Phil Lilley

Dave sent me a facebook message the other day wanting to know if I knew of anyone in the Phillipsburg, MO area who liked to fish and would like some company. He's new to the area and somewhat disabled. If anyone has an empty boat seat, drop him a PM. His screen name here is biggobbler65722 Thanks

For all those looking and have struck out... don't feel bad. I've been over 3 times looking for whites and have come up short each time. I'm still trying. "They were here or there yesterday, this morning..." Just have to keep looking.

Sounds like a plan...

They are there but not in the numbers they used to be. I drifted it Saturday night throwing a white jig and caught 2- a 14 and 15-inch. Both in great shape. One other guy said he did the same and caught 2 also.

No. Wool.

I got 4... thanks.

I have 4 packages of sample strike indicator systems to give away to the first 4 people who PM me their mailing addresses. You'll need to try it and then report back to the forum - what you think about it.

The '11 flood wasn't as devastating as the '08 flood. Fall '08 they opened the flood gates and let 70+ degree water loose when browns were either up or heading up to spawn. Since then the numbers have not been there. Brian- I was commenting on the numbers, not condition.

Midwest Carpet Carriers. It's the company I worked for in Springfield before moving to Branson.

I guess if you take 24 hours and say there's a 10% chance of rain, it would rain 2.4 hours? It only rained for 15 minutes.

I'm not quick to share this photo... it does show the beginning of my journey of Taneycomo trout fishing as well as the fishery itself. This was my first summer living on the lake. We bought the resort in May, 1983. Before I moved here, I learned to fish with trout eggs from fishing in the fall below the dam, watching everyone else fishing with them. Bruce Steele used to sell trout roe, both in nylon sacks and just cured themselves but we used them raw most of the time, which was and still is illegal. Kris and I got us early, before daylight, and boated up to the hole just below the MDC boat ramp. Back then you could do that even with the water off. We'd anchor and fish roe. This morning we caught probably the best stringer of trout I'd ever caught- then and since. Unfortunately, I didn't practice catch and release back then. I soon learned of the importance of C&R. Kris did catch and keep a 9 pound brown the next morning. At that time, no one knew of a bigger brown caught from Taneycomo so we called it a lake record.

