Branson Fishing

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/18/11

2011-02-18T09:30:00.003-08:00

What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, we were setting record low temperatures below zero. Yesterday we set a record high of 73 degrees, and the forecast is looking like spring is here. But it’s not. Don’t be fooled. It’s mid-February.

But for now, boating on the lake is better than tolerable; it’s quite nice. This morning we actually had fog on the lake from the cold water and warm, humid air, just as in summer months. Generation has ceased except for a weird two-unit all-day run yesterday, which made no sense to me. I’ve told lots of people that the Corps probably wouldn’t run any water until this warm spell passes and we’re back to winter weather, but yesterday the Corps made me a liar . . . again.

I’ve done quite a bit of fishing this week, so some of my report is firsthand. The funniest and most successful trip was Wednesday when I got to fish with Guide Vince Elfrink. We took the boat out and went up past Short Creek to the Riverpoint boat ramp (south side of the lake), kept the boat a little south of center and fished to the deep side using an olive micro jig, two-pound line and a float, setting the depth at five feet. Between the boat traffic and a breeze every once in a while, the surface was broken enough to keep the jig moving. The rainbows liked it! We caught rainbows, one after the other, for two hours. Surprisingly, some of these rainbows were larger than the rainbows I caught earlier in the week in the trophy area, but there were a lot of dinks, too.

The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery has stocked its fish once this week down in the Landing area, while they have stocked rainbows from the federal hatchery in Neosho several more times this week. These rainbows typically are smaller although, learning the almost all our rainbows stocked in the last three months have come from Neosho, I know they’ve stocked some decent rainbows too.

Our water temperature is very cold for this time of year. I think our normal water temperature for February should be in the mid- to upper 40’s. Clint Hale, hatchery manager, told me they’re getting 42-degree water from their intake. I’m getting 39 degrees when I’m out in the boat below the dam while the water is running. We usually don’t see 39 until May. Colder than normal temperatures will slow the rate of rainbows’ growth. That may be the reason Shepherd is holding its rainbows and letting the Neosho ones take up the slack. Rainbows stocked in Taneycomo are supposed to average more than 11 inches in length.

Earlier in the week, I fished between Lookout and Fall Creek and threw 1/16^th-ounce jigs using two-pound line. With no generation and very little wind, the trout bit fairly well. We caught a couple of rainbows pushing 19 inches, but most of the other trout were closer to 14 inches. We threw sculpin-, sculpin/peach- and sculpin/ginger-colored jigs.

With the water running yesterday, we drifted pink 1/125^th-ounce marabou jigs under a float four feet deep from Lookout to Fall Creek and picked up rainbows here and there. We stayed from the middle to the shallow side of the lake. I bet if we had tied on a red San Juan worm and a #12 gray “peppy” scud on two-pound line with a small split shot, we would have slayed the rainbows drifting in the same area.

Below Fall Creek, fishing with a jig-and-float or throwing a jig straight should be one of the best techniques in catching fish this weekend. Use two-pound line if you dare but four-pound is okay. If you’re using two-pound line, throw a 1/16^th-ounce jig, but if you’re using four-pound line, throw a 3/32^nd-ounce jig. Keep several colors handy to try—sculpin, olive, brown, ginger and the combo colors with sculpin, ginger, peach and orange.

Night crawlers are catching larger rainbows than Power Bait but either bait is good. Inject the worm with some air to get it off the bottom and only use half at a time. You could slide a Gulp floating egg up above the night crawler to float it off the bottom, too. Gulp colors that have been good are white/orange and white/pink. Yellow nuggets have been hot, too.

One more pointer—when handling rainbows in the boat or on the dock, if you’re going to release the fish, handle the trout with a WET rag, not a dry one. All a dry rag does is wipe all the protective slim from a trout’s body, leaving it susceptible to bacteria and disease. If the hook is down deep in the trout’s throat, cut the line; don’t pull it out.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/18/11

2011-02-18T09:30:00.001-08:00

Winter Trout Fishing in Branson, MO

2011-01-08T08:22:00.001-08:00

Winter Trout Fishing - One of Branson's Best Kept Secrets

Lake Taneycomo Tournaments Keep Cabin Fever at Bay

Branson, Mo. -- Lake Taneycomo, that runs through the heart of Branson, is one of the best trout fisheries in the Midwest. Winter is often the best season for trout fishing on Taneycomo. During late fall Table Rock Lake, which feeds Taneycomo, turns over, inverting the waters. This, in turn, causes the water flowing into Taneycomo to hold more oxygen for trout.

January 29 and February 26 fishermen will take off at 8 a.m. from Lilleys' Landing to try their luck and skill for cash prizes and trophies in two public tournaments. The entry fee is $50 per each two-man team. Both tournaments are catch-and-release and anglers can only use artificial baits. All entrants and spectators are invited to a free meal immediately following the weigh-in at 4 p.m.

In the 30-plus years of annual winter tournaments on Lake Taneycomo, anglers have learned to prepare for a wide range of weather. Some years, the high temperature has reached 70; others have dipped to below freezing with snow and sleet. But the weather is all part of the outdoor adventure, contestants say, as they just add layers and pack hand and feet warmers. "The weather doesn't matter," said Bob Dwiggins of St. Louis, who plans to spend about five weekends fishing at Lilleys' Landing this winter. "It's always fun here."

Marabou jigs have long proved to be a mainstay on the lake, because they are cheap at $1 each, and can last through a dozen or more fish. Lilleys' Landing tackle shop carries jigs in several different size of weights to vary with Taneycomo's generation schedule. Scuds and midges are also great to try in the upper lake, sometimes with a tandem rig tied with an egg fly or a San Juan worm 18 inches below the scud. Phil Lilley of Lilleys' Landing, said,"We see midge hatches almost every day in the winter here on the lake, and that means our rainbows are ready and waiting to munch on little flies swimming up from the bottom and hatching on the surface."

For current fishing tips, anglers can go to Lilleys' sister website, www.Ozarkanglers.com to find articles, ask questions in a forum and read reports.

Media Contact
Megan Cummings
417-334-6380
Megan@lilleyslanding.com

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 10/22/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-10-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

The theme of this record is like a broken record . . . wait it is a broken record. Our beautiful fall weather hasn't changed in weeks with a high blue sky, 75-85 degrees, no rain and only a little wind. Generation patterns . . . again, hardly any change. Most days, water is running any where from a half unit to two units, 25-85 megawatts, and varying during the day. Some days the generation starts at 3 p.m. and runs through the night. On others it starts at midnight and runs through the next day. The only consistent pattern is that there's no pattern at all. Little water runs on weekends, but not always, except that there is usually no generation most of the day on Sundays.

Fishing -- if anything it has slowed a bit. That's what we're hearing from guests and guides alike. But the minute or hour you think there's no trout in the lake, they turn on, and you can catch a bunch of nice rainbows. It's still fishing. Not biting? In the fall, low oxygen in the water usually gets blamed, but the rainbows I have caught fought hard and swam off quickly, indicating they have plenty of oxygen. The other reason suggested for the slowdown was fewer rainbows in the lake, but the Missouri Department of Conservation is still stocking. Fishing pressure has actually decreased the last week, too, and will continue to decrease in the coming weeks.

Night crawlers are still king, by far. We're carrying live minnows due to so many requests, but I don't think they're working any better than worms or Power Bait. The Gulp variety is still catching some rainbows but mostly smaller ones. And we do have some real small rainbows swimming around right now. I caught one last evening that didn't stretch to four inches. I was drifitng a san juan worm and a scud using a small split shot and felt something kind of like bumping gravel, but not quite. But not big enough to be a real fish? It was. It didn't stop bumping in a weird way, so I reeled it in and fought a fish on the hook. They are small!

I have a new recipe for a drift rig I want to share. I've been using it lately and I think it's a great rig. Tie the normal rig with a hook or fly on one end and a loop closer to the other end, but leave off the bell weight. Instead, make a loop, loop it through and make a small, simple knot in the line real close to the end of the line. That's it. Then pinch a split shot on the line and slide it down to the knot. What makes this better is, first, if your weight snags on the bottom, the shot will just pull loose. Tie another knot and pinch on another shot. This also allows you to change size of split shots easily. I really like this since our generation has been changing so much during the day lately. If it slows I can put on a smaller shot. If it speeds up, I can pinch on a little bigger shot. No, I don't have these in our tackle shop yet, but I'm working on getting them tied up.

I used one of these rigs yesterday, drifting a light brown san juan worm, medium chenille, 6x tippet, #10 hook and a #14 dead peppy scud on the bottom and caught some real nice rainbows. I boated to the dam about 11 a.m., after water started running at 9 a.m. There was just enough water to get all the way to the cable, although I was holding my breath running through the rebar area. I threw a 1/8-ounce sculpin jig from the cable down past rebar and caught five rainbows in the 15-to 18-inch range. They hit hard and fought hard. They were hungry. No browns. I didn't do as well through the big hole area but caught a few smaller rainbows down closer to the boat ramp. I worked the KOA stretch with no results. Started drifting my worm and scud at Lookout and quickly boated an 18-inch rainbow. It jumped three times and made five hard runs. I was amazed that this fish was this full of fight this time of year, pleasantly surprised. Caught six more rainbows before heading back to the resort, all in the slot. I could see our small rainbows as I drifted down, but I guess the big ones were getting to the flies first. Same result in the evening, but I found the dinks, too.

Night fishing below the dam has been a mixed bag. With water running so much at night, it's been tough for most who aren't used to fishing at night. There's some room at outlets #1 and #2, but tangles and trees cause most anglers to head back to a warm bed and dreams of doing better at daylight. But if you do catch the water down, there's a variety of flies to try and ways to work them. I would think the big browns would go after a larger fly but you know, we've been catching big browns at night on smaller wooly buggers for years. On moonlit nights like last night, don't be scared to try a white streamer. Check out my last report for a list of night time flies we have in the shop. Or, as I tell people when they ask about the flies in their own collection -- give them a try! They'll probably work.

To try night fishing, first, carry a light but keep it off the water you're fishing . . . and off the water others are fishing. Light will spook fish and they will leave the area--quickly. Second, don't be in a big hurry to wade out in the water. A lot of these trout cruise the banks for sculpin. Third, don't crowd the angler who's already in the water. Remember, there's current. If you wade in just below someone who's fishing, you're probably standing where he was casting. Keep a long space between each other or don't wade out very far.

If the water isn't running, in the area above Fall Creek, micro jigs in olive, tan or black are working. Fish them four-to six-feet deep under an indicator. These are also working below Fall Creek. We've been getting a good midge hatch in the evenings, and rainbows have been taking them off the surface. Tie on a zebra midge in red or black, #14 or #16's and place an indicator 12 inches from the fly. Target these midging trout as they rise. You can throw this rig with a fly rod or spin cast rod and reel.

Scuds imitate freshwater shrimp, which are the staple food for our trout. Shrimp live mainly in the upper end of the lake where it's shallow, but they are found throughout the lake living in gravel and dead, lying timbers. Beaded scuds can be used under an indicator, just like a micro or marabou jig, and worked close to dead trees and steeper banks and docks.

Scuds are a great fly to use above Fall Creek just off the flats in the channel. If the water is off, you can use a tandem rig (two flies about 18 inches apart) under an indicator. Set the depth according to the water you're fishing, and make sure your flies are on the bottom. Use a weighted scud or use split shots to get them down. Move the indicator every 10 to 15 seconds to make the flies hop off the bottom. Scuds swim and do come off the bottom when swimming. You're flies should mimic these bugs as closely as possible to attract a bite. If the indicator moves in the slightest, set the hook!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 7/16/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-07-18T09:30:00.001-07:00

It's been an amazing year so far here on Lake Taneycomo. In the past three years our lake/river has seen a great deal of water -- water from the upper White River basin, Beaver and Table Rock lakes, as well as major river systems feeding each lake. This constant flow over this period has created fertile conditions for trout food, namely freshwater shrimp. These small crustaceons, that live in the gravel at the bottom of our lake, are very high in protein. You'll find dried freshwater shrimp, called "scuds," sold in pet stores to feed various small pets like turtles. When a fishery has an abundant population of scuds, its fish will exhibit very healthy growth rates. That's what we're seeing for our trout right now.

In the past, we would see big, fat rainbows after a lengthy shad run from Table Rock Lake. Threadfin shad would flow from the dam, dead or stunned from their trip through the turbines, and our trout would feast on them until their bellies would bulge. They would grow so fast that we'd see two-pound rainbows in no time, but that wouldn't last. In less than six months, most of these rainbows would move out of the trophy area and be caught out of the lake, ending a seemingly steller trophy run. The resident food base would not handle the growth spurt and the larger rainbows in the system. Why? In time, we'd experience long periods of no generation on our lake when water would not run, would not move, thus depleting the population of freshwater shrimp down to levels that could not sustain the size and number of rainbows.

Because of the three years of flowing water on Taneycomo, we are seeing big numbers of big rainbows throughout the lake, not just in the trophy area. Our scud population doesn't stop at Fall Creek, the lower boundary of the trophy area; it extends down further that anyone suspects. Back in the "hay day" of big trout on Taneycomo, the 1960's and early 1970's, huge schools of scuds were found in the Branson downtown area. A friend who then worked on the Sammy Lane Pirate Cruise remembers how the crew would stomp on their dock to knock the scuds off the floatation, causing a trout feeding frenzy. They would drop their lines in the water and pull out three- and four- pound rainbows one after the other. We might not have that kind of scud population, today but it's still amazingly good when we see two- and three- pound rainbows caught fairly consistently well below the trophy area.

Fishing Report

Generation has been, well, difficult to gauge. Southwest Power Administration's generation schedule is set midafternoon the day prior, but it was off yesterday after holding closely to projection for a couple of weeks. We've had front after front cross our area with downpours that last 5-10 minutes, but these rains are localized to the degree that we might get a big downpour here at the resort, but up the road two miles on the Branson strip they might stay dry. . . and visa versa. Table Rock has not seen a bump in it's level, but Bull Shoals has jumped almost two feet. Yesterday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ran, for the first time in quite a while, some serious water through Table Rock Dam, opening four turbines but not quite full. Our lake level topped 710 feet, nine feet higher that our power pool which is 701.3 feet.

Fluxuating water levels: Typically when generation is started at the dam and water starts to move, our trout start feeding. Bugs and worms get washed into the lake when the water floods the bank edges, weeds and grassy areas. Scuds might start moving up out of their hiding places in the rocks. Midge larvae don't usually move unless we see a drop of movement, say when the Corps is shutting down the turbines. But when the trout see generation flows they haven't seen in a while, I believe they don't feed as well as they do when they see consistent flows. When the Corps fluctuates the levels during the day, for instance, the flow and level of the lake will vary by six inches to a foot several times an hour -- up and down -- and our trout don't seem to like that or at least they don't think about eating during those periods. Not sure why they do that, but we wish they'd stop!

Guessing what the Corps will do the rest of the week would be tough. I would just go fishing and take whatever comes. You should start early in the day, not necessarily because you'll catch more fish early but to give yourself the best chance to find when the trout will feed the most. I'd say later in the afternoon and evening is going to be the slowest, assuming that the Corps might be running a lot of water at that time. We're finding the best times to catch trout are from 8 a.m. until noon, but that depends on cloud cover. We've had cloudy days for the most part this month, which is great for fishing, but if the clouds clear in the afternoon and it is supposed to hit the 90's, the rest of the week, mid- to late afternoons will be unconfortable at best. High sun and no wind together yield the poorest fishing time.

But early, catching has been pretty good. Our guides have been doing the best, bait-wise, on night crawlers. It's surprising how many anglers step into our office and ask what the best bait is and expect a colored answer -- "pink Power Bait" is what they want to hear. When we answer "night crawlers," it's as if we said that the fish were all dead, or at least not biting. Live, "real" bait generally catches more fish than artificial bait. Now Eddie Ketchum, my Berkley fishing buddy, may not agree, but we see stocker rainbows being caught on Power Bait more than the larger, wiser rainbows. We float our worms, injecting them with air using a blow bottle. This floats the worm off the bottom so that the trout will see them quickly and eat them quickly.

The best area has been from Short to Fall Creeks, but this area has been the hardest hit the last few weeks. Fish numbers have been dropping from the pressure, so some of our guides and clients have been heading down to Monkey Island, just above downtown Branson, and finding good numbers of rainbows. Same thing, floating night crawlers off the bottom. Use a pre-made drift rig or just a small #6 hook and a split shot up the line about 18 inches. Use only the head half of the worm but save the tails. Hook the worm once, leaving each half of the worm hanging off the hook freely. You don't have to hide the hook!!! Inject the worm on the head half and let 'er fly. One more helpful hint - set the rod down and secure it. Wait for the bite, lift the rod and let the trout take the worm, then set the hook.

If they swallow the bait, and you want to release the fish, don't touch the fish, just cut the line close to the fish's mouth and drop it back into the water. Digging the hook out will likely kill the trout.

Yes, Gulp Power Bait eggs will catch rainbows, too. Use one white egg with another colored egg. The odd color varies, so buy all the other colors and keep switching until you find the right combination. Only use two eggs, though. I've seen people using a whole chain of eggs on larger hooks. I don't think rainbows are into eating candy necklaces.

Jig and float fishing catches more trout than just about any other technique. Tie on a small barrell swivel, but before that, slip on a float. Then tie on about six feet of two-pound line, preferablly flourocarbon. We use Vanish. Then tie on a 1/256th-ounce micro jig, either tan or olive. We've been fishing this rig anywhere from Lookout Island in the trophy area down to Monkey Island and catching trout. Throw it out and let it sit a minute, then twitch the float a bit and watch for the slightest movement. Have to be quick at times, but other times, they'll take it under.

Fly fishing below the dam is very good, but you have to know what you're doing. Early is best. It does get tough as the sun rises high in the sky. The water is clear and shallow and the trout up there are pretty smart -- they've seen and have eaten a lot of flies. As I told a young man the other day in the shop, you can use 6x tippet, but if you want to hook up more often, use 7x. The other thing you must have is an arsenal of flies in your box of different colors and sizes of scuds, midges and woolies.

