Phil Lilley

The weather outside looks... very nice, and it doesn't look like snow (no white Christmas). Alittle turn for the colder and maybe a bit of rain but all will be good on the lake this weekend. For those hitting the water over the weekend, and it looks like alot of you are by our reservation books, fishin's great! No it really is! Late December is typically a really good time to trout fish on Taney because fishing pressure has been lite, very lite and MDC still keeps putting rainbows in. Well someone does- I think Neosho has been contributing to their promised quota (6-8 inchers). But there's plenty of bigger, Shepherd rainbows out there. Weather has been mild, slight breezes make jig fishing very easy and that's what I'd suggest. An ultra lite with 2 lb line and a handful of jigs can make a great day on the water. Bend the barb down so that releasing all those trout is easier- on you and the fish. Use a float and fish 4-5 feet deep with a dark colored jig (brown, black, sculpin) or a micro jig in olive or sculpin. Throwing without a float- 1/16th oz when the water if off- let it get to the bottom before working it but pay attention to it dropping- half the time you'll have a strike before it gets there. Work it slowly back in, don't get in a hurry. Bait- same stuff. Power eggs and night crawlers. 2-4 lb line best or a tippet tied to the end. Use as little weight as possible to get it out... you'll feel the bite quicker and the fish might now swallow it as bad. Flyfishing - zebra midge wherever there's midging going on, 2 lb line under an indicator 18 inches deep. In shallow water, set the fly at 12 inches or less. #12-14 gray, brown, tan or olive scuds fished close/on the bottom above Fall Creek to Lookout either just off the bluff bank, in the channel or up on the flats. Below the dam, thread midge #20-22 blood red, brown... scuds #20 gray, brown, olive... egg flies, very small in size drifted or "puff ball" eggs, beaded under an indicator 3 feet deep... woolybugger #12 olive or brown... crackleback #14 brown or white... small zebras #18 or 20, red or black... soft hackles I'd say are #1 if there's a chop, #16 red or black. Night fishing below the dam - varied colors of woolies, black, brown, purple, olive, white... cracklebacks... streamers... leaches... crank baits worked slow on the surface. Christmas- Jesus was born to a vigil, the Holy Spirit moved over Mary and impregnated her with His seed. He was born fully man, and fully God. He lived, loved, taught and healed. He gave Himself over and was sacrificed. He was dead 3 days. He overcame death and rose from the grave. He is now alive and is the only way, hope and life we have in this life. It is not a fairy tale... if it is guys, we are all in alot of trouble. Because without the salvation Jesus offers, we have no hope, no peace... nothing to live for.

MOBass has it pretty much. I think the diff is in the stripping technique and how you treat your fly/tippet. If you fish it dry only, you greeze the heck out of you tippet and fly and if you don't, you can treat accordingly. I've had some people show me they use what I would call a crackleback with a bead, stripping it or even dead drifting it with or without an indicator.

ok- it's not playing. I'll try to improve the link. JIM!!

Looking at it again it appears the bottom of the lower jar broke away, probably was born with it because it doesn't look like it's torn. I wouldn't call it a second mouth- if it was me.

A rainbow trout fished out of Holmes Lake in Lincoln, Neb., on Dec. 17, 2005, features a double mouth. Clarence Olberding, 57, of Lincoln, wasn't just telling a fisherman's fib when he called over another angler to look at the two-mouthed trout. It weighed in at about a pound. Olberding, who plans to smoke and eat the fish, said the hook was in the upper mouth, and that the lower one did not appear to be functional.(AP Photo/Submitted photo, Charrye Olberding) Story taken from Yahoo

Going to try this... not sure if you can download it or listen to it from here... but it's worth a try. It's too big to attach so here's the link- http://ozarkanglers.com/kadi.mp3

I have a story - I hired a guide in late winter on Beaver Lake once in hopes to get my dad into some hot action- whites were our target. We pulled back into a cove, water was 40+ feet deep; the guide has his depth finder on looking for schools of fish. We were idling along when he said, "there's some fish, oh, they're crappie." I asked how he knew which he said they were in a tight, dense ball. OK... I took his word for it. Not long after we saw another group of fish- he said they were whites. I didn't see alot of difference in the "balls" of fish. We hurriedly dropped our spoons and started jerking. He said he needed to break them up and we did eventually. Then he said we needed to keep them broken up or else they'd go back to the ball and not feed. We each hooked a white at one point and all were out of the water for a couple of minutes. They went back to the ball and that were it. No more bites. I have heard of "old-timers" who live on Long/Cricket Creek that catch crappie all winter long. they must have the touch- and time.

