Yep!  We just steamed past Spring.  Temperatures in the mid to upper 80s all the way through most of next week.  By next weekend, looks like 90s will be the norm.  Chances for scattered showers over the next four days.

Seeing some lower flows during the morning hours the past several days.  Today, however, it was off until noon then they turned on the equivalent of two units.  They should shut down around 8:00 p.m. and we’ll have to wait until the report comes out this afternoon to see what they will be doing tomorrow.  My guess would be that we’ll see low or no flow in the a.m and they fill fire up something early afternoon.  Especially with all this warm weather.  Need that power!

Vicki – 5/18/18

Carolyn out last Wednesday with Bill and Vicki from Oklahoma.  Started out in the early afternoon on Wednesday and as soon as we hit the water, they fired up another generator.  Had to take a break as the water trashed up so bad one could not keep their fly clean.  Once it cleared up, we managed to catch a few fish on the ruby 2 under an apricot egg pattern.  They didn’t get enough, so we went out again for the whole day on Friday.  Much

Bill – 5/18/18

better day.  Lots of fish on the ruby 2 either under the big ruby or the apricot egg.  Low flow in the morning.  We broke for lunch when they added another unit and by the time we were ready to fish again, water had cleared and fish were biting.

Gary and his friend, Barry fished half day with Stan last Thursday and again on Friday.  Good days on the ruby 2 under the egg pattern.

Harlan from Indiana spent all day Saturday on the water with Stan.  He did well on the ruby 2 under the apricot egg pattern.

Jim – 5/21/18

Monday, Barbara and Jim fished all day with Carolyn.  They just finished the Orvis 2-day fly fishing school and wanted to used what they had learned.

Barbara in the zone

Good day on the water for them using the cerise San Juan worm under the big ruby.

Gorgeous day yesterday.  Temperatures in the upper 80s and a little wind with lots of sunshine.  Had some very light showers this a.m. but expect 80s and partly cloudy most of the day.  Tomorrow is our best chance for rain but still temperatures in the 80s.  80s and 90s seem to be the trend for the next week and after tomorrow, just slight chances for rain….we know how that can change!

Since they shut down the gates, we have seen some low flow at least part of each day.  Today we are supposed to see the equivalent of one or less until noon or 1:00 p.m. when they will pump it up to the equivalent of two units.  Back down to one by 8:00 p.m.

Carolyn on the water with Tony and his son-in-law, Bryson this past Sunday.  This was the first day of lower water and it fished well.  The morning started out pretty fast stripping the tiger tail and/or the holographic green crackleback.  As soon as they stopped hitting these patterns, we changed over to the big ruby with the ruby 2 dropper and the catch was on again.  Really good day for Tony and Bryson!

Folks coming into the shop are either catching really good or having a tough time.  Tan scud and tiger tail have been the best two patterns being reported.

Beautiful blue sky and sunny weather.  Temperatures in the 80s.  Looks like more of the same over the next week.  Slight chances of rain Wednesday and Thursday, but right now, they are slight!

Gates finally closed around 11:00 a.m. today.  Currently, they are running three generators.  According to SWPA.gov, projection for the weekend is one unit or lower all weekend!  Yeah!!

Carolyn on the water most of Thursday with Gabrielle and Knox from Illinois.  These two took our two-day school in June of 2015 and they have continued to fly fish lots of different places over the past few years.  They are really happy that they took up fly fishing.  Very good day for them stripping tiger tails with a holographic green crackleback even with give gates going!

It’s summer!  At least that’s what the temperatures seem to be these past several days.  Upper 80s, probably hit 90 in some places.  Today is upper 80s and we’re looking at the same all the way through the weekend.  Plus sunny skies!  Next Monday there is a 50% chance of rain but still in the 80s.

Last Friday, May 4, they opened five gates 1 foot each.  This put about 5000 cfs plus what is being run through the normal generators, so we are seeing 14000-15000 cfs of water 24/7 right now.  The word is that when they get Beaver down to 1128.5 when will drop back on this much flow.  We will see.  Right now Beaver is sitting at 1128.98 and not moving down very quickly.

