Phil Lilley

The primrose & pearl or the rusty midge have been working for me. #16. If it's windy- throw a soft hackle, crackleback or a small wooly. Good luck!

Email from MDC: Yesterday, at the recommended maximum rate of 32 Mw per unit, the tailwater D.O. was in the range of 8 ppm. There has also been a trend of seeing slightly higher D.O. during overnight periods of no generation which could indicate improving oxygen levels in the lower reaches of the lake. Starting immediately, there is no recommended maximum generation rate at Table Rock. With oxygen on hand to inject if needed, should the tailwater D.O. drop below 4 ppm with any plant load, there should be LOX injected and report the event to the Reservoir Control Branch for further consideration. Also, tailwater oxygen levels have remained above 6 ppm during generation which allows for the vacuum breaker vents to be unblocked. For all practical purposes, actions to be taken during the low D.O. season appear to be over for Table Rock Dam. Thanks, Steve Bays

I wanted to share this here because I think we need some good news with all the bad going around. First let me state for the record that I have known Carl Medearis for many years. This is the real deal- nothing made up or exaggerated. I'm sure you can google Carl's name and read quite a bit about him but I can tell you what he'd say - he's a country boy from a farm in Nebraska that loves to talk about Jesus. And look how God has used him... Here's today's newsletter. He just returned from his trip. http://createsend.com/t/r-8AC2073F4296EC49 God has a sense of humor. Seriously. Not joking. He’s hilarious. I mean, look at us. Look at who he chooses to use and how he goes about doing it... Take this as an example: three months ago I got a slightly mysterious message from someone in Egypt who was supposedly the Ambassador to Palestine from the Arab League. I had never heard of him and couldn’t find out any info about him. Then I started getting messages from his assistant saying the Iraqi government wanted to pay for my attendance at the annual Arab League meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue. The way I decide such things is simple - I talk to Chris. Pray. Talk to my “Core Group” (leadership team). If no one has red flags, I just say YES! So... I said Yes. Then began a long email string of back-and-forth’s about the purpose was and what I would be doing. Would I be speaking? Why had they invited me? Etc. The obvious questions. But I got NO answers. Finally, someone from Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said that I should “submit a paper”. What kind of paper and on what topic, I asked? Still NO answer. So... I decided to write the paper that I’d want to be presented to several hundred key Arab leaders. Something on Jesus (obviously). So I wrote a three page paper called “The Answer to Injustice according to Jesus of Nazareth". Basically saying that the way forward was divine and human forgiveness. Very controversial in such a setting. But they accepted it. Then I asked if I could bring some friends. They said “sure.” I asked if they would get their way paid as well - Yes, was the reply. So I invited some friends. Porter Speakman (who was probably already going anyway) is the producer of the fantastic film called “With God on our Side". If you haven’t watched it, then you should go to Amazon and buy it. I also invited my good friend, Andrew Schill, who is an oil and gas attorney in Durango, Colorado and another good friend, Andy Braner, who runs the coolest youth camp on earth: www.campKivu.com, that my kids have attended for the last 7 years! Three days before we were supposed to leave - the plane tickets came. We headed out. A real journey of faith (which, like many others started by saying "Yes”). On the way, I got an email asking if I would “Chair” one of the meetings. I had no idea what that meant - I still didn’t even know what we were doing - but I said “yes". We got there and then the Ambassador of the Arab League asked if I’d be the Chairperson for two of the six main meetings. I said... well, you get the idea. It was a meeting full of Arab politicians, Palestinians, Western activists and an interesting mix of journalist, foreign Ambassadors and even heads of state. And I was put in charge of leading and moderating two of the meetings. Tell me God doesn’t have a keen sense of humor. (During one of them, I even wore my slippers because my feet were hurting.) The first night I closed with a little talk (5 minutes) on Prayer. Simply that we needed to pray for the people of the region. You would have thought I’d called for the end of the world or something based on some of the responses. The Muslim Arabs were all elated and the majority of the Westerners were furious. I mean, spit-coming-out-of-their-mouth-angry! One Western lady said, “I’m an atheist and I can’t believe you brought God into this conversation". I couldn’t resist saying two things: 1. "I didn’t bring God into it - He’s already here." 2. "If you’re an atheist, then I guess you don’t need to worry!" The next day a similar thing happened when I closed by sharing my thoughts on Jesus’ Way - the way of forgiveness. I spoke softly and sensitively, but very clearly about Jesus. I was told that has never happened before at an Arab League meeting. I asked “Why not?” They weren’t sure... One group of Europeans actually got up and walked out during my talk. But three mothers from Gaza came up to me afterwards in tears - two had lost their children - killed by Israeli shelling. They grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go. “Thank you, thank you, thank you", they repeated over and over. “Finally, someone acknowledges there is a God.” The ironies here are many and profound! The rest of the conference was full of discussions with leaders about Jesus and why I did that and what it means. Some incredible discussions. Too many to tell... and they are continuing on! Thank you for praying for this trip! Thank you so much! The people who hosted us from Egypt (the Arab League) and Iraq (the Foreign Ministry) were wonderful. The times were rich with great food and wonderful warm conversation! We each sensed God’s sweet presence in an otherwise difficult environment. As usual, Chris was a champion back here at home - serving and working and taking care of the house and kids. It’s hard to measure the “success” of such an endeavor. It was emotionally and physically exhausting to be sure. I didn’t give an altar call. No one “signed up". But many heard the good news that God loves and cares for them and that Jesus’ Way is The Way open for all. They just need to say Yes. Once again, THANK YOU! Without you, we couldn’t do what we do. We are so grateful for you and thankful for your partnership. Merry Christmas, Carl and Chris

