Phil Lilley

They are being uploaded.... I'm a bit ahead of myself.

They are being uploaded.... I'm a bit ahead of myself.

This is a link to a mp3 zip file. Hopefully everyone who wants to can download the file and listen to the seminar. 2014 Bass Seminar, Phil Stone

This is a link to a mp3 zip file. Hopefully everyone who wants to can download the file and listen to the seminar. 2014 Walleye Seminar, Buster Loving

This is a link to a mp3 zip file. Hopefully everyone who wants to can download the file and listen to the seminar. 2014 Crappie Seminar, Bob Bennett

I've posted the seminar audios here on the forum but some want to put them on their mobile devices. I have uploaded the mp3 file to the server and posted the location on the forum. The forum automatically posts a player but doesn't provide a way to download the file. I bet this is an easy answer... how do I provide a way for people to download this file?

Watch it in HD- much better quality.

Duane twisted my arm this afternoon and MADE me go fishing with him. We waded in above the MDC boat ramp- nice breeze blowing downstream- perfect chop on the water. Duane fished a #8 beaded olive pine squirrel and I picked a #16 ugly zebra midge- only because it was left from my last time out. It was pretty raggy since it had caught a dozen or more trout so I changed to a P&P midge and caught may be 6 rainbows. Duane wacked them, mostly dead drifting the PSQ, cast quartering downstream and letting the slow current take it. He caught some nice rainbows, better than my midge would do. But I was there to take some video of someone releasing fish underwater- a little project of mine. Here's what I came up with:

Edward Spence I arrived in Branson the afternoon of Tuesday 2/18 and got to the lake a little after 3:00 PM. I fished below the rebar area below Outlet #2 just above the tree stump. I used a black #10 Wooley Booger stripping it back and had a number of slow strikes. I landed two rainbows, 11 inch and 13 inch before quitting at 5:00. I had two more on that got off. One was a nice fish I fought for a while. There were few fishermen on the lake, and just two of us when I quit. On Wednesday 2/19 They were generating one unit early and shut it down at about 9:00 AM. I got in the water at 10:00 and fished the same location with the Wolley Booger. I had a few strikes and no fish so I changed to a #14 White Soft Hackle a little after 11:00. I quickly caught two rainbows with one measuring 14 inches. I lost two more and had a number of strikes before quitting at noon. That afternoon I started back at the same location at 3:00. Still fishing with the White Soft Hackle I had few strikes before catching two stockers. I changed back to the Black Wolley Booger and fished about an hour with no strikes. After going back to the Soft Hackle I caught one more stocker before the horn sounded at 5:00 PM. Late in the afternoon I watch another fisherman land a 20 inch rainbow which I measured for him. He was using a bright green Wooley Booger. On Thursday 2/20 they were generating early again so I got in the water at 10:30 AM. I fished briefly with the White Soft Hackle until the wind came up out of the North. I had no strikes and the wind was so strong I had difficulty standing in the water and had to quit for the day. Later I learned the wind had gusts to 55 mph causing some tree and building damage in the area. While fishing the two plus days there were few fishermen on the lake although for the most part, the weather was perfect. I had a good time and want to thank the folks at Lilley's Landing for their courtesy and accommodations.

This audio is in mp3 format and may not work with some devices like iPads and IPhones. A player should appear below: http://forums.ozarkanglers.com/seminar/Stockton_Crappie_2014.mp3

