Lilley's Lake Taneycomo fishing report, November 10

[Phil Lilley]

Our trout fishing here on Lake Taneycomo has been pretty hot.... and cold.  One day it's really good, and the next it stinks.  I don't think you can blame anything but the fish themselves since some days they eat and some days they don't.

Generation has been consistent for the past week.  Dam operators have ben running from 1,800 to 3,700 cubic feet of water per second, which is about a half unit to a full unit during the day and night.  Water temperature is holding at 58 degrees, and I'd say visibility is about two feet.  The lakes are dropping about .1 feet per day, so there's no reason to think this pattern will change anytime soon.

We do have a weather change happening today.  A little rain and then cooler temperatures and probably wind into the weekend.  This should cool Table Rock back down but not enough to cause it to turn over.  We need some pretty serious, cold temps and lots of wind to do that.

When the trout are feeding, they're taking all things drifting, mostly on the bottom using a float, or with no indicator at all.  In the Trophy Area, they're eating scuds, eggs and worms.  Our brown trout are actively spawning close to the dam, so both species, browns and rainbows, are eating egg flies and beads. 

The San Juan worm is working in several colors -- tan, cerise, brown and pink.  The fish are taking either the thick or medium sizes, non-weighted.

I mentioned beads, and we are starting to carry the Trout Bead, a brand that's been around for many years.  The company offers plastic beads from 6 mm to 14 mm in size and in a ton of colors and shades.  We suggest the 6 mm or the 8 mm bead, although even the 6 mm is bigger than an actual trout egg.  We peg the bead no more than two inches above either a bare hook or a fly.   You can use a drift rig and an 1/8th-ounce bell weight or just add a split shot above the bead about 24 inches.

Scuds are still about the best thing you can drift and catch trout -- even big trout.  They're taking tan, gray, brown and olive flies from a big #12 size down to a small #18.  Because of the dingy water, I'd suggest using the bigger sizes.

Our anglers are still catching some really nice rainbows below Fall Creek on night crawlers, drifting them on the bottom.  These rainbows are swimming down from the trophy area where they've grown big,  protected by the slot limit there.

I have a few good days working a marabou jig, mainly 1/16th-ounce, both in the Trophy Area and down below it.  White is still working, especially after the flood gates were open for 24 hours last week, but it's cooling off, at least for me.  Black appears to be coming on strong, may be because of the dingy water.

[Phil Lilley]

Our water cleared up a lot today.  Back to normal I'd say.