Fishing Report, Fishin' buddy style

[Phil Lilley]

Fishing Report - Edward Spence

I got to the parking area at Outlet #2 at about 3:30 PM on March 12. Generation had just ended and the water was going down. I started fishing with a #10 Bead Head Olive Woolly Bugger above the rebar hole and got only one strike. I changed to a Crackleback , also with no success. With a #16 Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle I had one fish on, but lost it and quit at 6:00. There were a lot of people fishing from Outlet #1 past the gravel bar, but I saw few fish caught.

On Tuesday, March 13 there was no generation when I started fishing at 9:30 AM, again above the rebar hole. I fished quite a while with a #16 White Soft Hackle with no success. I then tried both Green and Gray Scuds under an indicator below the rebar hole also with no strikes. I went back to my old stand by, the Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, near the end of the gravel bar and had three nice strikes , but no fish. I quit at noon quite discouraged.

At 2:30 PM I was back on the water above the rebar hole with the #16 Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle. I caught 8 or 10 small Rainbows, eleven to twelve inches, but fishing was fairly slow. I had heard of success with Woolly Buggers so I switched to a #10 Bead Head Black Woolly Bugger and began to catch bigger fish in and around the rebar hole. I lost several and had one nice fish break me off. I didn't keep count of all the fish I caught, but all were 13 inches or more and very fat. The area was crowded and everyone seemed to be catching fish. The sun had come out and it turned into a warm day with little wind.

On Wednesday, March 14 I started fishing at 9:00 AM again above the rebar hole. There was no generation and lots of fishermen. I worked my way through the chute catching about 15 Rainbows, with two at least 15 inches. Fish catching slowed at about 10:30 so I moved below the gravel bar where I caught two more Rainbows and quit at 11:30. All the fish I caught were Rainbows and all were fat. With the Woolly Bugger I hadn't caught any fish less than 13 inches. When I quit, the area from above the rebar hole to the end of the gravel bar was quite crowded.

That afternoon I started back fishing at about 3:30. There was still no generation. Now that I had found the right fly I hesitated to change and continued fishing with the black Woolly Bugger. That afternoon it had turned cloudy and cooler, and the crowd was gone. One other fisherman and I had the rebar area to ourselves. I spent the afternoon enjoying the solitude and catching some nice fish. I kept count this time and caught 14 Rainbows before quitting at 5:30. Numbers 9 and 10 were 16 and 15 inches respectively, and put up enough fight to wear this old man out.

This was one of the most enjoyable and successful fishing trips Bruce Cochran and I have had at Taneycomo. As usual the people and services at Lilley's Landing were outstanding.

Spence

Ned and I had an enjoyable stay at your place , caught quite a few trout, and couldn't have asked for nicer weather. I started fishing at 4 PM Monday afternoon off the edge of the gravel bar out from outlet #3. They had just turned the water off and it wasn't all the way down to normal low level yet. I tried my usual variety of soft hackles , woollybuggers, and cracklebacks and managed to catch one rainbow on a black #18 soft hackle. They blew the horn at 5 PM so I moved over closer to shore and kept fishing but the water never came up. Hope they don't do this too often or guys will get to where they don't believe the horn.

Tuesday 3/13 I started fishing about 9:30 AM along the same gravel bar east of the rebar hole and caught 9 rainbows and 1 brown on a variety of woollybuggers. In the afternoon I started again about 3 PM off the lower end of the gravel bar and caught about 20 or 21 more rainbows, all on #12 olive/black woollybuggers and #14 pheasant tail woollybuggers.

Wednesday 3/14 I started about 9:15 AM in the same area and caught 10 rainbows, most of which hit the little #14 pheasant tail woollybugger. After lunch and a nap I started fishing again about 3 PM just east of the rebar hole, working my way east along the gravel bar, catching 9 rainbows and 1 nice brown about 14", all on the pheasant tail woollybugger or a gray #12 crackleback. I didn't catch any really large trout this trip but I had lots of good, fast action and all the fish I caught were fat and healthy. Thanks again for another good trip.

Bruce Cochran

[Greg]

Nice report. Pheasant tail woolly bugger? Sounds interesting. Any chance of sharing the recipe there?

Greg

[Phil Lilley]

Put a small gold or brass bead on a size 14 3X long Mustad hook. Wrap about 10 or 12 turns of thin lead wire around the hook behind the bead, wrapping toward the back . Tie on a tail of ginger or light brown marabou a little longer than the hook shank. Strip the barbules from one side of a brown hackle feather and tie it in tip-first where you want the body to start. Leave some thread hanging at the back of the body so you can counter wrap the body for added strength. Cut 3 strands of pheasant tail fiber as long as you can, tie them in where you want to start the body, and twist them, then wrap them forward, holding them with hackle pliers, and tie them off at the bead and cut off any excess. There won't be much. Now counter wrap the thread you left hanging over the body and tie it off behind the bead. Now wrap the hackle up to the bead, tie it off, clip the excess and you're done. This isn't the most durable fly in the world, even with the counter wrapping, but it lasts through 10 to 20 fish before it comes apart and even then the trout seem to keep hitting it when it's all torn up.

Bruce Cochran