Phil Lilley

The rain, this rain, has pretty much stopped so we can now tell what may be in store for the near future. The Corp's rain gauge at Table Rock says almost 4.5 inches. TR's lake level has risen 912.3 to almost 916 and rising rapidly. I haven't heard from the Corps - they usually send me an email if there's any chance of flood gates. 920 feet the usually the magic level when they kick open gates. They ran 1 unit all night-- it's moved all the crappy water at least by us. Lake looks real good this morning. New Video:

All caught on a white Mega Worm.

Super. My cell is 337-4130. Call me in the morning and I'll head over there. Thanks!

Is there anyone from Branson area heading over to fish Saturday morning? Looking to get the fish scales and some food over to the tournament. Wish I could attend... too many things going on Saturday. Thanks

I've pinned this topic for future use.

Branson TU Chapter Meeting set for next Thursday, April 27th at 7 pm - Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery Visitor's Center. Come with ideas to raise funds to put a coldwater tank in a Branson public school classroom - students will help and watch trout hatch from eggs, grow to fingerlings and then released in area waters. http://www.tu.org/TIC

http://www.boatwise.com/oupv6captains.html There is a limited 6-pack (what most of us have) too.

Biggest thing is insurance. I may be wrong but most if not all insurance companies won't insurance a fishing guide unless they have a 6-pack license with the USCG. That, of course, is on waters that require a license (most Corps lakes). Overkill... yes! They could do better to fashion a course/test/requirements around what a guide would face on Missouri lakes. Drug testing is nice - and required by the USCG.