"Happy, happy, happy" - I immediately thought of Si on Duck Dynasty.

Can you make a deer blind for me for Saturday too?

I think the Corp frowns on hauling and operating a small backhoe on their shores...

http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/23-Rainbow.jpg" alt="" width="403" height="403" /> The wife and I needed some time to get away from the mayhem the past few months, so she got us a room at Lilley’s last Monday and Tuesday. My wife had decided she wanted to try fishing which sounded great to me, but I didn’t expect the first real cold front of the winter. Woke up Monday morning to temperatures far too cold for fishing. So we had to wait until afternoon for the wind to die down and the clouds to part. I’m not normally a bait fisherman but I thought worms (inflated of course) and a sunny spot on the dock were appropriate for a beginner. I don’t think there was any generation but there was a slight down stream flow. Baited the first rod and handed it to her saying, “Here you fish with this one”. Then I baited the second rod. The second rod didn’t even get into the rod holder when it had a bite, so I handed it to her (you know, to get her some action). I took the original rod to the other end of the dock to get it out of the way. She did well landing her first fish. But as soon as I had that fish in the net and on the dock the second rod doubled over and the reel started singing. I picked that rod up and knew it was a good fish. I didn’t even have to set the hook, it was already running. When I got it close to the dock I knew I had a problem. I had a big fish on the line, the first fish was still in the net and I knew my wife would not know how to get that first fish out of the net. I carefully maneuvered over and grabbed the fish in the net by the mouth and asked her to hold it just like I was. “Does it have teeth?” she asked. “No it’s a rainbow” I said. She tried to put her thumb in its mouth but it started wiggling, she shrieked and I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I give her credit for trying though. She won’t even touch raw meat! I just laid the first fish on the dock and hoped for the best. After a good fight we netted the big fish. It measured 23”. I put the first fish on a stringer and said, “Here is your stringer.” As I was putting the big fish on a second stringer she said, “What are you doing”? “I am putting it on my stringer” I said. “Isn’t that my fish because you caught it on my pole.” She said. Sometimes they listen too well. I think we’re sharing it and there was no more rod swapping. Didn’t have to wait long for bites after that, as we landed a trout and a sucker each in the next 15 minutes. They weren’t nibbling on the worms either, they just hammered it and they were on. Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. Not even a bite after the last fish. Tuesday morning was even colder than Monday but it was warming quickly so about 10am we decided to rent a boat for a few hours. There was some generation, so we motored up to Short Creek. I set up a rod with an egg pattern and one with jig and float. My wife wanted to use the jig and float so she could watch “something”. But the problem was that she didn’t really get the hang doing “something” when the float moved. You don’t really fish much when you’re helping a new fisherman, but I did manage to catch one on the egg. And she finally got a hook set on the jig and caught one. Then the water quit running and so did the bite. The time went quickly, so I put on a small clown colored crank bait for her to troll back to Lilley’s. Enjoyed the day and the scenery until we were just above the dock when she hooked a real nice stocker. Nice way to end the day. Thanks to everyone at Lilley’s for a great stay. We will definitely be back. Greg and Andrea Lawson

They look pretty good. If I was a bass fisherman...

