October”s Brown Run on Lake Taneycomo (2014)

A catch of the year!! – Marcus Schulze

The Whole Story

I’m not just saying this because he is a good friend and does a little guiding for me from time to time. He actually hooked one of the prettiest brown trout this year and it happened to be a female. He was out fishing with my dad. This is a story I have to share, so I hope you enjoy it like I do. I just wish I would’ve been there to witness it.

Dad and Marcus have become very close and are great together in the boat. I knew one day it would happen when they would have that magic moment together. As much as they fish and as good as they are fishing, it was just a matter of time. Not only that, but for those who are not believers in fishing the miracle fly this should make you now. I keep saying, if you stick with this fly in low water (and you don’t need to wait to fish for spawning trout on the redds) it’s bound to happen like it has me and so many other people who can share this story. Egg patterns with weight incorporated in the hook is key on how fish see eggs tumble on the bottom.

Today was just another low water day. My dad has a spot downstream in the deeper water where he likes to fish. He anchors his boat on a submerged tree that holds his boat without him putting out an anchor. The area gives him both great water flow and a migration channel that all fish have to swim up heading up top. What we have learned from the past is to spend time downstream in mid to late September to get some of the browns that are going up top before everybody else has a shot at them. It was just a little before noon,  Marcus was fishing and my dad was chilling, watching the show. He likes to sit and watch a lot in his old age. He just drives the boat and talks to people giving out flies for the most part. Marcus did see a big male swim by the boat so he made a cast upstream to see if the fish was still in the area. He noticed when his fly hit the bottom that another fish came over; it wasn’t the male but a female which had been swimming together with him. He set the hook and the fight was on!  With this fly you have the ability to sight fish and you can see the take. A lot of the times you’ll actually see the trout spit your fly out and the indicator will never move.

He said the biggest challenge was getting her to the net and when that time came, the net broke and he had to play her again. It was intense I’m sure. This was the biggest fish he has hooked to date so he had a lot of pressure trying to land this fish and to have the net brake one could only imagine what he felt like. It was all those years he’s put in for this one moment and we all lose a few before we get one in. This was his shot and he managed to land her broken net and all. You can see that the fish was way too big for the net. My dad told me that they almost didn’t bring a net. The planets definitely aligned for Marcus that day for sure! The fish measured 30 inches, but he never got the girth. Either way, solid fish and one of the best ones caught this year.

Remember Yellow is a big color for browns whether it’s a streamer, egg, or dry. Better have them in your boat if you are going to be fishing around brown trout water.

If you would like to know more about fishing on Lake Taneycomo or Norfork in Arkansas and how they work well during certain times of the year you can send me a email directly to [email protected] if you are interested in booking a guide trip. Feel free to visit us on Facebook, If you really liked this article, +1 above – check us out at +flysandguides (Google+) or send us a tweet with a question or just to say hi. Check out the Fly of the Month!