Corona Virus Update - Fishing in the wide-open is safe!
John Sappington Lake Taneycomo Trout Fishing Guide Report
Trout fishing on taneycomo is good as ever, the fall brown trout is still on the tail end and I netted a rainbow over 10# this week!
Deer season has startedso the crouds have died down and leaves hav fallen off the trees making it a great time to come enjoy catching some nice fish!
The midge bite is starting to turn on with the lower water levels too.
Flood gates open on Table rock dam and lots of nice trout are Chomping!
The fishing is really good now, scuds, sowbugs, eggs and Sanjuan worms have been best
Give me a call and we will go catch them!
The Trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Mo is really good right now
The flow pattern has been running water in the morning and then shutting it off around 11 or 12. This is a good flow that allows us to fish different ways.
Under the higher flows the trout have been feeding o scuds (gray, tan and orange) eggs (peach orange and white) and sanjuan worms in Red or worm color have been the best fly's to use
They have slowed the flows at Lake Taneycomo after a long spell of High Water
The bite is still really good depending on the flows and weather, The morning bite has been slower if the water is off and picks up as the sun comes up and some current or wind starts to blow. Midge bite is really good and lots of fish coming on the jigs too!
Lots of rain means lots of water flowing through the Table Rock Lake Dam, but with the higher flows means we are catching some really nice Rainbow trout!
Scuds, San Juan worms and midges are the best options for fly's in the trophy area.
Lots of trout are being caught on might crawlers and power bait from Fall Creek Dock to Cooper Creek with a drift rig.
They started slowing the flows at lake Taneycomo and the trout are biting really well
We are catching 30 to 50 trout on a Guided fishing trip with the occasional trout over 20 inches, most the fish are between 12 and 16"
6/8
The Flood gates are closed and they are getting the flows back to a normal schedule on Lake Taneycomo, if there is a normal!
Slower flows make the fishing a lot easier with shorter leaders and a more relaxed laid back trips for sure.
The trout widen the selection of foods they eat as there is less food available to them, you can catch them right now on scuds, eggs, sanjuan worms, midges, crackle backs, mega worms and about any other fly you want to fish!
Thew numbers of trout we are catching went up to where we are catching 50 plus with 2 anglers but the average size of trout went down with the occasional 20" trout we did catch a big Brown trout yesterday so that was a bonus fish for sure!
They went from 5 flood gates open down to 2 flood gates, the fishing is still as good!
I expect them to close the gates this week and get the water levels back to some sort of normal, lots of fish are coming on a red Sanjuan worm and tan or gray scud.
The trout are biting like crazy! We are catching 30 to 100 plus trout per trip, fly fishing or using a spinning rod whichever you prefer or I will suggest the best most productive methods to catch them, I do guarantee you will catch a bunch of Trout regardless of how we fish!
Table rock Lake is high but they are running normal flows, the fishing is really great right now and we were catching lots of
!0 flood gates open and more rain this week! The trout are stuffing themselves on shad and spitting them in the boat!!
You can catch them stripping shad colored streamers on a fly rod or fishing a shad fly on a long leader and a float, still catching lots of fish on a scud, sow bug and sanjuan worms
You can catch plenty on a spinning rod too casting white brows or sculpin colored 1/8 oz jigs, spoons and fly's on a drift rig
Non stop trout today on Taneycomo, they had 2 flood gates open till 11 am when they sounded the horn at Table rock dam and got the generators back on line, they started running 3 generators. The amount of oil that was coming from the dam was horrible, it had a sheen on top of the water from bank to bank, that was the first time I have ever see that happen before but it didn't negatively effect the fishing I had one fly fisherman this morning that caught 50 plus fish by himself in 4 hours and he caught his biggest fish a fat 20"er after they turned the generators on, that fish had been gorging on shad and made a mess in my boat but what a pretty fish it was!
Lots of boats out on Lake Taneycomo today, spring break is here, that along with anglers hearing of the record brown trout caught a few weeks back has the trout fishers coming to Branson hoping to set there new record, enjoying the lake and fighting some of the many trout that live in Taneycomo lake.
There were 2 flood gates open all day today and no generation from Table Rock dam. They are working on the generators and not running them at this time, at 4:45 they opened 2 more flood gates releasing more water from Table Rock.
