Looks like all the rain is through area for a while and mild temperatures have set in.  Today’s high will be mid 70s.  Low 80s Sunday and Monday, moving into the mid to upper 80s for the rest of the week.  Lots of sunshine.  Slight chance of rain by Friday.

Most of this past week has been no generation in the morning, then the equivalent of one for 2-3 hours.  Wednesday and Thursday we had generation all day.  Low in the morning, but ramping up to the equivalent of two by afternoon.  Yesterday it was on for three hours very early, off and back on late for three hours.  A low one generator projected for all day today.  No generation tomorrow until very late and then only for an hour.

Jim, from Wisconsin, came back and fished half a day with Stan this past Wednesday.  They had a good day on the red midge with a P&P dropper.  Also caught some stripping the holographic green crackleback. 

Hearing reports of some larger fish cruising around.  A couple browns spotted three to four days ago down by Lookout Island, one 6-8 pounds and the other probably 8-10 pounds.  Nice brown up by outlet 2 yesterday and 2-3 nice rainbows below the root wad below the rebar a couple days ago.

We were expecting to see some rain tomorrow, however, as I am sitting here writing, we are experiencing 30% of  “cats and dogs”.  Good downpour, and quite a bit of wind and we are under a severe thunderstrom warning until 6:00 p.m.  Rain is still in the forecast for tomorrow with mid 80s.  The weather station described this weekend as georgous with the temperatures Saturday and Sunday in the mid 70s to low 80s and mostly sunny. 

Generation all day yesterday and again all day today.  The projection is for it to be on for three hours from midnight then off until 4:00 p.m. when we will get one generator for three hours….let’s see!

Stan had Jim from Wisconson on the water yesterday for half a day.  Pretty good day on the red midge with a P&P dropper and they also hooked some on the holographic green crackleback down below Lookout Island.  Turned out to be another steamy day on the water.

Since the rain that came through this past Friday and Saturday, it has been a bit steamy on the river with the temperatures in the upper 90s.  After tomorrow, we should see a drop in temperatures down to the mid 70s over the weekend to the mid 80s by early next week.  Chance of some showers Friday with temperqtures in the mid to upper 80s.  We’ll take it!

Darrell and Carolyn had the Louisiana folks, Dawn, James Albert and Albert out Labor Day.  We all labored over catching fish.  Great day.  Dawn and Carolyn did well on the big ruby and with a size 18 ruby dropper, but the best pattern, once we found the spot, was the CQ streamer on the sinking leader.  You know that Dawn loves stripping.  Darrell and the guys had a great day an egg pattern with the P&P dropper.

Yesterday, Stan took Joe and his brother James out for the day.  They had a very good day on the black zebra with copper head in the morning, then changed to the P&P under the egg pattern.  Unfortunately, they turned on another generator around 2:00 p.m. and once the water started dirting up and you couldn’t keep the gunk off your fly, the catching was over.

Chris - 9/4/12

Meanwhile, Carolyn had Joe’s son, Chris and wife, Vickie, on the water, and in Chris’ case, in the water, showing them the art and fun of fly fishing.  Joe warned me Chris was probably go swimming…..and he did.  We hooked and brought in some fish, and we hooked and let go of some fish.  I think Vickie is ready to try it again!

Vickie - 9/4/12

Yes, we did get some rain as a result of Isaac.  What we really got, especially yesterday, was WIND!  Pretty day today.  A little warm and humid…low 903.  Mid to upper 90s forecast through Thursday, when a chance of showers moves in for Friday along with a drop in temperatures.

As I mentioned previously, we mostly had generation during last week, except for Thursday morning.  However, Saturday and again today, the generators have been off except for three hours yesterday afternoon.  The projection is for a low to start up today around 3:00 p.m. for about two hours.  Tomorrow’s projection is for no generation until 5:00 p.m. and then it will be on for four hours.  However, we know about Monday projections!

If the fish were having a hard time taking our flies yesterday, it was because we were having a hard time getting them in the water where we wanted them.  Carolyn had Tony and Geoff from Springfield, Mo. on the water yesterday morning.  The dark clouds kept rolling through being pushed by strong winds.  If you could get your fly into the water, you’d probably catch a fish.  Early in the day the black zebra with the copper head was the best pattern.  When they stopped on this, the size 18 ruby midge was the ticket. 