Like most of the country, we've had some strange weather lately, but it looks like it's leveled out for a beautiful Memorial Weekend and the week following. Generation patterns have been fairly constant. Table Rock and Beaver lakes, both just above power pool levels, are dropping slowly. It's hard to predict what the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers will run this weekend, but I will bet it won't be more water -- if anything, it will be less. One unit has been running in the morning building to 2+ in the afternoon. Water temperature has held steady at 46 degrees, which is nice. Usually this time of year we see it drop into the lower 40's which doesn't thrill the trout. We also usually see a great deal of moss flowing from Table Rock through the dam which we haven't seen either. Both are positives. We just need to tell the trout . . . they haven't been very cooperative lately. "Catching"has been slow the last week or so. For some anglers, it's taking several hours to catch their limits. A few are coming back empty handed. There are success stories, though, and I wanted to key in on some of them. I realize that a lot of people don't like to go above the mouth of Fall Creek, but, honestly, right now that's where the best concentration of trout is. Now you know you can't use Gulp Power Bait or worms or corn up there, but you can use scuds and egg flies, jigs and small crank baits. Take a drift rig and cut off the hook. Replace it with a #16 gray scud (ask us in the fly shop what a scud is) and drift it instead of bait. I think you'll be surprised. Remember the other thing you can't do is keep every rainbow you catch. The size restriction above Fall Creek requires you to release rainbows from 12 to 20 inches. An 11-1/2 inch rainbow isn't anything to sneeze at! And it's better to catch and release nice rainbows and keep average size trout than to not catch anything!! Please don't take this information, fish above Fall Creek and poach rainbows in the slot (12 to 20 inches). Take a picture, handle them with care and release them to be caught again. Details: You don't have to go far above Fall Creek to drift over some good spots. You'll notice about 1/2 mile up the water, if it's running, will be very fast and choppy. That's a big shoal with the channel or deep part on your left. Stay to the left of center and you'll be fine. You'll see some trees that have been cut close to the water's edge on the left bank. Motor up another mile to Lookout Island (big white house on the right) and start drifting. Stay in the middle of the lake and drift all the way to Fall Creek. Depending on how much water is running, use a small to medium bell weight, 1/4 to 5/16 ounce. Flies: Use a #16 gray scud with another attractor fly like an egg fly or San Juan worm in a bright color. Our guides have gone to a #16, which is small for running water instead of a #14 or even a #12, because the trout have keyed in on smaller scuds this past week. Another lure you can try, but a little more costly if lost, is a small floating crank bait. Trout Magnet makes such an animal at a relatively low cost. Use the clear or "Hawk" or a Rainbow color. You can also use a Rebel, blue/silver minnow F-5 floating crank bait. These actually work better drifting them below the dam, but they will catch trout anywhere when drifted off the bottom. The jig-and-float technique also works well, using either a 1/32nd-ounce marabou jig or a full micro jig. Depending on how much water is running, you need to get it down to the bottom. Micro jig colors are pink/chrome head and olive/gold head. Marabou, I'd try white, olive and ginger plus brown with an orange head. Steve Dickey has a good Youtube video on his slip float technique that he's been using lately and doing very well. You might want to watch and give it a try. Throwing marabou jigs straight has been fairly to good, depending on where you're fishing and who you talk to. We had six guys, good jig fishermen, last weekend catch and release more than 400 trout in the trophy area on Saturday alone. Their best colors were white, sculpin, sculpin/ginger, ginger and olive. They used mostly 3/32nd-ounce jigs but also used 1/8th-ounce jigs. Below Fall Creek, you have to work for your dinner. There are pockets of rainbows here and there. They seem to move almost every day, but the better schools are just below Fall Creek, just above and through the Short Creek area, down through Trout Hollow, the Cooper Creek area and Monkey Island. We've been drifting Gulp Power Bait, using white/pink or white/orange combinations. I've been running a white egg up the line, pinching a night crawler in half and hooking it in the middle, letting it hang off both sides, then dropping the egg on top of the worm to make it float off the bottom. There's an eddy on the bank just up from and across the lake from Trout Hollow. I let my boat drift up against the bank in that eddy and toss either Gulp eggs or the worm/egg combo in the current and let it swing into the slower water. This caught several nice rainbows yesterday. There seems to be a good school holding in this slower water. You also might find other slow water against banks where trout are holding and do the same.

Ran across this video while looking for something else. I got to say our trout right now aren't even close to this quality, especially the browns. Now I have to wonder why... I've blamed the brown decline on the 2008 fall high water/flood gates but here it is spring 2010 and catching these nice browns. Just don't see them today.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – During this Memorial Day weekend Army Corps of Engineers officials want lake visitors to be safe when on or near the water. Nearly 90 percent of the drownings at Corps-managed lakes in 2012 could have been prevented if the victim had been wearing a life jacket. There are a number of styles available, including life jackets for paddling, water skiing, and riding a personal watercraft. If you visit a lake without a life jacket, borrow one from us. Life jacket loaner boards helps ensure park visitors have the chance to safely enjoy water activities. The loaner program has limited quantities of life jackets for children and adults so use it for the day and return it. Life jackets loaner stations are located at some parks at Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork, Clearwater, Greers Ferry, Nimrod, Blue Mountain, Millwood, Dierks, DeQueen, and Gillham lakes. Several Corps parks along the Arkansas River also have loaner stations. Water safety tips and life jacket loaner program information can be found on the Internet at www.swl.usace.army.mil, Facebook at www.facebook.com/littlerockusace, and Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/usacelittlerock.

MDC and AFG are both trying to rid TR of stripers... they come over Beaver Dam when they open their flood gates.

I subscribe to this channel.

Jeremy Rasnick caught this in the Mill Creek area yesterday. Bottom fish- is it a redear? 12 inches long.

