Phil Lilley

I'm not sure what our browns are eating but it must be filling... Every brown I've caught this summer is busting a gut. Growth rates must be off the chart. I made one drift yesterday, working a white jig about as slow as I could stand and caught a dozen browns. Two were this year's stock but the rest were 15-inches-plus. I went in to download the videos- my camera's battery was low. Went back out 45 minutes later, made the same drift and didn't get a bite. Figure that! I don't catch as many fish on a white jig but I can't lay it down. Better chance to catch that brown of a lifetime.

I fished it a couple of times. Did well on midge clusters and tiny midges like griffith's gnat. Also #20 and #22 trout crack (scud) worked real well. I heard throwing big stuff worked because the fish there are used to seeing tiny flies. I stripped some big streamers in the rapids and caught the best trout of the trip- up and down the river. I also threw jigs below the fly water and caught some great fish. Lot less ppl down out of the fly water too.

NEVERMIND! They changed their minds... The forum will be online tomorrow. No migration needed.

Forum will be offline tomorrow, Friday, July 18th. My provider is moving data from one server to another. Sorry for the inconvenience! Should be back up first thing Saturday morning.

I was going to say before I read the posts about GW - I believe being cold or hot has to do with body fat! Let's enjoy this awesome weather and leave GW and politics out of it.

This weather is pretty sweet, isn't it?! We keep thinking that any day now it's going to turn into a "normal" summer and become blazing hot, but it hasn't yet! One real nice thing about this cooler, drier weather is that there's no fog on Lake Taneycomo early and late in the day. Some like the fog, but I like to fish early and late and don't like driving through a wet, cold fog. That's just me! Generation hasn't changed much over the last couple of weeks. If anything, the volume of water run in the afternoons changes. On hotter days there is more generation, and cooler days less, but always some into the evenings. Most of the time, the water is off by the 10 p.m. The water temperature is still hovering around 47 degrees, but the lake itself warms up as you get farther down lake, into the 70s below Rockaway Beach. Trout fishing this week has improved much in our area, and I think it's because the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery folk have stocked rainbows a little closer to home. We saw quite a few small rainbows caught off the dock this morning and others brought in from boaters to be cleaned and processed. Should be some fish fryers going the next few evenings here at the resort! The best bite of the day has been early in the morning before the sun comes up. When the sun hits the water, fish go deeper and are less likely to bite. That's why most of our guides insist starting their day at 5:30 a.m. It's not that you can't catch fish in the middle of a sunny day, it's just that it will be much slower than mornings and evenings. My two-pound line rule still applies. If you want to get more bites, use two-pound line, or 7x if you're fly fishing. Our water is still very clear, and with the water running every day, the fresh water coming in the lake keeps it clear. The only time four-pound line is okay to use is when generation starts in the afternoons and you're drifting in current. Fish have less reaction time to strike your bait, less time to notice the line. I took Lincoln Hunt out a couple of mornings last week jig fishing. Linc is a long time friend of Lilleys' Landing since he started coming as a youth with his family from Dallas. Now he's a teacher in the Dallas area and spends several weeks in Branson during his summer break hanging out at the resort, sometimes working for us while also playing golf and fishing. He's a fly fishermen at heart, but I forced a spinning rod in his hands and told him to cast a jig for a while. We started at Short Creek and worked our way to Fall Creek, staying on the shallow side of the lake and throwing to the middle. Using two-pound line and 1/16th ounce olive jigs, we caught a total of 34 rainbows in a couple of hours. It was the best jig fishing trip Linc had ever experienced, he said. Fishing guide Bill Babler took some clients down to the Branson Landing area a few mornings ago, and they caught 38 rainbows on a pink/white Trout Magnet under a float six-feet deep. He also uses two-pound Vanish line when fishing with Trout Magnets. There does seem to be an abundance of rainbows from Rockaway Beach through the Landing up to Monkey Island. It was pointed out to me that Scotty's Trout Dock has reported trout fishing to be "excellent" in that part of the lake (K.C. Star newspaper). Gulp Powerbait Eggs in white, orange and pink have been catching fish pretty well in these areas, either plain or a hook and fished on the bottom or put on a jig hook and fished under a float four- to six-feet deep. Air-injected night crawlers have been doing really well off our dock the last couple of days, so I'm sure they'll work up and down from the dock ,also. Tom Burckhardt of St Charles, MO, celebrated his 60th birthday this week at the resort with family -- and some great fishing. He texted me a picture of a rainbow he caught this morning on "his first cast." He was throwing a sculpin 1/16th -ounce jig against the bluff bank across from the resort. Then he called me as I was typing this report and asked if I wanted to see a big brown he had just caught. Sure! He brought it in... What a beautiful brown! He caught it in the Trout Hollow area on a 1/32nd-ounce sculpin jig under a float 10-feet deep. I told Tom I wasn't surprised at all by his catch, but I was surprised at how he caught it. The water was running at barely a half unit, so there was current. He took his trout back up to the spot where he had caught it and released it. He's back out searching for more big trout, so we might get another story and fish pic inserted in this report. A lot of the rainbows being caught above Short Creek are full of scuds (freshwater shrimp). That's an excellent indicator of our lake's health. Scuds are the best food a fish can have with high protein content. When we have a lot of scuds, we soon have lots of big fish! So drifting a fly that looks like a scud is a good thing to do! Try a #10 gray or orange scud tied on either a drift rig of just at the end of your line with a split shot to push the fly down to the bottom. Drift it down the middle of the lake when the water is running. Of course, you can use this above and below the mouth of Fall Creek.

