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Phil Lilley

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  1. Phil Lilley

    My wife, Marsha

    By Phil Lilley,

    Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
    10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
        She is worth far more than rubies.
    11 Her husband has full confidence in her
        and lacks nothing of value.
    12 She brings him good, not harm,
        all the days of her life.
    13 She selects wool and flax
        and works with eager hands.
    14 She is like the merchant ships,
        bringing her food from afar.
    15 She gets up while it is still night;
        she provides food for her family
        and portions for her female servants.
    16 She considers a field and buys it;
        out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
    17 She sets about her work vigorously;
        her arms are strong for her tasks.
    18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
        and her lamp does not go out at night.
    19 In her hand she holds the distaff
        and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
    20 She opens her arms to the poor
        and extends her hands to the needy.
    21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
        for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
    22 She makes coverings for her bed;
        she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
    23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
        where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
    24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
        and supplies the merchants with sashes.
    25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
        she can laugh at the days to come.
    26 She speaks with wisdom,
        and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
    27 She watches over the affairs of her household
        and does not eat the bread of idleness.
    28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
        her husband also, and he praises her:
    29 “Many women do noble things,
        but you surpass them all.”
    30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
        but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
    31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
        and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
    Proverbs 31:10-
  3. Phil Lilley
    While fall colors are emerging on the Taneycomo lakefront, the generation pattern  has stayed the same.  The only variance has been how much water has been kicked on about 3 p.m. every day.  That amount is somewhere between 65 and 150 megawatts or  from just over one unit up to three full units.  Then the water has been back off by dark or 7 p.m.
    That afternoon boost of water has really messed up fishing.  The current breaks loose gobs of pondweed growing along the banks and sends it down lake.  It also picks up the algae off the bottom of the lake and clouds the water, catching on just about anything you drop in the water that's attached to a line, like a hook or lure.
    If you know it's coming, you can boat down lake and get ahead of it for a while.  Our guides will run down to the Branson Landing area and fish for an hour or two, then boat back up to either Fall Creek or the dam and fish.  By this time, most of the junk has washed down out of those areas and it's safe to fish.
    Big fish are starting to show up on Facebook and Instagram -- both rainbows and browns.  Yes there are a good number of brown trout in the first mile of the lake below the dam, but rainbows are also starting to color up for their winter spawning run.

    Chuck Gries, owner and operator of Angler's Outfitters, has been guiding fly fishers below the dam for many years.  He takes people out in his boat as well as wading in below the dam.  So far his clients have landed a couple of big browns.  He said the hot fly is his light brown chammy worm.

    Another nice brown caught by a client of Chuck Gries.

    Bill Beck was guiding a man from Springfield, Missouri, yesterday out of his boat, and he caught this very nice rainbow.  All big trout are released by our fishing guides.

    David Doty has been fly fishing at night for trout below the dam, wading in off the shore.  Here's a 25-inch brown he caught and released last night.
    Our water temperature has been hovering around 62 degrees now for over a month.  I am glad to see it not go on up into the mid to upper 60's as I thought it might.  The D.O. (dissolved oxygen) levels haven't been too bad.  Constant generation has helped that.
    I've been getting out and throwing a jig the last few days.  A couple of weeks ago, I found jig fishing slow, but I'm glad to report it has picked up.  Ginger seems to be the hot color, either throwing a straight ginger or another color mixed in (sculpin or brown).  I also did well throwing white, as did other anglers this past week.  I've been throwing a 3/32nd-ounce jig with this light generation flow, two-pound Vanish line which seems to be the best weight.  I can get the jig to the bottom pretty well and work it slowly -- that's what the trout have seemed to like.
    Our trout are still taking scuds and midges, too.  Early morning and late evening is best for midge hatches and fishing Zebra Midges under an indicator.  But with the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers running more water in the evenings, it's best to fish early in the morning.  The inside bend below Fall Creek is a great place to start, dropping a #14 black, rusty or red Zebra under an indicator 18 to 24 inches.  Cast to surfacing fish or just make long drifts on that inside bank.
    From Lookout down, fish a scud/San Juan combination under an indicator six- to nine-feet deep, depending on where you're drifting.  In the channel, fish deeper and on the shallow flat, fish shallower.  Hot pink San Juan has been good and so has Chuck's tan shammy worm.
    Dry flies are still hot!  Took Marsha out the other evening and she did well, especially since she only fly fishes a couple times a year.  She needs to get out more!
    Stimulators and hoppers worked close to the banks (not on the banks) from the dam down to Fall Creek is the area -- middle of the day is best, but morning and evenings are also pretty good depending again on generation.
    Below Fall Creek, drifting using bait has been spotty, but what I'm hearing is that most people are catching trout well in the mornings but only fair in the afternoons.  Drifting with night crawlers is still best, but I think where most anglers make their mistake is with the amount of weight they're using.
    With the generation pattern we've seen now for a couple of months, even the smallest drift rig bell weight we sell, that weight is too heavy!  I've been showing people how to tie a simple loop knot in the place of that bell weight and pinching on a small split shot instead.  Slide the split to the knot--the knot will keep the shot from sliding all the way off the line.  And if you get it snagged on something, chances are it will pull off and save the rest of your rig.  Plus, the split shots are easy to switch out if the weight is too big or too small.
    You only want enough to get your bait to the bottom--that's all.  If it's catching every two feet, you're using too much weight.
    This will make your bait look more natural flowing with the current, plus you'll feel the bite so much better!
    Pink/white Gulp eggs are also hot colors.  Some of the guides are using our Trout Magnet jig heads and putting one Gulp Egg (sunrise color) on a hook and fishing it under an indicator five- to seven-feet deep from Cooper Creek down to the Landing.
  4. Phil Lilley
    As Table Rock nears the magic lake level of 918 feet, we all wait with baited breath to see if the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers is going to change its generation patterns.  Will they start running less water?  Shutting it off at night?  We will see very soon.
    Generation has been constant with two units running in the mornings, increasing to three units mid-afternoon, then back down to two units after dark and through the night.  Today, it did slow down a bit with less than two units generating this morning.
    Remember, some of the gates at Powersite are down, so the Corps can't keep the water totally off during the dam until Empire repairs the gates.  Bull Shoals is down to 685.17 feet, just a little over five feet short of the mark where Powersite can be worked on.  It's taking about three days for Bull Shoals to drop a foot right now.
    Trout fishing this past weekend was pretty good for most.  Anglers fishing below Fall Creek did well drifting night crawlers on the bottom from the creek mouth down to Trout Hollow.  Phil Stone, fishing guide, said his clients did well from Cooper Creek down to Monkey Island on crawlers.  Everyone is still catching a few brown trout, but nothing longer than 20 inches was landed.
    Guide Tony Weldele's clients caught some nice rainbows and browns drifting from Fall Creek down to Short Creek using pink and red San Juan worms.  I've gotten out and drifted #14 gray scuds in the same stretch and caught trout, too.

