Phil Lilley

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

Thanks. That's about a 14-inch brown I caught on a #20 trout crack (in it's mouth). Can't really tell how big it is for the pic. I took it in about 4 inches of water along the bank.

I just checked the weather forecast for the next 10 days and I see some 40 degree nights and not many 80 degree days. If you noticed the trees in my opening image you'll see a little color in those trees on the bluff. It all indicates a change of seasons is just around the corner! There's hasn't been a great deal of change in our fishing patterns here on Lake Taneycomo is the past few weeks. Generation has started sometime after noon and continued into the evening. Most days they're running 1 to 2 units, just enough to flush out the upper end of the lake of the leaves that are starting to fall. Water temperature is holding about 51 degrees coming through the dam and rising to about 60 degrees at the Branson Landing. Early in the mornings before the sun gets too high, the bite has been the best but on sunny days, after about 9 a.m., fishing gets a little tough, especially in the trophy area where the water isn't as deep. If the wind kicks up and we get a chop on the water, it'll stay good throughout the day. Our rainbows that have been stocked the last couple of weeks have been on the short side it seems. I've been out jig fishing a few times this week and noted a lot of the rainbows I'm catching are less than 11 inches. They do seem to be eating well--they're in great shape, fight hard and have good color. But there's always the bigger rainbows and an occasional brown mixed it. Speaking of jigs, I've done pretty good this week going out and throwing a straight jig, using an ultra light rod and 2 pound line, throwing a 1/16th ounce jig and working it in deeper water close to the bottom. The best areas have been from the Narrows (/14-mile above Fall Creek) down through Fall Creek all the way down to our place (Lilleys' Landing). Best colors have been sculpin, black and ginger/sculpin. I haven't done as well throwing a jig and float this week. It seems like they're wanting something moving more than sitting still, whether the water is running or not. A couple of weeks ago, I did the same thing with a Trout Magnet. Threw it using 2-pound line and working it without a float. They hit it on the drop which makes feeling and/or seeing the bite tough. I bet I miss 80% of the strikes I get but they're hitting it so often I'm still catching them pretty good. I believe I do catch better fish using the jig. That's always been my experience anyhow. Bait fishing has been good the last couple of weeks too. Most people fishing off our dock and out in boats have been catching their limits. Our water is still very clear so using at the most 4-pound line is important. Using 2-pound line will catch more fish. The same live baits are working-- night crawlers injected with air or floating it using a Gulp egg, best in white. Gulp eggs in pink and white. Noticed a lot of people trolling and doing well. Troll slowly using a small crank bait like a F-5 Rapala. A in-line spinner like a Rooster Tail works. Be sure to use a good barrel or swivel to keep your line from twisting. Best to troll the area below Cooper Creek. Missouri Department of Conservation guys said they saw some good browns during their annual survey a few weeks ago. They shock and survey trout in the upper end of the lake every August to determine the condition of our trout in the lake. Shane Bush, MDC fisheries biologist, said they shocked 2 browns around 30 inches. He also said that they're seeing some browns come up the hatchery ladder, located below the dam. Fish pics courteous of Steve Dickey, fishing guide. Drove to the dam this afternoon to look around. Hadn't been up there since the last high water event. Ran into Duffy, a good friend who fishes up at the dam almost every day of the year. He said fishing had been pretty good lately. Overcast today so I knew the trout would be active up there below the dam so I took my rod. There were quite a few people fishing but not crowded and plenty of places to fish. Duffy told me about the changes to the Rebar area, how it had filled in. The run itself isn't as deep as it was and it dumps into a deep pocket on the far side on the way down. Not easy to fish that deep pocket. The water slows down too much when it hits it. Can't get a good drift. There are a lot of trout holding in the fast water though. Duffy showed me how it's done. He was drifting a soft hackle over a weighted scud, using a long leader and no indicator. He's cast it over the run and with a slack line, let it drift down. A strike would stop his line, it would tighten and he'd set the hook. He set the hook on a lot of fish as I stood and visited. I fished down from the run, across the water from the washout gravel bar. I stayed out of the water most of the time and casted to mainly rainbows that were working the bottom in the shallow water there below the small flow coming down over the main gravel bar. There was just enough current to carry my fly across the gravel where they were feeding. I used a couple of flies--a #20 dark trout crack and a #20 plantan using 6x fluorocarbon under a half palsa. I had a long leader too so as to not spook the shallow holding trout, although they still spooked quite a bit. I hooked and landed 6 or 8 trout, one brown (pic). Others were doing well too. This gal was showing everyone up, hooking over a dozen trout while I was there. She was drifting something in the deeper run. Out in front and down from here, I saw several nice browns jump. That's a good sign for sure. Didn't see any big browns either in the Rebar run or in the shallow water I was fishing. Duffy said he seen them jump too. Said he'd seen several 15 to 17-inch browns caught but nothing bigger in the last week. For bigger trout including browns, I'd use bigger flies. Like Michael Kyle posted, sculpins are their main diet. Day time or night time, they're good flies to try. Also, if there's a chop on the water, I'd use a crackleback. I've seen a lot of browns caught on cracklebacks.