Oh boy.... thanks for the warning!

Zero- none that I know of. I'm working on one but it's down on my list. I do have some online... http://lilleyslanding.com/lt_maps

Go to or call the hatchery. 417-334-4865, dial 0 for the operator. Ask for John, Brian or James. I called them yesterday after a guest just came from outlet 2- he told me there were 2 anglers using bait from the bank below the outlet. I talked to John- he went down and talked to the guys (they were using scuds, spin gear). John called me back inside 20 minutes and reported back to me. I call Quinton first. If I don't get him, I call the hatchery. The hatchery personell have responded everytime I've called. They can't write a ticket but they can, as an offical, tell them what the rules are and that they can have an agent there in ?? minutes... it's done the trick every time for me. Best to get as much info as possible- description of person(s) and if you can identify a vehicle, lisc # and make/model. Make sure they're doing something illegal... snagging in the outlet- the agent has to 100% sure that's his intentions cause it's hard to prove in court otherwise. But I understand what you're saying about that- I hate it too.

Vince and I used to stop below Truman and catch a limit of crappie every year on the way back from deer hunting in north Missouri. We'd hunt alittle in the morning, throw our gear in the truck and high-tail-it to Warsaw. Every year we were never let down (by the crappie, the deer are a different story). We have close to 2 limits by dark and be on our way home... slabs and tenderlion! The Bait Station is the only place to go for tackle and advise. They have always been helpful on every trip. I've invited them to be apart of the forum... let's hope they will take up the offer.

Brad is married and living in Oklahoma. He's helping his parents--they are up in age and need his help. He's doing well. Brad's still ting flies for us.

Some of the guides here use big, semi-v aluminum, camo boats- there's alot of boat manufacturers making them now. Lots of room, will go shallow enough to get most places on Taney and can put a jet on one and not have to worry about most gravel bars. They'd do fine on a big lake too. http://www.landauboats.com/ http://www.wareagleboats.com/ http://www.seaarkboats.com/

Sculpin recipe- Hook: #6-8 streamer hook, heavy stock Lead eyes: medium plain 7/32 oz Material: zonker rabbit, saddle hackle Thread: Wright's clear or smoke mono (Wal Mart or Lilleys) Cement: Sally Hansen’s Liquid Hard as Nails How to tie: Take zonker strip and make sure hair lies down (toward tyer’s off-hand). Trim off hair to leave only skin. Hold about a half-inch strip and stab hook in the middle. Place hook in the vise and pull the zonker back. Start thread, making sure zonker strip is not passing over curve of hook. Wrap down toward the back of the hook then back to the front to lock it in. Take black marker and run down back of zonker strip. Run thread back to top of eye. Take pinch of dubbing, just something to anchor eyes in with. Apply to the hook as shown. The eyes should not be too close to the eye of the hook. Use crisscross pattern to wrap. Post it in back then come to the front and post it in front. Apply Sally Hansen’s cement on top of the eyes and work it in. Be careful because it’s a little runny. Wrap dubbing around and over the eyes. Apply dubbing till the head is full and tight. Anchor on with crisscross pattern, pulling extra dubbing out. Now your head is dubbed in. Run thread back down to end. Next take a strip of bunny,tie it in and while angling it downwards to your off-hand, palmer it up the hook. Keep pulling the bunny fur back as you wrap it on. Pull it tight before you cut it off. Lay on grizzley hackle and wrap towards yourself, pulling it tight. Turn hook upside down in vise and wrap five or six times. Then return to upright and wrap again. Whip behind the eyes and clip it off before cementing head but right side up and upside down. Here's a live sculpin, taken out in the lake close to outlet #1.

