River Run Outfitter's Carolyn Parker with beautiful Lake Taneycomo Rainbow Trout
BRANSON, Mo., July 26, 2012 – The most comprehensive fishing report available Branson’s Lake Taneycomo submitted by people who fish the lake on just about a daily basis. As used in this report “Trophy Area” refers the portion of Branson’s Lake Taneycomo between the mouth of Fall Creek and the base of Table Rock Dam. It is the primary wade fishing area, a trophy management area and has special regulations and limits in effect within the area. Natural baits, Gulp and soft plastic baits are illegal in Trophy Area. but ok for the other 19 miles of Lake Taneycomo.
Lake Taneycomo Trophy Area – Fly Fishing – by Carolyn Parker, River Run Outfitters
Bet you know what the forecast is. More hot weather, upper 90s to 100s and still no moisture in the forecast.
Generation schedule continues to be wader friendly. Off in the morning, (when you really want to fish while it is still cooler) and on by noon to 2:00 p.m. This past weekend we had little generation on Saturday, but generation all day Sunday. So far this week, it has been the off a.m. and on early afternoon.
Alan and his son, Robert, took our two-day fly fishing school back in 2005 and I’m happy to day they are still chasing trout. Alan spent all day Monday on the water with Stan. Pretty good day for them on the P&P before generation, the big ruby after generation and the CQ streamer both before and after the water came on.
Today, Jim had a couple of new fly fishers on the water, Britni and her younger brother, Chandler. These young folks from Oklahoma were quick learners and pulled a good number of fish on the P&P and rusty dun midges as well as the CQ streamer. Darrell also had a couple new fly fishers Devon and Damon from Indiana. They had a good day on the primrose & pearl midge. One nice 17 inch rainbow. Mike from, Oklahoma spent the morning on the water with Stan. They too hooked fish on the primrose & pearl midge as well as the CQ olive streamer. As we have been experiencing, the midges are catching fish, but certainly slower than pulling some type of streamer.
Submitted by Carolyn Parker, River Run Outfitters
Lake Taneycomo – by Eric Prey, FocusedFishing.com
Branson fishing guides continue to have success from Cooper Creek through the Landing on a wide variety of baits. Early and late Zig Jig marabou jigs have been working around docks and other cover. Ginger, olive, tri olive and brown ginger in 1/16 oz. have been the top producing colors for most Branson Fishing Guides. Work the bait as close to the cover as you dare allowing it to fall down to around 7’ below the surface then work it back with an erratic action to draw strikes.
As the day wears on Branson Fishing Guides have been switching to Trout Magnets below a float to entice sun weary trout. Set the rig up with a six to eight foot leader below the float and allow wave action and wind to move the bait in front of wary trout holding close to wood and other cover. Later in the day most are switching to drift rigs with a variety of baits; Gulp or Power Bait eggs in chartreuse, orange, white and pink have all been productive this past week. Mix colors until you find a combination the trout like. Live night crawlers and red worms have been working as well; inflating a small amount of air into the worm to keep it off the bottom will draw more strikes and keep the hook off the bottom and out of harm’s way. Rigging a live night crawler on a weightless hook has also been working; two pound fluorocarbon leader a swivel about six feet from the hook will fool the most skittish fish. Despite limited generation trout fishing remains strong on Lake Taneycomo with solid limits and a few really big fish being caught on Branson Fishing Guide Trips every week..
Submitted by Eric Prey, FocusedFishing.com
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Phil Lilley
Lake Taneycomo by Phil Lilley, Ozark Anglers
Yes, it’s summer and yes, it’s hot but the mornings and evenings on our lake are quite pleasant. Our water temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees so the temperatures on the water are very cool, almost cool enough for a sweatshirt, if you can believe that!
Generation has been pretty consistent everyday–they’re running 1 to 2 units starting about 3 p.m. and running it till about dark.
