Let the fishing begin...

[Phil Lilley]

Flow:  20,000 cfs

Duane and I boated to the dam yesterday evening.  The short of it:

Not a whole lot of damage.  2 docks gone.  1 dock upsidedown.  Banks don't look too bad.

Water color coming from the tubines - very clear.  Over the gates, good color.

Caught a few rainbows on the cold side, smallish and not fat.  On the warm side, rainbows were huge (17-19 inches) and super broad and fat.  Fought very hard.  One brown trout and one nice small mouth - all on white 1/8th oz jigs.

Had to just drift the jigs.  Hard to get them down to the bottom and that's where it had to be.  Next time I'd put a split shot on.

[Phil Lilley]

 

[grizwilson]

Thanks Phil, I was wondering but embarrassed to ask.  Would you suggest launching at Cooper or below the dam?  Trout Boat or Champion Bass?  Thanks

 

[bkbying89]

Thanks, Phil, I am glad things turned out as well as they did. Meaning that your losses were less than everyone expected. Good luck.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Looks like they are in Phil's grizzly, Griz.

[MNtransplant]

@Phil Lilley what did you mean by the cold side and warm side?

[cheesemaster]

1 hour ago, MNtransplant said:

@Phil Lilley what did you mean by the cold side and warm side?

It's kinda like like my grill - if you want your food done faster you put it on the left side (warmer side) vs the right side that's colder. 

Just kidding-  I am interested in the reply also.

[Seth]

1 hour ago, MNtransplant said:

@Phil Lilley what did you mean by the cold side and warm side?

The generators bring cold water into Taneycomo and the floodgate side brings the warmer surface waters in. The two sources of water won't mix together right away so you have a warm and a colder side of the river when up near the cables. As you get farther down the lake, the two different "types" of water eventually mix together and form a consistent temperate across the entire river.

[Phil Lilley]

Seth is right.  You have 2 completely different streams of water - one from 130 feet deep and one off the top.  The water color, density and temperature are different.  The spill water falls 200 feet - I'm sure it's full of O2 and Nitrogen just below the dam.

There's going to be lots of food coming in to the lake from the spill water... I told DD that the fish on the spill side are meateaters and the cold side - they're vegetarians ... one is all beafed up and the other aren't.

[Phil Lilley]