Phil Lilley

I haven't been on the lake or anywhere in the area except here for the last 24+ hours so I can't report on what's going on anywhere but here. They are running 68,000 cfs at Table Rock and has been holding there since about 8 pm yesterday. Table Rock is at 935.03 at 7 am this morning and holding. This is very good news for us. That means it looks like they've got both Beaver and TR under control and we won't see higher water. We have water- about a foot, in 3 lower units here at the resort. Our dock has been hold on by a few cables and additional cables we attached last night. All 3 ramps are broken and the dock is close to the bank and shifted downstream about 80 feet. If has not drifted into the downstream neighbor's dock. We've seen several docks go downstream and dozens of trees. When they told us yesterday am we'd see 80,000 cfs, we though that would compromise the whole resort and all the structures so we evacuate and removed as much stuff from the office and units as we could. Now we know 80k cfs would not cover the upper structures and if this is the highest it will go, we'll start moving back in today. We're probably looking at 1-3 days of this flow with many more days of flood gates and without more rain, which I think is in the forecast. We are SOOO blessed to be here and to have so many friends who have come down to help yesterday. We had a hard time managing all the people. Church Army, a church here in town, sent dozens of workers down- we are grateful! I won't be on the forum today for obvious reasons, nor am I going to have time to read any posts this morning. I'd imagine you have good info from the media as to what is going on on TR and Beaver as well as Bull Shoals. I hope to get on the lake and see what things looks like, esp upstream later today or tomorrow. "Is God God or isn't He?" That's what I posted on facebook this morning. Someone said it yesterday and it rang in my heart all day. We can truly and wholeheartedly know He is no matter what anyone believes, He is. Nothing changes that, He is what He is and He is not what we make Him out to be. I accept that by faith and that faith has grown even stronger in these days. I praise Him this morning and am looking forward in what He will do today.

Those levels are not up to date. TR is at 930, not 922.

Looking at the lake levels - Table Rock and Beaver - neither are leveling off and both are at the top of flood pool. They are releasing 48,500 cfs at Table Rock as far as I can tell- comparing this level with the level back in 2008. I look for them to increase flows at both dams shortly. Not sure where that will leave us or many other places on the lake. Our main concern is our dock. As soon as it gets daylight, we'll probably move our boats out of the dock and beach them down at dad's house.

Looks like we're at the 2008 water levels and current. 48,500 cfs through Table Rock Dam. If what the Corp told me yesterday is correct, Beaver is releasing the same cfs. Noted the White River level rose sufficiently yesterday late to 130,000 cfs. I wonder if that was a record. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=07048600 Table Rock is still below 930 which is a real good thing. With a break in rainfall, hopefully they can curve the level downward before it starts raining again.

In light of all that's going on here, I have not kept up with any threads on the forum although I suspected this one was probably getting out of hand. Developed a bad dizzy spell mid afternoon yesterday that put me down at 9 pm. Not going to close the thread but I ask respectively that it end. Again I'm not going to be reading for a while- I have too many other things on my plate right now. Thanks

A small slide on the northeast side of the earthen dam has Corp and Highway officials worried about the road structure. Right now, they are confident in the structure of the dam itself. We are packing some things... just in case.

A little video I put together of my boat ride this morning. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/96xNRRtZwPs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Bull Shoals isn't getting hit as hard as TR, Taneycomo and Beaver- at least runoff from tributaries. They will, though, get alot of water from and through Taney. Not sure if they're going to hold it or release it.

Talked with the Corp. Table Rock is matching what Beaver is running at their facillity. At 2 pm, both Table Rock and Beaver started dumping. They got up to 30,000 cfs and immediately increased to 37,000 cfs. At Table Rock, 4 full units is 15,000 cfs- to give you an idea. Corp also said they'd make another adjustment before dark. They want to make small adjustments and not major ones. Bottom line- no one knows how much they are going to release. Record release was in 2008 at Table Rock - 48,500 cfs. I did hear (and I've heard alot of wild rumors today that were not true) that Table Rock may crest at 931.