Stan on the water May 4 with RJ and her friend Amy.  Good day for these ladies stripping the JQ streamer.

Judy – 5/6/18

Sunday, Carolyn took Tim and Judy out for half a day.  They just finished our 1-day fly fishing clinic and wanted to apply what they had learned.  Tough day due to the high water, but we muddled through and caught some fish!  It was a JQ streamer or holographic green crackleback on the 4 ips sinking leader day.

Stan took Jim and his brother Mark out on Monday.  Still lots of water and Mark is new to fly fishing.  They did managed to hook some fish stripping the JQ streamer.  Nice day….88 degrees and NO WIND for a change!  But 15,000 cfs of water.  Can’t win them all.

The Weather has been great until today.  Upper 70s and low 80s with lots of sunshine and, quite a bit of wine.  However, today we have lots of rain.  Should be through here by 6:00 p.m. and we will go to party cloudy with a nice day tomorrow in the upper 60s or low 70s.  Looks like cloudy most of the day, but Saturday will hit low 80s and partly sunny.  Same for Sunday, then Monday is full sunshine and 80s again.

Generators were actually off Tuesday.  Up until then, we have had the normal ups and downs.  Yesterday was back to the low one unit, 35 mwh, then the equivalent of two generators on around 1:00 p.m.  Tomorrow is looking about the same with two coming on at either 1:00 or 2:00 p.m.

Stan and Jim on the water with a group of four guys last Friday and Saturday.  Mike and John fished with Stan and Jim took Ed and Gail.  Fun two half days for the guys on the ruby 2 midge.  Good day of catching.  Rob and Ray from Oklahoma spent half a day on the water with James.  Good day of catching for these guys also on the ruby 2 midge under a peach egg pattern.  Ray lots a really nice rainbow at the boat ramp.

Monday, Carolyn got to take Kimberly and her father, Dale out for the day.  Dale has worked

Dale – 4/30/18

at various Orvis operations back East and he was here visiting Kimberly who lives here in Missouri.  This was Kimberly’s first experience fly fishing for trout and

Kimberly – 4/30/18

she did great.  They had a really good day on the ruby 2, tiger tail, JQ streamer and holographic green crackleback.  Stan on the water with one of his long-time customers, Larry from Kansas, who brought a friend, Don.  Short half day for them, but they pulled several fish on the ruby 2 or lightning bug under the big ruby.

Tuesday was a “you should have been here” days.  They actually had the generators off until 4:00 p.m. or so.  Jim had Joe from Kansas out for the day.  Joe is brand new to fly fishing and wanted to learn.  They

Kathy – 5/1/18

fished the blood worm, P&P, black midge and a gray scud.  Kathy from Louisiana spent all day on the water with Carolyn.  She set herself a new record of fish to the net!   She actually had blisters on her hands at the end of the day.

Carolyn back on the water

Lee – 5/2/18

Wednesday with Lee and Charlie both from Texas.  New guys to fly fishing so we worked a little on the roll cast and the basic cast.  Biggest problem for a while was the hook set, but they got the hang of

Charlie – 5/2/18

it and caught some fish.  I think at the end of the day, it was almost a tie…Charlie may have had a few more.  Fun day with these guys on the ruby 2 and black copperhead midges.

Gina had Bill and Frank from Illinois on the water again.  Really great day for

Bill – 5/2/18

these guys on the ruby 2 under the big ruby and a few stripping the

Frank – 5/2/18

tiger tail.

Overall, gotta say fishing has been pretty darn good.  Especially at the lower levels or best of all, no generators!

This past Saturday, April 21, we had an outstanding gathering of women from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas at the fly shop.  They were there to help the River Runners Women’s Fly Fishing Club celebrate it’s 10 year anniversary.

Most of the charter members who started the club in April 2008

The day was off to a great start with fly tying,

Fly Tying

rigging, making bracelets out of used fly line and browsing

Rigging and knots

through the many auction items we collected for silent and live auctions.  Outside there was casting for those who wanted to learn or brush up.  By 10:30 or so, Dutch oven preparation was starting on some great lunch desserts.

