Testing Taneycomo (11/7)
Being down in Springfield, MO I contacted all the SWMO guys to see if they wanted to head down to fish Lake Taneycomo (LT) since the water has been off during most of the day as of late. The SWMO guys are the 7-8 guys in Springfield that have taken our fly-fishing class and have fished with us on several occasions. Most were out of town or busy except one, Randy Stephans. Randy said he could take Friday off and would love to join me. So, we arranged a time to meet and drove the 45 minutes south to the Branson area.
We arrived at Pointe Royale, went to the golf clubhouse for a bathroom break 😉 – then headed to the water. The water was definitely low and slow, but we knew that before we left. When the water is off at LT it is usually the only time you can wade fish anywhere on the lake/river. But as always, the FATC knows of a few tricks to get to water that can be waded even with a one to two-generator flow. How do you find out what the generator flow will be or is —– yes, check our website!!
With the water moving at 20cfs (predicted until 3-4pm) we decided that it would be best to try two different techniques – indicator fishing and swinging flies. These techniques worked fine as we caught fish throughout the day. Sometimes the fishing would be good for a period and then shut down for a while. Then it would it pickup again. I do have to say we missed a lot of fish with hit after hit until a rainbow would make a mistake and take the fly. The rainbows were feisty, and we had several breakoffs especially when using 6X tippet. But with the water so clear I truly feel that 6X tippet was needed. The top fly was the grey scud. LT is loaded with scuds but make sure you tie them small – no bigger than size 16 but an 18 would be even better. We had the opportunity to watch several trout (big trout) take our flies and then spit them out within nanoseconds. That’s what you must work with. So, you see any movement on your indicator – ANY movement – you set the hook. Remember it’s just a “quick” lift. And with the water moving only 20cfs (think about that as Montauk are normally 250cfs – 300cfs) use the smallest indicator that you can get away with.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable day of fishing and spending time with Randy and getting to know him better. The water turned on around 3:30pm and the flow picked up slightly. We were pretty tired by then, so we started our slow walk back to the car. The generators were on from 3pm until around 9pm then off again. If you want to fish LT, check the daily schedule on our website – Education (water conditions). It looks like the generators will be on a “regular” schedule for a while unless we get a lot of rain. I don’t think the browns have started their migration to the Dam yet so rainbows will be the prey. Pointe Royale has many condos to rent for the weekend so take your family down. Branson has many things to do from Silver Dollar City, shows, shopping and more. Never been to Branson – Whaaaat??? – try it – you’ll like it.
