Although 4-5 days ago it was forecast that today had a 90% chance of rain, we are looking at sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s today.  Beautiful day.  Upper 60s tomorrow and a chance of rain.  Unfortunately, rain just keep bouncing in and out of the forecast.  Right now, we have had enough.  Want to get this water back to wading levels!

Had three mornings last week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, where they had no generation from midnight until 6:00 a.m.  Then they cranked on one or two, then three and finally four before the day was over.  This weekend, they ran the equivalent of two units all weekend.  Monday’s projection is the same, the equivalent of two units.

Lots of trips on the water this past week and fishing has been great.  Everyone catching good numbers and good quality fish, and the weather has been great.  A little windy a few days, but no one is complaining except us guides when we are trying to get a good drift or just sit in one spot!

Stan had Doc from Oklahoma on the water Friday.  Lots of fish on that little ruby 2.  More of the same for Jill and Danielle.  Lots of fish on the

Danielle – 4/10/15

ruby 2.  Jill’s daughter Danielle wanted to try fly fishing, so Jill decided to come along for a good mother-daughter day.  By the end of the day Jill’s

Jill – 4/10/15

comment was “I’d do this again…it was fun!”  I think we might have two more fly fishing ladies in our midst. Jim and Dana had a group out of Texas.  Jim had the guys, Paul and Mark and Dana had the ladies, Gail and Tere.  More fish to the boat.  Paul likes pulling streamers, so they were pulling the JQ.  However, they also fished the red midge, ruby midge and hot hare’s ear.  The ladies were catching on the red midge, a big ruby 2 and a red San Juan worm.

Gail – 4/11/15

The Texas group hit the water again on Saturday.  This time the ladies fished with Darrell and drug fish in all day on the ruby 2.  Jim had Paul

Tere – 4/11/15

and Mark again for more streamer and indicator catching.  Stan had an afternoon trip.  Todd, from Kansas was attending a meeting in the area and just had to wet a line.  He had fished with Stan once before and decided it was time

Todd – 4/11/15

to do it again.   He could not believe how fat the fish are.  Yep!  it was the ruby 2 under a big ruby!

We have been sending several folks who want to wade or fish from the bank over to the creeks, Roark and Turkey creeks.  Good reports on these areas from the fishers coming back to get more flies.  One of the couples who fished the mouth of Roark about four days ago said almost any midge color they threw at the fish the fish were taking them.  A gentleman came in this morning to get more ruby 2 and black copperhead midges.  Said he did very well at Turkey creek.  Certainly work looking at until they shut down the water.  Fishing is just good.  Your challenge is getting to them!

WINDY!  The wind is out of sight here today.  All the boats were grunching about yesterday’s wind, but today it much worse.  Nice couple days ahead with temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s.  However, by Sunday, we are looking at chances for thunderstorms early.  Hope it’s early, we have boats out Sunday.

Not running quite as much water as they have been, but I think we will see continued generation each day for a while at least as we are still a little over a half a foot above power pool

Jim – 4/8/15

Even with all this water, however, fishing continues to be very good.  Gina had Jim out again and they had a great day on the ruby 2 and the black d-ribbed tunghead midge.  Darrell had Jacob and his grandfather, Mel out for half a day.  This was a new

Jacob – 4/8/15

experience for both of them and they had a great day on a big ruby 2 with the rainbow warrior dropper.  Stan had Dave, from Arkansas, out all day.  They hammered them on the ruby 2 under the big ruby.  Jim had Derek from Illinois out for half a day.  Took him out again on Thursday.  Couple good days for them on the ruby, hot hare’s ear and the JQ streamer.

Did not get as much water this this last rain as we did with the earlier one.  However, it did set us back a little as far as getting Table Rock Lake down to pool.  Little sprinkles yesterday, but no more in sight for a few days.  Maybe Thursday will bring some more rain.

What can I say.  Maximum generation all day.  There was a slight break……not as much generation……before this last rain, but that was short lived.

