Phil Lilley

Redirect... I did talk to my guy in the biz about that. I need to do something - you're right.

Yea - I just quit keeping it up when I started posting "Articles" on the forum side of the site. And yes it's time consuming double posting, twice, to get it both places. And I feel bad about it too. http://ozarkanglers.com wordpress site is a great site and setup well I think. I've been thinking about it lately and am at a loss to what to do about it. I keep thinking I'm going to do more with OA but just don't have the time. Right now I'm building a new site for the resort using Wordpess/Elementor. I've learned a lot and it's pretty easy - almost done too. Facebook is also kicking OA's butt. I can't compete with that. I've even given into the FB monster and neglected to post on my own site. I'm sure there's a way to combine it all and make it easier... but ultimately it's time and know how I lack. If anyone has any ideas I'm always open to suggestions.

This is the same post I made last month. Just spreading it around and pinning it.

Email from David Pitt: We've added a new feature that will notify you, with a text message, when water generation changes up or down... Text "w table" to 913-270-0360 and you will be texted current generation when release/discharge changes. You can still text "g table" and "s table" to get current and scheduled generation. It supports all tailwater's on the white river system, bull, beaver, littlered, norfork, and more... Here's a web site with more documentation on this utility. Feel free to share. https://keyholelabs.com/convo/cfswater Thanks, David Pitt

That area is ok to fly... but I can't fly it here at the resort any longer without going through a bunch of permissions. Because of the C of O airport. What a pain!! I should fly and video that area. Good idea!

wow

I ventured up to the dam this afternoon, not by boat but by truck. I put on my waders and fished below the dam for the first time in, I think, over 2 years. I don't like crowds, and it's too easy to hop in a boat and have tons of places to fish verses putting on waders and be limited to where I can walk and fish. So, I had not seen this area with no generation in a long time. It's changed. For those who fish up there, this comes as old news. But there's a new chute to the middle of the "lake" beside the flow at rebar. It's wide and shallow but deep enough to hold fish. The flow at rebar might be half, and according to some, doesn't hold the fish it used to. I fished the new chute. Have no idea what to call it. Does someone have a name? Rebar, Jr. Anyhow, I walked to the bottom and drifted several sizes and colors of scuds and caught 5 rainbows, nothing big at all. But did see some nicer rainbows and 2 big browns. The browns were moving all around and were hard to get a bug in front of. Outlet #2 is super shallow. I saw that when I was up there Monday night fly fishing. Seemed like the flow was less too but that might be because the water fans out so bad instead of being funneled down. Gordon Proctor must have gone down and moved some rocks around. Yes, there's a story there. Crowds weren't bad at all. And yes, I think I won't wait 2 years to go back.

Shane is a good friend. He has always been attentive to what I have to say - and all others in the room. I know A.J. Pratt and a few others. They've always been very helpful when gathering information on different fisheries. I know I'm not going to get everything I want here on my fishery. I've asked, they've listened. What I have seen in the 35 years here is that the guard changes and so brings in new ideas and a changed directive. May be it won't happen in my lifetime but that don't mean it will never happen. In the meantime, I think we have one of the best conservation programs in the country - not perfect - but darn good. And well funded. Better hope that never goes away too.

I'd like to get over and fish one day and stay into the evening but I can't do overnight. May be, may be I can drag DD over. He planned a hunting trip the week before I think and I have a guy coming in from GA to teach a spey clinic the following week. Plus we have a major remodel job on a unit at that time which has a limited window to get it done. December is supposed to be our down time, to rest after a busy season but it never works out that way. Gotta get things done while we can. But would love to get over and see everybody. We'll see if we can make it happen. DD thinks you guys only love him for his walleye fillets...

Spoke to Duane today. Neither of us are going to make it this year. Too many things on the books. You guys have a blast... hope for decent weather.