I'm looking into nylon shirts. The online store site is down. We're working on getting it back online.

Fall Creek Dock. It's a big dock on the west wide of the lake. Can't miss it. No docks between my dock and theirs. Above it is where Fall Creek comes in, same side of the lake. There is signs on the up lake side. But the up lake edge of the mouth marks the boundary across the lake.

The temp has warmed up the last couple of weeks and will continue to warm up through the fall. That's how the lake (Table Rock) cycles. DO will drop to almost nothing. Only O2 coming entering the lake when there's no generation will be through the hatchery outlets which will be rich in O2. Generating- they'll inject liquid O2 to keep it above 4 to 6 ppm. Trout I caught today fought hard except for 2 or 3. That's a good sign.

There are a lot of rainbows 1/4 mile above and 1/2 mile below Fall Creek right now. Today I fly fished above the Narrows for 2 hours. Cloudy but slick surface and they were tough (after 9 am). Before then, the guides said it was very good using black micro jigs. Then I dropped down below the Narrows and started throwing a 1/16th oz sculpin jig. The wind did pick up some which helped. They wouldn't leave it alone. Below Fall Creek- the same. Caught some nice ones but mostly small. Sculpin/ginger did well too.

What's the last pic - the spring?

Also sheriff's department will help. They're probably braking more laws than too many fish... sounds like they need a license plate!

Call Springfield MDC at 417-895-6880 and ask for enforcement. Tell them your story and ask if there's a way to get the cell numbers of the agents in Stone County. Then call the agent and talk to him about what you saw. If you're in that area a lot, may be you can help them catch these guys. Have a camera ready when you're at these accesses and take a pic of them, their vehicle. The more info MDC has, the better chance they'll catch them. You might be surprise- the agents might even know who these guys are, especially if they're locals.

Yes the DO is low. Has been for several weeks. Normal for this time of year. Water temp is the thing to watch. Warm temps coupled with low DO adds stress to the trout. Last I heard it was 51.

I've never used them or know anyone who has. But I'm sure they would work ok. Almost all of the bottom up there is gravel. As far as current, don't knowhow it would work.

Of course! We mice for rainbows up there all the time. It's a blast!

That area of the lake should be cooler than Ark. Should see whites and stripers head up to the headwaters on into the fall. Should be good!

A&M - 45 'bama - 34 Sorry uncle Mike....

Thanks Mitch... life is so short and precious. Take every opportunity to love and encourage the people in your life! I will lift up you and your mom in prayer this morning. The forum is a huge blessing for me. It's a community in itself and like Ronnie said, lots of relationships have been made through it. And relationships are important in life. Thanks.

