duckydoty

It was a good early goose season for us. We had a few guests come down and ended up bagging 17 of them, 7 with bling. The raffia is great for grass cammo.

Went to Michaels in Branson today after a little fishing on Lake Taneycomo to get some raffia to better camoflage the canoe for duck season and found a great fly tying deal. They have these little decorations that have stripped goose biots attached to a wire and topped with peacock hearl. 55 strips of brown goose biots for $5.oo. These will come in handy when tying up bead head nymphs for RR Catch and Release!

Nice runnin into you down there Tim. We caught lots of fish but nothing over 20". Guess we will have to try again today. I've found that when I go down there during the daylight hours, I do more talking to folks that I haven't seen in a while than fishing. Hey, by the way, did you catch a lot of small bows in the 6 to 8 inch range while you were fishing? I have not seen them that small down there. We caught a bunch of them down at the riffles in front of the rebar.

DD'sMC and I had a great time, even if it was fishing for them "Stinkin Smallmouths" Good to see everyone again and great to meet some new faces! We will definately do this again!

DD'sMC and I are still in. We will bring one canoe. We are also bringing bowls for chili. Hot dogs and buns, mustard, ketchup, and chopped onions. Looking forward to catching some stinking small mouth! See ya'll there!

I know an 82 year old fella that still guides up there.

We've been hitting everything since getting back in the Branson area. Night fishing on Taney just about every night. Fishing has been pretty good even while generation has been happening. Catching good bows on streamers down below outlet 4 in the slack water while generating. Got a nice brown the other night below the rebar when the water was off. Pine squirrel sculpins have been working best. Running crawdad traps and trot lines on Table Rock. Picking up lots of big, and I mean big crawdads in 6-10 ft of water over night. Day traps are not doing so well. Trot lines have been getting cleaned by turtles. Goose hunting on Table Rock in the mornings. Real good on opening day. Lots of uneducated geese volunteering to be dinner. Drift fishing on Taney during the afternoons. Fishing has been fair on 1/8th oz jigs. Olive, black, and sculping colors working best between flights of geese.

Early goose starts Saturday and we fully intend on reducing the population on Table Rock!

Yah Mon! Quack Kills!

DD'sMC, Brother Dave, his wife and I will be down there.

The State Park is the closest camp ground near the dam area on Lake Taneycomo. You can access Taney from both sides.

Thanks guys! It was a pleasure sharing it with all of you.

