The 10 flood gates were shut off Tuesday afternoon, just leaving the generators running. Right now there are 3 going. Table Rock Lake is at 930.0, still 9 feet over flood stage.

We have been still catching lots of fish from the boat. We’ve been using woolly buggers, san juan worms and scuds. Those that have been fishing from the shore just below the dam, are still catching quite a few nice trout on fly rods, and also small mouth bass (we’ve seen quite a few in the 3-4 lb range) and walleyes on spinning rods, even an occasional crappie, using jerk and crankbaits or marabou jigs. I can’t believe the numbers of walleyes that were caught this year right at the outlets. Stop by the shop and we can hook you up with all the current flies and lures and advise on how to successfully get set up. Hope to see you on the water!

Hello everyone. Yesterday they opened the flood gates again due to the rain…with more in the forecast. The lake (table rock) level today is 931.6…915 is powerpool. The tailwater (taneycomo) is 715.5 max output with 4 generators is 711.0. Last time the flood gates opened it brought up some big smallmouth, white bass, and walleye. The fishing after the gates shut down was fantastic. I landed 2 white bass that were between 3.5 and 4 pounds. The next day I caught a 3.25 to 3.5 lb smallmouth bass. Of course I got in on the tail end of the great bite. There have also been really large walleye caught as well…I’ve seen quite a few over 20″ and have heard of them up to 30″. When I was fishing for these different species I was throwing a spinning rod with jerk baits.
The trout seemed to be really keying in on san juan worms lately. Small midges and scuds have been working when the fish slow down toward the middle of the day. I’ve had friends throwing some crappie jigs under strike indicators on their fly rods and catching trout and a several walleye. Right now with the tailwater level as high as it is…you may want to try some spots farther down river. Small creeks are a good alternative, although with the rainfall they may be real murky.

We wish you the best of luck….and please think safety first when fishing in the heavy current.

This morning all the flood gates were shut off. Although all the Lake levels are still high, and they are still running all 4 generators on Taneycomo, just below the dam it has significantly dropped from where it was, roughly 11 ft. or so (Taneycomo’s tailwaters).

We have had guided fly fishing boat trips out today and yesterday. I had them fish mostly in the creeks farther down stream. They caught plenty of fish, and I have to rate it as being really good! We started out with fish on every cast first thing in the morning. Towards lunch time it slowed up some what, but not much. Today I had 3 guys from South Dakota out, and it was pretty much the same, really good! One of the guys, Ray owns a hunting lodge in northeastern South Dakota. It sounds like a really great place. I recommend checking out his website– www.huntinclark.com, they do several different kinds of hunts. The largest fish landed today was 17″. Well I should say the largest trout.

Today just after noon all flood gates were opened at Table Rock Dam. It went from 5 gates to all 10. Beaver and Norfork spillways were opened up earlier in the day. Table Rock Lake is suppose to crest on Sat at 733.3. Top Flood stage is 731.0. Flood pool is 921.

This is the 2nd week that 5 flood gates and 4 generators has been running steadily. The rainbows are definately spawning so while the spots to fish are limited there are plenty of nice fish. The numbers of landed fish decreased a little, but I have been landing much nicer fish. We have also been doing well on our boat trips. There really isn’t a secret to the fishing right now just mostly fish deep. I been fishing mostly san juan worms and scud patterns. Off the bank you will have to fish around 9ft deep. Out of the boat you may need to add a few more ft.
As far as the white bass spawn. It was interrupted by the flooding waters. They backed out to deeper water, but with the water clarity getting better by the day they should be back on schedule fairly soon. For this you can throw your typical white zonkers on sinking line. That is what worked well for me before the rising water.

We have lots and lots of water. Not only here but the entire surrounding area. Table Rock Lake is currently almost 8 feet over flood stage, and still has not crested. Right now there is 5 flood gates open at the dam, and thats been the case for the last 3 days. For those of you that are familar with the area below the Dam on Lake Taneycomo, water levels are so high that at outlet 2 the stairs are almost completely underwater.
Most of our guide trips have been in the boat the last week or so. We have been catching plenty of fish, but you will need to get very deep to reach them. Currently there are just not many places for good access on the bank. If you are launching a boat at Cooper Creek public access you will need waders, as the walk ways to the dock are under water.

Current lake levels are: Table Rock Lake –929.0 (top flood stage is 931.0)
Taneycomo —713.1

The tailwater has been running 4 generators for several weeks now. The tailwater level though was a little over a foot lower yesterday making it easier to wade to different locations. Of course the water isn’t ideal for most wading situations, but it’s still worth the trip to fish for the spawning rainbows that lake taneycomo is known for. The size of these rainbows has really increased the past week or so…very exciting! This is also a good time to gas up the boat and give it some time on the river.
Fly selection hasn’t been too unusual for high water. In my opinion it’s more important to get the correct depth on your strike indicator and correct split shot. I also noticed yesterday they weren’t pulling my indicator under most times…I would definately use the smallest indicator possible for your favorite spot. I’ve been using a san juan worm with a wd40 trailor. Also I’ve been using a small peach egg pattern with a #20 scud pattern. Out of a boat you can still use this rig just adjust your float accordingly. Out of the boat I’ve been using a class6 sink tip tight lining black woolies behind the boat. As tippet selection goes I’m using 6x flourocarbon pretty regularly due to the larger fish I’ve lost on 7x….stick with 6x. When it comes to streamers I would go with a 5x or 4x flourocarbon due to the need for a stiff and fast hook set when using a heavy sinking line…….Good Luck.

Hey everybody… the water generation lately has been very hard to predict. Today they had 2 generators running early then turned it up to 4 shortly after opening. Some fisherman have been hooking some 20″ and better fish. There have been lots of fish being caught reguardless of water fluctuation. With the water off try black woolies, red hots, and heavier rabbit leeches. With the water on your pretty well stuck fishing a chamois worm, egg pattern, scud, or san juan. The key here is to have it on the bottom…if casting out toward main channel don’t be shy about depth and weight. The weather is forcasted to be 30s and 40s all week.

Today the weather dropped back down in the thirties, and with our recent precipitation they had 1 generator running. The fishing has been very productive regardless of the cold front. There have been several people hooking fish 20″-25″, but nothing much over that. We are mostly catching rainbows, but this last couple weeks we’ve seen several smaller browns caught. As far as fly selection I’ve been throwing more soft hackles, cracklebacks, and south platte brassies (black and green are the predominant colors). Of course smaller scuds and egg patterns are a good fail-safe. Yesterday I heard a lot about san juan worms working in the rain. I’ve been still using 6X fluorocarbon for tippet. If you are not ready to brave the cold weather or the wind…this weekend it’s supposed to warm up again around the 50 degree mark.

Tight lines everyone