Taneycomo Trip

We were in Branson for a few days this weekend. Mary and the kids went up Wednesday and I drove up Thursday morning with the boat. Fished Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the mid day hours. About 10 to 3 each day. Fishing was great. I've given up the habit of counting fish so I can't tell you how many I caught. Let's just say there was action all day. Most of the fish were in the 14 to 16 inch range. Fished the area from the KOA to Fall Creek mostly in the shallow flat water. There were fish everywhere and the colors were rich as usual. I fished number 9 most of the weekend. It's not exactly what I would call a boat rod at 7ft but I wanted to fish it. It worked just fine for what I was doing. I needed that 8ft 6wt that I haven't made yet...maybe this winter.

The fish were taking midges in the flat shallows starting at about 10am. The weather was perfect with temps in the mid to upper 50s and bright sunshine. No generation so the water was dead low. Low water was just what the doctor ordered. It was just me and three drift boats in that area most of the time. The big bass boats couldn't get up there with the water down...sure hate that. I'm not sure what the guides in the drift boats thought about my long river boat and jet outboard. They were polite and I made it a point to stay out of their way. Ran the trolling motor most of the time and rarely cranked up the annoying jet.

The bugs starting coming off consistently around 10am and just kept coming for hours. I was sight fishing throwing a midge as far as I could comfortably get it from the boat. The fish didn't think much of the big white boat, but they didn't seem to mind at about 35+ feet. I fished the same midge all weekend about 8 to 12 inches under a tiny indicator. I use foam double sided picture hanging tape from Wal-Mart for strike indicators. Tear off just enough to float the fly, moisten the leader and wrap it on. You can slide the tape between the knots on the leader to adjust the depth if you moisten the line before you stick it on. One roll will last a whole season for a whopping $3.

Back to the midge. I started fishing this thing a couple years ago after a older gentleman suggested a small dark colored midge in the flat water below Bull Shoals dam. It works great there and every where else I've found midging fish in the Ozarks. It's simple as dirt to tie. It's a #20 200R with a small nickel bead head and UTC 140 waxed brown/olive thread body. Crimp the barb, put the bead on, start the thread behind the bead, put a smooth flat layer of thread all the way down into the bend and stop. Now, spin the bobbin to tighten up the thread and then wrap it forward like you would the wire on a zebra midge to form a rib all the way back to the bead. The whip finish will form a small thorax behind the bead. Not done yet...now for the important part. Get a bottle of brush on super glue. Brush on the super glue soaking the thread to lock the rib and bead in place. The super glue also gives the fly a glossy look. Be careful not to fill the hook eye with glue. Let it dry and it's read to fish. This fly should only take a couple minutes to tie once you get the hang of it. I've also fished this midge with red thread on the White river. I've tied some tan ones but haven't needed to try them yet.

I hope to fish Taney again soon, but I'll probably fish closer to home this winter. This weekend was probably my best ever fishing on Taney.

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