Generation on Lake Taneycomo has remained fairly consistent. Dam operators are running four full units every afternoon and into the evening, probably because of the heat (creating power demands.) In the mornings, the water is either off or they’re running 30 to 40 megawatts, or less than a half unit. This is great water for wading below the dam. Beaver Lake’s level isn’t moving, while Table Rock’s level is inching down. Bull Shoals Lake’s level is not moving much either but is trending down a bit.
Powersite Dam is still broken. The baffled gates across the top of the spillway part of the dam are in the down position, causing Taneycomo’s “normal” level to be about four feet lower. This causes a lot of trouble for many dock owners as well as boaters.
The docks at Rockaway Beach are beached — literally.
Up our way, boating past Trout Hollow Resort is very tricky. Most anglers are dropping the trolling motor and running up to Short Creek where there’s deep water on the channel side. Going from there to almost Fall Creek Marina is still not easy. There are several stumps and trees in the channel that come into play. Boating past Fall Creek’s bar is another trolling motor ride.
No Generation —
Guide Bill Babler reports catching good rainbows on a Turner half micro jig under a float. He said olive is the color, with an olive head. Use two-pound line and set the float according to depth of water you’re fishing. Fish it about a foot off the bottom.
Guide Duane Doty, picture above, is putting his clients on fish using either a pink or orange PowerWorm on a jig head under a float. He’s using the same rig as Babler — two-pound line and at the same varying depth.
With both guides the bite has been quick and slight. You really have to watch the float and be quick on the set.
Throwing small jigs straight-line is working pretty well, too, using two-pound line and 1/32- to 1/16th-ounce jigs worked in the deeper, channel water from the Landing up to Fall Creek. If you can get above Fall Creek, that technique works up there, too. Use darker colors over lighter colors — sculpin, brown, sculpin/ginger, brown/burnt orange.
Generation —
When the water starts, drift a #12 or #14 scud using a drift rig on four-pound line, from the dam down to Short Creek. Stay in the middle to the inside bend. Your weight should be on the lighter side, and you should check your flies for moss every 100-200 yards. I’ve been doing okay using different shades of gray, olive and brown scuds.
White jigs from the cable down to the boat ramp are still catching trout, but that has tapered off quite a bit since the spill gates were closed. Use 3/32nd-ounce jigs even with four units on four-pound line.
Stick baits are doing pretty well catching mainly brown trout from the dam down to Fall Creek working the channel side of the lake. Any medium diving lure similar to a MegaBass 110+ is what we recommend. You’ll get a lot of strikes and follows but not a lot of landed fish. But you have a better chance landing a big trout using this technique.
Night crawlers are doing the best in the bait category. Drifting them on the bottom from Fall Creek clear down through the Landing area has been good, yielding some really nice quality rainbows.
**All photos taken on guide trips with Captain Duane Doty. See his Facebook Page for information.
