Taneycomo trophy area

[Jthawks]

I fished Taneycomo in the trophy area near the dam on Dec. 27th. It was around 60 degrees that day and there was strong wind on and off. The water looked great and very little water was being generated so I was able to wade.

I was lucky enough to be fishing next to one of the trout guides that owns a fly fishing shop near Taneycomo. The trout guide had a client with him and they were fishing scuds with an egg pattern. They were catching fish after fish while I was switching flies out trying to see what works. I don't think I saw anyone else catching fish as much as the man with the trout guide. They were fishing in a good spot with the right flies. The only reason why I know what they were fishing with is b/c the guide saw me tying another fly on and probably knew I wasn't having any luck, so he told me to try scuds with the egg pattern (I already tried a scud earlier but it must of been a wrong color or size or maybe I was in a bad spot b/c I didn't have any luck...plus I had no indicator nor have I ever fished with one...I like dry fly fishing more than anything). I put on an egg pattern and still no luck b/c surely I wasn't doing something right.

I tried a leech and a jig with no luck. I tried a small crayfish pattern and lost it in the rocks. I was about to give up. Then I decided to fish with what I like to fish with...dry flies! I saw a bunch of small insects flying around. I didn't see anyone dry fly fishing around me that I could tell. I put on a crackleback and within a couple of minutes I had my first rainbow trout. It was only about 13" but I was happy to catch anything at that point! The guide looked over at me while helping his client and gave me a thumbs up and I smiled and said it was on a crackleback.

I stopped having luck with it and switched to a different dry fly....#18 mosquito fly. And within a couple minutes I had another rainbow trout that was slightly smaller than my first catch. There were trout jumping out of the water occasionally and some scooping the top of the water occasionally. I think I would of caught bigger fish if I used scuds, it seems the little guys were coming for the top. My luck ran out in that spot with my dry fly action so I decided to go home. I'll learn to fish scuds the right way another day. Either way I enjoy dry fly fishing the most, and it feels good catching trout fishing the way I want, even if it means I catch less!

cheers

[ColdWaterFshr]

15 minutes ago, Jthawks said:

...plus I had no indicator nor have I ever fished with one...I like dry fly fishing more than anything). I put on an egg pattern and still not luck b/c surely I wasn't doing something right.

Might want to learn this skill.  Important to your success, especially tailwater fishing.  My guess is one of 4 things or all 4 in combination:

1)  fishing without an indicator makes this type of fishing tough to detect strikes, unless you learn czech style nymphing, but that takes some practice

2) not getting a drag free drift

3)  not getting deep enough, (enough lead?)

4)  too heavy of tippet

[laker67]

Sounds like you witnessed the best, of the best, wade fishing guide at lake taneycomo. As far as fishing what you prefer to fish, sometimes it is all about the fishing and not so much the catching. Fooling a fish on a preferred fly is rewarding. My method is scuds. No indicators are damaged or harmed in my style of fishing.

[Jthawks]

My tippet was 2.4Lb I believe. I'm sure there was too much drag at times. I knew I would be doing something wrong, but I seem to catch trout on other things other than scuds and such. I'll definitely learn to fish with scuds and anything that needs indicators. Baby steps haha

[Jthawks]

3 minutes ago, laker67 said:

Sounds like you witnessed the best, of the best, wade fishing guide at lake taneycomo. As far as fishing what you prefer to fish, sometimes it is all about the fishing and not so much the catching. Fooling a fish on a preferred fly is rewarding. My method is scuds. No indicators are damaged or harmed in my style of fishing.

Indeed, fooling a fish on a preferred fly is fun.

[ness]

I'd recommend a few things:

1. Just pick a decent fly and stick with it. Then stick with it some more. It's usually going to be more about how you present the fly than having the exact right fly.  You'll drive yourself nuts, burn through tippet and generally waste time constantly changing flies. Keep that fly in/on the water.

2. Work on getting a good drift (with that ONE fly you're using ). The fly must be moving along at the same rate as the current or it's just not gonna happen as often. On the surface you can see what's going on. Pick a speck of foam or something else to use as a reference point and keep your fly moving along with it by carefully mending the line/leader on the water up or down. For subsurface, an indicator will be a big help. 

3. I almost always use an indicator in faster/deeper water. I like the foam indicators with toothpicks because they can be easily adjusted up and down along the leader, or added and taken off. For subsurface you'll generally need to be very near or even bumping the bottom. Add enough split shot and adjust your indicator to get you down there in your target lane. Occasional hesitations as the fly ticks off the bottom are a good sign. Most of the time the fly is moving slower than the water at the surface either because it's ticking along but also because water near the bottom is flowing slower due to friction with the rocks. Adjust with upstream mends as needed so you're not dragging the fly downstream too fast. 

 

 

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 minutes ago, ness said:

1. Just pick a decent fly and stick with it. Then stick with it some more. It's usually going to be more about how you present the fly than having the exact right fly.  You'll drive yourself nuts, burn through tippet and generally waste time constantly changing flies. Keep that fly in/on the water.

2. Work on getting a good drift (with that ONE fly you're using ).

I could not disagree more with this...  Change flies after 10 good drifts if you aren't getting bit and you are fishing where the trout are.  I change flies and lures when bass fishing like a machine.  If they are on a particular fly or color you are wasting your time with anything else.  Before you go next time watch "The one Cast", stop or call the fly shops.  You'll at least get an idea of how they are wanting a fly delivered and the color.  

[dpitt]

1 hour ago, Jthawks said:

My tippet was 2.4Lb I believe. I'm sure there was too much drag at times. I knew I would be doing something wrong, but I seem to catch trout on other things other than scuds and such. I'll definitely learn to fish with scuds and anything that needs indicators. Baby steps haha

 Fishing wet flys without an indicator can be referred to as "high sticking" or "tight line nymphing".  A lot of folks fishing pocket waters fish this way with heavy nymphs and special leaders so they get down very quick and they cover water.  Competitive "Pro"  fly fishing does not allow indicators or split shot.  They also use longer 10 to 12 foot rods.  It can get technical quickly,  George Daniels "Dynamic Nymphing" is an interesting read if your interesting in nymphing techniques with and without indicators. 

I was fishing with a quide once and he said "Do you know what can be the difference between a day of catching fish and not catching fish?"   Answer : "One Split Shot"   

[ness]

42 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I could not disagree more with this...  Change flies after 10 good drifts if you aren't getting bit and you are fishing where the trout are.  I change flies and lures when bass fishing like a machine.  If they are on a particular fly or color you are wasting your time with anything else.  Before you go next time watch "The one Cast", stop or call the fly shops.  You'll at least get an idea of how they are wanting a fly delivered and the color.  

I think you know what I meant. Changing flies constantly is a waste of time.

[Devan S.]

40 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I could not disagree more with this...  Change flies after 10 good drifts if you aren't getting bit and you are fishing where the trout are.  I change flies and lures when bass fishing like a machine.  If they are on a particular fly or color you are wasting your time with anything else.  Before you go next time watch "The one Cast", stop or call the fly shops.  You'll at least get an idea of how they are wanting a fly delivered and the color.  

I prefer to avoid drifts all together. Only use stuff that you can strip. I want to catch the fish that want to be caught.....not spend half a day trying to coax one fish to half heartedly take a nibble.