Lilley's Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report, June 28

[Phil Lilley]

This is Phil Lilley with the Lake Taneycomo fishing report. Generation patterns remain about the same this week with the water off for the mornings but two units running later in the afternoon into the evening. Water temperature is a chilly 45 degrees coming out of Table Rock Lake while the air temps are reaching the upper 90's into the triple digits in the heat of the day. There has been very little wind in the mornings with a welcome slight breeze starting about 11 a.m. and on into the afternoons.

No wind, sun and no generation means tough fishing for the most part. As Bill Babler would say, "We're not getting rich out there." But we're not getting skunked either. Being stealthy and patient is the key. Use small line and stay with it. Pay close attention and take advantage of each "bite" because you won't get a whole lot of them.

Air-injected night crawlers are still the best live bait being used for rainbows. Inject air into the worm, using the head of the worm, hooking it only once at the ring. Set your weight about 18 inches from the worm--that's how far the worm will float off the bottom. Use two-pound line if possible because our water is very clear.

Berkley's Powerbait paste or nuggets are working fair in chartreuse or yellow. Same line size. When the water is running, drift with Gulp Eggs using white and orange. Drifting from Cooper Creek to Monkey Island is the best area.

Use Trout Magnets in Sassy, Bison, pink and salmon, with two-pound fluorocarbon and fish them seven feet deep, our guides say, especially after 11 a.m. when the wind picks up and there's a chop on the water. They are best around and below Cooper Creek, Monkey Island and the Landing areas.

Above Fall Creek in the mornings, fish the deeper pockets way above the Narrows to Lookout and try white thread jigs, cream micro jigs and rusty or red #16 zebra midges under a palsa five-feet deep. Remember to be patient and don't recast the fly very often. Watch closely for the bite -- it's slight. There's some nice 15-inch plus rainbow up there that will put up a good fight.

Up below the dam wading in the mornings, #16 black or olive woolies fished on the flats are working fair along with #18 zebra midges rusty or red fished about 12 inches below a palsa where rainbows are midging the surface. At night after the water is off, black or purple pine squirrels stripped slowly are catching some nice rainbows and a few browns on the flats.