Phil Lilley

We saw a few shad Saturday when they cranked 4 units. It's a good start. Fish are not keying in on them yet.

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The weights at our tournaments this winter have been low. Some have blamed low water, fast water, cold water... who knows for sure. But I'm going to step out and say that may be the fungus that attacked our trout in the fall has taken a toll on our big trout. Time will tell. Note - 2nd place finishers fished "up" and weighed in 3 rainbows over 20 inches. But their trophies didn't weigh over 2.5 pounds each which is unusual for a 20-inch trout. The brown, as well as most of the larger rainbows, were caught mainly on jerk baits, either casted or drifted... or even trolled. Also scuds were used to catch bigger rainbows too. We did see some threadfin shad in the lake yesterday while the water was running. Not many... and I did try a white jig and only got a couple of short bites. But our water is now 41 degrees so I'm sure the shad are dying on Table Rock and it's only a matter of time we start seeing more come through the turbines. Problem is, with warm temps coming and low lake levels, we may not see much generation in the near future.

They dropped the flow to 2 units. I went back up and tried the same sculpin jig - no bites. Missed 2 drifting a #14 scud.

Well I just got back from the dam... threw a white jig and only had one bite - a little brown. Disappointing. 4 units running too. But it could be the day. Switched to a sculpin jig and caught 2 rainbows. Better but not great. Made the trip - my mic shut off in the middle of the run up there! So I have to go back out and do it again. Darn. Only 2 units are supposed to be on this pm. We'll see if that makes a difference.

I finally did it! Thank you to all of you who donated to this essential cause here in our part of the country. We use food as a tool to influence our neighbor's lives in helpful ways, building relationships through monthly distributions throughout Taney and Stone Counties. Polar Plunge Donor Link- http://weblink.donorperfect.com/PolarPlunge2025

I'm jumping.... 1:30 I'll video with the gopro and post it.

DJ, Blake and I set a new One Cast record today. Landed 22 trout. 49 minutes.

I want to find a real looking set of small hands and sell them as a fishing staple! Great idea.

There's some that have jumped and still 2 groups have not. I have not... I'm still collecting funds. Almost up to $3,000. THANK YOU!!! I will jump next week sometime. The water temp has dropped from mid 50's to mid 40's!

Did you book a room? No charge... just need to take it off the books.

Jerk baits.... probably. Early and late, or if wind is blowing like crazy

If we run out of smaller units, I'll discount them down for, say, only 2 people.

It's the weekend of January 31- February 1. But not limited to Friday - Saturday. Come early and stay late. 50% off all rooms, stalls and boats for those participating. When calling for reservations, just say you're attending Taneyfest.

With the mild temps, not much generation is expected. Maybe some early in the mornings. Come with 2-pound line and small jigs - should be pretty good. Throw them straight or under a float. Black is making a comeback... black/brown won the tournament Saturday I'm told.

Fishing buddies are hard to lose.

I was rooting for the Ravens.... I think the chiefs will have a harder time with the Bills.

The call where the 2 defenders collided over Mahomes... the ref called it from his vantage point. He saw and heard helmets collide although he couldn't have seen the actual collision. You don't call it if you don't see it? He did anyway. The defenders did lead with their helmets though. I'm sure that has something to do with his call too. The camera had a better vantage point.

https://bbc.com/future/article/20250109-bigmouth-buffalo-the-mysterious-fish-that-lives-for-a-century-and-doesnt-decline-with-age?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

I like it

My fishing forecast for Lake Taneycomo is fairly positive for this new year, thus far. The lake seems to be full of trout, the water is pretty cold and the color is good. Generation patterns -- those are hard to predict! Table Rock Lake is at power pool so there is plenty of water to run on cold days now, and that's exactly what has been happening. On cold days, operators are running medium water (about 6,300 cubic feet per second or two units) in the morning, dropping back down to one unit in the afternoon. On warmer days, they're running a little in the mornings and none in the afternoons -- or nothing at all like this last weekend. The things that are standing out in my mind are white jigs, #10 gray scuds and jerk baits. When the water is running, Guide Steve Dickey shared with that he was drifting #10 gray scuds on the bottom as his best producer. It's unusual because #10's are a big fly, much bigger than the #16's and #18's that have been hot. We've been throwing white or white/gray jigs from the dam down through Fall Creek and catching some nice rainbows and a few browns. The smaller rainbows don't seem to want white jigs, although the small browns that were stocked this last fall do! And jerk baits are working well early and late in the day. And if you're a hardy soul and can fish at night in the freezing cold, some are catching some nice trophies anywhere from our place to the dam. With our rainbows starting to drop eggs, an egg fly, combined with a scud, has been working well, drifted on the bottom --or if the water is off or running just a little bit -- under a float has been working as well. You can also use a zebra midge under the egg fly if using a float. The miracle fly, which is an egg fly tied on a small jig hook, works for this application. I'd recommend a two-pound line if using a float and four-pound if drifting on the bottom. On warm, sunny days, we're seeing big midge hatches all over the lake. A 1/50th-ounce jig or zebra midge under a float 18 to 36 inches under a float will work when the trout are rising to midges. Again, two-pound line is best. Our trout do seem to be pretty aggressive so far this winter. They like to chase. Working a jig fast, close to the surface has shown some good success. Also I've noticed that some of our guests have been throwing spoons off the dock and catching quite a few rainbows lately. View full article

I was told MDC is still trying to recover some of those trout and get them back in the hatchery. Not sure how... netting or shocking? Taney was short last year in their stocking numbers and it looks like we'll be short again with this hatchery down.

Thanks for taking us on your adventures!!