We have had it all over the past two days, snow, sleet, and rain….plus, obviously, cold temperatures!  Air conditioning one day, furnace the next!  Oh well, this too shall pass.  Looking forward to some warmer temperatures for the coming week.  Monday will start us out in the 70 and continue at this level into the weekend.  Yeah!

Now for the rest of the story….Turned on a couple generators yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m. and they have been running ever since.  Flow varies from one unit up to a low three units.  Projection for Monday is more of the same. 

Water and weather have made guide trips a bit tough.  Jim out yesterday with David and Kyle from Oklahoma.  Wanted to learn more on how to fly fish, so Jim certainly took care of that.  And, they also caught some fish on the red midge, the black zebra and the CQ streamer.  John and his wife, Lisa spent half a day with Darrell.  This was a new experience for Lisa.  They too caught some fish, mainly on the ruby midge.  We have a women’s fly fishing clinic scheduled yesterday and the rain, snow and sleet made it difficult for most of the ladies to make it.  The three who did, Lori, Debbie and Mattie, had a great time.  The rain cut back by the time we went out to learn and practice fly casting.  We now have three more women throwing some mean fly rods out there!

River Run Outfitters again was in the running for the Orvis endorsed Outfitters of the Year.  We were among the finalist for this achievement. 

Two outfitters were tied for 1st place this year:

Breckenridge Outfitters in Breckenridge, Colorado and

Lopstick Lodge and Outfitters in Pittsburg, New Hampshire

Weather has been gorgeous the past three days.  Temperatures in the 80s Monday and tuesday and upper 70s today with lots of sunshine and quite a bit of wind too.  However, this is coming to an abrupt end.  Dropping to the mid 50s tomorrow, upper 40s Friday and back to mid 50s Saturday.  Pretty good chances of rain Friday, with chances tomorrow.  Fortunately, things will start clearing up Sunday with low 60s and temperatures continue to go up to upper 70s by mid week. 

What can I say.  Almost non-stop generation.  Except for a few hours from midnight until 6:00-7:00 a.m. a couple days, we have seen at least 2200 cft every day and a few days in the 9000 cfs range.  Monday this week was a real bummer.  One unit on at midnight.  Second unit came on around 10:00 a.m. and the third unit about 2 hours later.  No stability to the water and the same for fishing.

Jim took Thomas, from Minnesota out all day last Friday.  It was a 3 generator day.  Thomas fishes quite a bit and they had a good day despite the generators.  Nothing big, but good numbers.  Best patterns were a size 14 red midge, an 18 black midge, the CQ streamer and a size 6 bug-eyed bugger.

Monday, Stan took Steve and Jeanine, out for half a day.  They wanted to have fun, catch some fish and learn.  Mission accomplished.  Jeanine’s first time and she did very well.  Best pattern was the big ruby.    Jim had Allan and Susan, from Maryland, out for half a day.  They have fly fished a few times, really wanted to wade, but water conditions dictated otherwise.  Their best patterns were the red midge with a black midge dropper.   Carolyn had a couple of her regular ladies, Wanda and Joanna out for half a day.  Again, it wasn’t a banner day, but we caught fish and had a good time….as we always do when we get together.

Wanda - 4/29/13

 Steve and Diana, from Montana spent half a day on the water with Stan Tuesday.  Steve said Taneycomo, especially with the generation, reminded him of the Missouri a little.  This was Darlene’s first time fly fishing.  Nothing like jumping in feet first into fast fishing conditions!  Good day on the big ruby and CQ streamer.   Carolyn also had a new fly fisher, Monte.  His son-in-law, Keith has been trying to get him to try fly fishing.  What an introduction!  However, once Monte got the hang of a hook set, he hooked several fish.  He

Keith - 17" rainbow - 4/30/13

certainly did well for his first time fly fishing and especially in three generators.  Keith won the free dinner (who caught the least had to buy dinner) and especially had a good day with his nice 17″ rainbow.  Best patterns were the big ruby, #18 ruby dropper or the #16 red d-ribbed midge. 