Beaver is reportedly releasing 30,000 cfs with gates and now Table Rock is releasing 30,000 cfs with gates.

pdf File Attached TABLE-ROCK-LAKE-2010 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf

Report is attached. LAKE-TANEYCOMO-2010 ANNUAL REPORT.pdf

Turkey Creek at bridge in Hollister. Construction guys scramble to secure equipment

I need some golfers to play with me in a benefit here in Branson. May 9-10 Kids Across America is a great organization we support locally. I need 4 golfers to play both days. There's a dinner also at Top of the Rock on the 9th- you can come and bring your wives. This will be a very nice event. Cost you nothing. No obligation. We are sponsors and I thought it would be nice to ask 4 from the forum to come and play. First 4 to PM me. I do need solid commitments to play. I need to fill 4 spots.

But the rainbows were biting good while I was up at the cable...

Took a ride before another wave of rain hit. Took video of downtown (being uploaded) and boated to the dam. Clear water up past #3 outlet. No generation. Pretty surreal... Fish were biting though. Sculpin jig, of course. Blew 2 horns and kicked on units. Started raining before the flood gates came on... not on as of yet. Wanted to them on camera coming on. Calm waters... before the storm - literally! This is just above the Narrows. A chunk of bank let go and a couple of trees with it. And yes- I bet it's blocking the channel here but I doubt if these trees last. They'll be floating past our place later today- hopefully way out in front and not through our dock. Fall Creek Resort has had it's share of rain damage. This is just at the downstream end of their dock. The bank let go- about 100+ feet across and may be 50-70 feet deep. Took part of a parking lot and underneath of a garage. Condos right next to it could be next. Doesn't look good.

http://cjonline.com/sports/outdoors/2011-04-23/topekan-catches-state-record-trout By Steve Bell THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL If Ed Ames hadn’t plied the waters of Lake Shawnee in his fishing boat for many years, he might not have believed what he pulled from the lake on Wednesday. Ames caught a state-record rainbow trout that tipped the scales at 13.65 pounds. The big trout was almost too big for the net Ames and his longtime bass-fishing partner — Gary Day — used to land the fish. “Gary made three attempts at netting the fish,” Ames said. “It was a story of having a small net and a big fish. “It was a (feeling) of relief that it was in the boat.” After catching the fish, all Ames and Day had to do was find a scale big enough to weigh it. “My weighing measure only goes to 10 pounds,” Ames said. Ames contacted Ned Kehde, a former Topeka Capital-Journal outdoor writer, and Kehde brought a scale that accommodates bigger fish — a 50-pound scale. Ames had the trout weighed at The Dock, the Lake Shawnee bait shop at the northwest corner of the lake behind the dam. What followed was a lot of paperwork (there is a mandatory 30-day waiting period before certification), and Ames sounded happy to have all of that behind him. But, the joy of hauling in a state-record fish made up for all the hubbub his catch created. “I had my buddy take a picture and we took that photo by the (Shawnee County) Parks and Rec office at the lake,” Ames said. “They put the photo up on the wall. They were pretty proud of that.” The trout measured nearly 32 inches long and was 17.25 inches in girth. Ames is equally proud of his catch, and he’ll have it mounted. Ames took the trout from the lake using a Kastmaster (basically a silver spoon), which mimics shad, a primary food source for the fish. “We were on them (trout) this year,” he said. “They put some big fish in here this time.” The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks stocks Lake Shawnee with trout every year, and anglers fish for rainbows in the late fall or early spring. Ames said he isn’t sure if the trout he caught was stocked by KDWP this year. “I was looking at the tail, and I think it might have been from last year or the year before.” The Topekan’s fish beat local angler Bob Lorson’s April 2 catch for the state record. Lorson’s 11-pound plus rainbow taken from Lake Shawnee eclipsed the previous best by about three-quarters of a pound. Lorson, a KSNT sales representative, also used a Kastmaster (silver and blue) to hook his fish. The previous state best was a 10 1/4-pounder caught by Eric Chia, of Olathe, in March 2010 at Shawnee Mission Park Lake. Ames is pleased a local impoundment has so many fishing opportunities. “It’s great to have a local fishery,” he said. “I have to travel just 4 1/2 miles from home and I’m there.” Ames has many stories about his bassin’ days with his partner, Day, but he won’t soon forget the date of April 20, 2011. “It must have been the right place at the right time,” Ames said. Steve Bell can be reached at steve.bell@cjonline.com.

