Lake Taneycomo Fly Fishing Report
March 14, 2010

Yesterday, I was able to spend some time on Lake Taneycomo with some friends of mine named Justin and Chad. These guys streamer fished on the White last year around this time and they did exceptionally well. The water was really high during their last visit, and Justin and Chad definitely showed the locals a thing or two. Hopefully, their expectations were not too high for this year, as it is so unlikely to be able to repeat such an amazing experience. They arrived right in the middle of the first slowdown in fishing on the White in quite some time, and I could tell that they had hoped for better fishing. After what my clients had accomplished the day before on Taneycomo, I invited Justin and Chad to Branson for a change of scenery and a change of luck.

The water was not all the way off on Sunday like it was on Saturday, but conditions were perfect for combining wading and floating. Streamers produced nothing on this one-unit flow, but all of the usual nymphs produced very well. We had a great time hammering chunky rainbows all day long, and I know that Justin and Chad now feel much better about their entire trip. I’m sorry for saying it all the time, but I’ll reiterate: anglers must keep an open mind when they fish these rivers. Sure, these guys would have loved to have repeated the big-water streamer action on the White of last year, but that scenario was not going to play out, so they rolled with it and had a great day using nymphs on Lake Taneycomo.

We are halfway through March, and I am constantly reminded of how two-faced this month really is. If the water is low and wading is possible, March provides heyday fishing because of the constant wind. March is the windiest month of the year in the Ozarks, and blustery conditions make for fantastic fishing if the water is low. On the other hand, if the water is high in March, it can be a real pain controlling the boat and staying on the fish. It also seems like the high-water bite in March is typically not that great – especially when compared to other months. At the moment, it is looking like more and more wading options are becoming available, and the entire Ozarks region has been dry for quite a long time. My clients and I are really enjoying these ‘new’ conditions, and I am looking forward to spending many days wading over the next month.