Phil Lilley

This is the kind of topic that makes me thankful for this forum. Very nice of you to offer this... hope you make lots of OAF acquaintances!

My buddy said he was up there on Sunday. Spring was pretty stained so he went up Neosho which he hardly ever does. Did fair. Water still real cold but like BW says- they're always up there- just have to know where and get on them. Stained water warms faster so it should be going pretty good I'd say.

DD- you're going to have to change the name of your guide service...

Go to bed, Duane... you need your beauty sleep- and strength for fishing AGAIN tomorrow!

Conservation Federation of Missouri March 10, 2014 - The House Budget Committee this Wednesday is considering a proposed appropriation of $6 million from "surplus revenue fund" and whatever else is needed from the Park Sales Tax for operation and maintenance of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (ONSR) in the event this national park is transferred to the state, as requested in other bills currently under consideration in the Missouri General Assembly and the U.S. Congress. Transfer of the Riverways to the state makes no sense. It would mean the loss of some $8 million in annual federal expenditures in the Riverways region and saddle the state park system with equivalent annual expenses and an additional $32 million backlog in deferred maintenance. Surplus funds may be available this year, but they will not likely be available in subsequent years, resulting in a massive drain on state park funds with devastating consequences to other units of the state park system. Call or email your state representative and senator and especially members of the House Budget Committee (see list below) by noon Wednesday to ask them to strike the Riverways from the state park budget (HB2006HCS,p20) and vote against any bills advocating transfer. It is time to stop this senseless talk of transfer to the state. For more information, see the attached news article and consider the following: Missourians, like all Americans, overwhelmingly support their national parks, as demonstrated by 95 percent approval ratings in recent surveys; we are proud to have such a national treasure as the Riverways in Missouri and appreciate that it is operated at no cost to the state. The designation as a national park annually attracts 1.3-1.5 million people from across America seeking out Ozark National Scenic Riverways for family vacations. The national park provides a substantial economic boost, estimated at $65 million annually, for south central Missouri communities and small businesses catering to lodging, canoe rental, food service, groceries, and gas. Nearly 90 percent of this comes from non-local visitors attracted to this famous national river. Operated by the state this amount would likely be much less. Transfer to the state would leave Missouri taxpayers saddled with substantial new expenses each year. The ONSR operating budget and special project funds total some $8 million per year, and the park has a $32 million backlog in deferred maintenance. Missouri State Parks is still struggling with the loss of about twenty percent of its staff during the recent economic downturn, the park sales tax is inadequate to rebuild staff capacity, and the system is saddled with a backlog of nearly $400 million in deferred maintenance and other priority infrastructure projects. It would be greatly stressed by management responsibility for the Riverways and its other units would inevitably suffer. The National Park Service has operated the Riverways for nearly fifty years and its proposed new management plan is intended to provide additional staff and funds to deal in a reasonable and balanced way with problems that have developed there in recent years. It deserves our support to make the Ozark National Scenic Riverways the very best it can be. House Budget Committee Members: Stream, Rick <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=90&year=2014> , Chair Flanigan, Tom <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=163&year=2014> , Vice Chair Allen, Sue <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=100&year=2014> Burlison, Eric <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=133&year=2014> Elmer, Kevin <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=139&year=2014> Fitzpatrick, Scott <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=158&year=2014> Grisamore, Jeff <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=34&year=2014> Guernsey, Casey <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=2&year=2014> Haefner, Marsha <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=95&year=2014> Hough, Lincoln <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=135&year=2014> Keeney, Shelley <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=145&year=2014> Kelly, Chris <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=45&year=2014> Kirkton, Jeanne <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=91&year=2014> Korman, Bart <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=42&year=2014> LaFaver, Jeremy <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=25&year=2014> Lair, Mike <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=7&year=2014> May, Karla <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=84&year=2014> McCann Beatty, Gail <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=26&year=2014> McManus, Kevin <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=36&year=2014> Messenger, Jeffrey <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=130&year=2014> Montecillo, Genise <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=92&year=2014> Parkinson, Mark <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=105&year=2014> Redmon, Craig <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=4&year=2014> Rizzo, John <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=19&year=2014> Ross, Robert <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=142&year=2014> Rowden, Caleb <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=44&year=2014> Schatz, Dave <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=61&year=2014> Schupp, Jill <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=88&year=2014> Thomson, Mike <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=1&year=2014> Webber, Stephen <http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx?district=46&year=2014> List of State Representatives: http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx State Senators-Legislator Lookup: http://www.senate.mo.gov/ Link to newspaper article: Columbia Tribune Article

I know... got to have thick skin to post on a forum sometimes. May be, just may be, everyone is out today fishing. Yes it's warm but blue bird, blue sky day and little wind. All you're doing to get is a sun burn! 70 and I'm still walking around in 2 long sleeve shirts...