    If you didn't see the story, Morgan Wyatt, a young woman who started working for us here at Lilleys' Landing in April, caught this 10.5 pound brown on a #14 gray scud drifting about 500 yards above our dock a week ago Sunday. It's amazing a fish as big as this would take a bug as small as a #14 scud, but it did.
    The trophy area is still producing good numbers of trout.  For fly fishing, present a dry fly along the banks, close to or under trees, and you might see some great top-water action.  Hoppers in various colors and sizes, beetles, ants, Stimulators, Elk Hair Caddis and a Sofa Pillow are good choices to throw.  Stripping a big streamer along the bluff banks above and below Fall Creek will create some attention, too.  You'll get a lot of chasers with a hookup occasionally.
    When the water is running about 50 megawatts or about 704-705 feet, fish a bigger beaded fly, like a beaded scud or a Miracle Fly (egg) or even a small jig under a float with a red Zebra Midge dropper, about 12 inches below the first fly.  Fish it from four- to seven-feet deep.
    We watched some guys fish this rig last week along the bluff across from the resort and they caught fish.  I think you can use it just about anywhere, but the water has to be running fairly slowly.  If the water is running more than two units, you could go further down lake, say, from well below Cooper down through the bridges.

    Throwing marabou jigs has been slow for me personally but I've seen and heard others doing well.  Travis Smith and friends fished last week and reported doing very well throwing white 1/8th ounce jigs from the cable below the dam down to Trophy Run when the water was running more than 3 units.  They used darker jigs if the water was running less than 3 units.


    Tom Burckhardt, St Charles, MO., caught this six-pound brown on an 1/8th ounce sculpin marabou jig down lake from the resort (secret location) last Saturday during the Guns & Hoses Trout Tournament.  He and his partner, Bill Freise, won the contest.
    The September forecast is looking good.  We've had some rains but nothing to affect the area lake levels, so we should see less and less generation through the fall months.
    As soon as Powersite Dam is fixed, we will start seeing mornings when the water is not running at all, may be a little water in the afternoon or evenings.  But keep in mind, Beaver Lake is still very high and the Corps will at some point start lowering Beaver into Table Rock Lake.  Of course, all that water has to flow through Taneycomo.
    I believe our dry fly bite will continue well into October, which is exciting to fly fishing enthusiasts.  We are already seeing some big brown staging in the Fall Creek area.  The average size of our browns have increased from last fall, so I think we'll see quite a few brown near or topping the 20-inch mark.  The fall brown spawning run should continue into November, peaking about the last week in October.
  5. Phil Lilley
    To start, I deleted most of the blogs here back to 2007.  Most of these blogs were fishing reports--you can see them on the forum.  The ones I left are pretty cool, at least for me, reading about my thoughts and plans back 8+ years ago.
    I have a blog site http://phillilley.com where I've done a fair to poor job of keeping it current.  Some of it is redundant- the fishing reports and videos--but the devotion part is new and I've tried to add to it when I have time to sit and type what I'm studying.  I'm probably not going to post any original entries here... just not enough time to blog what I want. 
    This new forum format, blog section, is pretty cool.  It does lack the option to post html-base posts with images which is disappointing.  But we'll see how it goes.
  6. Phil Lilley
    If you don't like to fly, don't even think about taking a trip like this one. All together we took 12 flights, including the bush plane ride from Kotzebue to the Kelly River. By the time we landed on the gravel bar next to the river, we were ready to be out of the air – despite the incredible scenery. It was two hours to Denver, six hours to Anchorage (overnight), more than two hours to Nome, 45 minutes on to Kotzebue and an hour in a 206 to the headwaters of the Kelly. It was a long haul. We did upgrade on the long flight and got good seats, with extra seats beside us –a big plus. If you ever fly to Anchorage, spend the extra bucks and get a seat with extra room - it's worth it.

    We needed to pick up our satellite phone in Anchorage before heading to the airport. We asked the hotel desk clerk about the shuttle, but she said by the address she knew a cab would only cost $10. Naive tourists we were! We called a cab and headed out to -- the other side of town! We sat in the back of the cab and watched that ticker click off $2.50 every minute or so and thought, "How much is this sat phone going to cost us?" Little did we know. As we got closer to the address, the cab driver was confused. So we drove around the block, and then again. I said, "Let me go in this building and ask." I found out it was down the street, so I ran over and went in. Of course, the phone wasn’t ready, plus it wasn’t the right phone, so I spent over 20 minutes on what was supposed to be a quick turn-around. Heading back to the street, I saw Bill sitting on the curb with all our stuff piled up behind him. I should have taken a picture! “Our epic float trip in remote Alaska starts here!” The same cabbie came back by, picked us up and took us back across town tot the airport. Bill may have to correct me, but I think the cab ride cost us $100, about what the sat phone cost us for the week.

    With no other issues, we made it to the airport and boarded for Kotzebeu. Neither of us had been to Nome or Kotzebue, Alaska, so it was exciting to visit both cities. We were disappointed, though, that we weren’t getting off the plane at Nome on our stop. But the quick stop there carried us to our final destination quicker.

    Seeing Kotzebue from the air was surreal. It’s completely on a knob stuck out in the bay with water on almost all sides. The runway was even built up out of the water like a bridge to the mainland. As we got out bags, Bill went outside in the parking lot to see if he could locate our air service company. He asked an Alaska State Trooper for directions and the young man promptly said, “Get in and I’ll take you.” Pretty cool welcome, I’d say! It was just around the corner so personnel were soon back with a small truck to haul us and our stuff to the hanger.

    After visiting with Jim Kincaid, the owner of NW Aviation, we found the supplies we had mailed up ahead --all there and in one piece. We unpacked it all and organized it into waterproof containers. Then we ran to the store and bought some fresh groceries plus our fishing and hunting licenses. When we returned and weighed it all, plus ourselves, we found out we were 100 pounds over the plane’s limit. We had suspected as much, but Bill thought Jim would be forgiving - nope. I don't blame him. We pulled out what we thought we couldn't live without and he blessed our load.

    Looking at the plane, I thought how are we going to get all this and our bodies stuffed in it! The pilot said it would go and it did. It was cloudy, a little breezy and it felt like about 60 degrees -- just what we expected. We were ready to go.

    The flight was beautiful. We crossed several rivers before the Kelly. Our river looked nice and big at first, but as we flew further and further upstream, it got smaller and smaller. The water was very clear, and we thought for sure that if there were salmon or char we should see them. We saw no signs of fish. About half way up I was beginning to get concerned about our chances to float, let alone catch fish. I could envision us dragging the boat through riffle after riffle for miles! I didn't realize it, but Bill was thinking the same thing.

    The pilot circled the landing "strip" to check the wind and then landed -- very smoothly despite rolling over sticks, brush and rocks. Pretty cool -- we were there! Once we got off, the awesomeness of this special part of Creation -- the quiet, the breeze, the water, mountains and tundra – hit me. Who cared about fish? It was already an amazing trip.

    I kept peeking around for bears as we unloaded the plane. Even while blowing up the raft, I kept up the “guide wariness.” Little did I know we wouldn't see an animal on the entire float. I ran down the "runway" to film the plane lift off. Again, I was amazed how easily he took off from the gravel bar. After he was in the air, I thought, "It's just us!"

    Our plan was to float down a ways and find a good place to camp. We had no idea what was ahead of us as far as places where fish were holding. We shoved off and floated about a mile, found a nice, sandy spot and set up camp. It was about 6 p.m. when we landed. I knew sundown was around 8:30 p.m., but I also knew that it takes another hour after sundown to start getting dark that far north, so we had plenty of time to get settled.

    The next morning we awoke to frost on the tent. Just a couple of days before, we were enduring triple-digit heat at home in the Ozarks. Now frost! I much prefer frost myself. We broke camp, loaded the raft and headed out for holes that were home to big char.