Several boats out Saturday.  Jim had Steve, from Illinois out again.  They had a good morning on the ruby with the hot hare’s ear dropper or stripping the JQ streamer.  Al Wood from Michigan, spend the morning with Dana.  They fished a size 20 hare’s ear and the ruby 2.  Darrell and Stan had a group of young men who are attending college together and one of the guy’s father.  Pretty much the first time fly fishing or even fishing! for all of them.  Hope they don’t think the water looks like this all the time!  They did have a good time and even caught some fish.  One was a nice 17″ rainbow.  Big ruby for Stan’s boat, and Darrell was using the big ruby with the rainbow warrior dropper.

Yesterday, in the damp, cloudy day, Gary and his son, Kale took half a day with Stan.  Very good day for these guys.  They regularly fish Taney, and were distraught they could not get on the water.  No problem, into the boat and onto the fish.  Big ruby, with ruby 2 or black midge dropper.

Hit the floor at 4:30 this morning when a clap of thunder and the sound of heavy, blowing rain woke me up.  Seemed like lots of rain, but so far, Table Rock Lake has only come 2/10ths of a foot.  However, I’m sure it will come up some more.  The good/bad news is that they are running four units almost full capacity and the projection is for more of the same tomorrow.  Right now, no major chances for rain for several days and temperatures in the mid 60s for the weekend and70s to 80s for next week.

Gina on the water Wednesday with her regular, Jim from Monett.  They were scheduled for a full day, but came off early when the thunderstorm and lightning were looming in the horizon.  Until then, however, they were having a good day on the black #16 d-rib midge and the black copperhead midge.  Stan was also on water.  He had Don and Gary from Kansas out for half a day.  They started late and found shelter from the rain where they waited out the storm, then back to fishing!  Good day for them too on the same patterns, black r-rib midge and black copperhead midge.

Several boats out tomorrow so we’ll see how she is fishing!

Since the 27th, they have dropped Table Rock Lake a little over one foot.  YEAH!  We have one more foot to go and we will be at power pool.  Should start seeing a little off generation time when we get to that level.

Gorgeous day yesterday!  Sunny and in the upper 70s.  Today it is cloudy and in the low 60s for far and it is almost noon.  Slight chances for rain today and tomorrow and the prediction was that we would see mid 70s today and tomorrow.  I wouldn’t want to bet on today.  Friday looks like it will be wet….90% chance of morning showers and thunderstorms.  However, the weekend looks dry and mid 60s.

Stan and Jim both on the water Monday.  Needed to see if we could find fish with all this water.  Stan took Jack and Mary Kay to Turkey Creek where they found several cooperative fish.  Best pattern was the P&P midge under the big ruby.  Jim hit the main part of Taneycomo and he found fish in many of the normal high-water locations on the JQ streamer and a ruby 2 midge.  Not barn burner days, but enough fish to keep you happy and have a good time.

Jim had Mark and his friend, Chuck on Taney yesterday.  This was baptism by fire for Chuck as it was his first time fly fishing.  Hope he doesn’t think we fish water like this all the time!!  They caught and missed several fish on the JQ streamer, the ruby 2

Kathy – 3/31/15

and hot hare’s ear nymph.  Kathy and Ron from Louisiana spent the day with Carolyn.  They worked hard and we hit any place we saw fish.  I’d say good to very good day on the ruby 2, black copperhead midge and the holographic green crackleback.

Right now and through Monday for sure, we have and will have four generators going almost at maximum for 24 hours each day. Fortunately we do not have real strong chance for rain in the near future.  Hopefully, they can get Table Rock Lake back to pool with this generation pattern.

Weather is looking better come Sunday, and should look pretty good all next week.

We cancelled trips through the first of the week.  If the water stays running like this for a few days, we will be able to find fish in their normal places.  But, during the first few days of heavy running, they are still scattered so we do not want to take folks out and not have some fish come to the boat.  We certainly have fished even heavier water successfully, but we know things have to settle down.

