No rain so far today, but I think we are supposed to get some rain tonight.  It has been another WINDY one, but that has not hurt the fishing.  We now have a chance of showers tomorrow.  Generation pretty much as projected.  It has been off today and projected to be off all day.  No generation until tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.

Dana on the water yesterday with a couple new fly fishers….they like it! 

Jessica's first Rainbow!

Jessica and Adam are from here in Missouri.  This was a graduation gift to Adam from Jessica. 

Adam & 16" Rainbow

Their best patterns were the rusty midge and the primrose and pearl midge. 

Joe, from Oklahoma, and his brother James, from Nixa spent all day Saturday with Stan.  Both good fishers and caught lots of fish on the primrose & pearl and rusty midges.  For some real fun time, they caught several on an insect green soft hackle, and a bunch on the holographic green crackleback. 

Folks coming into the shop today are grinning ear to ear.  Again, a bunch on the holographic green crackleback.  One fellow tore them up on a size 16 gray scud, and another on the rusty midge.  As I said, fishing is still good!

Weather has been pretty nice except for the wind.  Yesterday wasn’t too bad, but it looks pretty windy today.  Probably feels good with the 80 degree temperatures.  Thunder boomers woke me early this morning, but by 6:30 a.m. they were gone and the clouds rapidly disappearing.  We are expecting 80s again tomorrow, but the possibility of some nasty storms.  Monday will be partly sunny and mid 60s.  Tuesday low 70s and sunny with Wednesday showing partly sunny and temps again in the low 70s.  Thursday and Friday are looking cooler, 50-60s and the possibililty of rain again.  Think that was last weeks long-range forecast and it realy did not materialize. 

Generation has been pretty much as projected.  Last Monday, it came on for a little over an hour at 8:00 p.m. We have seen constant generation Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, anywhere from a low one generaot to a high two.  The exception was yesterday when they had it off until 4:00 p.m. (as projected) and when they turned it on, they cranked three generators.  Back off at 10:00 p.m. and it is off today.  We expect to see generation at 7:00 p.m. today.  Sunday is showing no generation all day, and Monday is not showing any generation until 6:00 p.m.

Stan out all day Thursday with Robert, from Illinos.  Robert tries to fish with us at least once a year.  He had a wonderful day using the size 16 red midge, size 18 primrose & pearl midge and stripping the holographic green crackleback. 

Yesterday, Stan, Dana and Carolyn had a annual group out all day.  Stan had two  fairly new to fly fishing guys, Dan and Randy out.  They had a very good day using the size 18 rusty midge in the morning, then switched to the

JP - Good Start!

size 18 rubyand  primrose & pearl midges in the afternoon  as well as stripping the primrose & pearl soft hackle.  Carolyn has JP and Mark out for the day  This was marks third trip and JP’s first.  After a few casting lessons for JP, it was off to catching fish.  We had a very good day on the size 18 ruby and primrose & pearl midges.  Later in the morning and for the balance of the trip almost (until they fired up the three generators), it was a size 18 olive midge.  JP started off his fly fishing esperience with a nice 15-16 inch rainbow.  Lots of

Mark - 18 inch Rainbow

nice fish, but also lots of smaller fish.  Wish these guys would hurry up and grow up!  JP even hooked and landed a few stripping the holographic green crackleback.  Good casting practice.  Meanwhile, Dana, who had Rich on the water all day, were catching fish, also on the ruby and primrose & pearl midges.

Rich w/1st fish on new rod!

Windy is the word for the weather this past week or more.  Temperatures have been pretty pleasant.  I think yesterday got into the 70s and it was partly sunny during the day, but the WIND.  Whoa!  Hard to make a decent cast!  Friday and Saturday look like temperatures in the low to mid 80s and partly sunny both days.  Sunday we have a chance of showers, but temperatures in the upper 70s.  Monday and Tuesday and partly sunny; temps Monday in mid 60s and Tuesday mid 70s.  Chance of showers again by Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 60s to lower 70s.  Water generation was off all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Generation of any significance did not come on 8:00 p.m. Monday.  Since then, we have seen the generation running from a low one generator up to a full two.  Today’s projection is for a low one, but I know they have had it at the equivalent of a low two earlier today, and it is now at the equivalent of one right now (10:30 a.m.)

