Wonderful weather!  50s at night and we have gotten a little rain, mostly during the night, but a few sprinkles during the day.  So far, certainly not enough to chase us off the water.  Looks like this nice pattern will continue.  Rain chances through tomorrow and back to sunshine for a couple day.  Showeers moving back in by Wednesday, but temperatures continue to look like low 80s or mid 70s.

Non-stop low generation, except for Monday and Tuesday, for the past seven days.  Friday and so far this weekend, the generation has been a low enough one that folks are wading, especially below outlet three and, if one has a boat, there seem to be gravel bars all over the place where you can beach your boat and get out and wade. 

Stan and I took off Sunday afternoon heading for Dallas, Texas.  Gave our presentation Monday night on the Taneycomo fishery to a good, active club, the Dallas Fly Fishers.  Thank you guys for staying awake during our presentation!  That Monday, Jim was on the water with Steve and Joy from Irving, Texas.  both are new fly fishers so Jim took them through the basic casting and line management.  They did land a few fish so they could work on their catching skills.  Patterns were the red San Juan worm and red midge.

Tuesday, Darrell took Ken and Candice, from Tennessee, out again.  They caught fish on the big ruby with the San Juan worm dropper. 

Stan had Bobbie and Arnnie out Wednesday.  Believe Arnnie recently retiresd and they are wanting to get into something that they can do together now that they have more time.  These folks came all the way from California and really like the area.  They caught fish on the red San Juan worm, under the size 16 red tunghead midge as well as the rusty midge dropped under the red tunghead midge.  Had a wonderful time!

Thursday, Jim took Bob from Ballwin out for what was supposed to be a half day wade.  Generator going, so they hopped into the boat and caught fish on the olive bug-eye bugger, pink San Juan worm and the red midge.  Takes were soft and short….sounds pretty familiar right now…so several misses among the ones that made it to the boat.  One of our guys, who started with us while we were still downtown, Mel, said “he had an itch”.  So, he booked a half day float with Stan.  They had a good time with the red tunghead midge, a maroon crackleback and the red San Juan worm. 

Jim - 9/16/11

Friday was floatilla day.  Stan had Jim from Lee’s Summit.  Fun day for Jim on the red San Juan under the red midge. 

Darrell had Earl and Al from St. Louis out for the morning.  This had to be a boat full.  As Al said, “between Earl and Darrell, it was non-stop jokes all morning!” Again, the red midge with a red San Juan worm dropper. 

Earl - 9/16/11

Bud and Greg were with Jim.  Grey wanted to do some streamer work so they fished the bug-eyed bugger, as well as the red midge, red and cerise San Juan worms. 

Al - 9/16/11

Susan’s 1st on fly rod – 9/16/11

Carolyn had Susan and Barbara from Michigan out for the morning.  These two ladies are brand new, so we went through a little casting and line work.  Needed to work on keeping fish on the hook!  As all the guides experienced, the takes were very soft.  Lots of hits, several hookups and several didn’t make it to the boat.  We did boat some fish on the red San Juan worm dropped below the pink lady egg pattern.   Barbara had our boat’s fish of the day on for quite a while (definitely a “rodeo fish”) but we just couldn’t get it to the net.  Nice fish Barbara….Susan and I saw it!

Just as they projected, the equivalent of one generator running all weekend.  Tailwater level wandering between 704.1 to 705.2 feet.  Flow 3000-4000cfs.  Same projection for Monday, but Monday’s are always a “wait and see” as things can change over the weekend. 

No change in the weather forcast.  Low to mid 90s Monday and Tuesday.  chances of showeers cool us off for Wednesday through Friday.  It is an absolutely lovely day today!