Stan on the water today with Bob and Jim.  I think this was Bob’s second time to have a fly rod in his hands.  Caught quite a few fish, nothing big, but kept them busy.  Same scenario on flies as Saturday.  Black zebra with copper head early then switching to the size 18 ruby.  Good day on the water for Jim and his guests, Darrell and Jan from California.  in the morning the P&P with a blood worm midge worked best.  They tried the CQ streamer, in the a.m. when it was not the pattern, but he said the fish certainly turned on to it in the afternoon. 

Lots of folks fishing today.  Mixed reports from everyone coming into the shop.  Several were doing well on the black zebra copperhead then the ruby.  Some doing well stripping small black wooly buggers.  Egg patterns in the rebar area as well as tan scuds.  And, of course, some folks just couldn’t find the right pattern or place.

Wow!  Looks like we might get some much needed rain.  Forecast says we will start seeing some rain late tonight, with a 90% chance of rain all day tomorrow, droppping to 60% by Saturday.  Much cooler temperatures for a couple days with Friday in the 70s and Saturday in the mid 80s. 

Little more generation these past few days.  Yesterday we had generation all day.  Tuesday it was on, then off, then on and off again in the later afternoon until midnight.  Today, we will not see generation until early afternoon when the equivalent of half a generator will come on and ramp up to a low two 3-4 hours later then off.

Stan on the water yesterday with Terry and Dorothy from Oklahoma.  Dorothy had a great day (she outfished Terry).  Their best pattern was the large black zebra with the brass beadhead.   One of our other customers was also out yesterday.  He and his friend, Howard, had a great morning on the small, size 18 black zebra with the copper beadhead.

Love this weather!  Temperatures in the 80s and low 90s with RAIN scattered here and there.  Sometimes more here than there, especially this past Saturday.  Dry for the remainder of the week after we get through today until the weekend when it looks like we might feel the affect of Isaac. 

Generation schedule pretty consistent.  Off every morning then on for one to five hours in the afternoon and back off again.  Generated from a low one to low two all day Saturday and that looks like what we will see again today. 

Fishing for the past several days has been good to very good, especially for some.  Streamers, midges, and hoppers with a few ants on occasion, have been working well.  Several of our customers have come in after catching lots of fish with their reports.  The size 18 ruby midge and the CQ streamer are at the top of the list.

Robert - 8/25/12

Gina and Dana had a very fun day Saturday as each of them had the opportunity to take a couple veterans from the Healing Waters program out fishing all day….well almost all day.  The heavy rain, accompanied by some lightening, chased them off a little early.  Gina’s guys, Robert, from Kansas, and Joseph from the Columbia, MO. area, caught on the big ruby and a ruby or black copper head midge all day.  I think she said John also hooked a few on the CQ streamer.   Dana’s guys, Dave and Don, from the St. Louis area, had a  great day on the big ruby and the size 16 red D-ribbed midge.   Several other area guides participated in this program and I’m certain it was a great day for everyone!

Stan on the water Sunday with Bob and Linda from Kansas.  Other than getting a little wet, they all had a good day on the black zebra with the copper head.

One of our customers came in this morning and said he had been fishing for four days and caught “a bunch” (three digit numbers) on the primrose & pearl.

We continue to seelittle cooler temperatures than normal for this time of year.  Trying to make up for the hotter than normal temperatures we had in June and July!  Still a chance of rain Saturday night into Sunday, but temperatures will continue to be mild.

Very little generation.  Came on yesterday around 2:00 p.m. with a low one generator.  Scheduled to come on today around 4:00 p.m., again with one generator. 

Good day for Larry from the St. Louis area and his brother Rich, from Maryland, with Darrell.  They fished all day and had a pretty steady day of catching on the copper dun midge dropped from the P&P midge.  After the water came on, he changed out to a larger black midge with the brass head and caught a few more.  The water did dirty up after the generator came on and pretty much shut down the fish but they still pulled out a few more.

Still having great weather.  Made it into the low 90s today with the same predictions through Friday.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday look like upper 80s with an increased chance (50%) of showers Sunday.

After the three days of continous low generation, we have had a couple days of very little generation.  They ran one generator yesterday from 7:00 p.m. to midnight and turned on one today at 4:00 p.m.  Tomorrow looks like no generation until late in the afternoon.