  Pretty steady three units running today, Wednesday.  Stan took Jack and Mary Kay, from Texas, out for half a day.  Other than the wind, fishing was pretty good.  Still catching on the big and little ruby midges.  Jim’s patterns were the #14 red midge and #18 black midge for Dan and Alisha, also from Texas.  Alisha’s first time and she had a good time.  Dan has fished with us several times before and said he had a good, fun day, and learned a lot.

Weather looking pretty good except for Friday, when we have a chance for rain.  Temperatures will be in the 60s tomorrow through Saturday and then into the 70s well into next week.  By Thursday, rain chances are creeping back but temperatures remain more seasonal.

The other side of this coin is generation.  With the rain we had last week, Table Rock has been generating non-stop for the ;ast seven days.  Good news, (yes, there is some) is that they are not generating full board like they did last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Monday, they cut back to the equivalent of two generators with 6500 cfs.  Since then, it is varied only slightly up or down from this level.  Table Rock Lake is close to power pool, so it remains to be seen what they will do over the weekend. 

Sorry for the late fishing report…..not really.  Gina and I took off for the Orvis Rendezvous in Missoula, Montana last Thursday.  What a great event, but even better, what a great fishing city.  We were able to fish the Bitterroot River three days in a row.  Tough duty!!!!  Unfortunately, or fortunately, we got stuck in Missoula for an extra day due to the weather. 

Now to the local news!  Last week, Darrell, Jim and Stan took out the annual Texas group.  Stan had Dan and Harold.  What a great day they had on the size 18 ruby midge or stripping the insect green soft hackle or the holographic green crackleback.  Lou and Jimmie fished with Darrell.  Another happy boat load on the black zebra midge with the copper head.  Jim’s guys, Richard and Richard (bet that boat was confused all day) had their good day on the CQ streamer, blood worm and silver headed black midge. 

Wednesday, Jim had his regular, Bud from Lee’s Summit out for a great half day.  Water was rising, but they caught lots of fish on the CQ streamer, a gold crackleback, and a size 14 red midge with a size 18 silver headed black midge dropper.  Stan had Paul, and his son Tim out for half a day.  They had a good day on the red midge dropped under the big ruby. 

Saturday, Darrell took Cheryl and Gary, from Texas out for half a day.  This was the first day of the “high” generation and definitely tough.  Stan had their friends, Ron and Jamie.  All are beginners, so this was like jumping into fly fishing with both feet!  They did boat some fish on the big ruby.  Not a banner day, but certainly not a wash out!  Jim had one of his regulars from Springfield out for half a day, Jim.  Jim’s friend Keith was with him.  They had a good day, especially with the water conditions, on the bug-eyed bugger, and a black midge dropper under the red midge.

Did I mention….Gina and I were catching our fish on a dry skwala stonefly pattern!  What a hoot!  Ready to do it again!   But, certainly glad to be home.

Did

Big warm up the past few days.  Temperatures in the 70s.  Warm temperatures are supposed to continue through Wednesday.  Wednesday night looks like chances of rain which will continue into Thursday which will bring a cool down.  Mid 60s Thursday, low 50s Friday, but warming up Saturday and Sunday into the mid 60s. 

We have seen no generation since Wednesday and then they ran two generators for a while Wednesday night.  Tomorrow’s projection shows the eqeuivalent of a low one generator all day.  We really need this to clean some of the algae out of the river.  Getting pretty “uckie” in places.

Wonderful day on the water this past Saturday.  Jim went out in the afternoon with Don and Ramona from Arkansas.  Both are fairly new fly fishers and Jim worked with them on technique.  they caught fish on the black zebra midge, the primrose & pearl and strilling a gold/olive CQ streamer.  Stan on the water all day with Kenny and Andrea from the St. Charles area.  Carolyn took their friends, Mark and Lisa from Wright City.  Another great fly fishing day for Kenny and Andrea.  They fished with Stan last November.  Although they caught fish on several patterns, probably their best pattern was the size 16 insect green soft hackle (light olive).   By the way, this was Kenny and Andrea’s birthdays.  Happy birthday!  Carolyn’s couple, Mark and Lisa are pretty new to fly fishing so we started out working a bit on casting.  Started out with the roll cast and progressed to the pick up and lay down cast.  Good students!  They did very well and finished up the bulk of the day catching lots of fish.  Probably the best pattern was the size 18 ruby midge.  Hooked a few on the insect green soft hackle, the holographic green crackleback and a primrose & pearl midge.  For a while in the afternoon, Lisa just stood in one place above Trophy Run with a smile on her face catching fish.