PLEASE REPLY BY FRIDAY, APRIL 21 – if you are later than that, please still respond as this letter will continue to grow. We are going to do an initial release of the letter early the week of April 24. Hello, Missouri supporters of wild Alaska. I hope you are doing well these days. The angling and hunting communities – from catch & release fishermen to big game hunters, and makers of fly rods to firearms manufacturers – has been long engaged in the fight to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska from the proposed Pebble Mine. I have worked with the sporting arm of the Bristol Bay campaign for about a decade now on this fight. We need as much or more backing now than we ever have needed, from Alaska, coast to coast in the Lower 48, and beyond. Please read on and send me your OK to add your business or group as a signer to the letter. Thanks! Well, here we go again. Below you’ll see our new Bristol Bay / Pebble Mine letter, addressed to President Trump. As one of over 1,160 sporting groups and businesses who’ve joined forces to protect Bristol Bay, I’m hoping that you’ll continue showing your support via this new letter. The themes are largely the same as they’ve always been. · Unique ecosystem producing the most wild salmon on the planet · Incredible fishing and hunting opportunities that attract anglers and hunters from around the globe · Economic powerhouse based on the fishery producing $1.5 billion annually and supporting 14,000 American jobs · Pebble is simply the wrong mine in the wrong place – there is precious little room for error in Bristol Bay. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Pebble Limited Partnership have extended the stay in their court case until May 5. They are attempting to reach a settlement of the case which has tied up the Clean Water Act common-sense proposed restrictions on disposal of mine waste in Bristol Bay since late 2014. A settlement could result in EPA withdrawing those proposed restrictions, allowing Pebble to consider applying for a permit without those restrictions in place up front. Pebble still needs to bring on a major partner (or multiple partners) to advance the project even into permitting probably. Permit applications would set off years of environmental impact statements and all that process entails, including multiple opportunities for public comment. The merits of the argument that have carried us this far still are more than valid. We are asking President Trump to stand with American anglers and hunters, allow the best science to guide any decisions regarding the future of Bristol Bay, and ultimately to stop the Pebble Mine. One major ask in this letter is that even if the Clean Water Act proposed restrictions are withdrawn – at least the multi-year study known as the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment should be retained to inform future decision making. If you have any questions, just ask. Otherwise, simply respond to me affirming your continued support by having your business included in the list of signers to this important letter. Thank you so much for all the past and ongoing support. We’ll keep at this until we achieve our goal. Scott Hed Director www.SportsmansAlliance4AK.org scott@sportsmansalliance4ak.org 605-351-1646 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ April 24, 2017 President Donald J. Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500-0001 Cc: Scott Pruitt, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency Ryan Zinke, Secretary, Department of Interior Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator from Alaska Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator from Alaska Don Young, U.S. Representative from Alaska President Trump, As organizations and companies that represent millions of sportsmen and women and outdoor enthusiasts across all 50 states we write to ask you simply to stop efforts to develop the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. For many of us, stopping Pebble Mine is and has been a top priority for our organizations and our members or customers for more than ten years. The late Senator Ted Stevens called this project “the wrong mine in the wrong place.” For over a decade an unprecedented coalition of native tribes, commercial fishermen, anglers and hunters, conservationists, religious groups, restaurateurs, jewelers, investment firms, and outdoor enthusiasts have been fighting this foreign-owned mine proposal, and have worked to gain protections for the Bristol Bay region. Millions of Americans eat, fish for, or make their living off of Bristol Bay’s wild salmon. Our voices have been and will continue to be loud and persistent. Over 1,150 sport fishing and hunting groups and businesses have asked for Bristol Bay to be protected. Hunters and anglers were strongly represented in the over 1.5 million public comments asking the federal government to shield Bristol Bay from the dangers of the proposed Pebble Mine during the multi-year Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment and subsequent Clean Water Act process. This transparent and participatory process resulted in the set of common-sense restrictions on disposal of mine waste that any mine development would need to meet if it pursued construction of a mine in this incredibly productive and valuable place. Bristol Bay supports one of the planet’s best remaining salmon fisheries, which at an average run of 37.5 million fish, produces 46% of the world’s sockeye salmon. On top of the incredible number of sockeye salmon, the watershed supports Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, rainbow trout, grayling, and char, all of which are prized sport fish that result in more than 29,000 fishing trips per year. In addition to world-class fisheries, the area is also home to high densities of brown bear, moose, caribou, waterfowl, and ptarmigan that attract hunters from around the world. From an economic perspective, sportfishing, hunting, and eco-tourism alone generate more than $160 million in local economic activity, creating nearly 2,500 local, sustainable jobs. In contrast, Northern Dynasty Minerals, the foreign-owned company behind the Pebble Mine, would create only about 1,000 temporary mining jobs while threatening 14,000 American commercial and recreational fishery jobs in a $1.5 billion annual salmon fishery that can last indefinitely. We are concerned over reports and speculation that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Pruitt is working to settle an outstanding lawsuit with Pebble’s promoters. Alarmingly, we are hearing that such a settlement could involve tossing aside not only the work done under the Clean Water Act, but also the entire contents of the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment (BBWA). The BBWA is the scientific record and a sound basis for making informed decisions on the future of Bristol Bay. It must remain available to guide and inform regulators who will be tasked with reviewing permit applications if submitted. Protecting Bristol Bay puts Alaskans and Americans first. Dismantling the work done by the EPA, erasing years of study to show what makes Bristol Bay unique and how the risks to it from mining of the type and of the scale being proposed would impact the region, and completely disregarding the majority opinion of Alaskans, as well as the myriad sportsmen and women from around the nation…that’s putting foreign corporate profits first. Simply put, places like Bristol Bay are increasingly rare and extremely valuable. Millions of our members and customers across this country are counting on you to stand with us in stopping this mine in this place. Respectfully, Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska - Hunters and anglers working together to preserve fish and game habitats and hunting and fishing opportunities on our public lands in Alaska sportsmansalliance4ak.org

He's also going to build a new lodge on the edge of the sinkhole at Top of the Rock. Arnie's Lodge.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/04/18/s-official-tiger-woods-coming-branson/100589216/

Don't worry about the locals... good reports spread like wildfire and with Facebook now, you know there's lots of pictures of whites being posted. Thanks. I love to go up there at night and fish from the bank for whites. Wish I had time.

Interesting... thanks.

