Phil Lilley

No- only responsibilities.

I'm building forums on the new site. http://midstatesanglers.com/forums Membership is open- go ahead and register. I'm adding the waters suggested by you guys. I will error on the side of less... I'm not going to load up the forum with every lake and stream there is. I want to see activity on each water, big and little. When finished, I will keep adding waters suggested in the future but all waters are on a trial basis. We'll see how it goes. Spread the word!! All rules on OA applies here.

Look on the OA proper site under Bull Shoals. Upper Beaver. http://ozarkanglers.com/index.php?option=c...3&Itemid=94 Gotta understand the water is 40 feet lower now than when these pics were taken.

http://ozarkanglers.com/index.php?option=c...9&Itemid=94 Fished again last night. Caught 4, lost another at the boat first 10 casts. White 1/8th oz jig. They were pretty close to the bank. Got there at 6 pm. Wind was alittle tough. Good current. Not as many boats. Bite shut off quick. Stayed after dark- still nothing which I was surprised. Thought I'd hook a walleye but didn't.

Beat me to it... if you have trouble, let me know and I'll change it for you.

http://lilleystacklestore.com The original swimming minnows... not the knock offs. I have the 3 inch, not the 2 inch.

When do we go!!!???

The work to shore up the bank at the Fall Creek Condo complex continues. Boy, they're spending a ton of money on this project! Looks like they've poured concrete on the actual bank and I assume they're going to continue with the shot rock up to the buildings. Pretty impressive project!

Vince and I fished yesterday pm. Put in at River Run. Vince fished most of the afternoon and I showed up at 5:30 and fished till dark. This was Vince's trip and he found the whites after fishing most of the afternoon so I'm not going to get in the details but there are a good number of whites and very good size above Swan Creek. Lots of trollers out and they were doing real well. Shad Raps is what we heard. We caught most of our on a suspending medium stick bait- and late I caught mine on a 1/8th oz white jig. Vince caught his limit and I ended up taking 12 home. No walleye. We didn't go down there but I'd say there should be whites down on the willow bank. I think it's marked on the BS maps here. I did see boats down there fishing which is usually a good sign. Sows weren't even close to spawning by the look of their eggs. Good size - up to 2.5 pounds and some big males too. I'd say the whites are in good shape of Bull Shoals again. Still not the same numbers as the 80's but good still.

Some people don't like to fish for bass, Bill Some people like to eat fish , Bill. And you, especially you, would be the last person to allow a fillet knife to enter the belly of a nice smalley... right? Oh yea... are we still on for our Table Rock CRAPPIE trip tomorrow?? Kidding aside... we had a COLD winter and the water under the surface is still freezing cold. Don't get in a big hurry on the crappie.

The only benefit I see is getting info out quick. Say, if there was a network of anglers who "followed" each other, you could "twitter" a fishing report as you were actually fishing from a cell phone. I think you can do this from a regular cell phone... I know you can from a Blackberry although I don't know how to yet. You can also receive them on your phone too- I think. Anyone know?

Anyone use this service? Just curious how it could help our fishing.

We do for sure. Bill guides 250 days per year. I don't guide much at all... only when I have to.

No cuttbows. The strain has some colored up rainbows with markings similar to cutts but they are not. Thanks what I've been told.

Good for you, John!