Right now you are better calling to check the Taneycomo lake level than relying on the generation amount to determine the flows.
With the gates stirring up the bottom of Taneycomo the most productive fly's have been the scuds, midges and egg fly's those fly's are the most productive now.
The fishing was very good today lots of anglers fishing wading and fishing the outlets and my clients caught more trout than they ever have before in there life!
We are starting to get to a lower more normal flow on the lake and the trout are biting really good! The wind has been howling the last few days making boat control difficult but we are still catching great numbers of trout every day. Today the wind is suppose to lay some so we should really catch them good!
The trout are mainly feeding on scuds so that has been the most productive fly we are using, gone is the shad fly BUT IT WAS FUN!!
They just shut the gates at Table Rock Dam from having 5 of the 10 gates open. It was a blast for the 4 or 5 days they were open, there were more boats on Lake Taneycomo than I have ever seen at one time with most of them catching trout. It was a blast, we were catching lots of 16 to 20" rainbows with the occasional brown trout mixed in, the trout were stuffed to the gill with shad and spitting them up as they were being netted at the boat!
Yesterday we we went back to a more normal flows and started catching fish on a more normal set of fly's, gone is the shad fly for the time being! With the more normal flows we cleared some of the boats out too which is nice!!! Mostly catching 40 plus fish per trip now.
The fishing on Lake Taneycomo is as good as I have seen in the early spring with lots of nice fish being caught, we caught 66 trout in 4 hours yesterday with 2 anglers and 101 the previous day!
Both spin fishing and fly fishing are working well drifting close to the bottom, we are catching the trout on several fly's and lures depending on the water flows and conditions. With some of the best being shad fly's, egg patterns, scuds and sanjuan worms.
We are mostly catching all Rainbow trout with a few brown Trout mixed in.
I guarantee lots of fish on each trip!
As we near fall we are starting to see some early brown trout movement up close to the table rock lake dam, this might mean the fall run may happen a bit earlier than in the past but only time will tell. There are several rainbows making reds or spawning beds, several of the rainbows are turning to there spawning colors and the males are milking.
Still catching several trout per trip with some rainbows in the 20"range, a few browns a day also had a client catch a 25" brown this week too!
The summer trout fishing has been as good as ever with average catches per trip in the 45 plus fish for 4 hours of fishing, we are catching some really nice trout also with fish in the 20" range most every trip.
The trout can be caught equally well on either fly fishing gear or on spinning gear, which ever you would prefer to use to catch them.
With the high waters we have had all year it has been exceptional for Trout fishing in Branson Mo Just reed some of my reviews.
Pesonable and is knowledgeable about fishing in the area along with the history of Lake Taneycomo. It wasn't even 5 minutes after we cast our lines that we had a trout in the boat. Total that day my friend and I... More Was this review helpful? Yes
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Shane M
Springfield, Missouri
1 review
“Wonderful trip with John”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 9, 2015 NEW
We went trout fishing with John last week and had a blast!! We caught several trout!!! Our boys ages 6 and 10 had a GREAT time!!! We even saw a Bald Eagle and a Blue Heron on our journey!! John is an excellent fisherman with a great sense of humor and is Very patient with beginners!!! Our son said it... More Was this review helpful? Yes
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Amy F
Level Contributor
3 reviews
“Great fishing trip even came back a second time!”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 4, 2015
My husband booked a trip for him and his father for his military retirement gift to himself. They had the Best time with John. They smiled for two days straight until I gave in and let my husband book a solo trip to go in. John was professional, took care of everything including preparing the caught fish for them to... More Was this review helpful? Yes
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Add proud
Level Contributor
13 reviews
[common_n_attraction_reviews_1bd8] 7 helpful votes
“Top-notch trout outing”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 4, 2015
Booked a half-day trip with John for myself, my wife our 2 young children - so glad we were lucky enough to go with John. Meeting at the dock was easy - we got right on the boat and we were off. About 8 minutes later, my 7-year-old daughter is reeling in a beautiful trout. At one point we had... More Was this review helpful? Yes