Considering all things, I don't think you can ask for better fishing conditions on our lake this fall. Lake Taneycomo, a tail water, is subject to low oxygen conditions because it is a tailwater. We get our water from the depths of Table Rock Lake where the dissolved oxygen bottoms out this time of year. But when the water is run through Table Rock Dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers adds liquid oxygen to the water in the turbines, bringing the oxygen levels up to fish-livable levels. But in our present case, our lake water continues to register at high levels of oxygen. Just today we measured 8.0 parts per million -- which is incredibly high. Our water temperature remains low, which is also helpful, at 53 degrees. The other thing to consider is generation. For fly fishermen who like to wade and fish below the dam, this fall season has given them just what they love - low water conditions. They've been seeing many trophy browns - and rainbows - and they've been hooking a few of them. Personally, I don't venture up below the dam anymore to wade and fish. The main reason is that I don't like crowds. I take the option to boat to where I want to fish and thereby find good numbers of trout of all sizes to catch . . . without the crowds. But if I did, I'd fish this way: My friend and fellow fly shop owner, Tim Homesley, drives over from Crane and his home water, Roaring River, and fishes our tailwater several times in the fall season. He likes to fish the "skinny water," which is my favorite, too. Rainbows especially hug the banks with their backs out of the water sometimes, digging in the gravel to pick up a bug or two. Casting a small sow bug or scud, even a big mop worm or mega worm, and working it in and around these feeding rainbows will catch them. These trout are typically veterans, too, full of colors and larger than the young stockers just arriving on the scene. In the past, I know anglers have scored big browns and rainbows stripping soft hackles and cracklebacks well below the hatchery outlets and below Rebar and the Chute (below the Missouri Department of Conservation boat ramp) where the current is still moving from the area but is slower, not calm. If there is a breeze and a chop on the surface -- better yet. And then there's the streamers like sculpins, Hybernators, leaches, woolly buggers and Pine Squirrels. Strip these in the bigger, deeper pools out in front of outlet #1, the pool below outlet #2 and from the Rocking Chair down to the Chute. Is it time to go to 7x tippet? Maybe. I did for a little bit last month, but our water seems to have some color to it now, so I've gone back to 6x fluorocarbon, and it's worked pretty well. With the leaves dropping pretty fast now, we're starting to fish the Zebra Midge under a small float 12 inches deep and targeting midging trout around the leaf clusters on the lake. There's something about these leaves that attracts fish -- whether there's bugs on the falling leaves or midges that attach themselves to the leaves before flying off. We're doing this about any place on the lake right now, especially towards evening time. I've been fishing with a scud (fly) a lot this week and doing very well! So much so that I videoed some of my fishing and posted it to show exactly what and how I was catching rainbows. We've been throwing 1/32nd-ounce jigs with two-pound line and catching some good fish around the dock and up lake around Short Creek. Sculpin/ginger or brown/orange with a brown head best colors. If you're using four-pound line, throw a 3/32nd-ounce jig instead. We've had some requests for fly tying demonstrations, so Duane and I did a few this morning and posted them. Bait fishing, for whatever reason, has been slow -- not terrible -- but slow. Anglers have had to work to catch them off the dock, but there have been spurts where you'll have a bunch biting, and then the bites will slow down. Again, two-pound line will catch more fish, especially if you're fishing with a night crawler or Powerbait. Air-injected night crawlers have been the best though. View full article

What are you trying to find, Dan?

Email from David Pitt: We've added a new feature that will notify you, with a text message, when water generation changes up or down... Text "w table" to 913-270-0360 and you will be texted current generation when release/discharge changes. You can still text "g table" and "s table" to get current and scheduled generation. It supports all tailwater's on the white river system, bull, beaver, littlered, norfork, and more... Here's a web site with more documentation on this utility. Feel free to share. https://keyholelabs.com/convo/cfswater Thanks, David Pitt

Our flight was pretty much full... but I'm sure the tourist travel to Iceland will slow down very soon.