If the water is running, you'll be limited where you can access the lake . . . and there will be a crowd at those accesses. Scuds will be your friend. Weighted #16 to #20's in various shades of gray, olive or tan. San Juan worms in red, brown and purple. Zebra midge #16 to #18's in red, black and olive. Small egg patterns in orange, white and brown. If you catch the water down, strip a #16 red or yellow soft hackle or an olive #14 wooly bugger. If you catch the water down at night, we have some great night patterns created just for our water. Hibernators and PMS, as well as leaches and buggers in large sizes (#6 to #2's) and mostly dark colors.

If you're fly fishing from a boat in the trophy area, if the water is running you'll need to drift your fly on the bottom. Best way is to use a fairly large indicator and allow plenty of line below it to drag the bottom. From Lookout down to Fall Creek, stay in the middle to shallow side of the lake and fish your fly about 10 feet deep, depending on how much water they're running. Add a split shot if you think your fly isn't making contact with the bottom. You can sub your scud or egg fly for a micro jig. Pink with a chrome head or a tan jig has been working pretty well.

If you catch the water off, shorten up your line under the indicator and use a micro jig in olive or tan. If you're using a scud, get it to the bottom and switch it to attract a strike.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 4/01/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-04-05T09:25:00.001-07:00

Floodgates were opened last week at Table Rock Dam to move water from Beaver and Table Rock lakes. The last three rains poured a total of 6 to 10 inches in the area. One unit is down at Table Rock Dam, so floodgates make up for the loss of flow, plus some. Beaver’s level is not dropping yet, but Table Rock is at a clip of four inches per day. Table Rock’s level has dropped from 918.5 feet to 917.4 and should be down to 915.0 by next weekend.

Report amended: The floodgates have been shut off, and the fourth generator is back on line.

All this water has intimidated a lot of anglers. As I’ve been sharing with them, it’s not the water flow itself but the 15-20 mph winds that’s making fishing tough. As I’ve preached for many months, you’ve GOT to be on the bottom to get bit. With this flow and the added effect of wind, it’s challenging! Trout have been biting pretty well if you can present something to them in a good way – and that’s the trick.

We’ve been sending most of our guests downstream, basically advising them to find less windy spots to drift minnows or Gulp PowerBait eggs -- one white and one of another color like pink, orange or yellow -- on the bottom using a drift rig. Up in the creeks, we’re finding a lot of trout looking to get out of the current. Throwing spinners and spoons is good because these rainbows seem to be in the mood for chasing. Also put a Gulp egg on a small jig hook and fish it under a float four-to five-feet deep.

Guide Bill Babler had a fantastic trip fishing this morning. Especially from 7-9 a.m. with one-eighth ounce white jigs. His clients caught some incredibly nice rainbows ranging from 18 to 22 inches in length. With the gates off and dim prospects for more shad, these trout will be eyeing anything white for weeks to come.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 3/04/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-03-04T08:48:00.001-08:00

Generation and water temperature are always the first items I talk about in my fishing reports. Why? Because everything revolves around them. How you can fish, where and with what. I don’t talk about temperature as much as generation—it’s usually not an issue, but right now I feel it is. Table Rock Dam has been running two units 24/7 for more than a week in an effort to get Table Rock to power pool—915.0 feet. I emphasize the “.0” because at the moment it’s at .3. I’ve been told by a little bird that when it reaches .0 the dam operators will back off on generation. That may mean periods of zero or at least less generation in the coming days.

Water temps have held around 39, which is really cold for this time of year. Trout don’t mind the cold — really their warm water friends don’t either. They will feed but be slower about it. The bite may be softer, not as hard as it would be in 45-degree water. So presentation should also be a tad slower to get more bites. Just think “slow motion.” That’s what you’d be in if you were cold —moving a little slower. But just as with bass or crappie fishing, if we see a rise in water temps, we’ll see a rise in motion, action and feeding. Suppose generation slows and lake temps rise into the 50’s. If water temperatures rise a little, I bet you’ll see our trout respond with a feeding frenzy. Well, even if they don’t, at least you’re on the lake on a nice warm day!

I can’t say for sure whether we have had shad come through Table Rock Dam this week. Shad are dying like crazy on Table Rock due to the cold-water temps. It stands to reason that we should see some shad, but to tell the truth, I haven’t been out to investigate in more than a week nor heard any reports of sightings. At least one team fishing in Saturday’s tournament did well with white jigs and spinners between Fall Creek to Short Creek. Two teams fished up in the trophy area and reported catching a number of nice rainbows in the 17-18-inch range. One team said they were drifting with egg flies and san juan worms.

Our tournament Saturday was for artificial only with no baits allowed. Most anglers used jigs while others cast spoons, spinners and crank baits. The $800 prize for the largest, legal brown trout went unclaimed for the fourth year in a row. I’m sure there were man anglers jerking rouges and rapalas for that one big brown, but there were no takers. Many guys I talked to reported using two-pound fluorocarbon line, putting their jigs right on the bottom to get bit. Their thinking was that the fluorocarbon got them to the bottom easier and the two-pound line let them feel the light bite better. It was sunny Saturday, but most areas on the lake were windy. Other teams said they fished around the docks, just as they might fish for bass around structures. The tighter they stayed towards the docks, the better bites they had.

Lots of males and sows were weighed in, and most, if not all. were milking or dropping eggs. The stretch of time these rainbows spawn is awfully long, it seems. We were catching milking males way back in early January.

Minnows and night crawlers are still catching the better rainbows verses the baits (Gulp and paste), but either type of bait will yield you a limit in short time. Be sure to adjust your weight when drifting. If the water slows down, lessen the weight or you’ll be hanging up all the time.

Now IF we see some down water and you have the chance to wade below the dam, bring your wooly buggers, cracklebacks and soft hackles. The wind is blowing most days, and it’s supposed to be warmer soon. Midge hatches should be off the chart, and as the water warms, rainbows should be cruising the flats looking for something moving on the surface … oh, let’s hope so!!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/03/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-02-05T11:44:00.001-08:00

Generation continues. Beaver and Table Rock close in on their perspective power pool levels and all wade fishermen wait with baited breath for forecasted rain/sleet/snow to hold off. Three units run 24/7 right now at Taney, giving boaters free reign of the lake. Drifting is the word, the key at catching trout.

Nothing much has changed from my last report. I do want to reemphasize the fact that the last 2 trout tournaments have been won by anglers fishing down from the Landing to Bee Creek and even lower on the lake. Large rainbows were stocked way down at Powersite Dam over 2 months ago and it seems most have been either caught or spread out to the point that it's hardly worth the run down there to try to catch one. Rainbows weighing an average of a pound are pretty common and found in the wide open water below the Landing. Some talked about keying in on docks and others fishing over grass beds close to banks. Cleos and other spoons have made a comeback of sorts along with jigs and medium cranks baits.

I got out this afternoon and boated to the dam. Chilly run but not too bad once stopped and fishing. It was an off afternoon for at least fish biting. I made 4 drifted from the cable to the KOA and averaged 4 bites per drift. Caught a dozen rainbows total, most about 13-14 inches with one pushing 17 and it was a big silver pig. It had a "shad belly" but from the way they weren't paying ANY attention to white tells me they've seen no shad - yet. Best color by far was olive - 1/8th to get down to the bottom and they were hitting light. Seems like right in the middle of these fronts, the trout take a siesta and today was the day. Talked to Bob Wehnert and he said about the same thing. Tomorrow through the weekend, our trout should wake up and want breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I wouldn't miss the chance drifting a night crawler or minnow from Fall Creek down past Short Creek for a larger rainbow or possibly a brown. I think with all the attention the lower lake has been getting, the upper lake may hold some forgotten lunkers.

Babler fished yesterday. I'll go ahead and write a report for him, leaving out the exaggerated numbers :) Bill, if you don't want me to rib you, write the report next time! He said catching was "off the chart" but his charts are alittle suspect at times. Pink micro jig under a float and it had to be fished deep to get close to the bottom I'd say. He fished exclusively from Andy's house to Fall Creek.

I did drift that section, first with a jig which I got no bites half way down, then switched to a egg fly, peach, and caught 3 on the lower section. I did quit at the Narrows cause I was needed back at the office.

One more note: They're starting to put sections of Fall Creek's dock in the water. Looks like it's going to be a nice big dock.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 1/22/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-01-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Even with milder temperatures, generation patterns on Lake Taneycomo remain about the same as they were, compared to the winter blast days a couple weeks ago. It’s pretty much round the clock generation from one to two units, frustrating wade fisherman who have wait for months for the opportunity to fish below the dam without high water levels and current.

Table Rock is well below power pool but the lake above, Beaver, is being dropped from it’s high level to power pool. Some speculate that 7 feet of water from Beaver Lake added to Table Rock only equates to a 6-foot raise but regardless, it seems the Corps’s plan is to keep Table Rock’s levels about the same as they are now and move Beaver’s water through the system. Looking at the lake level charts, Beaver is dropping 4 to 5 inches per day which means it will take about 18 days to drop Beaver to power pool, without rains. But there is rain in the forecast.

So we’ll talk about boat fishing, although dock fishing off our dock (Lilleys’ Landing), and docks further down, are fishable and fishing has been fairly good.

Fishing pressure on the lake this month has been minimal. Not many people braved the cold temperature earlier in the month and since the weather broke, boaters have stayed away from the lake – probably don’t want to get the boat out of storage in fear of another cold spell. Regardless, there seems to be a huge number of rainbows in the lake right now with many of what I’d call lunker size.

I talked to some guys that fished yesterday and they did very well using 1/16^th oz black jigs, working them off the bottom of the lake down below Branson down the Kanakuk Camp clear down to Bee Creek. These anglers have been fishing here for a number of years and said they’d never caught trout like this, ever. Many of the rainbows they caught were over 16 inches, big and fat and fought like steelhead.

Other anglers are heading down lake from the resort and having the same results using Gulp Powerbait eggs in varied colors – white, pink and orange. Above the resort up to Fall Creek, night crawlers and minnows seem to do better that Gulp Eggs. The current varies depending on where you are and how much water is running. When they are running only one unit, the current here at the resort is very slow and even gets slower the further down lake you get. So it’s almost like still fishing and dropping an anchor isn’t out of the question.

Bill and I got out yesterday in the boat for a while. We were out while that cold front moved through and temperatures dropped from the high 60’s to low 40’s. The water dropped out from two to one units too – we thought fishing wouldn’t be very good, but it was.

We boated up not quite to Lookout and started… Bill using his fly rod, pink micro jig under an indicator 9 feet deep and me using my jig/spin rod and throwing an 1/8^th oz sculpin jig, working it off the bottom. They were running 2 units at 706 feet but the level had already started dropping out on our first drift. The top end didn’t produce much, it was only when we got below the tennis courts did the rods start bending, and they bent quite a lot.

Both techniques caught rainbows, many were small dinks from 8 to 11 inches. There were a few “eaters” as Bill calls them – right below the 12-inch mark. And there were the Taneycomo Trophy Rainbows we are accustomed to – 16 to 18 inches, beat red sides and gill plates.

Bill switched to his spin rod but stayed with his jig and float. He bought a 10-foot, Okuma Steelhead Rod for jig and float fishing and it worked pretty well. I tried it – it was a little heavy and awkward to cast but setting the hook even on a long cast was no problem.

All in all, we caught quite a few rainbows in the 2 hours we were out. Hopefully he can get the video to work on his new site at http://whiteriveroutfitters.com

Remember, we have our first public trout tournament next weekend, January 30, here at the Landing.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 1/11/2010 - Branson, MO

2010-01-11T06:12:00.001-08:00

Fishing in zero temps… are you crazy? Most things breaks in cold, everything else doesn’t work. Livewells and water lines freeze. Exhaust clog and motors melt. Boats freeze and stick to trailer bunks. Guides on rods pack with ice in seconds.
Fingers and toes as well as face freeze.

Shall I go on?

But these guys wouldn’t miss it for the world! A group of guys have fished one weekend each winter for the past 30 years. It turned into a friendly fishing tournament in honor of a fallen comrade, Elmer Boswell.

So this past Saturday morning, with temperatures close to the zero mark, they left our dock in boats to fish over 8 hours in weather most of us would be looking for a warm spot next to a fireplace instead.

I’ve always told the Boswell group their trip nets them some of the best trout fishing Taneycomo has to offer. Why? November and December are the least fished months of the year. MDC continues to stock trout during these months so rainbow populations grow. Less pressure on our trout allow them to grow accustom to their environment as well as grow in size. Thus, the first of January is prime time trout fishing proven by the bags of trout brought to the dock for weigh in the Boswell Tournament.

In addition, this past 18 months we’ve seen almost non-stop generation which means our lake’s food base is in excellent shape, evident by our fat and healthy trout.

Just consider the weighs from yesterday’s contest – the top eight teams weighed in 8 trout averaging over a pound apiece. Largest rainbow was over 6 pounds and it was caught all the way down at Powersite, the bottom end of Taneycomo, on a jig. Many of these rainbows aren’t being caught close to the trophy area. The Boswell group aren’t allowed to fish above Fall Creek so none came from the trophy area. I know for a fact that most were caught below Cooper Creek.

All that to say this…. trout fishing on Taneycomo is pretty darn good right now.

For a New Years present, the Corp gave us 3 days of no generation. Since then we’ve had 24/7 water, from 1 to 3 units depending on… well I’m not sure. Usually temps like we’ve had merit 4 full units but we haven’t had 4 units. On the contrary, most of the time we’ve had less than one unit. At the dock, you could barely see the water moving. But with lake levels below normal and warm days in the forecast, we may see more periods of no generation this week.

Midge hatches, we’ve had big hatches since the water has been slowed. When the water was off, it seemed like nonstop hatches. Rainbows were really keying in on the little buggers, dimpling the surface, picking off hatchlings. I caught rainbows on Zebra Midges, #16 olive, under an indicator from 6 to 20 inches deep, depending on the depth of water I was fishing. Also did well stripping soft hackles, #14 red or black, when the surface was choppy due to wind.

Jig fishing has also been really good, either tossing a 1/8th ounce straight or a small 1/125th ounce under a float. Dark colors seem to be the ticket – Sculpin, brown, black, olive but I did talk to someone yesterday that said ginger worked real well for him.

Minnows were popular this weekend. Unfortunately, we hadn’t gotten our first shipment in so we sent our guys down to Scotty’s Trout Dock. Our trout seem like they start keying in on minnows in the winter. That would make sense if shad had been coming through Table Rock Dam’s turbines but they haven’t… not yet. Night crawlers were also good as well as Gulp Eggs.

Some guys trolled Rapala Countdowns and caught rainbows and a few browns. One angler said he caught a 19-inch brown on Friday trolling a countdown.

Merry Christmas from Lilleys' Landing Resort!

2009-12-06T13:03:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from Lilleys' Landing Resort!

If you plan on taking in a Branson Christmas show this year, remember that most of the standbys such as Baldnobbers and the Presleys end by Dec. 12, as well as the new Peter Pan musical with Kathy Rigby. Others such as the new Miracle of Christmas at the Sight and Sound Theatre and the Branson Belle have limited shows through Dec. 19-21, while a good variety have limited times through New Year's. Those would include the Amazing Pets, Dixie Stampede, Grand Jubilee, Haygoods, Kirby Van Burch and the Legends, so please check individual listings. Silver Dollar City will also be open after Christmas, and the light displays in Branson Hills and at Shepherd of the Hills will be open until New Year's. The Uptown Cafe hosts a free lunch hour broadcast, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to spotlight area talent, which you can also hear on KBFL 1060 AM and KBFL 99.9 FM.

Remember we stay open year-round, so please call us if you can take a short getaway to Branson to enjoy the Christmas festivities here -- or just to escape on the lake! We have plenty of openings up until Christmas and some limited rooms open between Christmas and New Year's, so please call us at 1-888-LILLEYS (545-5397) even at the last minute.

Don't forget we can also expedite a gift certificate to you for a special someone for any amount of $20 or more. We can designate whether you want it to be applied toward a room, boat rental or just for their choice. You can shop ouronline tackle store or call us to purchase a gift item from the store.

As we close out the last year of the first decade of the 21st century, we still stand in awe that God provided us this beautiful place for people to make memories with family and friends amid the peaceful solitude of His creation. But then how can we doubt His goodness when He gave Himself through Christ to bring our hearts home to Him! "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Revelations 5:13

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all of us at Lilleys Landing!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing News

Winter officially starts December 21, a little less than three weeks away, but it feels like winter this morning here in the Ozarks. Early temperatures dropped into the teens for the first time, giving the air a bite. Several boats left the dock this morning with eager anglers looking to catch some Lake Taneycomo trout. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is running water this morning for a couple of reasons, and you'll find these reasons pretty consistent to how water is run water all winter. Beaver Lake is still high from the rains this fall. Table Rock is at power pool or normal levels. Water is being run at Beaver Dam to drop lake levels there, and this water basically has to be washed through the system, from Beaver Dam to Table Rock through Taneycomo and Bull Shoals into the White River. Another reason for running water here: it's cold! Power demand and water management work hand-in-hand.

We did fish some down water last week as well as this past weekend. I, as well as other anglers, enjoyed getting out and seeing our lake as a lake again -- still with no current. The trout seemed to like it, too. They adjusted quickly and feasted back on midges, scuds and sculpin, their three main foods.

Looking back on this past fall fishing season, there really hasn't been any periods when trout fishing has been slow. Typically in the fall, we see fishing slow down because of the low dissolved oxygen or higher water temperatures, but fishing, or catching, has stayed consistently good all fall. Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery has kept up on stocking good numbers of rainbows, and it seems that once they're stocked, they grow fairly fast. Their colors change from dull-hatchery gray to bright silver, reds and greens. The trout we're catching now are fat, strong and sassy, pulling hard when hooked and then showing off their aquatic acrobatics.