    We floated for I’d say three hours through some beautiful country. Vast – that would be a good word for what we were seeing. The mountains lining both sides of the valley we were in looked almost fake—a painting may be. The river in front of us at times gave us choices to make, dividing into braids, taking off in lots of different directions. We said on more than one occasion that it would have been nice if the river had stayed in one stream, providing us with plenty of water to float and may be hold a fish or two. But that’s not the makeup of most rivers in Alaska. The valleys are wide and flat. In the spring and early summer, I’m sure they’re full of water from snowmelt. By the looks of the floor of the Kelly River Valley, the braids have different pathways each year through the valley. I’d love to see the area with the water high.

    In fast, deeper sections, I’d see a fish or two darting from in front of the raft, but it was hard to identify what kind of fish. I thought, at the time, they were chum salmon because I caught a glimpse of white. When salmon start their dying stage, their flesh will die off and turn white. That’s what I thought I was seeing, but knowing now what we saw later in the float, these fish were actually char -- so we missed at least a few chances to stop and fish for them early in the float. But the numbers of these fish weren’t close to the big numbers we’d find just a little farther down the river.

    We were looking for a river coming in from the east, one that Jim called “No Name River.” Not sure if that was its name or if the river actually had no name. Odd, seeing there aren’t many rivers up there flowing into the Kelly. We failed to turn on our GPS for the first few miles of our day’s trip, so we were guessing at the distance, fearing that we had missed it somehow. But we noticed a wide valley coming up to the east, and then we saw a small stream entering our river. That was it. Bill rowed the raft up in an eddy close to the inflow, and we saw our first male char, a sight that about made both of us fall overboard.

    There was a perfect place on the shore to camp, so we beached the boat and started to scope out this section of river. We still suspected we’d see chum salmon close by and thought our beads would be the right tool to catch these trophies. But we were wrong. No salmon. So we went to Plan B — big streamers.

    Bill was the first to hookup. He was fishing the plume where the No Name, or what we now call “Maggie Creek” flowed in. After a long fight, he landed what was the first of many male, sea run arctic char in that stretch and the largest of the char we’d catch on the trip.

    We tore ourselves away from fishing to set up camp. But then it was back to the river and more hookups. Bill figured out the best way to present our streamers. He’d lay out a long cast across the river and immediately started mending his line upstream over and over. Each time, he’d bump the fly while still letting it drift downstream. These were heavily weighted flies, either with lead eyes or lead wire, so they were getting close to the bottom, which was about four feet down. But the water was swift and the drift was short, or the heavy flies were perfect for this style of drift. You knew when you’d get a strike—they didn’t mess around.

    We both landed male char pushing 38 inches in length, but more impressive than the massive bodies was the color they presented. A master painter could not create a more beautiful fish than these, and we were so grateful that God created them for us to enjoy.

    We decided to camp for three nights at Maggie Creek. We explored the river up and down from the mouth but saw no other fish. We did, for the first evening and next day, see more char making their way up the shallow riffle below this hole, but after the first day we didn’t see another fish come up. Were some of these fish heading further upstream or staying here to spawn?

    I did hike over and up onto a ridge overlooking the valley. I was tempted to walk on up at least to the base of the mountain range, but Bill wasn’t up to it, and I didn’t want to meet a bear out in the open tundra by myself, so I sat and took in the view -- and picked a few wild blue berries to add to our pancakes the next morning.

    The third morning, the fish seemed to be tired of our company. They weren’t hungry. We had already decided it was time to get on down to Wrench Creek, the second and final creek that Jim had told us entered Kelly River, again from the east. So we broke camp, loaded up and headed downstream.

    The river kept breaking up in multiple braids, and at times it was hard to tell which were the right ones to pick. We were doing pretty well when we decided to take a path that lead us to shallow water and lots of dragging. We could see the main stream to our left just a hundred yards away but couldn’t get to it. Finally, we pulled our way through tiny streams of water to the big water and vowed not to do that again!

    We stopped at several interesting spots. One was a huge bluff and deep holes. The water was a emerald green color in one spot and a sky blue in another. We did see a couple of male char holding in one deep pocket but they were way too spooky to entice with a big leech. We ran into several large wooded areas with tall pines. Upon further exploration, I found the floor of these wooded patches to be tundra, which I thought was strange. But Alaska is full of wondrous surprises.

    Finally we found the mouth of Wrench Creek. It was much larger than Maggie Creek, much more like a creek you’d find here in Missouri. I’d almost switch the names around and call Wrench a river and Maggie a creek but I’ll leave it alone. Wrench had wooded areas on both sides of the creek as well as up and down one side of the Kelly River. Pines and willows, and the willows were in full fall colors – bright yellow. The tundra was also sporting its fall foliage in shades of red and burnt red. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. If only the sun would peak out, I thought, it would be totally eye-popping.

    We pulled up on the bank across from the mouth of Wrench Creek, knowing we could wade across the Kelly to access Wrench when we wanted to. The gravel was small enough for our campsite and tent to be staked it out and set up camp.

    Fish were jumping in front of camp on the Kelly on the opposite side of the river in deeper water, and we did try fishing that stretch, but the current and depth of the water were not right. We fished and caught out fish up in Wrench and that’s all, just in the creek. Because we only found fish at Maggie and now at Wrench, where water flowed into the river, we decided instead of floating on down to the mouth of the Kelly, we’d stay here and finish out our week. We called Jim at NW Aviation, and he said that would be fine. Why leave fish and take a chance on not finding any downstream?

    Not every bend had fish up in the Wrench, but the mouth and first bend did. We did have to walk about a fourth mile up around three bends before finding more char and grayling. They were holding mainly along deep-cut banks. We found four good areas with fish. The river split in two parts above the last hot spot. Exploring up another half-mile, we thought it didn’t come back together, but when we flew out, we could see from the air that it did, meaning we probably should have walked up farther.

    It did seem there were new char in the creek each day, so we weren’t fishing for the same, exact char each day. But I know we caught some of the fish twice over the three days we were there.

    There were still a good number of chum salmon in the river and dead ones along its bank. But for the most part, they were done spawning. Fortunately for us, though, the char and grayling were still interested in anything that looked like an egg floating down through the chutes. Our chuck-n-duck method served us well, pegging a 8mm bead about two inches from a #8 hook. We also did well tying on a black leech or wooly bugger and pegging the bead two inches above the fly.

    The bigger char were found at Maggie River for sure. We did land quite a few males well over 30 inches at Wrench but nothing close to the 36- and 38-inchers we caught at Maggie. Those were big brutes. Also, I did see one male char at the mouth of Wrench that would have measured well over 40 inches, but he wasn’t interested in anything we offered.

    Bill did a great job bringing everything we could possibly needed on the trip, including a great sleeping mats, bags and an efficient Cabela’s tent, cookware and good eats and every tool needed to keep us alive in the “bush.” It sure pays to be prepared!

    The last morning, we woke to dense fog, the only day that we couldn’t see the mountain to our west. We had already packed up our fishing gear and most of our equipment the evening before, thinking it might rain that night. We didn’t want to ship back wet stuff! Having nothing to do, we lay in our tent and read, snoozed and waited for the skies to clear. With obviously not internet to check the weather, we had no idea how long it would be – an hour – a few hours – a day or even two!!!??? Pretty helpless feeling actually! But about 10 a.m., I peaked out of the tent’s door, and I could see the mountains! We called Jim on our sat phone. It was clear in Kotzebue, and he estimated he’d be there in about 45 minutes.

