Date: June 23 (AM) & 24 (AM & 7 PM), 2016
Body of Water: Trophy Area, Lake Taneycomo- Branson, Missouri
Weather: June 23- some fog and mostly sunny. June 24- fog, cloudy, and rain in the AM and mostly sunny in the PM
Air Temperature: June 23- upper 70's to mid 80's. June 24- lower 70's
Water Condition: clear, dropping, and no water generation
Wind Speed & Direction: Both Days- wind out of the south but hardly a breeze at all
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous
Fishing Equipment: 9 foot Echo 5 weight with floating line
Flies/Lures/Bait: white floss mini-jig under a float, primrose and pearl zebra midge, and black zebra midge.
Hatches or Fish Behavior Observed: fish feeding on some sort of small cream colored bug on June 24
Species Targeted: Rainbow and Brown Trout
# of Fish Hooked: 30
# of Fish Landed: 25
# of Fish Released: 25
# of Fish Kept: 0
Largest Fish Description: A rainbow that was close to 19 inches.
What Happened:
June 23
I pulled into the parking lot by the Shepard of the Hills Hatchery at about 5:00. I had gotten my fly rod all rigged up the night before and was ready to hit the water by 5:10 but there was one problem; it was so dark that I couldn't see my strike indicator beyond about 3 feet. I always like to be on the water early but I was running a little too early. I waded out to the large flat downstream from outlet #2 and soaked up the sounds and smells of the early morning. As the sun slowly rose, I was able to make some short casts and really short drifts. This area has changed over the years and what once use to be a saddle shaped bowl had slowly become a fairly uniform shaped flat. I wasn't sure if my old spots and old flies would produce and the first fish took a while to hook. Longer than it used to...I think. After hooking a stocker on the south side of the lake, things changed for the better. The casts got longer, the drifts grew in size, and fish definitely got bigger. Right when I was starting to wonder if this area would still produce nice sized fish, my question was answered. I caught 3 fish in about 6 casts that went 16, 17, and 18 inches. Those might be the biggest 3 fish average in my life. they were big, beautiful, and feisty. The bite slowed down and I decided to head down to the rebar hole. This spot had produced really well a year or two ago and apparently the word was out. There were some fishermen fishing the riffles above the hole so I headed downstream around an uprooted tree that extended out into the water. It didn't take long to hook a few more and see that the fish were rolling on the bottom. I tried to sight fish some but longer casts and further drifts proved more successful. The biggest fish of my trip came out of this spot and I actually spotted it as the sun was getting brighter and it rolled on something in the shallows. It was a beautiful fish that put a heck of a bend in my 5 weight rod and was really thick. I honestly think it was closer to 4 pounds than 3 and wasn't able to get a very good picture of her because she was tuckered out and I wanted her back in the water ASAP. That was one of the biggest rainbows that I have ever caught on a fly rod and I thought I had caught the biggest fish in the hole which made me even more proud. About 2 minutes after releasing this fish though, I saw a brown cruise by that was even bigger. Like Qui Gon says in Star Wars, Episode 1, "There's always a bigger fish." While I felt like I had been knocked down a rung, I was still basking in the glory of this amazing fish. Overall, I probably caught a dozen fish between 5:30 and 9:00. While the number of fish caught wasn't incredibly impressive, I was very happy with the size and fight of the fish.
June 24
AM
This morning was similar to the last morning but with more clouds and a little cooler. I got to the water too early, which I liked, and they weren't running water through the dam, which I liked even more. I stared fishing the south side of the stream near outlet #2 just as I had the previous day and picked up about 5 fish that ranged from 16-18 inches again just like the previous day. Again, I headed down to the rebar hole and landed a few fish but more and more fishermen started showing up and it started to feel like fishing at Bennett Spring really fast. One of the things that I like about Taneycomo is how large it is and how much water there is to fish so with this real estate becoming incredibly popular, I decided to move downstream and fish some new water.
I could see some fish were actively feeding near the surface but it looked like they were not feeding on bugs on the surface itself. I thought that they might have been midging so I drifted a primrose and pearl and black zebra midge downstream a few times with nothing to show. With nothing to lose, I put a white floss on and didn't fare any better. I landed a few more small fish on my way to the parking lot around outlet two. What was noteworthy however was that I was drifting a fly by a boulder. As I reached one boulder, my indicator slowly sank. I thought that I got snagged on the rock so in a hook-setting motion I tried to break free. To my surprise, the "rock" pulled back and shot across the stream. A few moments later and I landed a brown trout. This species of fish have a special place in my heart and I deeply appreciate every single one I catch. I simply think they are the most beautiful freshwater fish in the world and I consider myself fortunate to land one. That ended my morning.
PM
My oldest son and I had a chance to hit the trophy area together when the youngest son went down for a nap and the water wasn't running. We had a one hour window before the Corps of Engineers were scheduled to start generating electricity which worked out well since that is just about the maximum amount of time that he seems to be able to dedicate to fishing. I told him that it was going to be tough fishing and that I would do the casting and hook setting but he could reel in anything I hooked. He told me that he would prefer to be my "net man" and I said that sounded great. I told him that I just wanted him to have fun and if that is what he found to be fun, then so be it. He also spent his time splashing in the water, turning over rocks to find scuds, and combing the bank for lures and flies. To my surprise, I was able to land a small rainbow first, a 16-17 inch rainbow next, and a very pretty brown at the end. I think I might have passed on my reverence for browns because my son thought that was a pretty big deal. He did a great job netting the fish and had to use two hands on the big rainbow which he seemed impressed by. I know I say this all the time but it is worth repeating; fishing is about creating memories with friends and family and this is a memory that will last a very long time!