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brett l fletcher
McHenry, Mississippi
1 review
“Awesomeness!”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 4, 2015
My dad and I went out with John on Saturday, August 1st, on a 6 hour trip and within the first 5 minutes we both had fish on. By the end of the first hour we had netted more trout than either of us had every caught in our lives! This is a MUST do trip! John has the professional... More Was this review helpful? Yes
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alisonanderic
Lubbock, Texas
1 review
“Great day on Lake Taneycomo”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 3, 2015
John is a great guide. Our 2nd year in a row to book a trip with him & we'll do it again next year. John was great with our kids...we caught a lot of trout! Thanks for so much fun John!!!Was this review helpful? Yes
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DREW J
Alton, Illinois
1 review
“Awesome Fishing”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 3, 2015
There were 5 of us that went with John last week. None of us had ever trout fished before. John took care of everything for us and the fishing was over the top. We caught our limit which was 20 and also caught 55 more in 4 hrs. Best thing in Branson. Thanks again John, Drew Johnson Alton, ILWas this review helpful? Yes
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Lewis S
Plainview, Texas
Level Contributor
7 reviews
3 attraction reviews
[common_n_attraction_reviews_1bd8] 11 helpful votes
“fun fishing trip”
[5 of 5 stars] Reviewed August 1, 2015
JOHN is a very cordial guide. I took my grandsons ages 10 and 13 that have had very limited fishing experience and he made sure all of us caught trout. The 3 of us caught about 50 total. It was rated 9.5 by the 10 year old and a 10 by the other. It was good for me too as... More Was this review helpful? Yes
They continue to run lots if water out the Table Rock Lake dam with the onset of spring rains we have had, the problem is the water is coming out of the dam really cold in the 40 degree range. The trout do not like water that cold and have slowed a bit, we are still averaging 30 plus fish per trip with some really nice fish in the 18" range and a occasional 20" rainbow. The brown trout have moved out and we only catch one brown trout to about every 200 rainbow. I will be glad when they finally shut the generation down to normal flows and it will let the water warm back up and get the fish biting like they have been all spring. The best baits or fly's are scuds, midges jigs and egg patterns still fished deep on light tippet's either with a drift rig, a fly rod or a spinning rod with a long leader.
Spring breakers have arrived in Branson Mo and the trout are eager to jump on the hooks! I had 2 trout fishing trips yesterday and we caught 182 trout! The conditions were perfect with the corps of engineers running one generator all day from the Table Rock Lake dam and light to no wind. The trout were biting basically anything you would throw at them from small jigs, scuds, egg patterns through midges. The smallest sizes have been the most productive, size 20 to 22 are the ticket fished on 5 and 6x tippet. The best colors have been peaches, yellows ginger and brown depending on what fly you are using.
Winter Trout fishing is a guarantee, . The feed bag is on! We are consistently catching fish over 20" when theyare running water and lots of trout when the water is off. Guaranteed Good Time!
The fish are biting really good I think the slowest 4 hour fishing trip we have had since since Christmas is 48 fish! The fish are biting a number of lures and fly's
The trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake in Branson Mo is good as ever and heating p for the summer months! I had a 6 hour trout fishing trip this morning with 3 anglers and they caught over 130 trout! Our average 4 hour trout fishing trip with 2 anglers (with no trout fishing experience) is over 50 fish! No you do not need to use a fly rod but if you want to learn to use one or want to catch a few fish on a fly rod I can guarantee you I can show you how.On most of our fishing trips we are using spinning rods and either casting to the trout or drifting with the current. We do not bottom bounce with bait or anchor in one spot and fish night crawlers as most do. We have much more productive ways of fishing using fly’s and lures that mimic the things and bugs that the Taneycomo Lake trout feed on.Scuds, jigs and midges in different sizes and colors depending on the weather and water levels.If you want to have a blast catching lots of trout on Taneycomo Lake just give me a call and we will make it happen!
5/2
Trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Mo is good as ever! If you want to have a relaxing day on the water catching lots of fish than this is the place to be. Dogwoods in full bloom, eagles raising babies in the nest and lots of feisty trout pulling on your line!