    Would I do that again? Float a remote river in Alaska? You bet! I’ve been going to Alaska for six straight years and this trip by far was one of the best. I’m already thinking about next summer.
  7. Phil Lilley

    Anchorage

    By Phil Lilley,

    We made it. Great flight. We're at the Micro Tel Motel tonight. Pick up out Sat Phone tomorrow and fly out to Nome and then Kotzebue at 11 am.

    Last night in a real bed before hitting the river... and a shower

    Can't wait.
  8. Phil Lilley
    Bill and I are laying over in Denver right at the moment. Our flight out of Branson was flawless. We have 2 hours to kill before our 5.5 hour flight to Anchorage.

    It's hard to believe we'll be on the Kelly River tomorrow. Air flight in this day and age is amazing.

    The Healing Water Event kept us hopping. We both were 99% packed since Thursday and it was a good thing. Coordinating guides and meals for the guys has a full time job. But it was all worth it.

    I'd been packing, or thinking about what to take, for the last 3 weeks. I'd run through potential problems and situations on the river and think... what would I need. Add it to a small list and then run to Walmart and pick up stuff. Made a couple of trips to Springfield, Sams, Bass Pro and Lawrence Photo among other places. I made trips to other outdoor outfitting places but couldn't shell out the bucks for the real good stuff.

    The weather in Kotzebue has improved the last few days. The forecast for Monday-Wednesday is 55 and partly cloudy!! Oh man is that going to be nice!!! As Bill put it, that's great picture-taking weather.

    We were told the area had gotten quite a bit of rain so we were afraid the river would be high and muddy. Nothing we can do at this point but we think we'll be ok now that the weather is better.

    We get in Anchorage at 10:45 pm which is 1:45 am at home. We won't be calling our wives till in the morning.

    Our flight leaves Ted Stevens Int at 11 am tomorrow. We have a 1.5 hour layover in Nome which is going to be cool. Hopefully we can get out and walk around alittle.

    This might be the last entry until we get off the river and back to Anchorage on 9/6.
  9. Phil Lilley

    Final Plans

    By Phil Lilley,

    Sorry for not writing more about our plans. Try to get current on our trip.

    We mailed 5 packages to Kotzebue last week. Mailed 2 big soft duffle bags, one barely made the minimum size (108 inches) and weighed about 65 pounds. The other was smaller and much lighter. Mailed two boxes - the plano and another utility box. Sent them usps priority mail. Cost: about $390.00. Mailed them on 8/12 and they arrived on 8/17 with a weekend in between. Not bad. We have 2 more utility boxes to take up with us on the plane along with our 2nd check-on bag and carry on. We'll mail everything back except what we need for the second week usps ground from Kotzebue - we'll see how long it takes to get home using ground instead of priority.

    Our plans have changed for our second week in AK. Instead of going to King Salmon and my cabin, we're heading to Kodiak from Anchorage and spend a week, or may be less. The flight will cost us $100 less than the flight to KS from Anchorage but we'll have to rent a car and pay for lodging on the island.

    Why the change? I've never been there, Bill has. The silver run should just be starting when we arrive plus the char fishing should be really good. Next fall, we're planning on taking several groups of clients to Kodiak for KAA (Kids Across America) as a fund raiser so we're going to check things out and figure out the best plan of action. The plan is to take couples so we're going to look at bed and breakfast establishments.

    I had bought a Canon 7D camera a couple of weeks ago thinking that would be the best all round camera for me. I had it 5 days and was totally overwhelmed. I'm not a photographer. I thought I could take a couple crash courses, plus I thought I had a line on a few camera lenses I could take to AK but both didn't work out. I took the camera back.

    I bought a new Pentax Optio 90w, same as my 20 but newer. For this trip, I'm taking my GoPro, my Flip and my Panasonic minidv camcorder. I've bought extra batteries for all and should be set. Bought a couple of 16g sc cards off ebay too.

    I bought a GPS and reserved a Sat Phone from this company - GPSphones.com We'll pick the phone up in Anchorage and drop it off on our way back through on the 6th. I don't think we'll need it but it will be handy if we get fogged in on our take-out day.

    I check the weather for Kotzebue every few days to see if there's any changes on the horizon. None really. The outfitter said they're getting quite a bit of rain. That should help bring fish up into the headwaters. Again, the outfitter will tell us which river would be best for our float. Of course, we wouldn't want one that's high and off-colored.

    http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/tenday/USAK0135 Highs are still reaching almost 60 but today's high was only 49. There seems to be wind most of the time which is a good thing- keeps the bugs down.
  10. Phil Lilley

    Flexible, Diligent

    By Phil Lilley,

    Words of the Day . . . Well more like words of the week for us.

    Our plans are changing each day it seems the last week. Bill has packed 6 containers full of fishing and camping gear. Our plan is to mail up 4 and take the other 2 on the plane with us. We trade emails about ten times a day--I'll share the last one from Bill on shipping vs check-ons:

    Here is an even better way to do it. Send up both of the Cabelas bags, the Rubbermaid Packer and the lighest of the Plano totes. Also weigh the heavest two if you can so we will know their exact weight each, not to exceed 50 pounds. Here is my reasoning. The 3rd. bag for one of us on our flight to Anchorage will be $50. It would then cost for that bag another $20 to get it on to Kotz. Total for the tote would be $70 and we would have to "Tote It." I am guessing it will be under that figure to send it or right around there and we wont have to mess with it. That will take us down to our carry-on's and two checkins each. Check-on luggage cost would then drop to a total of $122.00.

    It's tricky but Bill is great at figuring the best and cheapest way to get this stuff up there and back.

    I've been trying to find the best video camera to take up and for my usage down here and I think I've settled on a new Canon camera but it won't be out till September. So we're taking what we have - a GoPro, a Flip and my MiniDV video camera as well as buying a new Optio 90 for stills. There's a new panoramic camera out I'm going to look at too. Brian Wise has inspired me to learn how and shoot a bunch on my GoPro. I've order extra batteries.

    More to follow. . . we're still not sure where we're going our second week. King Salmon or Kodiak. We'll make our decision today.
  11. Phil Lilley
    We were talking . . . we'd like to bring some sockeye home with us but the problem is that sockeye will be spawning and dying when we're there in September, at least at Naknek, so what do we do? I emailed Jim, my friend who owns Naknek River Camp on the Naknek River, where my cabin is, and he said he could call Heidi at Diamond Lodge and buy some from her. She would store it till we get there. 150 pounds would do us - 50 pounds each. So we're set.

    BUT - I threw a wrench in the mix. I said we should THINK about flying over to Kodiak Island instead of to the cabin at King Salmon and fish for silvers which run in September. This would add expense to the trip but we could explore the island and camp. So Bill's researching.

    Here at the Landing, we started carrying a new wader line called Hendrix. I sent my Orvis waders in for repair or replacement cause they're leaking AGAIN. I've had bad luck with the guide waders from Orvis but at least they stand behind their product. If you're floating a remote river in Alaska, you better take an extra pair of waders. I now have one.

    I'm not buying a new pair of wading boots. The pair I have, Orvis, are about 4 years old and have seen alot of use. The felt soles have been glued back on a couple of times. I ripped one off the other day and glued a new one on. It's taken several sessions but I think it's on good. I'll have to test it before leaving. Boots are another item you don't want to be without in the bush.

    We have a 800 pound limit on the bush plane flying from Kotzebue to the river. That's including camping and cooking gear, fishing gear, clothes and food. 400 of that will be US. We'll have to weigh everything closely, before we leave as well as after we pick up our food in Anchorage. We'll use water purifier kits and drink water from the river.

