drew03cmc

As early as the whistle blows, you can catch fish from now, till almost the end of Sept, early October on trico spinners in pools below riffles. However, if they are hatching below the park, down at Tan Vat, you can get up REALLY early, stumble to the Current there before dawn, and catch fish on size 20-22 Adams midge dries with a full thorax, then when the sun starts coming up, switch to spinners. Either way, awesome dry fly fishing!

Good Point. However, those 8" fish could be fun on a 1wt...

8" fish...darn, not even trout park size, unless you want to count the 3" trout I caught at Bennett a few years back.

Phil, raising the slot would do wonders for larger fish! However, I am anxious to hear about the size of the fish when the water goes down. That might make me want to load up and drive down there....maybe .

I did read Phil's comment, and yes, where do MOST of the stocked trout go? I would venture to say below Fall Creek. The slot limit, all it is doing is increasing numbers of 12-20" trout, which are not protected throughout the lake. Say for instance, that Joe Q catches said trout that measures 14.5" above Fall Creek. The fish, tucks its tail between its legs, and runs downlake and gets caught on powerbait, kept and grilled. I do not doubt the slot works for increasing midsized (at least in Taney, a 20" rainbow most other places is a trophy) trout. Ok, what I am suggesting is that in the lake's heyday, it produced many more LARGE trout, albeit rainbows, before MDC got this hair in their rear to stock brown trout. The lake is still a great fishery, but could be a lot better, IMO. I am sorry to have hurt anyone's feelings, which I seem to have, but the purposes of this thread were to explore what could be, and what we would like to see. If you do not want to see any changes, don't read the thread, it is that simple. However, most people on here are taking this personally, and if there is anyone who should, it is Phil and Trav, as one lives on the lake, the other makes his living off the lake.

Well, what trophy area do you have to pay $5 a day to fish here in MO? I ask because the only real places that are "public" that you pay are the parks. How about the trophy are on the Meramec, or Current? Free, just $12+7 per year for residents. Hmm, not if the larger size fish were the dominant catch Phil, I exaggerated the odds, but you got the point. I bet that Michael has caught close to 10,000 trout there and just broke the 10# mark, so there might be a realistic 1/50,000 odd of it... I completely understand the fb stuff, but was speaking hypothetically so to speak.

I don't think it is the smallest, but the captains make it fun!

Whoever quoted my statement, I have not fished Taney for trout, and never will, is justified above. The only time of year you could see me there is fall, when the chance at a 15# brown is better than 1/1,000,000. Phil, thank you for using the phrase I used earlier "put and take", which was shot down VERY quickly that most of the trout stay in the lake and grow...I cannot see that happening, there is a lack of food, scuds, sowbugs, midges, etc. Phil again, what is the approximate amount of trout that the lake could support if all were catch and release? Did the lake trout in BS work out, or did they fizzle? How about the brownies? Trav, I would hire you to dredge some deep holes for big brownies!

Doug, I plan on running up there when I get my next rod to see her.

Hm, so you know him? Has he been reported to Crawford Cty authorities?

Well, the lake obviously cannot keep up with feeding the 10" rainbow trout either. I just think that if the herd were thinned out some, it might promote higher average size, along with larger top end size.

you pose a good point Phil, but the thing is, you stated Taney has always been a trout lake, not so. It has for the last half century, which made the lake more famous. Would you be interested in for C&R for all browns in the upper lake, or for the lake as a whole? I would like to see larger fish as a whole there, but from my perspective, I would see it as a financial thing.

I just saw this thread, and as such, need to weigh in. I prefer a 4wt. Why you may ask? I fish smaller flies, I do not need to reach across the lake to cast, and the lighter rod protects the 6# tippet I use in warm water better. For cold water, I find myself using 6x fluoro leaders with 7x tippet and dries most often, and have NO problem laying out 50' casts to rising fish. It might just be me here, but I prefer the 4wt. You got a hell of a nice combo there that will do well for you for YEARS to come! Nice buy!