As far as generation patterns and how to guess what may happen on any given day or weekend . . . typically little water is run on the weekends. Power demand is lower on weekends, but if the temperature dips below freezing early, generation may occur only in the mornings and be turned off in the afternoon. Otherwise, it's hard to predict. For most of this week, dam officials are running water 24 hours a day. I'm sure that is to release water coming in from Beaver Lake. Once that water is through, we will start seeing less generation unless we get more rain.

Our scud population is very good right now, especially above Short Creek to the dam. As a rule, we fish larger scuds, up to size 8, when the water is running and smaller sizes when it's off, down to size 20. But we are using size 10s during generation and size 14 when it's not right now, at least in the restricted area above Fall Creek and below Lookout fishing from a boat. Below the dam while wading you may have to size down further to get bit. Honestly, I have not been up there since they've started shutting the water down -- I'm only going by reports I hear from other anglers.

I did catch a few rainbows the other day while drifting orange PowerBait Gulp eggs between Fall and Short creeks and found their stomachs full of midge larvae. The larvae themselves were way too small to be imitated by our flies, but I bet the trout would still take a larger fly, too. We've had some incredibly big midge hatches lately, and the trout have seemed to target them.

As I mentioned, I did get out and fished the other day. I tried some different lures -- tried a jig and float using a 1/32nd-ounce brown with a orange head jig under a float six- feet deep. Dam officials were running one unit that day, all day, and I tried to keep the boat where I was fishing the edge of the channel or in water that was about six- to eight-feet deep. I'd work or twitch the float just a little every four seconds to give the jig a little more action. The rainbows I caught were all bigger than the ones others were reporting. All my trout were 14 inches or more -- and boy did they fight!

I didn't change my technique as I drifted past Fall Creek. I stayed closer to the shallow side of the lake, targeting the same depth of water and kept picking up rainbows all the way down to Short Creek. The size of rainbows didn't change either. I was amazed that these larger, older rainbows liked what I thought was a larger jig than I would normally use. I normally use a 1/100th-ounce jig or smaller when throwing a jig-and-float rig but left my small jig box at home.

Heading back up, I wanted to catch some rainbows for dinner so I started at Fall Creek and drifted PowerBait Gulp eggs on the bottom. I used a small, 7/0 spilt shot only, just enough to tick the bottom. I started with orange and caught two right off. They were smaller, whichis the size I like to eat. Switched to pink and . . . nothing. Back to orange and finished my limit before Short Creek. Now with one unit, the water is running pretty slowly, so I had lots of time to limit out in one drift. If I had been planning ahead, I would have known to pack night crawlers to drift live bait below Fall Creek. Night crawlers seem to catch bigger trout than Power Bait. But this worked out just fine.

Winter Forecast: What is a normal winter??? After the last three or four seasons, I'm not sure what is normal anymore. Global warming? Well to be honest, it was nice to have warm winters, if nothing else, to make it easy on the hands and face when fishing! But, alas, that mild pattern for a few years was tooo fleeting, and it seems we're back to cold winters. Wet? We've had more ice than snow, which is irritating for sure. I like snow -- a little. One snow and that's all. It's nice and pretty for an hour or so, but then we have to go out and deal with it. But no ice, please!! I guess I'm spelling out my wish list. No gifts this Christmas, please, just give me the weather that's good for trout fishing!

All kidding aside, weather plays a big part in fishing. Ideally, I would like to see a cold, wet winter for our fishery. We need the lakes to get cold to be healthy for the rest of the year. We also need some generation to keep the food base in good shape for the trout. That's it in a nut shell. I would also like to see a good shad kill (a natural shad kill on Table Rock), but this time I'd like to see the shad come through the turbines and into Taneycomo. Last year we saw lots of shad dying on Table Rock, but for whatever reason, they didn't get down to the inlet vents at the dam-face. Threadfin shad are our trout's dream Christmas dinner. It's gives them lots of protein and makes them mature to be lunker trout in little time.

If you like to wade below Table Rock Dam when the water is off, you might be interested in a project that the Missouri Department of Conservation is working on, in conjunction with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Bass Pro Shops, to add fish habitat on Table Rock Lake and some of its tributaries, as well as Lake Taneycomo. These entities have donated $5 million to the five-year project. Thousands of cedar trees, hardwood stumps and rock piles already have been placed on Table Rock Lake.

They are conferring with local anglers on how to add structures below Table Rock Dam to enhance the fishery. Over the years, gravel has washed in the lake from unprotected banks, filling in once-deep channels and holes where trout used to rest from the current and anglers. The topography has evolved now to a large, shallow flat area with no structure to hold fish, so anglers move to areas where there are fish, mainly at the hatchery outlets and a few other places where there's running water created by riffles and rocks. MDC wants to create new areas where fish will hold, spreading out anglers and giving them more choices on where to fish.

Work below the dam may start as soon as this spring.

And Now... The Rest of the Story

Many of you have read the story of the new state record brown trout landed by resort guest Scott Sandusky two weeks ago as he drifted rainbow PowerBait by Cooper Creek with his Arnold, MO, buddies. What we haven't disclosed until recently was our special Thanksgiving blessing of fishing for and finding the lunker a second time -- this time out of a trash truck . . .

At 37 inches long, 24.75 inches in girth and weighing 28.8 pounds, Scott obviously needed to mount his prize, which was roughly a pound heavier than the previous record. We needed to make a decision what to do with his brown while the Missouri Department of Conservation processed the paperwork needed to make his fish the official new state record brown trout. Clint Hale, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery manager, told us that the fish could not be consumed or taken to a taxidermist until the paperwork was complete which would take a few weeks.

So we needed to find a freezer big enough for a 40-inch fish to lay flat, since its bulk had been wrapped in towels to secure its shape. The only one we could find was in the kitchen at the First Baptist Church here in Branson, so dad and I took the fish and placed in the freezer. Honestly, I did think about labeling it somehow to identify it as belonging to someone but . . . I trusted that no one would mess with it. That was our downfall.

Dad flashed the fish off in the freezer Sunday night to some fellow church-goers, at least showing off the bulk size of the fish. The towels were frozen to the skin of the trout so he couldn't back the layers, but it was still an impressive sight.

On Wednesday morning, dad drove to the church to retreive the record fish to transfer it to a freezer we had. Once the fish was frozen solid, it could be stood upright, fitting into another freezer. The trout was gone. No fish in the freezer anywhere. Jerry asked in the office, but no one know about it. Then he learned of the fish's fate. It had been thrown out into the dumpster on Monday -- only to have been picked up that very Wednesday morning by the trash truck.

"I've never been so down in my life as when I saw that fish was gone," Jerry said. He began asking us all to pray for a miracle, and Carolyn, my mother, even called friends to pray.

I was headed to a meeting, and resigned myself to the fact that the fish was gone for sure, but dad's tenacity paid off. He called the Alllied Waste company and found out where the truck was headed, drove to Reeds Spring and met the truck there prepared for dumpster diving. The attendants there were experienced in finding the treasures people have thrown out. (Once retrieving some tossed diamond earrings.) They dumped the contents of the truck on a concrete pad and started picking through it with a small bobcat. Mom had accompanied dad for "support" and both were holding their noses and hoping they'd find the fish in decent shape, but with every move, the bobcat did not turn up any light teal-green towels or fish remains.

My mom is a woman of faith. Her relationship with the Lord is astounding, and she told dad she was hearing the Lord say it was in a pile "over there." Dad had all but given up on the search, but mom pushed for one more swipe of trash in the area God was directing her to. Then she saw the towel. She waded in and dug it out. The fish was still wrapped in the towel. A small tear in its back was the only visible damage to the fish they could see. They headed back home with the trout, praising God for His constant faithfulness and mercy -- this time exhibited in finding the fish.

Scott's brown trout is once again in a freezer, but this time it's in a safer place. Trout that large are actually replicated by taxidermists and not mounted in the traditional way of using the actual fish and its skin. But when the mold is made of the actual fish and a replica cast, Scott will have the mount of a lifetime, representing his "knee-shaking" treasure of a memory:

Scott and his friends, Scott Hawkins, Greg Lawson and Craig Thomas, had planned to catch some keeper rainbows to fry for dinner Friday night, then hit the trophy area for lunkers on Saturday. They drifted downstream, using rainbow-colored, paste Power Bait, bumping it on the bottom as you're supposed to. Just below Cooper Creek, Scott set his rod in the rod holder to help with another rig. Thinking he saw a bite, Scott picked his rod back up, set the hook and knew -- he had something big.

But he didn't know what it was . . . a catfish? A big carp? If it was a trout, it was a really, really big trout. Then they saw it. It was a brown trout.

He had his spin reel set to wind backwards, not trusting the drag. Smart guy because this fish didn't want to play. The brown surged for the far bank, spinning off so much line, so fast, that it was all Scott could do release the handle and watch his line fly off his reel. Then he stopped.

Working it closer to the boat, his team of anglers started to plan their attack. One retrieved the net and the other pulled up the trolling motor -- just in time. Four-pound line doesn't last long against a prop.

When most people buy a fish net, they don't expect to land a 37-inch fish, right? Scott's net could hold half this fish. It flopped in, it flopped out. Then Scott's net man, Craig, muscled up and got it in the boat. All was made official by Missouri Department of Conservation officials at the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery. Shane Bush, MDC fisheries biologist and Quenten Fronterhouse, MDC enforcement agent, both helped in this process. Clint Hale, hatchery manager, was also present.

Charities We Support: Free Medical Clinic of the Ozarks

We can't let the year pass without letting you know how much we appreciate your business -- not only for the personal support for our families, but for the community outreaches we are able to undertake as well. In November, the Free Medical Clinic of the Ozarks -- where Jerry Lilley serves for free as the acting director -- completed its first year of operation, logging more than 950 patient visits for those who work in Stone and Taney counties but cannot afford health insurance. Because of community support, such as from Lilleys' Landing, the clinic has operated with a total budget of $26,000.

“It’s really a testimony to the faithful commitment of the volunteers who have such a heart for this,” said Dr. John H. Moore, a founding board member. “It’s phenomenal for a community of this size.”

With the vision that the clinic would evolve only as the support evolved, board members began Veterans Day last year with general medical clinic hours from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the downstairs annex building of Covenant Life Church (Marsha & Phil Lilley's church) at Third and Atlantic in downtown Branson. But with the enthusiasm of medical staff — now numbering 16 physicians, four licensed physician assistants, 31 licensed nurses, two pharmacists and one respiratory therapist — the clinic soon expanded to rotating specialty clinics on Monday nights for orthopedics, gynecology, pediatrics and respiratory therapy.

For efficiency, patients must bring proof of identity, residency and income (200 percent below federal poverty guidelines) on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to apply for scheduled evening appointments. They also must verify by telephone later that they intend to keep their appointments. About 30 lay volunteers man the phones, keep up with the paperwork, greet patients and maintain the premises.

In addition to evaluations by the medical staff, the clinic provides patients with their first medications and helps them acquire long-term medications through various drug assistance programs. Skaggs Hospital provides laboratory and x-ray services and has also set up the clinic with computers and technical staff to allow physicians to access all their patients’ medical records while seeing them in the clinic exam rooms.

Eleven trained chaplains rotate to counsel each patient, offering to pray for them and their specific needs. Dr. Moore, who volunteers as one of the chaplains, said prayer is vital to the mission of the clinic.

“No one has ever refused prayer,” he said,” and six people have actually prayed to receive Christ, professing them as Lord for the first time.”

That kind of ministry, he said, is a fulfillment of a long-held dream for him. “I’ve wanted to be part of a clinic like this since I began in medicine,” he said. “In 30 years of practice, I had wanted to work at a clinic that provided free care and spiritual nurture as well.”

Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina Newsletter
January, 2009

State Record Brown Trout Broken on Taneycomo in Branson, MO

2009-11-22T07:08:00.003-08:00

Written by Phil & Marsha Lilley

Nov 20, 2009 at 11:15 PM

Today was a good fishing day. It was a good catching day. Any day is good to be out on the water and not in the office, right? I think Scott Sandusky believes that. He caught a big fish today!

It just wasn't a big fish. It was one of those big fish every angler dreams of. It was the biggest fish of its species caught ever in Missouri. We call that a state record catch.

He and his buddies from Anold, MO, arrived here at Lilleys' Landing for a weekend of fellowship and fishing for trout. They started early, well early afternoon. The idea was to catch some small rainbows for dinner, then hit the restricted, trophy area tomorrow for lunkers. It didn't work out that way.

They drifted downstream, using rainbow-colored, paste PowerBait, bumping it on the bottom like you're supposed to. Just below Cooper Creek, Scott set his rod in the rod holder to help with another rig. Thinking he saw a bite, Scott picked up his rod back up, set the hook and knew -- he had something big.

But he didn't know what it was... a catfish? A big carp? If it was a trout, it was a really, really big trout. Then they saw it. It was a brown trout.

He had his spin reel set to wind backwards -- he didn't trust the drag. Smart guy. This fish didn't want to play. He took off for the far bank, spinning off so much line, so fast, that it was all Scott could do release the handle and watch his line fly off his reel. Then he stopped.

Working it closer to the boat, his team of anglers started to plan their attack. One retrieved the net and the other pulled up the trolling motor, just in time. Four-pound line doesn't last long against a prop.

At 37 inches long and 24.75 inches in girth, and the lunker weighed 28.8 pounds, roughly a pound heavier than the previous brown trout record. All was made official by Missouri Department of Conservation officials at the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery. Shane Bush, MDC fisheries biologist and Quenten Fronterhouse, MDC enforcement agent, both helped in this process. Clint Hale, hatchery manager, was also present.

State Record Brown Trout Broken on Taneycomo in Branson, MO

2009-11-22T07:08:00.001-08:00

Written by Phil & Marsha Lilley

Nov 20, 2009 at 11:15 PM

Today was a good fishing day. It was a good catching day. Any day is good to be out on the water and not in the office, right? I think Scott Sandusky believes that. He caught a big fish today!

It just wasn't a big fish. It was one of those big fish every angler dreams of. It was the biggest fish of its species caught ever in Missouri. We call that a state record catch.

But he didn't know what it was... a catfish? A big carp? If it was a trout, it was a really, really big trout. Then they saw it. It was a brown trout.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 11/9/09 - Branson, MO

2009-11-09T08:54:00.001-08:00

Back to almost normal. It's been dry for a week now! And it's sunny and warm! I think we've forgotten what this nice weather looks like here in the Ozarks. A friend said the KC area only had 7 days of sun and no rain in the month of October. This is a nice reprieve for all of us.

Generation here on Taneycomo is back to pre-monsoon patterns and soon will change again if the rain holds off. Change again? Table Rock's levels are dropping everyday and soon will drop to the point the Corp will slow down the flow and probably will shut turbines down. I know a lot of anglers who will welcome that!

Right now they are running 4 units but each one is running about half so you could say they're only running 2 units. They're running them all day and all night. Water is stained and 55 degrees. Stained is unusual for this time a year. It's due to the hard rains we've had. My sources say that Table Rock is showing signs of turning over. If that's the case, it's very, very early. One sign is the warming of the water. Last week it was 53 degrees.

Now for the fishing. It's been real good. Seems like there's lots of rainbows in the lake right now and they're biting most of the time. Had guests come in yesterday and today and say it didn't make much difference what they used, they'd catch trout. Gulp eggs in all four colors, night crawlers and other lures like medium to small crank baits and spoons. Silver CD5 Rapalas were the hot bait this weekend. Also white, sculpin and brown jigs.

Slower current has made it easier to get the bait to the bottom, especially down in our area of the lake. The speed of the water is slow and when there's no wind, like today, drift fishing is pleasant. I got this evening and drifted the trophy area... laid the rod down for a while and just enjoyed the sunset and peacefulness of the lake.

Last week, I got out before and after the flood gates were shut down and did pretty good on drifting #10 gray scuds from Lookout Island down past Short Creek (yes Short Creek). HAS to be on the bottom to get bit. It was my experience that most of the rainbows were small, less than 12 inches. It seems like we go through periods when we don't see many nice rainbows. The dinks have taken over. It's not that they aren't there, they just don't bite all the time. The small, freshly stocked rainbows -- they seem to bite most of the time.

As I mentioned, I caught quite a few below Fall Creek drifting scuds on the bottom. Surprised? Shouldn't be. There's scuds all through the lake, not just below the dam.

This evening, I got out and fished the bluff bank from Lookout down using 1/8th oz jigs. Snags tied with trout. I lost 4 jigs and caught 4 rainbows. But this time, 3 of 4 were big rainbows -- over 17 inches each. They weren't biting very well, I have to admit, but it was incredible being on the lake.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 10/11/09 - Branson, MO

2009-10-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Boy what a week makes. We were thinking this was going to be an awesome fall fishing season in the respect of fly fishing for browns below the dam followed by great rainbow fishing. Thought we were done with high water but no... 5-8 inches later and we're right back where we were a year ago. Well, almost.

Been having discussions on the forum about water temp and DO levels below the dam. It's 61 degrees at the cable on the south or gates side of the lake and 50 on the north or turbine side. Most of the readings further downstream are 55 degrees. DO (dissolved oxygen) levels are over 8 ppm on the gate side which is great- and the temp isn't that bad either for our trout. On the turbine side the COE is injecting liquid O2 to keep the DO levels up so really this is nothing like last year when we had about the same flow but 70+ coming over the dam and 65 thru the turbines.

Table Rock was thought to crest at 927 but looking at the chart right now it looks like it's crested at 923. Talked to a COE guy this evening and although isn't an official, he thinks they will leave the gates open till Table Rock is down to 917. No guesses when that might be but I'd think it will be a better part of a week. He also said they might release more water thru the gates.

Wade fishing below the dam is extremely limited. The water is up in the trees for the most part with some standing room at outlets 1 and 2. I did see guys catching trout in both sites today.

