Trav

Bman, I have asked a few old time locals, so I got close to 600 years of in-my-face opinions and experiance, and they all said that Branson was the middle ground. As far as a actual line they all agreed either roark or bee creek. Alot of them look at the lower as out of town. And they all agreed that the entire upper lake, including the Dam might as well be inside city limits. So are the old natives wrong? Is it that simple? Upper is in town and lower is out of town?

Leonard, You too huh? Haha, I thought they just liked to pick on me. I thought Danials first name was Rodney?

I used to buy all those marine brand batteries. My last one was a Nautilus and only lasted 4 years. So I gave up and bought one of Oreilleys brands. Got a Deep cycle Marine for 90 bucks and it is now going on six years. So good so far.

I hope there be someone on Taney. Will save me alot of hassle.

What were the water temps Bill?

I use 8 to 12, depending on the amount of timber, weeds/grass , and current that is present. On Table Rock, I use 10 pound test for everything.

With the lake full of mud thicker than an almost frozen milk shake, you will find the fishing to be extremely difficult on the lower Taney. I for one dont let it discourage me but I also keep realistic expectations. You are not gonna catch alot of fish under these conditions. The trout bite will almost be non-existant because there is so much for them to feed off of that they dont need to bother with chasing your presentation. In fact, most will be pretty much on the bottom gorging on what ever they can get. Wich will be plentiful. This does benefit the bait fisherman though. Those bright eggs and powerbaits will be the only game. I would suggest that even those who like to bait fish to use marshmallows to keep your bait a few inches off the bottom to seperate your presentation from the rest of the junk on the lakebed. Still, with that said, you trout fisherman have a hard day or so ahead of you on the Lower. Bass fisherman on the other hand can expect different troubles to pose them issues. You can expect the bass to just stage and be less apt to be in a feeding mode. The bass on lower Taney are well accustomed to these water conditions and have adapted to know that if they wait a day or two it will all pass and then get back to thier normal feeding cycles. This can be both good and bad. The bad thing is your not gonna find them in the normal areas you are used to finding them. Some will move right up to the shoreline in 6 inches of water, others will cling to cover, and yet others will actually group together in deeper holes where the muddy current runs above the water column they are in. These are the fish you should be looking for. For one, there will be more than one , and two, those will be the most active fish. Other situations to look for include breaklines between muddy and clear water and weedbeds that can provide a filter from the stained water. This is where you will find bass that are on the move looking to find water that will suit there needs until the lake clears back up. Like the trout, it wont be easy fishing but unlike the trout, they are not feeding to much on the sediment. So they will be more likely to chase your baits. Now where the bright colors will be best for trout, it wont be the same with the bass. You need to use dark lures and preferably something with vibration or a rattle to help them find you. If there is alot of sunshine then flashy baits with spinner blades or even chrome finished cranks work well, but only if your fishing shallow enough to utilize the suns reflection. Like I said, the lake usually clears up in just a couple days if we dont get alot more rain. Especially if they decide to run alot of water out of the dam. You can catch fish if your persistant but if you are willing to wait out the mud, you can expect better fishing. If you are like me, and have to get out anyway, the info I have shared should help you out.

Sorry ken, I never received any email from you. Try just messaging instead.

How bout I just tell you where I buried the body and you can go dig her up? Haha

That was a Bill Clinton Quote? darn, Im gonna have to wash out my mouth with soap, AGAIN! Haha Your right, Sport is the same as dink. I just dont want to disrespect a future 5 pounder by calling them dinks. Plus they do give good "sport" while you are looking for thier parents.

I do troll some. Not as much as I used to but it can be very effective. For some reason I dont really like it very much. Can get pretty high maintanence when they are running water out of the dam because of all the debris that floats in the lake. Seems I have to reline my spools almost evertime I troll because when you get tangled up in leaves and stuff your swivels dont work properly and those nasty little twists start to mess up the mono. Although I will run some deep divers in the heat of summer when the water isnt running just for a change of pace. Bman, You have me beat. My biggest brownie was a 14 pounder that I caught back in '03. The landing wasnt as dramatic either. I think I had it boated, weighed and released in 20 minutes. Of course I was using 10 pound test on a stout 6ft spinning rig out of a boat in open water. I can imagine the fun off a fly rod in shallow water current from the shore. I would have enjoyed watching that.

Welcome!

