Generation

[Phil Lilley]

With the help of our troutcam (sorry it's not broadcasting on the internet right now), I have noticed that after heavy generation, our trout go away for a day or two. Where do they go? Why do they go? The same was true after rains made our water very muddy. It took days for trout to come back to the cam area after the water cleared either by settling or by generation.

When I say trout, I mean many of the same rainbows. I can identify 2 or 3 rainbows who have been under the dock for several months now. One swims at a 45 degree angle with its tail pointing downward. Another has a broken back down towards its tail so it's tail is crooked. Others are big pigs over 2-3-4 pounds who frequent the gut pile. They all look the same so it's hard to pick one out but they all make an impressive school of trout.

But my point is these rainbows seem to move out of the area during heavy generation. Are they pushed down because of the difference in water temp? On Tuesday midafternoon, they kicked on 4 units and ran it hard all afternoon. The lake look pretty bad- moss and dead moss created a mix that you didn't want to see very often. It lasted most of the afternoon here at least before clearing up towards evening.

But the water temp is what I think moves these trout. Although they prefer cold water, they may not like it changing so drastically. It went from high 50's to mid 40's in a matter of an hour or two. Further downstream, say in the Branson area, I'm sure the temps were even higher, as high as the upper 60's.

Bill noticed fishing yesterday was slower than the previous week. The trout seemed to move in slow motion, taking a jig slowly, with caution or because they were cold. I'd think it would slow their matablizm down a bit. The trout below the dam shouldn't be affected as much by the change in temp but they may by the heavy current, which they should be at least somewhat used to by now. I've always believed a rainbows lives in a specific area when the water is down and moves to another specific area when it runs. Neither area ever changes.

I'll keep studing the trout cam and let you know what I find. Hopefully the cam will be up and running early next week on my new server and software giving more people room to view it and possibly give those who haven't been on before access. We're hopeful.