I got out yesterday morning right after they opened the gates. Lots of trash, leaves and grass in the lake made it tough to fish. This afternoon, we got out again. We caught a good number of rainbows in the first mile of the lake below the dam on 1/8th oz white marabou jigs. It had to be on the bottom and with the wind blowing upstream, that was a hard trick. But to do that well under the circumstances, we did well meaning the trout were hitting hard enough we could feel the bites. That's a good thing!

We also drifted red san juans and #10 scuds from Lookout down past the flats on the shallow side and caught a few rainbows. Again, they are eating- just have to get the fly to the bottom and keep it there.

Below Fall Creek, same thing. Stay in the middle of the lake and use enough weight to get the bait to the bottom. Gulp eggs and night crawlers should work great. If the wind stops, catching will improve.

Sorry I couldn't come up with a rosy report. Not many people like to fish in this kind of current. It's scary to some and I don't blame them. But if you're careful, you shouldn't have any problems.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/21/09 - Branson, MO

2009-09-22T13:03:00.001-07:00

Not a whole lot has changed in the past week here in southwest Missouri except a little rain on Saturday. Well, a lot of rain. Monett is cleaning up after local flooding, which is a town not too far down the road. Looking on our lake level page - SPA's Generation Site - I see that our area lakes rose from six inches to two feet. Taneycomo officials ran water all day Saturday and into the night, which turned out to be a huge blessing to those who fished Sunday. The rain washed muddy water and trash into the lake from creeks in the upper end, but the generation moved it on down lake. Sunday morning we had nice clear water greeting us, and fishing was pretty fulfilling for our anglers here.

Table Rock and Beaver lakes came up about six inches which was nothing to be alarmed about. We should not see any change in generation patterns this week because of the rains. But with more rain in the forecast, you never know what may happen.

Today's generation, Monday, usually dictates what we MIGHT see the rest of the week. The Southwest Power Administration chart reported no water would run until late this afternoon -- but nothing doing. One unit was running early and another unit was added about noon. Right now there are at least two units running. One nice thing about this hard generation is that it will clean out the lake a bit. So it's hard to say what the generation will be the rest of the week.

This morning Guide Bill Babler reported catching a lot of rainbows drifting from Fall Creek down to Trout Hollow using night crawlers. His clients caught their limits early and then caught and released the rest of the morning. Bill said their rainbows were good quality and fought hard. So if the water is running, this technique would be worth a try.

Yesterday, there was no current all morning. Guides reported doing very well using small micro jigs in tan or olive from the former KOA Campground site down to past Fall Creek, fishing them with two-pound line and four- to five-feet deep. There are two ways to work these -- let them sit with no movement or twitch them just a tiny bit every 10 seconds. Trout don't seem to be drawn by too much movement.

The normal Gulp Power Baits are still working. The Missouri Department of Conservation stocked twice last week and there seem to be plenty of rainbows caught in front of and off our dock here at Lilleys' Landing.

As far as fly fishing below the dam, well, I heard several reports from Sunday . . . one good and some bad. The good one was a guy stripping woolies off the point at the big hole; he did well, and he said others were catching trout, too. But others fishing below the big hole down to the former KOA said it was very slow. Farther down towards Lookout and below fishing picked back up and was excellent for most of the morning but slowed down in the afternoon after the water started.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/14/09 - Branson, MO

2009-09-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

This fishing report is going to sound like a broken record, basically because this report is going to sound a lot like my report from 2 weeks ago. Conditions haven't changed and neither has the fishing itself. It's still very good, rainbows are nice and fat and generation patterns are still about the same at the first of September.

This is one reason I haven't written a new report since September 3rd. Another reason - Marsha and I drove to Port Arthur, Texas last week to be with our daughter Sara and her husband Josh for the birth of their first child, our first grandchild, Jeriah Caden Clark. Good excuse - right?! We think so. Yes, I took my fishing rods with me but they were never unpacked. Good redfish fishin' in Port Arthur but that will have to wait for another visit!

Water is still cold and clear. Generation has been mixed but off most days with some water in the late afternoon and evening. Still funny how some people root for the water to run, even though fishing is so good. I think most anglers limited out off our dock today on rainbows (4), most using power bait is all colors and styles. I saw quite a few variations this evening. Didn't seem to matter. Quite a few rainbows midging late in the afternoon today in front of the dock. One thing I've noticed over the years is that rainbows will take midges and other insects off the surface in and on the edge of the leaf trail in the lake during autumn. A leaf trail is where a breeze pushes fallen leaves into a line in the lake, most of the time close to or against the bank. Rainbows love fallen leaves and the insects they deliver. And they love my black or red zebra midge, #14, just below a small indicator tossed just in the right place at the right time. Lots of fun! I target a rainbow just after he's taken a midge with my fly rod -- make the cast and watch for the take.

Jigs worked pretty well this week for some. Of course I'm partial to jigs -- I love to fish with them. But one guests of our had a great time last week trying jigs out for the first time. Here's his report:

We arrived at Lilleys last Saturday and now we have to leave tomorrow but while we were here I wanted to let all know that the fishing was great!

We - my wife and I - fished primarily from the Trophy area to the boat ramp...she was using pink and white power bait with good success.

I couldnt buy a bite on pumped nite crawlers so I decided to do something different....I started casting and bumping a 1/8th brown jig......when i started this the size of the fish went up dramatically. When we got back to Lilleys I was in the office and telling what I had caught fish on when Lisa told me that Bill had similar success on a Cinnamon jig.....well I figure if Bill is using it I had to buy a couple and give it a try.

Then the ultimate fishing event happened.....at least for me......on Friday we went just past the boat ramp 200 yards and I had cast out when i saw a flash of silver and my line started coming off my reel like crazy. I knew that I had a big one and she didn't want to come in at all....I fought her for at least 10 minutes to get her to the boat....my wife had the trout net....when I finally got her close enough I told her " you are going to need a bigger net" Thank goodness we had the old stand by.

You know your marriage is pretty solid when you can "guide" your wife to where the largest Trout you have EVER caught is racing all over the place and she keeps saying I cant see it....I tell here to watch the line.....and she says I cant see it! She is looking right and the fish is racing left....I think you ge the picture.

Needless to say I uttered only one cuss word when I thought she had grabbed my line and then she finally landed the trout. For the record I was using 2 lb line ...... the Trout was 18" long weighing in at 4 lbs according to Curtis.

No we didn't keep her, the fish that is - after all of the pictures and such I let her go under Lilleys dock to live to be caught another day.

By the way I have went up to that area all week and bumped either a brown or cinnamon jig and the bite has been fantastic!

While I'm copying and posting fishing reports, here's another from our guide, Bill Babler:

Fished Taney a couple of days this past week, with wonderful results. Also had the opportunity to traverse most of the upper part, taking clients from the restricted zone down to the Landing for lunch each day.

Seemed the entire upper end was catching extremely nice fish, and I'm sure it was a hangover from some very nice stocking right before the Holiday weekend. Fishing should remain good through the Fall, as it most usually does.

Restricted Zone on still flat water the ginger micro in 256th. oz. really seems to be the best nymph. Chuck from Anglers and Archery is still catching them on an egg pattern and always is doing well when I see him on the water.

Moving water for the first hr. after generation starts is really almost unfishable due to high volumes of moss on the upper section, but then as it dissipates, and the flow stabilizes pink micro's in 128th. or egg patterns are catching huge numbers of quality rainbows.

Seems we have a 20 plus inch fish on every trip to the top. Didn't say we got them to the boat, but we are seeing and getting clobbered by the biggin's.

Fall Creek through Branson, it pretty much seems as anything will work, with the brighter colors of powerbait being preferred by these fresh fish. Just driving through the boat traffic going to downtown, it seemed everyone had fish on or in baskets hanging from their boats.

Rainy cool weather this next week, should keep the fishing at a top level, until the stock of fresh fish gets depleted. As long as MDC keeps feeding the Branson Landing area to Cooper Creek, it should be great.

I have to add my personal fishing report from Saturday and this evening. Lilleys' Landing hosted a fishing weekend for the Ozark FFF Chapter out of St Louis. Brian Shaffer filled in for me Friday night with a Taneycomo Talk at the pavilion which I heard was a huge success. Then Saturday we fed them lunch at the Hatchery Shelter below the dam. I got to fish a little after lunch with Bob from the club. They had ran water Saturday morning, which confused everyone. But it was off by 1 pm and down by 2 pm. Bob and I walked down to the Narrows below the root wad and found lots of nice rainbows holding in the current. Problem was they weren't agreeable. Darrell from River Run had already set Bob up with a scud/san juan rig so I had him dead drift first the shallow, close water and then the center of the channel. He quickly hooked one rainbow and then a little later another. That would be all the action for Bob. I wondered down alittle further and caught one rainbow on a brown 1/100th jig- and that was it. I fish an egg fly and then a red san juan up by the root wad just so I could see what the heck they would do when I drifted it by their face. Most would ignore it, some would move and some would dart over to investigate but all refused any fly I threw at them. The only people catching fish were 2 kickers in the rebar hole and one other guy fishing to the side of them. It just was slow.

This evening I boated up to the red house in the trophy area- on the bluff- or what I call dry wash. Surface was slick, very dark and cloudy and a little mist. No one else on the water the whole time I was up there... really nice. I started and ended with a brown 1/100th oz jig under a palsa indicator 4 feet. The rainbows absolutely loved it. I caught over 30-35 rainbows in 90 minutes, lost 3 jigs and missed many more bites. Ended the slow drift down at the Narrows. Nothing huge- 14 inches was the biggest but most were 13-14 inch, fat and fought hard. Most jumped at least once when hooked.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/03/09 - Branson, MO

2009-09-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

We received some well needed rain this week. No downpours but a nice, gentle, soaking rain that really didn't affect our area lake levels. But for most of this week, the water has been running 24 hours a day at about one unit, bumped up to 2 units for a few hours in the late afternoon. I like this flow but I'm sure the fly fishers below the dam are aggravated because it takes away most of the wading area up there. But with one unit they can get out on the big gravel bar below outlet #3 and drift a scud or strip a wooly and catch trout.

But I think come this weekend, they will not run much, if any at all. The weather forecast says highs are going to be in the mid 70's which is unbelievable for this time of year. So the power demand shouldn't be high and they usually don't run water on weekends. So my prediction is very little to no generation this holiday weekend.

Trout fishing here on Taneycomo has been flat - great! I contribute it to the weather. Cooler temperatures seems to agree with our trout here, as well as other species of fish in area lakes. Plus it just seems like there's a lot of rainbows in the lake right now. I took a pontoon ride to the Branson Landing last evening with friends, ate at the Fish House and boated back after dark. Cruising down, a watched for midging rainbows and did see quite a few from Taneycomo Acres down to the bridges. Coming back, I could see more rises, especially in the Monkey Island area. That's evidence that there's big schools of rainbows in these areas actively feeding on bugs on the surface. If I were fishing last night, I'd try several things... cast a rooster tail, throw a jig and float or just cast a jig straight, probably a small jig like a 1/16th or even a 1/32nd oz if I had light enough line to throw it and work it close to the surface. The idea is to keep the lure close to the surface where the rainbows were cruising for midges.

Now during the day, most of these rainbows are close to the bottom, especially if it's bright out. So I'd go with bait - either night crawlers or Power Bait. Our water is clear so have to go with no larger than 4 pound line, small weights and small hooks. For worms, I use a #6 or #8 short shanked hook and for Power Bait I use a #8 hook. Colors of Power Bait - if I'm using Gulp Eggs, I putting a white egg on with another color... yellow, pink or orange. Some of the nuggets and paste are working too. Berkly has a hatchery nuggets that's brown which is doing pretty well. Anytime we have a big rainbow caught off the dock, the bait it was caught on becomes the hot bait of the week. There was a big rainbow caught last week on the brown nuggets so we've been selling a lot of brown hatchery nuggets.

Fishing up in the trophy area has continued to be very good. We've been seeing a lot of very nice rainbows up there and they've been biting pretty consistently. With this flow, we've been using a jig and float with an olive or pink jig fished 4-6 feet deep and drifted basically down the middle of the lake from Lookout down to Fall Creek. There are a couple of hot spots above Lookout but for the most part I haven't done that well up there so I've been starting my drift at Lookout. Of course, I like working a jig straight, no float, off the bottom as well. Sculpin has been the best color in the 3/32nd oz size and working it in the deeper water, channel side of the lake.

Hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/23/09 - Branson, MO

2009-08-28T10:17:00.001-07:00

Since I'm writing this on Sunday, it's hard to tell what this week's generation patterns will be. Has this been a crazy month temperature wise or not!!?? And the 10 day forecast looks just as nice as this past week's. Low to mid 80's and sunny. In saying that, this past week's generation pattern was a bit puzzling. They ran one unit all day and most nights. This weekend, off all day and night with the exception of an hour late in the afternoon. All our lakes are at or below power pool. Cooler temps mean low power demand. So we may see a week of very little generation.

Keep an eye on http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showforum=4 for updated information and reports.

Check lake levels here - http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17240

And you can see what the generation schedule will be a day ahead here - http://www.swpa.gov/generationschedules.aspx

Off the fishing subject, have to put a plug in for an event here on Lake Taneycomo coming up next weekend. It's a trout tournament held out of Lilleys' Landing Resort and Marina benefiting our local police and fire departments. Starts at 8 am and weigh in is at 4 pm. Check out http://news.lilleyslanding.com/1st-annual-guns-hoses-fishing-tournament for more information.

August is usually hot and the trout fishing is usually not. But this month has been the exception. Our guests here at Lilleys' Landing have caught alot of rainbows off our dock as well as drifting in this area in boats using both night crawlers and Gulp power bait. Had some wind this week which again is a little unusual. When it got windy, anglers switched to trolling jigs, spoons, spinners and crank baits and did well. Mainly trolled from Lilleys' downlake to the Landing. The rainbows being stocked are good sized trout too, averaging 13 inches.

I took a couple of girls out the other day for their first trout fishing trip. We drifted from Fall Creek to Short Creek and they caught their limits of rainbows plus a real nice 17 inch brown, which was released. They were running one unit which isn't much water. The current isn't fast and with the wind blowing upstream, it was tough keeping the line tight and the boat drifting with the current. But working the trolling motor and using less weight than usual, they learned a bite from the bottom and hooked enough fish to achieve their limits.

Trout fishing IS pretty easy. Just have to be patient!

I got out and fished alittle this week. I love fishing two things - jigs and dry flies. I did both this week. Since returning from Alaska, I've been on a dry fly kick. I caught so many nice rainbows, chars and grayling in Alaska on dries, I've tried to carry it over to here at home. And I've done pretty good too. I like fishing the bluff bank from Lookout down to the channel swing most days. There always seems to be a handful of trout holding along the bank waiting, looking for bugs to snatch off the surface. My stimulator usually does the trick. And these rainbows are usually larger than normal too. Great fights!!

My sculpin jigs are working great too. If they are running more than 1 units, I use an 1/8th oz jig but sometimes, like yesterday, I notice with no units or one units, the trout seemed to like the jig swimming more than the usual dropping and jigging. I switched to a 3/32 oz jig, thinking it wouldn't sink or drop as fast. I could get it close to the bottom and lift the rod tip slowly or slower than I usually do (I pop or twitch it normally)... they like that. I first noticed this when I'd throw the jig out and let it sink. When it's sinking, it's not sinking straight to the bottom but sinking at an angle. The lighter jig and different retreive got me more hits. But they are biting short. I missed many more than I hooked, but it's still fun.

In additon, I am posting videos and mid week reports on my facebook account so look me up! http://www.facebook.com/plilley?ref=name

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/11/09 - Branson, MO

2009-08-11T15:48:00.001-07:00

This has been a strange August so far... but typical at the same time. Weather has been on the cool side with some rain thrown in. This weeks appears to be on the cool side with rain today. Should be good for fishing. On the typical side, our trout fishing is fair- only fair. It usually gets alittle tough in August. Our water gets real clear and the trout become picky, it seems. It's not the amount of rainbows stocked - MDC stocks the same amount in August they do in June and July. It's just typical late summer doldrums.

That's not to say trout can't be had. Water has been off in the mornings and running starting about 2 pm till dark each day. This has been consistant for the past couple of weeks. It gives fly fishers a chance to wade below the dam as well as boaters time to still fish using crawlers and gulp eggs below Fall Creek. The clearer water means dropping to 2-pound line will get you more bites.

I fished the earlier part of the week last week. One morning I threw 3/32nd oz jigs straight, no float, below Fall Creek for 3 hours and boated my limit of rainbows - four. I missed quite a few bites and lost several before getting them to the boat. I used 2-lb line and tried brown, sculpin, sculpin/ginger and brown/orange.

At the same time, there were friends of mine fishing from a pontoon in the same area using crawlers and Gulp eggs on the bottom. They'd catch one or two in one spot and then I'd have them move downlake, not more than 400 yards. They started close to Fall Creek and ended the morning at Short Creek with 12 nice rainbows.

Another good report - after the water starts, drifting from Short Creek down past Cooper Creek has been pretty decent using Gulp eggs, one white or yellow and one pink or orange. Stay away from the bluff side of the alke because of down trees and other looming snags. Only use as much weight to get you to the bottom -- you'll feel the strike better and not get snagged up as much.

Also after the water starts, work a medium to large crank bait along the bluffs and snags for browns and rainbows. Later in the day is better for browns.

Bill Babler-

Fished Taneycomo several times in the last week with different degrees of success. As far as I have been up is Lookout. I have not been able to fish the lake on moving water, just under hot, bright, and very still conditions.

Lower restricted area to Mouth of Fall Creek has been producing some bites, but it also has had plenty of fishermen. I really have not seen schools of trout and with the current conditions, they would be visible.

Two flies for me are working with some degree of success over others. The first being a sculpin micro jig in 256 oz. With the low water right now I am fishing it about 3 ft. below the indicator. Best bite is occurring from Casket Rock, the Big Rock on the South East Shore across from the Tennis Courts, to the Fall Creek Ramp. With the low non-flowing water, fish this fly on a complete dead drift, only shocking the indicator very infrequently. Most takes are extremely light.