Dad, Kent said it is rare that he gets his two sons together at one time any more, but they managed to do it Saturday and the three of them spent the entire day on the river with Stan and Jim.  Good day for everyone.  Troy and Seth are new fly fishers and they spent the day with Stan.  They caught lots of fish, and I understand a few other things, on the red San Juan worm, and the Big Ruby midge.  Troy had one really nice one on that cleared the water, looked at him and took off!  Jim had Kent pulling the olive sculpin and the bug-eye jailhouse bugger.

Every day is a new day here on Taneycomo.  Is that an astute statement?  Anyway, we woke up Saturday morning to the equivalent of one generator running Saturday, and the same projection for Sunday and Monday.  Friday, and all last week, we had no generation in the mornings and generation starting up around 1:00 p.m. each day. Lots of wading time.   Oh well, we’ll see what the rest of this week brings.    The good news is that with the one generator where they are running, you can wade, especially down below the fish ladder (outlet 3) on the flat area that is normally out of the water with no generation.

Weather continues to be lovely.  Upper 70s, low 80s but looking at some low to mid 90s Monday and Tuesday.  Then chances of rain show up again  with cooling temperatures. 

Ginny - 9/8/11

Buz and Ginny from Springfield have this beautiful wooden drift boat called “The Fly Girl”.  Buz built it himself and it is a work of art.  They have fished Taneycomo several times with minimal success.  Thursday, they took a half day float in the afternoon with Stan after the generators had fired up so they could experience fishing it with generation.  Good day on the water with the red San Juan worm and stripping a holographic green crackleback.  Paul and Ken from Nebraska decided they needed to fish with Jim again.  They did a full day of nothing but pulling streamers, the olive sculpin and jailhouse bugger. 

Briana's 1st on fly rod - 9/9/11

Friday, Carolyn got to introduce another female to fly fishing!  Brad wanted Briana to get into fly fishing so he booked a half day instructional float for Briana.  We let Brad ride along!  Picture of Briana’s first to be followed by several more and larger.  Think her largest was 17-18 inches.  The couple had two doubles during the morning and should have had at least a couple more.  These

Brad - 9/9/11

two, from Peculiar, MO. are expecting their first new fly fisher Christmas eve.   Oh yes, we let Brad throw in a line too!   Unfortunately, this picture does not do justice to this fish.  It was brilliant.  p.s.  I think Briana likes it!

Brad & Briana's double -09/9/11

This weather has been absolutely wonderful!  Mornings are crisp, in the upper 40s or low 50s; the days are in the upper 70s to low 80s, and lots of sunshine.  By Monday of next week, looks like we will creep back into the upper 80s or low 90s.  See some chances of showers toward the end of next week, but we know how that goes…maybe so, maybe not.

Generation schedule….lots of wading time.  They are still pretty  “right on” with the schedule, so people wading.

Sunday, Dave and his son Jefferson, from Oklahoma, spend the morning learning how to fly fish with Jim.  Their best pattern was the varigated gold sculpin pulled very slowly.  They also caught a few on the blood worm.  Meanwhile, Stan had Trahy and his wife Beth, from Kansas out for half a day.  They had a pretty good morning on the rusty midge, and, when the water came on, the red San Juan worm. 

Fishing is spotty.  Find the right spot and you’ll pull several fish, so keep moving if you are not catching.  Depending on the day, either the golden variant sculpin or the charcoal gray sculpin have been working.  Several mornings, even with the sun out, the black zebra has been the one to go to.  Don’t forget the filoplume.  I fished for a while Monday and this was the best pattern for me, in certain places, using the sinking leader.  As the sun got higher in the sky, the primrose & pearl with a bloodworm dropper was the ticket.  However, takes were very, very soft.  With the wind blowing, it was a challenge to know when you had a hit!

Lovely weather we are having.  Low 80s today and, so far, overcast skies.  Sun peeks out every once in a while, but not for long.  Into Friday, they are forecasting low 80s and upper 70s.  Relief!

No change in generation pattern.  Off in the mornings with generation starting around 1:00 p.m., and running until 7:00-8:00 p.m. 