Spring is just around the corner and the biggest annual event for fly tyers in the twin lakes area is to be held this week. The Sowbug Roundup is an international fly tying show organized by the North Arkansas Fly Fishers, our local fly fishing club. It is scheduled for March 19, 20, and 21 at the Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church Family Life Center from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM each day. In these tough financial times, it is great to find an economical and family friendly event like this. Admission for all three days is only five dollars per person and children under twelve years of age are free when accompanied by an adult. When I first moved here nine years ago, I joined the North Arkansas Fly Fishers and immediately got involved as a seminar presenter and fly tier at Sowbug. When I married my wife, Lori, a couple of years later, she also got involved as a seminar presenter and casting instructor. I have been preparing for the event. Since I will be a fly tier, I gathered the tools and materials that I will need. For the past few years, I have been tying my signature fly, the green butt. It is a highly effective soft hackle for imitating the rhyancophilia caddis, our major spring caddis hatch. This year, I have decided to do something completely different, I plan on tying Dan’s turkey tail emerger. This is my brother, Dan’s, signature pattern and an effective pattern for the many midge hatches we have on both the White and Norfork Rivers. This is a fly that I fish a lot and I have had some great success with it. I mention it often in my writing and I get a lot of questions about it. I thought that the Sowbug Roundup would be a great place for me to show others how to tie it. First, I had to learn how to tie it myself. This is a fly that Dan always tied for me. Though I fished it often, I had never tied it myself. I gathered the materials and sat down with the recipe and an original that Dan had tied. I tied a few and then had Dan critique them. He gave me some constructive criticism. Then, I sat down, tweaked it a bit and cranked out a few dozen. I am definitely getting the feel of it and am now comfortable with tying them. It is my habit of tying a fly for any one interested in the pattern at Sowbug. Therefore, I go through quite a few flies during the event. I have to make sure that I have plenty of hooks. While I prefer to use a Tiemco barbless hook, my brother, Dan, thinks a barbed Dai Riki is actually a better hook for the fly. I checked all of my other materials and I noticed that the eyed peacock feathers that I use for the fly were a little long in the tooth and were starting to get brittle. I went to the fly shop and replaced them. I am also presenting a couple of seminars. My first one is When, Where and How to fish the White and Norfork Rivers. I have done this seminar several times for several fly fishing groups. I am very comfortable with it and don’t need to do much, if any, work on it. My other seminar is Fishing Dry Flies on the White and Norfork Rivers. I have only done this seminar a couple of times and I felt like it did need a little work. So I sat down at the computer and updated my outline. I called my yellow lab, Ellie, into the room and practiced it a few times with her. She thought it was great. Of course, that may have been the dog biscuits talking. Lori is getting ready also. She is presenting a seminar titled getting started. Over the years she has presented this seminar several times and is well acquainted with it. In addition to guiding, Lori does corporate training so she is very comfortable speaking to any size group. Her great love is casting. This year, like the last two, she will be conducting a ladies only class. To prepare herself, she has been honing her casting skills. Last year, we bought the lot next door and now she has a nice big wide open space to practice. In addition, she has been teaching casting every time she has had the opportunity. Now that we are ready, we have begun to anticipate sowbug. I look forward to seeing all of my friends from years past and the opportunity to meet new ones. When fly fishers and fly tiers gather, it is always an occasion. I also look forward to eating some of the great food at sowbug. This event is different from any other, because they have the church ladies catering all of the meals. All of the food is hearty, delicious and inexpensive. Nobody goes off site for lunch. My favorites are the sloppy Joes, the home made chili and the home made cookies. They have added a few new items to their repertoire this year and I am anxious to try them. Sowbug is just around the corner. I hope you are as ready for it as I am! John Berry (870) 435-2169 berrybrothers@infodash.com www.berrybrothersguides.com

Vince is on a fishing-spree. He's been captive to the NAIA for the last week and is enjoying several days of fishing... probably won't look at a computer for a few days if I know him.

Didn't find the whites this am. Put in at 6:30 am and headed to the area where we found them yesterday, Sara, my daughter and I. They didn't appear to be there. Shad were. Headed up and ended up at the state line where we caught a fair numbers of male whites on black/pearl swimming minnows. Fished a few places to the ramp- pulled out at 11:30 am. Eat lunch at the station west of Long Creek bridge. Drove and put in at Cricket. Hit all my crappie banks. Mark said guys have found 58-59 water so we tried close and off the banks- nothing. Wind blown banks- nothing. Up in Yocum and Long- nothing. Stickups- a few small crappie. Very slow for all. Better later in the evening but we were TIRED!

Just got back. Fished this afternoon. Not much going on yet. I fished all the spots I've caught crappie early and nothing. Water temp is approaching 60 in some places. If it rains, the white run is on. Crappie- I think it will be a couple of weeks... maybe. Just a slow day- didn't see anyone tearing them up.

A quick pic.