Penny - 4/5/11

What can I say, but it has been WINDY on the river for days.  At least the temperatures are warm enough, the wind doesn’t make it bitterly cold.  And, fishing has been very good in the wind.  We will soon have a new resident in the Branson area.  Carolyn took Penny, who has been living in Alaska for many years, is moving to the area.  She has friends who live here and decided this was the place where she wanted to relocate.  After fishing Taneycomo Tuesday and Wednesday, she has just another good reason to settle here.  Fished good and solid all the time we were on the water.  At one time, when she was stripping the holographic green crackleback, if she went two casts without a hit of fish, we checked to make sure she still had a fly on her line.  The other good patterns were the large ruby and the size 18 ruby as a dropper.  Lots of small fish, but also a good number of larger fish ranging from 17 inches up to 18-1/2 inches.  As you can see, nice and fat and the colors are good. 

Stan had Paul and his friend, Ken, out for half a day yesterday afternoon.  They also did very well on the size 18 ruby midge, plus the size 16 red midge, holographic green crackleback and a red ass soft hackle.  Great day other than the wind.

Just as a side note, the red buds are in full bloom and the dogwood trees along the river are really starting to pop.  Probably be in full bloom over the next few days, especially since the weather will be warm.

Lots of wading time these past few days.  Tuesday they started shutting down for a few hours in the morning until 6:00 p.m.  Wednesday we had off water from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and Thursday was from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 pm.  Friday and the whole weekend absolutely no generation.  Must say the weather was not the best last Wednesday and Thursday, especially Thursday when it rained most of the day.  Friday, sunny and in the 60s, Saturday and today, sunny and temperatures in the 70-80s. 

This coming week doesn’t look too bad weatherwise.  Tomorrow is probably going to be the worst day of the week.  Low 50s with rain.  Tuesday and Wednesday are predicted to be partly sunny and 60-70s; Thursday a chance of showers with temperatures in the low 70s; Friday partly cloudy and low 70s, and we see a chance of showers again on Saturday but temperatures in the upper 70s.  Monday’s generation projection is for off all day until 6:00 p.m.  This, we will have to see.  Both Beaver and Table Rock are creeping up a little.

Jim out with Jim and Ron (brothers), from Minnesota last Wednesday.  Good day for the guys on the olive sculpin bugger, a size 18 black midge and a size 18 gray scud.  Good day for the guys despite the cool day.  But, being from Minnesota, they thought it was a pretty nice day!

Thursday, in the cool…almost cold!, rainy day, Carolyn had Ron and Kathy, from Louisiana out all day.  Even in the rain, Ron boated a nice 17 inch rainbow on a size 18 black soft hackle.  However, I think Kathy (front of the boat syndrome) outfished Ron that day.   Fish didn’t know it was raining  most of the day….as they hit soft hackles and holographic green cracklebacks all day!  Good day.  Stan was out all day with John, from Sedalia, and his friend, Phil, from Kansas.  They had a good day fishing a size 18 black zebra midge drifting the high bank below Lookout Island. 

Friday was an awesome day!  Stay took Dr. Ernie and his grandson, Tom, out for half a day.  They are from the Springfield area.  Grandpa said his grandson was a better fisher than he was.  Watching Tom throw a line, he was pretty darn good!  They had a wonderful day on the primrose & pearl, rusty and ruby midges.  All size 18.  Darrell and Carolyn were rowing the Louisiana crew around!  Carolyn had “the Stripper”, aka Dawn, and Darrell had Albert and James Albert out.  This was Darrell’s first outing since his knee replacement.  Maiden voyage and he did really well.  Good to have you back on the water Darrell!  As for the fishing, the guys quit because they got tired of catching fish.  Their best flies were primrose & pearl and copper dun midges in size 18.  Now the ladies, on the other hand, were still fishing when the guys were loading up the boat.  Hot flies were a size 18 ruby midge and a size 16 rockworm caddis soft hackle.  Couldn’t keep the fish off it!  Needless to day, the “cacklecraft” was in true form.  Jim introduced a couple guys from Maine to the wonderful world of fly fishing.  Norm and Phil said they wanted to try their hand at this fly fishing thing.  Jim had them throwing pretty good lines by the time he kicked them loose.  They had a great day pulling the olive sculpin, as well as drifting the size 18 primrose & pearl midge with a blood worm dropper.

