams. Rules of the Road is the first exam and it is a closed book requiring 90% correct. The other four are open book and require a 70% correct for passage. The tests are nothing short of HARD! Rules of the road cover lights, flags, ship movements in and out of channels... not just on bass boats but on freighters in major rivers. Who is required to have a OUPV license? Anyone who guides on most Corp lakes in Missouri, including Table Rock, Taneycomo and Bull Shoals. There are 2 types on OUPV licenses- local waters and inclusive. Inclusive means all inland waters and out to 100 miles off the coast. That's what I need. Bill Babler is a Captain... is there anyone else?

WINTER DRY FLY? BY JOHN BERRY Winter has finally arrived in Cotter. On Friday, I guided for ten hours in the cold rain. We caught plenty of fish but the rain never let up. On Saturday and Sunday the rain continued turning the local rivers and creeks into a muddy mess. By Monday and Tuesday, the temperatures had dropped into the teens. It was overcast with no hint of sunshine and the wind was howling out of the West sending the wind-chill plummeting into single digits. On Wednesday, the sun peeked out and the temperature climbed to a balmy forty three degrees. The rivers had cleared up and the winds had lain down. I called the dam and noted that the Norfork had been turned off. I could not tempt Lori to leave the warmth and comfort of the house. She gathered up a good book and her beloved cats and settled in for the day. I was getting a serious case of cabin fever so I called my fishing buddy, George Peters, to see if he was interested in going fishing. I caught him in the middle of a complex legal case and he was all too willing to take a break from the tedium. We tossed our gear into the back of his Suburban and headed for the Norfork. When we reached River Ridge Road and saw the Norfork for the first time it seemed high. The further we drove upstream toward the Handicap access the lower the river looked. The water was a little stained but appeared to be quite fishable. There were several anglers gathered there but they seemed to be more interested in talking than fishing. I looked up and saw a bald eagle circling overhead. I knew instinctively that this was a good omen for the day’s fishing. George and I watched it in awe for a while and then quickly threw on our waders, carefully rigged our rods, and walked up into the Catch and Release section. We were the first ones there. George stopped in front of Charlie’s and I continued on up stream. I headed straight to my favorite spot. I tried several flies before I settled on a size sixteen olive scud. I was nymphing a nice deep run and I took several good fish. The trout were feeding well. The high water of the previous month had left them in good shape, fat and sassy. They all fought well. I moved around a bit, fished several spots, and tagged trout everywhere I went. George took several trout on a small midge. When that slowed down he changed to a size sixteen parachute Adams. This was no real surprise. I looked in his fly box one time and saw that it was the only pattern he carried. He fished the Adams and took a really fine nineteen inch female rainbow with a substantial girth. He moved up stream a bit to try another piece of water. He spotted a good looking current thread and put the perfect cast into it. The fly headed downstream in a perfect drag free float. After a few feet it picked up some drag and sunk. George was about to pick it up for another cast when he saw a silver flash near where he thought the fly to be. He instinctively set the hook. The fight was on! Since he was fishing 6X tippet he took his time and played the fish carefully. The trout was fighting fiercely. I was fishing a nice run a couple of hundred yards upstream and noticed the extreme bend in his rod. About that time, I hooked a fish myself and had to concentrate on the task at hand. After landing and releasing my fish, I looked up and George was still fighting the fish. Another angler had walked up and was watching the struggle. I called down and asked if he wanted a photo (I always carry a camera). He yelled back yes that he had a big one on. I scrambled over to him and took several photos of the trout. It was a twenty one inch, vividly colored, hook jawed, male rainbow. George carefully revived and gently released the big fish. We fished for a while longer but that was the fish of the day. We headed back to the car. As we walked out I got to thinking should that fish be considered to be caught on a dry fly? Technically it was. On the other hand, it was not on top of the water when the fish took it. Should I be worried about that at all? Or should I just be impressed that George had tagged a good one. Maybe I should just be glad to get out of the house and appreciate a good day on the river after what seemed like a long time. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, AR, Trout Capital USA, and can be reached at http://www.berrybrothersguides.com .