by John Neporadny Bass fishing legend Denny Brauer has competed on numerous waters throughout the country so he knows what makes a good bass fishery. “Lake of the Ozarks is unique because it has a bass population from one end to the other; whereas a lot of others aren’t that way,” says the 1999 Bassmasters Classic champion. “I think it is one of the best jig lakes in the country. You can literally fish a jig 12 months a year because the lake has so much cover with the docks and the brush around the docks.” During the winter, Brauer targets bluffs and rock slides where he throws a jerkbait or a jig-and-craw. He favors a jerk bait with a blue back and chrome sides on sunny days, a black back/chrome sides model in overcast weather and the clown color in stained water. The former BASS Angler of the Year jerks the lures slowly with 10-pound test line and experiments with his presentation until he figures out how the fish want the lure retrieved. “When that water is down in the 40s I give it three jerks, kill it and let it sit for a little bit, then give it three more jerks,” he describes. The jig fishing expert also relies on a chameleon craw 1/ 2-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Design Pro Model Jig tipped with a Strike King Denny Brauer 3X Chunk trailer in the same color. He pitches the jig to the bank on 12- to 17-pound test line and works it out to 18 to 20 feet deep. “I try to definitely make contact all the time with the bottom and make real short hops off the bottom,” he says. His favorite areas for wintertime fishing include the Niangua arm and the lower end of the lake from the mouth of the Gravois to the mouth of the Grand Glaize. As the water warms in the early spring, Brauer concentrates on the lower and middle sections of the lake to catch bass during the prespawn, which usually reaches its peak in April when the water temperature climbs to 55 degrees. Brauer still uses the jerkbait or jig during the prespawn, but he also throws crawfish-color Strike King Pro Model Series 3 and 4 crankbaits with 12- to 17-pound line. He relies on the heavier line in dirty water and scales down for clear conditions. “I just go down the chunk rock banks on into the pea gravel banks and the pockets,” says Brauer, who retrieves the lure in a stop-and-go fashion. “I try to keep it on the bottom the whole retrieve or pretty close to it. I’ll stop it now and then even if I don’t hit anything because those cold-water bass like to follow a bait.” The fish will usually be about 4 to 8 feet deep along the rocky banks of the coves and creeks. Brauer discloses that a mild winter will trigger the bass spawn in April, but a harsh winter delays the spawn until May. He fishes the lower end of the lake some when bass are on the nests, but he prefers the mid-lake area most of the time. The BASS pro looks for small side pockets in the big coves that have fairly flat gravel banks. He also likes certain banks lined with boat docks that are near deep water. The depth of the fish depends on the water clarity but in most cases Brauer finds nesting bass less than 5 feet deep. When he finds the right spot, Brauer flips a Strike King Denny Brauer’s Pro Model Flip-N-Tube (green pumpkin) Texas-rigged with a 5/16-ounce weight and a Mustad 3/0 or 4/0 hook. He opts for 12- to 15-pound test for flipping the tube and dips the lure’s tail in chartreuse dye if he is fishing stained water. “If the water is a little stained I am mainly pitching to targets; if the water is fairly clear I will move in and do a little sight fishing, although I prefer not to fish that way,” admits Brauer. After the spawn, Brauer works a Strike King Spit-N-King topwater lure around docks in the spawning pockets and the secondary points close to the nesting areas. He likes to cover a lot of water during this time so the pro angler retrieves his lure quickly on 12-pound test line. The fish will usually be less than 12 feet deep and will hit the lure whether it’s sunny or cloudy. “You can throw the topwater pretty much all day that time of the year,” says Brauer, who prefers fishing close to home in the mid-lake area during the post spawn. Main lake docks and some boathouses in coves are Brauer’s favorite summertime targets from Bagnell Dam to the Hurricane Deck Bridge. A pumpkin/green flake 1/ 2-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Design Pro Model Jig and Strike King Denny Brauer 3X Chunk in the same hue is one of Brauer’s favorite lures for pitching around the docks. “The fish are feeding on bluegill around the docks so that color seems to work the best,” says Brauer. He also uses a Texas-rigged 11-inch plastic worm (pumpkinseed, June bug or electric blue) with a 4/0 Mustad hook and a 1/ 2-ounce worm weight tied on 25-pound line. Running a Strike King Pro Model Series 6 crankbait along main lake points also produces summertime bass for Brauer. He favors a blue back/white belly or blue back/chartreuse crankbait that he cranks on 12-pound test line. In the fall (October through the end of November), Brauer runs up the Osage arm where he fishes anywhere from the 50 mile marker up to Truman Dam. He looks for isolated wood and schools of shad on flats along the main channel or back in the creeks. The legendary angler’s favorite fall lures include a 1/ 2- ounce Strike King Elite buzz bait (white for sunny weather or black for rainy days) and a 1/ 2-ounce white or white-and-chartreuse spinnerbait with willowleaf blades, both of which he throws on 20-pound test line. He also likes to flip jigs and creature baits to the docks and isolated wood cover. A 1/ 2-ounce jig in a Texas craw or black-and-blue color works best if he is fishing the lure along the bottom. If the fish are suspended under docks, Brauer opts for a white 3/8-ounce jig with a white trailer that he swims along the docks with 25-pound test line. 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.

