Fishing Report

[Phil Lilley]

I usually post this on OA proper but I'll post it both places, as well as our facebook, wordpress and other places on the web.

KC Star called yesterday and caught me in the office. I usually write and email reports out on Sunday or Monday but have been too busy to do it this week. My report for the Star wasn't the best one, only rated the fishing as fair, which was really a stretch. It's almost POOR, which hasn't been in my vocabulary in along time. All us guides have had hard time this week finding rainbows for clients. Catching a limit has been the exception rather than the rule.

Why? I usually blame it on the weather, the water- but I think it may just be a lack of rainbows. I'm speaking about below Fall Creek where trout are harvested. Above Fall Creek, I can't use that as an excuse cause I know they're up there and it's still tough.

For once, I'm short on answers. All I know it will get better.

I once gave a fishing report to a guy from the Joplin area. He called the office and asked how the fishing was. I told him real tough- poor. I think he was surprised, like the Star guy. The Star guy told me it was unusual, even refreshing, to hear someone give a bad report simply because it was an honest one. The guy on the phone didn't like it. He came on and went fishing that weekend and had a great fishing trip! He made it a point to call me the next week and tell me how I didn't know anything about the fishing on Taneycomo. The thing he didn't realize is that fishing- or CATCHING- can change in a day here. MDC stocks 15,000 rainbows and catching gets better!!

We're still catching some rainbows down at the bridges and the Landing. Drifting either minnows or Gulp Eggs on the bottom. Some guys staying here found some rainbows drifting minnows in the Short Creek area.

Bruce and his wife just went out as well as Rolan and his son. I'll talk to them at noon and find out how they did with the lower water and report back.

[Bman]

Fishing has been slower during the past week with 4 units running strong. Donna and I would look for little backwaters, and seams up in the trophy area. We would get into a few nice fish...and that would be it, untill we moved to another spot. So I guess it was just that, spotty. I did tie the boat to some trees and get out and wade a few spots Tue afternoon. Again spotty fishing.

Wed. we woke up to 2 units, and cloudy weather. We boated up to the trophy area, and finally really started getting bit really good. The best bite for us was from the MDC boat ramp to look out pt. Small pink S J worms with a #16 brown scud dropper, or zebra midge dopper the same size. Fishing the scuds DEEP. Lots of tippet and shot.

Think Roland should buy some lottery tickets as he got lucky today. A near miss with that huge tree just about the gaunlet area, just below rebar. WOW! I was drifting a ways below over on the outlet sides, and looked over watching them in the swift current heading right for that sunken tree, I figured that they knew it was there, with 2 units only the top is barely showing...but thats a huge lower unit grabbing monster! Luckily they spotted it in the nick of time, whew, that one had me worried. Glad they came out ok!

Anyone else ever running up that area there's a piece of rebar that will only have a few inches showing depending on flows 1-2 units. It's that piece thats normally on dry gravel bar, with 0 units, just below and over from the rebar hole. Thats a sneaky mean little hunk of rebar. Ready to grab ya while drifting, or poke ya when running.

When we were getting bit we were busy catching and releasing, fixing fowled rigs but here a pic we took time for. Ya I know a chinass...but a lot of fun.

[duckydoty]

I saw that rebar last night when the water was off. Somebody must have got ahold of that with thier lower unit and really yanked it up out of the ground. It's a great big long peice about 15 feet long and bent over with the loop sticking up about 4 feet in the air. Somebody should really take a hacksaw down there and cut it down some. I can see a lot of boats getting tore up on that.

[Bman]

I saw that rebar last night when the water was off. Somebody must have got ahold of that with thier lower unit and really yanked it up out of the ground. It's a great big long peice about 15 feet long and bent over with the loop sticking up about 4 feet in the air. Somebody should really take a hacksaw down there and cut it down some. I can see a lot of boats getting tore up on that.

I will second that!!! I wish someone would cut all those pieces of rebar, AND that tree outa there!

If I'm in that area at night, and hear chainsaws & hacksaws going...I'm not saying a thing.