Each day is different. Some mornings trout are moving around and looking for things to eat and some mornings they’re not hungry… just sitting there not paying attention to anything. That’s fishing. One thing that helps trout with their craving for food is movement. If the water is moving all at, trout are usually looking around to see if there’s food involved. Movement can come from the US Army Corp running water, but in our case, in the morning anyhow, we’re looking for the lake to”shift” or the wind blowing.
Yes, Lake Taneycomo shifts, ever so slightly at times. Watch the leaves on the surface–you’ll see them moving up or down lake knowing they’re not releasing water from the dam. You’ll see this more often further up lake, for instance around and above Fall Creek. Shifting could be caused by water being release at Powersite Dam, the dam at the bottom of Lake Taneycomo, or it could be caused by water just moving–it just shifts sometimes. Regardless, trout are sensitive to it and usually react positively to it.
Wind is our best friend. If there’s a chop on the surface of the lake, fish are more apt to feed. I’ve seen this time and time again–even this morning below the dam while fishing. It was absolutely dead still early. I could see almost every fish in front of me, like they were suspended in air, not water, and they weren’t moving at all. If there was the slightest of movement in the lake (shifting) in front of me, I targeted that area. And sure enough, when a breath of air blew through and disturbed the surface in the slightest, trout moved and I got a strike. Too bad the wind didn’t blow much this morning! I managed though.
Night crawlers are king! So says most of our fishing guides who make their living putting their clients on fish. Now there are some, mostly fly fishers, who would never stoop so low (said in jest) but to use a live worm but if everything else fails, there’s always the “inflated worm”. Visiting with Bill Babler today about his fishing success this week, he said he had to rely on the inflated night crawler to bring trout to is boat several days. He said Power Bait wasn’t doing it and neither was using jigs and micro jigs but most of the time our rainbows can’t resist a big juicy worm.
Why inject air? To float it off the bottom so the fish can see it quicker and bite it harder! And if you want to get more bites, tie on a piece of 2-pound line to the end of your line and attach the hook to it. Bill said the water is so clear right now you can see a dime on the bottom of the lake in 20 feet of water – he tried it! It cost him a dime though.
Babler said they’re catching rainbows in the Monkey Island area as well as below the Branson Landing out in front of the mouth of Roark Creek. They’re also catching a few nice sized rainbows between Fall Creek and Short Creek.
The trophy area has been tough most days but not impossible. Almost everyone has gone to using 6x or 7x fluorocarbon tippet up there because the water is so clear. There seems to be a good school of rainbows in the Trophy Run area, the Lookout area and in the Narrows area. They’ve also seemed to have migrated to deeper water, deeper holes especially after the sun gets up over the bluff.
If the surface of the lake is choppy and there’s some wind, try a jig and float, either a marabou 1/50th oz brown with an orange head or an olive micro jig under a float 4-5 feet deep. Also try a #16 black, rusty or red Zebra Midge 3-4 feet deep. There’s always current at the Narrows and next to Lookout Island. That’s a great place to get out and wade. Use #16 and #18 gray scuds and sow bugs, #20 to #24 thread midge or micro red or white San Juan worms. If there’s a chop in these areas, strip a black or olive wooly, #10, or a #16 olive soft hackle.
Afternoons when the water is running, hit the bluff banks using hopper patterns. They’ve started working very well. I’ve been told even below Branson, blue gill and bass are hitting them very well. Also working 1/8th oz marabou jigs along the bluff banks and deep channels. Good colors have been olive, sculpin, brown/orange and black.
Submitted by Phil Lilley, Ozark Anglers
As part of its continuing commitment to serving the community, Branson Tourism Center (BTC), one of Branson’s largest and most respected sellers of vacation planning services, Branson show tickets, attraction tickets and lodging is proud to sponsor this fishing report, the Central Pro-Am Association and K.A.S.T. (Kids Are Special Too). BTC can be reached by calling 800-785-1550 or by visiting their website www.BransonTourismCenter.com. The Central Pro Am Association, through such sponsorship and that of Ranger Boats and Mercury Marine,is pleased to participate in furnishing this report to those fishing the Branson Tri-Lakes area.
