Looked like chances of rain this evening and again tomorrow.  Temperatures are creeping up.  Low 90s tomorrow, but mid or better the balance of the week. 

Since Sunday morning we have seen non-stop generation.  The equivalent of three generators or a low four has been the level, so 10,000 cfs or better with levels in the 708.2 to as much as 709.3 feet.  Table Rock is at 923.1, so they are probably trying to get it down as low as they can before the fourth of July weekend. 

New fly fisher on the river yesterday.  Carolyn had John and his daughter, Ryanne, from Columbia, MO out for half a day.  Ryanne is brand new, so we worked a little on roll casting and line handling.  Started her out with an indicator over the big ruby midge with a cerise San Juan worm dropper.  Caught her fish on a fly rod with this rig.  However, as the day progressed, so did Ryanne.  Before the trip was over she was doing a good job of casting the sinking leader with the silver bullet crackleback and hooking up with fish.  John did best with the 56er on the sinking leader….Ryanne was dubbed crackleback queen as she could find fish with the crackleback when her Dad did not.  Not really counting, but I think she might have out fished him!….

Ryanne's 1st on a fly rod - 6/27/11

John - 6/27/11

Table Rock now sits at 923.8 feet.  Generating four generators during the bulk of each day.  Generation generally off at midnight and staying off until 6:00 a.m. or, a couple mornings, as late as 8:00 a.m.

In case you have not been fishing here for a while, since the flood and all the high water we had in all the rivers and creeks which feed into Table Rock Lake, the water has been dirty.  It’s either a milky brown color or ucky green color.  You can maybe see the bottom in some areas that are 2-3 feet, but it certainly is not a good clear look.  When they fire up all four generators, seems like it gets even worse.

A lot of boats on the water Friday and Saturday.  Jim out with Alec and Jim,  from Manchester, MO. on Friday.  This is an annual event for the two of them.  Had a good day on the black bug-eyed bugger, size 6, the red midge and a pink San Juan worm.  Scott and his son, Mitch, spent the morning floating with Stan.  Mitch was only 7 or 8 the first time he fished with us.  He is now 12 and throwing a pretty good rod, but best of all, he’s hooking, playing and bringing landing those fish really good now.  Their best patterns were the red midge, an olive wooly bugger and a cerise San Juan worm.   And now, for the rest of the story…..the Louisiana Kerrs were in town.  Darrell took Albert and James Albert.  They quietly had a good day on the red San Juan worm.  Hidden away in the trees along the bank you could hear cackling, hoots and hollers.  Carolyn had Dawn and Gina in her boat all day.   Gina dubbed them “Triple Trouble”.  Fun day on lots of stuff.  Never stuck with anything long enough to say something was consistent, but seemed nothing was consistent.  You either needed to change flies after three or four fish, or change location.  Caught fish on the 56er stripping under sinking leader, black bugger, olive floozie (of course), cerise San Juan, red San Juan, egg patterns, red midge, Eggi Juan Kenobi.  Think the only thing we threw that did not even get a hit was a white wooly bugger.

Triple Trouble - 6/24/11

Gina - 6/24/11

Saturday, Jim had Cooper and his uncle, Tom, out for half a day.  Pretty good day on the red midge, pink and red San Juan worms, and the black bug-eye.  Tom is pretty new, so Jim worked with him on all the skills.  Jim calls the water “skunky water”.  Stan had Kelton and James, from Oklahoma out for half a day.  They had a good day on the red and cerise San Juan worms and an olive wooly bugger.  Last, but not least, Gina took Valley and her daughter, Dalley, out for the day.  This was Dalley’s birthday trip.  More cackling and carrying on with the cerise and red San Juan worms, a “Valley egg”, and an orange San Juan.  Fish were spotty, but they kept moving, caught fish, had a couple of dubles and lots of fun.   By the way, these two ladies are from Oklahoma.

