[Editors Note: As used in this report “Trophy Area” refers the portion of Branson’s Lake Taneycomo between the mouth of Fall Creek and the base of Table Rock Dam. It is treated separately because of its unique topography, it’s a trophy management area, and the special regulations and limits in effect within the area.]

Those five days of some sun and blue sky was just a blip on the radar screen.  Memorial Day weekend was hit and miss with rain showers, but mostly a hit.  However, foggy, soggy weather was not a deterrent for our fly fishing tourists from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and our Missouri faithfuls from the St. Louis and Kansas City area.  That’s good news for us and Branson.  We’ve had boats on the water everyday, and I think a few of the guides are about waterlogged.

Clients are getting good numbers of fish to the boats.  In these high water conditions the best ways to fish are with an indicator and heavy split shot or with a sinking line and a streamer.  Best flies are the red tungsten bead midge (size 16), the lightning bug (size 16) and the red San Juan worm.  The best streamers are still the olive bug eye bugger (size 6-8) and the olive filoplume (size 12).   If the sun shines, try a holographic green crackleback (size 12).  The streamers were getting hits being stripped cross current and on the swing.

The past week we have seen a change in the water generation pattern.  The story is that sometime around midnight the generation has been cut back to one or two units and then ramped up to four by noon the next day.  On Saturday generation was off early in the morning for two hours, then ramped up with one generator, followed by two by 5:00 a.m., three shortly after then four by noon.  It slowed down a little at 10:00 p.m. last night, but they never shut it down completely.  Two generators were going when the boats hit the water this morning, Memorial Day, and they cranked on the third at 9:00 a.m. and the fourth shortly after that. So it is still random, but if you might take a pot shot at it early or overnight, you might find a bit of wading opportunity.

Submitted by Carolyn Parker, River Run Outfitters