It'd be cool to identify the strains of rainbow in Taney- I've pulled a few pics of rainbows caught. they are taken at different times of year so colors will vary.

It's a tough job- finding fish for you- but we'll sure do my best.

Hey Russ- did you notice I added your home waters to the forum??

"I Fish; Therefore I Am" by Patrick McManus at Amazon.Com

When I got there, I saw 8-9 spread out down to Big Hole. When I left I saw only a couple. The water is dark, stained. It's very hard to see fish. They are dark to match the water and bottom... the males are very dark. There were a few beds above #2 in the shallows with rainbows on them. I saw one big brown above #2. I could have fished a crackleback or soft hackle the whole time and done well but wanted to experiment. Using the jig was alot of fun. I used white because I could see the jig.... see it disappear into the fish's mouth. Other dark colors, I would have had to go on just feel.

Vince and I drove to the dam and fished a bit this afternoon. He fished a #18 gray scud mostly and caught a fair number of rainbows above outlet #2. I played around with several flies- a #16 brown crackleback drew lots of attention and a few hookups. Best strip was downstream at about 45 degrees and short, fast strips, pausing every 4 strips. I took my ultra lite spin cast rig with 2 lb test with me- tied on a variety of colors and sizes of jigs and did best on a 1/32nd oz white jig. I'd throw it across stream and work it- hoping it off the bottom. The trout would swarm it but wouldn't really pick it up... but a few did. I caught a couple nice rainbows, working my way down to #2. About 4 they blow a horn and the water started to rise. I slipped down below #2 and threw the jig as the water got faster and faster. I caught a couple more rainbows and then a very nice brown about 18 inches. I played alittle in the outlet before heading home. I tried to run the jig down the floom of the outlet without the jig getting to the bottom. I could see rainbows taking the jig but I wasn't fast enough to set the hook before they let it go. It was interesting. Guests caught alot of trout off our dock today. I saw one guy throwing a small jig and doing very well... but mostly they were using power bait.

Looks like they're drilling a new well and installing lines- sewer and water.

Priceless... having an agent within eye-sight when someone blows you off for trying to help. That's the best story I've heard in a long time... thanks!

Elmer Boswell Memorial is our oldest going tournament- 23 years? I'd have to look. If you have 10 guys, you could have your own contest. If you need someone to officiate and weigh in your fish, let us know - we can do that.

I used to go crawdad'in many years ago in a couple of coves on TR at night- took the kids and flashlights and caught a tons of big ones. We would throw out fish guts earlier in the day and would have lots of them swarming the piles that night. We'd either gig them or just pick them up by hand. I know there's a few people who set traps for them off docks- State Park is a great place to set traps if you can get permission. Is there a bad place to find them on TR? I don't think so. May be larger rocks close to the bank would be better than pea gravel. The only problem with setting traps is that they get taken if found by fishermen or other trap setters. Don't know the law on it- you may have to put your name on the traps and not leave them out for more than 24 hours without checking them- like a trot line. I'll ask.

Shad die because of cold weather/water on lakes- it's a natural occurance. But it depends on how cold the water gets. Some winters it doesn't get cold enough to kill many shad- some winters alot of shad die. I've heard the temp has to drop below 42? but I'm not sure. For shad to flow thru the turbines at Table Rock Dam into Taneycomo, they have to drift near the intake at 130 feet deep. There have been winters where there's dead or dying shad all over the lake's surface but nothing comes thru the turbines because they aren't getting deep enough. Why? I have no idea. One thing that helps is alot of heavy generation, creating a current in the lake pulling water down to 130 feet. This winter we have had cold enough weather to have a shad kill but hardly any generation and no hard generation- so far. Rain would help- and more cold weather. So to answer your question- it could happen anytime (but doubtful) and I've seen shad come thru the turbines as late as April.