Lilleys' Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report, September 16

[Phil Lilley]

Unedited...

Generation patterns remain the same--haven't really changed in more than 3 weeks.  Three or 4 days a week, the Corp runs from 1/2 to a full unit, 24 hours a day.  The other days, they leave the water off till about 3 pm when they run 1 to 1-1/2 units till dark.  Which days of the week changes every week.  We've had some good days of rain, soaking rains, and the forecast is for more this coming week.  It's not going to affect lake levels much, nor is it going to change the way the Corp is running water.  Mild temperatures for this week too... a nice intro to the fall season.

Trout fishing hasn't changed much either the last few weeks.  Catching is good, with most anglers catching at least their limits each day.  We trust they're keeping only their limit, if they're keeping fish, and practice responsible catch-and-release on the rest of their day.  I tell our guests on our dock it's like this:  You hope the anglers who fished before you got here stay within the law so you have fish to catch and you should do the same for the anglers who come after you.

Night crawlers are king.  Had a guest come in the office the other day and said all he could catch them on was worms, like he was disappointed.  Funny are people think sometime.  He was catching, that's a good thing.  Shoot some air in the head, hook the middle and pinch the tail off.  Set the weight about 18 inches from the hook, throw it out and be patient.  Enjoy the outdoors.

Gulp eggs.  I ran a merchandise report the other day.  We sell white eggs 2-1 over any other color.  Then orange, pink and chartreuse.  White seems to be the neutralizing color for trout.  They like it.  Our guides are still putting a couple of eggs on a jig hook and using that under a float 5 feet deep, fishing from Lilleys' Landing down to the Branson Landing.  The Cooper Creek flats are still pretty hot.  Trout Magnets are still a good go-to technique too.  Pink is the hot color.

Our guides are also using a jig and float below and above Fall Creek, either area is good.  Micros are best with olive/orange head and ginger being the best colors with grey/chrome head pretty good too.  They're using 2-pound fluorocarbon as tippet--most are using Vanish.  Someone asked me if I use a barrel swivel to connect the two lines, if you're not using straight 2-pound on your reel.  I said no, I don't, but Bill Babler does so it's ok.  I use a triple surgeon's knot to connect my line to the tippet and use about 3 feet.  Fish the jig 3 to 6 feet deep, depending on the depth of water.  Need to be within a foot of the bottom usually but you can play with the distance till you find the right depth.

I've been doing some fly fishing, wading below the dam with the water running and when it's off.  Playing around with some trout worms made with a puffy yarn Tim Homesley found last spring.  I've been told it's called a "baby blanket worm".  It is soft as a baby's bottom I think.  Not sure what the trout think it is but they like it.  It floats and moves through the water and when twitched, it moves real well, triggering a take.  It's good around the outlets as well as in any moving water like rebar, the gauntlet and rocking chair.  I've used it the last couple of evenings above the MDC boat ramp from the bank during generation, drifting it with and without a float.

I've heard of a big brown being sighted around the outlets the last couple of days but no numbers of browns yet.  It is time... but we haven't had a normal spawn run in years.  It seems the season has gotten later in the fall.  We'll see.

Zebra midge, rusty, primrose and pearl and black, #16 and #18, has been working really in many places in the lake but especially in the trophy area.  If trout are midging or dimpling the surface, set a small float only 12 inches from the fly and target the rise.  If there's no surface activity, set the float at 3 to 4 feet and work the area well.  Scuds, trout crack in tan #18 and #20's worked well this weekend for some people fishing here from St Louis.  The group was part of an outing from the Ozark Fly Fishers FFF club.  Soft hackles, red, yellow #16 and cracklebacks #16 red and orange worked well either when there was a chop on the water and when there wasn't.  The rain acted as a chop Friday and Saturday.  They also hit a black or olive wooly bugger #10.