Phil Lilley

Here's the brown.

Took Gary McSpadden and his grandson Chase out fishing this afternoon,,, yes in the rain. Started at 2 pm and ended just a while ago. Rick Lisek, guide, told me they caught fish just above the River Pointe boat ramp using a micro jig under a float 5 feet deep but tying a #14 black zebra, copper head, 12 inches below the jig. He was right. They caught probably 25 each, 3 browns- one about 18 inches and some nice rainbows up to 14 inches on mainly the zebra. Caught one on the jig and one on a pink thread jig I used instead of the micro. Used 6x tippet. Nice to know there IS a bunch of trout up there. After the last 3 mornings, I was beginning to wonder. Pics to follow.

Another trip this morning... even tougher. Did best drifting from the boat ramp above Short Creek to the creek using 2- 3/0 splits spaced 6 inches apart 18 inches above a #10 hook tied on 7x tippet. Night crawler with air. They were still chewing on it but managed to get some hooked and landed. All the rainbows we cleaned today (Babler and I) had orange meat which means they've been in the lake for a while. Found out that a lot of people here at the resort are waiting and fishing later in the afternoon after they crank up generation, drifting Gulp eggs from Taneycomo Acres down to Monkey Island. Doing very well, catching their limit in one drift. May be we should be taking people out in the evening instead of the morning! I'll try it tomorrow.

Pretty tough fishing I'd say. Spotty good then slow. That's about what it's been this week so far. Not the easy >catching stocked trout fishing< we're kinda used to. Water is very clear and the trout aren't taking and running with it. I took out a gentleman yesterday in the morning. We started early and made the run from the Branson Landing to Fall Creek. Some of the guys said pink Trout Magnets are working well so that's what we used. Five to 6 feet under an indicator using 7x tippet - still couldn't buy a bite. We switched to most everything else I use under a float and only had a few nibbles, 3 rainbows to the boat. The wind picked up and we got a chop on the water. Thought that would turn things on and it did a little. They were sucking on the TM just like they've been sucking on the worms. I could see the float moving but nothing on the set. I inspected the TM after 30 minutes of fishing and saw that it had been gummed to death by trout. Something else. He ended the day with less than 10 rainbows, caught up and down the lake. Caught the last one in front of the Landing. The guides who did the best stuck it out above Short Creek using night crawlers. This morning I had 4 guys from NW Missouri. I decided to fish night crawlers and stuck with them this time. Running 1/2 unit, we anchored several places from Short to Fall Creek, in the middle of the lake (not the shallow or deep side) and dropped the air injected worms behind the boat. It was good from 6:30 till about 7:30, then it got slow. We caught a few then moved 200 yards and catch some more. Ended at 10 am with a limit of 16 plus probably 10 more released. Good numbers... it just wasn't fast and furious. Word is MDC stocked a bunch of trout yesterday below Cooper Creek. Didn't know that till later in the morning.

That's why a lot of people move to Alaska... you do go back at least 50 years or more, living in most places. I do love visiting. it's hard work- a good kind of work. You always have to think and work efficiently because everything you do has meaning. You can't waste- everything is too hard and too expensive to throw away or screw up on. You have to be smart, wise and in good shape. That's why I "visit" - it's tough to do all the time! I am talking about the bush... not Anchorage or the Kenai area. Where I was at there was a store, auto parts place and lumber yard within an hour's drive but most things had to be ordered from Anchorage (a day away). It's still hard there but not as hard as a lot of villages and camps in very remote places. Want simpler times... move to the bush of Alaska. Sorry- off the subject. If's Scott's fault!