You were fishing that deep or fishing shallower in that depth of water? Interesting the difference there and Sons where we were yesterday. Course there wasn't ANY water that deep in Sons unless you ventured out towards the main lake.

I'd say they were close to 1/32nd or smaller jig heads. Used a round 1/2 inch hard sterifoam float (we sell in my shop) but any small float will do. I use a 5 wt DD used a 6 wt rod. Regular leaders. Using 4 pound line for tippet. DD was using a larger float for a while... till he about killed himself trying to cast it. Use as small of a float as possible to float the jig. Throwing a bunch of weight with a fly rod can be dangerous to your fellow boater.

We were hoping!!!

Good one!

Boat or bank fishing? Boat - read my report. I don't think you'll have trouble finding fish, esp with minnows. Bank- I think you can find them by the ramp at 39. Walk down and bank - lots of wood.

Caught some stinkin' bass trying to catch crappies yesterday... man they're a pain! Spinner bait fishing sounds fun though. Thanks for posting!

Duane and I launched at 39 bridge yesterday at 6:30 am. We had no idea what we were doing really. Last time we'd been there at Sons Creek was 5-6 years ago. Water was probably 4 feet lower and it looked different, of course. Water temp was 63 and it was dirty. We were the first ones at the ramp which was a little concerning. Excepted a mad rush to the crappiethon, from the reports we've seen and heard. We started there... but had no confidence after 30 minutes of no action. I think we did catch one keeper on down the bank. We kept moving pretty fast, fishing both sides since it was so narrow through there. Finally had some company but they all boated past us so we got the hint. The water did turn from brown to green about 3/4 mile from the ramp. We moved around some. Picked up one crappie here and there. No pattern. We were throwing small swim baits and jigs along the bank and around wood. If you've never been there, it's WOOD OVERLOAD! At one point, we made a move mid morning, out clear of the wood field and fished a rock bank, then the flat side along a tree row. We found out later that some guys caught them good in the pole timber there. We went back in Sons and fished the opposite bank of the ramp. Finally found a pattern we stayed with and caught our limit. We fished out from the bank no more than 10-12 feet, but started real close to it using our fly rods and a Bobby Garland tiny jig heads (I'd say 1/32nd ounce) and a black/pearl blue tiny body (Duane will have to fill in the blank cause I don't know what they're called). And under a float 12 to 18 inches. We caught them around wood best but caught them ramdomly too. Didn't catch many shorts and most keepers we didnot have to measure. All males but 2 sows with eggs. They did like the steeper bank vs the more shallow, gravel bank but most of that bank is steeper. I think we were sitting in 8-10 feet of water most of the time. Water temperature was 70 when we left at 3:30 pm. We saw a few guys catching but most seemed like they were moving down the bank and swimming something. We didn't catch anything swimming... all were on the float and (this is important) we had to leave it 20-30 seconds before they bit it, most of the time. They didn't want it moving. They guys we saw catching were either fishing with a float or vertical jigging.

Another way to look at this - and I bet everyone would agree. If you put it on a rope stringer, it's yours. Don't pull one off for a bigger one because you know it's not going to survive if released. So, the question is now - do you make culling ok for livewells and not stringers? How about chain stringers? They're better than rope. And would an ice chest be considered a livewell? You might see where I'm going with this. If you allow culling outside of tournaments, then you'd have to figure out if and where to draw a line. Surely you would not be allowed to pull fish off of a rope stringer to add a bigger fish. Then there's enforcement and court cases. I think it's better to draw a clear line and say "no culling".

Just saying... that's what the code is. An agent would have to be watching... and counting, yep. That's what they've done here on Taney. If you put a fish on a stringer, in a basket or in a livewell, it counts toward your daily limit.

Our MDC agent confirmed. Here's my email to him: Culling. I know it's illegal with trout. I know it's illegal for bass unless you're fishing in a sanctioned bass tournament. How about crappie, whites, walleye and such? All game fish, culling is illegal, right? Once it's in your livewell, it counts toward your limit. You can release any fish out of the livewell but you can't replace it, right? His reply - "Correct".