I had them in my truck. Sold a few after the seminar. We can mail them out or I'll bring them to the next seminar. Contact me if you do want any cause my office people will charge you regular price for them.

Hard to give you what would be working in the future- watch for reports closer to the "run". But generally you need to have a variety of colors of swimming minnows- smoke, chartreuse, white and purple are my go to colors. Rattletraps- I really don't use them but I'd say if they rattle they'll catch fish.

You know, I had to re reread this 3 times to get it... I kept thinking, am I missing something? Then I finally read <for real> Scott's post and then went back to his last report. I was looking for an image - he's saying his trip was just like his last one. What does Rush say... something about Rio Linda... must be where I reside.

Lots of ladies in the crowd too. Husbands and wives. Very nice to see. Thank you!

BTW- I got a unofficial count (cause I couldn't see everyone from the door) of 70... the room had a capacity of 50. Glad the Fire Marshall isn't a Stockton crappie fisherman!

I need to twist MDC's arm and let us use their auditorium at the Nature Center next year. I'll even pay for it. Al's seminar is there this next Friday. Hope we fill it up! Audio will be up later today.

Lorn M. Dennis This week my 79 year old father, my son and I stayed at Lilley's Landing for the first time. I had only seen the resort from the water and a short visit to the fly shop last summer. After adding my son at the last minute, the friendly staff was helpful in changing our reservation to a room that would accommodate the 3 of us. We enjoyed lakefront room and view. Our room was immaculate and ideal for our needs. We found the resort to be clean and well organized. Overall, it was much more than we expected. Now about the fishing: Monday morning dad and I began fishing about 9 am. Prior to this trip, I had primarily fished with Powerbait eggs which kept us out of the trophy area. I had discovered Phil Lilley's video on Jig fishing and had made dad watch it. We tied on black Bassnapper jigs and caught a dozen or so rainbows just above the mouth of Fall Creek. The biggest of these was about 14 inches but very fun catch even though they had to go back. At about 1 pm my son arrived and after lunch we headed back out. We fished just downstream from Fall Creek and caught quite a few fish on both black and olive colored jigs. Tuesday we motored all the way up to Table rock dam. It seemed they were flowing water until about 10 am and generation was just ending as we got there. We still got a good drift out of it. Almost immediately, my son hooked and landed a rainbow that measured 16 inches. In total I would say we caught a dozen or more between us on that drift through the trophy area. We saw a Bald Eagle perched in a tree overlooking the lake while we were up there. We fished the afternoon across from Branson Landing. Several nice fish and we kept about 6 for dinner. My dad and son out-fished me today. I was working the net a lot but you know what they say about fishing with kids (he is 28). Wednesday morning we headed back to the trophy area by the dam. We didn't make it up before the stopped generating so it was a slow drift out. Still, we were able to land a dozen or more fish in about and hour and a half. I'm having much better luck with these jigs and Phil's technique than I have with anything else combined. In the first couple days I tried white and scuplin colored jigs but didn't seem to catch fish with them. Black and olive were working so I quickly switched back. Maybe I just wasn't patient enough. My son had to return home for work and he left around noon. Dad and I headed downstream of the landing a short distance to a place we had heard about. This was the place to be for just the pure fun of it. Over the next 2-3 hours we landed about 50 fish between the 2 of us. We also caught about 6 small browns in the 14-15 inch range. It was almost work catching so may fish. We boated back tired and happy. Thursday after checking we headed back to the spot below the Landing. We only could fish for about an hour but during that time we landed about 20 fish between us. Did I say I like this jig fishing? The weather was changing and it was getting windy so we trailered the boat and headed home about 1130 am. A little more about how we were fishing, I have always used ultra-light spinning rods when I have fished for trout. In his video, Phil suggest using a medium spinning rod. 2 of us had medium spinning rods and found it landed more fish because of a better hookset. The flexibility of the ultra-light rods didn't allow good hook penetration. Use a heavier rod when jig fishing! I have never been able to cast a light jig very far so here is the setup I used: 7 ft. medium spinning rod with ultra-light reel spooled with 4lb. test. I added a slip cast spin float, a bead, then a swivel to the end of the line. At the swivel I used 3-4 feet of 2lb test tied directly to a jig. The spin cast floats are clear and can be filled with some water for weight to help with casting. these are not "bobbers" as they slip back up the line and allow your jig to drop to the bottom. This worked well for all of us and we were able to put lightweight jigs 100 ft or more out from the boat. We had a great time this week. The weather was perfect. 50-60 degree weather all 4 days. Water temperature was 41-43 degrees. Thanks Lilley's and Thanks Phil for the Jig Fishing Video on Youtube.