Dalley & Valley - 6/25/11

Looks like we might not cool down as much as it was indicated earlier.  Now, we are seeing mid to upper 80s through Thursday with partly sunny skies.  Chances of rain out of the forecast until Friday through Sunday with temperatures in the low to mid 80s through the weekend.

Generation has been pretty much all day, every day this past week.  Maybe 3 to 8 hours of no generation from midnight into early the next day then 2 to 4 generators running the balance of the day.  Yesterday, they never shut them down.

Darrell on the water half day Sunday with Edward and his son, William from Kansas.  Good day on the water with the red San Juan worm. 

Yesterday, the birthday ladies spent half a day with Carolyn.  Wanda’s birthday if 6/20 and Joanna’s is 6/21.  They have celebrated almost every one of their birthdays on the water with her since 2004.   Both love to fly fish and are good fishers.  Although Joanna prefers dry fly fishing, sometimes you gotta do what you can do.  Best patterns were the red or cerise San Juan worms.   Hope it was a good birthday!

Looks like a little cool down this week.  Today it is sunny, little breezy, with a chance of showers later in the day.  Monday looks like low 90s and partly sunny.  Tuesday through Thursday are predicted to be in the low 80s, partly sunny and chances of showers each day.  Showers disappear on Friday, still low 80s, but reappear Saturday with temperatrue moving to the mid 80s.

Not much wading time this past week.  Generators shutting down around midnight or 1:00 a.m.  Longest off period we have had was last Tuesday when they were off until 1:00 p.m.  Most of the week they have come on as early as 6:00 a.m. to as late as 10:00 a.m.  Projecting they will come on tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., but that is the same projection they have had all weekend and they have come on at 6:00 a.m.

Water is still off colored and running.  Jim our Thursday with John for Texas.  John is new to fly fishing, so they worked on everything.  Also caught some fish on the red midge, red San Juan worm and gray scud.  Stan had Scott and Rick from Oklahoma out all day.  They are both fairly new and had a good day on the red midge, and stripping rthe holographic green and silver bullet cracklebacks….which they liked the best. 

Friday, Stan had Doug and his wife, Connie, from Texas out all day.  No sooner got on the water, which was off, and they fired up all four generators.  Really dirty water for quite a while.  Good fishers and caught lots of fish.  Would like to have caught some larger fish, but fish were running pretty much in the 13-14 inch range.  Best patterns were the cracklebacks and the bug-eyed bugger.

Just as there are new gravel bars, there are also new holes!  Take time to feel out the new bottom when wading.  You could find a deep or deeper hole that was once not there!  Appropriate line from Hill Street Blues – “Be careful out  there!”

Storm came through last night and dropped limbs off trees here an there.  Left us with a beautiful day today.  Sunshine, temps in the mid to upper 80s, and very little wind.  Thursday and Friday look like partly sunny and chances of showers.  Temps in the mid to low 90s.  Weekend through Monday look dry, partly sunny and temperatures in the low 90s. 

Sunday, yesterday and today, we have had off water in the morning.  Projection is to turn the generators on at 11:00 a.m. today. Yesterday, they did not turn them on until 1:00 p.m.  and Sunday it was around noon. 

While the water has been low, fishing has been excellent.  Still reports of fishers catching on almost everything, and they are catching some nice fish!  Several 18 to 24 inch rainbows and even some browns being reported. 

Stan took Stuart from Ft. Smith, AR out Monday.  This was Leonard’s Father’s Day gift.  He had a  really good day, especially stripping the silver bullet crackleback.  Also caught fish on the size 16 red midge dropped below the big ruby after they turned on more generators in the afternoon.

Jim out yesterday with Steve Pemberton from Alabama.  They had a great 1/2 day (water was off) on a black zebra midge, the blood worm and pulling a jailhouse bugger.