Carry on.

http://www.adn.com/article/20140707/no-world-record-482-pound-halibut-caught-southeast-alaska-jaw-dropper

Nice write up... added it to the main site. http://www.ozarkanglers.com/blog/2014/07/12/big-fly-rod-popper-build-step-step/ Thanks Marty.

Little plug from the KC Star CATCH OF THE WEEK honors! http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/article706658.html#/tabPane=tabs-7c97d09a-1

Glad you're here!

by John Neporadny While the main lake rocked and rolled with pleasure boat and personal watercraft traffic, I retreated to the calm waters of a Lake of the Ozarks feeder creek on this hot, sunny summer Afternoon. Pitching a plastic worm into the shady areas of boat dock wells, I managed to catch a 4-pound bass, lose a 3-pounder and land some smaller bass before I had to leave for work. The still waters of this creek allowed me to thoroughly work the docks and present my lure slowly without having to constantly run my trolling motor against waves. Missouri's largest reservoir offers excellent fishing year-round, but during the heat of summer we have to share the waters with pleasure boaters, skiers and personal watercraft jockeys. Fishing at night or early and late in the day will help you avoid most of this recreational boat traffic, but the best way to get away from the summer crowds during the day is to head up the lake's headwaters or a major feeder. Most pleasure boat operators prefer the wide-open areas of a main lake and steer clear of these narrow, shallow riverine sections. Stained water and plenty of cover, such as lay-downs, stumps, weeds and rocks, in these upper lake regions keep bass shallow and make them easier to catch during the summer. The best headwater areas have cooler water and current flowing in from tributaries or Truman Dam that activate bass, even during the hottest summer days. The busiest lake in the state still provides good refuges for anglers in the summertime. I have caught plenty of bass and some fish in the 3- to 4-pound range in the backs of Gravois, Indian and the Grand Glaize creeks in July and August when the mid-day boat traffic made the main lake look like a wave pool at a water park. Other good areas to avoid the summer boating crowds include the back end of Lick Creek and the upper section of the Niangua and Little Niangua rivers, but the most consistent summertime fishing is in the lake’s headwaters below Truman Dam. "Any of the river arms work just fine. In the summertime, you just can't fish the main lake during the day on the weekends," says Roger Fitzpatrick, a tournament angler from Eldon. He concentrates on the Osage arm of the lake from Big Buffalo Creek up to the Truman Dam spillway from July through October when he wants to get away from boaters. Siltation at the mouths of coves and even on the main channel of the upper Osage makes hazardous navigating for most recreational boaters. The lack of boat traffic allows Fitzpatrick to concentrate on the flats and boat docks on the main lake. "If the water is high and running out of Truman Dam, then I'll concentrate on main lake stuff such as flat points where the water is breaking around it," says Fitzpatrick. "If it's at normal pool I mainly concentrate on docks either on the main lake or back in coves."The upper Osage also contains stained water, which helps bass stay shallower in the summertime. "Usually in July it's still a summer pattern and the fish are a little deeper. You can catch them during the day but you have to key a little more on brush piles and the docks 8 to 10 feet deep, unless the water is high. In that case, the fish will get up shallower and you can flip the willow bushes. It seems to flood up the river a lot and get into those (shoreline) bushes easier than it does on the lower lake." Current plays a role in positioning bass along the cover in this area. Depending on the current's velocity, bass will hang on the outside of a dock or suspend under it. The fish will also hold on the shallower or deeper ends of lay-downs depending on the amount of water flow. On sunny days, Fitzpatrick pitches a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm along the docks. "Some of the docks have brush and some don't," says Fitzpatrick. Bass usually hold along the sides of the docks whether or not the floating structure has brush underneath it. Fitzpatrick switches to a white jig or spinnerbait for cloudy or rainy days on the upper Osage. The Lake of the Ozarks headwaters contains quality bass that become more active as summer progresses. "In late August you can catch a lot of 5-pounders up there," says Fitzpatrick. "It's rare to catch one 6 or 7 pounds but you can catch a limit of 4- and 5-pounders easy on a good day." For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at funlake.com.

