A comprehensive and informative fishing report for the Lake Taneycomo Tailwater and other Ozark trout streams. Often imitated, never duplicated... your source of knowledge for Missouri fly fishing.
There was a big private tournament here @ Trout Hollow this weekend. Lots of boats on the water and we set up quite a few folks with C-Shelled Scuds and Simple Minnows. I forgot to mention on my last trip on Friday I saw a couple of gulls hovering around the turbines below the dam. That's always a good sign that shad have come through recently. We're definitely doing well in the boat with our shad colored Simple Minnows and NO4 Minnows so maybe there are a few spurting out now and then. Actually that's better fishing than a big run of them coming through non stop. When LOTS are coming through they key on the naturals a lot more than the fakes. That, plus they get so gorged that they just stop eating after a while. When they're just spurting through now and then it has the fish looking for shad a lot harder and when they do see our fakes they're much more aggressive at taking them. It's best to get one good constant run that lasts for a day or so then have it shut down to an occasional spurt every few hours or so. Of course we cant control any of this but in a perfect shad run world that would be ideal for me.
Well we haven't heard from this guy lately. Michigan Dan (and his brother Fred) sent us this nice report from up north. Yes that's right folks...more big fish from Dan. Now I'm guessing after this trip his work performance may go down a bit. He lives and works within driving distance of several of Michigan's famed trout and salmon streams. I see long lunch breaks and a few...."I need to take off a little early today" comments in his future. Just like ALL of us would be doing if we lived up there.
Hi Brett.
My brother, Fred, and I were on the Big Manistee River yesterday fishing with Guide Jon Ray of Chuck Hawkins Outfitters. Those are the same guys your customer Rudy fishes with up here. I have attached pictures of some of the fish we got. It was a great day on the river. Lots of fish; lots of wildlife and no wind. It was about as good as it gets for winter steelheading up here.
Have a great weekend.
Dan
We'll be seeing Dan next month when he comes down for a trip with us. Now, he's caught a rainbow or two that big down here with us but...probably not that many in one day.
A couple more replicas got finished up this weekend. Jan Hook and Byron Wheeler's just had the finishing touches applied and they are fini.
These were some fun ones. Here's Jan with the original Beta version caught and released .
That fish had a more toned down color scheme that what you usually see that time of year. A beautiful fish though and the replica came out nice.
I only had a Polaroid of Byron's fish but he told me the length and I worked off of that picture.
I'm expanding the name plate portion of my works more and having a lot of fun with that. The graphic design aspect of it takes me back to my corporate world roots where I was an actual designer in stead of a manager of designers. The latter pays more...the former is a lot more fun.
I've found a new source for rocks that are unique in make up and color schemes while staying with the look of the local waters. I also try to use elements of the fish and or the background I use to mount them on when picking the right rock for a name plate. I get the angles of both to play off each other and try to make the whole thing a pc of art. Byron's rock had a nice little arch to it that fit nicely below the two roots from the driftwood at the bottom. Jan's mount had a more static angle to it which worked out perfectly with that diamond shaped rock I used for hers. Only four more replicas to finish that are in progress. Clemishire and Strange if you're watching at home. Then I have another 8 or so from last year to start up. I'm going to have to get out and fish in the snow Tuesday. It looks so peaceful outside the door. Not a boat on the river looking out the shop back door and the snow is really starting to come down now.
With 4 pretty strong units going on, the last couple of trips have been similar in numbers of fish caught. These guys started counting early and I think Joe was the only one who actually kept track. He and Andrew were new fly fisherman but Jim is a vet and has been with us several times in the past.
Everyone did great and with Joe's barometer catch of 23 fish we were in that 60 - 70 fish caught range in the first half. Here's some of that action.
We managed 2 drifts on our afternoon special and while the first drift was surprisingly slower, the second one was at the mercy of a fly change and it got pretty good for us then. In the am it was the coral C-Shelled Scud and that was pretty much it. The afternoon...it was a toss up between the gray and the purple version of the same and I'm not sure we caught ONE on the coral. Doubles and triples all day long and the boys all did very well.
Both today after the trip and yesterday they bought me out of C-Shelled Scuds. It's what I'm setting up peoples rods with when they come in the shop so they're a popular choice. I set everyone up pretty much the same way I set up mine so SImple Minnows, NO4 Minnows and C-Shelled Scuds are flying off the vise these days. When the water stops...they'll start collecting dust and then it's a whole new set up.
Great guys today and we had a good time even in some nasty weather. Only the hard cores fish on days like this. That's what we did.
These guys were all brand new to fly fishing and they did a GREAT job on their first time out. For boat fishing, I'd call it a below average day over all BUT... these rookies caught around 60 - 70 fish for their half day outing so they were all pretty happy with that.
We just spoil new fly fisherman here on Taneycomo. With 100 fish days the norm rather than the exception, there aren't many trout streams on earth that can hang with that. We certainly like it here and I think our guests enjoyed it too. We caught some really solid fish just shy of the 18" mark and just lots and lots of varieties in smaller sizes.
Coral C-Shelled Scuds in a #12 were definitely it! The power of purple has subsided here lately and at the moment it's coral or nothing at all. The shad Simple Minnow #8 is a good lead fly that's catching pretty well too. I like that or a Natural Egg #12 (salmon sized egg fly) in a pink and coral version as an attractor fly but when put next to a C-Shelled Scud...I'll catch one on the Egg for every 50 or so on the Scud.
We had a great time out there today on a cold and foggy morning. These were all real good guys who seemed to get a kick out of this fly fishing thing. It just gets more fun every time you do it.
A little note here from our buddy David from KC. He recently hit the Jr Circuit and sent us a report. Looks like he had a good one.
Brett
Thanks so much for guiding me to the spot on the JC. I haven't done any fishing like that for a long while. Once (I) figured out what to use it was one after another. Lot of fish I caught had their spawning colors going. Biggest was probably 15" and I pretty much stayed in the one area. Started out with some small woolly bugger types but they weren't getting down enough and I hate putting split shot ahead of buggers. As soon as I crossed the (water) and repositioned myself, re rigged with one of your (Bit Scud) scuds and one of my green rock worms it was lights out. I lost your scud and just used the rock worm and they kept on comin in.
Thanks again.
(David)
And here's our buddy Michael and George commenting on the recent trip they took with us. Michael sent the below and George responded with "ditto". Fun guys to spend a day with.
