Phil Lilley

Attention! Because of so many seminars, speakers and coordinating meeting places, you need to double check this forum/topic for changes to dates and meet places on an on going basis. Hopefully there won't be many changes. I've added 2 seminars in March. Here's the latest schedule: Seminars will begin at 7 p.m. at each location and end before 9 p.m.. We will have to be out of each facility by 9 p.m.. Each seminar is free to the public. Be SURE you note the location of each seminar. You don't want to show up at the Library when the meeting is at the MDC Nature Center. January 24th - Phillip Stone, Tournament Kicker Bass & Electronics - Springfield Library (South Campbell) Stone will be teaching techniques in catching big bass in tournaments. He will review types of bait, patterns, types of structure and banks that produce locations where big fish live. He'll also discuss electronics and equipment that has proven to be successful. January 31st - Round Table, Trout Fishing, Lake Taneycomo - MDC Nature Center Phil Lilley, Bill Babler and more... Question & Answer session with the Pros. February 7th - Buster Loving, Walleye Fishing, Bull Shoals - Springfield Library (South Campbell) February 20th - Bill Bennett, Crappie Fishing, Stockton Lake - Springfield Library (South Campbell) February 28th - Al Agnew, Smallmouth Stream Fishing - MDC Nature Center Matt Wier and other guys from the Missouri Smallmouth Association will be in attendance. March 7th - Steve Dally (& friends), White River - Springfield Library (South Campbell) March 14th - Brian Wise, North Fork of the White River - Springfield Library (South Campbell) Brian will be talking about how to fish big, ugly streamers on the NFOW. Springfield Library 4653 S Campbell Ave Springfield, MO (417) 883-5366 MDC Nature Center 4600 S Chrisman Ave, Springfield, MO (417) 888-4237

No one hurt- that's the main thing. Listening to KWTO 560 radio this morning. New guy- don't like him. He's spouting off about the incident without doing any research into what happened. Going on and on about it- telling you to call in but he doesn't stop talking. He was harping about making the passengers sit on the plane for 70 minutes... fact is they had to bring a ladder over from the big airport to safely get them off. See they had to transport something like that 8 miles- 70 minutes is pretty quick. Bad they made a mistake but cuddos to them for getting it stopped on such a short runway.

What's amazing is that they got it stopped on the short runway at the college's airport. Could have been a major disaster. http://www.ky3.com/news/local/raw-video-authorities-assist-passengers-on-southwest-airlines-jet-at-wrong-branson-airport/-/21048998/23896516/-/rasvboz/-/index.html They had to bring the ladder over from Branson airport to get the 137 people off the plane.

Lab results- it was a fungal infection. That's why the eye didn't react to any of the medications.

What incident? :-)

If there was a "like" button, I'd hit it. Good post.

#1 rule - I share 95% of my spots. The other 5% are the ones my friends tell me NOT to share. Not trying to be a "nice guy". I figure most of my spots on Taney are already fished. If they're spots on other waters, I don't fish enough off my home waters to make a difference. If I find, say, a good crappie spots on Table Rock, I share it cause I'm not going back to it- probably. But that's just me...

Little video from yesterday.

You didn't tell me about that!!

I did several years ago. I actually called him and visited quite a few times with Rocky. Was going to fly in to his camp a number of years ago and visit while up there but it didn't work out. Haven't talked to him since. Quite a story. Being in the same boat with then President Bush with a buck knife on his hip... not many people were allowed to do that I bet. And if you live and fly in Alaska long enough, you WILL crash. Question is will you live to crash again! I have not had any close encounters but I can sure see how it happens.