Last year was not good... state made them stop fishing when they were running the best. Then let them fish when it was over. Great escapement in 2013. Good for us river anglers.

Nice report. Thanks for sharing!

With little rain and not much change in lake levels, generation pattern has been the same the last few days. Low daytime temperatures have helped to, that is keep the water from running here on Lake Taneycomo. They've been running water late in the afternoon for only an hour, not reaching over 1 unit. Because our water hasn't run much this week, "catching" has improved greatly. The main reason, some of us believe, is it's let lake water temperatures rise into the 50's and that makes for more aggressive trout. It's also helped lessen water clarity, especially with the increased boat traffic this holiday. The water temperature today at our dock is 57 degrees. Rainbows are starting to take Gulp Power Eggs again pretty good but night crawlers are still the best bait by far, catching bigger fish than the manufactured baits. Need to shoot some air in them to get them off the bottom. A trout will eventually find a crawler sitting on the bottom or buried in the weeds but floating it off the bottom brings it up within eye sight where it's eaten quicker. I have a good night crawler story. Yesterday I took my grand kids, Jeriah and Serenity (age 4 and 2) fishing. Our goal was to catch 2 smallish rainbows to paint and print on small shirts for the kids but we had some trouble. Pulled up to the gravel bar at Short Creek about 4 p.m. and dropped a couple of anchors. We were on top of the bar in less than 2 foot of water but within casting distance of deep water off the bar. I rigged up a rod with a #8 hook and split shot, added a worm and shot it with some air to make it float. Threw it out and handed it to Jeriah. He's been out with me before so he knew to just hold on and feel for the bite. It didn't take long. I didn't get but a hook on another line and his rod was bent and about to fly out of his hands. The bow jumped several times and pulled out some line. Jeriah had a tough time keep the rod tip high enough but handled it fine. After I netted it, I said it was too big and we'd have to throw it back. Jeriah doesn't like to release anything--he wants to eat it! I stuck another crawler on the hook, threw it out and handed the rod to Serenity. She did a good job holding it and it again didn't take much time--another bite and a bent rod. This time I grabbed the rod because it looked like she wasn't going to be able to hold on. Then I knew this was another trout we weren't going to keep... even bigger than Jeriah's rainbow. After several runs and helping Serenity reel the fish in, we saw she had a hold of a big brown trout. We hadn't been there 10 minutes and 2 trophy trout!? Wow!! We netted it, took some pictures and released it back to the lake. Jeriah, again, was put out with this release thing. I told him we needed small rainbows for their shirts which he came back with, "but grand daddy, all I catch are big fish!" We caught another "too big" rainbow before the smaller rainbows finally got interested. We caught a couple and headed in. Back to my report: With the a little more turbid water color, anglers are getting away with using 4-pound line again although we're throwing small jigs using 2-pound. We're still seeing some brown trout being caught. Several reports yesterday of browns caught on night crawlers but released because they were less than the 20-inch length limit. This brown was caught on a chartreuse Powerworm just below Fall Creek Marina yesterday, weighing 2.98 pounds and measuring right at 20 inches. The best way, I think, to catch these browns with the water off is to use a 5'6" medium action spin rod, 2-pound line and either a 3/32nd or 1/16th-ounce jig, no float, and work it deep in the channel from Lookout Island down to the Landing. Preferably you don't want much wind and you want to fish early and late in the day when