Fished again this afternoon for a little bit. Below Narrows. Little chop was perfect. They ate a cream miracle fly (egg on a jig head) real good at the beginning. They were pulling water from Powersite big time. Lake dropped 18 inches below normal before it stopped. After it slowed down, we switched to micro jigs, caught a few. I brought a spin rod along. Haven't thrown a jig very much this fall. With 2-pound line, I threw a 1/16th oz sculpin jig and worked off the bottom. The trout were all over it. This is about the time they start really taking a jig like this. Caught some nice rainbows, we did on the jigs. Lots of fun.

http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/2-boats.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="283" /> Our weather has been unseasonably warm so far in December, but it looks like there's a change around the corner. Not a huge cold front, but it's going to end the spring-like temperatures we've had. I think it will make our trout fishing better. Generation patterns have been the same with water running on colder mornings and off until late in the day. But this doesn't hold true on every occasion. The bottom line is there is not a lot of running water. Table Rock is very low as are all the lakes in the White River chain. Water quality remains good except for the clarity -- but again that helps fishing. Table Rock Lake has not turned over. It has to turn very cold and stay cold for it to turn. But as I said, the lake water quality is good, so we really don't have to depend on it turning for the fishing to be good. Water temperature is still about 47 degrees. We're seeing big midge hatches all through the day now. Trout are up feeding on these bugs as they skim across the surface of the lake drying their wings. In some areas you'll see hundreds of dimples created by trout nosing up to pick off these small insects right and left. With a good soft cast and light two-pound tippet, a very small, light weight float and a #18 primrose & pearl zebra midge set eight inches below the float will catch these feeding trout almost every time. I've been doing well fishing with a spin cast using a jig and float rig but using a miracle fly instead of a jig under the float. This is an egg fly tied on a small jig hook tied by Jeremy Hunt. Even if there's not much wind, they seem to like it over a micro jig in some cases. I fished it above the goal poles (the two trees in the water just above Trout Hollow) on the flats there about four-feet deep. With no wind and no chop, they took it very aggressively, and I caught some pretty nice rainbows with it. I used a Oregon cheese color this morning. Guides are still doing well fly fishing above and below Fall Creek using micro jigs in ginger and olive under a float four-feet deep. It's best to find chop on the surface for better action. Scuds are working up close to the bank on gravel flats in shallow water. The best color has been light blond. http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/blue-gill.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="283" /> There's a tree lying in the water with gravel piled up below it just above Fall Creek where I found a bunch of blue gill and trout up shallow. I caught them on the blond scuds. It was fun seeing them come running at the fly after it dropped in the water on the cast and/or after working it, making it swim. One more twitch and they'd hammer it. Blue gills aren't that big, but they are fun to catch. Bill Babler, one of our guides, is still doing well catching trout using a 1/100th-ounce jig head on a Gulp Egg and fishing it under a float four-to five-feet deep. Of course you have to use this below Fall Creek. A few times I have noticed boats anchored from 30 to 100 yards up past the mouth of Fall Creek with anglers fishing live bait. I believe anglers sometimes get mixed up where Fall Creek comes into the lake. There's a slough on the east side of the lake that looks likes a new stream entering the lake, but Fall Creek enters on the west side just above Fall Creek Marina's dock. You have to be below the upper side of the mouth and fishing/casting downstream to be legally fishing bait. Just fishing a few feet on the wrong side could cost your some big bucks! Believe me, the fishing isn't any better 10 yards above the mouth and certainly not worth the money of a fine. The outlook through the holidays is very good, that's, of course if this weather holds. Rain is needed and won't affect flows or fishing from now until the end of the month. Table Rock has almost 10 feet to make up, just to get to power pool. Rain will actually help, I think, because any hard rain will wash a lot of food into the lake -- and that means night crawlers and san juan worms will be hot baits. Cold weather will help, too, since Table Rock has not turned over yet. Cold, windy weather is what's needed to make this happen. Every year we look forward to this event because it improves the oxygen in the water coming through Table Rock dam. This fall, however, our water quality and temperature has been pretty good. It hasn't had negative effect on the trout or fishing (catching). We're looking forward to our winter trout fishing season with the Christmas break being our "opener" followed by our trout fishing tournaments. I've always said the best fishing on Lake Taneycomo is in the dead of winter!

I'll be around.

Thanks for posting. Looks like you had a great time.

$3.69 in the store.

Through the years and updates, attached images get lost and are no longer viewable in some cases. It's the nature of the beast...