I pull drift wood off the bank and sink them with big rocks by putting eye bolts in to the timber and connecting them to cable.

Huh? I take no offense because I dont care what you think.

Must really be sad to live life that full of doubt Shawncat. With no faith in your fellow man. Must be a lonley existence. Nobody is forcing you to believe me. In fact, if you would feel better about yourself to think I am a little troll hiding under your umbrella of approval, then do so. I dont think anyone else here gives a hoot either. What ever helps you sleep at night Man. Assuming you are a man and not some prepubescent child who needs to tear down others to establish your worthyness.

No Problem.

Hmmm...human larva...Babys all look the same to me.

Its al good bro. I will say that this forum is the best place to learn.

We are all familiar with the drop shot style. Wieght suspended below a palimar knot hook set. Well in Taney the same methods can be used. Thing is you dont want a weight to be your descender. Use a jigging lure like a lil george, a hornet or even a ratrap as your wieght. I even have used spinnerbaits. And avoid touching the bottom. Touching the bottom will spook the brownies. Above that on a 12 to 20 inch interval slide in a sluggo or a soft minnow bait with the palimar knots. I usually use 3 to 5 hooks up the line to cover a 6 foot area of presentation. I even use marabus and roadrunners at the top of the section to descend in weight and size in the presentation. Even if you are just floating deep water and you cant pinpoint certain cover, you can spread out your base with this simple tactic used for tuna. I catch all my brown trout off of a multiple strain presentation. Some of my lure combos get pretty ugly but the majority of my fish(all be it small) are caught on the upper baits on the presentation. But the ugly ones at the bottom catch the big ones.

Haha, I guess I dont understand why my word isnt enough. Your right cotter, I always respond wether it is negitive or positive. If I bragged I took home a good looking girl for the night would you all want pictures to prove it?...Just kidding. I just dont feel I need to prove anything. Either you believe me or not. I dont care. I know the truth and if noone wants to accept it as it is then I am not the one with trust issues. As far as todays rainbow being worthy of such attention.....I will agree. It just so happens to be the second biggest rainbow I have ever caught. The first one going 9-3 back in '02. Still not a record keeper though. We will need another 15 pounds to reach the record books. I am used to catching 4 to 8 pound brownies on a weekly basis. I guess I am a little desensitized to what is a trophy fish to most. I mean, over 8 gets my attention with largemouth bass, over 5 with smallmouth, over 10 in brownies, over 5 in rainbows, over 8 in walleye, Ect ect. My only goal is to catch big fish. The little ones are like the peskys that get in the way. Haha Still fun to catch by the way. trust me...if it is a record breaking fish ....OAF will have pics

Welcome!

I fished from almost up to Bee Creek down to Rockaway beach this afternoon. Did a little deep water pinpointing today. Jigged holes for about 3 hours with just two bites. One was a brownie that I didnt even weigh. Was only about 16 inches long and one Rainbow that definately hit the scales at 6-11. Threw a rap to end my afternoon, picking up 5 stocker bows and 2 sport Bass. I was noticing a lot of stocker trout following my bait. All in groups of 3 or more and they acted real agressive but most just never committed to the hit. Usually tells me they are getting plenty to eat. Guess they will get fed again this weekend when we get all the runoff from the oncoming rain.

Sorry to hear of your health DC. Hope you get to feeling better real soon. I kind of wondered what happened to you when I didnt see your posts anymore. I just got off the phone with Matt Mauch of the MDC and he says that (as I correctly assumed) he has been contacted by Rockaway(and others like myself) about the vegetation problem. He also says that it is mostly coontails mixed with some exotics and it is not Hydrilla or milfoil. We had a lengthy conversation but a long story short he says they are having a multi-agency meeting in the near future and that he will bring the subject up. No plan of action has been determined and he gets a bit vaige from there but I read into it that we have ourself a jurisdiction dispute or a custody battle, so to speak, about who will be the agency to come up with a plan. I am sure it is all about time and money. Sounds alot like another project we hear about locally. The Downtown Taneycomo Bridge. Everybody wants to be the Daddy but noone wants to be the Mommy. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, Matt seemed like a very nice guy and I did suggest that in the meantime, while they discuss, study, and research the issue, that it would be nice to at least have a lane cut through the vegetation for better access to Bull. Not sure if that will even happen but he did seem sincere and shared the same concerns as I.

That is funny.

Welcome!