Should I Get A Guide?

[cyclonebass]

I'm coming down to TR monday and fishing in the winter bass series with a buddy next Saturday. While down there, I want to try to do some fly fishing on Taneycomo for a day or two. I am new to fly fishing and have only been on one fly fishing trip (yellowstone, and it was awesome!). Would it be worth it to hire a guide or is Taneycomo an easy lake to pattern for a novice? I am leaning towards hiring a guide, but if you all think should be able to get on a fish or two without a guide, I will reconsider. I also want to mention I am catch and release angler and will not be keeping any of my catch.

[Danoinark]

I'm coming down to TR monday and fishing in the winter bass series with a buddy next Saturday. While down there, I want to try to do some fly fishing on Taneycomo for a day or two. I am new to fly fishing and have only been on one fly fishing trip (yellowstone, and it was awesome!). Would it be worth it to hire a guide or is Taneycomo an easy lake to pattern for a novice? I am leaning towards hiring a guide, but if you all think should be able to get on a fish or two without a guide, I will reconsider. I also want to mention I am catch and release angler and will not be keeping any of my catch.

It's always great if you can hire a guide on new waters even if its just for a half day. The guide will help you with local patterns, direct you to holding areas, techniques, and if new to fly fishing help you with casting and learning to mend. There are many great fly fishing guides on Taneycomo and some frequent this forum. Have a great time on this Ozarks jewel and let us know how you do.

Dano

[Trav]

Maybe I think trout are too easy. If you can't catch farm fed trout you aren't much of a fisherman in my book. Catching savvy old trout might be a different issue but if you really want the big ones you just have to up the size of your presentation and sacrifice the numbers for quality.

[RSBreth]

If you're fishing during the middle of the week it should be pretty easy, I have thought of hiring a guide on weekends to just play blocker and run people off so I could find a spot!

Seriously, you should do fine in the upper part nearest the Dam. Like Trav said, there's boatload of stocker trout up there that aren't super picky. I've taken newbies there and had them catching dozens of trout the first time with the scud/indicator rig. Simple.

[Phil Lilley]

It's really pretty simple... easy or not, a new place fishing a new way, you'll frustrate your self trying to figure out the lake and especially the generation patterns. Right now they're running water at varied speeds all during the day which is frustrating even the most experienced guides. Have to change what we're doing on an hourly basis.

If you can afford a guide, hire one for a half day the first day you're here and you'll have an idea what to do for the rest of your trip.

I would suggest Brett Rader, Chuck Gries, Steve Dicky or Bill Babler... and there are a few others too.

[cyclonebass]

Thanks for the advice from all of you. I had decided to hire a guide, but all the guides I called are booked, some until late October. I still plan on going Tuesday or Wednesday and maybe I will get lucky and figure out the fish. If I don't catch one, I will still enjoy it. Fly fishing is new to me and I am just excited I get to try it again. I am from Iowa and we don't have many, if any, trout streams around my part of the state.

[Trevor K]

I hear ya about living in Iowa. I live in Iowa myself and it is tough to get a lot of practice in with the fly rod.

[Trav]

I hear ya about living in Iowa. I live in Iowa myself and it is tough to get a lot of practice in with the fly rod.

I am an Iowa boy as well. Des Moines born and raised. I learned most of my basics there including quite a bit of fly fishing below Red Rock Dam. Lots of pike and whites on small bucktails. Used to fish the Raccoon River with a fly rod for monster carp. Now that was actually pretty fun!