Yes, we did have an oil slick on the upper part of Taneycomo Thursday morning.  Jim had a half day wade trip out and he called me the moment he saw the river.  I checked with the Hatchery folks and they had just become aware of it.  Not certain what caused it, but they did fire up a generator early that day and it was soon gone.  There is no sign of any residue from the incident nor negative affect on the fishery.  

Jim out with Jeff and Donna from Nebraska on Tuesday…the day with the strange film on the water.  Both are new fishers, so Jim worked with them on various skills and techniques.  It was an interesting day with the water going up and down due to the oil slick on the water.  They hooked fish on various patterns, including the red midge, red San Juan worm, a white midge and the primrose and pearl midge.

“Stan the man” on the water Saturday with Jonathon and Melinda from St. Louis.  Melinda caught on quickly to fly fishing and they caught fish on the primrose & pearl midge and holographic green crackleback.  Definitely a slow start but picked up when the water started coming on.  Jim had Matt and Josh, from Oklahoma out for an instructional morning.  They caught a few fish on the gray scud with a blood worm dropper.   Carolyn was in the water with Marcie and Bob, from Nebraska.  Slow, but fun day for us.  Marcie caught her first fish on a dry, the Big Ugly.  Had another nice one hooked on the golden variant sculpin.  Think Bob caught his fish on the primrose & pearl midge.  Fun couple that I think will spend lots of time together fly fishing!

Over the past few days, lots of people fishing.  Best catching has been in the Hatchery area in or near the outlets.  Fishers are catching a few fish in other area, but it will be one or two fish on this fly, then change.  Best patterns in the Hatchery area have been the tan scud, especially the flashback tan scud, gray scuds size 16, the white grub, the pellet pattern and primrose & pearl midge.  Also heard a few catching some stripping the golden variant sculpin.

Everything holding steady.  Weather remains nice, although yesterday felt pretty hot during the middle of the day.  Still have a chance for showers, possibly starting tonight, then into tomorrow.  Temperatures still look reasonable for this time of the year…low to mid 90s. 

Yesterday’s generation was a surprise.  The projection was for one generator to come on around 3:00 p.m. and stay on for a couple hours.   The surprise came when they started it up at 11:00 a.m. and it stayed on until 7:00 p.m.  And, instead of the equivalent of one generator, they turned on the equivalent of two.  Just remember, those are only projections….subject to change.  Otherwise though, they have been pretty accurate.  Let’s see what happens today!!

Clayton's first fly fishing - 8/27/11

Clayton got his Christmas present yesterday.  For Christmas, his grandmother, Loretta, gave Clayton an instructional fly fishing trip.  Clayton has wanted to learn how to fly fish, so Loretta and he spent the morning with Gina.  Gina worked with them on all the basics and said they were both managing their casts and drifts well.  It was a tough day on the water, but Clayton came through with a few fish on the red San Juan worm.  He had a pretty good grin on his face when he came into the shop and I asked him how he liked fly fishing.

Still more of the same in weather.  Mid 90s, low 90s, maybe upper 80s through early next week.  Looks like a little warm up toward the middle of the week.  Still a slight chance of rain on Monday.

Generation fairly stable.  Worst thing that happens is that they fire it up an hour or so earlier than the projections.  Today was even earlier, but they only started with one.  Still fishable in many places.

Jim out yesterday morning with Larry from Texas.  He and other family members try to fish with us at least once every year and sometimes twice.  They had a pretty good day on the varigated sculpin, the primrose & pearl midge, and a white midge.  Jim said the streamer fishing was actually better during the

Dawn 19-20" rainbow - 8/26/11

 rise.  The Louisiana Kerrs were on the water all day yesterday with Darrell and Stan.  Darrell had Albert and James Albert and they probably did best on the red San Juan Worm.  Stan had Dawn, aka “The Stripper”.  Give her something to strip, in this case it was a size 12 holographic green crackleback and she’s catching fish.  Stan was trying to revive one of the fish she had just caught when she hooked this one on her 4 weight Trout Bum.  Gave her a bit of a fight on that rod!  They also caught fish on the ruby, primrose & pearl, and the size 16 red midge when the water came on.