Good morning Brett,
I hope you all weathered the storm well. I am sure McKenna had a blast playing in it. Congrats to Marlin on his 700 series………yikes that is awesome.
I wanted to just thank you again for a fabulous day. As always, being on the water with you is enthusiastic, educational and enjoyable. Not to mention an all day “strippin’” lesson.
I took specific aim at the how to of finding fishable water. We enjoyed success in a couple of places that if you were looking for fish you would walk right by. Reinforcing the fact that you fish where you think fish might be as much as you sight fish. I loved being the test pole for stripping “nofo”, i.e. NO4 (Minnow). Your last words to me as you walked away was give it 10 casts, and if nothing, go back to the ginger/olive Baitfish. It took me one cast to get the drift right, and picked up first of many on the second cast, by many that was 15 before you came back to move along.
My new Ross reel performed spectacular and you didn’t have to throw in “I have never thrown better in a 9’ 5wt than that Eastfork” to sell me. I am already saving as that set up performed spectacular. Long cast, short cast, tiny fish to 3lbs was no problem. The light profile, fast action and smooth load as you say, I was easily moving that line to the other side of that big pool we fished after lunch. I’ll be proud to complete this rig and catch a huge brown on it.
“Chartered Waters Boys, Chartered Waters”
I know there are those who doubt our totals for the JC, but I was counting in the morning to compare drifting(15) to stripping(20). George always counts. After lunch we decided we wanted 100 and almost made it, but our last spot of the day ran out of gas 3 short (another spot that is just there, you can’t see the fish as they camo into the background). 97 fish and realize that we spent at least 1ž2 our day hiking, hunting and otherwise, looking for fish. There were holes we caught everyone and holes we walked away from to go find more fish.
We literally covered several miles of (water) and not one other soul fishing with us. It is an amazing experience to hunt and find fish with you.
Yatahey, Michael
“McKenna !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come down and play “
There's a lot of things that will catch fish on the JC but right now we're stripping a lot of shad NO4 Minnows and ginger/olive Baitfish Jigs. Those are both good searching flies if nothing else and if you see a chaser follow your fly back, at least you'll know you have fish in there. Both of these guys are good fisherman and a couple of spots we found on what I call the crown jewel of the JC, it was at least a hit and usually a fish a cast. Once again, the fish had moved and were stacked in areas that in the past may have held a half dozen at best.
The toughest thing this time of year is that fish are so hard to see. The overcast skies #1 is tough but the snow on the ground "darkens" the water significantly and makes fish especially tough to see. What that means is doing a little searching via casting and stripping in likely looking water and then moving on. We were walking a high vantage when I saw a handful of fish in an unlikely area. Enough to put Gerry on them figuring he could hook a half dozen or so before moving on. It was literally a hit or fish a cast for over an hour. Hard to say how many fish were in there but he left them as hot as he found them.
We found Dave a nice little run that had a few spawners and he netted about a dozen in that stretch including a few doubles with Gerry. **** 8, 6, 5****
You could probably spend 3 full days on the water that I know well on the Jr. Circuit and not see it all. Dave has kind of piece mealed his K together on several trips over the years. There was one spot he particularly wanted to go to today so that's what we did. We punched out and did a little overtime today to explore some more good looking but unexplored water. Man....I continue to be impressed and surprised at what you can find around the next bend. Another couple of "fish a drift" spots that by looking at it...you'd never guess and you definitely couldn't see any fish in them. There's lots more water I know about but haven't fished yet and who knows what lies out there. I'm going to take a day or two off before we get real busy and see what I can find. I've seen it and it looks good, I just haven't treaded there yet.
We had a pretty good snow through Friday. We got around 6-8". It was quite beautiful out and me and the kid spent a fair amount of our time having fun in it.
That's one tired little girl.
February is always one of the BEST months to catch a big rainbow on Taneycomo with very few people on the water too. Our guiding schedule is typically lighter in February but March on through gets pretty busy so start thinking about this spring and summer. I haven't updated our Availability Calendar lately but we are starting to fill up for March and April.
There were at least a couple of spin fishing tournaments happening on the river this weekend. Several folks from Trout Hollow stopped by for some C-Shelled Scuds and NO4 Minnows. I showed them my preferred method of set up with 4 units and they were off to try them out. I'm anxious to get reports from them.
Four pretty strong units ran all weekend and they continue as I write this Sunday evening report. Beaver should be at Power Pool by Wednesday or Thursday. Table Rock has slowly risen to just over 1' above power pool with the rain, generation and the melt off that's just starting. Better weather is forecast for the next week here.
Flies!... If I had to rank the most important aspects about a fly and why they should catch a fish it would be a toss up between size and profile. One of my little slices of experience I often tell our guests is..."when the fishing gets tough...go smaller!" Smaller tippet, smaller flies...smaller everything! Most people here (in general) fish too big on all those fronts.
Well, fly profile is a close second. From a fishes perspective they are often seeing the flies dark silhouette against a lighter sky as they look up off he bottom for food. In those cases the profile is more important than the flies color or construction. Most of your "standard" fur bug, shell back "store brand" type scuds are quite fat and very "static" in the water (sans movement). Tying up some Nitro Scuds today, I thought I'd take a few pics and share that with you. I was also just kind of wondering if I could take a decent silhouette shot with my camera and yeah, it didn't turn out too bad.
The silhouette is followed by the same fly (purple Nitro Scud #10) like we are all so used to seeing flies (and judging it) and that unfortunately is in color and in the vise.
When the fish see that silhouette they make an immediate decision on whether that's food or not. We all know how important first impressions are right? That nano second of decision in a fishes little mind isn't judged on whether you matched the thread color to the body or whether you used antron dubbing instead of opossum. No, the first little brain buzz is that profile and while all the other details help catch fish...make sure that profile is something that they're used to seeing and there fore...something they'd eat. .
The Soft Shelled scud, C-Shelled Scud and Nitro Scud are all essentially the same profile. They've all been tweaked to make them stand out more or less under different conditions. The Bit Scud and it's family of brands is the best "small bug scud" in the skinny, shallow and clear water but in the boat with water running and targeting big browns while wading....this one is my favorite.
A few trips this week coming up and I'll be wrapping up a couple more replicas for Jan Hook and Byron Wheeler. Stay tuned for that and more.
