Yes, it’s the same old…same old story.  Running generators 24/7 with a tailwater level on Taneycomo of 710.5 plus or minus.  Table Rock is dropping and is currently at 917.4…YEAH!  However, the other lakes ae still rising or unchanged.  Beaver is holding at 1129.2 and Bull Shoals is at 668.4 (flood pool 695.00…they have some room).  Good news is that we seem to have several days ahead of us with no rain in the forecast!  Haven’t heard those words for weeks it seems like.

Stan on the water Friday with a gentleman from Florida, Howard.  He and his wife plan to spent one or two week in the area and he wanted to get in a little fly fishing.  He had a good half day using a size 12 gold beadhead olive wooly bugger and the size 16 red tungsten beadhead midge.  He said he might try it again if they do stay around for a while.

Jim was out Friday with some Missouri guys, Alec and Jim.  They spent a good part of the day throwing sink tip lines with #6 Bug-Eyed sculpin pattern and "turned a lot of fish".  Caught several too!  They also used the red midge with a pink San Juan dropper.  The guys have their own boat here so when they got back from the trip, they loaded up on bugs and were going to try it on their own Saturday.  Hope they had a good day.

Darrelll out Saturday with Malcomb and Dan from the St. Louis area.  Had a good day but had to move around alot and try lots of different patterns.  Said it was one of those "catch a few fish here on a pattern, change or move and catch a few more".  The olive filoplume, red midge and black zebra midge were their best patterns of the day.

Sounds like a broken record…..Yes, they have been generating 24/7 for the past week.  Generating between 10500 to 14500 cfs and maintaining the tailwater level in the 710.5 to as low as 708.5 (for a very brief period of time) since last Saturday.  Table Rock is down to 917.8 as of this morning.  However, Beaver is up to 1129.2.  Beaver’s flood pool is 1130.0.  They will probably start releasing their water into Table Rock soon.

Every day this week they projected rain and every day we managed to get some beautiful days for trips!  Several days after coming off the the water I said I would not have bet on the day not to have rain…..see what I know! 

Darrell out with Al from the St. Louis area on Tuesday for half day.  They pulled several fish out on the black size 18 midge dropped below the size 16 red tunghead midge.  

Wednesday, Darrell had Joe from Oklahoma back again.  Joe fished with us about the same time last year and probably thinks this high water is the "norm" around here.  They had a good day on the olive filoplume on a sink tip and the red midge. 

Carolyn on the water Wednesday and Thursday with Moses and Leonard from Illinois.  Moses started fishing with us several years ago and brings a new person with him every time.  Last year it was his son and this year, one of his best friends, Leonard.  Although Leonard fishes a lot, fly fishing was brand new to him.  We had a couple good days on the water with the size 16 Lightening Bug, Size 16 red tunghead midge, and the split personality San Juan worm (red on one end, hot pink on the other!)

Darrell couldn’t help himself.  He had to get a picture of the fog rolling along the top of the water Wednesday.  Great day on the water!

On Monday Curtis and Judy from Bixby, OK went out with Gina for a half day trip.  Good weather and good fortune were smiling on Curtis and Judy. They had blue skies, warm temperatures, high water and high spirits.  Curtis landed his first trout on a fly and decided he liked fly fishing enough to start dropping hints about getting a fly rod for Father’s Day.   Judy started landing fish right off the boat ramp and got enough hits and hook ups to keep things interesting all the way past Fall Creek.  They caught everything on  a size 16 red tungsten bead midge.  The water is still high and four generators are still running 24/7 and the tail water level is steady at 710. 

Yes, generation has continued to be 24/7 at a tailwater level of 710.3 plur or minus.  Table Rock came up a little more and presently is holding at 918.8.  Lots of water backing up at Beaver.  Sorry folks, still no wading for a while.

Carolyn on the water yesterday with a special couple, Heidi and Allen from the St. Louis area.  Heidi was diagnosed with MS several years ago.  She and Allen both have a love and passion for fly fishing and were not willing to give up that sport.  A couple years ago they contacted us about a trip in a drift boat.  This has been the means to put Heidi back on the water with a fly rod in her hand and a smile on her face.  Saturday was great.  Overcast with the sun peeking through for short periods of time and very little wind.  Water was high and fast, but the fish were more than cooperative.  How many days have you spent on the river catching a boat load of trout while watching a Stealth Bomber and other cool planes fly overhead.  Needless to say, there were also many missed fish!  Our day started out with each having a fish on in less than five minutes after we left the boat ramp.  It was just a sample of things to come.  Most of the fish were nice size and definitely very pretty.  Best pattern was the size 16 red tungsten beadhead midge.  A a brief period of time, while the sun was out, the size 16 Lightening Bug was the ticket.  Caught a few on the red San Juan worm with a size 1/8" tungsten bead in the middle, but the winner of the day was the red midge.  All morning was steady fishing and we were all tired puppies when we came off the water.  Thank you for a "perfect day".

