Lake Taneycomo is open all year! Today is not our opening day for trout season since we are not a trout park. There are four trout parks in Missouri – Roaring River, Bennett Springs, Montauk and Meramac Springs. We do get calls and emails asking about our fishing season, so I wanted to make that clear today.
I can honestly say that we have a very good population of rainbows in our lake right now. I think because of the low fishing pressure this winter, plus the extra trout stocked last fall, we’re looking at good numbers of at least “stocker-size” trout for this time of year. The last couple of weekends, anglers have been catching and not just fishing.
We are in the same drought that most of the Midwest is experiencing. Our lakes are as low as seven feet below power pool, but relief is in sight. Because of mild temperatures and low lake levels, we’re not seeing a lot of generation, but again, this might change after this week’s expected rain. We will see.
Our water temperature is running about 44 degrees, which is normal for March. It does seem to have a little color to it, coming from Table Rock, which is not unusual. That’s not a bad thing for fishing. Gin- clear water conditions arent’s always good for trying to fool a fish into biting.
We did see some threadfin shad come through the turbines at Table Rock Dam a few weeks ago during the cold winter blast. Fishing was really, really good for a couple of weeks. Big trout showed up after eating shad for days, hitting anything white thrown at them. This also gave them a growth spurt. Shad coming through our turbines is rare, unlike at Bull Shoals Dam and the White River. Most of the time we only see shad when the flood gates are opened at Table Rock Dam.
If the water is running, in the trophy area, especially up close to the dam, trout are still hitting white. Jigs, shad flies and jerk baits are working. Early and late in the day are the best times, but daytime can be good, too. A white jig under a float seems to be best. But as we get further away from the shad run, black, sculpin and olive jigs will work as well or better than white. Drifting scuds, egg flies, San Juan worms and streamers on the bottom is always good. I’d start with a bigger scud (#10’s or #12’s) — and if it’s slow — reduce the size to small flies until you find what they will eat. Gray, olive, or brown scuds are best. If you know how to use a provo rig, go for it.
Throw jerk baits early and late in the day — and at night. Fishing jerk baits is better if the water is running, but don’t let that stop you from trying them if it is not. Suspending baits are the best. Five to seven-inch baits in shad colors and rainbow and brown trout colors are best.
Night crawlers will be hot with the rains coming in. Well, they’re really always hot — no fish can resist a worm, right? If the water is off, inject a little air into the body of the worm to make it float off the bottom. Use a hypodermic needle or a product called a blow bottle to do this. Use either a #8 or #6 short shank hook and break the night crawler in half. Either hook it in the middle of the worm once or run it up on the hook. Fish four- or two-pound line with a small split shot. If the water is running, use a drift rig or just a hook and split shot and fish it the same way, minus the air.
If you’re throwing jigs, use two-pound line in most cases and use the jig that matches the water and wind. That means that if the water is running, use a 1/25th or 1/16th ounce jig for less than two units or 7,000 cublc feet per second. If more water is running, use a 3/32nd- or 1/8th-ounce jig and maybe four- pound line. White is always a good color, along with sculpin, olive, black, and the combos of sculpin/ginger and sculpin/burnt orange.
Jig and float has been very good lately with little to no generation. Use either a spin or fly rod and two-pound line, or 6x tippet. The sculpin jig with either a sculpin, brown, or orange head has been the best, especially if there’s a chop on the surface. Fish it three- to five-feet deep.
Fly fishing has been fun! Zebra midges have been hot! Use anywhere from a #14 to a #20 midge, red, black, or olive colors with red or copper head. Use 6x tippet mostly. There’s no need to go to 7x with the water having some turbidity in it. Scuds have been almost equally good, using #14 to #18 gray, olive, or cream color scuds. If it’s sunny, use a gray scud with some flash in the dubbing. Fish gravel flats above or below Fall Creek.
If it’s windy and there’s a chop on the water, throw a crackleback or wooly over the gravel flats or anywhere you see fish midging the surface.