Grey or Silver scud in sizes 14 thru 18 with a red tie at the head are the second choice. Again fish this scud a bit deeper, to drag it on the bottom or just above. The trout will pick it right off the bottom, no problem. Not much movement is required. Same locations.

In the afternoons when the water starts, size 14 and 16 peach eggs are reported to be the best bet.

Fall Creek, to Short Creek; Bite early is very good on 256th. oz micro's in ginger with a gold head or sculpin with a orange or gold head. Fish these flies through the area of the old Fall Creek dock, just where the dock used to sit. I am using about 7ft. of tippet to an indicator here. If you see trout midging or any surface action, fling your fly in that direction, and you most often will get bit. Move the fly a bit more here than in the restricted zone on this deeper water. The trout are not well positioned and need the movement on the fly to keep contact with it.

As the sun hits the water in the same area, Inflated Night crawlers are working to some extent, and catching very quality fish in the up to 22 inch class, with stringers of 14 to 16 inch trout being the norm, rather than the exception. Numbers are not high however but patients will lead to a very quality limit.

Day before yesterday, We had two limits that I will guess averaged 16.5 inches, but the total for the 4 hr. trip was only 13 trout

Keep your boat anchored on the shallow side and throw into the deeper bluff channel. Be prepared to be patient, and just wait. Boat traffic is your friend, as the fish are not moving much and when a boat comes by it repositions the fish. You get a bite on a passing boat most every time.

Bob Kline is guiding the lower end and fishing the Corn Field, Bull Creek, and the mouth of Cedar. He reports about 30 fish in half day trips on orange and chartruse powerbait, but the fish are not near the quality as from Fall Creek, through Cooper Creek.

I have had two reports in the last week telling me the Branson Landing area, from Monkey Island through Roark Creek, are extremely slow.

All it takes is the stocking boat thru there one time to change that as you know.

Bill Babler White River Outfitters fishing guide service whiteriverbb@msn.com 417-332-7016

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/3/09 - Branson, MO

2009-08-05T09:48:00.001-07:00

Haven't written a fishing report in almost a month. May be a record... not a good one I guess. Between traveling and home projects, I've only just gotten out on the lake the last couple of evenings.

This was quite a July, wasn't it? Sure love this global cooling. Fish do too. Generation has been different almost everyday. We check the charts every afternoon to see what they will do the next day - alot of our guests come in and check. It's been pretty accurate. Most mornings it's off and running in the afternoon - up to 4 units. I've heard the same thing everyone has heard about Beaver Lake being dropped resulting in more generation here but we haven't seen it yet. Table Rock is in good shape, not high at all, so we'll see what happens here in the next couple of weeks.

Fly fishing below the dam has been fair to good- depends on the day and time of day. Still catching rainbows on dries - beetles and ants, some midges. With all the rain we're having, san juan worms in brown and tan are working good in the swifter moving water and with the water running. Scuds in #18's and #20's in tan, olive and brown have been good but have to use 7x tippet to do any good, especially in sunny weather.

From a boat, they're using either micro jigs or small 1/125th oz jigs under a float when the water is off both above Fall Creek and below. No wind, the bite has been REAL light, barely moving the float so you really have to pay attention. And again, 2 lb line a must. Change colors if you're not getting bit. Vince reported NOT catching fish on olive but changed to sculpin and did good. There's not much difference in those colors... but it made a difference for Vince. If they stop hitting one color, don't keep fishing it, change. Change depths too.

Evenings are great to get out on Lake Taneycomo. Very little boat traffic and it's been great out there, very mild and little fog. The water starts to drop out about 7 pm. I've been fishing from Lookout to Fall Creek throwing 3/32nd oz jigs and working the middle to channel side of the lake. I tried a white jig and they ran from it. Best color has been a combo sculpin/ginger jig. There seems to be pockets or schools of trout holding here and there, not spread out throughout the area. I'd go for several hundred yards without a bite then get 3 or 4 trout in a row. The size of the rainbows I'm catching are still very good. Had one pushing 19 inches the other day. All are fighting real well. Now I have gone to using 2 lb line. I usually do in the fall months when the water gets gin clear and the trout get alittle fussy about the line size. I've been telling anglers who are fishing below the dam the same thing - go to 7x flourocarbon and you'll get bit more often. I did see some fish taking dries off the surface as the water dropped out last evening along the bluff bank. I didn't have my fly rod or I would have tossed a beetle or elk hair at them. It's getting time for dry fly fishing to get REAL hot. Fun times!

Below Fall Creek, Bill's been catching some REAL nice rainbows on night crawlers, water running or not. Anchor in the middle of the lake and throw to the channel when the water is not running. Inject the worm with air using a blow bottle. Four pound line is ok but 2 pound will catch you more fish. Also, I'd think you'd do well working 1/8th oz jigs along the bluff bank while the water is running. If these are rainbows that have come out of the trophy area, they should take a jig well. Dark earth colors the best- brown, sculpin, olive and combinations work best right now. Of course, jig and float will work in this area too. Best when there's a chop on the water but if it's slick, pay close attention to the float because they might not move it much on the bite. Water off, they've been catching rainbow on gulp power bait, anchoring on the shallow side and throwing to the middle from Short Creek up to Fall Creek. Anchor off the channel and you won't have boats running over you all day.

1ST Annual Guns and Hoses Fishing Tournament

2009-07-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

What: A fishing tournament on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri sponsored by Lilleys' Landing Resort and Marina

Why: To raise money for the Branson Fire and Police auxiliary funds to help support our community. Where: Lilleys’ Landing Resort & Marina, 367 River Lane, Branson, MO A free lunch will be provided after the weigh-in!

When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Enter your two-man team by emailing Megan@lilleyslanding.com for an entry form. Then drop off or mail in your completed copy of the entry form and your $75 entry fee to Branson Fire and Rescue attn: Kory Klein, 110 Crosby Street, Branson, MO 65616 Prizes will be awarded for 1st through 3rd places and big fish. Each boat that enters will get a raffle ticket, and additional raffle tickets can be purchased for $5. If you register before the tournament day, you also get an extra raffle ticket! 50% off boat rentals will be provided by Lilleys’ Landing for tournament teams.

To reserve a boat rental call 417-334-6380. If you need any assistance contact Kory Klein (417) 294-3319

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/28/09 - Branson, MO

2009-07-01T18:03:00.001-07:00

Another glorious week has passed here on Lake Taneycomo. It's been hot! Temperatures have hovered close to 100 each day but I can honestly say the trout fishing has been equally hot as well.

Doesn't matter what part of the upper lake we're talking about, fishing has been good this week. Can't say as much for the boating skills, or may be I should say etiquette, on the lake. It's amazing how some boaters don't have a clue what boating rules are, rules like we have on out streets, roads and highways. Rules, if you break them, can cause damage and injury, tickets and citations. If everyone practiced one thing, just one thing, they'd improve their safe boating skills by 100%. That simple one thing is watch your wake. That and steer clear of fishing lines. Wakes cause boats to rock, cause some boats to actually take on water. They throw people around in the surrounding boats, they knock fishing gear from their perches, they cause stress. And it all can be avoided. The bigger your boat, the bigger your wake. Going slow actually does more harm than going fast but that doesn't give you the right to fly by boats in close quarters. Idle speed means just that, put it in gear and don't accelerate.

Yes, there's a reason I'm bringing it up. Yesterday I had a group of boys out fishing above Short Creek. There were three jon boats with an adult and 3 boys, most of them under the age of 10, in each boat. We were anchored well off the channel, allowing boats plenty of room to boat by. There were other boats up and down the lake pretty much doing the same thing. Most boats heading up and down the lake were safe boaters, moving through at slow speeds as to not to throw big wakes at us. But there was one boat that didn't slow down and he didn't keep a safe distance from our first boat in line. He buzzed by within 20 feet of our boat. He even had a small boy with him. I yelled to slow down and I got a hand jester like, "what's the big deal"? Put the shoes on the other foot- had someone did that to him, he'd be ticked. Bottom line, he put those boys in danger by his boating practice and the awful thing about it he knew no different.

Fishing... sorry for the soap box episode.

We did catch trout yesterday. We floated night crawlers and did real well. All nine of the boys caught at least one rainbow and some caught their limit of 4 rainbows. We used 4 pound line, #6 short shanked #89 hooks, #7 split shots set 18 inches above the hook and used half a night crawler, hooked once in the middle, letting it hang off each side. Don't worry about hiding the hook. Shoot some air in the worm using a blow bottle or a hypodermic needle. This floats the worm off the bottom 18 inches. You'll get more bites, faster bites using this technique verses no air at all, just letting it lay on the bottom. Night crawler fishing between Fall Creek and Short Creek has been excellent early in the morning.

Oh yea- did I mention generation? The only generation we've seen has been from about 2-3 pm till dark, running up the lake about 6 feet or 3-4 units and then dropping out about the time they get it up and rolling. Up slow and then back down slow. Interesting pattern. Now this coming week, we might see a bit of a change. With temperature dropping to the upper 80's and low 90's, we may see days with no generation at all.

Lincoln Hunt, a good friend of ours from Dallas, is up for a visit. He likes to wet wade below the dam (no waders, saddles or just wading boats). He's been up there almost everyday this week hammering the rainbows. He's using mainly #20 black zebra midges under a dry fly indicator about 12 inches deep. I got up there one day this past week and caught a nice 18 inch rainbow on a #16 olive elk hair caddis but it was the only taker on the caddis. The best area, reported Lincoln, was below Rebar.

I've also heard using small scuds - #20's - have been working well in the Rebar Hole but you got to get there early - 6 am - to get a good spot. If you get there too late, you might be referred to as a slob for not getting out of bed before dawn. Sorry- inside joke.

Get out in a boat and run above Fall Creek into the trophy area for some great jig and float action. Best jig is still the tan 1/256th oz micro jig although that little brown jig Vince tied for me has done well too. It's a jig he tied himself but he got the jigs from an online store - http://heartlandflygear.com. I ordered and received some of the jig heads and they look marvelous! I've already tried a few, using just a bit of marabou. I think that's the key to these small jigs... you can use too much and these jigs lose their effectiveness. Heartland Fly Gear has an incredible inventory of all sizes of jig heads... plus he's a member of our forum to boot. Check it out.

Again, I'm tying on 2-3 feet of 2 lb Vanish as a tippet. Water is clear and most mornings it's real still. Need that smaller line to attract more bites! And oh yes... the talk is you have to use 7x fluorocarbon below the dam no matter what wet fly you're using. 6x won't cut it. Although I did catch my nice rainbow on 6x but that was a dry. When using a dry, you have to match the size of fly to the size of tippet or you're going to have a twisted mess.

If you catch the water running, don't be scared to throw a medium crank bait like a rapala F-5 or F-7 against the bluff banks below Fall Creek.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/22/09 - Branson, MO

2009-06-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Not much change in the fishing, catching and fishing conditions on Lake Taneycomo this week. Generation, if anything, has lessened in the past few days. Water has been off most mornings and staying off into the afternoon. They've been bumping the flow up to 2-3 units by 4 or 5 pm but dropping it in late evening and off by dark. This is a surprise to me really... unseasonable hot temperatures I would think force the Corp to run lots of water to meet an increase of power demand but they evidently have other sources of power they are drawing on, ie. coal burning plants. We'll see if this generation pattern continues.

It seems like MDC is keeping ahead of anglers demands for trout. Fish keep being caught and kept and nice ones too. We've seen lots of nice stringers come in to the dock this past week, most caught below Fall Creek on Gulp Eggs and worms. We've been boating up past Fall Creek and fishing the trophy area where we're finding an abundance of rainbows to catch. And the number of rainbows below the dam is very good too. We'll see if these numbers hold through the hottest part of the summer- July and August.

Above Fall Creek, we're still catching big numbers of trout, mainly rainbows, on small jigs under a float. Micros in the 1/25th size in tan or olive under an indicator 3-4 feet deep- best! I learned from Bill Babler to keep a spool of #2 lb Vanish line in my bag. I use 4 lb XL Trilene green line on my spin reels but when I'm using this jig and float method and especially using small micro jigs, I find it's best to add 2-3 feet of #2 lb Vanish to the end of the 4 lb. I get more strikes adding the tippet to the line. I use a triple surgeon’s knot to connect the lines. The link points to a double knot- I just add another loop-through for the triple knot.

My fishing buddy Vince and I went fishing the other evening. He had these small jigs, about the size of a micro jig, but these were lead-ball head and he tied just a bit of marabou onto the body. We used brown jigs and man the rainbows really loved them. We sat in the Narrows about 3/4 miles above Fall Creek and caught trout after trout for over an hour before dark. He said a friend of his found them on the internet... I'm looking for them now!

Same guys fishing last week caught some great rainbows while the water was running on small crank baits thrown against the bluff bank below Fall Creek. We usually throw Rapalas F-5's or F-7's and use several colors including black/silver, black/gold and rainbow.

Power bait colors... well that has varied quite a bit this week. Had some guys come in and say they really caught them good off the Cooper Creek Public Dock on yellow nuggets. Most anglers are using a combination of white and pink Gulp Egg off our docks and up near Short Creek. I've seen some people trolling small crank baits, rooster tails and jigs and doing pretty good. And been selling alot of spoons- Colorado gold and rainbow styles.

Fly fishing below the dam has stayed very good over the past week. Down water has given waders access to the upper end most days which is nice. Grey scuds #16 and #18, san juan worm, cracklebacks have been hot I'm told and thread midge in black and tan #20 and #22. Zebra midge under an indicator 12 inches fished from the Big Hole area down to the boat ramp- excellent- especially when rainbows are actively feeding on midges in the film. Also soft hackles in #18's reds, blacks and yellow stripped quickly if there's a chop on the water.

Large Rainbow Caught 6/2/09 - Branson, MO

2009-06-04T11:53:00.001-07:00

John Boudreaux caught this 20 inch and 5 almost 6 lb rainbow trout on a white jig upstream from Lilleys' Landing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/1/09 - Branson, MO

2009-06-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

If you've followed my fishing reports over the years you know I'm honest to a fault. I report poor fishing when it happens, and now isn't the time for a poor fishing report! It's just the opposite.

I saw something yesterday that I haven't seen in a number of years, may be ever on our lake. There was no generation, water was still. No wind and high, bright sun. A glassy lake surface allowed me to see everything in the water at some distance. I was guiding a couple from the St Louis area, fishing the trophy area above Fall Creek. The lake up there is fairly shallow and with the gin clear water, we could see into the water very easily. What we saw were schools of rainbows, large and small. But as we caught what we thought were "small stockers", upon netting these trout we realized they were large trout, most over 15 inches and very heavy. So what were the "large" trout we were seeing? Very large rainbows.

For over a year we've seen heavy generation day after day after day. For years I have said generation creates a healthy tailwater -- more food is produced for fish and that is evident right not by the condition of our trout. They are fat and colorful. And not just up in the trophy area. We've seen limits of rainbows brought to the dock by anglers who are fishing below Fall Creek, catching most of the nicer rainbows on night crawlers.

So how are we catching some of these trophies? Up in the trophy area, with these blue bird days of high sun and little wind, throwing a 3/32nd oz jig straight and hopping it sharply just off the bottom is how we found to catch them yesterday. We were using a sculpin/ginger or sulpin/peach jig yesterday. By using a jig with a little light color in the jig, we could see the jig in the water as we worked it back to the boat. We could also see the rainbows chasing and nipping at the jig, sometimes over and over and over but not really taking the jig in its mouth. But if more than one rainbows was pursuing the jig, the competition factor would cause them to be more aggressive and one would take the jig more often than coming up with no bite at all. It was fun to watch.

Another interesting observation, one that I've already addressed here -- I was after smaller rainbows to keep yesterday. My clients wanted to take 4 or 5 trout home to eat and we had only caught rainbows over 12 inches. Can't keep rainbows between 12 and 20 inches in the trophy area. So I was shaking my jig away from the larger ones and working on catching what I thought were smaller than 12 inch rainbows. But when I'd hook and land one I thought was under 12 inches, they turned out to be well over 12 inches! Then what were the larger ones!!?? Fortunately, we did end the morning with 7 rainbows we could keep.

We've been trying to start our morning trips at 6 am and really you can get out even earlier than 6 but for most folks, 6 am is early enough. We're trying to get out before the sun gets up and over the water. Fishing really drops off when it gets bright out, especially with little or no wind. Now if the wind picks up and we get a chop on the water, the fish come alive. We saw this again yesterday. Bill Babler had 3 fly fishing clients. They were fishing above us in close proximity. They were struggling to get bit with the flat water but when a breeze would come through, breaking up the surface just slightly, they'd all have a trout on the line. Chop on the water makes a HUGE difference, even when bait fishing.

Early in the morning above Fall Creek, we've been fishing a tan or olive micro jig or a #14 red zebra under an indicator 3 to 4 feet deep in the shade of the bluff either using a fly rod or spin rod. Use 2 lb test for more hookups, especially when the sun comes up over the water you're fishing. Bill's also using a combo with an egg fly on a small jig hook and tying a #14 gray scud OR a #14 red zebra under the egg about 18 inches. You can also throw that straight jig and catch them too. If you're not into flies that much, a simple marabou jig will work -- colors: olive, brown, brown/orange, sculpin and vary the choices with either a dark head or an orange head. Size: 1/125th, 1/100th, 1/80th but unless they're running water I would go any heavier than a 1/80th oz. If they are running water I use a 1/32nd oz jig under a float.

Later in the morning and on into the afternoon, I'd try a dry along the bluff bank. I notice the fish were really getting active along the bank yesterday about noon and if I had fly fishers in the boat, we would have tossed a #8 stimulator at them and I bet they would have loved it.

