July 3 Fishing Report

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Trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo should be a "blast" for the Fourth of July weekend. We’ve seen the Missouri Department of Conservation’s stocking boat go by twice in the last couple of days, dumping rainbows out along the way. But even besides the freshly stocked trout, this last week’s "catching" been good. Actually it’s been good for the past couple of months.

Generation patterns have been consistent in the last few days. The U.S. Corps of Army Engineers dumped a lot of water out of Beaver Lake last week, which brough tup the level of Table Rock and, thus, we saw more generation during the day and night. But it seems the corps has now brought the upper lakes to the targeted levels, and that means our pattern settles back to no generation at night and most of the day until late in afternoon and into the evening.

To simplify: Two units are usually online at 3 p.m. and back off at 8 p.m. — a pattern I hope will continue.

As I’ve mentioned in my past report, our water is pretty clear for this time of year. Using light line is a must if you want to successfully catch our trout — no larger than four-pound line and no funny colors like yellow or fluorescent green. Clear or moss green line work the best. Small weights with small hooks are the golden rule. If you’re using night crawlers, use a #6 short-shanked bronze hook; if you’re using Power Bait or eggs use a #8 hook. The best colors of Power Bait have been white, pink or orange — and now yellow late this morning.

With good catches comes the temptation of keeping more than the legal limit, which is four trout per day per trout permit, and eight in your possession (stored in your freezer or refrigerator.) We have two agents that do their job very well. A trip to Forsyth (our county seat) will cost you about $140, plus time from your vacation — and embarrassment. We also have about a dozen fishing guides on the lake every day who all have cell phones and will report any violations they see. So stay within the law. Catching too many fish only robs the next person who happens along to fish your spot after you leave. Where the greed really adversely affects catching is off docks. One violator can litterally clean out an area of trout.

When rainbows are freshly stocked, they tend to stay schooled up and close to the surface. They readily take shiny, flashy things that swim by like Cleos, rooster tails, Thomas and Crocodile spoons. They also will take small jigs fished under a float about four- to six- feet deep. Try trolling a jig — it works! The nice thing about a jig is that it won’t twist the line like a spoon or spinner. Use jigs in the colors white, brown, black, olive, pink or sculpin. Use 1/50 or lighter if fishing under a float and one-eighth ounce if trolling.

I’m going to address one other problem area we are seeing on our lake lately — common courtesy. Taneyomo is relatively a small, skinny lake and navigation is tricky. If you’re in a bass or large deep boat, watch your wake. Literally look behind you and see what your wake is doing to other boats as you pass. If people are being thrown around, falling off their seats or even being thrown into the lake, you’re probably throwing a big wake. Going slow doesn’t mean you’re boating safely. Some boats actually throw huge wakes when going slow. Idle speed is when your control level is placed in forward with no other propulsion. When boats are bunched up and you have to go through them, idle speed is the only save speed. Even if you pass 100 feet from another boat, your wake will hit them at the same level as if you were passing them at 10 feet. The law says you are responsible for what your wake does, regardless of your best intentions. Best to be aware of how your boat preforms when move through the water and be nice to other boaters.

When anchoring, find a spot off the channel. It’s best not to anchor against the bank because a wake could pushed you up on the rocks. It’s better to anchor out off the channel and throw your line into the channel. Now, if you anchor too close and your lines block the channel, don’t be surprised when someone runs over your lines. I find you’ll catch fish way off the channel and your fishing day will be less stressful if you anchor as far away from the channel as possible.

If you see someone catching fish, don’t run up by him and drop an anchor where he’s fishing. If you’re not catching fish, it’s generally not the spot that’s wrong but rather how you’re fishing. It is extremely rude to crowd someone who’s successfully reeling the fish in. You’ll do much better if you ask that person about his technique, especially if he’s a guide. Guides on this lake are amazingly generous with their advice as well as in sharing a lure or fly with someone.

Above Fall Creek, or in the trophy area, fishing has been excellent. Best bet is using micro jigs under an indicator four- to five-feet deep with two-pound line. Best colors have been tan and olive. There are two sizes of micro jigs — 1/125th- and 1/256th-ounce. The smaller size has been the best. We have an abundant supply of scuds, which replicate the bugs that live in the gravel bottoms. Trout love them –they are their prime food supply. So we use a #14 or #16 gray scud under an indicator and fish it on the bottom, again using light tippet.