If you're fishing jigs: If throwing them no float you can get away with 4 lb mono or fluorocarbon unless you're throwing 1/32nd oz or less. If you're using a float, use 2 lb fluorocarbon. Conditions dictate. No wind and clear water lately. You'll catch a few stockers on the bigger line but if you want to catch numbers and older, wiser trout you'll need light line.

by John Neporadny Noted for its fall festivals, the Missouri Ozarks also entertains anglers with excellent crappie fishing at the largest lake in this region. While festival visitors devour snacks at these special events, crappie gorge on baitfish in their version of a fall feast at Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. This 58,000-acre lake runs 92 miles and offers anglers more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and deep-water structure to fish. Although younger reservoirs with flooded timber and undeveloped shorelines look more appealing to a crappie angler, Lake of the Ozarks entices with its hidden charms. Even though the lake lost most of its natural wood cover when standing timber was cleared before the reservoir formed in 1931, the Lake of the Ozarks has regained cover over the years as dock owners and anglers have sunk brush piles throughout the impoundment. Fed by the Osage, Niangua and Little Niangua rivers, the massive reservoir offers crappie plenty of attractive structure such as steep bluffs, chunk-rock banks, and river and creek channel drops. The lake's abundant habitat holds numerous crappie. "The population of crappie on the Lake of the Ozarks is fantastic," says Bruce Gier, a former guide at the lake. "It's very possible to catch a limit of decent-size crappie (10 inches) on this lake in the fall," says guide Terry Blankenship of Osage Beach, Mo. He notes crappie in the 12- to 14-inch range are also frequently caught. "You may not catch that size every time you go out but they are out there." Fall becomes a prime time to catch crappie on Lake of the Ozarks because the fish prepare for winter by gorging on the massive summer hatch of shad "They'll start feeding pretty aggressively especially in the early part of September," says Blankenship. "Every year I notice early September is better than late September and the when it gets into October it starts slowing down a little bit. October is one of the tougher months in the fall, then it starts picking up again in November, and December can be real good for good-size fish." During the summer, crappie seek refuge in the deep water along the numerous miles of river and creek channels, where it becomes difficult to catch them because of heavy recreational boat traffic. "So consequently when fall comes and the lake calms down, there are more fish available to catch on the lake of the Ozarks," says Guy Winters, a veteran crappie angler from Camdenton, Mo. The lake settles down after the Labor Day holiday when boat traffic diminishes. "The weekends can still be pretty rough on this lake up until the middle or end of October," Blankenship advises. Another fall phenomenon, the lake's winter drawdown, also improves the crappie fishing. The power company controlling the lake level, AmerenUE, begins the drawdown process during the fall, which tends to congregate fish. "If you take out 6 feet around more than 1,000 miles of shoreline, now all of a sudden you've concentrated those fish because there is less water for them to be in," says Winters. "So it eliminates a lot of places you have to look for them." Each angler has his favorite arm of the lake that he concentrates on during the fall. "You can catch crappie anywhere on the lake," says Gier, who prefers to fish the North Shore near the dam and the Gravois arm because those areas are close to home. "There's not one arm of the lake any better than the other for crappie fishing." Blankenship favors one of the lake's tributaries for his fall crappie fishing. "The (Grand) Glaize is one of the biggest feeder creeks in our area and fish tend to start migrating towards the cooler water in this creek," he says. Winters selects the Niangua and Linn Creek arms because the shallow waters of these two tributaries cool down faster in early autumn. When the water turns colder in late fall, he targets the Osage arm because it has more structure for crappie migrating to deeper water. In the shallow waters of the upper Glaize, Blankenship finds fall crappie in brush piles or stake beds along flats next to channel breaks. "It's not exceptionally deep up there so the crappie want to stay near the deepest water," says Blankenship. The easiest way to locate crappie beds on the Lake of the Ozarks is to fish around the reservoir's numerous boat docks. However, the Glaize arm lacks docks since a majority of the land lies in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park, so anglers have to search elsewhere for brush. "Points are always real good places to start looking for brush piles," suggest Blankenship. Other good spots to check during the fall are brush in the backs of coves or bluffs, which offers both wood and rock cover. "It's always better if you can find a bluff that has some type of brush on it," advises Blankenship. "Bluff fishing can be real good and a lot of times you'll catch big black crappie off of them." The depth Blankenship catches his fish during fall varies with the conditions. After a fall rain, he can catch crappie on a jig and bobber as shallow as 1 foot in runoff areas. In clearer water, he finds crappie anywhere from 8 to 25 feet depending on the weather and boat traffic, which tends to drive crappie deeper. The guide's favorite lure for this area is a plastic tube body hooked on a 1/16-ounce horsehead jig with a spinner. He prefers this type of jighead because the spinner gives his lure more flash and better imitates the actions of threadfin shad, the resident baitfish crappie feed on heavily during the fall. Blankenship selects natural colors for his tube bodies such as smoke or shad when fishing clear water, but he switches to orange, chartreuse or red-and-chartreuse for dingier water. During the toughest conditions, Blankenship tips his jig with a minnow or Berkley Crappie Nibbles. On the Niangua and Linn Creek arms, Winters finds crappie in deep brush during September and then the fish start moving into the creek channels throughout October. Winters notices he catches fall crappie in the same locations he finds pre-spawn fish in the spring (brush piles 4 to 6 feet deep in the coves). Another favorite target for Winters is a boat dock with sunken brush piles placed down the side of the dock from the deep to the shallow end. "Those kinds of docks are very productive in the fall," says Winters, who notes crappie use these brush piles to move from deep water to feed in the shallows. For most of the fall crappie remain in the 6- to 8- foot depths, but when the water temperature drops into the 50-degree range, they will move as shallow as 2 to 3 feet deep for feeding forays. "As the temperature starts to come down, if it doesn't change real fast crappie will continue on that pattern until the water reaches about 45 degrees," says Winters. The the crappie start a gradual migration back to deeper water. Winters estimates the fish move 2 to 3 feet deeper with each two-degree drop in water temperature during this time. By November, the fish relate to structure more and suspend over break lines. Throughout the fall, Winters selects subtle-action, slow-falling lures such as 1 1/2- to 2-inch tube jigs. A 1/32-ounce jighead works best for Winters when the crappie are in the shallows or suspended in deeper water. He switches to a 1/16-ounce head when the fish hold in the 8- to 10-foot range. The water is usually stained in the early fall, so he relies on colors such as chartreuse-glitter or red-and-chartreuse. If the water is clear, he selects red-and-pearl, blue-and-pearl or pink-and-pearl color combinations. Gier's home part of the lake contains hundreds of docks and brush piles where crappie congregate and ambush shad during autumn. "In the fall, crappie can be suspended about 2 feet deep under boat hoists in the shady parts of the dock," says Gier. The fish also move into the shallow brush piles near the dock where they can be taken with a bobber and jig. Since this section of the lake has the clearest water, Gier recommends staying away from the brush or docks and make long casts with 4- to 6-pound line to prevent spooking those shallow fish. A 1/16-ounce tube jig is Gier's favorite lure for fall crappie on the Gravois and North Shore. "I very seldom use a minnow just because I don't have to," he says. Since he mainly fishes clear water, Gier favors tube jigs with white tails or transparent colors. If the water turns murky, he opts for a yellow or chartreuse tube jig. When Ozark fall festivals begin, visit the Lake of the Ozarks for the annual crappie harvest. The lake has a multitude of motels and family resorts open-year round and numerous private campground sites spread throughout the area. 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.

