First weekend since they started changing the generation pattern, and looks like we are getting back to normal.  Friday evening they shut the water off at 9:00 p.m. and left it off until Noon on Saturday.  Saturday it again was off at 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. when they turned on one generator for two hours.  Off again at 10:00 for four hours, when they ran 2-3 generators until 5:00 p.m.  It was off until 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.  One generator for two hours then off again until today at 10:00 a.m. starting with two and now running four.

Jim had Leo and Steven from Springfield, MO on the water Friday.  They had a good day on the black midge, blood worm dropper and orange San Juan Worm.  Saturday Jim infected a couple guys from Iowa, Neil and Gene, with the fly fishing bug.  Took them out and worked on casting, line work and hook sets. They even caught some fish!  Best bugs for him were the Copper Dun midge, size 18; blood worm dropper, size 22 and the Ugly Midge, size 18 (this guys has been dormant for a while).  Gina was out with a friend from Oklahoma, Valley, and they too picked up some fish on the Ugly Midge as well as the Red Midge, size 16, and Valley’s "pre-emergers".  I had to stand in the water for a while so I went out for a couple hours and did nothing but strip streamers.  After I found the one they wanted and figured out how they wanted it, I did well on the size 12 olive filoplume.  I was fishing this cross current with an intermediate sink tip and stripping very slowly.  The takes were VERY soft.  As a matter of fact, most of the time I saw my line move before I felt them and in many cases never felt them hit the fly.  Stan was out with Randy from OK. Saturday.  They had a good day on the Big Ugly with a black zebra midge dropper.  It was pretty much 50/50 on the Big Ugly to the midge.  Randy really enjoyed fishing the Big Ugly.

Randy – August 30, 2008

Sunday, Stan had Tom and his grandson, Jason, from Springfield out.  Jason is brand new and really caught on fast.  Tom was excited because he is looking for a fly fishing buddy.  They had a good day on the red size 16 midge with the red San Juan dropper.  Sunday was the day they were messing with the water.  I had Martha from AR. and her friend Marvin from CA.  We too caught them on the red midge with San Juan dropper and both Stan’s boat and mine caught them on the Big Ugly with the black zebra dropper.  Martha found this to be a real challenge to hook them on a dry and really liked it.  Darrell had Randy from OK. back out again.  He had planned to wade Sunday, but they turned on the water so he took another drift trip.  Sunday was a bit tough.  Hits and hook ups were not hot and heavy.  One could see quite a few fish, but they were very picky on where they wanted to feed.   Good news was that we all brought several fish to the boats and everyone had a good time.

So far this week, we have seen a pretty consistent pattern with the water flow.  Turning it off around midnight and keeping it off until 11:00 a.m. to noon the next day.

Stan on the water with Brian, a Sheriff’s Officer from Kansas, yesterday.  They had a great day on the Big Ugly with a black, size 18 midge dropper.  When the water came on, they switched to the red size 16 midge with a red size 16 San Juan and fished the rise.  This too fish very well.  Jim had David and his Dad from Arkansas on the river.  They had so much fun, they went out again today.  Their best bug was the size 14 Miracle Scud.   From the reports we are getting from our customers, depending on where you are on the water, almost everything is working.  Know the size 14 olive wooly bugger with no beadhead is working as well as the holographic green crackleback and dark olive soft hackles. 

Saturday they turned the water off at midnight and left it off until 2:00 a.m. Sunday.  Sunday night, again at midnight and on at 6:00 a.m. Monday.  Monday they ramped it up about every four hours.  Monday night it was off at 11:00 p.m. and back on yesterday morning 11:00 a.m.!  Again last night they turned it off a little before midnight and projection today it that it will come on at 1:00 p.m.  Anyway, what we arer seeing is a more normal summer time generation pattern.  Is that light we see at the end of the tunnel?!?!

Yesterday fished great.  Jim had Ted and Janis from Arkansas on the river.  They are brand new fly fishers and had a wonderful time.  Jim worked with them on casting, line management, hook setting and playing fish.  They caught on quickly and caught fish.  Best flies were the Miracle Scud, size 14 (that’s a back to normaly fly) and the size 18 copper dun midge.  Stan was out with Dick from Florida.  They caught lots of fish on the Big Ugly with a black zebra dropper.  Fish were hitting both flies.  When the water came on, they used the red midge and red San Juan to fish the rise.  Got into some dry fly fishing which Dick really liked. 

Had some of our customers come into the shop after the water turned on.  They had had an awesome day stripping small, olive wooly buggers at the Rockin Chair area. 

Even up at the hatchery area, the guys are saying one day there are lots of fish near the outlets and the next day or later in the day you can’t find one.