With the slowing of the water from the Table Rock lake dam it has allowed the trout to move back into the trophy area of Taneycomo. This is where I love to spend the majority of my time trout fishing with my clients. Last week we had a day when the water was off where we netted over 200 trout with luckely that many or more coming off before they reached the net. (it is hard on my fingers and hands to unhook that many fish in a day!)
The trout on Taneycomo are biting a lot of different lures or fly's right now with the midges, scuds, San Juan worm's and jigs being the best. You need to adjust the colors and sizes depending on the amount of water they are generating. The best colors are the greens, browns, gray and pink versions of these lures.
April 8
The trout fishing is the best bite in the Branson area right now with the average 4 hour trout fishing trip being over 40 fish.
They are starting to get into a pattern of running less water from the Table Rock Dam which is allowing more trout and bigger trout to move to the safety of the trophy zone, this is the upper 3 miles of the lake from Fall Creek dock to the Table Rock dam.
In this upper area you are not allowed to use bait of any type and all trout between 12 and 20 inches must be returned to the lake to fight again. This upper area is where I spend 99% of my fishing time due to the sheer numbers and size of the trout in the trophy area. The only exception to this is if I have a trip that is booked with 5 or more anglers making it tough on the style of fishing we do.
We either fish with spinning rods or fly rods and cast fly's and jigs under indicators varying the leader length with the amount of water they are running from the dam. Under the higher water flows you need to use longer leaders and more weight to get your lures or fly's down to to the depth the trout are holding, And when they are running lots of water the trout are always holding on the bottom!
The best fly's are still the San Juan worm in brown, pink and red the egg patterns in orange, peach and yellow and the scud in gray and tan i sizes #12 through #18.
Lots of trout can be caught below fall creek on bait fished on a Carolina or a standard drift rig while drifting with the current. The best baits have been Berkley Gulp, Berkley has some new colors out that are swirl or two tone colors and they gave been working well with the pink and white probably being the most consistent. Trout have been biting night crawlers too pretty well, you will have no problems catching your limit in the lower section from Fall Creek to the Branson Landing as the trout are biting well.
Give me a call if You want to go catch lots of trout on Taneycomo Lake In Branson Mo!
March 30
We finally some slower flows yesterday which will do nothing but make the fishing better on Lake Taneycomo. We got back into the grove of hooking 100 plus fish per trip, we typically land in the neighborhood of 50 to 75 trout on a 4 hour Trout fishing trip with either fly rods or spinning rods, which ever my clients would prefer to fish with. We sometimes actually hook and land more trout with fly rods (depending on what the water flows are like on Taneycomo) I have taken anglers that have never fly fished before and had them catch over 100 fish on their first trip!With the lower flows we are able to fish with shorter leaders and this makes the Trout fishing a lot easier than it is under the higher water flows we have been having in Taneycomo. With the higher flows the trout suck down to the bottom of the water column and are reluctant to move up very far to strike your offerings. So under these higher water flows from Table Rock Dam we have to use quite a bit of weight to our flies and lures to get them down to the level the trout will rise and take your fly's.Under the higher water flows it seems as the trout want a larger fly, or something bigger to tempt them into striking, the smaller offerings are just not worth the added energy expended for them to take then reposition in the high current. The opposite is the norm under the lower water flow, shorter leaders can be used while fishing and the trout are more likely to travel a longer distant to take your lures making for a higher numbers of bites which translated into a much higher catch rate.The best lures below Fall Creek have been pink and white Berkley power bait and gulp in either the egg or the worm style of lures either fished on a split shot or fished on a standard Taneycomo drift rig. Also the night crawlers injected with air have been working too.The best bite has been from Cooper Creek Resort down to the Branson Landing.In the trophy area of Lake Taneycomo the egg patterns have been working well you can also trail the egg with either a San Juan worm a midge or a scud pattern to catch the trout.If you want a 100 % guaranteed trout fishing trip on Lake Taneycomo give me a call at 417-434-2823 and we can make it happen!