At least fish chow would be good for the fish and not kill them like corn! Fifty pounds!!!! Wow! That's why our fish are getting so big. If everyone brought 50 pounds of fish food, we'd have some monsters!!

Call in report recorded by Google Voicebox. You need flash to see and listen to the report Buster's cell phone # is 417-335-0357. Call him for a guide trip.

I did something yesterday I'd never done before. Not really up my alley (I'm not a big bow hunter and hadn't shot in years), but I traveled with about 18 guys from Branson Friday evening to Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp north of Rolla, on the Gasconade River, and participated in a 3-D Archery Tournament on Saturday. It turned out of be a really nice event, great people, wonderful ranch on the river. Thirty targets over about a half mile with shots at all angles, with obstructions, through trees, branches and awkward stances. About 70 people participated. It was their 3rd year of hosting the tournament. They had some nice prizes and drawings. There were "Fun Shots" too. $1 per shot. The shots included shooting an apple off a foam head, a ping pong ball, a steel turkey shoot (about a 3-inch hole in a metal turkey shaped plate) and others. Distance was 20 yards. Food was great too. Only $20 for the tournament, breakfast and lunch. Most of the archers went through the round twice, some did it 3 times. It took about 90 minutes to complete. They're planning it again next September. I'll be sure to post it here on OA.