Yes I reposted your recipe post on the main OA page!! That was great! I guess I'm hoping that we get some new people posting reports. We've had a lot of ppl register the last couple of weeks plus all the others that read but seldom post. I also reposted Clay's report. As a rule, I repost good reports with images. The images add a lot. I'm not asking for reports so that I can repost them... just would like to see some new blood on the forum posting. We had 13,762 unique visitors the last 2 weeks, we should see more posts I'd think.

I'm a little surprised at the lack of fishing reports on the forum today. It was a perfect weekend to get out and fish and I've heard the lakes, rivers were pretty full of anglers. So where are the reports? Good, bad... doesn't matter. BTW - don't post them here- start new topics under the appropriate forums.

Love the video... nice trout.

by John Neporadny, Jr. Bass live a transient lifestyle in their constant quest for the comforts of home. While warm heaters, cool air-conditioners, a soft bed and a roof over our heads give us a comfortable year-round place to live, a bass must constantly roam its watery world to avoid the heat and cold, and find a spot to eat and procreate. An abundance of cover and lack of deep water causes some bass to stay put throughout the year, especially in river and shallow lakes. However, Lake of the Ozarks bass migrate more throughout the seasons to take advantage of the diversity in water depths, cover and structure. My home waters of Lake of the Ozarks serves as a classic example of a man-made reservoir filled with plenty of cover and structure to accommodate migrating bass. The following are seasonal patterns from my home lake. Prespawn Prespawn bass move from their winter haunts and follow the creek and river channels to staging areas along secondary points or main lake bluff-ends in the early spring. These spots allow bass to move up shallow to feed during sunny days, then retreat and suspend over deeper water when the weather turns cold and nasty. As the days grow longer and the water temperature rises, the fish migrate to transition banks from the mouths to about halfway back in the coves and pockets. The banks feature shoreline transformations where the rocks change from slab to chunk or chunk to pea gravel. These areas give bass quick access to the adjacent spawning flats and a deep-water sanctuary for any severe spring cold fronts. Jerking suspending stick baits such as a Rattlin’ Rogue produces the biggest bass in the early spring when the heavyweight fish are suspended along the various staging areas. A jig and plastic crawfish dragged over the rocky bottom also takes quality bass on calm, sunny days. A crawfish-colored crank bait or spinner bait works best along the transition banks on sunny, windy days. If early spring rains turn the lake turbid, prespawn bass can be taken slow rolling a 1/2-ounce spinner bait along the bluff ends or secondary points. When the fish move to the transition banks, pitching a jig-and-craw combination to lay-downs and the shallow sides of boat docks takes prespawn bass in murky water. Spawn Typical spawning banks on my home lake are pea-gravel flats in the backs of coves or gravel shores in small protected pockets. Some coves feature vast expanses of gravel flats, but the best spawning sites usually can be found within close proximity to deep-water structure such as secondary points and creek channel swings. Bass prefer building their nests on hard bottoms and in spots protected from wind and boat waves. The fish spawn almost anywhere along the gravel bank, but the biggest bass prefer building their nests deeper in hard-to reach areas. The favorite nesting areas of quality bass include the walkways and pillars behind boat docks, fallen logs and sunken brush piles. Boat docks are ideal refuges for bass during the spawn. The fish can hold in the sunken brush piles next to docks before locking onto their nests or can suspend under the boathouses during inclement spring weather. Sight fishing the shallows with a variety of soft-plastic baits takes nesting bass in the clear water, while dragging a plastic lizard or finesse worm 6 to 10 feet deep along the gravel flats produces the biggest spawners. In murky water, flip or pitch a jig and jumbo trailer or a Texas-rigged 8-inch plastic lizard to shallow cover or behind boat docks to trigger strikes from bedding bass. Post spawn After leaving their nests, bass follow about the same migration route they used during the prespawn. The fish in the backs of coves return to the transition banks first and then key on the secondary points as the water temperature continues to rise in late spring. Bass in the small pockets migrate to the first available drop-off or the bluff-ends. When early summer arrives most of the post spawn fish in reservoirs have moved to long, tapering gravel points. This structure provides bass a multitude of depths for feeding, recuperating from the spawn and gradually retreating to their summertime haunts. Post spawn bass can feed in the shallows during the early morning, then follow bait fish to the mid-depth ranges for a brief brunch. The point's drop-off serves as an afternoon resting spot for these weary fish. Standing timber and sunken brush piles provide excellent cover for recuperating bass along the postspawn migration route. The fish also favor hugging the rocks on long gravel points or the sharp drops of bluff ends. Working a Zara Spook or topwater chugger along gravel points is a popular early morning tactic during the post spawn. Some fish can also be taken on Texas-rigged plastic worms worked through the wood cover. The most consistent pattern for post spawn fish though is dragging a Carolina-rigged plastic lizard or finesse worm from the mid-depth ranges to the drop-offs on the primary and secondary points. Summer Hot surface water drives bass to a cooler comfort zone of the lake’s deep structure. Summertime bass relate to bluff ledges, creek and river channel bends and the deep ends of points and humps. Sunken brush piles in the 20- to 30-foot depth range become key targets throughout the summertime on my home waters. The fish either suspend over the top of the brush or burrow into the wood cover. Current caused by power generation causes some fish to move up on the points and humps to feed during the day. Working magnum-size Texas rigged plastic worms or craws through the deep brush at night produces the most consistent summertime action. Slow rolling a spinner bait through the brush or along the bluff ledges also catches some nighttime bass. The best patterns for daytime bass include dragging a Carolina- or Texas-rigged plastic worm or running a deep-diving crank bait along the points and humps affected by current. Fall Bait fish migrate to the backs of creeks where bass follow the forage. An autumn feeding frenzy usually occurs on the flat side of the creek where bass chase shad in the shallows. Bass relate more to forage than cover now so finding bait fish is the key to success. As the water turns colder and the annual reservoir draw down begins in late fall, bait fish and bass evacuate the shallows. The fish make a brief stop for a week or two along secondary points, then head to the transition banks (where the rock changes from chunk to slab) close to the mouths of the creeks or to the shallows of main lake points. Bass remain in these spots until frigid weather forces them to their wintertime havens. A variety of patterns work throughout the fall. Buzz baits, spinner baits and crank baits trick bass chasing shad in the shallows of the coves and creeks or when the fish move back to the main lake points and steeper rocky banks. Inactive fish can be taken flipping a jig-and-craw to shallow cover or working a Texas-rigged plastic worm through brush piles on secondary points and transition banks. Winter Bluff ends and main-lake points adjacent to channel swings are two prime wintertime hideouts for reservoir bass. The fish either suspend in the open water under schools of bait fish or cling to the bottom at the edge of a drop-off. On mild, sunny days, some fish move to brush piles 10 to 15 feet deep in the main lake pockets. Docks sitting along steep channel banks on the main lake or in the bigger creeks also attract winter bass. Three patterns work best for bass in these wintertime haunts. Jerking a Suspending Pro Rattlin’ Rogue close to the bait fish schools and around the main lake docks coaxes lethargic suspended bass into biting. Dragging a double-tail plastic grub attached to a heavy football jig head along the channel drops catches bottom-hugging fish while a tube jig works best in the brush piles of the deep pockets. Weather and water conditions slightly alter the timetable of these seasonal migrations, but the basic destinations remain about the same every year. By following the natural highways of creeks and river channels, you can find bass any time of the year on the Lake of the Ozarks. For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free 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. Copies of John Neporadny's book, "THE Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide" are available by calling 573/365-4296 or visiting the web site www.jnoutdoors.com.