All the ladies in attendance!

After a great lunch, it was fun and games.

Tag team putting on waders

It was a wonderful day of making new friends, sharing stories, learning new things and reinforcing what you thought you new, but the best is still to come.

Live Auction

.

The grand finale of the event was the fact that these ladies raised over $3000.00 which was given to the Reel Recovery of Arkansas.  This wonderful organization helps men recovering from cancer.

We thank each and every lady who attending our event and helped us celebrate our 10 years as a club for women with a passion for fly fishing.  We also want to thank all the companies and individuals who donated items for our auctions.  Without them, this would not have happened.   THANK YOU!!

Looks like a few days of dry weather.  Today should be in the upper 60s but cloudy.  Friday into Tuesday it will be sunny or partly sunny and temperatures in the upper 70s.  Yeah!  Rain might be sneaking into the picture on Wednesday…best chances right now look like Thursday.

We had some low generation this past Sunday.  Monday was high for a few hours in the morning then dropped it back until 4:00 that afternoon.  Tuesday and Wednesday the level and flows were basically high and up and down all day.  Unfortunately, today looks about the same although they are projecting 100 mwh.  Not certain what they are doing.

Lots of stuff has been going on since the last fishing report.  Mainly the women’s gathering we held here at the shop this last Saturday.  What a Day!  More on it to follow.  Now to get the fishing reports caught up.

James on the water with Bob and Steve from the St. Louis area a week ago this past Monday.  Good day for these guys on the lightning bug under the big ruby.

Thursday, Colby and Cory went out with Stan again.  This is the fourth time this couple has fish with us about this same time of the year.  Good day for them on the ruby 2 midge under the big ruby.

Kevin – 4/20/18

Kevin and his son, Phil fish with Carolyn Friday.  Kevin and Carolyn worked together at Bayer Animal Health in Shawnee, Kansas for

Phil – 4/20/18

several years  Good time not only fishing, but catching up on what’s happening as well as “remember when?”  Best pattern was the ruby 2, of course, and a few stripping the olive filoplume trailing a tiger tail on a 3 ips sinking leader.

James took Kevin and Phil out on Saturday since Carolyn was helping to entertain 50 plus ladies.  Another good day on the ruby 2 under the big ruby.  Stan was with another long-time customer John and his brother Leo.  John started fishing with Stan in 2006 and just recently built a new home and is now living in the area.  They had a good, fun and WINDY day catching on the size 16 ruby 2 under the ruby ruby.  This was a new experience for Leo but he caught some fish.

Sunday, Mike from Texas spent the better part of the day on the water with Carolyn.  Lots of fish on the ruby 2, or stripping the filoplume.  Mainly fished from the boat ramp up to the fish ladder.

Stan had Ralph and his with Beth fishing Tuesday.  This was on their bucket list of things they wanted to try.  They fish a lot, but have never fly fished.  Yes, another ruby 2 under the big ruby day.  Tough day due to the extreme water fluctuations.

Don – 4/25/18

James and Gina took two couples from Pennsylvania out Wednesday.  Dreary, rainy day and the water was dancing all over the place.  The ladies, Delores and Joan went with

Ray – 14/25/18

Gina.  They got few fish to the boat on a black copperhead midge under a peach egg or stripping the tiger tail.  The guys, Don and Ray were doing pretty good on the same patterns.

Crazy weather.  Three days ago in the 80s.  Today we saw snow!!!  And, all of it has included 90 mph winds…..well it certainly feels that way when you are on the water.  Anyway, we have had some really winds days lately.  After we get out of the deep freeze tomorrow morning, we should hit the low 50s with some sunshine and a little less wind tomorrow.  Tuesday, it into the upper 70s and sunny to party sunny.  Wednesday through Friday we will be 60s and sunshine….no rain until possibly Saturday.  Hope not…that’s our women’s day here at the shop.  The percentage has been moving all over the place for the past week and a half.  Yes, I have been checking it every day.