the sun isn't high over head. I'd fish with the colors sculpin, olive, black, brown or they're running just a little bit of water, I'd use white. Let the jig go all the water to the bottom and then hop it up and let it fall. Watch for a tick in the line or for the line to go slack prematurely. Sometimes you'll feel the fish on the line when you hop it up- go ahead and try to set the hook although this is difficult, not impossible. Because the jig weight is small, you can work this lure slow--slower the better. Vary the "hop" from lifting slowly to popping it up. Watch you're rod tip to see how far you're hopping it up. Don't lift the tip more than 4 feet- 3 feet is ideal. Master this technique and you can catch any fish anywhere. We haven't had much wind so jig and float isn't working as well as it should. If you can find chop on the water, definitely use a jig and float and drop a Zebra Midge below it. I'd still use 2-pound or 6x tippet. In the trophy area, I'd consider 7x is they're being fussy. I did fair using a rusty midge the other day between Lookout and the Narrows, setting the float at 4 feet deep and fishing the channel. I did catch one rainbow on the olive Micro Jig I was using as the main fly but the others came on the midge. An olive, 1/16th-ounce jig has been the hot lure this week, working it with no float, fishing it really anywhere from here (Lilleys' Landing) to Lookout. I did real well the other morning fishing it above the Narrows in the channel, catching some very nice rainbows. They likes the olive over several other go-to colors I use. The lower lake is still holding a good number of rainbows. Missouri Department of Conservation has been stocking most of their rainbows in the lower lake this summer because the lake water down there is colder than normal. There's a hot spot that's worth trying. Down below Rockaway Beach around the sharp bend there's a set of docks on the right at the end of T Highway. Below these docks, I hear there's a lot of trout to be caught. Trout Magnets as well as spoons and Power Bait. This coming week, daytime temperatures are going to heat up and these rainbows in the lower lake will make their way uplake as the water temperatures rise, as long as the Corp doesn't run a lot of water from Table Rock. If they do, all bets are off. Fish pictures courtesy of Captain Rick Lisek, Captain Steve Dickey and Captain Phillip Stone. Here's a fishing report Steve Dickey called in. You need FLASH to listen to this message.

Wipe off the paint and they're good.

Nope. They don't.

Painting trout... they got a little over ambitious with the paint.

Here's Jeriah's rainbow.

Unbelievable... I took the grandkids fishing this afternoon to catch SMALL rainbows so they could paint them and put them on shirts (explained in another post). First trout was a nice rainbow caught by Jeriah (yet another post later). Second trout, this 20-inch brown caught by Serenity. Night crawler at Short Creek. They EVENTUALLY caught a couple of rainbows that were small enough to keep!

Never been a soccer fan for the same reasons most have stated - didn't understand rules or strategy and such - but I've watched quite a bit of the games in this world cup and I'm warming up to the game. Of course, at this level, the passing is amazing and one can learn real fast what a good play looks like. yeah- I'm becoming a soccer fan but I doubt if I watch many games after the WC is over... heck I don't have time to watch REAL football anymore. Rather be fishing...

Out this morning. Man what a nice morning- cool and no fog. Fish were still not eager to eat though... not a midge or anything that was just sitting there. Throwing a jig though was another matter. They loved an olive 1/16th oz jig until I broke if off. Other colors did ok but not as good.

Fish- looks like a bunch of females... long and skinny. Chuck and Duck? Do they let you do that?

Dan should be paying you for promoting his lodge... Great pic!!

Looks like a "buggy" day...