Phil Lilley

Had one issue so far... repaired. Any more? Let us know.

You guys did good. Don’t get off track

I read where there were lots of sinking on lakes all over today... guess the big boats weren't nice to the little boats.

With the O2 levels dipping this time of year, it may not survive a fight. Depends... if it was a short fight and stayed close to the outlet - may be. I've been getting anywhere from 4.7 to 6.5 ppm which isn't terrible. But I haven't been up close to the dam with the water off this year and taken any samples.

The restroom at the MDC Cooper Creek ramp is open. It's a vault, not flush toilets. Maintained by a different division of MDC though.

It's MDC. The visitor center is closed. Has been since Covid. I'm sure that's why the bathroom is closed too. Risky cleaning after people, you know.

If there's a need for a new forum I'd gladly add it.

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday. This had all of us amazed. All up and down at least the upper lake, scuds were swimming from bank to bank, from bottom to top. Around the dock they were solid. This morning there's about 10% of what we saw yesterday around the dock but still swimming at all levels and not just at the dock - out in front of it too. When the water came on yesterday, of course most got sent down lake but the ones in the pond weeds stayed. That's where we've been seeing scuds and sow bugs along with small worms. The weeds are loaded with them - and of course the weeds are thick throughout the lake. Be interesting to see if they are thick down by Rockaway beach too. I'd imagine they are. I've heard stories how the scuds were back in the late 60's and early 70's... this must be like that. I'm sure this is cyclical but it would be nice if we saw this more often. I posted a short video on the resort FB page of sow bugs just laying on the moss bed at the Narrows the other day. Thousands of them laying out exposed just crawling around. I need to get up and do another video of underwater feeding.

Would love to hear about your fishing opportunities... upper state has some great streams. My son lives north of Boston... as his kids get bigger, we will take some trips fishing. North NY isn't that far.

The Branson Firefighter's Association Benefit tournament returns on August 22nd! Proceeds go to local firefighters and families in need of emergency help with living expenses, medical bills and funeral expenses. It also aids visiting firefighters who find themselves in an emergency. The entry fee for each 2-man team is $75. To register, simply call our office and pay your entry fee via credit card over the phone. During last year's tournament, Gerry Dwiggins caught the monster brown trout pictured above. View the Flyer Official Rules I Can't Make it to the Tournament. How Can I Support the Cause? A big part of the fundraising at the tournament is the raffle held after the weigh-in. This year our big ticket item is a monster! For a $10 ticket, you can enter to win a custom built spinning rod by legendary rod builder Mike Riffel valued at $250 AND a full set of Duane Doty's Signature Series jerkbaits valued just over $250! We also have bulk discounts for anyone who would like to purchase 3 or more tickets. Click the link below to purchase your tickets online! Buy Your Tickets! If the winner is not present at the tournament, they will be contacted on Monday, August 24th. If they are not able to pick up the prizes, they will be responsible for shipping costs.

It happened! Generation at Table Rock Dam on Lake Taneycomo was shut down Monday morning at midnight and left off for 11 hours! That means we had no generation for the morning, and I found trout fishing pretty good. I think this could be our new generation pattern at least for this week. And as Table Rock and helpfully temperatures drop, this slow down will keep going the right way. Table Rock is now below 917 feet, only two feet above its seasonal power pool , but Beaver Lake is four feet high and dropping very slowly. I fished early Monday morning, boated to the Narrows and found the water level about what it should be with no generation. And there was just a little bit of current, just as I like it. But the trout there weren't too interested in taking much of what I was offering. I did catch a few nice rainbows but nothing like I believe it will be in a day or two. It usually takes our trout a day or so to get used to a "new normal" in regards to changing generation patterns. They have to find their niche, and when they do they'll start feeding normally. I did catch rainbows on a #14 tan scud (Hunt's perfect scud) as well as a #16 primrose & pearl (P&P), both under a float about three- to four-feet deep. I saw other guides faring much better than me using a white thread jig under a float. I did throw a jig but had no success. I visited with someone today who said fishing for his party from the Lazy Valley dock had been exceptional this year, catching quality rainbows on night crawlers. That's been the best bait by far -- good ole worms. And now that the water isn't running in the mornings, it's very important to inject a little air in the worms to make them float off the bottom. Our water is still very clear but I think using four-pound line for most things is still okay. But later in the fall, we usually start going to lighter line and tippet... just not yet. I was excited to report dry fly fishing was very good in the mornings with one to two units running -- but that's changed. I will continue to try different dries to see whether I can establish a new pattern. We'll see. The rest of my report would only be speculative. I would think fishing a pink worm under a float would work in the mornings, but that remains to be seen. View full article

Thanks for sharing. Was wondering how the river was doing.