Generation has varied some everyday this week but with mild temperatures this weekend, it looks like they're going to run it all day at least Saturday and Sunday. Not very hard though which should make any type of fishing pretty good. Drifting bait will take a light hand, especially from Lilleys' down lake because the water is going to be moving pretty slow. Use as little weight as possible to get the bait to the bottom and stay towards the middle of the lake. If using worms, inject them with air or use a Gulp Egg to make the worms float. I use a white egg usually and a half worm hooked in the middle. Four-pound line is perfect right now. Our water still has some color to it. A pink Trout Magnet has been fishing lights out according to some of our guides. Either use 2-pound line and throw it without a float, letting it sink close to the bottom and feel for the tap or under a float 4 to 6 feet deep. Also a brown jig with an orange head, 1/50th ounce has been working below and above Fall Creek. Still catching a few crappie and bass down at the Landing in front of the wall. Trolling an 1/8th ounce jig, white or brown, or a swimming minnows, purple. Cast it and work it back from the wall too. I found a school of nice crappies last week right in front of Garfields. Guys last weekend found a school of nice 3-pound rainbows down close to the MDC dock below Branson, same side of the lake. It's located down by the treatment plant. Look for the big stocking boat. They caught them on either jigs or spoons. These rainbows were probably stocked the week before off that ramp close to the dock. It's hard to say if these fish have moved. Worth a try though. There does seem to be a lot of rainbows between Short and Fall Creek. This week we've seen dozens of trout rising in the evening all over this area. If you're fly fishing, a Zebra Midge would be good under an indicator anywhere from 12 to 36 inches deep. This holds true above Fall Creek too. If you're fishing above Fall Creek, boating all the way to the cable and fishing down to Lookout is the best place to catch some quality trout. Almost all trout will be under 20 inches but they're fun to catch and release. And there are plenty of sub 12-inchers you can catch and keep. Throw an 1/8th-ounce jig and work it off the bottom. Try a light color, then a dark color to see what they're liking. White or ginger for light and sculpin, olive, brown or black for dark colors. Jig and float- same thing. I'd use a 1/32nd-ounce jig under a float 4 to 6 feet deep. Brown/orange head still one of my favorites but I'd try a white for sure. You never know when and if these fish are seeing any shad come from Table Rock through the dam. Medium size stick baits work well sometimes, especially on large trout. But in bright sun and little wind, they don't work as well. I did real well Thursday throwing an olive 3/32nd-ounce jig straight fishing from Lookout down to the Narrows. They were chasing my jig, getting multiple hits on almost every cast. But in that case, as soon as the water stopped moving, they quit. This weekend, the water isn't supposed to stop. Today it's sunny, warmer but windy. Most stretches of the lake, the wind is blowing down stream. When drifting anything on the bottom (bait, worms), the wind blows your boat faster than the current. This makes your bait rise up off the bottom and travel faster than the water current. Fish just won't bite a presentation like this. They look at it going by and say, "That's fake! Not eating it," so says Steve Dickey (fishing guide). So the key is slowing the boat down to the same speed as the current OR SLOWER. If you have a boat with a front bow mounted trolling motor, I would suggest both parties (assuming only 2 in the boat) stand towards the front of the boat and then point the boat upstream. Then use the tolling motor to slow the boat down. Watch the water next to the boat and make sure it's not moving faster than the boat. We also do this when drifting over a deeper area or drop offs. Slowing the boat down allows the weight and bait to drop down that drop off instead of flying over the top of it. Trout will hold in the drop offs or deeper areas waiting on food to wash through. You can also let line out when drifting over these areas--basically does the same thing.

I couldn't tell ya. I had it restored later. Sold it early 90's.

Sorry I didn't get a recording on this. Hope you and others can make it to the round table talk on January 31st in Springfield. I will get an audio recording of hopefully each seminar and post them.

Ranger! It was my first boat.

Seminars will begin at 7 p.m. at each location and end before 9 p.m.. We will have to be out of each facility by 9 p.m.. Each seminar is free to the public. Be SURE you note the location of each seminar. You don't want to show up at the Library when the meeting is at the MDC Nature Center. January 24th - Phillip Stone, Tournament Kicker Bass & Electronics - Springfield Library (South Campbell) Stone will be teaching techniques in catching big bass in tournaments. He will review types of bait, patterns, types of structure and banks that produce locations where big fish live. He'll also discuss electronics and equipment that has proven to be successful. January 31st - Round Table, Trout Fishing, Lake Taneycomo - MDC Nature Center Phil Lilley, Bill Babler and more... Question & Answer session with the Pros. February 7th - Buster Loving, Walleye Fishing, Bull Shoals - Springfield Library (South Campbell) February 20th - Bob Bennett, Crappie Fishing, Stockton Lake - Springfield Library (South Campbell) February 28th - Al Agnew, Smallmouth Stream Fishing - MDC Nature Center March 7th - Steve Dally (& friends), White River - Springfield Library (South Campbell) March 14th - Brian Wise, North Fork of the White River - Springfield Library (South Campbell) Brian will be talking about how to fish big, ugly streamers on the NFOW. Springfield Library 4653 S Campbell Ave Springfield, MO (417) 883-5366 MDC Nature Center 4600 S Chrisman Ave, Springfield, MO (417) 888-4237

Bruce Steel became Bill Haynes when he got in trouble with the law. Never knew how that made any difference- lived in the same house behind his shop. Anyhow, he died quite a few years back. The shop was tore down. He was quite a character.

Yep- if I recall I was using roe. And yes it was treated, not raw. But most ppl used it raw. It caught a lot of browns and rainbows. Bruce Steel taught me well...

I hesitate to post this cause of the guy in it... not the point of the photo, nor the brown trout. Look at the gravel bar behind me. It's up at what we call Rocking Chair. The bar goes more than half way across the lake! I don't remember it. I didn't wade fish much at that time. Notice boats above me too. Must have been much deeper back then.

