Phil Lilley

Wonder how you submit images? Would love to add pics of Taneycomo.

George!!!

I sent some time tonight reading all the political posts/topics and have come to an conclusion, one I should have come to long ago. I think Dan beat me to it. It's basically the same people arguing and getting no where. Nothing good is coming out of any conversation so.... no more. Any political topics or posts will be deleted starting at midnight tonight. Spend all that energy writing about fishing from now on. OK? Thanks.

Chief- you make fun now that it seems like you're candidate is ahead, but you dodge the issue of, at least, voter fraud. Blind? Explain without the sarcasm please.

Everyone should be concerned about voter fraud. It underminds our whole democratic system. Yes, McCain is trying to make hay out of it. And yes it may backfire. But gosh, I'd think diehard Dems would want a fair fight and should be screaming just as loud as Rep's on this one, even on this board.

I'm not.

I searched Rush Limbaugh's site to see if he has addressed this and it appears he has not. I find that interesting. So why hasn't the conservative media or radio talking heads picked this up? Rush thinks that Dems put this stuff out there so they (conservative media) are drawn in and made to look bad in the end. But this is a lawsuit brought by a Dem... is it just a joke? Or is it going to hit the fan a week before the election? Interesting.

The people who run this tournament, or any tournament for that matter, should lecture their people before the tournament and tell them their behavior bleeds over to the reputation towards the tournament, all tournaments and, in this case, Champion boat owners themselves. I give that lecture at all my tournaments and I lay it on thick. There's nothing wrong with Bill's post.

Actually trying something that may make some money here... pays some bills. They are new banner ads at the top of the main page and the general discussion page. OA is getting enough traffic that these kind of ads will pay at least something- I'm sure more than google ads! They've really dropped off to nothing in the past year. Check 'em out and use them as much as you need. No need to over do it... they know when you're clicking them over and over. They are all geered toward the outdoors which is nice. Should have up more on oa proper soon.

I changed it once... CEO must have changed it again. I'll check it out.

I can see Hillary stepping in at any time...

In his book he tells of how he was brought up by his parents and his grandmother... both had different ideals. But it bothers me he attended the church he did for so many years, basically following his father's way of thinking. Why do you go to church? You like the people, you agree with the tenants of the church, of that particular church, and it's leaders. It falls in line, at least for me. No I'm not voting against him for that but it amazing to me that he's allowed to run for President with the past he's had. As a conservative, my wish is that the dems would put up someone with impeccable credentials for their candidate. Biden- he's a great guy. I don't like his stance but he's someone I could stand behind in times of crisis or peril. McCain- again, I don't agree with all his stances either but he has served this country well, as Biden. Obama has not. Given time, he may but he is not proven himself.

I hardly read any of these topics... sorry. I peeked at this one and saw Al's post and read on. Changed the "crap"... my grandparents were dems... As for the election- I'll put in my 2 cents. Bush has done a good job as President. Not perfect but admirable. I think the media is riding the tide of fear and trying to elect their guy. And they are succeeding. I didn't see anything on the evening news about ALCORN... alittle about Aires but was dismissed as nothing to it. May be so but it isn't balanced at all. Obama is a liberal, no bones about it. He and the dems will change our gov't- yes they will. And it will be hard to undo if it goes wrong. Not talking about the economy... I think the media controls the economy more than either party- it's mostly in the consumer's head. I said mostly. The banking thing... it's been coming for a long time and neither party has done nothing to stop it. It is clear who started the loan debockle... the party who placed the rules on loans. But it's the consumer's fault for taking the deal too. Raising taxes- stop if I'm wrong. If you start taking money out of an ailing economy- out of any sector- out of any business- won't that slow things down even more? Those who make over $200,000 spend much more money on durable and other goods than those who make less than 200k- right? So they won't buy the cars who others make, they won't spend as much money on eating out and traveling within the states to tourist areas and spend money here and there... people with mid paying jobs will be affected by ANY tax hike. Even corporates- they won't spend money to expand and hire more people. It will slow everyone down, not just the high earners. Then why do it? To buy votes? I am not good at these things- economics and such. It just makes sense. As far as Obama personally- I think he's a good speaker, that's about it. I think he has issues with white folk- says that in his book. But he's apart of a larger group that will tell him what to do and what to say, even after he wins.

Have a great time and take lots of pics!

Kids Fishing Derby Presented by: Branson Daybreakers Rotary Club the Branson Parks and Recreation Department. Sunday, October 12th, 2008 from 1:00pm to 5:00 pm at the Don Gardner Par 3 Golf course ponds, 210 Compton Drive in Branson, Missouri. Moms, Dads, Aunts or Uncles even Grandma and Grandpa, can bring your kids for a fun-filled afternoon of Family Fishing Fun! Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. for 3-6 year olds, 1:30 p.m. for 7-10 year olds and 3:00pm for 11-14 year olds. Each age group fishes separately with weigh-in and prizes immediately following completion. Limit 75 participants in each age group. 3-6 yr. olds fish from 1 to 2 p.m. 7-10 yr olds fish from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. 11-14 yr olds fish from 3:30 – 5pm. $1.00 entry fee for each kid fishing, with proceeds funding area Branson Daybreakers Rotary Club projects.