About this time every year, when the leaves start to drop on the lake's surface here on Lake Taneycomo, our trout will start to hold close to or under these leaves, I think, for a couple of reasons. Here's what I think and see! Read More

We've had very little rain now in several weeks. Lake levels have dropped and the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers has seen fit not to run as much water from Table Rock Lake the last week. There usually has been no generation all day until about 3 p.m., then one unit or less until about dark. This lends to good fishing -- or tough fishing -- depending on when you're out. The best fishing has been early and late in the day, and at night. Later in the morning throughout the day, we've had high sun, blue skies and very little wind, producing the toughest fishing conditions you can have. People are still catching trout during the day, but most are fishing deep for them. Early, before the sun shines over the water, trout are feeding closer to the surface. Later when the sun gets up, they go deeper and are less active. If there's wind and it chops the surface of the lake, trout become more active and do move closer to the surface to feed on hatching midges and bugs that are blown into the lake from trees close to the water. That's a simplified cycle, I understand, but if you follow this and fish with flies, lures and live bait, targeting fish where they are during the day, you'll have a better chance of catching trout. Fishing with live bait in the deeper holes has been pretty good anytime during the day or night. Fishing off our dock over the holiday weekend was good for most anglers. They were fishing with PowerBait Gulp eggs and night crawlers -- even getting away with four-pound line despite the clarity of the water. Colors: white and pink are the best colors. Early, fishing above Fall Creek up to Lookout, we are fishing mostly the channel or deeper water and using either a jig or fly under a float. We've been using micro or marabou jigs; best colors have been black or ginger. Zebra midges: #16 or #18, with best colors of black, red, rusty or ugly (green). Light tippet is a must. Most are using 7x fluorocarbon. Later in the morning, we're going to deeper waters and dropping our flies and jigs deeper. Drop below Fall Creek and fishing the channel, fishing 5 to 7 feet deep. Still using light tippet. Getting into the middle of the day, our guides are heading down and fishing from Lilleys' to the Landing. Bill Babler said his clients have used a Gulp egg placed on a small jig hook and fished under a float five- to seven-feet deep. This would work any time during the day in this area. In the evening, we've seen a lot of trout midging on the surface of the lake almost everywhere on the upper lake, feeding on hatching midges. We took a pontoon ride Sunday evening down to the Landing and all the way down, we saw trout surfacing. We stopped close to Monkey Island and tossed a #16 black Zebra Midge under a small float 12 inches deep and quickly caught a couple of rainbows and a small brown trout. Then at the Landing, in front of the fountains, we caught several more rainbows. It shows that even after a big weekend, there are still lots of trout in the lake to be caught. Here's some nice trout caught by clients of Captain Rick Lisek, two veterans here from the Project Healing Waters weekend here at Lilleys' Landing. Here's a report called in by Captain Steve Dicky:

Nice! Thanks for sharing your experience.

I've been helping with a new "church" or "ministry" here in the Branson area. Wanted to invite anyone in the area who might like this kind of gathering. We're meeting every other Tuesday at Brandon William's archery/feed store at the 65/Hollister exit south of Branson. It's across from Walgreens close to Lowes. We are meeting tonight. The indoor archery range is now ready. I'll be there about 5:30 to shoot. Dinner is at 6:15 and meeting is at 7:00 p.m.. Last meeting some guys shot after the meeting was over. The meeting is geared towards men who don't necessarily like "church". It's non invasive, usually starts with fishing reports, we have guys come and share a song, usually country, people like Clay Self from Big Cedar. Then either Brett Potter or Travis Loewen share a life lesson. Two weeks ago Travis brought one of his pot bellied pigs as an object lesson. We meet Tuesday nights because most outdoorsmen are... outdoors on Sunday morning.