Newby to Taneycomo

[Mississippi Man]

I will be making my first trip to Taneycomo in mid-March. I have fished the White River before and am somewhat familiar with tailwater fishing. I was going to hire a guide the first day to learn techniques and then rent a boat for a couple of days. My wife and grown kids will be fishing with me part of the time. I have fly rods and spinning rods, just want to be sure and have all the proper tackle/lures with me when i get there and don't have to make shopping trips. I tie my own flies and jigs.We like to catch fish. I am not a purist on any style of fishing, whatever works best. This is a broad question but thanks for any help.

[Phil Lilley]

If you've fished the White, you'll do just fine on Taneycomo.  Your fishing equipment is the same... light line and small flies and jigs.  Small hooks and light weights for bait fishing.

There are some great guides who take family trips too - up to 6 people.  Some are more specialized as far as fly fishing/throwing jigs and such.  It all depends on what you want to do - how you want to catch trout.  March is a busy time so you should book early.

I have quite a few articles, which I am updating, on fishing the lake on OA.  Just look under Taneycomo at http://ozarkanglers.com.  I'll also be posting fishing reports between now and then.

[Wentworth]

I agree with Phil. We started last year and hired Brett at, chartered waters as our guide. He helped us so much. Little things that mean a lot to further your success. Good luck. 

[Mississippi Man]

Thanks guys. what weight, hook size and color marabous work best. Does flash tinsels in a jig help or hurt the bite there?

[Ham]

I kinda like White River Zig Jigs. I use 1/8 oz , 1/16 oz, and 1/32 oz depending on the amount of flow. 

[Mr. Ed]

For the "non purist" fly fishing from a boat at Taneycomo it's hard to beat a brown 100oz marabous jig about 6' under a foam strike indicator. Other colors work well too. The shops and resorts down there will have what you need.  Cheap and effective. That's assuming the water isn't ripping. Have fun.

[Seth]

On 1/19/2018 at 5:20 PM, Mississippi Man said:

Thanks guys. what weight, hook size and color marabous work best. Does flash tinsels in a jig help or hurt the bite there?

If the water is off, I like to go with a 1/16 oz jig. As for colors, my two favorite right now are black/olive and orange head/sculpin/peach. Straight black and sculpin/orange work well too. When the water is cranking, I bump up to an 1/8 oz jig and also add white to the preferred colors. White is hit or miss. Sometimes they love it and other times they don't. It never does real well for me when the water is off. Another thing to think about is the wind. If the water is calm, but the wind is really howling then you may have to use a 3/32 or 1/8oz jig anyways. Try to fish it with or against the wind and not across the wind.

[Mississippi Man]

Thanks for your responses. Does flash tinsel in the jig hurt or help the bite on taneycomo. out of curiosity , do you ever tie on a smaller jig to a heavier jig  to get the bite when the current is up?

[duckydoty]

Tinsel in a white or grey and white jig can help sometimes. You never really need more than an 1/8th ounce jig unless flood gates are open. In that case we do double up on 1/8th jigs. Straight line jig fishing can put great numbers in the boat. Below the trophy area, the pink power worm on a 1/100th ounce jig head under a float can put a lot of numbers in the boat too. With higher flow rates, try a jerk bait. It can be fun.

[Mississippi Man]

Duckydot, what colors are favorites in jerkbaits. What is the best rig for drifting bait.