Bill and I hit the water at 7:30 am this morning. Put in at a resort just down from the Golf Course near Shell Knob (Bill can say where). We headed down to a flat Bill had fished years ago. When we pulled up we saw shad on the surface and fish busting them. Cool! They were whites mainly but some blacks and spots. We ran our swimming minnows threw them and caught them for about an hour. They were busting as far as we could see downstream along the flat. After it slowed, we saw some guys trolling by- they caught a couple of so we started trolling sm's and me a 1/8th oz white jig and caught some more whites. Headed upstream and fished a couple more flats. Caught a few crappie on stickups in 4-6 feet of water. Headed back down and hit a few more flats and caught a couple more crappie and whites before calling it quits about 1 pm. Ended up with 19 whites up to 3 lbs... mostly sows and 3 very nice crappie. I did catch whites on a rattletrap, a blue rebel, a hair jigs, marabou jig and swimming minnows, black/pearl, blue/pearl and white. Best was the black/pearl swimming minnow by far. Bill used a dark smoke with silver glitter 4-inch minnow and did well. Sorry- no temp. I didn't have a gage on my boat.

Money is for moving roads and Corp facilities up (elevation) to allow for the 5 feet rise. Plus there's some maintenance issues at the dam(s) to allow low flow.

Don't think there's a best- at least quickest. 76 is probably ok. 86 is too. 86 is alittle straighter.

If you're done and leaving the water you don't have to leave any identifiable parts. If you're on the water and still fishing with fish in tow, you have to leave head or skin. If it's under 12 inches- keep 'em! That is if you're going to eat them. There shouldn't be anyone that would have a problem with that... if he does, he has the problem!

2008 rains affect 2009 trout stocking Stocking will be down 10 percent in most waters. JEFFERSON CITY–The effects of last year’s record rainfall continue to be felt a year later, with an announcement that the Missouri Department of Conservation will reduce trout stocking. 2008 was the wettest year in Missouri history, with nearly 6 feet of precipitation falling during the year in some areas and more than 12 inches of rain falling in less than 24 hours in others. Conservation Department Hatchery Systems Manager James Civiello said these torrential rains affected trout hatchery operations in several ways. The most significant impact came from the forced release of massive amounts of water from Table Rock Dam in Taney County. Prior to 2008, the most rapid release ever witnessed there was 31,000 cubic feet per second. Last year, the dam let as much as 47,500 cfs pass through turbines and flood gates. “Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery sits right below Table Rock Dam,” said Civiello. “The enormous volume of water pouring into Table Rock Lake forced the Corps of Engineers into record releases in June, and that created less-than-ideal water conditions for trout in our facility.” Civiello said the temperature of water flowing from Table Rock Lake through the hatchery reached 65 degrees at times. This is too warm to spawn trout eggs and keep hatched fish healthy. Water quality became an issue, too. As a result, the hatchery lost more than 30,000 pounds of fish to disease and parasites, compared to the normal annual loss of approximately 7,000 pounds. Most of these were 3- to 6-inch fish that otherwise would have gone to other hatcheries. In most years, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery produces approximately 1.3 million trout for stocking and smaller fish for transfer to other hatcheries, where they are reared to stocking size. Last year the number fell to 1.1 million. Meanwhile, other hatcheries were experiencing rain-related problems, too. Bennett Spring Hatchery near Lebanon and Maramec Spring Hatchery near St. James both lost fish to floods that compromised water quality and washed fish out of rearing areas. To compensate for losses, hatchery managers “pushed” small fish, feeding them more to hurry their growth to the average stocking size of 12 inches. While this helped keep last year’s stocking near target levels, it amounted to borrowing fish from 2009. The hatchery system no longer has enough fish in the pipeline to keep up with this year’s stocking goals. Consequently, the Conservation Department plans to reduce stocking at Missouri’s four trout parks and most other waters by 10 percent. This includes trout management areas and Lake Taneycomo. Statewide, the cutbacks will result in stocking 180,000 fewer trout this year than expected. “We stuck with the traditional stocking level for opening day at the trout parks,” said Civiello. “Since then, however, we have been stocking about two fish per anticipated angler instead of the usual 2.25 per angler. We should be able to sustain that level of stocking 12-inch fish for the rest of the year.” One exception to the reduction is the trout stocking program at Fort Leonard Wood. Another is the winter trout fishing program at urban lakes, for which the Conservation Department buys fish from other hatcheries. Civiello said he hopes to return to normal stocking levels in 2010. He said the agency will continue to monitor hatchery inventories, trout tag sales and other factors and make adjustments to minimize the effect on stocking. -Jim Low-