Diversity? The spawning habitat for anything else is horrible. Smallmouth bass (native, I might add) can barely sustain a fishable population due to crappy spawning grounds; walleye (also native) also cannot hardly spawn due to spawning habitat. If a species has to be maintained through spawning, make it something exciting! Now, about the overstocking thing, Phil, I believe they overstock Taney by stocking hundreds of thousands of trout in there each year. If they managed the regulations more carefully, I know the slot is a good thing, they would not have to stock so aggressively. I am sure I am in the minority here, but to me, catching a 14" rainbow is not something worth the drive down to Taney. I can do that in winter stocked lakes, or at Bennett Spring (about 2 hours less driving for me). So, in my opinion, there really is nothing driving me to take the trip down there, and if I had the chance at a 30" striper while trout fishing, that would make the choice a little easier. So, I am sorry to have offended anyone, but to me, there is no reason to drive 5-6 hours for 14" stocker rainbows.

Kyle's equipment at Hendrick was not what the 24 and 48 ran. That I guarantee. Different shops. He is making more off JR from all the merchandise sales and stuff, so in his eyes, it is a good decision. Tony wants to drive a Chevy, no doubt about it, but where will he go? I see Logano in the 20 next year!

Mostly smallies. Nice work though!

What dots are you referring to? The ones that precede the two zeros in the cents blank on a check? I am with Trav here, the dots are a straight line right to the state's wallet. They make millions off of trout fishing each year, and why would they do anything else? Name another coldwater species that will provide the financial push that trout do. Lake trout? Grayling? Salmon, HAHA? There is another species we forgot to mention here that would be nice for winter...kokanee salmon! Landlocked sockeyes. Anyway, if you can offer another solution, offer it up, and if not, admit to it being about money. The reason the state will not stock another species, especially an apex predator in Taney is the loss of money.

In my opinion, the need for overlining is due to the "cheaper" materials the rods are made from. It tends to be stiffer , and thus the need for overlining to get the feel you desire. However, I might grab me a 2wt TFO Pro and a BBS I Orvis reel to throw for MOST everything!

I recommend sticking a 1495 on there with the DT7F you liked on it. That, or maybe a 3.5" Young reel!

I looked for the article on the NDN, and could not find it.

Thank you Trav, I got tired of trying to figure up ways to convince someone it is about money!

John, he is a cute little bugger. Ours is now seventeen months old, and growing like a weed, and smart as a tack! Enjoy them while they are little bitty and don't run around breaking stuff or throwing things on the floor! I have transitioned to a stay at home dad to be with him all day long while momma works from home of course, making more than I did when I was working. It is the most amazing thing, so enjoy it!

Leonard, hell of a nice smallie! What did he hit?

It is not a conspiracy, but the reason you do not have to pay to fish for trout, is the presence of some other fish there in the same water. You could on one cast catch a rainbow, and the next catch a white bass or walleye. You never know. I, for one, feel that if they wanted to grow more LARGE trout there, they need to find a way to control things like the rock snot and things of that nature that impede the natural food chain which caused the large fish to begin with. Scuds, sowbugs, small nymphs all live among the gravel and rocks, but cannot escape the crap.

here is a question, since you are playing the "in theory" game. What kind of tackle was the current world record brown caught on? Ultralight spinning gear with 4# monofilament line. Also, you obviously have never hooked a big catfish or carp on your fly rod while bluegill fishing, have you? You can land any fish if you can maintain 1# of pressure on the fish. Eventually the fish will get bored and give in. Now, is that the most humane thing to do? No, but who is to say you should not keep a 40# brown, as he is near the end of his lifetime anyway? Now, during the fall, you can definitely have an honest shot at a 15+# brownie. In fact, there have been fish seen in upper Taney that are longer than the World Record. SKMO wrote:"Has it ever occurred to anyone that it is not "all about money"? Has no one here read the staggering statistics about the decline in the fisherman / fisherwoman population? More so the overall decilne of general outdoors activities; hunting, fishing, hiking, etc." Ok, you are right, there number of licenses is going down. We know this, we have discussed this. However, the one thing I have to say to your entire statement, is this: Why then, if it is not about money, would the MDC adamantly oppose the introduction of an apex predator to Taney or ANY other trout water in the state? The trout programs are their cash cow, that is where a VERY large sum of their money comes from. Doubt me, ask them. This entire thread was about interjecting one species that is not already there, or enhancing the population of one species that is currently there.