Post every time they have a meeting or activity. It's good information. Thanks

Answer from a fisheries biologist: It's hard to tell from this picture but it looks like the fish has coloboma which usually manifests as a misshapen pupil often in the wrong location. Like most anomalies, it's genetic and occurs in all animals. It could also be due to trauma but I don't see any corneal scaring.

by Ned Kehde On July 10, 1946, Mamie Rose Hibdon gave birth to her fifth child. It was her fourth son, and he was named in honor of his father, Guido Clinton Hibdon Sr., who was nicknamed Big Gete, and Guido Clinton Hibdon Jr. was nicknamed Little Gete. His Little Gete moniker was so deeply rooted in some friends and family members’ minds that it lasted into the 1970s, and well after the death of his father on November 27, 1968. READ MORE ...

by John Neporadny Biting winds numb the fingers and toes and the frosty air constantly ices up rod tips. Yes, winter weather can be pretty darn harsh on anglers, but there is a bright side to this gloomy scenario. The good news is crappie at Lake of the Ozarks still bite despite the cold and can be taken even in the bitterest weather if you know where to find them. Crappie tend to bunch up during this season, so you can fill your stringer and make the cold tolerable if you find their wintertime haunts. So bundle up in layers of warm clothing and head for one of these two winter crappie hot spots. Private Boat Docks Boathouses provide plenty of shelter for crappie during the winter. On Lake of the Ozarks, crappie suspend under the floating docks or burrow into the sunken brush piles placed strategically under the docks. Crappie also seek shelter next to the posts of some floating docks or suspend on the supporting steel cables of marina docks. So when the cold water makes a crappie lethargic, the panfish uses the cover of a dock to ambush any baitfish that wanders into its lair. Deep water is the key to finding the most productive docks. Key on docks located along drop-offs, creek and river channel banks, bluff-ends and steep- sloping points. The best docks at Lake of the Ozarks usually sit over depths of at least 20 feet. Fishing from the dock is the easiest and most comfortable way to try this winter spot—if you can gain permission from the dock owner. This opportunity allows you to fish brush piles in the back of dock wells and other spots inaccessible to anglers fishing from a boat. When fishing from a boat, try the deep water along the sides and in front of a dock. Telltale signs on the dock indicating sunken brush include rod holders, chairs, lights hanging over the water and storage sheds, which also serve as excellent wind breaks while fishing on the boathouse. A vertical presentation with jigs or minnows works best when crappie hold tight to the brush. Try casting a jig and counting it down to various depths when the fish are suspended under the docks. A minnow or jig set below a bobber also takes crappie seeking the warmth of a dock’s floating foam on sunny winter days. Heated Docks The most comfortable way to catch cold-weather crappie is from an enclosed heated boathouse. Some resorts on Lake of the Ozarks cater to their wintertime customers by providing enclosed docks furnished with rocking chairs, toaster ovens, coffee makers, televisions and wood-burning stoves. The weather outside might be frightful, but inside some of these docks it's a balmy 70 to 80 degrees. The warmth and shelter from the wind provided by these fishing houses makes it much easier to detect the light strikes of wintertime crappie. These floating structures are usually sitting over deep water (20 to 30 feet). Inside the docks are large wells filled with brush sunken on the lake’s bottom or hanging on wires at various depths. Some resorts also bait the wells with hay bales, dog food or oatmeal to attract minnows and shad. Casting in the well is impractical, so pick a spot and drop your jig or minnow straight down. Look for any cables hanging in the water, which indicates a brush pile tied to it. Target bottom-hugging fish by letting your bait fall to the lake’s floor and then cranking the reel handle once. If this fails to produce, slowly reel up or stitch the line in your hand. When a strike occurs, keep track of the depth so you can present your bait at the exact location with your next offering. If the dock isn’t crowded, move around the well to fish different sections of brush. For information on lodging and heated docks at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free 162-page 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.