by John Neporadny, Jr. You can beat the heat and summertime crowds by fishing at night on the Lake of the Ozarks. When the moon shines and the water calms down, the fishing action picks up for bass, crappie and catfish. Some fish can be taken during the day, but night fishing offers a cooler alternative and the fish seem to feed more after dark. From mid-June to the latter part of July, nocturnal trips for bass are productive on the Big and Little Niangua arms where the fish hold in brush piles around docks. In the Little Niangua, flipping behind docks in coves also takes bass at night. Fish lights on the back of a dock are good attractants for bass, especially if there is a brush pile within 5 feet of it because the light brings the bugs in, which brings the baitfish and big bass in. During the last part of July and in August, concentrate on brush piles on the Osage arm around the Lodge of the Four Seasons. Bass seem to prefer main lake structure later in the summer. Points can be ideal spots to check at night because the fish move out to deep, cooler water during the day, but after midnight when the water starts to cool down they will come up on the shelves. Water color has little effect on night fishing since bass can be taken in clear or off-color conditions. The key is to find brush piles either on the main lake or other areas that have deep water nearby. Any brush pile sitting in 5 feet of water or deeper will hold bass at night. The depth of the fish varies throughout the night as they come up to feed at certain times. Start your evening fishing the brush piles 5 to 10 feet deep and when the fish stop biting in the brush, move up shallower in search of bass roaming and feeding behind the docks. As morning approaches, move back to the brush piles. Picking the best time after dark to catch bass can be difficult because the action can be non-stop some nights or there will be lulls between bites other nights. If there's a full moon, the fish might bite all night. Other times the fish bite during periods such as 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. or daylight to 8 am. Magnum-size plastic worms (10 or 11 inches) and jigs are excellent night-time lures. Plastic worms in darker hues, such as black, blue fleck, June bug and red shad, work well along with a brown or black 3/8-ounce jig with a rattle and some type of pork chunk or double-tail plastic grub trailer in a bluegill color. Retrieve the worm and the jig in the same fashion. Let the lure fall into the brush and crawl it through the limbs. Sometimes the fish suspend around the brush piles, so you should lift the worm up over the brush and then let it drop down into it, then lift it out of the brush again and let it drop back to get the fish that are suspended around the brush. Another technique also produces at night for bass. Try a 3/8-ounce black spinnerbait with a silver willowleaf blade and a black twin-tail trailer, which should be slow rolled over the chunk rocks. Nights are also a prime time to drift for catfish. When the wind calms in the evening, head for a the back of a cove and rig your rods with shad and frozen shrimp. Spend the rest of the evening and into the early morning drifting the cove for catfish. If you don't have a boat, resort docks also provide good night action for a variety of fish. Most of the resorts have sunken brush piles around the docks, which become havens for bass and crappie. Bass can be taken from the brush on plastic worms or jigs. The best crappie action occurs in the brush piles located under lights that shine directly into the water. The lights set off a chain reaction as microorganisms are attracted to the lit area, followed by baitfish and then crappie. Minnows, jigs or a jig tipped with a minnow catch crappie under the lights. Some crappie anglers also get in on a bonus catch when a school of white bass move under the lights to feed on shad. Tight-lining off the docks with live bait or stink baits is an effective way to take catfish at night. As the temperatures rise, take the day off and try some fishing under the stars at the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks this summer. 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 &amp; Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at funlake.com.

I got out for a couple of hours today. Thought clouds/rain and generation would be favorable to trout "catching". Not so. I drifted the bluff bank from Lookout to the Narrows twice - once throwing a #10 stimulator - no looks or takes. Second using a white marabou jig- no bites. Threw an olive jig too - same result. Drifted on down to Short Creek and caught one brown on the white jig. Two other bites. Then on down past Trout Hollow with the olive jig and caught one stocker rainbow. Slim pickings today. It has been tough the last few days. I think it's because of the ultra clear water. Babler thinks it's a lack of rainbows but I've always thought that theory is a cop out... there should be good numbers in the trophy area regardless of when they stocked last. But I am going to inquire tomorrow. Babler said he had 40 this morning on crawlers including a 21 inch rainbow. That's not too bad!

Impossible to keep it neutral but it is somewhat possible to keep it civil.

Gentlemen, The climate on this forum in regards to politics and race has heated up in the last month to the point I'm ready to give some of you "timeouts". Seriously... this has no place on this fishing forum. I've banned politics in the past but let it slide because cooler heads prevailed for a time but I guess it's the heat of summer that's brought out the worse in some of you. Believe me, I don't want to nanny sit the board and nit pic subjects and conversations - I should not have to. But if I have to ban members, new ones or old ones, to solve this issue I guess I may have to. No more cussing. No more acronyms. No more race based topics or posts because no one here has any good answers and no one here can post anything that will do anyone any good in the matter.

I just got back from a fishing trip to Alaska to find trout fishing on our Lake Taneycomo has been pretty good for the most part. And big trout too being caught by both guests of Lilleys' Landing and clients of our fishing guides. Generation has been fairly consistent with a few exceptions: Water off most mornings then generation starting mid day till late at night, building to 3 to 4 units by mid afternoon. I believe the temperature outside dictates how much they run simply because of power demand. The morning bite has been a mixed bag. Calm, dead mornings especially when the fog is on the lake means tough fishing, especially fly fishing in the trophy area. Early, before the sun gets up, fly fishing below the dam is good using #18 zebras under an indicator 8 to 18 inches (depending on water depth) and 7x tippet. Also small #20 to #24 thread midges in red or black- same technique. I fished a #24 griffith's gnat this morning while rainbows were actively taking something real small off the surface and got 2 trout to take it, landing one (pic). I also caught a few on a #24 red thread midge. I was fishing just above the MDC boat ramp, wading in from the north side of the lake. Our guides are reporting catching trout on small micro jigs, olive, orange head or ginger (half micros) under an indicator 4 to 5 feet deep using 6x tippet. Rick Lisek told me he's done well fishing a zebra midge under a float 5 feet deep just below the Fall Creek line before they start running water in the mornings. Steve Dicky called in this fishing report for me this afternoon. I got yesterday and drifted from Lookout to the Narrows, throwing a hopper (fly) against the bluff bank in the pockets and runs I have caught trout, big trout, in past years. But only had one small rainbow take the fly. Jury is still out on the timing of the hopper hatch but if it's not now it has to be coming real soon. Last summer we did extremely well, catching some real nice rainbows and browns on hoppers and stimulators. Really looking forward to when it gets good on these big dry flies. Night crawlers has been the ticket on most of the big lunkers caught on the lake the past few weeks I understand. And the hot area has been between Fall and Short Creek. Bill Babler reports the big trout "just showing up" our of the blue one day and they've been catching them consistently ever since. An unusable number of brown trout too, said Buster Loving yesterday as we talked on the dock after his trip. "I haven't caught this many browns since the high water in 2009." Most are sub legal but a lot of fun to catch. Our water is super clear so 4-pound line is a must, 2-pound is even better. When drifting during generation, you can get away with 4-pound line on everything. They are still working on the intake lines at the Branson City Pump Station just up lake from us. They've had a big excavator digging gravel out from around the pipes on the bottom of the lake for a couple of months now with the end no where in sight. This is stirring up the water and sending murky water down our way. This isn't a bad thing really. If you give me a choice of fishing slightly dirty water and gin clear water I'd take the off colored water every time.