Generation has been non-stop at 100 mwh the past six days.  Looking at Monday’s projection, if they do what they are projecting, they will shut back the generation to a low one unit around noon the balance of the day.  Cross your fingers!!

Stan on the water last Wednesday with Jeff from here in Missouri.  Pretty good day for Jeff on the size 16 Ruby 2 midge.  We started tying these a size larger for the constantly heavy flow.

Jet – 4/11/18

Gina had Gareth and his wife, Jet out for the day.  These two fairly new fly fishers wanted to catch some fish and learn about stripping.  Fun day

Jet & Gareth with double – 4/11/18

for them on the ruby two and then stripping the tiger tail, holographic green crackleback and JQ streamer.   Murphy thought it was a pretty cool day too

Murphy – 4/11/18

to he dropped by to see everyone.

Thursday, Gina took Phil and his friend Ken out for half a day.  Phil was trying to get Ken back into fly fishing as he had not been fishing for

Ken – 4/12/18

a long time.  Slow day, but they did hook up with a few fish stripping the JQ streamer and tiger tail or drifting a pink San Juan worm.  Best of all, they had

Phil – 4/12/18

a good time.

Carolyn had JP and his father George on the river for half a day on Friday.  George hooked up with the first fish right away on the ruby 2 under a big ruby.  However, it turned out to be JP’s day for catching most of the fish.  Got off the river early as the weather was threatening all kinds of severe weather.

JP – 4/14/18

But, these two persevered and were on the water again on Saturday with Carolyn for another little longer half day.  Good day for both of them.  Maybe George caught the most, but they both did well other than fighting the wind.  Had a hard time finding places to fish where the wind wasn’t blowing you downstream or collapsing your cast.

Some awesome weather for a couple days.  Upper 50s today and lots of sunshine.  Wednesday will hit 75! with sunshine.  Only negative Wednesday might be the wind.  We’ll take it.  Thursday is another bright, warm windy day with temperatures near 80.  Then there’s Friday.  Probably thunderstorms in the morning and maybe into the afternoon.  But temperatures in the upper 60s.  Saturday and Sunday we belly out again with mid 50s Saturday and mid 40s Sunday!.  Back to pretty next week.

Finally shut down the five spillways yesterday.  Instead of 14500 cfs or better, we are now at two units with 6500-7000 cfs running.  What a difference.  Taneycomo dropped from an approximate 711 feet elevation to 706-707′.  We will probably see some level of flow for several more days, but this is certainly better and a little more fisher friendly than with the spillways open.

Stan on the water  last Wednesday with Ethan and Ashley.  Both are fairly new fly fishers and they fished the 8 spillways and 2 units.  Cool, cloudy day with lots of water but both of them caught a few fish on the ruby 2 or lightning bug under the big ruby.

The next day, Thursday, Ethan and Jim fished with Stan.  Only 5 spillways and 3 units going that day.  Wow!  They caught most of their fish on a size larger ruby 2 (16) under the big ruby.  Not a great day, but they got to catch and miss a number of fish.

Cold, dreary Easter Sunday!  Probably see some rain this afternoon.  Monday will be a little warmer….in the 50s…but there is a 60% chance of scattered showers during the day.  Tuesday is warming up into the mid 60s, but again, chances, although less, of showers again.  Wednesday and Thursday look like dry days.  Sunny and 50s Wednesday with 60s and partly sunny Thursday.  Slight chances of showers, at this time, over the weekend.

Still have one gate open and they are running all four generators.  We will probably see at least three to four generators for a while to they can get rid of this last rain fall.

Stan on the water Friday with Terry from Mississippi.  Worked hard for the fish he caught on the lightning bug under the big ruby.  They had 3 generators and five gates opened that day.  Lots of water!  Howard and Richard were out with Carolyn.  Pretty good day on either the ruby 2 or lightning bug under the big ruby.  They found a one place where they were hitting pretty good and fished it till the fish said “uncle”.  Beautiful day on the water, just too much water!!!