Lisa's fat 17" rainbow - 4/13/13

Couple of cool days to get out of the way so we can start warming up again.  Yesterday probably made it into the 50s and we should see that again today.  Pretty cool this morning!  Tomorrow will be in the low 60s and back into the 70s for Sunday through Wednesday when we will see chances of rain again.  After the rain, we will probably see mid 50s for a couple days then another warm up. 

Had generation this past Tuesday, but it has been off every day since then.  Off today and the sun is shining! 

My guy from Orvis, Mike, and I went fishing this past Tuesday.  Had a low two generators going in the morning for a while then they cut it back to a low for the rest of the morning into late afternoon.  What a fun day!!  Mike was fishing a sweet little 10′ 3 weight Helios 2 and I was throwing the 5 weight.  Lots of nice rainbows on the size 18 ruby midge dropped under either the lightning bug or the size 16 tungsten beadhead red midge.  Fished well all the way from the area just above Trophy Run, through the Trophy Run area down to the Pointe Island.  Tuesday was exceptionally good on the backside of the Pointe Island.  We then went on down to the drop off of gravel area above Fall Creek where we pulled out more fish and finished up on the bank just above where Fall Creek comes in. 

L

Now we are having some nice weather.  70s yesterday, but a bit windy.  We are in the 70s again today and expect 70s through Tuesday.  Slight chance of showers tonight, but the best chance looks like Wednesday.  After that, temperatures will cools down a bit into the upper 50s or low 60s.

The only generation we have seen over the past six days was Friday, when we had the equivalent of two units in the morning which cut back to a low one unit in the late morning and a little blip Saturday night.  Otherwise, no generation.  The projection for Monday is similar to what occurred Friday.  It fished good Friday.

Carolyn on the water Friday with Diana and her friend Bill.  They are from the Independence, MO area.  Started out a little slow in the a.m. but certainly made up for it later in the morning and, basically all day long.  Beautiful weather, very little wind and lots of fish on the big ruby with a size 18 ruby dropper, or stripping the 56er or holographic green crackleback.  We did the full run and caught most of our fish through the Trophy Run area as well as the gravel bar above Fall Creek.  We just figured it was a perfect day…couldn’t get much better!

Talked to several fishers the past two days and several of them were catching on the CQ streamer, ruby midge and the rusty midge.  Also working is a fun pattern that we use for a short period of time in the spring….a rockworm caddis green soft hackle  and a light olive soft hackle.  Both of these work in a size 16.  The caddis green was working best yesterday and the day before.

Cold, wet, and windy are the three words to describe yesterday.  Today is better, but it is still a bit chilly.  Looking for mid 50s and still a chance for rain tomorrow.  Friday is looking up…..upper 60s and mostly sunny, Saturday low 70s and partly cloudy, or partly sunny (I like this one better).  Sunday will be in the mid 60s and chances of (40%) thunderstorms.  Next week looks like upper 60 to low 70s and chances (again, 40-50%) of rain.

No generation the past two days.  Wehad a couple unit going Monday morning, but they turned it off and it has been off ever since.  Prior to that, we had almost three solid days of generation.

Stan on the water last Friday with Stan and Ruth from Illinois.  Great day for these guys on the copper dun and P&P midges, and stripping the holographic green crackleback.  It was a little cool and rainy in the morning, but turned out to be a very nice day after noon. 