I don't think they're up there yet but they could be at any time. I'd look further down lake- Barker down to Johnson, then Beaver down to K Dock. They're going to be hard to find. Bet they'll be on the bottom in the channel unless it gets windy, warming the water on the surface. Then I'd look on wind blown banks/flats.

There are a lot of rainbows without their pectoral fins in Taney. I've always assumed that's what happened to them. No one has told me that- got it on my own. Makes sense. I know they don't clip rainbow fins- no reason. Browns- they clipped (or still do) them to tell what year they were stocked. Alternate fins- every 3 years. Right, left pelvic and then adipose. I very rarely see a brown without a pectoral fin. I can ask. I'm curious myself.

They lose them in the hatcheries. Rub against the concrete walled raceways.

I'd go with 2-pound line and smaller jigs. 1/32nd, 1/16th ounce. Let them go to the bottom and work them slow. Even work the shallow side of the lake. You're probably right on the generation.

Even after the forum was back up, we were blocked for some reason. The fixed it and we're back on.

MDC clips the adipose and pelvic fins, not the pectoral fins. This fish lost his dorsal fin another way. Not sure you can tell a triploid brown from a regular brown by looking. I can ask...

http://www.swpa.gov/generationschedules.aspx%C2'> Check this site out tomorrow afternoon and you'll know what SPA "say" what they'll run this weekend. Hard to say. Right NOW it says 2 units for a couple of hours in the am then off the rest of the day. Doesn't lit Saturday yet. Read my last 2 reports. I can't add must to them. Conditions and fishing hasn't really changed in weeks.

