A tale of two rivers
A group of 6 FATC members (Al Blair, Jason Edwards, Lou Forbringer, Glenn Haake, Tim Trog & John Walker) headed down to Taneycomo on march 15th for a weekend of fishing and fun. Taneycomo can be a cruel mistress in the spring, often running very high ( > 707 ft) and very fast (> 7500 cfs) but on some rare occasion magic happens and she is a gentle flowing stream that can lead to some tremendous fishing. We checked the flow charts Friday morning as we headed down two generators were running and she would be around 709 ft and over 8000 cfs so we made an audible and stopped at Bennett Springs for the afternoon. The area had gotten rain the past week so even Bennett was running high and murkier than normal, plus the winds were high so the wind chill made it cold. The fishing was tough but Tim Trog and our beloved trip leader did manage to catch a couple each on cerise worms and P&P’s. Friday night we checked the flow charts again and were faced with a dilemma. The morning was going to be two generators again with the height ~ 708 and a flow close to 8000 cfs. However, the afternoon called for no generators and the chance of great fishing conditions. So, drive to roaring river and a sure thing or stick around and hope for some afternoon magic. This group was filled with risk takers so we stayed and fished Taneycomo. For the morning, we started late because of the temps and fished from 11-2. We went with sinking tip leaders and fished mostly streamers. The best spots were down river just before or and just past Andy Williams house. A few fish were caught, Lou lit it up and Tim T also did well. A late lunch and a few prayers for the generators to be shut off led to the afternoon. No water was being dumped. From 3:30-6:30 it was game on. Tim, Jason and John waded across to the sandbar while Al, Glen and Lou lined the other shore and for a couple of hours it was catching time. Soft Hackles, crackle backs, cerise worms, Woolly Buggers, P & P’s, whatever weird stuff Jason tried all worked. Al was heard exclaiming “Oh My, I got another one!”. The rookies, Glen and Lou were killing in for a couple of hours. What a blast! The next morning brought two generators again but the depth was only 707 and the flow ~ 7000 cfs so we fished the morning. In the right spots by Andy’s place you could get a drift so some people like Tim and Al caught some drifting worms and P&P’s while Lou and Glen continued to kill it on wooly buggers. By noon, we reluctantly called it a day and headed home. It was a great trip. We had dinner one night at Hanna’s BBQ which was awesome and between the 6 of us we consumed an enormous amount of cookies plus some great fellowship. Already thinking about next years trip! And if you are going to Taneycomo definitely follow those flow charts closely.
