So I’ve been fishing this river for over 30 years and have become neither proficient nor capable of fishing this (or any) body of water effectively. It truly is volatile and weather events in the last few years changed whatever I knew. We started out fishing with corn, marshmallows, salmon eggs, and night crawlers- 3 rods apiece for my dad and me fishing in the small hours of the morning. For all the commonness of my own my name, my dad’s name is Cornelius Francis. He is neither old timey Pope nor Roman Emperor, at least that I know of. I digress (again).
We’d always catch a lot of trouts, but never a big one. We armed ourselves with the Zebco 33 combo for many of those years. If ya didn’t know, not only is the Zebco 33 Rhino Tough, if it broke you sent it back to the home office in Columbus, GA (thanks again Al Gore) and they would send you a new one. I don’t think you can send a rhinoceros back to Swaziland and get a new one if he or she breaks. So the old 33 Rhino is even better than a real rhino. The 33 came with stock 10 lb test that lasted so long, you could hand it down to your kids. On the one hand, you could tow your boat with it, on the other it’s just a hair visible for trout (visible in the sense that the Great Wall of China is visible).
Methods and gear have progressed over the years and we have progressed right along with it (albeit catching up with the trends 3 years later, on average). In fact, the most common line now used is harvested from spiders in the deep reaches of the Amazon Rain Forest.
One of the key factors that contributes to Taneycomo’s volatility is caused by the greatest villain of all – Man. The lake and current are created by Shepherd of the Hills dam. This dam creates power by sucking water from the depths of Table Rock through any combination of 4 generators which spin turbines creating power to charge I-pads, cell phones, keeps that lights on in the Greater Ozarks Motel 6s and makes sure the good folk in Arkansas can keep up with their stories and Ninja Warrior.
Honestly, the entire White River system is pretty fascinating and the Dewey Short Visitor Center is a fantastic resource for learning more about the area and system. It is definitely worth the time if you have the means. By the way, you have the means because it is free. So quit making excuses and go the Dewey Short Visitor Center. I’ll wait.
You’ll see this…for free,
Ok, how was it? Let me know in the comments.
I’d be happy to write about other off-lake activities should my constituency be kind enough to ask me back. Or field questions about what to do when the fish aren’t biting. Otherwise known as all the Busch time.
So, if I ever meet the guy who flips the switch on the generators, I’m sure I’ll recognize him due to black hat, black trenchcoat, and his mustache twirling. I’ll buy him a coffee, and as he reaches for hit. BOOM –throat punch. Then I’ll run away in slow motion like the end of a John Hughes movie, jumping and pumping my fist to the heavens. I assume there will be other weary, wader-clad anglers -birds’ nests in their reels, hollowed-eyed visage of the dammed (get it?)- looking on. As I land my jump and pump, one of those harried fisherman will start a slow clap. With my luck, the dam man will be called Tiny and he will proceed take me behind the damshed and give me the whoopin I so sorely earned.
I often imagine the marathon meetings that are scheduled in the bowels of the dam prior to my arrival. “Ok, we got a big job ahead of us, Busch is coming to town and we have to make this as hard as possible for him. We are going to need a 15% decrease in his sleep, 0, yea I said 0, time wading up near the dam, and without a doubt, I need a 10% percent increase in resentment and a 22-25% increase in desire to return at any cost. Put on a pot of coffee and let’s get to it.”
With all that said, I do know the most effective way to fish Lake Taneycomo. You literally and figuratively must go with the flow. Due to financial constraints (of course until my blog checks start rolling in), I do not own a boat. Once the dam starts running 2+ generators, a boat is the only effective method to consistently catch fish. Of course, more water running also means more expertise captaining a boat-more expertise that I just don’t have yet. Typically, I get pretty nifty on the tiller on the day before I leave. Taneycomo is no joke when it comes to potential for prop damage and worse.
I should also clarify, Taneycomo is about 25 miles long or so and I’ve fished mostly the upper ten miles, so it is probably a paradise of slow current and lunkers further down.
Needless to say at this point, I have a love/hate relationship with Lake Taneycomo.
So the main goal of the trip is to get my daughter hooked up with her first trout, But I am a fisherman and as a fishermen, by nature my only hope is that I (and only I) catch ever darn fish in the riverlake. I am also selfish and need some youth to help me carry this load and she’s the best I got. So sit back, grab a hot drink (I’m a hot cocoa man, myself), kick up your shoes, and tune in to Part 2- Coming soon to an internet near you.
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