Yes, they are still generating water 24/7.  Table Rock is holding at 918.5 and the tailwater level around 710 plus or minus, depending on the time of day. 

Darrell on the water yesterday with two brave regulars, Ole and Marion, from Indiana.  They had a fun day, even caught fish!  Their best flies were the black zebra and the pink glitter thread midge.  Said they would see us again in October!  If I put everything into perspective, days we consider tough on Taneycomo are as good as or better than some of the days I have spent on streams out West.  We are spoiled!

Want to remind everyone about our May 23, Fly Fishing Clinic.  This is an all day clinic which includes information on equipment, knots, bugs, casting and presentation.  It is open to both men and women and the cost for the full day is $75.00 (includes your lunch too).  We have several already registered but still have room for a couple more.

Great deal I can’t help but pass on to everyone.  Orvis is giving a FREE reel of your choice from a Battenkill Bar Stock Aluminum, Battenkill Mid Arbor, or the Battenkill Large Arbor with the purchase of a TLS PowerMatrix, Superfine Trout Bum, T3, or Helios rod.  You are getting the rod and reel for the price of the rod!  This offer is only good for a few more days as it runs through May 15, 2009.  Give us a call if we can help you take advantage of this great offer!

We are not seeing the impact of the latest rainfall we have been having.  Table Rock Lake seems to have leveled off at 918.5.  This could definitely change as they are holding water in Beaver Lake which is 1126.5.  Pool level in Beaver is 1120.0, so they are holding 6.5 feet of water with little generation the past three days.  We have seen four generators 24/7 the past three days.  Tailwater level in the 710.0 feet range.  Really do not expect to see much change for several weeks…..sorry waders.  Let’s all hope for a slow down on this rain!

Have had boats the past couple of days.  Jim took Derek and his father, Ken, out Monday.  Pretty new fly fishers.  Boated some fish on the red midge with an orange San Juan or black midge dropper as well as the bug eyed bugger.

Yesterday, Stan helped Hubert and his wife celebrate Hubert’s 80th birthday.  Happy Birthday Hubert.  They enjoyed a half day on the water catching fish on the red midge with either the hot pink glittler thread midge or hot pink San Juan as a dropper and the size 12 olive wooly bugger.   Darrell had Dale from Wisconsin on the water.  They pulled out some nice fish on the black zebra, hot pink glitter thread midge and a red San Juan worm.

                          Dale – May 5, 2009

Carolyn had Heidi and Allen from the St. Louis area out.  They have been on many trips with us and yesterday they worked the hardest ever to catch some fish.   At least most of the fish we caught were pretty nice. 

                               Allen’s fish – May 5, 2009

Wednesday, Stan squeaked in a 1/2 day float for Greg from Kansas and his nephew Phillip from the St. Louis, Missouri area.  Couple of nice guys who needed a break from their daily grind.  They missed a lot of fish but also caught a lot during the trip on the red size 16 midge with a pink San Juan dropper and the #12 olive wooly bugger.  Only had 3 generators going at 707.5′  Nice float when the wind would lay down. 

In the past 2-1/2 days, the Table Rock Lake level managed to get below 916.  However, think this might be a short-lived level based on all the rain we have been having.  They have also shut the generation down the past 5 nights around midnight and left it off from 3 to 6 hours.  At 2:00 p.m. today, we are still at 915.7 in Table Rock and they are currently running all four generators.  It will take a few days to see the impact the runoff from the rains will have on Table Rock.

Fun day on the water yesterday with Ben and Sarah.  This neat couple just got married last Friday and are on their honeymoon.  Think Ben has himself a fly fisher for a wife.  We had a good day on the hot pink San Juan worm dropper below the size 16 red tungsten beadhead midge.  Sarah is brand new to fly fishing.  She picked up roll casting and line management very quickly but it took a while to recognize a strike and then set the hook.  Once she caught on to that, she started narrowing the catch gap Ben had on her pretty quickly.  One of the better days on the water for quite a while.  Lots of nice fish, 15-17 inches. 