Sign me up!

http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/December-1-rainbow.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="262" /> It's been a while since my last report. The holidays combined with hunting "duties" take time away from my fish outings and time to write. Plus there hasn't been much change in generation patterns or fishing conditions in well over a month. My last report is still valid for today. Little generation during the week with some during the day, each day, but for very little time. SPA's site called for generation today but none till tonight. Here's the chart for the past 6 days. http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/data/plots/pics/tabrock_2.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="423" /> The green line shows Taneycomo's lake level. At 704 feet they're running 25 megawatts or a half unit. Daytime temperatures have been warmer than normal. Wind has been slight with minimal chop of the surface. Water temperature has held steady at 47 degrees. Here's Darin's report submitted today: I got out for just a couple of hours yesterday and did great. I fished the area from just above the island at Pointe Royale down to just below the island. My dad used a #16 Rusty or Harvester Midge about 12-18 inches below a Palsa on 7x fluorocarbon tippet. Most of the fish he caught came in about 2 ½ feet of water. I used the same for about an hour then decided to throw a #4 Big Ugly with no takers. Finally I put on an egg fly and did just as well as my dad. I set my egg right on the bottom and let it drift with the current. Most of the fish we caught were around the 14 to 15 inch mark with a few longer and shorter. I did see a couple of 20 inch rainbows but they would just look at my fly and not eat. Guiding a couple of young men this Saturday morning, we found our rainbows hungry and eager to take a ginger half micro jig under a float 4 feet deep. We fished from the bottom of the Narrows down to the mouth of Fall Creek. Most of the time the surface of the water was slick, no wind but there's was some about 11 before we quit at 11:30 am. They used spin rods. I tied 18 inches of 6x fluorocarbon to the end of the 4-pound line spooled on my reels. The bites ranged from a vibrating float to pull-it-down and run with it. They had a couple of rainbows over 15 inches but most were 11 to 13 inches long. We caught one brown. Small rainbows is what we've been seeing for most of the fall season with a nice trout thrown in occasionally. Wish I could report differently but that's the reality of it, at least in the mid to lower trophy area. http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/December-1-Trevor-rainbow.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="256" /> I did fish the flats at the Narrows a couple of times this week. Took an old friend I grew up with and his son Thursday and I got out on Friday evening. Both times we hammered rainbows on the flats using scuds. I tied only one scud on and set the indicator between 24 and 30 inches, although the water we fished was 12 inches or less. I wanted the scud on the bottom, skating over the gravel when it moved. Size, color... it didn't matter -- they lived them all. Most of the strikes were take-it-and-run. And on this flat, we found more nice rainbows over 15 inches. Below Fall Creek, that jig and float using a half micro works just not quite as well as above Fall Creek. I think it's because there's just more fish above Fall Creek verses below. I fished them mid lake in this area but mostly from Short Creek to Trout Hollow Resort. I kept the jig about 4 feet below the indicator and used either the ginger or olive half micro. http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/December-1-motely-crew.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="247" /> Bill Babler has been using a small 1/100th ounce jig head with a pinch of Gulp Powerbait egg on it under a float in this same area and doing very well. He didn't share what color egg he's been using. http://www.ozarkanglers.com/lake-taneycomo/files/2012/12/December-1-brown-eye.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="311" /> Here's an unusual fish eye. Caught this small brown trout this morning on a micro jig. Noticed the eye was discolored and looking at it closer it appeared to look more like a frog's eye. Pretty strange. Conferring with a fisheries biologist to see what he thinks.

Do you think it's an injury? Maybe- but there wasn't a wound. I'll send it to our biologist.

Check this brown trout's eye out... Pretty weird!

Hey- the schedule was wrong today. Water's been off all day.

I'll piggy back a report from a guest of ours: Stayed 3 nights on fishing buddy special. The accommodations were excellent as always. Monday November 26th was windy and cold. Generators were running off and on. Used Super Duper gold & red, olive & white mini jigs. Caught 4 fish off the dock. Tuesday November 27th used dark green power bait eggs and caught 2 fish. In the afternoon I used night crawlers and caught 3 fish. Fished from the dock. Thanks again for a great time. Mike Courtois ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning by Courtois Monday November 26th cold and windy. Used night crawlers. No fish caught. Tuesday November 27th sunny and warmer. Used pink power bait and caught/released 4 fish. Fished from the dock. Also used the Carolina rig. Had a great time and will definitely be back. Lilley's Landing is the best! Thank you Etta Courtois ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning by Courtois

The water will never (never say never, I know) go above the levels we saw in 2011. Simple reason is - electric motors. The electric motors that control the flood gates are just above the 936 ft. mark on the TR lake side of the dam, potentially exposed to water. If the lake level ever got so high that wave action would get these motors wet and cause them to malfunction, the Corp would lose all control of the lake. Therefore, they will NEVER let the lake get that high. They would essentially open the gates all the way before the level reached 936+ ft. That's what I was told in the spring of 2011.