We’ll keep you posted!

Boy did we get dumped on last night.  Raining a little this morning, but it should give way to sunshine this afternoon.  Possibility of more rain tonight and into early morning.  By Sunday, however, they are promising warm weather again.

Lots of generation right now.  We are about one foot over power pool right now and I am sure it will continue to go up as we get the run off into Table Rock Lake.  This will probably equate to us seeing more generation for a while.

Stan on the water Tuesday with Marvin and Richard.  Marvin is from Indiana and Richard from Kansas.  They try to meet here every year and fish and their wives go shopping.  Pretty good deal!  Very good day for them Tuesday on the ruby 2 under the big ruby.  So good, they went out again yesterday.  Whole new day, but, after a slow start in the morning, they hustle several fish to the boat, again on the ruby 2/big ruby combo.  We’re waiting for weather reports right now as they want to go out again today!

Jim – 3/25/14

Wednesday, Jim took another float with Gina.  After the slow morning start, they pulled off a very good day on the ruby 2 and pink San Juan worm.

Another 70s day here today but there are pretty good chances we will have some stormy weather late this afternoon.  That will knock down our temperatures into the 50s for a few days with slight chances of showers.  By Sunday, we will be back into the upper 60s or low 70s.

We have seen 3-4 units running in the morning every day this week.  They have cut it back a little in the late morning, but still at least a full unit or more running the balance of the day.

David – 3/22/15

Sunday, Darrell took David, from Illinois out for half a day.  Great day.  Good weather and a low one unit running all day.  Lots of patterns worked, the copperhead black midge, ruby 2, holographic green crackleback, but probably best of the day was a prince nymph on the 2.6 ips sinking leader stripping.

Stan on the water Monday with Terry and Rob from Wisconsin.  Even with 3 units running all day and the water up and down from 4000 cfs to 7000 cfs, it fished very good.  Terry and Rob had great day on the ruby 2 under the big ruby.  Carolyn took Ron, also from Wisconsin out for half a day.  Ron had to set his mark high early in the trip with a nice 20 inch rainbow he caught drifting the weighted red San Juan worm under a big ruby.  We also fished the black copperhead midge,

Ron – 20″ rainbow – 3/23/15

the ruby 2 and the lightning bug and caught fish on all of these.   Fun day!  David and Darrell were on the water again on Monday.  The crackleback stripped below Lookout Island was their best pattern for the day followed by the ruby 2 midge.

Nice weather the past few days.  Temperatures in the 60s and 70s.  No rain, no wind…a little sprinkle today but I think it is short lived.  We expect another nice days tomorrow with temperatures in the 70s.  70s through Wednesday, but 50% chance of showers Tuesday and 90% by Wednesday.   Looks like a cool down coming through on Thursday as temperatures will be in the 50s both Thursday and Friday and sneak back into the 60s for the weekend.

Pretty stable on the generation schedule the past few days.  Other than ramping it up in the mornings for 3 hours or so, then back down to the 25 mwh level for the balance of the day.  For the most part, this is a nice 1100 to 1800 cfs with an increase in height to some where between 703.6 to 704.6.  Definitely a wading level in places and a great float!

With all that said, fishing has been wonderful!  Wonderful in many ways.  Not only is fishing good, but we have seen several new to fly fishing folks these past few days, and quite a few of these are young people.

Thursday, Dana had Gaylon and his son, Kenton, from Oklahoma on the river for half a day.  Great half day for these new fly fishers.  It was the Ruby 2 or the JQ streamer that hooked most of their fish.

Max – 1st on fly rod – 3/19/15

Max’s 12th birthday present from his Grandmother was a fly fishing trip.  So Dad rode along to watch Max learn how to fly fish with Carolyn for half a day.  Max had a very good day on the water with either the Ruby 2 or black copperhead midge.  He was throwing a respectable line and definitely had his line management under control as he pulled in fish the whole trip…..and he missed a few too!  The catch of the day was out of Gina’s boat who had Brian and his son, Zach out for half a day.  This was

Zach – 22″ rainbow – 3/19/15

Zach’s first time fly fishing and I believe he too just turned 12.  Zach’s last fish of the day was a beautiful 22 inch rainbow.  What a birthday present!