Talked with a few people who said yesterday was a bit tough.  Gina and I were at the Tri-Lakes Fishing expo in Brighton yesterday wishing we were fishing.  Pretty good turnout, but I think lots of people were taking advantage of the beautiful day.

Yes, we do need some rain for the flowers.  Although our red buds, cherry and pear trees and many flowers have already hit full bloom, we still need some rain.  Weather forecast pretty much on track, partly cloudy and mid 40s tomorrow, chance of showers Tuesday and mid 40s; mid 50s Wednesday and partly cloudy.  Back to chance of showers and upper 50s Thursday…good news Friday with partly cloudy and lower 60s and partly sunny and mid 60s on Saturday. 

Saturday, we did have no generation until about 1:00 p.m., as projected, with the equivalent of slighly under one generator for the balance of the day.  Today, the projection is for a low one generator all day.  Think the all day part is correct, but they are runnint just a little higher than one generator.  Tomorrow’s projection is for a low one generator all day.

Both Wednesday and Thursday, Jim had Clay and his younger brother, Tucker, on the water for half a day.  The boys had a good day on the primrose & pearl midge and a size 18 gray scud.  This time, they got to try their hand at pulling a size 12 sculpin bugger. 

True Grit! – Yesterday, Cathy, who is transferring from Nebraska to Virginia for a new assignment on the USS Harry Truman, spent half a day on the water with Gina.  Since is was lightening and thundering in the a.m., Cathy sat in on the fly tying clinic.  Around 11:30 a.m., they saw a clearing, so off to the water with hot coffee, hand warmers, and fly rod in hand.  Tough day on the water, thank you weather.  Got some mist and got some fish!  Fish were not too interested in midges, but took notice of the olive floozie and filoplume.  Yeah!  Good luck Cathy on your new assignment.

We went from summer to winter almost overnight!  80s on Thursday and upper 30s on Saturday!  Forecast for the next few day doesn’t look great.  Could probably say it was more typical spring weather than anything.  Mid 40s and partly cloudy tomorrow, with chances of showers Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and temperatures from mid 40s to low 50s  Thursday we start looking up with mid 50s, partly cloudy and then partly sunny and upper 50s or better by Friday.  One forecast I saw even said 70s by Friday.  That remains to be seen. 

Generation still erratic….what’s new.  Lots of off time Wednesday (and fishing was great)!  Thursday was off in the morning until 6:00 a.m., on for four hours, then off for 5-6 hours and back on.  Yesterday, with a projection of low one all day, we actually saw off from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. then back on.  Off this morning and running about the equivalent of one generator now.  Started up around noon, pretty much as projected.  Projection for Sunday is low one all day then off most of Monday. 

Missed posting a trip Stan had out last Monday.  Gus and Dianne walked into the shop and said they wanted to go fishing.  So, Stan saddled up and off they went.  Very good day on the water for these two fly fishers from Illinois.   Lots of fish on the holographic green crackleback as well as a couple versions Dianne ties.  When they weren’t stripping, the primrose & pearl did its job.. 

Wednesday, Betty and Phil spend half a day with Stan.  Another one of those WINDY days which dealt these new fly fishers a bit of a fit.  However, they still caught lots of fish on the holographic green crackleback and primrose & pearl midge.  Meanwhile, Dean and Gary from Kansas spent the day with Dana.  They too were having a very good day on the primrose & pearl midge.