Yes. We're all set up.

by John Neporadny Finding active bass in the dead of winter can be a numbing experience. Freezing temperatures, blustery winds and a vast body of water in which fish congregate in a small area can leave anglers feeling cold and frustrated after a day on their favorite lake. Reservoirs do have an area that offers some shelter from the wind and contains plenty of active fish. When the fishing shuts down on the lake, anglers should concentrate on the downhill side of the dam. A favorite wintertime spot of Eldon, Mo., angler Harold Stark is the Osage River below Lake of the Ozarks' Bagnell Dam. Stark, a veteran tournament angler, has been fishing the river for more than two decades and has discovered certain patterns for catching bass below the dam during the winter. The Missouri angler notes that spillway water tends to remain warmer throughout most of the winter. From November to mid-January, the water temperature below the dam stays in the 45- to 50-degree range. The area finally loses its warm water in late January when the lake and spillway water temperatures drop to the 39-degree mark. The spillway area also keeps anglers warmer because the dam and the hills alongside the structure serve as windbreaks. Stark lists November, December and January as the best winter months to fish below the dam. Stable water conditions during this time create an excellent opportunity for any anglers willing to brave the cold weather and still catch plenty of bass. Two stable conditions needed during this time are clear water and a constant water level. Water clarity is crucial, since cold, murky water can completely shut down fishing. But the lack of rain during a normal winter keeps the river clear. The lake's winter drawdown also helps the fishing by producing a steady flow in the spillway area, which positions the fish in certain areas and keeps the water level stable. The wintery weather has little effect on spillway bass. Current has more of an influence on their daily routine. "When the water's up and moving, anything that blocks the current has the probability of holding fish," Stark says. "The current has everything to do with finding fish. It positions everything the fish do, whether they're resting, feeding or moving from one place to another." The stronger the current, the easier it is to find bass. "It can stack every fish of a certain area in one spot," Stark says. During heavy flow, Stark looks for bass in eddies close to the bank. "They'll really stack up in those places." Stark catches most of his fish 1 to 10 feet deep from structure next to the bank. Prime structure includes rock dikes, bridge pilings, boat docks, flooded timber or laydowns. The most productive methods for taking these cold-water bass are slow-rolling a spinnerbait and flipping a jig and plastic chunk. Stark lets the water flow determine which size lure he'll use. During a heavy flow, Stark will throw a white or white and chartreuse 1/2-ounce spinnerbait with a nickel-colored number 5 willow leaf blade to catch active fish. He selects a 1/2-ounce jig with a Zoom Super Chunk Junior for a strong current. His favorite colors are a brown jig with black and chartreuse chunk or a black-and-blue combination. The heavier lures help him maintain contact with the bottom where the fish will be concentrated. The Missouri angler also uses lighter line with his spinnerbait to make the lure sink better. "Whenever there's a lot of current, you almost have to go down to 10- or 12-pound test line with a spinnerbait so it can actually get down," Stark says. Heavier line has a tendency to drag the lure along with the current. When fishing a 1/2-ounce jig, Stark chooses lines up to 17-pound test. He can use the heavier line because jigs fall quicker than spinnerbaits and stay down in the rocks better. Since the lure bangs around in the rocks which nick the line, a heavier monofilament receives less damage when bumped along the bottom. Maintaining boat control in a strong current can be difficult. Stark usually points his boat upstream and drifts with the current rather than trying to move upstream. Since river bass face the current to pick off any morsels that drift by, the most natural way to present a lure is to cast it upstream from the structure and let the current push it into the ambush area. The bass position themselves on the outermost part of the structure, such as the farthest point of a log, where they can nab baitfish. In the eddies, they will hang right behind a rock and right at the edge of it. "They'll be positioned right at the edge of any kind of break in the eddy itself," Stark says. Stark slow rolls his spinnerbait along with the current. He tries to pull the lure along the bottom, letting it nick the rocks every once in a while. He also works his jigs in a slow manner. "I throw it up against the bank, swim it back and just skim the bottom." When the current weakens, the bass tend to move to new locations. "You need one of the two extremes to catch bass, either a lot of running water or none at all," Stark says. "When there's no current, the bass will scatter out and find the deeper holes to lay in. They'll also bury up into the thickest part of the cover." Lure sizes should be scaled down as the current loses velocity. Stark switches to a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait with a number 4 willow leaf blade during a light flow. When the current ceases, Stark switches to tube baitsand single or double-tail 3-inch plastic grubs in blue or chartreuse hues. He'll throw the tubes on a 1/16-ounce jig head and the plastic grubs on a 1/8-ounce jig. While working a deeper hole or thick cover, Stark presents the bait in a subtle manner. He lets the bait flutter into the bass' lair and avoids moving the lure more than an inch at a time. Even inactive bass can be taunted into sucking up a slow-falling tube bait or plastic grub. Although more bass can be caught in the lake, Stark catches heftier limits in the spillway waters. "I can catch more limits of 3-, 4- and 5-pounders out of the Osage River than I can out of the Lake of the Ozarks." He says he has taken six-fish limits up to 20 pounds from the river. Stark has also caught bass weighing up to 7 pounds below the dam. Anglers can expect to catch an equal share of largemouths and spotted bass from the spillway area. While the fishing can be great during the winter below a dam, it can also be hazardous to your bass boat. Stark warns that anglers should watch out for trees that wash off the bank and become lodged in gravel bars in the middle of the river. Anyone navigating below a dam should also be aware of constantly changing jetties, wing dams and gravel bars, all menaces to your boat's lower unit. According to Stark, the ideal rig for fishing spillway areas is a john boat with a jet-drive motor because of its capability to run in extremely shallow water. Despite the navigational hazards and frigid weather, fishing the lee side of a dam can satisfy an angler's craving for some wintertime bass action. 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.