Brian – 3/19/15

Very good day for these guys on the black copperhead midge under an egg pattern.

And the catching goes on.  Friday, Aubrey and her mother, Abigail, took half a day float with Carolyn.  Both ladies are new to fly

Aubrey & 16-1/2″ rainbow

fishing and both did very well.  Mom took a picture of Aubrey’s nice 16-1/2″ rainbow so I’ll post it as soon as I get it.  It was hard getting either of these fishers to finally put down their rods.  Another black copperhead midge or ruby 2 day.

Abigail – 032015

Darrell was out with James Albert from Louisiana.  This young man throws a line!  They had a great day on…..you know it!….the black copperhead zebra and Ruby 2!!!  However, I did observe them catching quite a few stripping the holographic green crackleback.

Gorgeous weather….upper60s to low 70s and sunny for several days.  Of course, we have to pay our dues, so today and part of tomorrow is in the 40s and rain!  That’s alright.  Friday we hit upper 60s again; low 70s on Saturday and mid to upper 60s through most of next week.  I am seeing a 70% chance of showers next Wednesday.

Generation has been pretty stable at a low one unit almost every day all day.  This can limit the wading area, but there are several places where you can wade with a low one unit.  It makes a great drift unless the wind is flowing 90 mph up stream!!!!  Did have that a couple time this past week.

Don and Steve from Illinois had a great day on the water with Stan last Wednesday.  It was one of those low flow days so they used the big ruby with either the P&P or size 18 ruby dropper.  Jim was out with Peter from Kansas.  Jim had Peter on the hot hare’s ear and the ruby midge.

Sam – 3/12/15

Thursday, new fly fishers Doug and his two sons, Sam and Ethan spent half a day on the water with Stan and Carolyn.  Everyone caught a lot of fish and these nice fish put a smile on Sam and Ethan’s faces.  Good job guys!

Ethan – 3/12/15

Carolyn took Wendy and Melody out all day Sunday.  Another beautiful day and great fishing.  Melody set the bar for the day with one of her early catches.  We never hit this mark again, but did bring a lot of fish to the boat on the big with with the ruby 2 under it.

Melody – 3/15/15

Steven, from Oklahoma, and his nephew Evan spent all day Monday with Stan.  Lots of fish on the peach egg with the ruby 2 dropper.  Also caught some stripping the holographic green crackleback.  Dana and Darrell had a group from Oklahoma out for half a day. Good day for all these guys.   Bill and Carter fish with Dana and they fished the ruby 2 and a red San Juan worm.  Darrell had Stephen and Jennifer.  Their best pattern was the ruby 2.

Finally, we are up to yesterday.  Jim out with Larry and Dan from Kansas.  Still fishing very good for these guys on the red midge, hot hare’s ear nymph and the JQ streamer.  Darrell had Dave and Jake out.  Lots of misses on the holographic green crackleback on the sinking leader.  During their outing, they caught a couple browns on the ruby 2.  Last, but not least, Carolyn finished up a 2-day school for Kent and Chris.  She worked them hard on casting and techniques.  Finally let them sit back and catch fish and it was madness for a little while on the black copperhead zebra midge dropped under the big ruby.  Several doubles floating the high bank below look out island.  Kevin and friend, Joe from Kansas, were out with Stan.  Good day on a peach egg with the ruby 2 midge dropper.

I know….what is the ruby 2.  It is a modification to the regular ruby midge we tie with holographic red tinsel and a natural tungsten beadhead.  Changes are:  copper beadhead, black thread and black wire spiraled around the red holographic body.  Still on the TMC 100 hook.  We have been fishing it for several months now and there have been many days when it fished better than the regular ruby.