Phil Lilley

I would think with high water for the last few years and minimal fishing pressure, BS should be fishing quite well.

I changed the font - this looks to be the darkest, boldest. I applied for a phone app (invision). Never saw this option before. Might be interesting.

I think I increased the overall font size. See if this made a difference.

On your phone or computer?

Ads - they're all over my screen. Played with the settings a long time ago, then tried to dial them back because it seemed they were overbearing. I seemed everything I tried I couldn't get rid of most of them except turning them all off. I don't think I'm making any more money by having them all up... I'll try to get rid of some of them again and see what happens. I could try to change the skin... This was a "major" upgrade with lots of new additions. But I should have learned... if it's not broke, don't fix it. It was fine the way it was. But I can't go back now.

Yes I have... no big ones.

Anyone else? Not sure I can do that from my end.

Unedited... I wanted to get this out because there's some interesting info about small rainbows and the shocking survey from last night. I may add more and of course, some might be edited after Marsha gets through with it Generation has all but halted on Lake Taneycomo this week, something we haven't seen for a couple of years! With no flow comes the new reality of what the lake now looks like at low water... and it's changed quite a bit. We have noticed that the lake seems lower than it used to be, but again, it's been a long time since we've seen this and ALOT of water has gone over the dam in those 2-3 years. It's changed the bottom in many areas, especially in the trophy area. Just below the dam, the gravel has moved down and filled in holes. Runs have moved, changed. It's changed where fish hold. It's changed how anglers fish the wading areas below the dam. But more thing has changed -- the trout today are much bigger and healthier than they've been in many, many years. The channel at the Narrows is much narrower and not as deep. Some of our guides have said they've hit bottom trying to go through. There's a big gravel island at the Narrows too - one you can get off and wade from! The gravel is covered with algae but it's also full of bugs - sow bugs, little worms and scuds. There's sculpin all over the bottom too. Pondweed. It's an aquatic vegetation that grows all over our lake in the summer. It's a real menace on the lower lake, choking off docks and banks. But up here, it houses tons of bugs and small fish. Lately, we've seen quite a few small rainbows. When I say small I mean 3 to 5 inches long. These trout are full finned, beautiful colors, and appear to be naturally spawned in the lake, not stocked. There's been some discussion on this, guides, locals and conservation experts. One thought makes sense. We've had a good, natural spawn this last winter/spring, which may or may not happen each year. Because of the additional pondweed in the lake, especially in the trophy area, these rainbows have survived being eaten and are thriving. Thursday night, Missouri Department of Conservation officials performed a shock survey in which several boats shocked, took measurements and released fish in the upper lake. One thing they found is when they shocked the pondweed beds, it would light up with small fish - rainbows, chubs, sculpins and other small forage fish. Oxygen readings since the water hasn't been running have stayed well above 6 parts per million which is good. Fish are fighting real well with no signs of faltering. But we have noticed with people who use live wells that don't keep the water running all the time on their catch, those fish die pretty quick. Keeping trout out of the water for a long time will stress it to the point it will not survive release. Please don't ~Catch, Kill and Release~. Be very careful with your catch if you want to release them. Cut the line if the hook is buried in the fish's mouth. Handle them with a wet hand or a wet cloth, if you have to handle them at all. There's been a lot of algae break off the bottom and float to the surface. We see this every year about this time. It can be a pain to fish through but it doesn't hurt the fish. We've noticed with rainbows have sought the cover of this stuff and take midges off the surface right in the middle of it. We've been catching these feeding trout on several small lures under a float any where from 6 inches to 5 feet deep. I've been fly fishing and using Zebra Midges, size 16 in bright red and green, the P&P (primrose and pearl), brown and even white. The olive micro jig has been working good as well as the Berkley Pink Worm. Use 2-pound line for the best effort but 4-pound line is good. Our water clarity isn't the best since they aren't running much water. Night crawlers are still king of the big trout and the hot area is from the Riverpointe Estates boat ramp to Short Creek. Use 4-pound line, a small split shot and a #8 short shanked, bronze hook. I'd put the shot about 18 inches above the hook and use half a worm, hooking it one time in the middle and inject a little air in the worm using a syringe. This will float the worm off the bottom. With the water off, we're throwing 1/32nd ounce jigs using 2-pound line and doing pretty well working the jigs close to the surface, especially during low light times - early, late and on cloudy days. Dark colors are working the best - black, olive, sculpin, brown and combination colors. Keep switching till you find the one they want. View full article

Had one issue so far... repaired. Any more? Let us know.