Great day! The company, the atmosphere... Lots of fish and lots of fun. These guys are about as regular of fishing buddies as I have in my life these days. Solid as the day is long are these two. I fish with Michael at least half a dozen times a year and George makes most of those trips when he can. It wasn't even a question of where they wanted to fish. They've done it all with us from sight casting and catching 28" browns to Flat Lining and Deep Drifting in the boat. They've seen a lot of the Jr Circuit too and today ...they wanted to see more. Twist my arm, so we set out to see how much trouble we could get in to.
They each purchased one of our close out Ross Evolution Reels and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One on Georges 9' 4wt Loomis Xperience and one on the Loomis Eastfork 9' 5wt. Of course I had to throw them both a few times just to field test it you know. I have to tell you...I've never thrown anything better in a 9' 5wt than that Eastfork. It loads fast and smooth but without that pool cue feel you get with a lot of fast action rods. Without even trying you start shooting it out there 60 - 70'. I liked the Xperience a lot too. I initially had the impression that this was just a GL3 upgrade but I found the Xperience feeling lighter and a little faster in the hand than the GL3. Not a sales pitch, just some opinions. We also fished with the TFO Pro Series 8' 2wt, a Scott S4, 8' 6" 4wt, a Loomis Eastfork 9' 4wt and a 9' 5wt Loomis GL3.
We ended up doing more swinging and stripping than anything as it's something both George and Michael have the least experience doing and today, the fish liked that the most too. Here's our heroes with a few shots both staged and candid.
Water was running fairly well. As I set up rods this morning I put on a shad NO4 Minnow (see Jan 14th report) probably as much as a hook keeper as anything else. I had a couple of spots where I thought it "might" work but really didn't have any big expectations. More of a big river fly or so I thought. I gave one to Michael on the Easfork 5wt in one area where we started off and it was one after another after another. After that it was Michael always asking.... "Where's my stripping pole?"
That comment alone brought on a couple of jokes at the expense of girls with names like Taffi and Lotta. Hey, at least I didn't say..."that's what she said". You know the kind of low brow "guy banter" that every group of fishing buddies occasionally partake in. Some a little saltier than others I'm sure but I'd say we're a solid PG rating overall. You can say the F word in movies once and still get a PG rating right?... yeah, we'll go with that.
A few nice stops on the tour had these guys in to fish pretty much all day long. 18" was probably the top fish caught but quite a few in the 16-18" range. They each saw a lot of new water and even I found a brand new area myself where Michael was swinging and stripping a shad NO4 Minnow and hooking up most every cast.
Neither of us actually saw any fish in that particular run but it just looked fishy so he swung a few through. He caught one right off and I thought, maybe just a stray. Then he caught another...then another...and pretty much as long as we stayed there he was hooking up on the shad NO4. We were both impressed with that spot and only hunger pains for lunch pulled us away from there.
All day long we left fish that were still pretty hot in search of new water. The guys started counting how many they caught at each little locale and as we walked away from our last spot their combined total for the day was 97 fish to net. Not a bad way to spend a day and never see another fisherman.
Tomorrow and Friday I've heard up to 12" of snow for us. Highly unlikely based on previous gross over estimations by our weather people but I'm sure we'll get enough. That never slows down our fishing though so don't sweat it. Put a layer of fleece on and it's one of the most beautiful and peaceful times to be on the water. And a 100 fish or so aint bad either.
January
26th - A beautiful sunny day...the calm before the storm? A winter storm
to the south looks like it's going to
shave off the very southern part of Missouri on Thursday night/Friday am. As
of now it looks like we'll miss the worst of it and just get some snow.
When
George and Michael saw the forecast for their trip on Thursday they said..."that
looks like PERFECT weather for us". (They seem to be in the middle of nasty
weather a lot.) These are some tough men though who aint skeered of
no bad weather...especially when it
comes
to
fishing.
Shelley
(my wife)
said if it gets too bad they can sleep over at our place and we can play
trivial pursuit. Now, she and I are both pretty good at knowing meaningless
bits of information
but off the top of my head...I'm not sure I could pick two guys that could
kick our ass any worse at such an endeavor than George and Michael. Quiet
genius types you know what I mean? Oh they wouldn't tell you that but yeah,
that would be a tough gig. That's OK..we'll get McKenna on our side and if
there's any SpongeBob questions thrown our way... watch out.
Well, we've had quite a few people in the shop giving us some below the
dam fishing reports and they've been doing pretty well overall. Several
rainbows in full spawning regatta up to 24"-25". Until yesterday the flows
have been pretty fish able. We had a decent rain a couple
of days
ago and that has risen Beaver and Table Rock a tad. Actually Beaver lowered
to about 2.5' high above power pool before that rain but has remained steady
the last couple of days. The drainage from the rains pouring in and
their constant
two
hard units of generation have kept it stable. Table Rock has been cranking
4 units
now trying to keep up and not staying ahead of the run off combined with
Beavers generation so it is now standing above normal (power pool) at 915.2'.
Prior
to yesterdays
increase
in flow
most of the 20" plus rainbows were being caught on the north shore below
#3 and around the island off the south shore across from #2.
Be careful crossing
over
to that island. What I tell all our customers is to make sure you call the
dam before crossing and keep an eye on the bank. You're safe to cross from
the south shore ONLY when the tailwater level is 705' or lower. I've done
it at 706' before but that's
getting dicey. You can only do it from the south side, Rebar parking lot
and even if they are generating the same number of units all day long...the
level
can change up to 2' at times so pay heed. Once you cross at a certain
(tail water) level find a mark on the bank where you're fishing and keep
an eye
on it. If it starts going up make that call (336-5083) and make sure you
get back to the other side before it gets above 705.5' or so. Just a friendly
FYI from someone who has experienced the "ups and downs" of crossing that
shallow stretch during generation.
I got this picture from our buddy Jeremy
R. a while ago and I'm just getting to post it now. Kind of a low res image
I know but an awesome Red he caught last fall I believe. Great fish Jeremy!
I saw HUGE influx of fish in one of my little secret spots on the Jr Circuit
just the other day. That was before the rain so they've probably moved a
bit from where I saw them but it was a really nice sign. A warm rain in the
winter is always a good thing there.
Lastly. here's a report from a very recent trip of ours. Brian and Dawn had
so much fun they rented a boat the next day and went out there and did it
themselves. Looks like they figured it out pretty well. Thanks Brian, great
report!
