How Long Fishing Taneycomo?

[Randall]

well, yall are gonna hate me for saying it, but i was born in '84. first picked up a flyrod in 96, actually got good at it (better than i am now) fishing down at rockbridge. sadly, i put it down when the only place i could trout fish was maramec. i used powerbait and spinners until last summer when my buddy took me to taney. i haven't cast a spin rod for trout since. i've been down three times and i'm goin for my fourth next week.

[Murdoc]

You'll love this. I was about 5 or 6 when my dad started me fishing at Tany. That would be around 1966. The board walk was still standing down at Branson and Sammy Lane was fairly new. I've got some home movies of me casting from the bank down by the camp ground. My dad worked for the U of Missouri Extension department and he would let me skip school around the end of February and a bunch of his buddys from the Extension service would meet down at Forsyth at a little resturant for breakfast and then split up with who ever had boats. We would troll down by the dam. I will never forget when we would get close to the dam and I was allways praying for the outboard to keep on running. We would meet for lunch at the same diner and that greasy little hamburger would taste so good!!! We never caught very big fish but we would allways catch our limit. Lot of great times. I don't know if anyone would remember the name Howard Foshea. He loved Tany!

[roundtrout]

Almost as long as I can remember. Translated, that means 30+ years with about an 11 year hiatus while in the Navy. My great-grandfather lived just off the lake in Forsyth, about half a mile up from Powersite Dam. We visited at least a couple of times every year from our home in south Kansas City, on the Kansas side, usually stopping at Osceola Cheese on the way down and again on the way home. I remember doing just about every kind of fishing except fly fishing on Taney, until recently.

I remember swimming at Shadow Rock on Swan Creek and a hole upstream where an old iron bridge crossed the creek, playing skee-ball at Rockaway Beach and attending Sunday services in Branson, when it was still a pretty sleepy town. The biggest entertainment attractions were the Baldknobbers and the Shepherd of the Hills play.

Most of my fishing was for bass and panfish on either a Zebco spin-cast or some other brand spinning rod. Trout were for the grown-ups. Even though I started flyfishing for panfish around 12 years old, throwing popping bugs to blue gills on farm ponds, I never used it on Taney until a couple of years ago up at the dam, fishing the KOA rip-rap. I recall one Sunday morning running my great-grandfather's trot line, with my grand-dad rowing the john boat and already dressed for church, we pulled in a 40 lb Blue Catfish off the park just down from the cabin. Boy, were we in trouble with grand-ma when we came back toting that catfish! Lots of other memories I should probably put down for posterity. Thanks for posting the topic and letting me relive some old memories!

Bob

[leo]

I am the oldest of 5 boys and now appreciate what may late dad did for us. In the late 60's and early 70's we would make the trip several times a year. What sticks out most in my memories were the annual trips during Christmas vacation. Every year between Christmas and New Years dad would take those of us old enough, to fish out of River Lake. Most all of the stores and cafes were closed for the season but we would always stop at the piggly-wiggly on our way in. We would consinantly catch limits of large 2-4 lb trout fishing out of a 16 ft. v bottom and powered by a sears air cooled 7 hp. It seems like they were always running water and it would take as long to get back up river as the drift itself took. How my dad could manage re-tieing rigs and help us all at the same time is a mystery, as there would be 4 of us in the boat at a time. (the younger brothers all had to wear those blasted orange neck life jackets). None of us had snow mobile suits so we would just layer up with what we had. We would all pray for snow on the last days because that would give us an excuse to stay for an extra day or two untill we could get out. This may sound like a tribute to my dad but..maybe it is. He not only taught us about fishing, but about the importance of God in our life. Thanks Dad.

[Danoinark]

Leo...Your Dad did good!

Dano

[CaptainT16]

Very interesting to hear how the lake was and currently is. I would have liked to seen how the area was back in 76 when I was born and compare it to how it is now! Some great stories, keep them coming!

[roscoe dog]

First trip there was in 96. Got there around 4 in the morning and was wondering were the water was. Then that afternoon was in the boat and there was plenty of water. Could not believe the change in water levels.

[Rolan Duffield]

I've fished Taney starting about 1964. Prior to that we spent our weekends fishing the White River in the Cotter area. In the early days, it was common to catch and release over 100 small trout daily. Lots of changes have occurred over the years. In the 70's we expected to catch and release 3 to 4 pound trout as a common occurrence. As usual, when people found out about this great fishing, the crouds took their toll on large fish. The establishment of the Trophy area and good regulations has been the boon to maintaining this great fishing area for all to enjoy. A greatful thanks to the Missouri Conservation Commission for their efforts in providing this fishery for us.

I believe all of us should respect and support the sport we love. It would be great to see an agent patrolling the area on a regular basis. I have been questioned by the creel census men several times though in over 40 years of fishing Taneycomo, I've never been checked by an agent.

[kctroutman]

I started fishing taney in the fall of 2001 when I was a freshman at drury university in springfield. I caught a 6 pound rainbow my first night ever below rebar and was hooked forever. I fished on average about 3 days or nights a week all through college and had about as many great days as I had bad days. Caught a few hogs and a lot of silver bullets. I will still remember my college days more for my hundreds of days of fishing than my hundreds of days of drinking. Those days will never be here again, but i will never forget them. Taney is a great place to fish, and I always leave there now allready planning my next trip down (which are too far apart my buddy fitz tells me).

BK

[Greg]

I first fished Taneycomo in I believe 1977. When I was 17. I fished it off and on through my teens and early to mid 20's. I remember seeing some huge trout caught pretty regularly in the late 70's and early 80's. I caught some decent fish but never anything huge. During the late 80's and 90's I just fished Taney a few times and I remember thinking "Where did all the BIG trout go?". I started fly fishing regularly again about 3 years ago. In that time I've caught more and bigger trout (mostly at Taneycomo) than at any time in my life. And I just consider myself an average fly fisherman. The slot limit on the upper lake was just the ticket. It's been great.

Greg