Ice caving today. It was cool in more ways than one, but after it was said and done, I'd say the company needs to do a better job of letting clients know the risks. Our guide, a nice guy - common sense kind of guy - only does this part time. The last time he'd done a tour was 2 weeks ago. These caverns are created when small lakes form on top of the glacier, then gets flushed down through a hole made at the bottom and then out the side or end of the glacier wall. These "caves" don't last long. The collapse due to melting. And if you were in or near one when it did... you'd be dead. The guide was spooked, especially when we walked over to a water fall that was up in a small cavern (no pics, just a video). We had to walk up into a cavern, not a cave, but the walls were high and there were chunks of ice dangling above our heads. About the time we got up in there, he was telling everyone to turn around and head out. Of course, not many paid any attention. Standing out where it was "safe", he told me 2 weeks ago the wall of the glacier and the water fall was 10 meters closer. In another words, the water fall had moved, and lots of ice had fell and melted, more than 25 feet. Walking back to the bus, the guide said he wasn't coming back again this year... it was too dangerous. He didn't think the cave would last much longer. Another little thing that happens - when these "lakes" drain out, they usually drain out all at once causing a flash flood. Depending on the size of lake, the river of water could be substantial. Last year, a flash flood cut some tourists off from their bus for about 2 hours. Not sure I want to be in that business...

OK... I checked on a fishing trip for Friday. Not many outfitters fishing right now I guess. Contacted a couple and they said season was over for them. Last one said it was "prime" for char on the Varma River between Hella and Reykjavik. Said they could pick me up in Hella, where we're staying tomorrow night, and supply waders, equipment and license for 1190 Euro. I'll let you google what that is in the usd. I said no thank you.

Yes we did. $600 non stop out of St Louis. Not bad... Greg was searching google flights the other day and said we could fly to London for $100 round trip from here if we wanted to... Not this time.

They do charge for all plastic bags... like in grocery stores. Good idea

All heating here is from geothermal water. It's pumped in and runs through radiators in each room. Hot water is also heated by the same. All electricity is generated by geothermal too

This is a headwater rivers runs into one of the largest lakes in Iceland. I saw 30-36 inch Brown’s everywhere spawning. No fishing. Area is protected.

What do you think of when someone says you’re going to Iceland? My wife, son and sis-in-law planned this trip a year ago and here we are in the middle of a ten day tour. Spent 3 days in Reykjavík. Fascinating city. Almost every building is made on concrete. Got in the country yesterday. Wasn’t what I expected. Rolling plains with mountains always in view. Lots of sheep and horses and few cattle. Farms are large and spread apart. Good road system. Climate isn’t far from ours. A little less daylight right now. Language is very difficult, both hearing and reading. But almost everyone speaks English too. This is a headwater rivers runs into one of the largest lakes in Iceland. I saw 30-36 inch Brown’s everywhere spawning. No fishing. Area is protected.

Made it down to beautiful Lake Taneycomo over the weekend October 10-14. Overall I felt fishing was a bit slow compared to my last fall trip I made down catching numerous browns. Made the best of the weekend with the rainy and chilly conditions we had. It was mainly cloudy and rainy the whole time we were there. Didn't get skunked by any means but had to work a bit for them. Didn't see a whole lot of rods bent during the trip either especially the combat fisherman at war of Outlet 2. Only managed one brown while I was down out of all the fish we caught and the rest were bows. We got to the parking lot of the darn most mornings around 5:30am and the amount of cars in the parking lot day and night was absolutely crazy! Managed to do some night fishing as well and caught a few on white woolybuggers, red leaches, purple and black pms and green mega worms under an indicator with a glow stick. The biggest numbers came on the green mega worms during the day. Also caught fish on midges, scuds, dark brown san juan worms, tigertails, egg flies in pink and yellow. All in all was fun to get away and down to stand in the water for a few days and chuck a fly rod. Tight Lines! View full article

I'm not sure what's going on with you guys but it's annoying. Seriously.