July 25 2010

Is low water here to stay

I really don’t know where to start, really good week of fishing on Taneycomo. I was out every morning in the drift boat fishing low water until noon. I’m sure all of us locals are asking ourselves, is low water here to stay? It’s so hard to tell, but this is by far the most low water we’ve had in over two years. Since I’ve really been able to fish the entire wade stretches of this tailwater I can truly say how the fishing is in relation to the size of these fish. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’m seeing some BIG trout in Taneycomo, especially in the lower section (MDC boat ramp – Fall Creek) of the river. That is something I haven’t seen since the early 90’s.

Fishing

Right now in a four hour trip it’s nothing to average 40-60 fish to the boat and most of our action is coming off midge patterns. Fishing emergers has been on fire and mainly focusing on shallow water when fishing this way. That’s where all the fish are when it comes to fishing zebra type patterns. Swinging soft hackles in the middle of the river on the swing will also produce fish on almost every cast, but don’t forget about WD40’s, Loop Wings, and trailing RS2 emergers. All successful patterns right now. If you are looking for bigger fish it’s really going to take some stealth. Not only that, it seems like later in the week the fish got more selective and this happens when the fish are in low water for longer periods of time. Especially in the summer time. I haven’t looked, but D.O. usually is the factor when the fish really don’t commit to the take.

The upper Section – From the dam to the MDC boat ramp.

I’m hearing mixed reports on this stretch, but I bet that downstream is fishing way better then up top. There are so many fisherman up there that it truly is like combat fishing. Nothing wrong with that if that’s your type of fishing, but you also have to keep in mind that those fish are seeing twice as many flies then down below. To fish up top you really have to know the true Taney staple patterns that locals depend on. So if you want an easier bite fish from the old KOA hole to Pointe Royale. If you have a boat most the fish I’m seeing that are big are hanging in the deep section of the river which is on the opposite side of the river across from the houses below Pointe along the bluffs. I’ve been fishing some dries, but nothing to get excited about just yet. I’m sure the dry fly action with terrestrials is right around the corner.

Fly Pattern

Every time I go fishing I’m seeing more and more people fishing Brad Wright’s sculpin he originated for Taneycomo. I think it’s lost its “mojo” just a little bit. I fished it the other day, don’t get me wrong, it still works but the fish don’t fight over it like they did. I’m sure when the browns move up it will still work like a jewel, but for average fish that stay up top they are getting wise to this type of presentation. It’s still hard to say if it’s still going to produce the big ones and only time will tell. I would still fish it if you see a big fish, but if you are not seeing fish chasing it down every cast you might want to switch up. It’s just not that go-to fly it once was in my arsenal of flies.

The Website

As I mentioned before the site you currently see will be changing in the up coming month. Hopefully this thing will launch sometime in mid August if everything goes right. I’ll keep you posted, but I’m excited about it that I can’t stop talking about it. If there’s something you would like to see added or changed please feel free to let me know. I appreciate everyone’s support and value what you say.

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