Hello Brett,
Dawn and I would like to thank you for a great trip on
the 18th. I
think
she
is now hooked on the sport of fly fishing. Thank you for the encouragement
you gave Dawn, as well as the great instruction. You made her feel much
more comfortable in her pursuit to learn and enjoy fly fishing. The tips
you gave
both of us will definitely help us catch more trout in Taneycomo and
other trout waters throughout the west.
Your knowledge of fly fishing and
the
area trout waters is amazing. The next day we decided to rent a bass boat
and
drift down the trophy section for a half day. We both improved on the
hook setting
technique you showed us and I set up the rods identical to how you had
them on Monday.
All I can say is WOW! Fish after fish with nonstop action.
The
bite from outlet #3 to just past the boat ramp was insane. We caught
a lot of fish
in the 16"-18" range and a few larger. The best was a 21" with a huge
belly. Thanks for the C-Shelled Scuds you gave me after you showed me
how to tie
it on Monday. I put it on as my bottom fly and caught about 20 in a row
before loosing it on a snag. Then the hot fly was your purple Nitro Scud.
We ended
up with about 60 fish in about 5 hours.
Thanks again, your instruction
led to a 40th birthday to remember.
By the way, I did manage to put batteries
in
the camera this time!!
Take care,
Brian Sharp
P.S.
Here's a couple pics from Tuesday
My answer has been that my best guess is that they are lowering Table Rock enough so that they (the CORPS) can drain Beaver Lake (which is still about 4' high) which will in turn fill Table Rock back up to near power pool. Well, that may be happening now. Beaver has been running two units pretty hard the last couple of days and Table Rock is slowly starting to fill back up. Not much and I don't think it will reach 915 by the time Beaver is at power pool but Table Rock got to a low of 911.7' a couple of days ago. It's now up to 912.7 since Beaver has been doing its generation.
From what I've seen in the past I would say that Beaver drops a foot to every 3 - 4" of Table Rocks gain (if Table Rock doesn't generate at all). I'm sure there are nerds with pocket protectors out there who actually chart that stuff but it's an educated guess on my part based on what I've seen over the years. So, if Beaver dam continues to run 2 strong units that will probably get Beaver Lake down to normal power pool levels by mid week next week. When that happens then it would make sense that Table Rock will start shutting down. At that point then we can genuinely ask..."Why are they still running water at Table Rock?"...and if they still are...then I couldn't tell you.
Many months ago there was a story about Stockton Dam's turbine going down and that Table Rock would supplement that generation demand until it got fixed. I guess that's a possibility too?
There are some primo rainbows below the dam spawning right now so I'm as anxious as anyone. I saw a stunning 18" class rainbow in the JC a couple days ago fanning a bed pretty hard with about half a dozen males all around her. I feel like I'm on an island sometimes when I tell people the river fish (taneycomo rainbow trout who have lived in the river over a year) spawn in the winter and early spring. Conventional wisdom around here is that they spawn in the fall with the browns but I contest that those are only the hatchery/brood stock fish that do that.
Google "spawning rainbow trout" and you'll find that by nature...rainbows spawn in late winter / early spring. I believe that the hatchery fish spawning activity is controlled through light of day and water temps and that we see the stockers spawning in the fall for that reason. I'm guessing its easier to deal with spawning browns and rainbows at the same time so they try controlling that event.
But for the river fish...the BIG boys...I catch most of my biggest rainbows from January through April. Just something to stay optimistic about in these colder months and if they EVER shut this water off there will be some nice big fish waiting to have some fun with us. It's got to shut off soon right??
Dawn is a self proclaimed city girl and hasn't done much of any kind of fishing at all let alone fly fishing. After our trip today she told me she had been nervous for days anticipating this trip not thinking she would be able to do it. She also said that non of her friends even believed she was going to try it. Yes, she had that apprehensive look to her like so many newbies do but as always, she not only did well but she shined and had a great feel for the sport.
Brian wanted to try the Jr Circuit at some point today but we agreed that Dawn would enjoy getting her feet wet (so to speak) in the boat doing a lot of catching and getting a good feel for handling a fish on a fly rod.
I teach two completely different casting techniques on Combo Trips. The traditional casting stroke when we wade then our own Flat Lining technique that we do during our Deep Drifting in the boat. They each have their own idiosyncrasies and you cant use one in place of the other but the Flat Lining lets you cast and fish DEEP from a boat in heavy current with NO TANGLES! You can get it out there 60-70' if you really want to but you don't need to with that much water running so we usually keep it around 30 - 40 feet off the bow.
Well, you'd be hard pressed to say who caught the most fish today. Brian is very solid with the stick but you know how well those ladies catch on to things and Dawn not only stayed tangle free all day but she also stayed hooked up all day long too catching the biggest of the trip.
Another one of those cuttbows (that don't exist in here). Those fish are just studs when they top the 16" range and that one was about 18". Coral C-Shelled Scuds in #14 - #12 were the ones. We've had a real long stretch where purple versions of the same could do no wrong. They caught fish as well but by the end of our time out there I had on two coral C-Shelled Scuds on both rods and the top bite was almost as good as the bottom. Lots of fish caught out there as per usual.
They were telling us it was going to hit 60 today with sunshine. Well we never came close to that out in the boat with a blanket of fog keeping the sun away. After lunch we decided to do a little tour on the JC to wrap up our day. Brian knew the score out there (more technical and tougher fish) but I told Dawn she probably wont catch as many fish out there and they will be a little tougher to out smart. She was up for the challenge and in a couple of hours of fishing that water she managed to land 10 - 12 fish with Brian doing about the same.
Brian tied on a little black midge with a clear bead "bubble back" that he uses on the San Juan and picked up a few on that fly. One I may just have to play around with a little more.
This afternoon was the best part of our day as you can see the sun coming out and we might have finally hit (or came close to) that 60 degrees. A beautiful winters evening out there with sunshine and long shadows. Brian turns 40 tomorrow and hopefully today's fishing will help ease him in to that part of life's transition.
What a couple of nice folks I had the pleasure of fishing with today. I told Brian he may have created a monster with Dawn. She was pretty good and will only get better. Just make sure he keeps the batteries charged in that camera Dawn.
January
16th - Our new friends Eric and his son Garrett from Colorado got their first
taste of Ozark trout fishing and I think they liked the flavor. We can go in
several different directions once we leave the shop door and I explained some
of the options we had for these fine young men.