Below Fall Creek, air injected night crawlers fishing in the middle of the lake between Fall Creek and Lilleys' Landing has been deadly. Don't wind the worm on the hook in a ball -- hook it one time in the collar of the worm, letting it hang off the hook on both sides, pinching off the tail. Inject air in the head of the worm so that it floats. Set the weight about 12 to 18 inches from the bait so that it floats that distance from the bottom. Don't use any line heavier than 4 lb and for best chances to catch fish, use 2 lb line. Remember, if the fish swallows the hook and you wish to release the fish, don't touch the fish... NEVER handle a trout when releasing it with a dry rag or a dry hand! Simply cut the line close to the fish's mouth and let it drop back in the water. The hook will work it's way out or dissolve eventually.

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Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/26/09 - Branson, MO

2009-05-28T10:28:00.001-07:00

Finally... a real good fishing report. For Taneycomo, it's been long overdue.

It might be expected - for there to be a bunch of rainbows in the lake for a holiday weekend like Memorial Day weekend. It's a good thing. Shepherd of the Hills did their job well, stocking much loved and sought after rainbows the week before.

At least our guests here at the Landing (Lilleys', not Branson) were happy with their "catching", even though the weather wasn't the nicest.

Rumors of big rainbows abound from 2 to 4 pounders being caught off the dock plus a 10 pound rainbow caught above Fall Creek by a client fishing with one of our guides.

I guided with Bill Babler both Saturday and Sunday. Armed with fly rods and silver scuds, we pounded the water between Lookout and Fall Creek both mornings and came up with alot of nice rainbows on each drift. We set our #14 scuds anywhere from 8 to 12 feet below an indicator and tried to stay in the middle-to-shallow side of the lake. Sunday morning the bite was light - the rainbows weren't taking it and running but spitting it out rather quickly, causing quick releases.

Down lake, night crawlers drifted on the bottom was great from Fall Creek down past Short Creek. Anglers picked up some real nice, colorful rainbows on this drift. Minnows too. The larger rainbows that have been in the lake for a long period seemed to go after more natural baits, not the power baits. They seemed to catch more of the freshly stocked rainbows.

Even drifting below our place downstream was very good using Gulp white with pink eggs.

Back to the trophy area, drifting jigs under a float worked well for one of our guides- Vince Elfrink and his clients. He started out with ginger1/50th oz jigs under a float Sunday morning, then quickly switching to pink jigs when the generation was bumped up from one unit to two. One of his clients caught over 40 rainbows that morning.

Throwing 1/8th oz jigs straight was also good this weekend, using white, sculpin, scuplin/peach and brown jigs. Most worked the bluff banks but some just worked the bottom of the lake, staying in the middle.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/19/09 - Branson MO

2009-05-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

There's something funny brewing as far as generation here on the lake. Of course, we're the step child of all the lakes here on the White River. We are the pass-through channel where all the water from NW Arkansas and SW Missouri flows through. There's talk of flood gates which I don't understand. The Corp is supposed to meet with local officials to talk about what they (the Corp) needs to do to alieviate some of the high water levels above Taneycomo. Table Rock is in great shape. It's only 2 feet over power pool which for this time of year is perfect. Beaver Lake, on the other hand, is very high - 1129 feet which is only one foot below flood pool.

Now from past water levels, this level on Beaver isn't unusual. I remember a few years back, the Corp held Beaver Lake at 1129 feet for weeks. At the time, I didn't understand why. Keeping a lake right at the top of the flood pool where one good rain would put it over the top, taking away all control of flow doesn't seem smart to me. One foot of variance sin't much room for error. But today, they have the dam at Beaver shut down. Why?

Today, they shut Table Rock Dam back to 2 units most of the day and off during the night. I understand that move in light of TableRock's levels but at some point the Corp is going to have to move alot of water through Table Rock, through Taneycomo into Bull Shoals, which is another story altogether. The rumor of flood gates is strange. Flood gates are only used in extreme cases, although fishing wise, I love flood gates in May and June. Some of the best fishing EVER has been when flood gates are opened on Table Rock in the spring.

Our water is 46 degrees right now. That's cold, even for trout. They like 50 degree water. If they opened flood gates, the water would rise into the 50's for sure plus dump a bunch of shad into the lake. Our trout would respond immediately, moving to the dam and feeding on the shad. We've seen the browns move up and feed, making them fairly easy to catch during these runs.

But we'll have to see what happens. Bottom line, we're going to see generation for most of the month of June. How much remains to be seen.

Fishing... has really picked up this past week. Boy, it was really slow for several weeks. Our guides were really crying the blues and when they cry, everyone else is finding catching trout extremely hard.

Why the turn around? Not sure. More trout stocked- yes. But we're seeing some real nice rainbows below Fall Creek coming on night crawlers and minnows that must have some out of the trophy area. This isn't unusual at all. We see this every year about this time. Seventeen and 18-inch rainbows taking natural baits mostly. Jigs too. Some flies like scuds and san juans.

Had some great reports of rainbows coming on jigs worked along the bluff banks this weekend. Kelly Stammer and his church group did real well throwing brown and orange 1/8th oz jigs along the bluff banks. I've suggested throwing rooster tails and small crank baits too. It seems they are hugging the banks, staying out of the current.

It's hard writing a report right in the middle of a transition like this. Not knowing exactly what they are going to do with the water is tough but you can be assured there will be alot of rainbows stocked for the upcoming holiday weekend. Hopefully the weather will be nice to us.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/15/09 - Branson MO

2009-05-16T14:09:00.001-07:00

Boy, we're seeing alot of water flow past our place these days. Not like a year ago, thank goodness. But still, generation from Table Rock is non-stop full 4 units to drop the lake levels of Table Rock and especially Beaver Lake. Northwest Arkansas has gotten more rain than Southern Missouri and Beaver Lake has almost reached flood stages. With the rains in the forecast, we're going to see lots more generation here.

Good news -the stocking truck has been doing a pretty good job lately. Catching rainbows has picked up here the last week. Now, catching isn't the easiest because of the high water but we've seen some of our guests catch their limit of rainbows in a day's time.

I had reported doing pretty well last week, fishing the bluff bank from the old Sun Valley Resort down past Cooper Creek Access using jigs, either under a float or thrown straight, especially hitting the eddies and slower water. This is still ok but not as good with the higher water level. I had fair success using white, pink or brown jigs.

Drifting Gulp Eggs from Short Creek down through the Cooper Creek Access is some of the best fishing we've seen this week. Use one white egg with a pink, yellow or orange egg on a #8 hook. Be sure you do 2 things: keep the bait on the bottom and stay in the middle of the lake.

Drifting minnows in the same area and drifting down further to the Landing was good for some of our guides yesterday. They are seeing some nice sized rainbows caught right now- some up to and heavier than a pound.

I'd try a few other things if I were fishing - there's good, calm water on the inside bend from Taneycomo Acres down to Monkey Island. I'd throw rooster tails and spoons along this bank. While boating down to the Landing the other day with the family to eat at Shorty Smalls, I noticed a good number of rainbows jumping and midging in this slack water. Jig and float may work pretty good too.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson MO 4/23/09

2009-04-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well... we're not calling it "fishing" here on Lake Taneycomo anymore; it's now called "drifting". Recent rains have caused Table Rock and Beaver Lakes to rise more than two feet over their power pool levels this week so water continues to flow through Taneycomo down the hill to Bull Shoals.

High flows are not unusual for us in the spring. It's actually the norm. Lots of water flow and high winds makes for a difficult day of fishing even for the best of us. Presentation goes out the window replaced with the attempt just to feel the bite which is crucial to catch the fish! What I mean by that is we have to change from our normal fishing, "go-to" patterns like drifting with bait down the river to throwing a spoon, a spinner or crank bait... something that isn't affected as much by wind and movement. That's what we've done and it's working fairly well.

Find where the trout are has been equally challenging. But we think we've done pretty well in that department. From Monkey Island down through the Landing is where we're been seeing the most trout caught this week. Last night, my mom and dad took my daughter Sara and I out to eat at the Landing. As we sat outside on the lakefront deck, I watch the slick surface of the lake carefully for rises, and sure enough those rainbows started midging in a couple of areas- one was down by the Princes Cruise liner and the other up behind the Fish House with a few stragglers in between. Midging rainbows means they are feeding on the surface, close to the surface where they'd see a rooster tail or Cleo thrown and worked a foot or two under the water.

Drifting Gulp power eggs has been good when the wind is low. Some guys fishing all this week said they did really well drifting from the power lines above Monkey Island down through the island using a white and a chartreuse egg on one hook. Now minnows has been the hot bait till I heard this report. I'd pack a minnow bucket just in case.

Had a couple reports from the trophy area this week. Still tough conditions up there but they are catching some good quality rainbows on san juan worm, #10 gray scuds and peach egg flies drifted on the bottom. Morning and evenings have been the best time to get out and enjoy this drift.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 3/30/09

2009-03-31T15:43:00.001-07:00

Boy, it's been tough figuring out our generation patterns lately. It looks like we're entering our first spring rain period where about every 3 or 4 days a front and shower move through the area. Man I feel for the people up in North Dakota... we were there just about a year ago. This year though our lakes are at power pool levels -- a good place to start out a possible rainy spring.

Our water has been running alot more than it has not been running the last week. Fronts and showers (and painful memories of April, 2008) are keeping the managers at the Corp second guessing whether they should run alittle today -- or alot! Just like today: their on-line schedule said 3 units in the morning dropping to one unit in the afternoon. In reality they ran 3 units all day... they must have thought, "We better run more water cause we may get more rain than what's forecasted for tonight!" Total speculation on my part. It is frustrating for us guides who have to try to make a plan for the day's trip but we make do.

With the water and wind, fishing- or catching- has been alittle tough. I've seen some anglers in boats anchored in the mouth's of some of our creeks doing rather well. Fall Creek has been a popular place the last few days. I'd say they're tight-lining night crawlers behind the boat. You can tie to or anchor in some of the eddies on the side of the lake or in the mouth of a creek but be extremely careful to think out any possibility that you could come undone and swing into the current. That or your anchor could drag and you could find yourself in heavy current, still with an anchor our. Fast current and anchors lead to serious possibilities. Drifting into downed trees in heavy current is equally as bad. Be very careful!

I have drifted flies on the bottom in the trophy area my last 3 guide trips including 2 full day trips Sunday and Monday and did fairly well. We drifted them two ways... one is straight-line using either a #4 or a 3/0 removable split shot 4-5 feet above the first fly and a second fly tied on in tandem 18 inches from the first. We're using a #12 scud, gray, brown or olive and a #14 red or black zebra. They hit the scud more than the zebra so sometimes we're using two scuds. The other method is under a float. We're fishing the flies 10-12 feet deep. We're also using a pink micro jig, chrome head.

There's only one good area we're finding fish that will bite. This is pretty weird considering I know there are rainbows all over the place in the trophy area. The best drift is over the flat at the Narrows. The Narrows is where the channel swings from the east to the west side of the lake, about a half mile above Fall Creek. There is major bank improvement work being done at this spot- can't miss it. Some of the construction guys cheer us every time we drift by and catch a trout. We drift on down to Fall Creek, picking up one or two on the east side of the lake, off the gravel bar. We're catching alot of rainbows under 12 inches -- so if you're having trout catching 4 to take home and eat, buy you a few scuds and head up to this area and drift a fly instead of power bait and you'll do ok. We did land several over 15 inches too but not many.

Over the weekend, our guests did catch trout below Fall Creek mainly on minnows, night crawlers and gulp power eggs- chartreuse best color. Roark Creek proved to be a great spot to go and get out of the current and catch rainbows too. Jig and float- use a jig head (1/32) and put an orange gulp egg on it and fish it 4 feet deep. You'll do well!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 3/19/09

2009-03-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Lake Taneycomo

Crazy fish. I still have to remind myself that it's call FISHING, not catching, for a reason. Sara, my oldest daughter, and I fished all day yesterday on Table Rock looking for white bass and crappie and hardly caught a thing. Everyone I know fishing yesterday on Bull and the Rock struggled. Trout fishing, though, was excellent on Taneycomo. It was sunny and mild yesterday. Today it's cloudy with alittle breeze and I guess fishing is awesome on Table Rock, at least. Report to follow after Babler calls me back.

Sorry for the delay in reporting. It's been a zoo here at the resort plus lots of extracurricular activities with NAIA basketball here at College of the Ozarks.

Generation, well, for the most part it's been off- none. Today however, the Corp is making themselves liars. On their on-line chart it says no generation today but they're still running 2 units as I type mid-day. So who knows. I'd say little chance of much generation through the weekend.

Trout fishing on Taneycomo has been fair up until yesterday. Fishing slowed down for most from Monkey Island through the Landing except for a few reports of catching larger rainbows around the 65 bridge and the Fish House structure at the Landing. The area in front of our dock has been alittle slow although some of our guests are catching a few from the dock. But the area between Short and Fall Creek is on fire, according to our guides who fished with night crawlers yesterday and reported catching some nice limits of rainbows.

Above Fall Creek in the trophy area it's been very good. Jig and float using either micro jigs or marabou jigs in olive, sculpin, brown/orange are the ticket. Lots of 10-16 inch rainbows being caught everyday. Alittle breeze helps- look for the chop on the water and go there! Use 2 pound line for more hook ups.

Below the dam, again HOT! A friend landed five, yes five! rainbows over 20 inches just yesterday. Small scuds- #18 in gray shades dead drifting them throw feeding rainbows. Sight fishing is possible now that the water is gin clear again. Midge fishing down by the boat ramp has been great in the afternoons and evenings using a crackleback or zebra midge.

The lake has been busy, to say the least. Spring breakers are enjoying incredible spring weather and the trout are cooperating!

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, Mo 3-10-09

2009-03-10T15:57:00.001-07:00

Generation patterns changed as of last Saturday. For the past 3 days, the Corp has run about one units 24 hours a day. Not sure what that's all about! It's made wading below the dam challenging but fishing's great!

Bill Babler had a trip today (Monday). They drifted from Andy's (Williams) house down to Fall Creek with a float rig. I float rig is a jig or fly and float, set about 7 feet deep. The jig would be a pink micro jig and fly would be a #12 or #14 scud (gray, olive or brown). The jig needs no extra weight but the fly, unless it's weighted, needs a small split shot. Getting to the bottom is essential to get bit. That's why he fishes it 7 feet deep when the water may only be 4-6 feet deep.

They were also using an egg fly tied on a small jig head. Peach or roe was the color. Again, this was drifted on the bottom under a float, although you can also fish it without a float using a small split shot to get it down to the bottom.

Babler said they caught probably 70 rainbows this morning and missed that many more.

In the same area, while drifting, cast and work a small 1/16h oz sculpin jig off the bottom. Don't reel, just work the rod tip slowly up and down. They've been hitting the jig pretty hard.

Below Fall Creek, Gulp Power Eggs drifted on the bottom has been the easiest and best way to catch rainbows. Use a drift rig or just a hook and split shot, #4 lb line best. Use a white egg along with another color - pink, orange or yellow. Night crawlers also are a great live bait. Use a #8 or #6 bronze short shanked hook (#89) and hook the worm once about where the collar is,letting the worm hang off both sides of the hook. Don't have to hide the hook at all- trout don't seem to care about it. When drifting, hold the rod up high and watch the tip of the rod. The bottom will hold and let go, hold and let go. A fish will hold-pull and keep pulling. Don't apply too much pressure -- allow the fish to pull the rod tip down till it's close to the water, then set the hook. This lets the trout get the worm (and hook) in it's mouth well enough to catch him.

Stay in the middle of the lake when drifting. If you get too close to the sides, you'll lose alot of rigs to down trees.

Trolling with small crank baits or small spoons has been catching alot of trout too. Trollers usually stay down below Cooper Creek because the lake is much wider and their line isn't in the way of boat traffic as much. Casting spoons around the bridges and the Landing has been good too. Seems like there's alot of rainbows around the Fish House and Shorty Smalls lately.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 3/5/09

2009-03-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Without rain this past couple of weeks, our lakes are finally down to power pool and for the first time in more than 2 weeks, we saw a day of no generation yesterday (Sunday, 3/1). Today's generation schedule may look like days to come here on Taneycomo -- generation for half and no generation for the other half day... that would be a nice change for everyone!

The 12th annual Team Trout Tournament was held out of Lilleys' Landing Resort and Marina on Saturday, yes in the cold, wind and snowy conditions. And yes we had a good showing for the event.

It was a tough morning for everyone. The first place team had only 2 trout in the boat at noon. Some called it quits because of the poor fishing and conditions but those who stuck it out had a good afternoon of catching.

Snow early and some wind even kept a few teams from starting until after 9 am! But 34 teams showed up and fished our little tournament.

Stopped snowing about 9:30 am but started again about 1 pm and that's when the trout started to bite.

Gerry and Bob Dwiggins of St Charles have proven once again that they are the guys to beat here on Taneycomo. Gerry is a 4 or 5 time winner of the Masters including this year with his partner Bruce Wucher. At the RAW a few weeks ago, Bob won with his partner Bill. This weekend is was all Dwiggins- both Gerry and Bob teamed up to win.

They are jig fisherman- period. No bait-- no never. Even in the RAW where bait was allowed they stuck with their jigs and caught good trout.

"If it wasn't on the bottom, you didn't get bit", Gerry told me after the weigh in.

Two more jig fisherman who have shared the podium are JD and Jerry Dudley of Fayetteville, Ar. They took 2nd place with Jerry catching the big rainbow- 1.48 pounds. I was sweating the finish after weighing in 3 rainbows at 1.30 pounds, fearing a tie would cause a stir. No tie break rules were in place for a 3-way tie so when Jerry brought his 1.48 lb rainbow up I was relieved.

Chris Tettrick and Tony Weldele, both local guides, took third place.

Last week, trout fishing was fairly consistent -- I'd call it good. Anglers were drifting Gulp eggs from the old Riverlake Resort down past Lilleys' and as long as they kept the bait on the bottom, they caught trout. The size of rainbows are running smaller than in past weeks. As I was telling a friend yesterday, MDC stocks their trout in the downtown area on Branson. When they stock, their loads are the same size rainbows. For the year last year they averaged about 10.5 inches but averages mean some are smaller and some are bigger. These were smaller. Normal movement for a trout is to swim upstream and they seem to do that -- all the way up into the trophy area. It usually takes a few days, then I believe they cycle around the upper 5-6 miles of the lake until their either caught or find a place to settle. This is purely my guess -- nothing scientific about it.