Amren - 8/20/12

Amren and his grandfather, Darrell, spent Monday morning on the water with Stan.  This was Amren’s first time fly fishing and definitely brushing the cob webs off for Darrell, who had fly fished many year ago.  Although they had to work for every fish, they caught several fish and Amren landed a nice 16-1/2 inch rainbow on the rusty midge.  They also caught some on the P&P midge.  Carolyn had Penny, who recently moved here from Alaska out for the morning.  She worked hard also, but landed fish on the rusty, P&P and black zebra with the copper head. 

Tuesday Carolyn had Vic, from Indiana, out mainly for instruction, but we managed to land a few fish on the P&P midge and a natural colored filoplume.  Vic wanted to work on casting, which we did, stripping, which we did, as well has how to fish the various paterns we were throwing.  Good session on false casting and working a sinking leader.

Nice weather for past few days with a few showers scattered in, especially today, Sunday.  Looks like mid 80s creeping into the upper 80s toward next weekend. No chance of moisture until the weekend and then it is not, at this time, a big chance.

Fairly nice, steady generation, especially in the earlier part of the day, the past three days.  Now that we have had three days of generation, we’ll possibly see some off time this coming week…..maybe back to the normal schedule of off in the morning til noon or later then low one or two generators the rest of the day.

With this nice steady generation, the fish have been happy.  Good fishing for the past few days.  Jim had Maurice, from Arkansas on the water Wednesday and Friday last week for half day instructional trips.  They had a couple good learning sessions as well as catching some fish.  Everything from midging to stripping so they used the CQ, the P&P, ruby and red midges.

Saturday, Darrell had Malcomb and Dan from the St. Louis area and Jim had their buddies, Bill and Mark, also from the St. Louis area, out all day.  Dan and Malcomb have been out with Darrell lots of times so they were just hitting the water to do some catching.  Good day for these guys on the large black midge with a copper head as well as the big ruby.  Jim worked his guys over a little on casting and streamer work.  They fished the P&P with a red midge dropper, the black midge and, of course, pulled the CQ streamer.

Charlie - 8/18/12

Sunday, Carolyn took Scott and his daughter, Taylor out for half a day.  This was Taylor’s first experience with a fly rod and she did very well for her first outting.  Hope it won’t be the last.  They made a good father/daughter team and both caught a good number of fish on the size 18 black midge with the copper head,

Check under Fly Fishing Schools/Fly Tying Classes for Fall dates on upcoming one-day Women’s Fly Fishing Clinic and Mixed Fly Fishing Clinics.

Tempeatures have been great for the past several days.  Chance for showers tomorrow, especially in the afternoon.  Low 90s both days with the weekend looking like low to mid 80s and no rain.  How nice it that!?

Still little change in the generation pattern.  Lots of wading time in the morning.  We did have generation all day last Saturday, so let’s hope we don’t see that again this weekend.  However, it was a low one most of the time which is a nice flow and wadeable in some areas.  Should be some other lakes turn.   

This past Saturday, Stan had Chris and Mike, from Oklahoma out for the morning.  New fly fishers, but they caught on pretty quick and had a good day on the big ruby, the size 16 red midge and a P&P midge. 

Monday was the annual outting for a group from Texas.  Lindi and her new husband, Taylor were with Stan.   Alex and Chase went with Dana, and Eric and Beau were with Darrell.  Jim had Rick and Davis.  It was a slow morning, but everyone managed to catch some fish.  No one good fly, but the P&P, copperheaded/black zebra and a blood worm were the best patterns. 

Yesterday, Darrell and Jim took the Louisiana Kerrs out for half a day.  Jim and Dawn had a good day stripping the CQ streamer.  JA and Albert were with Darrell and they caught on a size 16 white tunghead midge, size 16.  Stan had Bruce and his grandson, Cyler, who are from Florida, out for the morning.  Slow start, but they had a good day on the red midge, the P&P and the CQ streamer.

Fish are not jumping on your fly, but if you stay with it and change patterns colors, and especially location after you catch a few fish, you will probably keep on catching.  Once the sun has come up, they have been laying off the midges.  Go to a streamer.  After the sun has been up a while, try the white or P&P midge, and think 7X when you’re drifting a pattern, especially if you notice fish looking at then refusing your pattern.