The beetle - 3x

Each year, usually in August, restrictions are placed on generation because of low DO in Table Rock at 130 feet where we get our water. Those restrictions are now in place. So if they run allot of water, say 4 full units, they have to inject liquid oxygen. that costs money and they don’t like spending money. So we should start seeing less heavy generation very soon, especially with TR dropping below 918 today.

Those warmwater fish have been holding in the corners at the cable for a long time. But that's about the only place you'll find them till you get down to the warm creeks or well below Branson.

Our generation patterns on Lake Taneycomo have been almost identical for the past six weeks. About 7,000 cubic feet per second of water flows from 9 p.m. until 1 p.m., then 12,000 c.f.s. flow from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. It's been pretty easy to plan a fishing trip when the pattern is this consistent. Trout fishing is pretty good early in the day until about 9 a.m., then it gets a little slower. When the heavier water starts flowing, it gets really tough but not impossible. Guess what I'm saying . . . for the best fishing start early! Our water temperature has risen to almost 56 degrees since my last report, and the dissolved oxygen content is about 6.5 parts per million. That's a little high for the first of August and the D.O. level is a little low, but manageable. That may mean the fall season might get a little dicey, though. Our water temperature should keep going up as more cold water is released from Table Rock, leaving warmer water to follow. I believe we'll see water temps in the low to mid 60's by October. Again, manageable but not ideal. At least I don't think we'll see an event like in 2015 when the water coming from Table Rock was toxic and killing fish. For now, our trout are feeding well and fighting hard. The water has really cleared up, too. We're thinking about going to two-pound line, especially if we start seeing slower generation. Table Rock's level dropped below 918 feet today, well on its way to the power pool of 915 feet. I really believe we'll start to see slower flows, if not no generation, especially in the mornings. Captain Tony Weldele reports catching quality rainbows on the sculpin jig early in the mornings, both in and out of the trophy area. He has been using four-pound line and either a 3/32- or a 1/16th-ounce jig throwing it straight with no float. Captain Steve Dickey is using the pink power worm under a float, on two-pound line, about five- to seven-feet deep. Clients have caught good fish from Fall Creek to Short Creek, then doing well down at the Branson Landing later in the mornings. Captain Bill Babler is drifting night crawlers from Fall Creek to Trout Hollow and scoring big rainbows. too. The area in front of the resort has been holding nice-sized rainbows. We see boats drifting by catching trout, mainly on Berkley Power Eggs in white and orange. The pink worm under a float is working here, too. We've been drifting scuds in and out of the trophy area with good success. A #14 gray or rainbow gray is the best, drifting with an egg fly or a San Juan worm. Our buddy Dan Boone said he tried tying on a #14 Zebra Midge as a trailer behind his 1/8th-ounce jig yesterday and caught five rainbows on the midge. I think he was trailing it by two or three feet. Dan's group fished the last couple of days and said they did well on white jigs with red thread collars. Blake has been fly fishing using a scud under an indicator from Lookout Island down to Fall Creek and catching rainbows. He's setting the float about four- seven-feet deep and adding a tiny split shot to drop it to the bottom. He's using 6x tippet. I've been trying the dry fly some but have only experienced one or two takes on them in an afternoon. I've tried the Sofa Pillow, a big Simulator and a Riffle Fly. My friend Kelly Hines said he saw big trout taking dragon flies off the surface against the bluffs in the trophy area last week, but I could get no takers. I'll keep trying. Marabou jigs have been working most of the time. Steve said he's doing well fishing them under a float early in the morning from Lookout Island down, about four- to five-feet deep using 6x tippet. He's using 1/100th-ounce jigs. We're throwing the jigs mainly with four-pound line. Sculpin ginger and white seem to be the best colors although black is doing okay, too. If the water flows drop, we'll go to two-pound line and start throwing smaller, 1/16th- and 1/32-ounce jigs. View full article