KU Journalist… Rock Chark She edits most of my stuff.

ditto... When he found those fish- he should have handed you his rod. And you should have been fishing the good stuff. Not good. May be you should seek out Tripadvisor. Wonder if there's a site like Tripadvisor for fishing guides?

I understand the part about not much communicating the last 2 hours. And I understand why he was fishing. I fish (when guiding) only to find out how the fish are biting. Once I find out, I instruct the client, show the client, "do this... like this". Then I watch. But if they're not even hitting what I'm throwing, I'm not stopping till I find fish. In those conditions (tough), how am I to expect a rookie (at what we're doing) to hook fish when I, a professional, can not. Quiet the last 2 hours- I can only speak of myself. If I've gone 4 hours and my client hasn't caught a fish, I'm uptight- pressure is on. I HATE that feeling and that's the reason I don't guide a lot - my worse fear. Fishing for trout is usually easy. No way I'd make a good walleye guide. I've been hearing of some GREAT walleye fishing on BS lately- reports I'm not privileged to report here because I've been asked not to. By all indications (weather-wise) , yesterday should have been a stellar fishing day but our trout didn't think so. It was tough. Sounds like walleye thought the same thing. As far as thinking that the water you were fishing wasn't good water or the way you were fishing wasn't a good technique- that's crazy. Why should a guide take you to dead water and throw wrong baits? Not every guide is going to be happy-go-lucky. Some of the best guides are old grumps but they flat know fish and how to catch them. If I know your guide, and I think I do, then he's one of the best to learn how to catch walleye on upper BS.

Actually my wife Marsha does all the guide features.

Despite a least 10 top-10 Heartland Trail finishes on Table Rock Lake -- six of them victories -- Guide Bill Beck now finds guiding luring him more than competitive fishing these days. "It used to be I was sometimes conflicted with taking guide trips when I needed to be practicing for tournaments," he said, but now he is content with a half dozen competitions down from his peak of 50-60 bass tournaments a year. The circuits included B.A.S.S. and Central Pro-Am, as well. "I really enjoy fishing with the kids and beginning anglers now," he said. "I guess we mellow with age, which is not a bad thing. At only 57, Beck is now one of the patriarchs of Southwest Missouri guides since he started officially guiding at 15 and earned his U.S. Coast Guard license at 18. His family started fishing Table Rock Lake in 1959, and then left St. Louis to buy a Kimberling City resort in 1966, operating it for 31 seasons. His wife, Mary, manages What's Up Dock Marina at the Port of Kimberling. Beck's Table Rock Guide Service offers trips for individuals as well as families, and corporate groups, offering four, six and eight-hour outings. He loves teaching the seasonal patterns, techniques and presentation of lures to catch bass on Table Rock and trout on Lake Taneycomo. His longevity on the lakes now transcends generations, he said. "You meet so many nice people from all across the country in various walks of life that it's pretty interesting. You become friends of the family and start fishing with the grandparents, then the parents and then the grandchildren." "Once when I was guiding a client, he had brought his son-in-law from Chicago. It was one of those days when the fishing was really good and the son-in-law was carefully photographing all the fish and jotting down notes. He asked if he could write a story about the trip, and I said, sure." It was not until his phone was ringing off the wall a week later that he learned the story was prominently featured in the Chicago Sun Times. Another guide trip Beck remembers for the humor: two hefty men, brother-in-laws, were enjoying a day out with him when one of them caught his belt buckle on a boat cleat. "We're fishing and I hear this splash. He is hanging headfirst over the boat with legs in the air and head in the water. I am scrambling to pull him up and the brother-in-law just keeps fishing . . ." Although relishing a holiday Florida trip for golf and family time, Beck still also enjoys winter fishing on Lake Taneycomo. "The fishing on Taneycomo is excellent in the winter. Fishing for quality fish is usually better in the winter, and we usually have some great days amid the cold ones," Beck said. "It's not crowded, so instead of sitting at home, people should come see us and try it."