Sarah – 4/28/09	Ben – 4/28/09

Table Rock Lake reached the 916. level Sunday.  Since then they ahve been shutting down the water late at night and leaving it off for 3 to 6 hours into the next morning.  Day time generation is still high with 3 to 4 generators.  We are expecting rain over the next three days.  Let’s hope it’s not a gully washer or the lake will go back up and generation will continue with no breaks.

Since the evening of the 23rd, they increased the amount of generation by about 3000 cfs.  This raised the tailwater level from 709.0 up to 710.3 or so.  That extra foot plus and heavier water has really made fishing tougher these past few days.

Wednesday Jim was on the water with one of his regular regulars, Paul from Nebraska and his friend Wayne.  Their days started off slow, but they finally started pulling fish on the red midge, black size 18 midge and gray scud.  Could not get any takes on any streamer patterns, but they did have a good day.

Thursday, Jim had Chris, who lives in Missouri, on the water.  Chris has been fishing with Jim for several years and this was his first outting for over a year.  They caught fish on pretty much the same patterns as the day before with the exception of the red San Juan worm.  Water was starting to fluctuate a lot and it was one of our wonderful windy days!  Tough casting.  Meanwhile, Carolyn had two guys brand new to fly fishing, Mark and Rich.  Mark is from PA and Rich now lives in KS. but hails originally from NJ.  Fun couple of guys.  Payed attention, learned a lot and even landed a few fish.  Think our best flies were the red midge and the pink size 18 glitter thread midge.  We are still working on a name for this pattern.

Stan had Bob and Bud, who are part of the Mark and Rich group.  They caught several fish on  the red midge, the pink glitter thread midge and a red San Juan worm. 

Darrell’s trip Thursday was tough, but what Mike from Texas didn’t catch in numbers, he made up for in quality.  He landed a beautiful 23-1/2 inch Rainbow on a red San Juan worm in a 1/8" tungsten bead.   Their other fish during the day were caught on the red worm and an olive filoplume.  By the way, these other fish during the day included one sucker! 

                         WOW!  – Mike, April 23, 2009

Saturday everybody was on the water again.  Darrell was out with Malcom and Dan from the St. Louis area.  They brought in several fish on the red San Juan worm, and pink glitter thread midge.  Carolyn has Frank and Ron from Springfield, MO on the water.  They had attended a meeting at the Chateau and decided they needed to fish while they were in the area.  We had to do a lot of looking and lots of changing patterns, but managed to get a fair number of fish to the boat.  Frank worked on numbers and Ron worked on quality.  Ron’s best fish was a 17-1/2 fat Rainbow.  (Nice way to say Frank caught more fish, but Ron caught the biggest!)  Our best pattern was the red tungsten midge and a hot pink size 16 San Juan worm dropper.

Jim and Dana were out with a group from Lee’s Summit, MO area Saturday.  Jim had Dan and Ed , and Dana had Dave and his son Ben.  Both boats landed a few fish and best flyes were the red midge and a red or orange San Juan worm.

Today, Stan had Ken and Kevin from Iola, KS on the water.  Pretty good day, considering how tough it has been.  Boated several fish, including a fat 17" Rainbow, on the red San Juan worm, size 12 olive wooly bugger and a size 12 filoplume.  They fish yesterday but didn’t get enough fishing, so they fished again today. 

                        Nice fish Kevin! – April 26, 2009

Dana’s trip today had a rough go.  Jeff, who has fished with Dana several times, and his friend JR didn’t bring many to the boat today.  JR is new, and both of them missed several fish. 

Sorry to say water is still generating 24/7.  Both yesterday and today, they have been fluctuating it a lot….from almost 11,000 cfs down to 3,500 cfs.  That will confuse the fish!  Table Rock has leveled off at 917.8 feet.  All we can hope is that we get no more rain for a while.

Stan managed to get on the water Saturday with Kristie and Rick from Missouri.  Rick is having a drift boat built in Colorado and he not only wanted to hook a few fish, but learn how to handle a drift boat.  They did manage to accomplish both in their half day outting.  The red midge, size 16, Primrose and Pearl, size 18 and size 12 olive filoplume were their flies of the day.  Jim was on the water Monday with Marvin from Indiana, and Richard (formerly from Indiana) from Kansas.  They are new to the sport and wanted to learn as much as they could and catch some fish.  Again, it was a successful day.  They brought in fish on the size 16 red midge, size 20 black midge and red San Juan worm.  Said they learned a lot and hope to come back.