laker67

Michael, Sounds like you had another good outing on Sunday. Thanks again for letting me hang with you and Tim on Friday night. I had one of the most enjoyable night of fishing that I've had in a long time. Free flies, good company, and the numbers of fish that we caught, it's real hard to top that combination. Thanks!

That looked like Leonard wading around in the creek!

I'm sorry that I got this topic off track. I'm glad that some of the other guys helped you out. Most of my outlet fishing is at night when the water is off. If you ever do that, then big and grey is the way to go. Good fishing to you!

I would have to agree. I think heavy generation would be harmful to the redds.

Wild trout spawn in the springtime, cold to warm temps. Hatchery raised trout spawn in the fall, warm to cold temps. Hatchery trout do it in reverse order and that is why they are only 1 percent successful. As far as I know, all other fish spawn in the springtime also.

Some use "secret flies". But I know what it is. The articulated leech. Doesn't matter what color, as long as it has th 12/0 treble hook trailer.

From what i can gather on the MDC website, trout are not "successful" spawners in Missouri because of water temperature and the redds being disturded after they go though the spawning proccess. T-como is way to cold for the eggs to survive. In the hatchery, they keep the water temp at 57 degrees for the eggs. At that temp it only takes 21 days. A few of Missouri's streams go through the natural cooling and warming stages to make spawning" success" possible. In the wild it takes 4 to 7 weeks for rainbow, and all winter into the spring for the browns. MDC says that about 1 percent make it in the wild. Trout parks have water temps that are acceptable for the survival of the eggs, but with all of the foot traffic, the nests are stepped on after the fact and destroyed along with the eggs and fry that remains in the redd for the 4 to 7 weeks. With water temp and foot traffic at T-como, they probably stand no chance at all. The female builds the redd, then a male moves in and they spawn. The female then covers the eggs with more gravel, and they both leave the redd at that point. They do not hang around to guard the nest like you have often heard.

Very well stated Kayser! You do what works best for you, and allow others to make the same choice. I like that theory.

Well allright then, looking forward to it.

Trav, Sorry to hear about your boat. I wish it a speedy recovery.

Ken Mcquarry does sound familiar as I think about it. Was he the mayor of Hollister in the 70's?

Crappiefisherman, Those are names I don't recognize, but maybe someone else will and respond to their whereabouts. Thanks!

I can recall turning over rocks on the upper end and literally hundreds of the shrimp would be there. In my earlier post, I said that I started night fishing in 74, change that to 1975. After checking my log book, I realized that I had made the mistake. Do you remember Russ, Andy, Pat, and Bob ? Did not know their last names. Names that I do remember=Fred Grimes, George Girth, Mike Curry, Doug Owens, Jim McGowin, Bill Butts & his father,Dave Bethurm, Corky Hinkle. Back then a big crowd was 30 people. Some of these people are still in the area and still fish.

Phil, An interesting story. I remember Doc and some of the other old timers. Most of them kept every fish over 5 pounds that they caught. But, like you said, they would give you room to fight your big fish, and you would not lose your fishing spot when the fight was over. I didn't realize that the boards were always there. It must have been a replacement phase that I recall around 1979. The newspapers back then showed the lake level at 699 during normal operation. You did not have a # to call like you do now for an offical lake level. The first telephone # that I recall was out of Oklahoma and you talked to a real person. He or she would give you a predicted schedule for the next three days, subject to weather change. I'm glad that you remember the deeper water on the upper end. You can see the changes that has occurred over the past 30 years. Doc, Dave Bethurm, and myself, started night fishing with flyrod back in the fall of 1974. Doc would sit in a lawn chair at #2 with a rod baited up with the roe you were talking about. Dave and I would fish #10 scuds. We caught big fish because there were so many out there, not because we were skilled in the art of night fishing. Several people bait fished at the bighole using laterns at night. They caught some huge rainbows. I like hearing stories from the 70's. Got any more? Thanks!

I can recall when these boards were initially installed. Maybe 1979, but don't quote me on that. The boards accually changed t-como's lake level from the old 699 to the present 701. They also changed flow and the depth on the upper end. Before the boards were added, the rebar hole was only a back-eddy off of the old "S" bend riffle below the current location of #3 outlet. All three outlets entered the lake in different locations back then. Not far from where they are now, but at least 40 to 50 feet difference. The water was alot deeper before the boards were added, even though the lake level was at 699. Increased generation and flood gates has allowed for the upper end to fill up with gravel and have a leveling effect. In the 70's you could only wade across in about three places. Most of the channel was 8 to 10 feet in depth, an ideal staging area for big fish. Lilley made a comment earlier about the exposed gravel bars and the killing of the scuds if they leave the water down during this construction. During the initial construction of these boards, the water was down for at least two days, the lowest I have ever seen. I think this led to the demise of the fresh water shrimp in the 80"s. I have witnessed a lot of changes on the upper end in the past 30 years. Most have not been if favor of the angler or the fish. T-como is still a great fishing experience, but it used to be even better.

Oneshot, That looks similar to what I saw in outlet #1. It was thrashing around in the water, and looked like it was attempting to catch a fish.

I think I saw Bigfoot at #1 outlet on Tuesday night! Then again, it could have been Leonard.

I don't know what the answer is Zack. Regulation signs are posted at every access. These people are either not reading, not understanding, or not caring.

fly2fish, Thanks for reporting your trip. I'm glad to hear that you got into some quality fish. I hope MDC follows up on the random checks after dark. During the day, fishermen like you and I are able to keep the area somewhat in check. I have seen evidence lately of several plastic baits being used, even found an empty jar of salmon eggs 2 weeks ago. All of the illegal baits that I have found are at and near outlet #1. Good fishing to you!

For the last two months the water has been 708 to 710, non stop. That is the first step and higher.

Wow! You have caught some really nice fish up there. I bet you hated to leave.

I would spend the week at Mountain Fork trying to catch a new state record! Good fishing to you!

My guess would be Blood Sweat & Tears, but i know that James Brown did it also.

Perchjerker, That's a really nice brown. Congrats! Did you get him on a fly?