Salvage Our Trip!

[twosets]

Be sure to talk to Phil, he can give you some ideas on how to rig and what to use and set you up with the same.

Have fun

[bill kelley]

Have a good, safe trip. I'm jealous. I won't be down there for 2 more weeks. Then I'll be at Lilley's with my son. And after this last week of weather and the flue, I have to get out of Chicago before I go crazy or my wife shoots me to put me out of my misery or is it her misery. Definetely talk to Phil when you get down there. He can, with a few words, make your trip very successfull

[rps]

Bill:

We all feel your need. Bring the son. Bring the wife, too. Come soon, regardless of the water. One of the best trips I ever took, the snow started within 24 hours after the wife and I arrived at the lake for Spring Break. Two days later we were playing gin for high stakes. I did not catch any fish that trip, but I wouldn't trade it for others. Good luck.

[Project Healing Waters]

IF we get no more rain, you may get enough clearing by mid-week in the feeder creeks to get into some fish. I tried to fish Bull Creek yesterday way upstream off of Taneycomo at Walnut Shade. Folks were still running jon boats with outboards up past the furthest rapids upstream that I went to (one or two). The paddlers are out in force running the rapids. That will continue for at least another week. But they aren't thick enough to disrupt fishing. But the water was 52 degrees all the way up there at 4pm in a shallow eddy, and it was still too murky for trout. Too cold for bass and too murky for trout = no fish. On the other hand, the edges and eddies were lousy with minnows. The trout WILL move up into these creeks and feed on them when the water clears enough for them to tolerate it. The flash flooding was extreme and it literally SCOURED a lot of the creeks down to bedrock and deposited huge gravel deposits around structure, inside bends, etc. Access roads are washed out in many places. Some are still underwater. That canoe may come in very handy if you focus on the creeks. But ONLY if we don't get more rain.

Here's another suggestion: I have found in the past that some of the longer coves off of Taneycomo hold some of the larger predator species (bass, trout, walleye) when the flood gates are open. Things have to clear up some for the trout, but the bass get back there pretty early. There is more forage in these coves than usual due to high water levels, but the current is minimal compared to the main lake bodies. And that is attractive to the fish...especially the older ones who have been through it before.

As for Swan and Beaver, they really don't clear that quickly. They are both subject to severe upstream erosion. But I have caught whites working my way up from the mouths of these creeks when they were running hard and looking like chocolate milk. You'll catch them along the edges in about 3-4 feet of water fishing near the bottom. I do it with silver/white or gray/white Clouser Minnows on a fly rod. The Clouser Minnow was designed to give a fly angler a similar tool to the Countdown Rapala. And I would suspect that 6-8" Texas Rigged rubber worms fished slow along the bottom would work well, too. In muddy water, I'd go with black, black/chartreuse.

You're going to need good maps and lots of local info. Don't hesitate to invest the time to get good, detailed info from local shops, anglers, marinas, etc. The PFD's are a darned good idea. And the suspender style are the best for fishermen and duck hunters. Get the camo ones so you can use them duck hunting, too.

For more about the smaller creeks and stuff not covered here on AO, you may want to search my blog at http://OzarksFlyAnglers.blogspot.com

[Dad and Andrew]

Thanks Everyone , you have been a great help. Going to bed for an early start in the morning. Will post pics and stories when I get back.

Thanks Again

Dad and the KId