Dean - 3/23/11

Garu - 3/23/11

Thursday, Stan and Dana had a group out from Texas.  All are pretty new fly fishers.  As a matter of fact, Caroline caught AND touched her first trout!  Caroline and Todd spend the half day with Dana, and Stan worked with Johnny.  Although fishing was not as good as Wednesday, this group still had a good day on the water and caught more trout than they have so far.   

Caroline's first - 3/24/11

Todd - 19" - 3/24/11

.

Generation has been a bit erratic over the past week.  Over the weekend, good wading water from 9:00 a.m. Saturday until 5:00 p.m. Sunday.  Monday, there waas a small window early in the morning before they turned it on at 6:00 until about 9:00 a.m.  Stayed off until 5:00 p.m. and basically did not shut down again until Tuesday about 11:00 p.m.  Wednesday was a full day of wadeable water until 7:00 p.m.  Today is another story.  Projection was for three hours of generation this morning and then off until 7:00 p.m.  So far, they started up about when they projected, but it had not yet shut down, as projected, when I checked at 11:00 a.m.  Instead, they cut back to a low one generator.  That’s wadeable and a really a good drift!

Gina and Carolyn both got to spend time on the water these past few days with what we hope are tomorrow’s fly fishers….if we did our jobs right!  Both Monday and Tuesday, Carolyn had Lisa and her son, Nick, from St. Louis out for half-day trips.  Nick has done some fly fishing with his uncle, Mike from

Nick - 19" rainbow - 3/21/11

Oklahoma.  Lisa has not been fly fishing a some time.  After a little refresher on casting, we went to work catching fish.  Monday was Nick’s day.  He caught lots of fish, including one beautiful 19 incher.  Lisa caught the most fish on Tuesday, especially when she started stripping an olive bug-eyed bugger below Lookout Island.  She really like this kind of fishing.  Other good patterns were the primrose & pearl and red midges.  Two fun days and they both seemed to really enjoy fly fishing.  

Tuesday, Gina had Eric and his son, Quinn who are from Illinois, out for a half day.  This was Quinn’s first fly fishing outing.  Hopefully, Eric has a new fly fishing buddy.  After a little work on helping Quinn get a fly into the water, and recognizing a strike, Quinn landed his first fish on a fly rod.  Quinn had a little trouble handling the rod, but he could certainly set a hook, play the fish and bring it into the net!  Patterns were the floozie, red and rusty midges.

Quinn - 3/22/11

Eric - 19" Rainbow - 3/22/11

Wednesday, Carolyn spent the day with Jera and her son, Hunter from Kansas.  These two have been fishers, but are fairly new to fly fishing.  Of course we worked on casting, mending and some line management, but most of the day was spent catching.  Yesterday was a catching day on almost anything!  Carolyn introduced Jera to stripping a fly, which she really enjoyed.  Hunter even got into stripping after she started catching so many on the holographic green crackleback.  We also stripped the olive filoplume and threw the ruby and primrose & pearl midges.

Hunter - 17" Rainbow

Jera - 3-23-11

From the temperatures and looking at all the blooming trees along the river, it looks like Spring has sprung.  Temperatures continue to be in the 70s.  Chance of showers tomorrow, probably late in the day, which will cool us off a little Wednesday, 60s, back into the 70s and rain chances moving in again for the weekend.  Long ways off…we’ll see.  As I posted yesterday, the generation schedule must have been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  Instead of running all day both Saturday and Sunday, they shut them down Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and kept them off except for maybe a couple hours at 7:00 p.m.  Off all day Sunday until a little after 4:00 p.m.  Projection was for off all day today and we know they fired up at least two at 6:00 a.m.  It is, at least from observation off right now and it is 11:30 a.m.  To be continued….