So... generation patterns may look like today's generation for the rest of the week -- generation in the am and off in the pm. When the temps hit the 70's later in the week, we may see no generation at all during the day but don't hold me to it.

Fishing patterns: water on -- drift power eggs on the bottom or bounce jigs off the bottom. Fishing for bigger trout and especially brown trout -- medium to large stick baits worked against bluff banks and down trees and other structure. Minnows are still doing pretty good, drifting them on the bottom or anchoring in an eddie and fishing them out the back of the boat - but again be extremely careful when anchoring. Don't anchor in moving water because it is dangerous. Anchor can and will pull a boat under the water in current. Water off -- air injected night crawlers fished on the bottom not in the channel but just off the channel. Jig and float using an olive 1/100th oz jig under a float 4-6 feet deep.

Vince Elfrink, one of our guides, yesterday had a couple of gentleman out while the water was off and they did really well using this technique. Vince said they had multiple doubles on, catching dozens of rainbows on both olive and pink jigs. They were using fly rods but you can use a spin rig just as easy. Catch more trout -- use 2-pound line, but it's not necessary. They were fishing in the trophy area but you can use a jig and float any place on the lake.

Also in the trophy area, #16 or #18 tan or brown scuds fished on the bottom using a fly rod should be hot-hot-hot! Use 6x tippet and either a weighed scud or a small split shot and let it go to the bottom, twitching it every 5 seconds making the bug hope off the bottom. Fish it not in the channel but up on the gravel flats. Also is you see midging rainbows, toss a zebra midge at them, under an indicator 12 inches. The scud- also use an indicator but make sure you fish it deep enough to get to the bottom.

There are schools of small rainbows cruising the edge of the flats above Fall Creek, small, freshly stocked rainbows that are sticking together, swarming anything that moves. Throw a red #16 zebra midge in front of them using a palsa indicator and set the fly about 24 inches deep and watch them attack the zebra AND the indicator like banchies- it's fun if you just like catching fish after fish. We're doing this while the water is down, of course. We do catch an occasional nice rainbow who slips into the gang.

Night fly fishing has been very good this week, reports Duane Doty. They're fishing from the cable down to the point at Big Hole and catching alot of trout stripping leeches. He said they caught alot of small rainbows close to the cable but got into bigger rainbows down towards the point.

Fall Creek continues to work on shoring up their bank upstream from their boat ramp. Last spring, flood waters ate away at the bank under one of their condos, making it uninhabitable. It appears they are going to keep adding chunk rock to this road they've created until the level reaches above flood levels. Whatever their plans, it's going to be tons of rock at I'm sure a big expense.

Table Rock Lake Spring Bass Fishing Secrets To Be Revealed

2009-02-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

Bill Babler Shares His Secrets
on March 5 at the Springfield Nature Center

(Branson, Mo - Monday, February 23, 2009) A well-known guide’s secrets of spring bass fishing on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri – plus the locations of two new lake habitat projects – will be shared in an evening forum March 5 sponsored by OzarkAnglers.com.

Bill Babler of White River Outfitters will speak at 7 p.m. at the Springfield Nature Center in Springfield, Missouri along with Shane Bush and Mike Allen with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The event is free and open to the public.

Babler, who moderates the Table Rock forum on OzarkAnglers.com, has been a licensed area guide for 16 years after growing up on Lake of the Ozarks. He and his wife, Becky, both College of the Ozarks graduates, have operated the White River Lodge, their hand-hewn log bed and breakfast overlooking Table Rock, since they finished building it in May of 2005.

Bush, fisheries biologist for Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo, and Allen, MDC’s new habitat project biologist, will share details of two large projects recently completed, including the exact coordinates for global positioning systems to find the underwater structures of rock, trees and stumps that form the new habitats.

OzarkAnglers.com was started in 1997 by Phil Lilley of Lilleys’ Landing Resort in Branson as a way to share fishing reports of Lake Taneycomo and Table Rock Lake. The no-membership-fee site has grown to reports on 13 lakes, seven tail waters and 31 rivers and creeks, covering most area waters in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas with more than 150 posted articles and a lively forum for fishermen to swap expertise and true tales.

For more information, go to http://ozarkanglers.com or email Phil Lilley at lilley@lilleyslanding.com.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 2/24/09

2009-02-24T07:40:00.001-08:00

Generation is being dictated by lake levels. Table Rock Lake is still one foot above power pool and pretty much holding even with all the water that's leaving the lake through Table Rock Dam. I would think real soon the outflow will catch up with the inflow and we'll see Table Rock's level drop below 915 and we'll see a reprieve in water release on Lake Taneycomo. That's what alot of anglers have been hoping for.

Trout fishing on the lake has slowed compared to a few weeks ago. The white jig isn't working it's magic below the dam. As far as I can tell we've only had one short run of shad come through the turbines although shad are still dying in large numbers on the big lake above, as well as Bull Shoals below. We're hopeful for another run... a lengthy run of shad this spring. But for now we have to deal with generation and with rain in the forecast this week, that generation may continue.

Some of our guides found a bunch of trout in feeder creeks this week. Turkey and Roark Creeks were the best, especially Roark Creek above the second bridge. There's a hole there that normally holds trout in the winter and spring during high water. Actually trout can be anywhere and everywhere in Roark up to where the creek actually enters the lake level above the condos there. But they seem to like to hold at the second bridge. Jig and float, jig and float with a gulp power egg on a jig head and spoons were the best this past week. I did try the area tonight and found a few rainbows on white 1/32nd jig under a float 5 feet deep. They were a nice size.

There's been some trout around the Fish House, Bass Pro's float restaurant on the lake. Spoons and jig and float work there too. In the mouth of Turkey Creek are some rainbows... and up in the creek you'll find some bass too.

Drifting Gulp eggs still the number one, best way to catch a limit of rainbows in short fashion. The stretch above and below Monkey Island is holding alot of stocker rainbows. For larger rainbows, drift between Fall Creek and Short Creek.

Below the dam, our guides have been drifting a tandem rig tying an egg fly on a drift rig with a trailing #10 tan scud off the egg 18 inches. The gravel stretch from Lookout to Fall Creek, staying in the middle of the lake, is producing some nice, plump 11-1/2 inchers, just right for keeping.

Remember- your 2008 fishing licenses will expire on March 1, 2009.

Fishing Report on Lake Taneycomo in Branson 2/15/09

2009-02-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain, rain... have we had enough of the wet stuff for a while? After last year's record floods here in the Ozarks, each rain event now has us all sitting alittle uneasy. By the looks of things, the Corp isn't going to let our lakes get much higher than power pool levels. All four White River Lakes jumped over power pool-

Beaver - 1121.8 ~ 1.4 feet over

Table Rock - 916.5 ~ 1.5 feet over

Bull Shoals - 567.6 ~ 3.6 feet over

Norfork - 555.7 ~ 3.7 feet over

It appears the plan is to get them down as quickly as possible thus lots of generation for the tailwaters. Beaver isn't running too much, Table Rock is generating all 4 units, Bull Shoals is running 7 units and Norfork 2 units during the day. We should expect the same till lake levels draw close to power pool.

For Taneycomo, that means heavy generation for at least 4 or 5 days. By next weekend, we should see a repreive to at least portions of the day seeing less than full tilt to no generation during the middle of the day. That's been the pattern at least. Just don't hold me to it. You never know with the Corp. In their behalf, they have a very hard job guessing what mother nature is going to throw at us.

I've been getting out pretty much everyday, boating to the dam and fishing the high water using, of course, white jigs. This isn't the only technique that's catching fish at the dam. Drifting a variety of flies is working too as well as small crank baits and spoons. Scuds, which is a freshwater shrimp pattern. When the water is down, we use smaller sizes but with this volumn of water, the size is bumped up. Scuds in #14's to #10's -- gray, olive and tan. San Juan worm in red, brown and tan. Egg flies in peach, yellow, white and fl. orange. Anything you use here has to be on the bottom - that's where the fish are holding. Sometimes they will come up for a floating shad but for the most part, they're on the bottom holding out of the current.

I believe there was a run of thread fin shad that flowed through the turbines at Table Rock dam late last week, a tasty meal for our trout below the dam. I don't think it was a big run but big enough to trigger a feeding frenzy, hitting anything white we threw at them. For the first part of this week, fishing was great. Lots of nice rainbows and a few browns all caught on white jigs. Now that they're running all 4 units, it's gotten alittle tougher simply because it's harder to get a jig down to the bottom and harder to feel the bite. Add cold wind and it really gets tough.

The frequency shad come through the dam is unknown. There's not a pattern or circumstance that we can watch and guess when this may happen. But there's a good chance we may see spirts of shad flow through for the next month or we may not see any more shad. We'll see.

Below Fall Creek, boaters are still doing well drifting Gulp eggs, night crawlers and minnows. But the best fishing seems to be down lake from Monkey Island down through the bridges. One good reason is the volumn of water we're seeing. That and this is the area where most of the rainbows are stocked. Bill Babler fished with a client the other day. They tried up below the dam for a couple of hours and did fair. It was when the wind was blowing uplake, making it hard for the client to feel the bites. So they boated down to the Landing and caught some real nice rainbows using a jig and float, setting the jig 5-6 feet deep. Bill likes using pink jigs... because the do work.

Rainbows are still running good size. We're still catching quite a few male rainbows. Not seeing many browns, even at the dam.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson 2/8/09

2009-02-09T06:53:00.001-08:00

Can you believe this weather? What a reprieve from the bitter winter ice storm we all had just 2 weeks ago. Mild temperatures brought out the fisherpeople over the weekend, at least here on Lake Taneycomo. But our trout didn't mind cause they still bit pretty good.

Generation has been anyone's guess. Water was off for most of the week last week but lake levels rose an average of 2 feet as the ice melted so the Corp saw the need to run 2 units for most of the weekend. Anglers who were coming to wade below the dam Saturday and Sunday were not happy. They were confined to the outlets for thier fishing unless they gave in and rented a boat. Looks like this trend may continue this week with some water running most of the day until lake levels drop a bit (Table Rock).

I think our trout have seen some thread fin shad come through the dam from Table Rock Lake. I understand TR's water temp dipped below 40 degrees last week and that usually triggers a shad kill. Shad get sucked thru the turbines at Table Rock Dam and into Taneycomo and our trout absolutely LOVE them. Consequently, they will hit almost anything white and shiny. I prefer to throw white 1/8th oz jigs and I did this evening for a couple of hours before dark.

I boated to the dam about 4:30 pm today. The warm weather was way too inviting not to go out. Very little wind and I'd say less than 2 units running, I started with a white 1/8th oz jigs at the cable. Not much at first, broke off the white jig on the bottom so I grabbed my other rod which had a sculpin 1/8th oz jig on it and began throwing it. Caught a couple of rainbows on the first drift down... I noticed the water dropping so I didn't drift past rebar hole- boated back up to the cable to try that stretch again. I really like throwing a white jig simply because I believe I have a better chance to catch a brown trout than throwing any other color so I tied a white jig back on. Glad I did. The trout wouldn't leave it alone! Bites on every cast and fish-on on almost every cast.

As I drifted past rebar, I kept hitting the trolling motor to slow myself down. I wanted to fish as much as this water as I could. Pulled in behind the root wad that sits in the channel below rebar and casted out in the channel there for a while, catching 5 or 6 rainbows and one brown. I should have taken a pic or two of some of the trout- they were nice, 15 inch plus and colored up beautifully. But I couldn't stop fishing... just too good and I was hoping for a bigger fish to take the jig.

Drifted on down to the KOA (now Trophy Run Development) and kept hooking rainbows plus 2 more browns. Talked to Rich Looten before heading in for the night.

The water never did shut down like I thought it might. Kept running one unit which was perfect.

This weekend, the guys and gals were doing real well throwing "hardware", or spoons, spinners and crankbaits. "Lots of trolling going on", someone in our shop reported Saturday afternoon. That was part of our recommendation to our guests was to troll slowly with Cleos, Spin-a-Lures and F-5 or F-7 Rapalas. But don't limit yourself just to Rapalas... try whatever you have in your tackle box. Troll from Monkey Island down past Branson and even down around Rockaway Beach. There seems to be alot of trout in the lake right now... all over the place.

I reported last week that we had alot of really nice rainbows weighed in at our fishing tournament last Saturday. We hosted another fishing tournament this weekend but this time is was a private contest with a few more entries- 39 teams. Although I think the weather and water conditions were better for fishing (catching), the trout didn't agree. Better: water was running slightly, cloudy and some wind. Not as good: Sunny, no water and not much wind (the Saturday before). Everyone caught trout... still heavier trout than in years past but not as heavy as last Saturday's weights. Here's the top totals:

1- Bob Dwiggins and Bill Freise won with 8.94 pounds

2- Knopfel and Niemoeler with 8.34

3- Jerry Dudley and Colton Neel - 8.28

4- Gerry Dwiggins and Bruce Wucher - 8.24

5- Riffel and Whiteman - 8-12

6- Neel and Merget - 7.98

7- Greifzu and Johnston - 7.92

8- Greifzu and Regot - 7.64

9- Burckhardt and Biermann - 7.54

10- Wehnert and Wehnert - 7.46

Eight trout were weighed. No keeper brown trout were caught. Big rainbow was a 2.86 lb caught by the Riffel/Whiteman team. Five more teams weighed in over 7 pounds and 8 teams over 6 pounds.

Most of the trout were caught either trolling or casting lures although live bait was legal at this contest.

With the water running, Bill Beck reported drifted egg flies on the bottom from Lookout to Fall Creek and catching alot of nice rainbows today. Peach and yellow are the best colors. Just use a split shot to get it to the bottom. With only 2 units or less running, the current isn't that fast and it isn't that deep so you don't need alot of weight.

Same thing from Fall Creek down - drift a Gulp Power Egg on the bottom using a split shot. Use a white and another color on the same hook- pink, orange or yellow. Also try a night crawler or a minnow using the same rig. When the water stops, same rig, shoot some air into a night crawler and fish it tight-line on the bottom, casting it just off the channel on the flat side of the lake.

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Branson Trout Unlimited Chapter Meeting Feb 10th

2009-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Our local Trout Unlimited Chapter is hosting an informative meeting 7 p.m. Feb 10 at the MDC Springfield Nature Center in south Springfield. Brian Sloss is a guide and outfitter on the Elevenpoint River. He knows the river like no other. OzarkAnglers is sponsoring the event.

If you're not familiar with the Elevenpoint, it's located in south central Missouri and runs through Mark Twain National Forest. It's fed by some of the largest springs in the state and has some incredible cold and warm water fishing. It's stocked with rainbow trout and also has a very good population of smallmouth bass.

Our next meeting will be at the Springfield Nature Center. At 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5, Bill Babler and friends will talk on bass and all other fishing on Table Rock Lake.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/2/09

2009-02-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Guessing generation seems to be the biggest question we get here at Lilleys’ Landing Resort in Branson, Missouri. It’s hard but not impossible. We look at past patterns, like last week and this weekend. Last week’s temperatures were cold but not sub zero. Most of the time they were hovering around 30 degrees. Generation was moderate with a few down times but not many. The weekend- warm temps and no generation. This week- 50’s and 60’s starting Thursday through the weekend so I’d say very little generation and lots of down water. If there’s any generation it will be like from 7 am till 9 or 10 am and then a little in the evening.

Last week I reported seeing lots of nice rainbows. This past weekend, the Masters Trout Tournament proved the reports right on. We have never seen average weights at any trout tournament on Taneycomo like Saturday’s, never! Here’s the weights (8 trout):

Dwiggins/Wucher - 11.22 with a 4.12 lb rainbow (Gerry Dwiggins)

2. Lutz/Fitshenery - 10.92

3. Allen/Allen - 9.92

4. Canter/Canter - 9.40

Gregg/Peele - 9.04

Dudley/Neal - 8.96

Weldele/Cross - 8.70

Boswell/Kalkbrenner - 8.68

Burckhardt/Black - 8.64

Daniels/Hattfield - 8.54

R Dwiggins/Freise - 8.38

Backer/Godefroid - 7.90

Hittler/Dietl - 7.68

Beam/Topolsky - 7.62

Rasnick/Rasnick - 7.46

Slagle/Hunter - 7.16

Cartwright/Sullivan - 7.04

Hawkins/Hawkins - 7.04

Bracy/Bracy - 6.38

Steuck/Billings - 6.14

Ray/Fricke - 5.74

Fuhrman/Taylor - 5.56

Dressel/Kotomos - 5.12

Wheeler/Wheeler - 5.02

Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery must have stocked a bunch of nice trout here in the last few weeks downstream. Most of them are still down around the bridges but they are slowly making their way up.

Guys in the tournament caught a majority of their trout down. One team trolled crank baits and spoons (like cleos) all day between the highway 65 bridge and the business 65 bridge. Others threw an 1/8th oz jig straight, no float, and works the docks on either side of the lake around the bridges. But some of the good rainbows were caught further uplake - around Fall Creek and Short Creek and around the resorts like Cooper Creek.

In short, fishing was very good on Saturday.

Now today (Monday, 2/1/09), fishing was alittle slow. OK — real slow by my standards. Another blue bird day with little wind, but running water which I was looking forward to fishing. Two units this morning early (7:30 am) backing off to about 1.5 units by 9 am. Boated to the dam and started with, yes, an 1/8th oz white jig. Was catching trout on them a couple of weeks ago and heard there may be some shad coming through the dam so white jig was the logical choice. Water running perfect - white jigs - I’m excited! But the trout were not. Not a bite first drift, not until almost the boat ramp. Then I picked up a couple of rainbows before heading back up.

Second drift, nothing again till the Big Hole area where I picked up another rainbow, this time a nice rainbow (pic). Better drift but still not up to par. Drifted down to past Lookout thinking they might wake up and did fair. Nothing large but did see a couple of those big, dark males we’ve been talking about.