Right. Need heavy generation for them to poor through. None that I know of but I personally haven't been up there fishing with the water on for over 2 weeks. White still has been a good color even down here in mid lake.

Deer go to water when injured. Cold water must feel good to them.

OK- that explains it! Our resort office has been getting calls today. I'll let them know. I need to contact Adam about speaking for us sometime. I know the biologists down here but not Adam. Thanks!

There's been some confusion about this seminar... I've heard Springfield News Leader posted today that the seminar is NEXT TUESDAY!! I never was contacted my them nor did I send them any information on the event. Hopefully those who are planning on attending has the right date -- TONIGHT!! It is open to the public - FREE. No strings attached.

Yes I'll bring a projector. Just bring your presentation on a thumb drive.

Milder weather has brought the anglers out to play. And there's lots of trout in the lake to play with! The lack of fishing pressure this winter has created a glut of fish it seems. Unfortunately, a good number of them are on the small side. Generation has been slight, running 1 or less units in the mornings and off most afternoons. But there have been some days where they're running half to one unit all day long. No real pattern. Check the SPA chart the day before for generation. We've been seeing these 8 to 10 inch rainbows for some time now. They seem to stay in schools and swarm anything that hits the water. Today I fished at the Narrows, about 3/4 mile above the mouth of Fall creek on the flat shallow area and caught all I wanted on a #16 Ugly Zebra Midge under a float 12 inches deep. One out of 10 were at the 12-inch mark. I did find larger trout close to the east bank, fishing the midge 30 inches deep. I did not catch any of the smaller rainbows there. I can't stress how important it is to seek out a choppy surface when fishing here on Taneycomo. There are dead calm days where you can't find a ripple anywhere but most days when the wind is slight, you can find a chop on the surface around most corners. Even if you have to chase the chop, it's better than sitting in dead calm water and not catching anything. This goes for any type of fishing but especially for using a lure under a float (jig or fly). Our last winter trout tournament is this Saturday and everyone's looking for that edge. . . where to catch the bigger trout. Well everyone wants to do that! The usual places aren't really producing bigger fish it seems. Most times, anglers will concentrate on the area just below the mouth of Fall Creek down past Short Creek, thinking trout have moved down from the trophy area into the bait area and are easy to catch. But we've seen most of the good rainbows come from areas well below the Trophy Area. I've been reporting catching crappie this winter down in front of the Branson Landing. I've also mentioned catching some very nice rainbows while fishing for crappie. Those rainbows are still being caught--there and even further down lake. This levels the playing field, I believe. Almost anyone can fish an obscure area and find a pocket of 16-18 inch rainbows and win this contest; or go home with a nice mess of trout and a good fish story to tell. Need to try down the lake further. Duane Doty fished today and caught some nice rainbows along a bluff almost 2 miles down from Branson. White Trout Magnets under a float 6 feet deep. These trout seem to be suspended for the most part. So fishing either a jig, Trout Magnet or Gulp eggs under a float is working better than fishing something on the bottom. White still seems to be the best color. The depth seems to be 6 to 7 feet deep. Four-pound line is perfectly fine fishing something under a float too. Our water is still pretty stained. Just to clarify, if you're fishing our trout tournament, you can't use Gulp eggs or any other soft plastic baits, nor anything the smells. Flies and lures only. This past weekend when they were running half to one unit, guys did real well drifting a #12 gray scud under an indicator 4 to 5 feet deep with an egg fly dropper 12 inches and drifting over the flats at the Narrows. That was their hot spot. I'm sure drifting the flats from Lookout down through this area would produce fish too but this flat seems to hold the most rainbows.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/lateral-line/2014/02/potential-world-record-brown-trout-through-ice?src=SOC&dom=fb