Updated Fishing Report- 7-15-2011

Late Summer Fly Fishing in Southwest Missouri

Late summer fly fishing in Southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas is so much fun. Right now I guess we all know it’s HOT so the trend for me is to get out early and finish before the high water gets here around noon. Not only that, but that is about the time it gets too hot and fishing becomes tougher and uncomfortable. That’s why I started offering my customers the “2 for 1” special that started the first of July and I will be offering until the end of August. It works out good for the customer because it frees up the afternoon so they can spend it with family. The best fishing is in the morning so why not take total advantage of that time to fish and not burn up in the heat in the afternoon.

How’s Fishing Been?

Fishing has been good on Taney, so for the most part I’m staying close to home. I’ve been down on the White occasionally, but water is a lot higher and that is more of a gamble because of how they are generating the water. Lower water is usually how I follow the trend for catching more numbers in the summer months. The beetles, ants and other terrestrials are on the move so make sure you fish along the banks. The fish will tell you, just watch for risers and a few splashes. Finding shallower water is crucial for them to be able to see it. Since we have dirty water from the floods we are only able to see about a foot down in the water column. If you do decide to stay out longer and fish the higher water levels look for broken water with minimal current,. The trout will be stacked in there. Those areas are prime time to strip wooly buggers or white streamers.

Other flies that are working extremely well are brown scuds, tan scuds, cerise worms and oversize midge patterns with a oversize bead so they can see it.

What is Biting in Late Summer?

How about anything White. The dingy water has these rainbows chasing more then I’ve ever seen on Taneycomo. The other day I was doing a instructional video and decided to throw white Peanut Envy’s and caught some chunky rainbows. We only fished from the island across from outlet 2 down to the boat ramp. The best luck I had was when I was swinging in the rebar hole. I did a little short video that you can see right below this paragraph of a few we caught.

I’m sure white will be the meal ticket until the water gets clearer, but to be totally honest everybody throws white and these fish are always keying in on it.

What’s going to be the “HOT” bite for August/September?

Hoppers!! Yes, last year the hopper bite was explosive on the White River catching anywhere between 15-20 browns every time out. Water will be a factor on how successful each day will be because of generation. Make sure you book for this amazing bite that is actually starting right now.

Promotion that I’ve been offering my subscribers: And now I will offer this to the public! Book a full day rate which is 350.00 and split it into two half days which is a savings of 200.00. And the good news is we never end the trip in 4 hours, we usually go between 5-6 hours. So not only do you get more time on the water, but you get two good days of fishing when it’s prime. This offer is only good if I have the two days to be able to do it. If you are flexible and will be here for a while we can split the two days while you are here and not have to do two days in a row.

The White and Norfork Promotion: If we go down to Arkansas I will offer a streamer 2 day trip for 550.00 for two full days. If you give me two days instead of one the results of you hooking into a big brown are far much greater then trying to expect it in one day. There are no guarantees in hooking into a trophy brown so if you can justify it by getting a cheaper rate it just makes sense. We will hook 3-4 nice browns over 20 inches long each day, but you do have a shot every time out at a brown in the 25 inch class of bigger. I can put you on the fish, but it’s your job to bring ‘em to the boat.

Beginners that want to learn about streamers: This is also a good opportunity for beginners to spend the first day learning how to dial this whole thing in and the next day you’ll be in the zone. You could get it right off the bat, but if not you definitely walk away a better angler and take what you’ve learn and apply in the salt, warm water or anywhere else fish like streamers.

Guide Tip: Rainbows will feed more on white patterns towards the bottom then up higher in the water column. So if you are fishing with a fly rod I would dead drift white on the bottom for more hook ups. The majority of the guides that throw conventional gear are fishing jigs on the bottom so that’s where the trout are seeing white mostly. All you have to do is think how fish are being fished to and how they see what is being presented to them by the fisherman. I’ve always been a believer that you can program fish to eat what they see the most of. It’s not just about what they truly feed on, but how they see everything in the water column. Yes, it does makes sense to fish flies to be presented how the fish see it, but more importantly it’s more important to think about what everybody else is doing. Fishing sinking lines will also work, but being to high in the water column will cost you fish, but I always say, you never know. It only takes one trophy to change your life.

Any Fly Fishing News?

Glad you asked. I offered to do a tying class about the 13 year cicada hatch we had on Taneycomo that was truly amazing. It’s tomorrow at the Hatchery down below Table Rock Dam. Class will be held from 2-4pm ( for directions call 334-4865). We will talk about the fishing, go over the a few patterns and tie them and I will also have a little slide show on some trout we caught during the hatch. This will be a real educational class. See you there!!

If you can’t make the class I added two of the patterns we will be tying at class. One is the Japanese Beetle that is in full swing right now and the Cicada that was working great about a month ago. I started tying hoppers with this same design because of how good these lay down on the water, always on their belly whether you roll cast or false cast. This pattern always rides high on the water.

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