Phil Lilley

Thanks for the report. Love fishing in the snow!

Glad you got on too... This new update has been a pain. But hopefully they've got the kinks worked out.

Found out the issue. A bug in the new version. I changed a setting. Let me know if it works (not getting kicked off). Phil

Looking forward to hearing what you learn and how your fishing is... sounds like a great location. Welcome.

I have changed a setting. It may take a little while to kick in. I was being kicked off a lot yesterday but today I have not had any trouble. I have submitted a question/comment on their forum. See if anyone else has had issues.

I've had several ppl say that can't log in. I've been issuing new pw's and that's working... so far. Seems like this new version is causing some problems. But it did fix other problems. I just had to upload a security patch today too.

Weird!

I'm having the same issue. Anyone else? I need a good reason to issue a trouble ticket (except for this morning).

I've had issues with the forum lately- minor ones. I've tolerated it because I knew there was a version update coming. It was installed last night. Now I'm having more issues and have had at least one email complaining mainly about logging in and being kicked off (having to log in again). Anyone else having issues? I'm waiting till I have everything ready before submitting a trouble ticket. It did take them 4 days to get to the update... could be the holidays, could be they're having lots of trouble with this update.

Merry Christmas from the Lilley family.

Thanks for reporting on the Little Red. I've only had the chance to fish there once. Would love to get down there again... May be next year. Love the pic of the brown.

We run an extension cord from the bathroom.

My new way to record fishing reports!! And it's free!!!

The news piece is pretty technical... but reading between the lines - they are ready to inject O2 IF the levels drop. I believe this is a slow turn because our temps just haven't been that cold and TR's water temp is still pretty warm. There could be pockets of water at the dam that are still low in O2 and may hit the outlet so they haven't completely shut off the O2 injectors yet. But for now- we're getting good water from TR. That's my take.

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.