    I was thinking . . . haven't asked Bill yet but I assume we're cooking using butane. September can be a rainy time in AK and there's not a whole lot of trees where we're going so depending on dry wood for a cooking fire wouldn't be wise. That adds to our weight.

    Sat Phone - we're weighing that option. Found a place to rent a phone for $59 per week but I'm not sure we'll need one. A GPS - yes. If this river was alittle wilder, I would say yes to the sat phone but it's very tame. Shouldn't have any problems floating. Bears - another thing. But there's aren't as many bears as, say, where we go in southwest Alaska. So we'll decide shortly.

    Bill's been trying out jackets - fleece water proof, windproof. He's ordered and received 2 so far. He likes one. He brought it over and showed me- it was nice. It's a riding jacket - motorcycle riding. Reinforced elbows and shoulders. Has a hood. It's nice, especially for the price - $89. I'm still looking. I have a nice windproof Orvis fleece - I think that will do me. It was misplaced till this week.

    Cameras - I have my Optio. It's still a great camera. Waterproof. Been through a lot. I have a video mini DV that's 3 years old but I'd like to get a HD. I have some leads. I want to document this trip as best as I can.
  12. Phil Lilley
    Bill and I are flying out of Branson, mid afternoon on August 29th and flying to Anchorage, AK. We'll arrive there at that evening - there's a 3 hour difference in their time and central time. Bill booked a book at the Microtel Airport Inn for $167. Our flights costs $1591.82 round trip.

    We get up the next morning and go shopping. We'll need to buy staple items such as meats for 2-3 dinners as well as other items we don't want to take up on the plane. There will be other items that we'll share later when we have our list.

    We leave for Kotzebue mid afternoon. It's a 4 hour flight with one stop. We are using Jim Kincaid, an outfitter and pilot in Kotzebeu. We will fly from there to the Kelly River. It will be a 30 mile float and we'll fish for ocean run Andromous char and grayling. These char average over 15 pounds and will grow to over 25 pounds. Grayling are good sized too.

    We're taking one shot gun for ptarmigan and bear protection, as well as bear spray.

    We are getting our gear together and ordering supplies and clothing we need, but we have most of everything. Bill has great camping gear including bags and tents. We've scouted out dried foods. Everything is coming together.

    We've considered, or really are still considering renting a Sat Phone but we're not sure we need to go to that expense. The river is class I so no danger there. Not many bears. But it is remote - not many other people or planes flying over.

    I'll let Bill add to this entry. It's his idea to start this blog, hoping to help those who may consider taking a trip like this in the future.
  13. Phil Lilley

    Yantarni Bay

    By Phil Lilley,

    Not sure what all to share at this point in time. It is Friday evening. Bill and I are sitting in Anchorage waiting on our first of 3 flights tonight- it's going to be a long night. But at this point, we don't know what the sale of Yantarni is. The owner is entertaining another party- today as a matter of fact- which was a surprise to us. We thought we were the only ones in the hunt.

    Regardless, we are thinking and planning on moving on this in August and will be recruiting serious anglers to come to this magical place.

    Here's a few things we have learned about Yantarni Bay.

    It's been around for quite a while. It was developed as an oil exploration camp, not sure how far back but at least in the 70's. After the oil company left, the permit was sold to the present owner and he developed it as a fishing camp.

    It has a gravel runway that has been cut in two by the river- 1200 feet on one side and 1400 feet on the other- plenty of room of a 206 or even a Beaver. The camp itself is about a half mile from the beach, which is riddled with driftwood and other treasures, we're told. Beachcombing is a popular activity where things like Japanese glass fishing net balls are found each year. The camp area is protected by the bay with sharp rocky cliffs and islands are visible from the beach on both sides. Pink, Chum and Silver Salmon run these rivers and stack up in the mouth of the river making surf fishing excellent. You were also told hallibut cruise into these shallow waters, espeically on into the spawn when dead salmon carcases start flowing out of the river into the bay to be eaten. So- hallibut on the fly!? We looked at a couple of inflateable boats today to keep at camp with 15 hp motors just to get out and fish the bay for halibut and other fish like rock fish- maybe?!

    There at the camp, the main river is Yantarni Creek but within a short distance there are 2 other creeks flowing into this creek which offers salmon fishing too. If one creek gets blown out by rains, we just move to another creek where all the salmon crowd into until the muddy water runs out.

    We talked to one person today that knew alot about the camp and the fishing. He said, simply- our problem will be it's just too easy! There's no challenge which may be a problem with some anglers. 6 days of catching silvers ONE EVERY CAST may get boring to some and that may be true. He said we'll have to figure out ways to make it TOUGHER for clients to find and hook fish. Strangely enough, I understand this. It gets like that on Taneycomo but it's hard to compare our rainbows to 10-15-20-25 pound silver salmon 5 minutes out of the ocean.

    Other problems are lost flies, lost line and broken gear. Oh yea- sore arms.

    There are other creeks and rivers that flow into the bay all around us. Some are within the range of our 4-wheelers and others only can be reached by helocopter. Helo-fishing will be included during some peak weeks and offered as an option during other weeks- that's our idea so far.

    The creeks have sea-run dolly varden also. They reportedly get to be around 20-24 inches, not the 30+ inches we're used to on the Naknek. No rainbows. The dollies should be easy to catch using our bead method. They do color us pretty in September.

    The camp was blown all over the place when we flew over. They said the camp sees winds over 100-120 mph in the winter. All the inportant parts are stored in the building and it was in good shape.

    The weather ports each have 3 twin beds, supplied with sheets and pillows, a table and chairs and a small wood burning stove. The shower tent has a nice shower with unlimited hot water and a lav. The camp has one out house.

    The dining tent has an incredible kitchen setup- all stainless steel tables, sinks and stove/oven, refrig and freezers. Table is set with table cloth and cloth napkins- fancy even for us!

    The camp has 4, 4-wheelers with personell carts for transportation up and down the creek as well to the beach. That's how everyone gets around.

    We could be booking 3 weeks this fall for operation - Aug 23-30, Aug 30-Sept 6 and Sept 13-20. We may add Aug 16-23 for primarily pinks and chums but we're not sure.

    The rate has been $4795 per client from King Salmon in the past but we're not thinking quite that high to start this year. We'll wait and see how we stand before we set the rate.

    It takes a week to set camp up and a week to tear is down.

    Can't think of anything else. It's hard to imagine Bill and I have been given the chance to at least look at this place and dream. If we don't get it, it's been a great opportunity and we've made some new friends to boot. We're leaving it in God's hands. We prayed that He would shut the door if it wasn't for us. So far it's been wide open.

    We both want to honor God is this venture.... in all we do. It's only by His grace and blessings we have gotten to do the things we have- we give Him glory for that.
  14. Phil Lilley
    My life is busy. But it's mostly my fault.

    My #2 daughter is getting married on the 29th to a wonderful young man, Jimmy. The wedding will be here at the college- lots of people are coming. I haven't had alot to do with planning... just writing checks My parents 50th anniversary is the day before and we're throwing them a surprise party that evening down here on the lake. So we're burning the candle on both ends, so to speak.

    Caleb has been in Rhwanda this summer finishing his internship in videography. He's working with Feed the Children, videoing kids and conditions there. He has a blog here - http://cobproductions.blogspot.com/ We are trusting he has a life-changing experience there- no doubt he has.

    Greg is working this summer, entering College of the Ozarks for his 2nd year. He's the only kid still at home, technically anyhow. He's doing well.