If you've heard of or have a fishing event anywhere in the Ozark's area, please post it here, no matter how big or small. It helps everyone know what's going on and give some of us an excuse to get out of the house and do something! Bass Clubs Trout Clubs Fishing Events Tournaments Benefits

See BC's post.

Very nice blog- like the fishing best and the pics. That little brookie is beautiful! I've been trying to talk MDC into stocking brooks here on Taney but they won't have it... grow too slow and hard to get/raise... but we could talk about that forever. Welcome!

I drove over it this afternoon- looks like it's in great shape.

Thanks Ken. You done good.

One of my kids must have restarted the computer... I just started it up again. But it's dark now.

Great crowd and very good presentation by Micheal... sorry I had to bug out early.

These are the first pics of Capps I've seen, for sure on the website. Thank you very much for sharing them guys!!!

The water is going to be running everyday so you won't have any problems getting a boat to the dam, unless the policy at TH doesn't allow it. The outlets are the best. DD can stir you in the right direction if you're going to meet him there.

Are you talking about Ft Smith, Arkansas? Beaver Lake is the nearest, I think. But someone closer to Ft Smith may have to answer this one. The best thing to do is to hire a guide to show you around.

1. Go to http://ozarkanglers.com there's a link on the home page. 2. http://lilleyslanding.com and look under marina. 3. Yes, the rates are listed on our site. Thanks for asking.

Jim is looking into lights but the problem is current. The camera is now at the end of a cable dangling down in the water. With all the debry drifting down like limbs and trees, one can catch the cable and bring the camera up. Also there aren't many fish under the dock like there are when there's no generation. But we're working on some ideas.

I'd fish from either corner at the cable from the shore. Both places- you can fish effectively with jigs and small crank baits. Not sure about fly rod. We carry bunnies, double bunnies and white woolies.

Hats and stickers at Lilleys' - yes. No patches- sorry. If you know Vince at the fieldhouse, I left some stickers in his office.

After the report of shad being seen below the dam, I had to go out and see for myself. I put the boat in at the dam and boated to the cable. Is there shad? Yes. What I saw- 4 shad on the surface and another being gulped by a trout. First fish I caught... I was against the bank on the south side of the lake at the cable- parked in the eddie... was a 2-pound white bass. I thought, "oh boy- supper!!" and then I remembered we're going out this evening. That's ok- only caught the one so I released it. I got several short bites there and caught one small rainbow- left and drifted down throwing the 1/8th oz white jig. Caught a couple more rainbows but by no means did I tear them up. Back to the cable and the north side at the cable. Fish were more active there but still no hookups, only short bites. Drifted another 3 times to the boat ramp and boated 6 rainbows, one in the pic. Had a hold of a larger rainbow, very fat, and lost it at the boat. Here's what I think- there are a few shad coming thru the dam. I don't think they're making it down very far before getting eaten by the gulls and fish. And there's not enough to cause a big feeding frenzy... one like you'd expect during a shad run. But I think it will happen- I think we'll see shad for a few weeks and fish will get accustomed to seeing shad and eating them. I think the fishing will get real good and stay hot for the next couple of months. White bass- it's not unusual to see whites, blacks and even crappie close to the dam in certain eddies during hard, continuous generation. This especially occurs when the flood gates are going.

Thanks for posting... I'll have to look for your son playing ball. We try to go to as many games as we can. Thanks for participating on the forum. Hope to see you here often.

Spring River, Current River, Eleven Point I think.

Oh my... I'll have to go fishing today. Last... hard to say but it could last quite a while seeing the conditions: very cold and lots of generation. I've seen it last thru March into April and late as the first of May.

Take a look at OzarkHunters.Com- the logo is a link at the top of this page. There's info on hunting on Taney there.

A few but not many.

We may work something out... email me.

None that I know of. Some people want you to think there's only trout here... but not true! Bass (blacks, kentucks, smallies), blue gill, crappie, cats, whites and more.