Taneycomo 5/11-5/14

[Ryan Miloshewski]

Went down with John Sunday-Wednesday for the floodgates. Naturally, they shut them off at 9am Monday. I fished Sunday evening for an hour and a half after turkey hunting and did well on jerkbaits from the dam to the boat ramp. Other than that, it was pretty eh. I got back to the dock early and Phil called me over to the tank "Milo, we got a big brown." And big it was. 30.25" and 17 lbs. Robert caught it on a Signature Series 606 in FP down from Lilleys out of a pontoon boat. I was going to fish that bluff but was tired from hunting. Amazing what has to go right to land a fish like that!

Monday morning I started early at 5:30 am. Fog was a little bad so I stopped at the top of the bluff above Lilleys. Immediately I caught a 22" rainbow that was as fat as we has long.

Next cast I threw a bit upstream and had a little drag so I started burning the jerkbait back to recast. I noticed a giant shadow following so I stopped it and started working it. It was a brown that was bigger than the 17 lb fish I saw the evening before. It swiped at it four times and missed each time. This is all 10 ft from the boat. I stopped it, burned it to where I had 18" of line left, 2 ft from the boat. It finally ate it. I really didn't set the hook, just kind of held on. I jumped down to get the net as it thrashed at the boat. As I grabbed the net it came undone and sauntered back to the depths. I grabbed my jerkbait and realized the middle hook he had was completely straightened out. I always change the back hook on these jerkbaits since it is the one that usually gets them best. I will be changing all of them now. Biggest brown I've ever personally had hooked/engaged with my lure. It had to be 20+ lbs. Pain!

The rest of the trip was just meh. The fish were definitely adjusting to the flow change. We could have dragged scuds/eggs and caught a ton, I'm sure, but we stuck with jerkbaits and jigs. They just didn't want to eat, it felt like. Little to no engagement on jerkbaits and short strikes on jigs. We caught fish, don't get me wrong, but it was markedly worse. Our biggest Tues/Weds was a couple of chunky 19" rainbows right below the dam. I had on a 20" or so rainbow by the steps on a jig Tuesday evening but he came unbuttoned as well. One of those trips!

Still a fun time and enjoyed staying at Phil's. Really is one of the best resorts I've ever been to in the country and they make you feel at home every time.

Here is the only pic we took, a nice 18" rainbow John caught on a jig below Lookout. And a nice pic I snapped above Trout Hollow.

Here is a pic of Robert's giant in the net.

 

 

 

[Travis Swift]

Good report Milo.  Sucks to lose ol' big but I'm sure glad there are a few of the monsters left, I was afraid we had lost them all.  

[Ryan Miloshewski]

40 minutes ago, Travis Swift said:

Good report Milo.  Sucks to lose ol' big but I'm sure glad there are a few of the monsters left, I was afraid we had lost them all.  

You and me both, buddy! Phil can correct me, but I think all of the really big ones that have been caught this spring have been diploids, which is an interesting trend. Not that they'll breed, but still cool to see 2N fish getting that size.

[Travis Swift]

So I'll ask a stupid uneducated question.  On the triploids, they obviously can't spawn but do they still make a "false" run in the fall?  Or are they built to eat and get big and the only thing they care about is food?  Reason is, I wondered if some of the giants stayed down lake last fall and didn't move up and therefore they may not have caught the fungus?  But when you say none of the big ones have been triploids that theory kinda goes out the door.  I still maintain there are monsters living from Bull Creek down but sure couldn't prove it and not many if any try for them down there.  Some of those bluffs past rockaway are straight down and have close to 40 feet of water in the deep holes.  Who knows what might be living down that way.  

[Ryan Miloshewski]

5 minutes ago, Travis Swift said:

So I'll ask a stupid uneducated question.  On the triploids, they obviously can't spawn but do they still make a "false" run in the fall?  Or are they built to eat and get big and the only thing they care about is food?  Reason is, I wondered if some of the giants stayed down lake last fall and didn't move up and therefore they may not have caught the fungus?  But when you say none of the big ones have been triploids that theory kinda goes out the door.  I still maintain there are monsters living from Bull Creek down but sure couldn't prove it and not many if any try for them down there.  Some of those bluffs past rockaway are straight down and have close to 40 feet of water in the deep holes.  Who knows what might be living down that way.  

Theoretically they do not make the spawning run. But with anything, there are outliers. Lower lake there's just so much water. Even scanning with LS you'd need a week to find areas they frequent. 

My buddy and I scanned on his LS some of the bluffs past the landing and there were fish, but never really anything big. I think the idea there are giant browns lurking in the depths is just not that true. I'm sure there are some, but 40 ft deep bluffs do not have the constant supply of food the shallower water has. 

Kelly Galloup wrote a book about his diving on the Michigan rivers he grew up on. You'd be shocked at how many of the "big fish looking areas" held nothing. They pretty much hang out where everything else does, just in their own little space adjacent. Look at all the giant browns caught at night in 3-4 fow. They are up there eating sculpins, scuds, and rainbows like the 20-inch fish. 

 

[Travis Swift]

I agree they probably don't live in 40 feet of water but what I sort of meant is there is ALOT of water down there.  And there is very very very low pressure on brown trout that way.  Almost no one specifically targeting them and certainly not at night when they are feeding more often.  And there is a ton more bait down there, chubs, shad, sculpin, small rainbows, crappie, bluegill etc.  And more cover as you know in the form of grass and trees.  Is it loaded with giant brown trout?  Doubtful but it has the ingredients to grow or harbor a giant in my opinion.  

[Ryan Miloshewski]

20 minutes ago, Travis Swift said:

I agree they probably don't live in 40 feet of water but what I sort of meant is there is ALOT of water down there.  And there is very very very low pressure on brown trout that way.  Almost no one specifically targeting them and certainly not at night when they are feeding more often.  And there is a ton more bait down there, chubs, shad, sculpin, small rainbows, crappie, bluegill etc.  And more cover as you know in the form of grass and trees.  Is it loaded with giant brown trout?  Doubtful but it has the ingredients to grow or harbor a giant in my opinion.  

I agree with that for sure. But, you'd think with all the bass fishing that occurs a giant brown would be caught every now and then. Surely they'd eat a jig, swimbait, A-rig, etc. They do on the Great Lakes. I was in your shoes for years with the belief, but I just don't know anymore. There are plenty of people who fish down there (not like above the Landing, but still). The lack of evidence ever, really, beside Dwiggins catching the triploid by Kanakuk is just too strong for me. I hope I'm wrong lol

[Flysmallie]

Used to be a guy on here that caught a lot of big browns on the lower lake. He had it figured out. 

[Ryan Miloshewski]

4 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Used to be a guy on here that caught a lot of big browns on the lower lake. He had it figured out. 

No kidding? Well don't read anything I said before. Now next time I will be down lake throwing my arm off. @Travis Swift let's try it out this summer

[Flysmallie]

15 minutes ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

No kidding? Well don't read anything I said before. Now next time I will be down lake throwing my arm off. @Travis Swift let's try it out this summer

Phil would know who I'm talking about, but I sure can't remember his name.