Saturday on the water was rough!  Wind was blowing solid right up the river and, there was no flow so very difficult to get a good drift.  Jim was out all day with Dwan and Robert from Kansas  They have fished with us almost every year since 2006.  They worked hard, mainly trying to cast and keep a good drift, and turned it into a pretty good day.  Best patterns were a size 18 black zebra , a size 18 black thorax and a size 12 Sculpin bugger.   Meanwhile, Stan and Carolyn had a birthday Father and his three daughters on the water.  Ted, Kristyn and Lora are from Kansas and Emily is from New Mexico.  Everyone except Emily was new to fly fishing.  What a day to show new fly fishers how to fish!  Even a roll cast would wind up in never-never land.  Despite our difficult conditions, everyone caught fish on the size 16 red midge, the size 18 copper dun and primrose & pearl midges.  Gotta say everyone was a real trooper! 

Yesterday, Stan, Jim and Dana had the French family, Jera, Steve, Matt, Josh, and Hunter, also from Kansas (must have been Kansas weekend) on the river all day.  Weird day.  The morning certainly fished tough for all the boats.  After lunch, most of them started picking up some fish and had a good day on the primrose & pearl midge.  Stan introduced Steve to soft hackle fishing, which he liked, as well as pulling awooly bugger.  Matt and Josh, with Dana, pulled a nice 18 inch plus Rainbow out along with several other nice fish.  Many of the fly fishers coming into the shop said they had a tough morning.  Couple of the guys said they weren’t ever seeing the fish swimming around their feed like they normally do when wading.  Did pick up for most in the afternoon and one of the main patterns was the primrose & pearl midge.

Anyone want a windy day?  Today was it!  Weather forecast did say it would be cloudy with a possibility of rain…no mention of the white-cap creating wind, and not just gusts..it was pretty much steady most of the morning.  Anyway, tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s with sunshine.  Hope there’s no wind!  Surprise!  Surprise!  Generation schedule stated one low generator all day today.  Turned the thing off at 9:00 a.m.!  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Weather continues to be great!  Saturday has a chance of showers and/or thunderstorms.  Sunday through Tuesday looks like partly sunny and temperatures in the 70s.  Whoa!  Generation for the past two days has been a low one generator, as projected, and looks like that will be the projection through the weekend.  Monday, of course, they are projecting no generation ALL DAY! 

Jim had a treat Thursday.  He took Mike and his 11 year old son Connor out for a half day float.  It was mainly an instructional trip as Connor is pretty new at this fly fishing.  Good day on the water for both Mike and Connor.  Caught fish on the size 10 olive sculpin, the size 16 red midge and a grey sowbug.  Mike and Connor are from Kansas.  Neat young man.

Jim - 18 inch Rainbow

Jim, from Arkansas, took a half day instructional trip with Carolyn.  Great start to his fly fishing passion.  Comments throughout the day were “this could be addictive” , “this is additive”.  Had a great day after I stop beating him up on “don’t bend your wrist” and, ‘MEND”!  Normal comments to any new fly fisher.  He was throwing a good like by the end of the day….most of the time, and did well on hooking most of the fish and bringing them in.  He was able to work the indicator system as well as pulling streamers well by the end of the half day.  Two 18 inchers and lots of other nice fish on the primrose & pearl, rusty brown midge, sculpin, olive bug-eye bugger and the holographic green crackleback.  Like most…he loved stripping!

Jim had a regular, regular, Bud on the water for a half day.  Bud says he is keeps coming back as he is trying to finish college….fishing college!  He learns something new every time he takes a trip.  They had a great day on the size 10 dark olive bugger and a size 16 red midge.

Susan - "Fish On!" - 3/18/11

Stan had David and Susan out for half a day.  These new fly fishers are from North Carolina.   There was never a doubt when Susan had a “Fish on”….you could hear her from a mile away…well may 30-50 feet!  What a great time they had.  More fish than they had every caught.  Pattern was the size 16 red midge. 

With a low run generation the better part of the day, most  folks were  having a good day on the water.  Midges, San Juan worms, scuds and sowbugs, as well as a diverse selection of streamer patterns were working.  A little wind in the afternoon, but overall, the weather was great as was the fishing.