Here is a link to the video Video of the fish of a lifetime

Life is Complete! My wife (My MonaChari) and I have finished our summer guiding season in Alaska. All I can say is “WOW”! We had very few opportunities to actually get out our selves and fish. On September the 14th, the day before we were to leave King Salmon, our employer and extended family, Crystal Creek Lodge, gave us the day off to go fishing together. Now, we could have gone many different places in the Bristol Bay region, such as Ugashik Narrows, the Kulik River, the Moraine River, or even Funnel or Battle Creeks, all of which would have been great places to fish, but we chose the Naknek River that runs right in front of the Lodge. You see, I have a special love for the Naknek River, and she has been very good to me. One of the things I love the most about the Naknek is, anything is possible! On our final day of fishing the Naknek for the 2010 season, Rainbow Trout were expected to be on the bead, meaning all of the sockeye salmon that had been staging in the river were now spawning and dropping eggs by the millions into the river system. The Rainbow Trout will come down out of Naknek Lake and lay behind these spawning salmon gorging themselves on these eggs in preparation for the long winter to come. By matching the hatch, we drift beads that are of similar size and color to these eggs in hopes of fooling the trout into thinking it is an egg. We use deep water dredging techniques to get these beads down in slower deep water and down deep fast in faster water. Most of the 2010 season in the Bristol Bay Region had been cooler than normal, overcast rainy and foggy. This day was different. It was one of the few days that the sun was shining. The air was crisp and cool in the morning, but we could feel the warmth of the sun burning the last bit of fog off the river. The sky was a rich blue, and Sand Hill Cranes were migrating in the air, trumpeting their presence to all that could hear. The Alders on the banks of the river were vibrant in the Fall hues of yellow and orange. The tundra was alive with colors of greens, reds and browns. The boat ride its self up the Naknek River was one to remember. Our first stop on the river was a place known as “Rainbow Rock”. Rainbow Rock can hold some enormous trout this time of year. A very good friend of ours, Mr. Phil Lilley, landed a 35 inch Rainbow a few years ago and over the last few years, I have caught several in the 30 inch plus range from this productive place. My MonaChari and I, after anchoring the boat in just the right spot, sight fished to several nice sized trout for an hour or so. Some of these Rainbows were pushing the 30inch mark. After only hooking up with nine or ten fish in the 22 to 24 inch range, we decided to move on up the river to try the deep slow drift. On our first drift, I hooked up with and landed a beautiful and very respectable 28inch Rainbow Trout. We took a couple of pictures and released the fish in hopes that it would eventually grow to over 30 inches. On one drift, I had a hook up with a big bow, and I mean Big! This fish absolutely smoked me in no time flat. There was no time for action or even reaction. This fish made one massive sprint, and, tink, it was over. There were a couple of times that My MonaChari and I were completely schooled by big Rainbows, and we were just left standing there in the boat wondering “what just happened?” and thoughts of, “I wonder how big that one was?”. We made several more drifts catching fish on every drift in the 21 to 25 inch range, sometimes hooking up with doubles and even multiple fish on the same drift. After eating lunch on the river, My MonaChari made the comment to me that this, was by far, our best day ever fishing together in Alaska. Little did we know what was to come….. Around four in the afternoon while fishing from the back of the boat on another drift, I felt the familiar tug on my fly rod of a Rainbow trout picking up the bead. I set the hook in anticipation and preparation for an exhilarating fight from another nice sized bow in the 24-25 inch range with hopes of a 30 incher. My six weight rod was immediately “bowed up” straining with a radical bend and the drag of the reel screaming as the fish attempted to smoke me in its initial run towards the bow and under the boat. As I was racing my way through the middle of the boat to keep my line from hanging under the bow, the fish made a fantastic leap to the front left of the boat. This monstrous Rainbow Trout came at least four feet out of the water with three giant head shakes. The spray of water violently being shook from the fish glistened against the blue sky as it caught the sunlight. This is when I realized that I might have hold of a 30 inch Rainbow Trout, the “Holy Grail” of the Naknek River. My heart started racing and I could feel it pounding in my throat as the battle of “Tug of War” continued. My rod was bending and straining as never been seen before. I could almost feel the heat and smell the smoke of the drag of the reel as line came screaming off, time and time again, on massive runs taking me deep into my backing. Each and every run ended in an epic struggle to gain inches at a time of line back onto my reel. My MonaChari early into the fight had the boat cleared and ready for the final netting of the fish if it were to happen, and she continually offered support and advice on fighting the fish. “Let her run! Let her run!” and “Keep your line tight!” she repeated over and over again. About ten minutes into the fight, we finally had a chance to see how big this fish really was. The Rainbow was still ten feet deep in the crystal clear water. Her gill plates were covered in a rosy pink hue and were the size of saucers. This is when I realized that on the end of my 2x tippet line was the largest Rainbow Trout that I had ever seen! This fish was a “Pig” well over the 30inch mark, and the fish of a Life Time! My MonaChari was now challenged and burdened to perform the monumental task of netting this beast. The pressure was on her, and she could feel it. Things kept running through her mind, like “Please don’t let me bump this fish off!” and “Come on, Doty! You’ve got to get her head up!” Failure was not an option! My MonaChari kept encouraging me “You’ve got to turn her, Doty!” “You’ve got to lift her, Doty!” she kept pleading. My arms were burning with fatigue by now and I had little to no control of this behemoth of a fish. On one last “Hail Marry” I lifted the fish as high as I could and ran to the back of the boat to get as much swing as I could and My MonaChari did it. She scooped the fish head first into the net, making dreams come true! 36 inches from nose to tail with a 19 ½ inch girth threw me into the realization that I had finally caught the Rainbow Trout of a Lifetime! A goal that I had set four years ago had finally been obtained with the help of my lovely wife and partner, My MonaChari! Truly, our best day ever fishing together in Alaska!