Sent to me from John Wenzslick- Over the weekend two of us drove down to Broken Bow, OK for a TU meeting at this beautiful little gem in the Ouchita Mountains. The Beaver Bend State Park is built around the Broken Bow Lake on the Mountain Fork River which eventually runs into the Arkansas. The Oachita’s remind me of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas because they are more steep and rugged than the Ozarks in Missouri but the striking difference is that the forest is mostly tall Southern Pines. The park is a 450 mile ride from Mid-Missouri but is within about 150 mile radius of big cities in three states: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock and Dallas/Fort Worth. One of our hosts from Tulsa pointed out that 5 out of 6 license plates you see are from Texas. We ended up fishing parts of two of three days that were cold and rainy, Saturday March 1st an all-day meeting so of course it got up to 75F that day. The Mountain Fork is unique for a tailwater because there are two dams on Broken Bow Lake. One is a spillway which has flood gates for emergency release at the top but has water drawn from the bottom continuously. It flows down a fairly steep grade that has pools and runs. This is called the Spillway Run and the pools run swift but are wadable, you just have to be careful navigating around the big flat pieces of shale rock that are strewn at different angles all over in the 30 ft. wide river bed, with some flat bare rock on the bottom that I was glad I had studs on my wading boots. Our second morning there I caught a nice rainbow about 15” on a mini bead head olive woolly bugger and my buddy caught one about 17”. The very next cast he caught a Brown 18”. A young man who guides for the parks Fly Shop sat on the bank and was watching us fish, he told me he was waiting for the BWO hatch which should start about 11AM. He had been stalking for a while a big Brown Trout and wanted to catch it with a dry fly. About 11:30 I heard him yelling for me, I was just upstream, he had it on and wanted me to take a picture for him. When he got it into the net it was a long lean stream bred Brown 18”-20”. It made a fine picture and had a size 26 BWO emerger in its top jaw. Pics to follow... Thursday afternoon when we arrived, we were directed by our host to try the gentler meadow part of the lower Spillway Run that is called the “Evening Hole”. The sun was out and there was a small March Brown hatch and one angler up from me was getting them on the surface. Our host was picking up little browns and rainbows on a hares ear soft hackle and a woolly bugger and my buddy was catching a few on browns zebra midges. One of the ladies from TU in Dallas started getting them on the surface too. I finally did snag a couple nice 10”-12” rainbows stripping a #14 green Crackleback. In about the middle of the Spillway channel the state has fixed up a little quarter mile run that is about 10 ft. at the widest point and resembles a beautiful little spring creek. We didn’t fish it because we found it our last day there but there was a man and his young son getting a few small rainbows with the fly rod. The “Evening Pool” on Spillway Run The other dam about a half mile to the east of the spillway on Broken Bow Lake houses the power plant. It spills into the main channel of the Mountain Fork passes the Heritage Center, Restaurant and campgrounds and a little below that goes over a re-regulation dam, there it is a 200 ft. plus wide river. When the generators are running this stretch is a typical tailwater, it’s not wade fishing. We were going to fish the Red Zone (Trophy barbless hook area) down here on our last morning but the sirens went off right before we got there so we took a look at the area and went back up to the upper spillway branch, where the water is always running steady at the same flow and is just like a beautiful freestone creek, and caught three fish each before the thunder and lightning started. This is really a delightful place but we were told it really gets crowded in the summer. The regulations on most of the water are Blue zones where you can keep 6 fish per day with one a Brown trout of 20”, there are also a Red zone on the Spillway Run and on the Mountain Fork Tailwater where it is barbless hooks, C&R. You are assured though that if you make the long trip down that you will get to fish for trout. When you arrive it isn’t like your typical tailwater. Even if they are running a lot of water you still have miles of stream that you can catch brown and rainbow trout and if they aren’t running water you have a chance to catch a really big trout in the tailwater section.

Put some fat on those bones... it's called insulation!

No shad. Marsha asked as we're watching the video... "You're really not going that fast are you?!" Wish I was... they'd be fun. DD- you never saw my Shawnee 18' jon I had with the 90 hp motor, front stick steering... that was FUN to drive!

Phil didn't go.... he had to stay home and catch trout. Key word: "had".

Here's another extended version.

They aren't going to outlaw it. Too subjective. Enforcement nightmare. It's been discussed many times. I understand and agree with MDC's stance.

1/8th ounce white jig. It's a rod I have made in Harrison, AR - one piece. I have 6 and 6"6". I like them...

This will come out with my report later today but I thought I'd post it early.