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I will do that. Btw, I am planning another trip in January and plan on staying at Lilly's again. I was wondering if the $29 special will be available? While there I will definitely get in touch with you. John

Just got back from my Taney trip and stay at Lilly's Landing. First, the lodging and facilities were very clean and well maintained. Very happy with the accommodations and staff. I stayed with my mother and father in room #9 next to the office. As for the fishing, I didn't do too well. A bit disappointed. I only caught one rainbow out of 4 days but at least I did catch one. Maybe the next time I will do better. I went below the darn on Monday and then again on Tuesday and was unable land any fish. Thanks Phil and your staff. John

Thank you Duckydoty. I appreciate your advice. I will be down there November 6 - thur 9 and hope to fly fish and catch a brown. I have never caught one. Tight Lines! John

I will be at lake Taney Nov. 6 thru 9. I am staying at Lily's Landing. I have never fly fished on Taney and would like some advice on tippet, tackle and flies selections from anyone that would like to help. Also, any good spots to fish that are accessible wading. Thanks in advance. John

Thanks for posting that insightful response. I too received a response from Representative Sullivan. He basically let me know that he was working with Trout Unlimited and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and SWPA to resolve the issue.

I'm a member of Trout Unlimited and received this letter via the local President. Since I wasn't sure if everyone on ozarkanglers new about this I thought I would post the letter to muster support. Lets hope it does some good and our representatives listen.

Anyone that is concerned about the LIR, below is a sample letter to send to our Senators and Representatives. Dear __(PLACE Senator or Congressman name here) ___ Anglers across eastern Oklahoma are holding their breath as we prepare to witness a potential die off of all the trout in the Lower Illinois River. A long term solution for the water issue on the lower Illinois River is needed but more pressing is the imminent threat of a potential die off of all trout in the river when the current "band-aid" will be removed leaving no water for the river. The situation at hand is the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation very soon will be without any water control to continue the mitigation trout stocking. Plus, without continuous flow in September and October, during what is still one of the hottest periods on record, the trout that have been previously stocked in the river will likely succumb to the limited supply of water and poor quality of water. Water quality will likely be reduced to the point where violation of state standards may be an everyday occurrence. ODWC will likely be forced to cease their regularly scheduled trout stocking programs when this occurs. No trout = no fisherman and that spells economic trouble for Gore, Oklahoma a community that feeds on regular visits from trout anglers across the State Of Oklahoma, from north Texas, and from southwest Arkansas. It will definitely hurt their economy. Please, waste no time and call upon South West Power Administration and the Army Corp. or Engineers to develop a water release plan that will support the federal mitigation trout stocking providing water to the Lower Illinois River sustaining the trout population and to allow continued stocking until colder weather comes and rains refill Lake Tenkiller. Sincerely, (PLACE YOUR NAME HERE)

Thanks for posting. I have heard a lot about this issue from the local Trout Unlimited group and am very concerned. Without a resolution in favor of the trout, Gore and Marval could be hurting. I hope the town of Gore, Marval and all fishermen are letting the representatives know that this is of great importance. John

After long absence I decided to head down to the LIR on Saturday to see how much the river has changed since my last visit in December. WOW! The river was muddy and all the regular haunts were not familiar. The river has no character any more. It is just a river with two banks and all the work that had been done is gone. Fly fishermen and the river will rebound though. As for the fishing, it was very slow. I got down to the Gravel area but it was closed with a no trespassing sign. Not sure how to get down without trespassing. I then went to the Simp Watts area. A few bait fishermen and a couple of fellow flyfishers. Tied up with a purple san juan. Fished the entire length down to the gauge and nothing except a small catfish. I then changed to a micro wooly buggar with a gold bead head. Started catching some trout on the end of the swing. Worked my way back to the parking lot and landed 6 trout, 1 small striper and a sunfish. All in all it was not a bad day. It was certainly concerning to see the river in the shape it is in especially after all the work that has been done to make it a good habitat for trout. I'm sure it will get better. I also met a couple of guys, a father and son, that fished the LIR for the first time. They were really surprised to see such a dirty river holding trout. I told them that the river doesn't normally look like this. Anyway, it was nice to meet them and hope they come back. Tight Lines! John

I would like to try and fly fish the Crane. Can anyone provide me directions from Tulsa? John

I am planning a trip to Branson on May 14-17 and plan to fish Taney at least one day. What kind of License do I need and what kind of fly's should I have? Your insight would help? John

I would certainly like to know who it is so I will steer clear of them. If you purchased something from this person/company it is there responsibility to contact you. You should not have to chase them down or give them the benefit of the doubt. Customer Service!

Where is the T & M Access?

Hopper, how did you do on Sunday? I couldn't make it down but I definitely would love to try my luck down there. Never really fly fished for anything but trout.

Sounds good. You mind if I fish with you on Sunday? I figured I might ask since I never did. I think we met one time last summer at the LIR.

I may go Sunday. What time do you think you will be there? Where do you go in at?

Thanks for the info. I think I am going but I am thinking more of Saturday since the weather is going to be so bad on Sunday. John

Thanks for the info. I may see you down there. What line and rod weight should I be fishing with?

Hopper, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of flies did you use?

Hey Zach, I'll fish with ya. Just let me know when you wanna meet up. I would appreciate any tips or pointers. Tight Lines! John

The rod is a Bamboo Headwaters. I got it a few months ago. It is a really nice rod.

I went down on Thursday the 9th. Did really well. Got there about 10 just as the water was going down at Simm Watts. Caught some on a pink san juan, some on a micro black woolly and a lot on a 20 cooper nymh. The pic below is the largest of the day. She was shooting eggs when I landed her so I returned her real quick.

Eric, just got the pack and really am satisfied. Thanks Buddy! John

Greg, thanks for the advice. I will certainly check ebay out for the vices you described. John

Hey Zach, I live in Tulsa. It would be great if you could give me some pointers and maybe some fly recipes. Thanks and Tight Lines! John