    My trip to Alaska was exhausting. I lost almost 20 pounds but gained alot of strength from working on the cabin. I was pretty burned out before I left which was unfortunate. Not many people get to do what I did and I feel I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have.

    I'm planning on going back in September to help Jim guide and close down the camp for the winter.

    I've been fishing here on Taneycomo a few times, going real well at catching rainbows and a few nice browns. It's nice to have running water for an extended time (most of spring and summer)- it really makes our trout bigger and stronger when it runs. I look to have a very good fall season for browns and rainbows.

    Starting last fall, a couple of guys started a new template for OA for the purpose to improve the look and navigation on the site. They had it ready about the time I left for AK but I didn't have time to work up the files for it. We're now working on it again but I don't think we'll have anything to share till after I get back in October, seeing how things have gone in the past. I have lots of ideas, just hope we can work them all up on the site.

    Back a few weeks ago, hackers hacked their way onto several servers owned by the company who hosts my sites, including OA and the forum. I don't know for sure what they did or why but Jim and others have to rebuild their servers, starting from scratch basically. The sites were down for a day or two. Some sites are still not up including LilleysTackleStore.Com. They're having trouble with the XCart software people getting the basic back up and running. I'll have to rebuild the data base which is about 100 hours of work. I want to devote some time to the webcams again. The software that drove them now locks up on my computer and whatever I've tried hasn't worked. I'm going to have to buy new video cards for another computer and the software and try to run them off it instead of my main computer- either that or reinstall windows and start over, which I'm not enthused.

    Best be going...
  15. Phil Lilley

    March Business

    By Phil Lilley,

    Boy, has this month flew by. Well it's only the 22nd but it might as well be over. It may give up a few more crappies

    It's been a good crappie season so far for me. It started early when Vince and I found a good spot on Taney just off the Landing Wall. Then we found them in Roark, which is an annual occurance for us. Been over to Cricket a couple of times and added just a few to my total. But all in all, it's been good.

    I hope to get into a few whites this spring. The last 2 years haven't been good wb seasons, for alot of people, esp around Forsyth. I'll try to get over to the Spring and fish with my buddy Paul Crews one of these days. Then there's a trip over to Sooner Lake with John Johnson in April, hopefully. Way too many choices and opportunities to do them all.

    Rain, not temps, will dictate fishing conditions the next week or 10 days. The forecast says 70's and even 80's but rain/thunderstorms will tell the tale. Rivers will be washed out, lakes will rise, tailwaters will see lots of generation- may be.

    Last year, a heat wave in April brought crappie to the banks and whites up the rivers and onto the shoals. After a few days, it got cold and stayed cold. Some say it really screwed up the spawn. Time will tell. My fear was the same thing may happen again this year but there's no cold spell in sight- yet. But gosh, we still have more than a week of March and all of April... lots of chances for cold weather and even SNOW. Hard to believe right now.

    Our online store in working, not 100% ready but functional. The home page is still stating it's a demo copy. I'm having a terrible time with the design part of this software. But I should master it in the next couple of days. But until then- go take a look. Even order something if you feel inclined. Send me an email and let me know what you think.

    http://lilleystacklestore.com

    Better go- Sara and Josh have landed. They are making a stop here on their way from Denver to Nashville for the weekend. Josh is putting in flying hours towards his commercial pilots license.
  16. Phil Lilley
    Don't want to bore everybody on the forum about life issues... so I'll vent here. Not really venting, just logging in.

    Most of you know about my Alaska plans this year. Had a few changes the last couple of days worth noting.

    Cabin- I was going to get a 'cabin' given to me by Jim's neighbor. It's an old gift shop the previous owner had moved from town to the lot next door. About 24 x 24 and in decent shape. Needed some work and that was my plan in May. But cost to move the building 100 ft to Jim's land went from $2000 to $8000 Monday so we told him to forget it. The movers uped their price, not the neighbor. So we're looking either a cabin kit from Lowes or build from scratch. We'll decide tomorrow- the deadline to have our pre-season orders in for lumber and such. Everything is barged from Seattle, WA and the neighbor, Rob, is the guy who manages the lumber yard in town. He's leaving for the states tomorrow to make purchases. Looking to build a 16 x 24 building or a 12 x 20 cabin kit. Leaning to building from scratch myself. We're building Jim a living quarters too, about the same size. Also another bathroom/shower house.

    Guide- my plan was to take the unrestricted OUPV test for my coast guard license to guide this June in Alaska. To be taken in St Louis. But I've been told my application, submitted 3 weeks ago, may not be approved in time to take the test before I leave May 19. So I tried to get the app transfered to Anchorage- then take the restricted test there for Alaska inland waters. They said after an app in activated and in process, it can't be transfered and I can't apply in another region. I'm stuck. The only week Jim needs me to guide in June 23-30 so I'll have to slip by that week unnoticed. Phyliss, Jim's wife, will get her license in May so we'll have 2 guides on staff at least. We'll get by. I'll take the test in July or August in time for my return in September.

    King Salmon's wind chill factor was 60 below this past weekend. That's cold. Where Jim lives in Baldwin MI he's getting -10 at night and they've had 4 feet of new snow this week. He's ready for a break.

    Here at home, my quest for getting our shopping cart online is moving at a snails pace. It's accepting visa and MC but not Am Exp. The shipping is still coming in too high which I don't know how to fix. I'm having to go back and add weight to all the 800 items I've entered... fun fun. And I still need to add some character to the cart- color and graphics- or I'll bored customers to death while shopping. But it should be good when it's done. Interesting for sure.

    Doing some crappie fishing on Taney. I may have to really explore MY lake more for warm water species this year. Done very well so far on crappie and finding a few whites already. I still want to get over to the Current this spring for the first time. Hopefully a couple of other new places.

    Megan's wedding plans are coming along- July 29. They booked their honeymoon today at Cozumel.

    Better go for now.
  17. Phil Lilley

    Hard to keep up

    By Phil Lilley,

    It's hard to keep up every little project I start, including this blog. Sorry about that. I figured you guys get tired of reading my posts on the forum anyhow...

    Way too much to bore you with tonight. I have to pack for Cancun anyhow.

    Yes- we are taking the family to Cancun for a week. Leaving tomorrow to St Louis and on to MX Saturday. We've never done anything like this. The closest is driving to Sarasota where Marsha's sis lives with their family. We have stayed at a condo there on the beach but it was still visiting relatives.

    We'er taking all 4 kids, Sara's bow Josh and Megan's soon-to-be fiancee Jimmy. I say soon to be cause he plans on asking her on the trip. No one is supposed to know so don't say anything.

    We're going snorkling and beaching and sightseeing... don't know if I'll wet a line or not. Not a priority.

    Gearing up for winter has kept us busy. Buying a couple of motors, making sure everything's ready for the big fishing season. Remodeled a couple of units. Adding another public bathroom. Not sure what else Curtis has planned.

    Just had a week's planning session with Jim for the Alaska season coming up. It's alot of fun planning a new venture like this. We've been trying to figure out what we're going to do with the cabins- build new ones, remodle old ones- buy new boats and motors- add a REAL toilet!! Big time! We booked the place almost full while he was here. The price and what we offer is almost a no brainer for those who want to go to Alaska on-the-cheap.

    Everytime I hear Jim tell someone about the fishing, I find myself just as excited as the potential client gets. did you know Naknek has the largest sockeye migration in the world? 4.5 million salmon run past our camp. And it has the largest resident rainbows in the world- up to 24 pounds. And again, some of the best fishing is in front of our camp.

