Last Friday I posted about fishing with Brett Rader of Chartered Waters Guide Service. If you would like to view that post, just click here. Today's post recounts the events that happened the following day so a little recap might make today's post have a little more meaning.
The day after Wendy, Mark, Sharon, and I went out with Brett, we decided to rent a pontoon from Lilley's Landing for the day. I have fished on Lake Taneycomo for years and have caught fish in a lot of different ways so I confidence that I can go out and catch fish on this lake. However, what I have never done is taken out three people that expected me to put them on fish. I was nervous about this as well as navigating the pontoon up stream from Fall Creek. If you're not familiar with Lake Taneycomo, the area up stream from Fall Creek is referred to as the Trophy Area. It has earned this name because the regulations in this area call for the release of all fish between 12 and 20 inches and that only one fish can be taken out of this area per day. And for what it is worth, I have never seen a person actually take and keep fish from this area. I've heard about it, but never seen it. However, to get to this area, you have to navigate an area called The Narrows.
Yep, you guessed it, it is an area that is narrow but not physically narrow. The lake is wide here but there is a narrow area with water deep enough to take a boat through. I have to give a little credit here as well as thanks to two good guys. First of all, Blake Wilson got me a map and described how to navigate this area. Without him, I would have torn up a prop. Blake works for Lilley's and along side Duane Doty. Duane works for Lilley's too and also runs Ozark Trout Runners Guide Service. Blake is also apprenticing with Duane. Duane also saved me from tearing up a prop when I arrived at the narrows. He showed me the path to take and reassured me that I could navigate the area. Thanks to these gentlemen, I did successfully, safely, and without breaking anything! Thanks fellas!
When we arrived at a spot that was successful the day before, we almost instantly got on fish. It was a little slower than the day before but everyone was expecting that since I wasn't a guide, and specifically, I wasn't Brett. We caught some fish on small white jigs under floats and on olive jigs under floats. Everyone was catching fish here and there and I was thrilled that the day was going better than planned.
Around 11, we noticed that the current was increasing and that Table Rock Dam must have been generating some water. We expected this to happen because we read about it on the Army Corp. of Engineers website that gives a probable water generation schedule. While it was expected, it wasn't wanted. I figured that once the increased current came, we would have to resort to fishing below Fall Creek and drift bait on spinning rods. However, this didn't prove to be our only alternative.
As the water rose and sped up, we just kept doing our thing but just fished a little deeper. We still caught fish in areas that were shallow for the time being and around docks. Again, I was pleasantly surprised and everyone was happy with bent rods. What cut this a little short was a thunderstorm that popped up rather quickly. I saw that this cut things A LITTLE short because the bite was turning off and the water was getting too deep and too fast.
We headed to Lilley's in the pouring rain but were able to stay a little dry under the canopy on the pontoon. After the rain passed, we got back out on the water and caught a couple of fish on bait by using a river rig. Another stronger and longer storm popped up and subsequently ended our day about 30 minutes early which was okay because it had been a successful one in everyone's opinion!
Everyone got up early the next day and we found out the water was turned off so we decided to wade a little before we headed home. We fished for a little while in front of Point Royale. Wendy hooked into a nice fish but as I fumbled with my camera, it broke her off. She did a great job hooking and fighting the fish and I will take the blame for it getting away. A few minutes later I hooked into a really nice fish that was 16-17 inches. It is shown below in the picture where I am wearing the vest. After the bite slowed down, Sharon, Wendy, and I headed up to the dam to try our luck there.
Almost immediately, Sharon hooked into the biggest fish of the trip. It had to be close to 20 inches long and she did a great job fighting it and not letting it get off or break her off. At the same time, Wendy hooked into a rainbow that probably went 18 inches. Both of these fish were personal bests for the ladies and it was a great way to end the trip.
On a personal note, Lake Taneycomo is by far my favorite place on this earth to fish. The number of fish, size of the fish, and beautiful scenery are always appreciated on a level that I cannot explain. It is my hope that I will move to this area when I retire and maybe even run a part time guide service. These two days were an attempt to dip my toe in the guide service pool and gave me the confidence that I might be able to reach my goal!
No comments:
Post a Comment