Fishing with Phil

Vince and I boated to the Narrows about a mile above Fall
Creek. Water was off, temp dropping and wind stiff out of the north at 15 mph at 2 pm. The only thing we could do is use a jig and float. Vince had his fly rod and me my spin cast.

We set the boat up on the shallow flat in about 2 ft of water and cast to the deeper side but still not much more than 3 to 3.5 feet. Even with the waves almost breaking over, we could see rainbows all over the place slashing and jumping- they were very active. Vince started with an olive 1/80th oz jig and I with a white 1/50th oz. Vince had a couple before I got my first. It was a white bass- about 3/4 lb. I saw others but they schooled on by.

The wind was really moving us, too fast to catch fish so I threw out an anchor and we really started to nail them. We both hooked some really nice rainbows, lost several but landed a few along with other trout. All rainbows. All were very fat and healthy- lots of color. Caught some males, darken and yellow tinted. We ended it at 4:30- C of O had a couple of B-Ball games and Vince had to get back.

The wind was pretty crazy. It would blow hard and make the water roll, then tame down but the waves kept going. It was rippled so we could see down in and see the rainbow schooling around. We’d throw close enough to see them swarming under the indicator but the float wouldn’t move until, wait…, the float would finally dart. It was fun.

We also tried this- setting the float at 3 feet, we were fishing in less than 3 feet of water. That means the jig was laying on the bottom. I’d hop the float, hopping the jig off the bottom may be 12 inches. When I did this, I’d see one- maybe two- rainbows dart over toward where the jig was, seeing the movement and being drawn to it. I’d do it again and he’d hit it hard.

If we’d used a white jig (we didn’t cause they were on an olive), we would have seen the jig disappear into the trout’s mouth. That’s cool too.

I have to say I was very impressed with the size and fight of these rainbows. I saw others quite a bit bigger than the ones we hooked. I’m excited about our prospects this winter and spring.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report Jan 17

Has this been an unusual winter here in the Ozarks... Not really. It's pretty normal for us to have cold spells, even down in the single digits. the nice thing about this part of the country is that these spells generally don't last even long. In a day or two, it's back up in the 40's and 50's, long enough to get out and fish before the next cold front moves through.

On Lake Taneycomo, generation has been fairly consistent. About 2 units on at daylight till about 10 am, then off till dark when they kick on 2 units for about 3-4 hours. Weekends- they tend to leave the water off for longer periods of time, if they run it at all. BUT that's not always the case. Today, Saturday, they ran water all day to the dismay of I bet lots of anglers who made the trip to Taney to wade below the dam. Sometimes I think they just want to tick us off.

Out of boats, we've been drifting egg flies, scuds and san juan worms using a spit shot or drift rig to get them down, drifting them on the bottom all the way down to Fall Creek. San Juans- red or tan; Scuds- gray, olive, brown or tan; and egg flies combinations of peach and yellow. If the water isn't running too hard, using a fly rod set a float 6-9 feet above a fly and use a split shot to get the fly to the bottom. Drift the shallow side of the lake. Spin rig again- work a 1/8th oz jig off the bottom while drifting. Colors- white has been the best by far but should have an olive, sculpin, purple, black or brown/orange ready just in case. Wading with the water running- you're confined to the outlets below the dam. Use scuds, midges and egg flies and watch others to learn how to catch fish. It's really pretty easy if you can find a spot.

Below Fall Creek, you can use the same flies and jigs but you're not confined to artificials. You can use live bait. Some are throwing Rapalas, Rogues and Pointers both in the trophy area and below. Working the bluff banks where trees and brush are just like you'd work it for bass. Jerk the bait down and pause, then jerk some more. Little cloes and spin-a-lures are working too. We sold a bunch today out of our tackle store. Best colors seem to be nickel, gold, reds and blues. Most are casting the out and letting them sink a little, then reeling them back in straight. Some are trolling them slowly behind the boat.

Water off- by boat, the trophy area has been fishing great. Jigs again, either fished with or without a float in the colors mentioned earlier. Straight line- use 3/32 to 1/16th oz and work them off the bottom like fishing for crappie. Under a float use 1/50th to 1/256 in a micro and think about dropping to 2 lb line. Four pound is fine for everything else. Fish the jigs 4-5 feet deep. In the micros, olive with an orange head or pink with a chrome head. Marabou- brown or sculpin with an orange head. Look for the chop... a surface with a croppy surface catches more fish.

Fly fishing below the dam- below the dam, if there's a chop on the water, strip a soft hackle (#16 red, black, white, yellow or green) or a wooly (#12 olive, black, brown, purple, white) or a crackleback (#14 white, gray, brown) or a sculpin or leech in earth colors. My favorite is the san juan in red and I fish them anywhere there's moving water. Scuds (#14-#18 gray, olive, tan, brown or white) also in moving water or fished in the shallow flats where trout are nosing around in the gravel with their tails sticking out of the water. Moving water- between outlets 1 and 2, rebar and below rebar and the rocking chair has several areas where the water is moving fast enough. For stripping soft hackles, woolies or leeches you really don't need moving water.

The area below the boat ramp is seeing quite a bit of surface action and they seem to be taking dry flies pretty good here- even down through the KOA area. Elk Hair Caddis (#14-#18's in olive or yellow) are my favorite. Try dropping a midge under the dry anywhere from 12 to 36 inches.

From a boat, use a weighted scud (#14 - #18 in gray, olive, tan or brown) under an indicator so that the scud is very close to if not on the bottom. I use this technique mostly from Lookout down to Fall Creek and I usually stay in the middle of alittle on the channel side of the lake, trying to put my bug close to if not on the drop off from the flat to the channel. I'll work the fly, moving it 6 to 12 inches, making it jump off the bottom and letting it settle back down like a scud might.

Above or below Fall Creek, we use fly rods when fishing a jig and float all the time. Either micros or marabou jigs fished 4 to 6 feet deep. Again, I like to fish the channel drop down to Short Creek which is about in the middle of the lake. Don't be stick on one depth- if they aren't biting very well, change colors and change depths of the jig.

Fishing Report December 30, 2008

Got out and fished yesterday from about 1-5 pm with Tom Burckhardt from St Charles. He's one of our tournament buddies. First we fished from Fall Creek to Short Creek, working both jigs on the bottom straight and jigs under a float. Didn't have much luck with the float but did catch a few on straight-lining... but it was slow. Tom and the other 2 guys, Bob and Gerry Dwiggins, also from St Charles, did well in the am in the same areas but the pm was slow. Quite a bit of boat traffic- not horrible but enough it may have kept the trout moving around.

Tom and I boated up to Andy's (lookout) and started there on the second drift. No water mind you, just working the trolling motor. We did much better and as the sun dropped below the trees, it got good. Didn't find a special color- I caught rainbows on white, olive, sculpin and purple. Tom stuck with sculpin/little bit of ginger and did better than I. The best was working a jig under a float there at the last 30 minutes of the day- they wouldn't leave it alone.

Tom ties a scud of sorts on a 1/80th oz jig. Dubbed body with a pine squirrel tail, brown head. He isn't a fly fisherman at all but is a very good jig fisherman. I've seen this pattern but Tom proved to me it's something to seriously experiment with in the near future. He used it under a float.

Water yesterday- lower section was colored. I could see a jig 18 inches down. At Lookout - 30 inches. But it will change today- they are running water as I type. Not much but it will push clear water down the lake. How far is yet to be seen.

I did see people catching fish on both gulp eggs and night crawlers below Fall Creek. It wasn't hot but at least they were catching some for the dinner table.

-Phil Lilley