Taneycomo 9/5-9/7 - Hoppers, Jigs and Jerkbaits

[Ryan Miloshewski]

I commented on Travis' post but figured I'd start a new one. Me, John and my grandpa Bob stayed at Phil's Friday-Monday and fished a few hours each day. The weather was amazing and overall was just a great trip. It's the first time my grandpa, who will be 83 in November, has been able to get down in a couple years. He was feeling poor and has an older vehicle. He's been drinking beet juice and taking magnesium and says it's made a major difference in his soreness, energy and overall health. Figured I'd share that for the chronologically gifted here. So, Friday morning I drove to his house in St. Louis and we headed down to Taneycomo.

John and I fished for an hour Friday evening as a front was moving in. I had five fish rise on the hopper I've been tying, but they either missed or refused it at the last second. Some nice fish, too. John caught five on a 110+1 jerkbait, biggest being a 19.5" rainbow. After about 25 min of fishing, it all went kaput. We were just a little late with the timing of the front I figure. 

Saturday morning we fished 8-10am from Lookout to the Narrows. We caught them on 1/25-ounce black and sculpin/ginger jigs. The lighter the jig, the better. They really wanted a slow fall. Sun got high so we went in and I started making a dark roux for venison sauce piquante. It turned out amazing. My grandpa said it was the best deer dish he's ever had. And @gotmuddy I didn't forget the garlic!

 

Saturday evening it was just bad fishing for us. That's just the way it goes at times. We caught two on a jig and decided to call it. We ate dinner and watched the Mizzou beating KU highlights. 

Sunday morning I took a little jaunt to the White to fish with my buddy Stephen Balogh, who owns part of the White River Trout Club. We threw big psycho ants and landed six fish in a few hours. Nothing big, but hopper eats, no matter the species or size, are the best! 

Sunday evening was the best fishing by far. We crushed them on 1/8-ounce black and sculpin/black jigs. There were only two units running but they seemed to want a faster fall. And color mattered big time. Had to have black in it. John threw a 110+1 jerkbait as it got later and had four fish on that were 20+ inches, but for some reason they all came off as I was about to net them. They were crushing it, he said. I didn't catch a single fish on a jerkbait this trip. First time in a long time.

Now to the fun part. I love to throw hoppers for trout. I have been tying one that takes after the Hippie Stomper. I changed three materials/details about it and it seems to be the best one I've thrown on Taneycomo. Black/green and Black/purple have been the ticket. With John and my grandpa in the boat, I didn't do it a ton, but did a few drifts Sunday evening and had four eats. One was a hook-jawed 21-inch male who crushed it about 20-ft off the bank in a seam. With the water moving, all I could see was his big, white mouth coming up from the depths. Sucked it in, waited 3 seconds, and let him have it. Such an epic eat. Eats like that make me so happy I could just put the rod down and be happy for the evening. 

Here's how I rig/fish the hopper for anybody wondering. 

-6 ft of 2x to a tippet ring, then 12-14" of 3x to the fly. The tippet ring prevents the hopper from spinning, and the shorter the tippet from fly line to fly is paramount. You could easily use 8-lb and 6-lb test line as well if you're not into the tippet deal. I generally don't like tippet rings, but it sure helps throwing a hopper.

-Fish it with water off and on. Shade is your friend. With the water off, point your nose downstream and use your trolling motor to cover water. Water running, nose upstream and control your position. I stay 30-40-feet off the bank. Always cast forward (downstream) so you have a longer, effective drift. 

-I gink it once on a drift, as I use Widow's Web for the wing and it can hold water. If it starts to sit too low, just rip a few false casts to dry it out. Hit the banks--and I mean 1-footor less from the bank. But do not neglect seams and structure off the bank (see above). Cast forward, mend, and let it ride for 10-15 sec. If I don't get an eat, I skate it a bit. Just twitch your rod tip or pull on your slack fly line to do this. Still nothing? Pick up and fire at your next spot. It's fast and furious. You are going to get bit quickly 99% of the time. Don't focus on working the hopper longer than 20-30 seconds per cast.

-Make sure your loop is tight on your cast, too. You will need to bang the hopper under limbs and be as accurate as possible. A tighter loop gets you both. A tip--put your thumb on top of the handle, push down, and stop your cast at 12 o'clock. Using a heavier line and slower rod also helps. I learned both of these from Stephen over the years. This is not throwing a size 18 sulphur, which is a completely different game. 

-If it starts sinking, it's not the end of the world. I have had them eat it as it sinks and drags below the surface. Movement is not a bad thing at ALL with hoppers. In fact, it often triggers the eat.

Hoppers are not something a lot of folks do on Taneycomo, but it's productive and fun as can be. Hopefully that helps if you want to give it a try! Phil has two dozen of my hoppers at his shop if you're down and want to try it. If you have any questions, shoot me a message.

[Travis Swift]

Saturday night stunk for us also. Cause a few but not like the rest of the week.  I knew Sunday was gonna be epic with all the nudging I saw while headed down to put the boat on the trailer.  I threw my midges with a white indicator and interesting enough I had no less than 5 nice trout rise up and literally eat the indicator. Not just looking at it but actually eat the thing. I fought one half way back to the boat before he let go! Hopper deal sounds like a blast!

[Flysmallie]

2 hours ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

Hoppers are not something a lot of folks do on Taneycomo, but it's productive and fun as can be. Hopefully that helps if you want to give it a try! Phil has two dozen of my hoppers at his shop if you're down and want to try it. If you have any questions, shoot me a message.

Do these hoppers come with a boat ride and personal instruction? 

[Ryan Miloshewski]

22 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Do these hoppers come with a boat ride and personal instruction? 

I'd absolutely be more than happy to do that....next year haha. Teal season opens up this Saturday and I will be in the throes of waterfowl and deer hunting until February 1st. Phil is good at it, though--he could probably take you!

[Quillback]

Beet juice and magnesium - sounds tasty!  (Not).

Great to see ya'll had a good time!

[gotmuddy]

dont forget the jarlic!!!!