Generation has taken another turn this week, one that will make our fly fishing buddies happy. There is no generation in the mornings right now, but then operators are cranking it in the afternoons. But there is a catch . . .let me explain.
In my fishing reports the last couple of weeks, I’ve mentioned problems at Powersite Dam, Taneycomo’s lower dam. There’s a baffle gate system that runs on top of the spillway part of the dam, let down in case of flooding. One of the baffles is stuck in the down position, allowing the lake to drop an additional three feet when there’s no generation. And when one or two units are running, our lake level here on the upper lake is still pretty low and the current is fast.
When our lake is drawn down like this, a vast area of gravel above Fall Creek is exposed to air — hot air and sunlight — which cooks the bugs (scuds, sow bugs), not to mention the sculpin that get marooned in small holes that dry up. This morning, no water was run to help this situation, but I’m told tomorrow dam operators will “pulse” water throughout the morning to keep this area watered. We will see.
Boating this low water is tricky, especially above Trout Hollow. Take it very slow and stay in the channel to Fall Creek. Pick your way through the Fall Creek bar, then at the narrows, really take it slow. Just consider that the water is two to three feet lower than normal and a lot of these areas are already pretty shallow. But our water is clear, and you can see the bottom.
A young man reported that he had caught a lot of trout just below Fall Creek on Power Bait . . . I just did not ask him what color. Another guest here at the resort, a seasoned jig fisherman, said it’s been tough for him and his dad yesterday and today. He said he’s been getting short strikes. I sympathize with him. I’ve had the same problem. I told him that that’s fishing and that these trout will go through spells when they’re just not aggressive.
Taking some friends on a boat ride this morning, I saw some of our guides catch fish down at Monkey Island on the pink worm under a float. Then I saw something I reported back to those guides — a bunch of trout midging on the surface just upstream of Main Street Dock, at the Landing. These typically are a school of freshly stocked rainbows, easy to catch with something under a float (jig, pink worm), a spoon, spinner or a small jig.
Another report I got this morning was from a fly fisherman, wading and fishing below the dam. He caught a lot of nice trout on an olive wooly bugger up around outlet #1.
One last thing — I’ve been told that we may see heavy generation here on Lake Taneycomo starting next week. At some point, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be cleared to start releasing some of the water from all three lakes in this system. This may not be the big release but it could be the start.