By Conservation Agent Charles Nofsinger Fishing for black bass is popular activity in Southwest Missouri. Learning to properly identify the different black bass is important for anglers. Black bass are divided into largemouth bass, spotted bass, smallmouth bass, and all black bass hybrids. Depending on the lake of river that you are fishing, different length and possession limits may apply to the different species of back bass. The proper identification of these fish is very important where these length and possession limits apply. In this article I will cover different characteristics of each one of these black bass that can be used to help in identification of these fish. Other good sources for learning how identify black bass are The Fishes of Missouri, A Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations, and having an experienced angler show you the difference between the fish. The largemouth bass is more widely distributed in Missouri than the other two bass. It prefers the slower moving water found in lakes, ponds, and pools. The characteristics used to identify this fish are several. First, the upper jaw extends beyond the back of the eye. Second, it has a smooth tongue. Third, the dorsal fins of this fish are not connected very well. Fourth, the scales found on the cheek are the same size as the scales on the body. Finally, it has a dark horizontal stripe. On Bull Shoals and Table Rock Lake the length limit for largemouth bass is 15 inches. The spotted bass which is also called a Kentucky bass looks a lot like the largemouth bass and can be mistaken for a largemouth if not closely looked at. First, the upper jaw does not reach the back of the eye. Second, it has a rough patch on the tongue. Third, the dorsal fins are well connected. This is obvious when compared to a largemouth bass. Fourth, the scales on the cheek are very small. Finally, it has a dark horizontal stripe with the lower side with series of dark horizontal streaks. On Bull Shoals Lake the length limit for spotted bass is 12 inches, and on Table Rock Lake the length limit is 15 inches. The smallmouth bass is the easiest of the three to identify. It is usually a brown color instead of the greenish color of the other two bass. First, the jaw does not extend beyond the back of the eye. Second, the dorsal fins are connected. Third, it has very small cheek scales. Finally, the side is plain with a series of separate vertical bars. On Bull Shoals and Table Rock Lake the length limit for smallmouth bass is 15 inches. Being able to correctly identify the difference between the three bass can be important. If you are unsure of the fish you have caught and the regulations for the different species it is best to release the fish unharmed immediately to the water where it came from. For pictures of these fish or more information about them you can pick up a copy of A Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations or The Fishes of Missouri from a Department of Conservation Office. If you have any questions about fish identification or any other conservation question please contact your local Conservation Agent or Department of Conservation Office.

You can change your screen name if you've posted, I think, 50 times. Regardless, I can change or add spaces - just send me a PM.

I decided to delete the topic in question. I changed the rules just a bit. Here they are: Forum Terms & Rules ATTENTION!! 05/20/2013 I will not GUESS whether a person registering is a REAL person or a SPAMMER any longer. If you are NOT clear in using a screen name that is YOUR NAME or a PROPER name of some kind, preferably FISHING related, then you're out of luck. EXAMPLES: djones948 is not a REAL name. Dave Jones is a real name. iddjfishk100 is not a fishy name. Joey Largemouth is. Use spaces. You CAN use spaces. Please take a moment to review these rules detailed below. If you agree with them and wish to proceed with the registration, simply click the "Register" button below. To cancel this registration, simply hit the 'back' button on your browser. First- we all will respect each other - no bashing or being rude. Second- no "shoot cursing". That's when bad words are altered to get by the admin... it won't this admin. Third- OAF doesn't mind links posted to other sites as long as they are sites of interest by OAF folks. Of course no inappropriate sites will be tolerated. Posting links is acceptable by "frequent users and contributors' of OAF. Please don't "spam" the board with nothing but links, no matter if the sites are useful to anglers or not. Fourth (and this has become a big one) - Please read some of the forums, threads and articles before posting questions. Chances are someone has already asked your questions, whether it be about current fishing or upcoming conditions. If your question is relative-- go for it! But please don't post "How's fishing?" or "What are they biting on?" if that subject has already been covered. Fifth - No political topics. Keep politics out of this fishing forum. No religious topics. Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not the views of this bulletin board, its owner or representatives. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this bulletin board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise illegal. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board. Once posted, the material becomes part of public domain and is no longer considered protected by copyrights or any other private right, as long as it's no copied or plagiarized from another internet site or other private or public publication. Clearly most people do not read these rules before registering... most are common sense stuff.

On Table Rock, I've caught crappie up spawning shallow in clear water but only very early and late in the day. They move up while the light is low and move off when it gets lighter. May be that's another variable when fishing clear lakes.

Be interesting to see who and what won each hour and how much they won.

I heard Larry Dablemont on the radio this morning say crappie spawn in water one foot deeper than you can see. He used a succi disk as an example how far is "deep". Problem is, at least on Table Rock, visibility is 20-30 and even 40 feet deep right now. So where do crappie spawn in that kind of water? Do they just hold their eggs? I had to get to church or I would have called him and asked.