Phil Lilley

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.

http://www.komc.com/12789/table_rock_workshop_draws_large_crowd.html

PacMan - new color.

# of browns - encouraging. Thanks

What was the rainbow to brown ratio?

Babler should chime in... he said yesterday was also brutal fishing conditions and from what I saw from my back window, straight north wind and rolling waves meant getting out would be a chore to say the least. Tony Weldele brought in a client who caught a nice rainbow. Said he caught it on a sculpin jig, no float (I think) and I assume he caught it above Fall Creek. Regardless, very nice catch especially in those conditions.

One of our agents lives very close to the lower lake... I bet he's watching and will write some tickets.

by Jim Foster First of all thanks to Lilleys Landing for a great time! We fished up at the dam Sunday the 18th for a few hours before it got dark.I am a first time fly fisherman, we used scuds and midges, no luck for me my buddy caught two, we seen many trout. Water running but slow. Lots of fly fisherman around the outlets catching a few. Fished Monday 19th after rain headed upstream in boat to fall creek. No water running we caught many fish on a assortment of lures,little cleos, gold spoons,trout magnet.fished off dock monday night no luck. Tuesday 20th back in boat and back up to Fall creek. Fishing slow till water running then caught a few on white salmon eggs, but water did not last long fishing slowed again caught a few but mostly small rainbows. I will be back since the big ones evaded us, we will be back to catch them on another day.

The local bass club may have one.

Good stuff. Bought my pressure cooker today. Smoking a turkey so I'll throw on some suckers and trout I caught the other day and then try the p.c.. Should be fun experimenting.

Yea June is early for salmon. You might have to go to a port and so out and troll for salmon, if they're in the area. Homer would be the best place. Denali - I have a good friend who moved to Talkeetna and started a guide service. Goes up in to the Denali area. He's from St Louis. Peter Matheisen. http://www.alaskawildernessriverfishingguides.com is his site.

Cause trout aren't that smart...