Lets start with right now. I love this time of year in Alaska, when the Monster Bows are on the bead and flesh just gorging themselves in prep for the winter months. I also look forward to returning to Missouri next week just in time to get on the browns as they are begining to run. That will keep me busy till mid November and then the cast and blasting begins. There is nothing like sitting in the middle of a decoy spread with a flyrod in hand and shotgun slung over your back catching trout on the dry fly while waiting for ducks to come in. In the middle of all this and carrying me till mid Feb is the catch and release season at the trout parks. This provides great oppurtunities to catch lunker trout during the winter months. Also during this time taking me till mid March is the chance of a shad kill coming through the dam at Lake Taneycomo. Fishing the shad kills is awesome! Early to mid March the white bass start running in our local streams and that is a true passion of mine. DD'sMC and I will chase the white bass all the way till May following them where ever they are running in Southern Missouri untill we leave again for Alaska. The 1st part of June most of the rivers up in Alaska open to fishing and the Giant Rainbows have once again formed packs like hungry wolves, and they work together to school up the smolt, chasing them to the surface, crashing and crushing them. This is some of the most exciting fishing I have done! The end of June the king salmon start coming in. To feel the power of the King of Salmon on the end of your line is spectacular! 1st of July the sockeye salmon start their return to fresh water. Watching hundreds of thousands of fresh sockeye salmon swim by while fishing for them will definately make for a busy day on the river. If you get tired of fishing for the salmon, the rainbows are still crushing smolt till early August. In early August the Silvers start showing up. Silver Salmon have got to be the favorite of all salmon fishermen. They are the most aggresive of the salmon species taking you on long runs deep into your backing with several leaps and complete flips in the air. Then the whole cycle starts over again. I would have to say every day of the year is my favorite fishing season also!

DD'sMC and I are in. We will bring plastic/paper bowls for chili. Will be bringing a canoe. We will also bring some hot dogs and buns as condiments for the chili

Great info. Thanks alot.

Thanks guys! I dont know a whole lot about this bass fishing stuff......If he were on the fly fishing team, I could really help him out....LOL!

Being his budget is coming out of my pocket....I'm gonna try and keep it right around $1000 for rods reels and tackle to start with. I do not know about the boats. Hopefully they are provided and he has not mentioned anything about the boats yet. He did say that the Hawgs did very well last year.

MonaChari's son (my step son) is attending his 1st year of collage at University of Arkansas this year. He is now on the college Bass Fishing Team and has his first tourney on the 19th of Sept. on Lake Hudson in Oklahoma. We are needing some tips and pointers from some of you Bass Fishermen/women out there. He needs to be completely geared up with 2 rods, tackle etc.... What rod/reel combos would you guys recommend? Tackle boxes? Lures? Techniques for this lake during this time frame? This boy is so excited about this that we are going to support him in any way possible. We all really appreciate and advice or tips you can give for this up and coming young man.

Welcome, and looking forward to hearing reports on your adventure!

Give me a call in Oct. I am currently guiding up in Alaska right now and wont be home till around the first of Oct. There are several low end places to fish in Alaska, but you do get what you pay for. I have guided for the camp that Phil mentioned and there are several selling points for that place. If you get in the right cabin, it would be a decent place to take your wife. Best thing to do is give me a call and I could see what exactly your looking for, then make a recommendation that might fit your budget. It really all depends on what and how much you want to do along with what kind of lodging, guiding, and dinning you would prefer. Planning at least a year in advance is a good idea.

What a wild season we've been having up here in Alaska. DD'sMC and I have been all over Western Alaska this season. We started over on the Nushagak for the King Salmon Run. The Kings started off slow and just as they were really getting ready to run, the commercial netters were allowed to net on the second opener just a little too long. In 8 hrs they netted 55,000 kings forcing Fish and Game to shut down the river for the 1st time ever to King fishing. We then went over to Lake Aleknagik and fished the Wood and Agulawok Rivers for Sockeye Salmon and Arctic Char for 2 weeks. The fishing was phenominal! After that I headed over to the Kvichak River for 2 weeks just as the Silver Salmon started to show up. What a beautiful river that is. DD'sMC and I are now back over on the Naknek River system and the Silvers and Pinks are in full swing. Limits are being caught by 10 a.m. We are expecting the rainbows to turn on to the bead at any time. Guests are starting to participate in the cast and blast on fly outs now and the tarmagin population is unbelievable.

Welcome to the Forum Kenny. We are happy to have you on here and look forward to your input.

I have eaten them and have been doing it for over 15 years now. I think the 1st one I ate was in 1994. They only got up to about 10 pounds then. The bigger ones are a lot easier to clean. Does not matter what they call them...they are very good eating. Here is another one for you guys that fish in Alaska. Have you seen the Wild Alaskan Keta Salmon they are selling in the stores now??? It out sells fresh caught chum salmon 10 to 1......same fish though.