Notable Fish #1- Rainbow Trout
June 23
I pulled into the parking lot by the Shepard of the Hills Hatchery at about 5:00. I had gotten my fly rod all rigged up the night before and was ready to hit the water by 5:10 but there was one problem; it was so dark that I couldn't see my strike indicator beyond about 3 feet. I always like to be on the water early but I was running a little too early. I waded out to the large flat downstream from outlet #2 and soaked up the sounds and smells of the early morning. As the sun slowly rose, I was able to make some short casts and really short drifts. This area has changed over the years and what once use to be a saddle shaped bowl had slowly become a fairly uniform shaped flat. I wasn't sure if my old spots and old flies would produce and the first fish took a while to hook. Longer than it used to...I think. After hooking a stocker on the south side of the lake, things changed for the better. The casts got longer, the drifts grew in size, and fish definitely got bigger. Right when I was starting to wonder if this area would still produce nice sized fish, my question was answered. I caught 3 fish in about 6 casts that went 16, 17, and 18 inches. Those might be the biggest 3 fish average in my life. they were big, beautiful, and feisty. The bite slowed down and I decided to head down to the rebar hole. This spot had produced really well a year or two ago and apparently the word was out. There were some fishermen fishing the riffles above the hole so I headed downstream around an uprooted tree that extended out into the water. It didn't take long to hook a few more and see that the fish were rolling on the bottom. I tried to sight fish some but longer casts and further drifts proved more successful. The biggest fish of my trip came out of this spot and I actually spotted it as the sun was getting brighter and it rolled on something in the shallows. It was a beautiful fish that put a heck of a bend in my 5 weight rod and was really thick. I honestly think it was closer to 4 pounds than 3 and wasn't able to get a very good picture of her because she was tuckered out and I wanted her back in the water ASAP. That was one of the biggest rainbows that I have ever caught on a fly rod and I thought I had caught the biggest fish in the hole which made me even more proud. About 2 minutes after releasing this fish though, I saw a brown cruise by that was even bigger. Like Qui Gon says in Star Wars, Episode 1, "There's always a bigger fish." While I felt like I had been knocked down a rung, I was still basking in the glory of this amazing fish. Overall, I probably caught a dozen fish between 5:30 and 9:00. While the number of fish caught wasn't incredibly impressive, I was very happy with the size and fight of the fish.
June 24
AM
This morning was similar to the last morning but with more clouds and a little cooler. I got to the water too early, which I liked, and they weren't running water through the dam, which I liked even more. I stared fishing the south side of the stream near outlet #2 just as I had the previous day and picked up about 5 fish that ranged from 16-18 inches again just like the previous day. Again, I headed down to the rebar hole and landed a few fish but more and more fishermen started showing up and it started to feel like fishing at Bennett Spring really fast. One of the things that I like about Taneycomo is how large it is and how much water there is to fish so with this real estate becoming incredibly popular, I decided to move downstream and fish some new water.
I could see some fish were actively feeding near the surface but it looked like they were not feeding on bugs on the surface itself. I thought that they might have been midging so I drifted a primrose and pearl and black zebra midge downstream a few times with nothing to show. With nothing to lose, I put a white floss on and didn't fare any better. I landed a few more small fish on my way to the parking lot around outlet two. What was noteworthy however was that I was drifting a fly by a boulder. As I reached one boulder, my indicator slowly sank. I thought that I got snagged on the rock so in a hook-setting motion I tried to break free. To my surprise, the "rock" pulled back and shot across the stream. A few moments later and I landed a brown trout. This species of fish have a special place in my heart and I deeply appreciate every single one I catch. I simply think they are the most beautiful freshwater fish in the world and I consider myself fortunate to land one. That ended my morning.
PM
My oldest son and I had a chance to hit the trophy area together when the youngest son went down for a nap and the water wasn't running. We had a one hour window before the Corps of Engineers were scheduled to start generating electricity which worked out well since that is just about the maximum amount of time that he seems to be able to dedicate to fishing. I told him that it was going to be tough fishing and that I would do the casting and hook setting but he could reel in anything I hooked. He told me that he would prefer to be my "net man" and I said that sounded great. I told him that I just wanted him to have fun and if that is what he found to be fun, then so be it. He also spent his time splashing in the water, turning over rocks to find scuds, and combing the bank for lures and flies. To my surprise, I was able to land a small rainbow first, a 16-17 inch rainbow next, and a very pretty brown at the end. I think I might have passed on my reverence for browns because my son thought that was a pretty big deal. He did a great job netting the fish and had to use two hands on the big rainbow which he seemed impressed by. I know I say this all the time but it is worth repeating; fishing is about creating memories with friends and family and this is a memory that will last a very long time!
Notable Fish #1- Rainbow Trout
Time: 8:30 AM
Size: Almost 19 inches, 2.5- 3 pounds
Fly/Lure/Bait Used: White Floss
Location: downstream from the rebar hole in the Trophy Area
Notable Fish #2- Brown Trout
Time: 8:00AM
Size: 12 inches?
Fly/Lure/Bait Used: White Floss
Location: downstream from outlet number 2 in the Trophy Area
Notable Fish #3- Rainbow Trout
Time: 1:30 PM
Size: Almost 17 inches
Fly/Lure/Bait Used: White Floss
Location: downstream from outlet number 1 in the Trophy Area
Notable Fish #4- Brown Trout
Time: 1:45 PM
Size: 12 inches?
Fly/Lure/Bait Used: White Floss
Location: downstream from outlet number 1 in the Trophy Area
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