Beautiful morning today!  Temperature in the upper 60s, sun shining and very little wind.  Still looking at a great weather forecast for the weekend on into next week.  Mild temperatures and a slight, very slight chance of rain next week.

No major change in the generation schedule.  Still lots of time in the early mornings until noon, and again in the late evenings, around 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. to do some wade fishing. 

Stan on the river all day yesterday with a couple from Carthage, MO., Doug and Rachele.  Good day for the two of them.  In the morning before the water started up, they hooked fish on several patterns, primarily the Primrose & Pearl midge and golden variant sculpin.   Seeing some really pretty rainbows.  Once the generators fired up, all four of them, they sat out the rise and had lunch.  The water has really been dirty and full of junk on the rise.  You spend more time clearning off you fly than it’s worth.  Once it came up and settled down, Stan drifted the high bank below Pointe Lookout and they continued catching and missing on the red size 16 tunghead midge.  All in all, a good day.  Jim had Forrest, from Excelsior Springs out for the morning.  They caught fish, on the red San Juan, primrose & pearl midge and a brown scud.  Forrest has not been fishing for the past couple years and think he missed quite a few more than he hooked up with.  Need to get out and fish more Forrest!

Absolutely wonderful forecast.  Low 90s to upper 80s for the next 6 days and lower humidity.  Sounds good!  Let’s hope this is what we get.  Slight chance of rain by next Monday, but again, that’s a ways off.

Generation schedule still pretty much right on.  Day before yesterday, they surprised everyone with a 10:00 a.m. start up, but pretty much noon or 1:00 p.m.

Marcie's 1st on fly rod - 8/24/11

Think we have another new lady fly fisher on the river.  Marcie spent Wednesday morning with Carolyn learning how the roll cast and pick up and lay down cast.  She worked on the two basic knots, we flipped a few rocks looking for aquatic life, plus proper line management.  She has the word “mend” down, and is already pulling in fish stripping!  The progression was wonderful to watch.  From really working hard trying to get everything right, those moments of utter frustration, to finally taking that deep breath, making a

Marcie - 8/24/11

nice crisp back cast and laying that line right out in front of her.   Still has lots of practicing to do, but those good casts are there.   She presented the Primrose & Pearl midge with success, the holographic green crackleback subsurface with success, and had a really nice one hooked on the golden variant sculpin pattern using the sinking leader.  That one will give her something to come back for! 

The river is fishing good right now.  One of my other students from four years ago, Ellen, was fishing up stream from us.  Looked up her ways several times to see her with a fish on.  She finally had to come down to see what all the hooping and hollering was about down our way.  She was doing well on the pumpkin crackle back.  Talking to other folks, they have had some good fishing over the past two days.  Water is clearing up and you are starting to see fish below your feet.  Still now seeing any scuds in the water around the boat ramp area.  We picked up several rocks in the river yesterday and found two very small sowbugs.  One had an egg sac on her tummy, so that made me very happy.  Lots of really small midges coming off yesterday.

Still looks like tomorrow will be the warmest day of the week, upper 90s or low 100s.  The rest of the week will be hovering around mid 90s, maybe low 90s. 

No change in generation pattern.  Get down there and fish in the mornings if you want to wade. 

Jim, from Arkansas, spent the morning on the river with Stan yesterday.  He first learned how to fly fish with us this past March and fell in love with it.  Wishes he could be here more, but has to make a living!   They had a good day but had to do a lot of changing out on patterns.  No one pattern or method was consistent.  They went through the golden variant sculpin, black midge, red San Juan worm, and the copper head black zebra.  Good day on the creek!

One of the guys who came into the shop yesterday did well on the golden variant sculpin.  He came back for more as he lost most of them.