Lake Taneycomo (LT) 2022 #1
Our first Lake Taneycomo trip came about during a freeze wave. With temperatures hitting 16 degrees, four FATC members, Kenny Klimes, John Walker, Sterling Short and Vernon Preston, pressed on to Lake Taneycomo for the first of four trips this month. With temperatures at 16 degrees the four decided to head to Branson vice fishing at Bennett Spring or any other place for that matter. They had lunch in Branson, checked into the condominium and regrouped for the rest of the trip. They tried to fish LT for an hour, but the cold temperatures and the fast flows chased them off and back to the condominium. What to do next and where to fish was the question.
The first plan was to check with River Run Outfitters and see if guides could take us out on Saturday. That plan ended before it got started as the guides were worried about the boat ramps being iced over. So, plan B was next. We set up guides for Sunday which was supposed to be warmer with temperatures maybe reaching 50 degrees. But when the Corp of Engineers decided to schedule a 12,000 cfs flow until 1pm on Sunday we decided that to pay for guides with that high a flow would be not in our favor. So, we decided to fish Roaring River State Park on Saturday.
Roaring River proved to be the shining light in what was becoming a failed trip. It was cold but as the sun came out the temperatures warmed enough to enjoy the fishing. Everyone caught some nice trout with flies like the woolybuggers, hares’ ear, pheasant tails, Barr’s emergers, and more. The day ended about 4pm and the talk on the drive home was about fish caught and not cold temperatures.
Sunday’s plan was again to “find” a place to fish. It looked like the group would go to Montauk on the drive home. Sterling, John, and Vernon headed to Montauk to fish (and they did well) while Kenny stayed behind because he was scheduled to fish Montauk on both Monday and Tuesday.
The Corp of Engineers is concerned only about flood control while they try to stay ahead of any rains that may come. Unfortunately, this March could be our last “FATC” LT trips. Future trips may be more short notice trips where we would have a better chance of knowing that the flows will be lower. We have three more LT trips to go this month – every weekend in March – so let us see how they go.
