Lilleys' Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report, January 11

[Phil Lilley]

Generation has varied some everyday this week but with mild temperatures this weekend, it looks like they're going to run it all day at least Saturday and Sunday. Not very hard though which should make any type of fishing pretty good.

Drifting bait will take a light hand, especially from Lilleys' down lake because the water is going to be moving pretty slow. Use as little weight as possible to get the bait to the bottom and stay towards the middle of the lake. If using worms, inject them with air or use a Gulp Egg to make the worms float. I use a white egg usually and a half worm hooked in the middle. Four-pound line is perfect right now. Our water still has some color to it.

A pink Trout Magnet has been fishing lights out according to some of our guides. Either use 2-pound line and throw it without a float, letting it sink close to the bottom and feel for the tap or under a float 4 to 6 feet deep. Also a brown jig with an orange head, 1/50th ounce has been working below and above Fall Creek.

Still catching a few crappie and bass down at the Landing in front of the wall. Trolling an 1/8th ounce jig, white or brown, or a swimming minnows, purple. Cast it and work it back from the wall too. I found a school of nice crappies last week right in front of Garfields.

Guys last weekend found a school of nice 3-pound rainbows down close to the MDC dock below Branson, same side of the lake. It's located down by the treatment plant. Look for the big stocking boat. They caught them on either jigs or spoons. These rainbows were probably stocked the week before off that ramp close to the dock. It's hard to say if these fish have moved. Worth a try though.

There does seem to be a lot of rainbows between Short and Fall Creek. This week we've seen dozens of trout rising in the evening all over this area. If you're fly fishing, a Zebra Midge would be good under an indicator anywhere from 12 to 36 inches deep. This holds true above Fall Creek too.

If you're fishing above Fall Creek, boating all the way to the cable and fishing down to Lookout is the best place to catch some quality trout. Almost all trout will be under 20 inches but they're fun to catch and release. And there are plenty of sub 12-inchers you can catch and keep.

Throw an 1/8th-ounce jig and work it off the bottom. Try a light color, then a dark color to see what they're liking. White or ginger for light and sculpin, olive, brown or black for dark colors. Jig and float- same thing. I'd use a 1/32nd-ounce jig under a float 4 to 6 feet deep. Brown/orange head still one of my favorites but I'd try a white for sure. You never know when and if these fish are seeing any shad come from Table Rock through the dam.

Medium size stick baits work well sometimes, especially on large trout. But in bright sun and little wind, they don't work as well.

I did real well Thursday throwing an olive 3/32nd-ounce jig straight fishing from Lookout down to the Narrows. They were chasing my jig, getting multiple hits on almost every cast. But in that case, as soon as the water stopped moving, they quit. This weekend, the water isn't supposed to stop.

Today it's sunny, warmer but windy. Most stretches of the lake, the wind is blowing down stream. When drifting anything on the bottom (bait, worms), the wind blows your boat faster than the current. This makes your bait rise up off the bottom and travel faster than the water current. Fish just won't bite a presentation like this. They look at it going by and say, "That's fake! Not eating it," so says Steve Dickey (fishing guide). So the key is slowing the boat down to the same speed as the current OR SLOWER.

If you have a boat with a front bow mounted trolling motor, I would suggest both parties (assuming only 2 in the boat) stand towards the front of the boat and then point the boat upstream. Then use the tolling motor to slow the boat down. Watch the water next to the boat and make sure it's not moving faster than the boat.

We also do this when drifting over a deeper area or drop offs. Slowing the boat down allows the weight and bait to drop down that drop off instead of flying over the top of it. Trout will hold in the drop offs or deeper areas waiting on food to wash through. You can also let line out when drifting over these areas--basically does the same thing.

[Phil Lilley]

Little video from yesterday.

[hknfsh]

Thanks for the report Phil. Son and I are coming down Sunday with his boat...putting in at the campground. Sounds like we'll have some drifting current for the day at least. Hope the fishing holds up for us.