This past Saturday and Sunday were both slower than we have been experiencing.  Both mornings started out with rain and the water was running.    Any trips on the water had to work for the fish.  Stan had Walt and his friend, Dick, from Georgia on the water all day Sunday.  They caught fish, mainly on the CQ streamer, and, as I said, they worked for them.  Monday was a whole different day.  Anything you put on  almost caught fish.  The guys had a fun time  fishing soft hackles.  This was their first experience and they thought that was great.  When they got tired of catching on the soft hackles, they went to the CQ streamer again.  Tuesday, in the cold, rainy, windy day, they went out for a couple hours and caught the heck out of them again on these patterns, but it got so miserable, it was a shorten trip.  These guys have fished a lot and a lot of places and were really fun to fish with.

Now I know why they say “spastic as a March hare”  They must have been thinking about the weather!  Past couple weeks, the weather has been that way!  Last Monday it was in the 30s with 30 mph winds.  Yesterday is was in the low 70s with very little wind.  We are looking at 60s tomorrow, then 40s Tuesday.  Good news, by the weekend, back into the 60s and 70s through Monday.  No moisture chances except for this coming Tuesday.

Generation schedule not quite what they projected over the weekend.  No generation today….wrong!  One generator on at 7:00 a.m. and it is still on.  Projection for tomorrow says one low for a while in the a.m. then off for 5-6 hours and back on in the late afternoon.  As always, we’ll see.

Stan on the water last Monday with Dean and Chris from Oklahoma.  If it was warmer than 30 degrees in Oklahoma, I think they wished they had stayed home.  It was bitter on the river, but they stuck it out for the day.  Terrible weather to get introduced to fly fishing!  They had a good day on the lightning bug with a ruby dropper. 

Tuesday was definitely warmer.  Darrell had Bob from Canada out for half a day.  Good day fishing on the Primrose & Pearl midge. 

Tom and his daughter, Taylor, spent half a day Wednesday on the water with Carolyn.  Fun day for us.  New experience for Taylor and she did very well.  Good day for father/daughter on the P&P, or ruby dropped from the lightning bug. 

Thursday, Gina introduced David, and his two daughters, Rachael and Megan to fly fishing.  They had a great day learning and catching on the primrose & pearl midge.

Rachael - 3/28/13David & Megan - 3/28/13

Weather has been good.  Maybe not as good as the fishing as we are still battling wind every day, but warm and sunny most of the time.  However, I think this is coming to an abrupt end for the next 3-4 days.  We are supposed to see ice and snow with a high in the mid 30s tomorrow.  Friday looks like cloudy with a chance of rain and snow (50%) and a high around 40.  Saturday, cloudy with a chance of rain and snow (again, 50%0 an a high in the upper 40s…..snow won’t stay around too long.  Sunday we are still looking at a chance for rain and snow, with lower temperatures in the low 40s.  Good news now.  Monday through Thursday the temperatures will start warming up.  Start out Monday with mid 40 and end up Thursday with upper 50s.  Partly sunny each day.

Generation continues to be minimal.  On the days they are running, it is pretty low.  No generation yesterday and again today.  Yesterday they started out with a low one, upped it to a low two for a little while then back to a low one.  According to the projection, we will have no generation tomorrow.

Fishing continues to be great, especially when they are not generating.  With the low generation, fishing is still very good, but not quite as good as with it off.

Stan had Gary and Stephen on the water this past Sunday.  That was one of those low generation days that was outstanding.  This was Gary’s birthday present from his wife and it turned out to be a great birthday present!  Despite the heavy wind and the fact that the temperature did not get above 40 until 3:00 p.m. good bite all day and lots of fish to the boat on the P&P and ruby midges. 

Tuesday, Dana had Damon and his father-in-law, Richard, out for half a day.  This was the day they increased the flow for a couple hours in the morning before cutting it back to a low.  Even with the erratic water, it was a good day for these guys on the P&P, the big ruby and a size 16 red midge.  By the way, happy birthday Richard!  Jim had Scott and his son Chandler out for half a day.  Good day for these guys too on the red midge the P&P and a black midge with gold head.  

Jake - 3/19/13

Darrell had a fun day teaching a couple nice young men how to fly fish.  Jake and his friend, Eliot, spent  Tuesday catching fish on the P&P midge.  Good day for these two both in learning and in catching fish.

Eliot - 3/19/13