It's hard to beat Deep Drifting
from the boat when the water generates on Taneycomo. For pure numbers of
fish with a good chance at a 20" er that's golden. We can also don the waders,
beach the boat on several islands and shoals and wade the big river and of
course ...the Jr Circuit is always a fun change of pace for skinny water/technical
fishing. We decided on a Combo Trip starting on the JC (wading) in the am
then hitting the boat after lunch for a nice drift and a bunch of fish.
At the moment
the
Jr
Circuit is good but not great. We plucked out about 20 - 30 fish this morning
from there and had a real good time doing it. Here's some of that action. *****
That last shot is a big old shiner being spit up by about a 15" rainbow.
A meal like that would probably last a few days for a fish that size. We're
still
fishing small in there going with #22 BZ Midges, RD Midges, G-Bugs and Bit
SCuds (also #22's) in a variety of colors. Cold water means super subtle
hits so you better be paying attention. These guys were very solid with the
stick
hooking up with several doubles and generally having a great time. They don't
do much dead drifting back home so I think we showed them a few tricks of
that trade that should help them back on their home waters.
We warmed up back at
the shop for some lunch then hit the boat before wrapping up the day. Solid
as usual! These guys figured they broke the 100 fish mark pouring it on pretty
well out
there.
Gray and coral Soft Shelled Scuds in #12 and #14's were definitely #1 in
our mild 2 unit flow. The top was slower than from Andy's on down but still
solid
and that's where we caught our biggest fish in the 18" class.
The lower
section is lights out as usual. From the place I call Dunbar (the dry creek
on hole #3 at Pointe Royale) down past Fall Creek is unconscious with fish.
Mostly smaller but plenty of 14-16" fish in the mix and the occasional
thumper showing up. These were some real nice folks and we had some decent
weather
to play around in today for a change to. Good time.
My 2 wt had a rusty dun BZ Midge #22 above a ginger/olive SG-Bug #20 from a previous trip. Looked like a good way to start things out. 4 - 5 casts in a row turned a fish each time then like a rookie... I snapped a bigger one off on the hookset. Oh yeah, we were using 7x last time out weren't we. From there I kept things simple and tied on a ginger/olive LSG-Bug #16. They didn't want that like they wanted the smaller, dead drifted stuff but enough to get me a photo to share with you.
The local bank read 55 degrees last evening! It felt warmer. We're supposed to be getting 45-55 temps the next few days. What a break from those nasties we were going through last week.
Table Rock still churns today with 3 units going mild and the lake level at 911.9'. When's the last time we saw that number? Take a look at the SWPA link at the bottom of this page @ 5:00pm tonight to see what they have planned for us over the weekend. I'm going to be optimistic. I have a couple of trips wrapped around Marlins City Championships in bowling so I'll be busy but will have some fun stuff to report I'm sure.
Table Rock is right at 912' while they continue to generate mildly 24/7. I expect this weekend will see the water off starting sometime on Saturday. You know what that opinion and 50 cents will buy you right? It's scheduled to run very mildly today (25 mw) which is usually just one unit. That's pretty wadeable on Taneycomo. We have some trips coming up this weekend and I'm going to try to get out today for a little test run at a couple of places.
The NO4 Minnow. Meaning the 4th version of a revised Simple Minnow. This one is the fly fisherman's answer to the spin fisherman's Rapala minnow. Shown is the classic black and gold that is such a good color option for the White River system trout. They say the black and gold imitates the Striped Shiner but honestly those fish are a much lighter brown than black. One of those classic cases where an exact match to a native species isn't always the best solution.
This fly is a rough and tumble stripping fly. The tail "closes" when stripped and "opens" when paused really replicating a swimming, fleeing bait fish. Shown here are shad and the black/gold versions.
A GREAT fly for that "pound the banks" kind of guy or gal who likes to cast and stay active. I spent significant time figuring out a way to create a real minnow profile meaning a deep but thin body. Here's the top view of that same fly.
I build this thing in layers as I tie it and I think it makes just the best, all around minnow profile I've fished. The original Simple Minnow is "softer" with less detail. This one has sharper contrasting colors and of course the 3D Hologram Eyes. Killer Smallmouth fly too in a little bigger sizes. Shown is a #8.
Bryan and Ashley came in the shop yesterday after wading this low running water on Taney. They said they did pretty well. Bryan was using ginger/wine SG-Bugs I believe. They stopped in for a break before hitting the Jr Circuit and I gave them a refresher course on tying the W2-Egg.
These guys are like me in that they typically aren't big fans of fishing egg patterns but that W2-Egg fishes differently. I met these young men plus a few others through Bud Hogan and all have just been stand up guys. Bud tells me that Bryan was THE MAN down in the FLA Keys as a flats guide a few years ago. Of course I've never heard that from Bryan because he's one of those humble and unassuming good guys. They've all done some more exploring on the JC and Ashley gave me the 411 on some new water I haven't been to yet so I'm excited to scope out some of that. So many of our customers are so helpful that way. They make me a better fisherman showing me new water and new ways that they like to catch them. They promised me a report out there so I'll share when I get one. Both are excellent fly fisherman so if fish are there..they'll catch them.
As I write this I can look out the back porch of the shop across the river and see a Bald Eagle perched in an old dead sycamore tree. Now some people would say that's braggin'. I get an eagle while you sit in your office or cube listening to Tiffany next door tell her friend about how she threw up on her date last night. Maybe it is braggin? But hey!...at least I gave you the eagle story right? Otherwise all you'd get today is Tiffany and her puke stories. Now you can think about trout and eagles and your next time you get to be on the water and soon....Tiffaney and her 2:00am burrito from last night that is now encrusted on her pony tail (missed a spot) will be all but a memory.
January
8th - Man is it cold outside! It's reading ZERO at the 8:00am hour
this morning. The diesel turned over about as slow as it ever had today.
We bought a cord of
wood two days
ago just for these next couple of days we're in.
Fishing???....I personally couldn't tell
you. I had a few people call me saying they were going out but I never heard
reports until Clint Burns just called me this am for a fly order. He came
down this Tuesday and fished the edges with Bit Scuds and a red zebra midge
with
nickel bead and wrapping. He said he had a real nice day on numbers on that
set up. That was before the worst of it came. Today, I could see them going
out to start their car, feeling the cold and saying....Maybe a nice
college hoops
game
by the
fire
would
be
better.