Nice looking day today.  Temperatures in the low 90s, a little overcast with a slight chance of showers this afternoon (20%).  Forecast is still calling for temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s through Friday with chances of showers each day.  Weekend looks dry so far.  Unless we get hit with a lot of rain, I am going to stop giving a blow by blow on the lake levels after this report.  But, as of this morning the lake levels are:  Beaver – 1128.77, Bull Shoals – 691.80, and Table Rock – 926.26. 

One of the main observations from our guides who were on the water yesterday is the change in our wading areas as well as the rest of the river.  We had our suspicions when the water was high because we were seeing gravel in high water in places we had never seen it before.  With the water off, we now have holes where there were gravel bars and gravel bars where there were none.  Below the MDC boat ramp, the area we always referred to as the “KOA narrows” is now relocated downstream 40-50 feet and is a shallow riffle all the way across the river….maybe ankle deep in some places.  If you can get to them, there appears to be more places to wade than before.  Some more reports on what was working yesterday morning when the generators were off.  Beadhead Hare’s Ear, insect green soft hackle, rockworm caddis green soft hackle, black zebra midge. olive wooly bugger. peach fur bug, and the list goes on.  Lots of different folks coming in saying they were “tearing them up” on these various patterns plus the ones listed yesterday.  What a day!

Friday, generators running, Jim had Price and Marge, from Lawrence, Kansas out for the morning.  They always have fun and were catching fish on the red midge, red San Juan, a gray scud and the sculpin bugger. 

Saturday, the Louisiana Kerrs were on the water again.  This time, Stan had Dawn and Albert, and Darrell took James Albert so they could do some  streamer work.  Another good day for them on the big pink midge, the ruby, and cerise San Juan.  James Albert picked a nice rainbow on a white streamer.  Among the many fish they caught, James Albert also caught a nice white bass stripping his streamers.  Albert jumped ship and caught this nice rainbow on the high bank as they drifted out.

Alexandria and first trout - 6/11/11

 Carolyn was with Dan and his daughter, Alexandria, on the water for half a day.  Alexandria is nine years old and this was her first experience at fly fishing.  For her first time, she did well getting the line into the water and mending.  Once we recognized a strike, she hooked several fish and we finally got a few to the boat.  Real trooper and likes to bring in fish.  Yeah!  Best pattern was the cerise San Juan worm.

Jim helped Dale celebrate his birthday on Saturday.  They spent the day chasing trout with the sculpin bugger, red San Juan and gray scud.  Sounds like Dale has a good birthday. 

Gina got the benefit of the off generation yesterday morning.  Two new fly fishers, Jeff and Julianna, from Kentucky.  They had a wonderful day learning how to cast, catching fish, mending, catching fish, working line, catching fish.  Best patterns were the black zebra midge and the size 18 ruby midge.  After the water came, on they returned to the shop to learn a little about bugs, knots, leaders, lines, and other gadgets.  Both left with a smile on their faces.

Little bit of rain this morning.  Possibly of some more scattered showers later today.  Looks like partly cloudy, temps in the upper 80s to low 90s, and chances of showers all week.  Lake levels are now at 1128.85 for Beaver, Bull Shoals is 691.77, and Table Rock is 926.31.  Keep on dropping. 

Generation is completely off this morning on Table Rock Lake.  Can’t believe that!  Just had a friend call me….to make me feel good?!…said “everyone is catching fish standing in the river this morning.  Catching them on the ruby midge, cicada, crackleback, just anything”.  She then said, “the rebar has changed but there are a lot of people standing down there fishing, there’s one with a fish on, and another one with a fish on”…..So it goes.  I’m in the shop, can’t go fishing.  But, I can picture everyone standing in the river, rods bent with fish on and smiles on their faces.  

It’s been a pretty good and so-so few days on the river with the spastic generation patterns and dingy water.  Jim had Bud out all day Thursday.  They had a good day on the gray scud, red midge and sculpin bugger.  