A month ago, Nixa got, what, 9 inches of rain in a few hours? There's a small system sitting on us and it hasn't moved in 30 minutes. Wind and rain. Hasn't let up at all. Pouring. Yes we're dry but this is a deluge! Bottle and sell it!!

Trailer is listed. I'm sure the motor is 2013 too.

You'll need to call Rick for those questions. He's not a member on the forum.

74 isn't that old... In getting "more mature", I've noticed my confidence waning in certain situations. Take my recent trip to Alaska. Taking friends fishing on the Naknek River in my boat for a day, I took off from the dock without checking everything like I should have. Almost got stranded because my oil alarm went off 2 miles from home. Even simple things like walking on the round rocks on the gravel banks, started to think twice, hesitate... little things shake your nerves that didn't before. I tend to blame it on my age... I'm only 54 though. I push it out of my mind and try not to dwell on it. I'm thankful, regardless of what may lay ahead.

Nice to hear... glad you made it back.

417-335-0357

First week I had friends Chuck and Brian plus my nephew Ryan with me. Second week friends from Colorado Scott and Roger (son and father). John Moore from Springfield join us as a guest of the camp. Third week was friends from Kingfisher, OK John and Randy. I am TERRIBLE with names, can't remember the names of the guys from KC. I'd call it a senior moment but I've always had this problem.

There's a boat shop in King Salmon- guy's name is John. Works his butt off in the summer and can't imagine he does a whole lot in the winter. Probably the same for boat yards in Naknek. I think it would be tough... everything is tough in the "bush" of Alaska.

Moving to James River where you should get more looks.

I like this... I've pinned it for now. May do something else with it in time. May be a better place for it. Thanks!

Opps.... misspoke!! That's funny! Fortunately... I think I was more worried about spelling the word correctly than getting it right! They were a great couple! They wanted to do something new and exciting and got more than they bargained for. Although it was pretty tough, they did very well emotionally and physically and said they weren't sorry they'd done it. Not sure what he does but she's an attorney for the US Army or defense department. They live in Maine.

Of our fly out yesterday to Contact Creek

Well, since I'm stuck in Anchorage (again), delayed 3 hours and will miss my connection in Denver for Branson, getting home Monday instead of Sunday... I have time to type and post pics. The sockeye run actually started a week before we arrived (June 23), according to guides at the camp. That's early and a week before the "counters" start counting fish entering the river. That caused some confusion about the "escapement" of salmon this season and probably costed commercial fisherman a lot of money. We heard they didn't do well at all, at least the Naknek. But we anglers did very well. Even while they were netting, we saw good numbers of sockeye run past us while fishing. But when the escapement number was around 600,000, AK fish/game closed commercial fishing (last weekend I think) and on Monday we saw the biggest run most have ever seen. My group witnessed sockeye swimming past us 6 feet wide and sometimes 2 fish deep for 5 hours pretty steady. I started trying NOT to hook a salmon on a drift and could not. We use "chuck-n-duck" method. Some say these salmon don't "bite". I don't know... we hook them in the mouth at times but most of the time the hook is in the side of the mouth on the far side. Either way, in AK, that's a legally hooked salmon. You don't want to snap these fish anywhere but the mouth - they're hard enough landing when hooked in the mouth. All 3 weeks, we had no trouble landing our limits (5 each) at least 3 days and most of the time 4 days, enough to fill boxes for all my guys. This last weeks salmon were noticeably bigger too. Rainbow fishing was off compared to years I've been there. We usually have a pretty big school of rainbows in front of the camp chasing smolt running from the lake to the ocean- we did have some but not the numbers. Rainbow Rock and the cabin area up lake - same. The rapids offered the best bet for catching good rainbows. We didn't land any over 24 inches though. We caught some northern pike in the bay across from the camp the first week but didn't try after that. They were about 30 inches. Weather changed from cold/rain to 70's and 80's, back to cold/rain and finishing with bright sun and 80's. Bugs were terrible the last week. I got ate up by white socks and will have the scars to prove it.

This is a report posted today by Steve Fraley from Naknek River Camp. The 2 guys in most of the pics are from the KC area and members here on the forum. http://fishbaldwin.com/Reports/Reports.cfm Enjoy.