Got out for 90 minutes yesterday for the first time since I've been back. What a very nice late summer evening to be out! Only one boat on the lake, no wind, no fog and just alittle generation. They've been running 2-4 units everyday from about 6 am till midnight but never full. Levels have been between 705 and 705 feet which is a nice flow to fish. Water temp is 62-63 coming out of the dam which is very high for this time of year. The high temp is from all the rains we've had this year. The water is also very silty and dark which is also unusual. But it doesn't seem to affect fishing- or catching I should say. Generation has been off most nights which brings the night owls out to cast leeches and streamers below the dam. They've actually been doing very well, catching alot of medium sized rainbows and a few browns. Throw in a few walleye and you've got a great night fishing trip. They've been starting at the cable below Table Rock Dam and working their way down to the old KOA. In the deeper holes, use a sink tip to get the fly down, otherwise a floating line is fine. During the day, the waders are confined to the outlets which are producing trout as well. Small scuds and midge patterns rule, under an indicator. But just below the cable and just below outlet #1, they are catching smallmouth and stopped bass as well as walleye on crank baits, jigs and streamers. Out in the boats, below the dam and down to Fall Creek, we are throwing jigs mainly. As I said, I got out and tried it yesterday after hearing reports of jig fishing being very good. John Hittler and Bob Allen fished earlier this week and told me they tried every color jig in their box and caught fish on all of them but one- purple and chartruese. Rolan Duffield is here with his 2 brothers and they are catching mostly rainbows drifting from Lookout to Fall Creek using white or pink 1/80th oz jigs under a float fishing the shallow side of the lake. I threw sculpin/ginger, white and plain sculpin 1/8th oz jigs and caught fish on all three colors but did the best on sculpin. I caught 6 rainbows from 13 to 16 inches from the dam to Lookout and 8 rainbows from 14 to 17 inches from Lookout to Fall Creek. Half fought pretty well and the other half came in easily, I sign that the low DO (dissolved oxygen) is low in the lake. I caught several rainbows in spawning colors closer to the dam. Ran in to BMan from the forum and he said he saw lots of reds (spawning beds) along the bank above outlet #2. We usually don't see rainbow reds until well into December here. The water temp might have them confused. Chuck Gries, guide and owner or Anglers and Archery, had a client out drifting the other day and his client caught and released this very nice rainbow. BMan said he's seen rainbows, along with browns, that are even bigger in the upper lake this week. We've had a group of pastors from the St Louis area fishing this week, drifting from Fall Creek to Short Creek using night crawlers and catching some real nice rainbows to take home. Night Crawlers has been the go to bait for about a month now. John and Bob casted jigs in this same area and did well on rainbows this week too. They said there are some real nice rainbows in the Short Creek area. We are hearing of quite a few bass being caught on the lake, both up here in the upper lake and down in the lower lake. John and Bob made a trip downlake and came back with a couple of smallmouth (Bob Allen in pic). Released them at the dock after a picture. I didn't get where or how they were caught thought- sorry. This time of year is when I hear of alot of blue gill anglers hitting the lower lake for big blue gill on poppers. Although I've never tried it, I know they hit the small coves and backwater around Rockaway Beach. Taneycomo is known for big blue gill and there's nothing like catching them on poppers (fly rod).

In the amateur division, day one runner up JD Dudley of Springdale AR managed to find three more bass on day two to bring his tournament total to 14.50 pounds, good enough to find himself the proud new owner of a 2009 Skeeter ZX 190 valued at $35,000. Dudley, a pastor in NW Arkansas, still couldn’t believe his good fortune even after Skeeter Boats representative Danny Blandford handed him the keys to the beautiful silver, white and red Skeeter. “I’m just in shock,” he gushed. “This is big. . .the biggest prize I’ve ever won,” he finished. Dudley’s catch, anchored by a 6.32 pound lunker, gave him nearly a 2.5 pound cushion over the runner up Bill Edwards of Ozark.

Just to make sure you've read my article on jig fishing... http://bransonlaketaneycomo.blogspot.com/ I think the key is practice more than anything. I find that when I have someone out that's new to it, as soon as they get a few hits and hookups under their belt, they "get it". Maybe it was slow when you were fishing before- it happens. Line size and rod selection is also important. You have to have a good feel for the jig- where it is and what it's doing- at all times. The fish will hit it on the fall 90% of the time so paying close attention to the line and feel of the rod is essential. Hope this helps.

A guide's dream is to put a client on big fish and Chuck does it best.

Jigs and cranks baits- I'd go down to the boat ramp, walk up a bit and then fish down- even all the way down thru the old KOA. Up at the cable too.

Have I missed something... there's no area below the dam where the gates is locked except maybe on the south side.

I think what I will do- Going to get tarps to wrap the shelter completely. I'll set it up well before the event- will talk to the hatchery and clear it with them. I can bring a heater if needed. I can do chicken again. Anything else that can make this a great event?

What exactly is popping up? Advertisements? And of what?

Been posting a few short videos on the homepage. I put them in flash and windows media so hopefully everyone can see them. I have more from my previous trips but it's going to take some time to format it all. See the front page of oa and also the video section for the different versions.

He's been over here delivering new flies...