Gary hit the Jr Circuit a few days ago and did pretty well. He caught a 20"
plus fish I've seen on my trips recently but I haven't been able to get him
to hit. Gary caught him on a black Zebra #20...all black. Like our BZ Midge
it sounded like.
For
me it's inventory
this week with a dash of fly orders and replicas thrown in. I haven't fished
since Monday I believe but will hit it one time this weekend if it breaks
like they're saying. Sunday looks like the best day yet getting up near 32
with
sunshine. Still cranking a little water for us as of now. I have several
people on the watch list waiting for a call by me to come down for
a rainbow chasing trip when the water stays off for a spell. Last weekend
was a good
sign. With
normal temps coming up I may be shooting for next week with that call
By
popular demand, here's my new little LSG-Bug (Little Stripping...G-Bug)
In the vise and resting on a quarter is this #18 version. All you wooly bugger
guys and gals will like this one. It's an uber micro stripping fly for wary,subtle
fish in calmer water. I've been
fishing with them on many of my recent trips and everyone seems to enjoy
the results. Clint's order is for a trip he's taking down to the White in
a month
or so. They all work down there in fact he says he always makes new friends
down there when he starts cranking in fish. Thanks a lot for the cigars too
Clint. They were definitely put to good use.
I don't have these little bugs in the catalog yet.
I'm
woefully behind on adding new bugs
to
the
catalog.
This
is
usually
the
time
of year I
have time to do that kind of stuff but I haven't hit that stride as of
yet. Regardless, you can always reference and order a fly you've read about
on
reports when
you place an online order or do what Clint just did and give me a call.
I'll be back Monday and I should have a report on an actual fishing this
time.
Here are a few more nice note from recent trips of ours. Thanks everyone.
Brett:
Quick note of Thanks for the trip on JC, had a great time and as usual learned
some valuable insight to improve my approach to our passion of fly fishing…………..Also
to wish you and family a very Merry Christmas & Happy & Prosperous
New Year for 2010 after 2009 we all deserve it!
Larry & Nancy
Brett;
It was great to see you again on the 12/28. Lucas
and I really enjoyed the time spent with you. I told Lucas any time spent
fishing is quality time and when you fish with Brett that quality increases
expediently. Lucas said he really enjoyed the day and thought fly fishing
is awesome. I appreciate the kind words you offered in the fishing report.
You a a great guy and your obligation to your guests is above & beyond
the usual. You truly work hard for your clients and make every effort to
offer a successful and fun experience. You gave me an all time fantastic
fishing day including a fish of a lifetime. I contribute your insight, eyesight,
and expertise in such a rewarding day. It is always an enjoyable learning
experience to spend time with you.
Thanks again and sincere best wishes to
you and your family for a safe, healthy and happy 2010.
Ken
Brett,
We wanted to say thanks for a great day of wading. We both learned a great
deal and think we are on steady footing to continue the sport.
Keith Wolkoff
I also want to thank everyone who sent us cards and gifts
this Christmas and in general, everyone who chose us for their fly fishing
destination
over the
last year.
We sincerely appreciate the fact you choose us. I know every dollar is
a little tighter these days and when you spend your time and money with
us
I always try my
best to make the experience the best it can possibly be. Thanks again everyone
and we hope to see you again in 2010.
Brett,
just wanted to thank you again for the beautiful replica of the brown trout that you provided for me for my wonderful surprise Christmas present from Joanne. The fish is beautiful with markings that are replicated right down to her fins. The workmanship was perfect, far better than Bass Pro or Cabelas could have provided. I appreciate you working with Joanne to provide this replica for me this Christmas, the best present that I could ever ask for. I enjoy looking at your web site and looking forward to a guided trip to the JC,
keep up the good work, I believe you are the best guide in Branson for trout.
Thank you,
Mike.
PS we named the fish Dottie, the boys really don't like her, (ha).
Nothing but good natured jabs when those three get together. As the story goes...Matt hooked one bigger than that when they were out by themselves after Mike caught his with us. Matt said Mike screwed up the net job...Mike says operator error on the fisherman. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
These are close ups of some eyes on one of my replicas I'm working on. A 25" brown still waiting on some detail painting but I wanted to point out the eyes.
In my opinion it's what makes a good replica more than anything else. You obviously need a good "paint job" for lack of a better term but the eye makes it look most realistic over every other aspect. I've found this cool way of creating an eyelid (I'm sure there's a fish name for that) by leaving the first few coats of paint on the eye then scraping it off and shaping it back leaving a portion of it cupping the eye to look like the real eyelid thing. I guess that's my pet peeve when it comes to replicas or taxidermy in general. Seeing that clown eye staring back at you just makes every other good aspect about the mount irrelevant. I'll have to try to remember to post the same angles after it's finished so you can see the final look.
Table Rock has risen slightly to 913' and they have been running 1 - 2 units mildly since Monday afternoon. It's very cold and snowy around here so it may be a generation demand issue. The break to normal temps looks to start around Sunday where it's supposed to get to near freezing then getting warmer for the next few days ahead. They're reporting -10 for a low in the next night or two. This cold blast is moving across America at the moment so we're not the only one in it's grip. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's usually colder in the winter so I dont need half of my local news deducated to telling me about it. Although it was pretty funny seeing that it snowed at the global warming Climate Conference in Copenhagen.
I know...Ozark Fishing Guide rule #27...dont talk Big 12 or politics with your guests but come on. For what it's worth (and that's not much) here's my take on it. The earths average temperature (in it's history) has been colder than it is now and it has been warmer than it is now. It will most likely do the same thing long after we're all gone. If I could ask the experts just one question it would be..."what exact temperature are we shootin for here?" Seriously...is there a magic number we have in mind? How do we know that's the best temperature for earth?...Once we reach that perfect temperature and it starts to cool are we going to try to stop global cooling? If you follow the philosophy to its' ultimate conclusion then there must be one exact, perfect temperature that's ideal right. I just think by asking that question it shows the folly in the philosophy.
You just better hope the weather breaks soon so we can go out and get back to writing fishing reports. Nobody wants to hear my political rants all winter long.
I always thought that Dennis Miller had the best take on global warming...."I was a little chilly anyway."