    We are trying to decide what we are going to do with the cabin I'm remodeling when I'm gone- basically the months of July and August. Thinking about renting it out by the night and renting my boat out by the day.

    I mentioned toilets... it's a big thing up there to have real toilets. The tundra doesn't lend itself to septic tanks. Looking to install one that burns the waste or turns it into compost. Not sure about a kitchen... food attracts bears.

    Christmas- I hope you don't get lost in the past pace of the season. Try to slow down and ponder what is important. God, family, friends, health... most of are blessed beyond belief. Those who are struggling- it's a time to reach out for help and learn from mistakes.

    God's grace is new every morning for those who believe.
  18. Phil Lilley

    Another year... 48 now

    By Phil Lilley,

    A month passes so fast... each time I check the blogs another month has passed since my last entry.

    I try to keep everyone up to date on site plans... it's hard doing everything I want to do without full control of the site. The trouble is knowledge. I don't have the know how to do the things I want to do. Jim, my partner and computer geek, is the brains behind the scene and he's busy building internet sites and making commercials to help. He does what he can, when he can, and we are grateful!

    OzarkHunters.Com is going to happen very soon.

    I'm publishing a full colored newsletter that will be ready for the FFF Conclave. It will be like last years but a little bigger in size. It will announce the new forum addition.

    We are working on logos for both sites and hopefully will create hats, shirts and stickers for each.

    More to come....

    Alaska was a hit for me... may be more than a hit. I fell in love with the area, so much so I want to spend more time up there. The best way is to buy some land, build a couple of cabins and offer to take people fishing. Well, my friend Jim Johnson is already doing that so I think I'll help him. More definate plans to come soon... along with booking information. On problem now is that he only has room for 6 people at a time and he's already filled up next season. My cabins will allow more people to go.

    As I mentioned, another year has past in my life and of course I don't feel any different. Approaching 50 is alittle unnerving but I'm trying to think of it as a wake up call. Seeing my kids grow up so fast is another reminder of how short life is.

    Fishing-wise... I wish I could say fishing on Taneycomo was great- I can't. This has been the worse trout fishing year since I've been here- this summer anyhow. Low water flow is the only one-thing I can point to for it, plus the fact MDC dropped their stocking numbers by 10% this year. 10% isn't that much though- not enough to make this big a difference in 'catching'. The brown spawning run will help but only up by the dam. Just hoping for RAIN this fall and winter.
  19. Phil Lilley

    Position

    By Phil Lilley,

    I'm reading a book by a friend of mine, Joe Norvell. He lives just south of here in Arkansas and helps with a ministry to young men in trouble. It's a basic book about faith in Christ.

    I found in the first chapter a section that talks about 'position in life' and how we identify with position as part of the basis of who we are, of think we are.

    What caught my eye and lead me to think of some of the posts lately is the mention of what Jesus said about seeking the "high place".

    Here He was at a Pharasee's house observing how different people were being treated.

    Luke 14:7-11 - 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

    Don't boast of your 'credintials' and name-drop. Those reading will only think of you as pompous and will not give you the credit you may deserve as really knowing something about what your posting. The best thing is to have others testify of your accomplishments with honestly and admiration. But if you don't have people around that will do that, then you really have lived wrongly.
  20. Phil Lilley

    Confrontation

    By Phil Lilley,

    There's an element that's cropped up on the forum with has the possibility of becoming contagious. In my daily reading, I found something that may help.

    Care Enough to Confront

    Many people avoid confrontation. Some fear being disliked and rejected. Others are afraid confrontation will make things worse by creating anger and resentment in the person they confront. But avoiding confrontation always worsens the situation. Confrontation can be a win-win situation, a chance to help and develop your people--if you do it with respect and with the other person's best interests at heart. Here are 10 guidelines to help you confront positively:

    1. Confront ASAP
    2. Address the wrong action, not the person.
    3. Confront only what the person can change.
    4. Give the person the benefit of the doubt.
    5. Be specific.
    6. Avoid sarcasm.
    7. Avoid words like "always" and "never".
    8. If appropriate, tell the person how you feel about what was done wrong.
    9. Give the person a game plan to fix the problem.
    10 Affirm him or her as a person and a friend.

    Positive confrontation is a sure sign that you care for a person and have their best interests at heart. Each time you build up your people and identify their problems, you have them an opportunity to grow.

    Think about some of these things when you post, esp on issues that are divisive.
  21. Phil Lilley

    July update

    By Phil Lilley,

    Summer is a flying.

    Resort stuff- we've hired a full time dock manager to fill the big shoes of Jerry Newcomb. His name is Lincoln Hunt. He has stayed with us with his parents for the past 10 years or so. He is a school teacher from Dallas, retired for now. Not married, 36 today? Loves to fly fish and talk about it... you should see him on the forum shortly. He will be in the office alot doing double duty.

    We are going to start selling online within 6-8 weeks or so. I'm looking at shopping cart programs. We will offer a variety of fishing stuff- fly tying material, flies, some rods and reels, jigs of course and lures, fish related gifts and apparel. Hopefully it won't be your run-of-the-mill offerings. Linc will be a big part of the management of the online store. We'll see how it goes.

    Dock project - stalls are finished. Can't add anymore cause we're out of room. Next is adding another gas tank and feed to the upper end of the dock, then the building/dock shop/club- whatever you call it.

    Fishing has been nominal at best this summer. Blame it on low stock numbers, drought, hard generation, clear water... whatever. You might say we've been so spoiled to have good to great trout fishing ALL the time for so long that we forgot what it's like to work for them. But that's hard on the novices and disappointing to those who counted on catching fish on their vacations.

    The white bass run at Moonshine on Table Rock was a saving grace for alot of the guides for most of the summer. Buster, Bill, Tim, Bill and Tim started most mornings at 5:30 and jigged a spoon for 'em. Kentuc's have been fair till now- now they're tough.

    Dry fly fishing on Taney has been good most of the summer but we're close to getting into the meat of the season... dries will rule this fall on Taney! We are looking forward to that!

    Babler and I just booked a flight to King Salmon, AK for 10 days in August. We're going up to help a friend of mine, Jim Johnson, who bought a place on the Naknek River. He's hosts clients for week stays and needs help for a week guiding. We will try.

    The forum is going well. I'm still amazed at the numbers. The prayer request forum is a big step for me. It's extremely intimidating to me to post here cause it's not like giving fishing advice... if I'm wrong- oh well. This is people's lives. We take it very seriously. I had not given Chuck proper permission to reply on it but he has it now. For now, only the three of us are allowed to reply to requests. I've had some emails asking. The last thing I want is for any part of OAF to become a religious battering field.

    Newletter to come out in September. Want to have one printed and in hand for the FFF conclave in October.
  22. Phil Lilley
    It's the first of June and already in the upper 90's. Not dwelling there but will say I'm not looking forward to the dog days of July and August. I don't really like the heat.

    Our dock project continues. I just stepped out and snapped a pic of what we've done so far. We linked the 2 docks and now are adding 2 double stalls for pontoons. The roof will be higher so they can get into the dock with their tops up. We need them. That will just about expend our lakefront space for expansion unless we buy our neighbors out. But are content to stay as we are... for now. The area between this expansion and the bank is plenty of room for a building. This is the dream club house I've always wanted-- fly tying, fly fishing, fishing, hunting library of books, magazines and videos, a big screen TV, fly tying benches, lockers for those who frequent the place and want to leave some tools and material there, a meeting room for local fishing clubs... I'm open for more ideas. We will start on it as soon as the stalls are finished- may be in a couple of weeks.