Back to the dam and tried a sculpin colored jig, then purple, then back to white. All they’d look at was a white jig. Just an off day. It happens.

If I were getting out and fishing below Fall Creek with bait, I’d for sure bring a minnow bucket and drift a minnow on the bottom right down the middle of the lake. I like a challenge and fishing minnows and night crawlers is a challenge — to me anyhow. May be I make it a challenge by the way I rig the baits. Using a minnow, I hook it through the lower lip and up in to and through the upper lip. The challenge is hooking the trout as he’s trying to suck the minnow off the hook. I hold my rod high while drifting so when the bite starts, I can let the rod down as the trout is tugging at the minnow. After letting the rod tip down most of the way, I set the hook. Same with the night crawler. I hook it through the collar and break the worm in half, letting the worm dangle off both sides of the hook. Letting the trout take the worm gives me a better chance at hooking it.

Power Gulp Eggs, you don’t have to let the trout have it at all. Set the hook immediately. Don’t wait a second.

Fishing Lake Taneycomo - Phil Lilley - Jan 23

2009-01-24T08:44:00.001-08:00

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 casted 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.

Great Winter Fishing on Bull Shoals

2009-01-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day today. Hope we have some days in April like today. Minus the 19 degrees at the start!!! Was hard to imagine at 7:30 am it was going to warm up to 60 later in the day!

I thought the fish wouldn't bite early... 19 degrees!! The lake should have been frozen over but we clocked the temp at 42. Boated to Snapp... stopped twice to thaw our faces. I didn't want to fish once we got up there. I can get pumped to fish for trout in 19 degrees but not crappie or any other warm water fish. Just doesn't compute! But fish we did. Caught the first crappie at 7:45 am.

White 1/8th oz jig was my weapon of choice. Bill stuck with his swim baits, mostly a black over white 3 inch swimming minnow. I did throw a pearl 3 inch swimming minnow on a 1/4rd oz head several times and did catch a few but the white jig did the best for me.

Set the boat in 20 feet of water and threw up into 5-9 feet and let it go to the BOTTOM. That's where 100% of the fish were. Had to get there and keep it there. Work it slow and stopped 2-3 times as we retrieved it. At first, the takes were soft, especially the crappie. There was a slight breeze from the north but not enough to affect the line or the feel. Mostly crappie for the first 2 hours. Then the whites started in. Mix in a walleye or two and some small bass and that was our day. The bite slowed mid day. The wind completely stopped about 10 am and picked up about 1 pm but still not much.

We tried several other places up and down the lake. Similar structure- roll offs from flats to channel and a couple of humps Bill and Vince knew about. Oh yea- Vince joined up about 2 pm. We hit one spot where we picked up 5 nice whites in short order plus a beautiful yellow perch Vince caught- he released it before I could get a pic of it. It was really pretty... about 10 inches long.

The whites later in the day were more active and would tap the jig pretty hard. Again, can't stress this enough, the lure had to be on the bottom.

Ended the day with 15 nice crappie from 11 to 14 inches, 20 whites mostly 2+ pounders, one keeper walleye and 3 shorts, 3 big gills. Had a couple keeper blacks but didn't keep them plus several other small blacks.

Bill counted 40+ rigs at the ramp. Never got crowded and everyone was pleasant on the water.

Didn't get any good video... sorry.

Chris Tectrick was fishing close to us most of the day. He has I think 10 crappie and 10 whites. Saw Tim Sainato on the water also. He and another guy had 2 limits of big whites by noon and were working on crappie when we talked to them.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report December 30, 2008

2009-01-01T10:35:00.001-08:00

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.

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 12/3/08

2008-12-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Seems like the Corp is settling into a pattern of generation this week of running water early in the mornings till about 10 am, then shutting it down till 5 pm and running it a bit into the night. This is a pretty typical pattern- they are generating power during peak power demand times of the day/night. On colder nights/mornings, people are kicking their heaters on to warm up the house or office, then cutting them back during the day. Makes sense I guess. The water they're running in the mornings isn't that much and it doesn't take long for it to drop out once they shut it down.

These darker days seem to make the trout bite a bit better. Today, the wind has laid down though so the fish are going to be a little hard to fool and easier to spook. If there's just a little breeze, our trout get active and start looking for stuff to eat. That's why I tell people to seek out choppy surfaces along the lake.

Up below the dam, wade fishing was been great. There's alot of rainbows up there for the catching. Stripping leeches and buggers in earth colors (brown, olive, black, purple, dark red) #10's to #6's in deeper pools (from the cable half way down to outlet #2, between #2 to the top of rebar, the big hole area down thru the KOA).

Stripping soft hackles in red, olive, black or yellow #14's and #16's where there's a little current and/or where there's a chop on the surface of the water; stripping a crackle back in lighter colors (white hackle/red, yellow, orange body) #14 in same areas and conditions as soft hackles.

Dry flies #8 stimulator in yellow or orange, #12 olive elk hair caddis, #14 renegades, #14 black ants worked against the banks, especially a bluff or high bank.

Midge larva and pupa fished where rainbows are feeding on midges, either on the surface or under the surface- #20's to #24's thread midge or emergers in cream, brown, olive or red. Either grease the line or use a small indicator but it must be small and light like a palsa not to spook the trout that are feeding. They tend to be either in shallow water or close to the surface when feeding on midges to the line or indicator will scare them easily.

Zebra Midge #14's to #20's in red, black, olive, rust, pearl using a variety of heads, mainly tungsten, fished below an indicator targeting feeding rainbows. Depth of fly depends on trout activity. If they're feeding close to the surface, set the indicator about 10 inches. If not, set it at 2-4 feet.

Scuds and sow bugs #12's to #20's but mainly #16's and #18's in olive, varied shades of gray, tan and brown. Some have been tying a bit of orange in the dubbing imitating a pregnant or dead scud. Either use weighted flies or use a small split shot. Areas- anywhere from the cable down to Fall Creek.

Tippet - 5x-6x for most nymphs (scuds, sow bugs), 4x for most woolies and leeches, 6x for most zebras, and some midges but when using the smallest midges, use 7x, dries- depends on the size of the fly.

Micro jigs, mainly in olive, black and brown. Set the indicator about 4-5 feet deep and seek out choppy water. Marabou jigs will work too. one-eighth to 1/125th oz in sculpin, sculpin/orange, sculpin/ginger, black/yellow, olive, sculpin/olive have been good colors. Areas- anywhere on the lake basically but the best areas have been from Lookout down thru Fall Creek, Fall Creek thru Cooper Creek and even further down to the Landing.

Marabou jigs worked straight-lined without a float, sizes from 1/32nd oz to 1/8th oz, depending on tackle (line size and rod size) and conditions of water and weather. If it's windy, it's hard to work a small jig. Four pound line is standard but some use 2 pound. Six pound it way too big.

Cranks baits like rapalas, pointers and rogues have been working fair. Work them against bluff banks around fallen trees and structure for browns and open water for rainbows. Windy conditions or during generation is best.

Live bait- air injected night crawlers are best. Either drift them on the bottom when water is running or anchor and use them still fishing. Best to anchor close to the banks and off the channel and throw into the channel or up off the channel on the sides. Don't anchor and block channels- will just cause frustration to you and other boaters. Best areas are from Fall Creek to Short Creek.

Gulp Power Eggs are working good too. Use one white and one other color- pink, orange or yellow. Use 4 pound line, preferably green or clear. Use a small split shot to get the bait to the bottom.

Winter fishing on Lake Taneycomo

2008-12-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

We're at the end of a very unusual year here in the Ozarks, one that hopefully won't repeat itself any time soon. Spring flood waters made our fishing season a tough one, continuing into the fall months and disrupting our fall brown trout spawning run.

Warm water plus low dissolved oxygen issues put alot of stress on our trout, especially up close to the dam but all that is now behind us and we have winter to look forward to. Cold water heals alot of wounds.

Our trout are in good shape though. We've seen healthy rainbows caught and released here in the last couple of weeks all over the lake. Some good stringers of trout have come into the dock for the supper table too. Most anglers have had good fishing trips here of late.

Our midge population looks to be in great shape. We've had some awfully good hatches almost every evening and our trout are responding in a big way. From Fall Creek to the dam on most days, all you can see are trout dimpling the surface of the water, picking off tiny midge flies as the hatch in the film. Scuds or freshwater shrimp are doing well too. We observe alot of trout up in the shallows nosing around in the gravel for a bit to eat.

December marks the beginning of great winter trout fishing here on Taneycomo. Cold yes but fishing is great. Whether it's a fly rod or spin rod, anglers of all skills can come out and enjoy a day on Taney's water and catch some trout.

Fishing Report

2008-11-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina Fishing Report Nov 08

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report
Boy, has this been a year of ups and downs . . . well mainly ups -- up in water, that is. Record rainfall and record levels and releases into our area lakes have paid a toll on our fisheries in many ways. Each lake in our system here in southeast Missouri has seen different results, positive and negative, on structure and fisheries, and all of it has been out of our control, for the most part.

Backing up to this past spring, heavy rains sent warm water runoff from all different directions into Table Rock Lake, churning and pushing water around even in the deep depths of the lower lake, mixing the winter cold water on the bottom with the warm spring rain runoff. That’s proved to be the main factor for our water here on Taneycomo now 10 degrees higher than normal, registering in the lower 60s instead of in the lower 50s. Add warm water to the low dissolved oxygen levels -- which we encounter every fall -- and that makes trouble for our trout. How much trouble I’ll address a little later in this article.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has down a stellar job lowering Table Rock’s level back down to power pool. Actually, it’s more than a foot below power pool right now. The question we’re asking is why the need to keep running water during week daylight hours. This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the water was off for at least part of the day but not during the week. Anglers who have waited patiently all spring, summer and now fall for a chance to wade the upper end of the lake are still waiting.

We’re hearing mixed reports on fishing and our trout’s condition right now split between two areas – from fly fishermen just below the dam and down farther from anglers in boats below Lookout. Below the dam, we’re seeing pockets of trout that have died either from the adverse conditions and/or from the stress of being caught, handled and released. Some of these trout don’t have a lot of fight to them and are skinny. But anglers report some rainbows and browns look good, fight powerfully and swim off easily. Down farther in the lake, below Lookout, our trout seem to be taking flies well, fighting great and looking very healthy. Quite a contrast.

Our brown trout run has been almost non-existent this year for the first time ever in my memory. No one really knows the reason, but I think the high spring had to have affected the browns. Our rainbows, on the other hand, are already up below the dam spawning in some places. I don’t think spawning is in full swing, by any means, but there are some rainbows up there making beds. We usually don’t see this until December and January.

When the water is running, anglers are doing very well using night crawlers, drifting from Fall Creek to Short Creek and down farther. With the water running so slowly, many are just using small split shots instead of bell sinkers. They stay close to the center of the lake to avoid snags on trees that have fallen in the water off the bluff bank. PowerBait Gulp eggs in white, pink or orange are also doing okay. Actually, eggs and San Juan Worms flies have done well, too, rigged and fished just like worms. Down

farther in the lake, anglers are trolling small spoons and crank baits and catching a lot of freshly stocked rainbows. The Missouri Department of Conservation is still stocking rainbows from the Branson Landing to Lilleys’ Landing, so you’ll find a lot of trout in this area.

Above Fall Creek, we’ve finally started to see some midge action with the lower water. On windy days, stripping soft hackles and wooly buggers up on the shallow flats has produced a lot of rainbows this past week. With the water running or not, rainbows have been keying in on hatching midges and dimpling the surface as far as the eye can see. Drifting a San Juan or scud with a split shot or under an indicator in this same area will also catch a lot of fish.

I’ve been throwing 1/8 to 1/16-ounce jigs from the dam down past Fall Creek and faring well. I switch around to find out what the trout are hitting each time, starting with white then moving to an earth color like brown, sculpin, olive or black.

With the water off, a red San Juan worm fished up below the dam in fairly fast water has been very effective. Scuds size #18’s in gray, tan or olive, have been a close second. Leeches and woolies have produced bites, too.

I’ve seen a lot of anglers taking boats up into the trophy area, beach them get out and wade the shallow flats below Lookout. This is a great way to get away from the crowds and go some fishing. I’ve been seeing rainbows in as little as 6 inches of water along the gravel banks in this area gorging on midges and probably scuds. Being stealthy and making good casts with small midges can be great fun, nailing these trout in these conditions.

For midging or dimpling trout, throw a zebra midge #14 or #16 in reds, olive or black under a small indicator in the area of a rise and give it a few seconds. I love fishing this way- targeting a feeding trout.

I look for Table Rock Lake to turn over the first part of December this winter. This will send cold water to the bottom of Table Rock along with much needed oxygen that we’ll receive in Taneycomo. I look for fishing to be very good throughout the winter.

Fishing Branson

2008-10-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

While music shows and amusement parks have drawn vacationers to Branson for decades, the original pull for travelers was the peaceful Ozarks outdoors. Today fishing in the Branson area continues to be a year-round enticement, be it an afternoon off for a traveling businessman or those annual rituals to reunite with family and friends. Because there are three lakes in close proximity -- all part of the old White River system -- the "Tri-Lakes Area" invigorates anglers with daily and seasonal variety.

Lake Taneycomo

Lake Taneycomo is the most diverse fishing lake in the country, sporting world-class rainbow and brown trout as well as bass, crappie and blue gill angling. And the river-like body runs right through the heart of Branson to boot. The upper lake gets its cold water from the bottom of Table Rock Lake -- ideal for trout -- but the water warms enough in the lower lake to host warm-water species of fish.

Between the Missouri Department of Conservation and the federal trout hatchery in Neosho, Missouri, more than 700,000 rainbows are stocked in Lake Taneycomo each year, along with about 15,000 brown trout. These trout are stocked throughout the year, depending on fishing pressure. That puts almost 90,000 rainbows in the lake during each of our summer months. In 1997, the Missouri Department of Conservation designated the upper 3.5 miles of the lake as a trophy area, assigning rules to protect rainbows so that they had time to grow to real trophies. And it has worked! Brown trout lake wide are protected until they are more than 20 inches in length. Rainbows average a whopping 16 inches in the trophy area. N umerous big browns hit the fall spawning run below the dam. Just a couple of years ago, the state record was broken by an angler from Camdenton, Missouri, with a trout weighing in more than 27 pounds.

Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina, located midway from the dam and downtown Branson, rents bass boats, pontoons and the special White River jons for fishing or boating excursions. Local fishing guides can also be hired out of Lilleys' Landing. The tackle shop carries a full line of tackle including flies and fly fishing gear, lures and line just for fishing Lake Taneycomo. http://lilleyslanding.com

Lake Taneycomo is enjoyed by thousands of anglers each year. From novice to the avid fly fisher, she offers lots of opportunity to catch abundant, quality trout.

Table Rock Lake

There's one word for Table Rock Lake -- fabulous! It boasts incredible scenery along 800 miles of shoreline and even better fishing! Its bass fishing has been called the best in the land by the finest anglers. Its 52,300-acres of smallmouth and spotted bass fishing is second to none.

There are more bass tournaments on Table Rock Lake than any other lake in the Midwest. Why? Because it has some of the best bass fishing, that's why. B.A.S.S. makes a stop here every year. Whether you like blacks, kentuckies, smallmouth or meanmouth bass, Table Rock is the place to come any time of the year.

It also sports great catfish angling, spoonbill in the spring, crappie, white bass, goggleye, walleye and really good blue gill fishing. In the upper reaches, below Beaver Dam, try out the trout fishing!

See http://ozarkanglers.com for more information on Table Rock Lake and its surrounding tributaries such as the James, Kings and Roaring rivers, the Flat and Long creeks and the Beaver Lake tailwater.

Bull Shoals Lake

Bull Shoals is known for its undeveloped shores and serene quiteness . . . except during the white bass run in the spring! Its appearance in the upper lake is that of river, but it quickly turns into a lake in travel downstream. Walleye are plentiful but a little hard to catch. During winter months, walleye move up to the head of the lake and spawn in March. This is the best time to chase a trophy walleye that can weigh up to 20 pounds. White bass and crappie aren't far behind. Feeder creeks fill with spawning whites in April and May, and summer offers crappie and blue gill as well as bass. Most locals like to fish for crappie under the lights at night in late spring and all summer.

Just recently, the new Missouri state record striper was caught below Powersite Dam at the top of Bull Shoals. Bull Shoals isn't know for its stripers, but they are there and there some some big ones!!

Branson Fishing

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Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/18/11

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Winter Trout Fishing - One of Branson's Best Kept Secrets

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Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 10/22/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 7/16/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 4/01/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 3/04/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/03/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 1/22/2010 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 1/11/2010 - Branson, MO

Merry Christmas from Lilleys' Landing Resort!

Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina Newsletter January, 2009

State Record Brown Trout Broken on Taneycomo in Branson, MO

State Record Brown Trout Broken on Taneycomo in Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 11/9/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 10/11/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/21/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/14/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 9/03/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/23/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/11/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 8/3/09 - Branson, MO

1ST Annual Guns and Hoses Fishing Tournament

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/28/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/22/09 - Branson, MO

Large Rainbow Caught 6/2/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 6/1/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/26/09 - Branson, MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/19/09 - Branson MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 5/15/09 - Branson MO

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson MO 4/23/09

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 3/30/09

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 3/19/09

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, Mo 3-10-09

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 3/5/09

Table Rock Lake Spring Bass Fishing Secrets To Be Revealed

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson, MO 2/24/09

Fishing Report on Lake Taneycomo in Branson 2/15/09

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report - Branson 2/8/09

Branson Trout Unlimited Chapter Meeting Feb 10th

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 2/2/09

Fishing Lake Taneycomo - Phil Lilley - Jan 23

Great Winter Fishing on Bull Shoals

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report December 30, 2008

Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report 12/3/08

Winter fishing on Lake Taneycomo

Fishing Report

Fishing Branson

Lilleys' Landing Resort & Marina Newsletter
January, 2009