You guys did good. Don’t get off track

I read where there were lots of sinking on lakes all over today... guess the big boats weren't nice to the little boats.

With the O2 levels dipping this time of year, it may not survive a fight. Depends... if it was a short fight and stayed close to the outlet - may be. I've been getting anywhere from 4.7 to 6.5 ppm which isn't terrible. But I haven't been up close to the dam with the water off this year and taken any samples.

The restroom at the MDC Cooper Creek ramp is open. It's a vault, not flush toilets. Maintained by a different division of MDC though.

It's MDC. The visitor center is closed. Has been since Covid. I'm sure that's why the bathroom is closed too. Risky cleaning after people, you know.

If there's a need for a new forum I'd gladly add it.

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday. This had all of us amazed. All up and down at least the upper lake, scuds were swimming from bank to bank, from bottom to top. Around the dock they were solid. This morning there's about 10% of what we saw yesterday around the dock but still swimming at all levels and not just at the dock - out in front of it too. When the water came on yesterday, of course most got sent down lake but the ones in the pond weeds stayed. That's where we've been seeing scuds and sow bugs along with small worms. The weeds are loaded with them - and of course the weeds are thick throughout the lake. Be interesting to see if they are thick down by Rockaway beach too. I'd imagine they are. I've heard stories how the scuds were back in the late 60's and early 70's... this must be like that. I'm sure this is cyclical but it would be nice if we saw this more often. I posted a short video on the resort FB page of sow bugs just laying on the moss bed at the Narrows the other day. Thousands of them laying out exposed just crawling around. I need to get up and do another video of underwater feeding.

Would love to hear about your fishing opportunities... upper state has some great streams. My son lives north of Boston... as his kids get bigger, we will take some trips fishing. North NY isn't that far.

The Branson Firefighter's Association Benefit tournament returns on August 22nd! Proceeds go to local firefighters and families in need of emergency help with living expenses, medical bills and funeral expenses. It also aids visiting firefighters who find themselves in an emergency. The entry fee for each 2-man team is $75. To register, simply call our office and pay your entry fee via credit card over the phone. During last year's tournament, Gerry Dwiggins caught the monster brown trout pictured above. View the Flyer Official Rules I Can't Make it to the Tournament. How Can I Support the Cause? A big part of the fundraising at the tournament is the raffle held after the weigh-in. This year our big ticket item is a monster! For a $10 ticket, you can enter to win a custom built spinning rod by legendary rod builder Mike Riffel valued at $250 AND a full set of Duane Doty's Signature Series jerkbaits valued just over $250! We also have bulk discounts for anyone who would like to purchase 3 or more tickets. Click the link below to purchase your tickets online! Buy Your Tickets! If the winner is not present at the tournament, they will be contacted on Monday, August 24th. If they are not able to pick up the prizes, they will be responsible for shipping costs.

It happened! Generation at Table Rock Dam on Lake Taneycomo was shut down Monday morning at midnight and left off for 11 hours! That means we had no generation for the morning, and I found trout fishing pretty good. I think this could be our new generation pattern at least for this week. And as Table Rock and helpfully temperatures drop, this slow down will keep going the right way. Table Rock is now below 917 feet, only two feet above its seasonal power pool , but Beaver Lake is four feet high and dropping very slowly. I fished early Monday morning, boated to the Narrows and found the water level about what it should be with no generation. And there was just a little bit of current, just as I like it. But the trout there weren't too interested in taking much of what I was offering. I did catch a few nice rainbows but nothing like I believe it will be in a day or two. It usually takes our trout a day or so to get used to a "new normal" in regards to changing generation patterns. They have to find their niche, and when they do they'll start feeding normally. I did catch rainbows on a #14 tan scud (Hunt's perfect scud) as well as a #16 primrose & pearl (P&P), both under a float about three- to four-feet deep. I saw other guides faring much better than me using a white thread jig under a float. I did throw a jig but had no success. I visited with someone today who said fishing for his party from the Lazy Valley dock had been exceptional this year, catching quality rainbows on night crawlers. That's been the best bait by far -- good ole worms. And now that the water isn't running in the mornings, it's very important to inject a little air in the worms to make them float off the bottom. Our water is still very clear but I think using four-pound line for most things is still okay. But later in the fall, we usually start going to lighter line and tippet... just not yet. I was excited to report dry fly fishing was very good in the mornings with one to two units running -- but that's changed. I will continue to try different dries to see whether I can establish a new pattern. We'll see. The rest of my report would only be speculative. I would think fishing a pink worm under a float would work in the mornings, but that remains to be seen. View full article

Thanks for sharing. Was wondering how the river was doing.