The good news is that this is the 4th day in a row that the water has been off. We've heard mixed reports from some of our customers but most found it to be pretty good this weekend as long as they were fishing small. Those fishing bigger stuff like buggers and streamers found it slower. NICE, nice rainbows are showing up and spawning below the dam. Tom from our January 1st trip caught more than he could count plus a couple of over 20" fish on olive Bit Scuds and G-Bugs. Chad said he had a banner day too using some of the same things including Zebra midges. Dave and Mick found it slower using the bigger buggers and such. That's fishing I guess.
Probably a little better out there this afternoon. Just a couple of degrees higher is enough to make cold water trout start getting a little more active. Some water that was kind of dead this am saw fish rising to midges this afternoon. E-Midges and BZ's were OK and I usually had them as my weight on the set ups we threw (7x fluoro) but it was the venerable olive or ginger/olive SG-Bug in a #20 that caught 90% of everything.
I skipped the dead water we found this morning but pointed it out to Chad for later reference. From there we hopped around to some new water until it was just about too dark to even see anymore.
Chad is a fun guy to hang out with. He's a good fishermen and I was very impressed when right out of the box with his first fish hooked using the 2 wt, he kept his hand OFF the line and did a quick little hookset catching his first subtle little rainbow of the day. Why is that impressive? Well, to me it's one of the things I first teach folks who are starting out with us. To catch the most fish you need to use the lightest line or tippet. To use light tippet you need to know how to set the hook and ultimately play the fish without breaking off. It starts with a good drag on a good reel but it ends and delivers with a good technique and that's usually followed by a fish in the net. Chad was all over it all day long and never broke a fish off remembering that tip from our first trip together. Good to see it in action. Having that in his bag, I know that when Chad hooks a big fish...he'll probably land it.
So big Tom McProud is another in a long line of fine folks who wanted to learn the highly classified waters of the Jr Circuit. The Jr Circuit!...just the kind of thing the government would find as unfair business practices. Trying to corner the market on places to fish...unfair to the competition, you know...that whole chestnut. Probably add a "cool tax" for fishing it or something. Our year end business taxes are due can you tell??
Water off again for us this am even though they scheduled it to go all day. Regardless of that info, we had a goal in mind so water off be damned...we were hitting the JC. Just a half day venture found a very cold but sunny am and no wind. While it registered as the coldest day we've fished this week it was probably the most pleasant. A half day will get a decent education out there but we jumped around to as much water as possible.
About the same kind of bite as the last couple of days. We need a little warming spell to pump some life in the water. My stream thermometer only goes down to 35 and it's been there in lock down for about 5 days. That's a little cool to get fish real active but we're finding the most likely candidates to play with and staying hooked up pretty well.
Just a little taste of what we're playing with out there. Stunning colors on these fish and the residents are just specimens in every sense of the word. About the same kind of bugs as the last few days too. I'm always tweaking sizes and colors of working patterns to show these guys something different now and then. It's definitely expanding my knowledge and my offering for Ozark trout overall.
Tom is a good customer of ours and a great guy to spend a day with. He plans to hit Taneycomo now that we have some water off. He's also one of those guys who seems to tangle with big fish now and then.
December
31st - Brian Lane and his dad John had planned to just do the Jr
Circuit today. We did that but afterwards John wanted to turn it in to a
full day out
finishing up
in the boat. The JC is still a little slow so we skimmed over the slower
areas and learned a lot of new water. The better stretches were giving up
fish pretty
well but when folks want to learn this new water we jump around a bit to
get in as much info as we can which sacrifices a few fish caught. Between
them they
probably only caught around 20 fish this morning out there but mission accomplished
in
learning
some
spots
and how to fish them.
John is newer to the sport and stills like to just catch
fish. Well, when it comes to just catching a bunch of fish it's hard to beat
the boat when the water is running. That's what was scheduled for us today
but by late morning the water had been shut off. I offered that to John with
a likelihood of hooking up with big rainbows but he wanted to better his
knowledge of catching from the boat so that's what we did. Ridiculous action
out there! Even a few browns still kicking around.
We needed only one fly below a float and a just a little bit of an attention
span. The fly is an old song often sung here when fishing "no water" from
a boat. The
ginger/olive Baitfish Jig. We caught a few on the Big Hurt and the LSG-Bug
(Little Stripping G-Bug...with tungsten head). That little deal below a float
and a
BZ Midge (JC colors) was a blast on the 2wt rod but the GOB (Ginger Olive
Baitfish) was clearly king. Too much???...I know....stop me before I drown
in my own
acronyms.
Well it was just crazy good out there with John. When casting the
(TFO Pro Series) 2 wt he found
himself
reaching
a little with his arm while casting. I showed him the ole towel under the
arm trick to keep his casting path a little tighter and that was a real eye
opener
for
him. He then started laying out really nice loops in the direction of those
fish staying tangle free all afternoon and when he counted his 50th fish in
the net (in about 3 hours of fishing) he was ready to call it a day.
Oh yeah,
almost forgot...how about a little 20" variety just for good measure.
John is really good at detecting strikes. That's what it all comes down to
once you
do everything else right. Seeing and ultimately reacting to those painfully
subtle strikes turns a day of fishing in to a day of catching. Brian is very
solid as well in all aspects. Those dentists seem to love this sport? Not
sure why that is but they tend to make good fly tiers as well as good fisherman.
A great day with a couple of great guys. It's wonderful to see a father and
son
sharing
time
together
doing
something
they each have a particular fondness for. Brian likes a little different
angle to this game than John does but they both enjoy the catching, the learning
and their own growth in the sport in their own way. There's something for
everyone
in fly fishing. Looking for a clean and healthy addiction?...this might
be it.
Travis, his brother Nick and dad Mark were my fishing buddies today. Travis is one of those guys who has it bad. Loves the practice we call fly fishing and wanted a little shot of K on the JC to have in his back pocket. Mark and Nick were first timers and basically just wanted to catch fish so...our plan today was to hit the boat in the AM with all 3 boys then hit the Jr Circuit in the PM with Travis.
I like my midges with coffee please. Everything worked out quite nicely for us today as we just hammered them in the boat. A couple of mild units made things very manageable and the BIG FOUR boat flies of late (purple, black, gray and coral C-Shelled Scuds) in #14's and #12's is all we used. Virtually nobody on the big water these days. It's definitely a cold stretch of weather we're having but apparently we have some tough guys on our guest list as everybody is showing up with bells on and rods in hand.