    We lost our 6 year veteran dockhand, Jerry Newcomb. He decided to break out on his own and enter the construction market again. He will be missed. Linc Hunt, a young guy from Dallas will be filling in for the month of July. A school teacher from Dallas, he worked for us last summer and will be moving to Seattle this fall to teach up there. Jimmy Cummins, a young man from the St Louis area, is also working part time for us on the dock and office. He is dating our #2 daughter, Megan, and is a junior at College of the Ozarks. He is also working with our #1 son, Caleb, at Camp Lookout at the college for the summer.

    Jim and I are close to purchasing our new server to handle the trout cam and other cams yet to be invented. It will also be able to handle more capture cards for more cameras. We are waiting for the cards to come in- next week hopefully. We are also looking to getting our own T1 line to host video streaming including clips for OA on fishing. This should be super cool!

    My 30 year reunion is in 2 weeks in Parsons, KS. and I'm looking forward to seeing alot of old friends. When we think of these people- even now- in our minds eye we still see the young face and voice. It's a real shock to see them as OLD people and then think... 'they are the same age as me!!!'.

    Forum is going good. I'm deturmoned not to micro manage it and not answer or comment on every topic. I'm wanting it to stand on it's own... there's plenty of people out there that have made the forum their own- that's the way it's supposed to be. It's neat to see how it has evolved. Would like to see the slow areas on the forum pick up- hopefully in the near future. Still trying to decide the best way to promote it. Word of mouth has done well though.
  23. Phil Lilley
    The month of May proved to be one of the most jam-packed months of my life so far. With 2 graduating- Greg from HS and Megan from college- the parties, receptions, friends visiting- add all the things we do here at the resort getting ready for the "season" like painting, repair, landscape (huge) and a dock remodel that's still not done; Megan leaving for K-Colorado to work... add my 30-year high school reunion I'm in charge of and that about the end of the list- kind of. Oh yea- the newsletter... way over due. It wasn't the best I've done but wanted to get something out.

    We just got back from KC- our last scheduled duty for the month and it feels good- strange- to be out of things to do for a short time.

    I really want to go floating! I hope to go at least to Bull Creek this week.

    I'm excited about our dock forum. Jerry has been on vacation for 2 weeks so it should be setup and going by the weekend. I hope to have him taking pics and reporting daily from our dock.

    Really excited about google ads and generating money for more toys on OA. First thing is to upgrade our computer that handles the troutcam to get better service to more viewers AND to add a new streaming camera. I have an awesome idea- trout fishers will love it and I'm sure others will too. Not going to share it quite yet... hopefully well have something going by the end of the month. And no it's not fish!

    I did talk to the guys at State Park Marina about getting a cam and streaming it on their site. When they get it going, I'll put a link up for us to see it. They have a ton of BIG carp at their dock.

    I'm also brain-storming on a couple of contests for the forum- to generate interest for those who have become bored. I'm willing to give some items away or even cash- just want to do something with some quality- not something hap-hazzard. Any ideas- I'm open.

    Until then- keep those fishing reports coming! And thanks for making the forum what it is- a fun, informable place to visit.
  24. Phil Lilley

    This is hard

    By Phil Lilley,

    With all I do at the computer- this forum and OA's website- it's been hard to sit and type on my blog. But I'm watching the office and it's quiet- accept for the Card's game on TV.

    Been working to finish Table Rock's maps- the west side of the lake. In all I think there's 12 maps on the west side. I'm waiting on Babler and Loving to mark them for us. What's next? Not sure. I've done the James River- might do the Kings next- neither can you find maps for anyplace. The Buffalo could be on my short list. I'd like others on the forum to have a chance to mark up the maps but it would be hard to do so.

    Can you believe this drought? My My---- this will be a very interesting summer for all these lakes in SW Missouri- boating and marinas will be really hurting. I fished close to State Park today and they don't have much room around their back docks now- if the water drops 5-7 feet more they will have a hard time getting boats out.

    Taneycomo- I'm asking for a meeting with MDC to discuss our situation. No flow and hot temps will mean high temps for our trout. At what time will they consider emergency generation? Will the Corp work with us? They have in the past. But if you're coming this summer, don't expect much generation.

    The streams- canoe outfitters will have a tough time. North Fork will see alot of business will the springs run low. Elevenpoint and Current too. But the others will have a slow season I'm afraid.

    Crappie fishing- I've only caught a fraction of what I caught last year but last year was a banner year for most of us. And I didn't get out as much and at the right times. White bass- I caught some early over at the Spring River in NE OK but not many here. Again- didn't get out to fish for them. Trout- its' been great everytime I've been out.

    Traffic on the website has leveled off in April- even dropped a bit. But I've been in this for 9 years- I'm in it for the long run- keep adding information and hopefully recruit others to help and it will do fine. Word of mouth is still the best advertising.

    I want to do a contest of some sort (for the forum members). Still trying to think of something. I'm open to suggestions.

    Cams- I still want to add lake cams. I'm going to have to buy another computer to do that. I have the cameras ready to go. I found out it's not a matter of bandwidth- it's my old computer I'm using for a server.
  25. Phil Lilley

    I have 30 minutes

    By Phil Lilley,

    ... but I'm in the office and not sure how much time I really have to type.

    Been working on several things of interest. I'm speaking at a FFF chapter in KC next week and have been putting a midge fishing piece together. Lots of studing on the internet- it's been fun and informative. I'll post it on OA as soon as I'm done in KC.

    The troutcam has been down- not sure where the problem is but it does seem like it's in the wiring. But the visibility is poor so there's not much to see.

    Spring fishing is just around the corner- can't wait till everything blossums out and the fish head to the banks. The weather has given us a preview of spring already- 2 tornados and hail. Not complaining about the rain though!

    Am thinking about changing the name of my newsletter from the White River Journal to something more appropriate to the present site. It started out being Taneycomo, then added Table Rock and Bull Shoals, then more and more and now it's the Ozarks-plus. So I'm trying to come up with the name. If anybody has any ideas- shoot them my way. The only problem is writing enough to cover some/all of the waters we cover now. Part of my problem my ideas get too big and I can't keep up with them. I have to fish sometime!!!

    I have a daughter graduating from College of the Ozarks and a son graduating from high school (my last kid). Man- it's all going so fasts. May will be here and gone and so will our kids... almost. They are still close and of course they will be for the summer working. But gosh- it's gone quick.

    C of O won the boys basketball national championship naia2 yesterday. Dad and I watch all 5 games. It's such a blessing to have mom and dad here and get to do things with him. He's 70 and in excellent health- probably better than me. We don't really know anyone of the boys team but do know one of the girls that plays for C of O - Becca Howard - who's team lost in the final game of the championships. She's good friends with my oldest son Caleb.

    My 30 year HS reunion is this summer... I'm in charge of getting it together. Go figure- I'm from Parsons, KS and I'm in charge? But I was told no one in Parsons wanted to do it and I wanted to see some friends so- I'm doing it. It's not really that hard. I'm heading to Parsons tomorrow for a dinner/meeting with some of the guys to talk about plans. Gonna hit the Spring River on the way over!

    We're having a "wild game feast" at church on Sunday night. If anyone is interested in deer, pheasant, fish and whatever else we can find between now and then, feel free to come. Covenant Life Church behind Empire Electric on Main in old downtown Branson. Around 6 pm I think.
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