Lilleys' Weekly Fishing Report, April 12

[Phil Lilley]

Lake Taneycomo is looking fresh and green these days, a lovely time of year to be on the water. Flows from Table Rock Dam have slowed this week as Table Rock's level approaches 915 feet above sea level, which is normal for this time of year. The dam has been generating water most of the day, though, but much slower than the last couple of weeks. Some nights and mornings have been still, and I think the trend will be toward more time with no generation in the coming days, especially for the weekend ahead.

Trout fishing has improved with slower flows from the dam. It's easier to get and keep your fly, jig or bait on or close to the bottom of the lake where most of our trout stay. Bill Babler was out this morning with a couple of clients and did very well, catching nice rainbows from Fall Creek down, drifting PowerBait Gulp eggs on the bottom. Listen to Bill's fishing report that he called in today by clicking HERE.

Darin filed this fishing report today as well. He's been catching good trout as well as white bass this past week. He and his dad have been catching white bass in Roark Creek early and late in the day.

The fishing here has been getting better the past few days. The U.S. Corps of Army Engineers and the Southwestern Power Administration have cut back a little on the power generation. They are still running generators but only one in the morning and then two or three in the afternoon.

I had some time to do some different types of fishing this past week. The first day when there was only one generator running I fished with Miracle flies, San Juan Worms, and Bead Head Scuds catching fish on all three flies. The fly that produced the most fish was the tan Bead Head Scud. Fishing this is pretty easy. Using a large indicator with a AAA size split on 4x or 5x tippit about four to five foot deep, dead drifting it down the lake.

I also fished a few jigs. The best one for me was the 3/32-ounce, sculpin and ginger. This is a great way to catch some bigger trout if you don't like drifting. This is more like fishing for Largemouths, letting the jig sink to the bottom and bouncing it off the bottom as you retrieve it back. Many of the fish eat it on the fall, so you have to pay close attention to your line.

I had some fun fishing with something new for me, a Rapala X-Rap. This was great fun! I was using a size eight and a size six both gold. They are very easy to fish. All you do is cast them out as far as you can and the reel them back in as fast as you can, stopping every few feet. I had many fish case with a couple of very big browns taking a couple shots at it. During that time I caught six browns all in the 14- to 18-inch range along with a bunch of rainbows.

I (Phil) got out this morning and boated to the dam about 9 a.m. If you look at the schedule with here- see sharp dip and then a sharp rise almost immediately after the drop this morning.

I boated past rebar just as it was dropping and got up to the cable before they dropped it, almost shutting it down. Bill said he called the dam at 10 a.m. and the recording said "zero units." Not so. I kept an eye on the face on the dam where the turbines are because I knew they'd slowed it WAY down. If they were going to shut it down completely, I would have had to get out of the area so as to not get stuck. (I was in a G-3, and it gets too shallow to go through the rebar area with a boat that size with no generation.) But one unit was never shut down, and there was always just a little flow. It was great fish fly fishing both for the level and flow I had for a short time.

I tied on a #16 black/nickel zebra, 6x fluorocarbon tippet and a palsa 36 inches above the fly and worked the south or bluff bank from the cable down to the island. I caught may be 15 rainbows, most small, but had some real nice ones including this one about 17 inches.

They blew the horn and water started to flow. I switched to a white 1/8th-ounce jig and started at the cable and north side of center. Had a nice rainbow on the first cast. I snapped a pic and headed back up.

Another cast, another beefy rainbow. These trout were fat, unlike the ones I'd seen a few weeks ago before the hard, high water we had after our 5-inch rain. I snapped another pic and headed back to the cable.

Another cast, another bigger rainbow. This one had some shoulders. I swooped it up in the net and swung it around into the boat for a pic, but as I took it out of the net, out came the jig and off darted the fish -- without its photo shoot. Dang! This was a perfect rainbow, big and bright. Wish you could have seen it.

By this time it was time to head back and save the satisfaction of a big catch for another day.

[rainbow]

_{Phil great report. Keep them biting like that until we get there next week.}

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Good info Phil.

[Bill Babler]

Supplimental;

Just really don't think it matters much what you do right now, this Lake is on Fire. Saturday the 14th. caught fish in the restricted zone on 1 unit using Full, Pink Micros, Scuds, San-Juan Worms, Suspending Stickbaits, Krockidile Spoons, Rooster Tail Spinners. Out of the zone caught fish on every color jig I had time to tie on and Gulp will have one usually within about 2 minutes of it hitting the water from Fall Creek to past Branson.

This is just not going to last, unless they dump all the remaining fish in the hatchery in. Can't as the fish that are here are really feeding and you can bet lots of them are taking a Crisco Bath at the end of the day.

Get on down here and get ya some.

[rainbow]

Bill, keep teasing em for us for next week. Hope the are starving by the time we get there.

[Gatorjet]

Keep 'em bitig' guys. Be there Tuesday!!!

[rainbow]

Gator where are you staying? We will be at Lilley's wednesday to sunday. Can't wait to get there.

[Gatorjet]

Can't tell ya where I'm staying, but I might just wake you up when the Gator starts to growl for it's morning crawl!

(Cabin #1 or 2. Hope to get a chance to meet you.)

[rainbow]

We'll be in 15.