Boats out all week.  Stan had Jason on the water Tuesday for his 30th birthday (nice birthday gift from Mother).  He had a good time.  Learned a lot and caught some fish.  Jim was on the water Wednesday with Frank and Shirley from Arkansas.  They worked a lot of bugs, hooked a few fish, but all in all it was a tough day.  Thursday, Jim had a couple of new fly fishers from Nebraska, Doug and Darrell.  Got the casting down pretty good, but a bit behind on takes.  Caught fish on the red midge, orange San Juan and black thorax midge.  Carolyn had Wanda and Joanna on the water.  We hit a lot of fish on the red midge with tne red San Juan dropper.  Spotted some fish rising and tried a few dries.  Caught a few on the parachute Adams, but pretty slow so we moved on and Joanna got the chance to catch some on the sink tip with a holographic green crackleback.  Decided she really liked that technique and hooked up with quite a few fish.  In the meantime, Wanda was picking a few fish with the Big Ugly dry and a rusty zebra midge dropper. 

Friday Stan had two new fishers, Bob and Dale from Kimberling City, and Carolyn had Phil and Meri from Kansas on the water.  Again, some areas fished well, especially with the red midge and red San Juan worm dropper.  Carolyn’s boat spotted the rising fish again and tried to catch some.  Picked a few on variious dries and emerger patterns but no great numbers and no consistent pattern.  Went back to the red midge and in the afternoon, Meri hooked several fish on the blondie crackleback and when they shut off this color, the holographic green crackleback.

Since they shut back the generation over the weekend to one generator, we have noticed a change in the generation pattern.  They have been backing it down around midnight to a tailwater elevation of 704 to 705, then turning it back up around 8:00 a.m. to an elevation of 707 to 708. 

With the water low over the weekend, it fished very well in some places and very poorly in others.  Stan and I were both out on Monday and caught fish on almost everything.  Stan and friend, Bob from Kansas, caught fish on WD40s, Parachute Adams, cracklebacks and a variety of other flies.  No one pattern consistently but  pretty steady in getting hits and fish.  I was wandering around on my own checking out the river to see how much it had changed.  I did not go about the Rockin Chair area.  With one generator running, it was difficult to see much, but it appears that the area has filled in quite a bit.  The rock shelf on the north bank (boat ramp side) looks pretty much the same.  The deep hole below the boat ramp is gone and it appears the KOA narrows are now the KOA flats.  I fished some and did my best on a blondie crackle back using a sink tip.

Jim was out with Frank and Shirley from Arkansas yesterday.  They had a tough day.  Not too many hits.  He fished the black midge, blood worm and soft hackle.  They could see lots of fish, but, for the most part they were not interested in what they were throwing.  Probably full of dead scud.  When then dropped the water, the banks were alive with scud wiggling in the rocks.  

They shut the generation off at midnight!  It was off until probably 7:00 a.m. today.  They are presently running 3 generators with a level of 706.8.  According to the projections (we haven’t had to look at those for a while!) that is about what they will run today until 6:00 p.m. when they will shut them down again.  Can we hope this will be the pattern today?!?!? 

As best we know, they still plan to lower Taneycomo Sunday with some minimal flow so they can get the lake at the lower end low enough to install the boards at Powersite Dam.  We are looking forward to wading again!!

Over the weekend and so far this week, in addition to the regular flies, we have been getting some good action of dries.  Yeah!!  Mainly small bugs, such as a Parachute Adams, sizes 18-24; extended body BWO, size 24; and a cream midge, size 22. 

Jim, Stan and Carolyn had a group of six brand new fly fishers out Saturday.  They all had a great time and are no longer brand new fly fishers.  This was an annual family get together and think they plan on fishing again next year. 

Ellen tried out her new fly rod Monday and hooked her first trout on a dry fly.  Unfortunately, it headed for the weeds and she didn’t get it to the boat.  She did land several fish on the red tunghead midge earlier in the morning and finished up the afternoon landing more on the holographic green crackleback (her favorite fly).  

Tuesday, Stan was out with Larry and Don from the Overland Park, KS area.  Larry caught his first trout on a dry fly in Taneycomo, a size 22 BWO.  Couldn’t get them away from the dry fly fishing, lots of hits, lots of misses and some fish to the boat.  Good day.

 Jim had a young man, Ty, and his father Roger on the water.  Ty is nine and, although he loves fishing, this was his first time with a fly rod.   As they are beginners, Jim worked with them on casting and presentation.  Hook sets a little slow, but once they caught on they boated some fish.  Red midge and size 18 black midge.

Had to get these two guys on the site although they were out last week.  Todd must have been having wading withdrawals.  Water dropped enough that there were a few places to wade, so……

The guys had a great day and caught lots of fish.  burgundy and black midges and the red San Juan worm.   

If all things remain the stable (weather, etc), they are scheduled to turn the water off sometime Saturday night, August 16 so they can replace the boards downstream at Powersite Dam.  The plan is to have it off  until possibly Monday night, August 18. 

Ed Story the founder of Feather-Craft in St. Louis, Missouri, noted for his creation of the crackleback, passed away Sunday morning.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.   We know he will be missed by many, but never forgotten.