Will With 18" Rainbow - 6/9/11

Gina had one of her red fish guides from Louisana, Will, on the water Thursday morning.  She got to show him the difference in trout fishing from red fish.  They had a great, fun day on the olive floozie and cerise worm.  This was his first fresh water trout experience.  Good start! 

Friday, the Louisana Kerrs were here.  Nice, good quality fish day.  Dawn spent the day with Carolyn and Albert and James Albert were with Darrell.   The cerise San Juan worm dropped under the big ruby midge were the best patterns, although we did catch a few stripping the crackleback.  It’s just in Dawn’ blood…stripping. 

Dawn & 19" Rainbow - 6/10/11

Warm weather and no rain, the lakes are dropping.  We still expect to see low 90s through next Wednesday with chances of scattered showers Friday through Monday and again on Wednesday.  This morning, the various lake levels were:  Beaver – 1128.99, Bull Shoals – 691.86, and Table Rock – 926.66.  Table Rock is generating 24/7, but not necessarily all four units going all the time.  This morning we actually had two units going and the tailwater level actually was as low as 704.5.  However, not for long.  By 6:00 a.m., it was up to 706.8 and I have two more horns this morning so it is now up to 707.7 feet at 12:45 p.m. 

Wednesday, Gina took Joe and his 8 year old sun, Hunter, out for a half day of fly fishing.  Hunter looks like a natural.  He could get his fly like into the water and even mend.  Landed his first fish by himself on a silver bullet.  Fun day for everyone.  Best patterns were the silver bullet crackleback and a cerise San Juan worm.

Hunter Maddick - 6/8/11Joe Maddick - 6/8/11

Darrell had Jack and Karen from Tennessee on the water for half a day.  Jack fly fishes quite a bit, but Karen is brand new.  Their best patterns were the cerise San Juan worm, and a burgundy midge.

Wow!  Hot weather.  We have had several days in the mid to upper 90s, and with our humidity, it is HOT!  As I mentioned in the last report, the flood gates are.  They turned them off Saturday afternoon, so we are now just seeing a constant flow of generators.  However, the levels on Taneycomo have gone as low as 706.2 feet.  Still too high to wade, but fishing from a boat is much safer and easier.  As of 6:00 a.m. today, Beaver is still sitting in the 1129 foot level.  Bull Shoals is down to 692.01 and Table rock is at 926.88

Weather forecast through Tuesday of next week is temperatures in the low (we hope) 90s.  Chance of isolated thundershowers Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Right now, these chances appear to be more north of us.

Sunday, Carolyn was out with Lynn and David again.  This is the third time they have fished with us and Lynn gets better every trip and catches more fish than the last time.  David likes to pull streamers, but we really couldn’t find a pattern they wanted Sunday.  However, we did boat a good number of fish on the red, size 16 D-ribbed midge.  Dana had a couple guys, Darrell and his son, Jason,  from Wyoming on the water for half a day.  They said all the water is “blown out” on Wyoming.  Their best patterns were the pink San Juan worm and a peach egg. 

Jason's first trout on fly rod - 6/5/11

Darrell - 6/5/11

Darrell and Jim both on the water Monday.  Darrell had Jim and his wife, Jean, from Ohio out for 1/2 a day.  They used to bring their children here many years ago to boat and enjoy the area.  Now that everyone is grown and gone, they decided to start visiting the area again.  They caught and missed several fish on a black zebra midge.  Jim’s couple, Dan and Vivian, are from Kansas.  They are pretty new at this sport so Jim gave them a good fishing and instruction trip.  Best patterns were a red midge, red San Juan and a #6 sculpin bugger. 

Jim on the water again with Dan and Vivian on Tuesday.  Pretty much the same patterns and, of course, a little more instruction.  They had a fun time.  Stan took Rob and Matt, from Nebraska out for half a day.  These guys fly fish….mostly for pan fish, but are now trout fishers!  Said they had a good day and learned a lot.  Best patterns were the red midge and the silver bullet crackleback.