The Corp has shut the turbines down because of flooding on Taneycomo. They can't take anymore water downstream. F highway is closed because Bull Creek is over the road- record high. Bull Creek Village has to be underwater. Rockaway may be too. Don't know. I heard they are holding Beaver and Table Rock because of this flooding but they can't hold it for long. I know they're thinking about 2008 and the situation they got themselves into back then... I'm sure that's the last place they want to be so I bet they release water soon. Reminder- in 2008, they basically lost control of water release. They held the lakes, not anticipating what was coming. Since then they've changed their protocol and will release if rains, flooding rains are forecasted. Well.... they are forecasted!!! They're here.

Duane just sent this to me. Said it was over close to Chateau and headed west- our way. Said there were other funnels they could see in the area. Nothing going on here as far as wind...

If there's anyone down there, take some pictures and post them. Babler said the lake is full of debry at the 86 bridge and moving towards the dam. Our concern is that if it reaches the dam face, it will affect flow through the gates. Plus some of it could run over into Taneycomo.

This is really getting bad. They have 100% - 4 units running at Table Rock Dam. Looks like TR's level will hit 920 in several hours. I just came over the new bridge over Taneycomo at the Landing- the road behind the Landing is under water and the water level is almost even with the parking lot on the south side. Four units plus run off is bringing Taneycomo's level past the flood stage in downtown and I'm sure it's worse downstream. Heard of a structure fire - one of the houses on the Branson side of the lake near Highway 65 bridge was on fire.

Table Rock will pass 920 tonight. The Corp is required to release more water than can be pushed through the turbines at that point so they will open gates tomorrow at some point. How long depends on rainfall and flow into the lake. All the docks in Turkey Creek were flushed out, according to my Corp contact. It seems with all the new clearing and construction in the Turkey Creek basin (Branson Creek, airport and soon coming race track) the runoff has increase dramatically. As far as I can tell, the docks are still afloat along with the boats somewhere downstream. We've been getting automatic phone messages telling us (being on the water) to evacuate to higher ground but past experience tells us we're not in any danger. But I have friends who live on the Branson lakefront that are moving out tonight.

Real time

This was taken last week from atop of the bluff across from the resort.

How can a few days of rain change fishing conditions? We've gone from low water conditions to high water in a very short time. That's an understatement! We were looking at no generation most days but now it looks like it will be weeks before we see low water again. Depending on how much rain we get today and the next week, we very well will see flood gates open at Table Rock Dam by Wednesday of this week. Table Rock has risen 4 feet in just a couple of days and the rise continues with more than 4 inches of rain in the 24-hour forecast. What will this do to fishing? Of course, bank or dock fishing will be tough at best. Getting out in a boat, you're looking at drifting only. Tying up along banks and in eddies will be dangerous. Creeks are still high and muddy. These should clear up in a couple of days. With the influx of water coming in from runoff areas, our trout are seeing alot of bugs and worms getting washed in to the lake. They're on a feeding frenzy for sure and if you can get to them with a good presentation, you'll do well. If I were fishing, I'd first head to the dam and drift the trophy area and try egg flies, san juan worms and big scuds. I'd also throw a white or sculpin 1/8th oz jig and get it close to the bottom. Most of these trout will be close to the bottom. They'll also be along the banks in slower water and you can target them with spinners, jigs and rapalas. I wouldn't mess with a float because you'd have to fish your flies or jigs more than 15 feet deep. Below Fall Creek, I'd drift night crawlers for sure. Power Eggs and Gulp Eggs should work pretty good too, especially after the water clears up. Increase your weight if you can't feel the bottom. If they open flood gates at Table Rock Dam, white jigs will be hot! We should see shad come over the dam along with some bass, crappie and walleye possibly. These fish are in close to the dam area spawning right now. Last time they ran gates this time of year, we saw alot of these fish below the dam. Water temperatures from Table Rock won't hurt our trout at all. Actually- they'll like the 60 degree water, I think better than the 40 degree water they've been seeing.