The same kind of areas were good. The top half of the Trophy Section was slower and the bottom half was really good. Really nice and fun guys and we had a lot of laughs out there.
In the PM Travis and I burned up most of our daylight jumping around on the Jr Circuit (JC). About like yesterday on the bite. Slower than it has been but if you wanted to just hit the highlights a guy could net about 30-40 fish a day pretty easy.
Just a little taste of the good life. More fun than a human being should be allowed to have right? When you're out there catching fish and having fun you don't even think about being cold. I haven't heard a complaint yet in fact when the sun goes down and we look up we're surprised the day has gone by so fast. Good stuff out there. Give it a try.
Well, this cold snap we're in has slowed our fish down in there. We're catching but it's subtle and quick and everything needs to be right to get them to hit. Hard to beat the olive Bit Scud/G-Bug combo on Rio, 7x Fluoroflex Plus. #20's and #22's on the flies and occasionally a tungsten BZ midge will act as our weight and lead fly catching a few. Those too are tied small like in the #20 - #22's and a new light olive flavor (JC Midge colors) seems to be best.
We had some doubles and had a couple spots that had good numbers and good action. Throughout our travels though it was slower overall. Doing the JC in the AM we broke for lunch @ the shop then saw that Taneycomo was generating very mildly (around 703.5' high). The Circuit was OK but not great...I proposed Taneycomo and wading a few spots that fish OK under 1 or 2 generators so that's how we finished up today. Again, not the best bite going on out there either during the mild generation. Water off I'm sure will be great but wading DURING is usually much slower. In hindsight we should have stayed on the Jr Circuit.
We caught fish but they had our number for the most part. They were rising now and then and we'd catch a few on midges when they did. We'd also see them flashing on the bottom taking something and that's where the olive G-Bug did best. The G-Bug was best overall. Here's a little of that action from Taneycomo.
Real good guys to fish with and hopefully I helped them a little with their casting and catching. They caught it tougher than average today but those are usually the days where you learn more. When it's easy your drifts don't have to be perfect or your fly selection is much broader. When it's tougher you have to tighten everything up and make every drift a good one to increase your chances. They did a great job today.
A frequent guest of ours yet fairly new to the sport himself. We were recalling that just about every time Ken goes fishing with us he ends up with a big fish on the end of his line. He's had one of the all time great days with us (25, 26, 27, 31) and I've probably mentioned that before on previous reports about him but Ken is so unassuming if not a bit self effacing about his talents as a fly fisherman he deserves a few props as an all around good guy.
I know a few guys like Ken. You hear them say things like.."Ah, I'm no good"....or..."I just got lucky"....."even a blind hog finds an acorn blah, blah, blah"....and I say, Maybe? But when you always end up being the guy catching the big fish nearly EVERY TIME you go fishing!...maybe you're not quite the neophyte you think you are. So!...here we go again.
Yep, about a 20"er for Ken on the Jr Circuit. I cant claim to have "guided" him to to it either. I pretty much just said..."see that deeper water over there?...there's probably some fish in it...have at it!"
Lucas was a first timer and Ken wanted me to make sure he got in to some fish today. I've seen that fish in there before but I didn't see it today until Ken's reel started to sizzle a little bit up stream. That fish has a black head on one side. One of those pigmently challenged types you see now and then. Doesn't seem to effect them too much. Lucas joined in on the fun too and had some pretty hot little stretches including quite a few doubles.
Yeah it was cold but we dressed well and stayed warm. Pretty comfortable really plus we always break for lunch back at the shop for a warm up. Ken specifically requested the JC so we did a pretty good tour of where it's been hot and had a pretty nice day. Real fun stuff, lots of fish and...solitude.
Good, not great but a very productive day overall. There were areas where we caught them cast after cast and others that would only give up half a dozen or so. Table Rock still churns 2 - 4 units 24/7 but mild amounts most of the time. I haven't been in the boat for a couple of weeks now. Everyone wants to do the Jr Circuit so that's what we're doing most of the time. I would think the mild generation has been good for boat fishing too. I'll have to check it out one of these days if non of our guests want to try it.
It was pretty good for us today. I've had a lot better but I've had worse too. It's usually pretty consistent and it's usually pretty good. The olive Bit Scud and G-Bug are hard to beat. BZ Midges in #22's, RD Midges can do well in certain colors. A light olive/dark green version of the RD Midge can be pretty good. Even done in the E-Midge style (CDC wing) can find them going for it. I should call that fly the JC Midge cause that's the only place i do well with it. It's just different water out there. It's a little more technical and the fish are more challenging. Delicate maybe a better word but it's a lot of fun.
No pictures of these guys today. You know how the veterans are. It better be something SPECTACULAR before I get my hands wet. ALways fun hooking up with Dave.
December 24th - A cancellation yesterday has us on an extended period of time off for the next few days. Trips every day next week and then some so we'll have lots of stuff to share with you soon. Here's to everyone having a very Merry Christmas. Little Mckenna at 4 years old has been counting down these days for well over a month now. She's at a great age to share the holidays with. Take care and we'll see you next week. Brett
We never got a good picture of it when we actually caught the fish but it did have one very defining characteristic. It's stomach was pure white below the typical dark brownish/black mottling they get on their underside when they get big.
The rock I used for the name plate was one I found a long time ago but knew it would make a good one at some point. It had that little indentation just perfect to place the fly in that was used to catch the fish. The angles matched up well with how I positioned the fish on the driftwood. The fly by the way was an olive/brown SG-Bug #16. That's one you just have to have in the box when the big browns are running.
Mckenna and I went for a little hike today to a couple of spots and found some real pretty water. With a nice Helix in tow I promised the playground for princess if we could go play in the water for a while. Truth be known, she would rather do that than the playground anyway so it was all good. Needless to say we found the hard evidence necessary to call it trout water. While I didn't have the hardware to test them I could imagine how a little olive G-Bug swung over these fish would have found them fighting for it. Just really cool stuff and each time I find some new water I'm like a kid in the candy store. Of course my date for the afternoon was more interested in throwing rocks than throwing loops so we just observed. I'll be giving a real fishing report on the matter real soon so stay tuned.
The winter months are a bit slower for guided trips overall so I'm trying to wrap up some more replicas. I'll have one for Mike Fritz to show in a day or two and I'll post a couple of pics.