March 19
The Trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Mo is really good as always. They have been running quite a bit of water from the Table rock lake dam this week especially in the mornings. When they are running lots of water you are probably better off fishing in the lower sections of the lake from Monkey island down through the Branson Landing. The best baits in the lower area are either a night crawler injected with air or a 2 egg rig with Berkley Gulp. Both these rigs can be fished on a standard drift rig or a Carolina style rig. Use just enough weight to be ticking the bottom of the lake. You will catch lots more fish on a light 2# line rig then you will with 4 or 6# line.In the Trophy area the bite has been phenomenal, We are averaging 50 plus fish on a 4 hour trip (provided the water is not full bore) I had a 7 year old girl catch 42 trout by herself yesterday evening and her 10 year old brother caught a pretty close 33!Most of the trout were caught on micro jigs fished under a strike indicator with the best colors being ginger, brown with a orange head and white colors. We have also been catching lots of trout on San Juan worms in red, pink and natural brown colors. The salmon egg pattern has been catching lots of trout too with orange yellow and peach colors being best.We are starting to catch lots of bigger trout in the upper lake section, lots of spawning males and females too, this is a fun time to fish.If you want to catch lots of trout on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Mo just give me a call or visit my site http://johnsappington.com/ and we can make it happen!
March 16
The trout fishing on Taneycomo is the most consistent bite in Branson Mo right now, We have had several trips and are averaging over 50 fish in a 4 hour trip wit 2 anglers! If you are coming to Branson Missouri for spring break with your kids and want them to have a last catching fish then trout fishing is the deal in my opinion!We are catching them on either spinning rods or fly rods and you do not need any fishing experience to do either. I will have lots of anglers start out fishing a spinning rod then switch to a fly rod cause the always wanted to try fly fishing. The best baits with the water running are the egg and scud or a egg and a San Juan worm with a longer leader. We have been catching lots of fish casting a jig also in the 1/32nd to ⅛ oz in white, brown or sculpin colors.When the water flow from the dam is slower than the midge or a micro jig has been the ticket. Smaller lures or flies and lighter line down to 6x tippet is needed to get the bites. The best colors for the midges has been primrose and pearl, tan, and red with silver wire and bead.I guarantee you your limit on a Branson Mo guided fishing trip but I could about guarantee you 25 plus fish per angler and feel pretty confident in doing so!
March 9
Had 2 trout fishing trips today and we caught lots of fish as usual. On my first trip I had brother and sister Tina and Ben from Texas.
The most fish Tina ever caught on a fishing trip before to day was 2 fish. Today Tina caught both her mast and biggest fish ever on a fishing trip, she ended up boating 22 rainbows and lost or missed countless more. I think Ben ended up boating 16 trout with lots of fish being hooked for a few cranks of the reel handle then getting off the hook.
Today was one of those days where the fish just weren't taking the fly's good or were not holding on long enough to get a good hook set on them. This was actually one of the lowest count number of fish days I have had all year with 2 anglers in the boat, but when I look back at the fun they had and the facts that in 4 hours they had probably 100 fish hooked for a short time but coming off it was a total blast!
I was fortunate to share the boat again with Shelley and Aydan from Texas for Aydans spring break. We were greeted with the the most beautiful afternoon we have had in Branson Mo all year! What a geourgous
March 4
By Branson Fishing Guide John Sappington
Cold day trout fishing on Taneycomo but good to get out again. All the boat ramps on Lake Taneycomo were snowed over on the lake so I ended up having to rent the boat I won In the Field & Stream TOC from Cooper Creek Resort. This was actually the first time I have had the opportunity to fish out of this boat and it was nice!
They were running 3 generators at the Table Rock Dam today allowing us to motor all the way up the trophy area to the cable at the dam.
The started out running 4 generators this morning then slowed to 3 at 10am. When they run 4 generators it pushes a lot of fish in the eddy's and below the sharper drops in the river. You can look at the water and see the seams and slacker water areas. These are the areas you want to target that is if you don't want to drift with the flow.
If you choose to just drift with the current you can do so but it is imperative that you get your lures or fly's down to the fish. Under high flows the trout are glued to the bottom of the lake and will only rise or travel a short distance to take or inspect your lures. And there are several that inspect before one takes your fly!
The best lures for the higher flows if you are drifting with the current are the egg and scud combo or a egg and San Juan worm combo. Colors in the grays to tan on the scud and pinks to reds on the San Juan. You can get by with using bigger hooks and fly's this allows for more hookups and fewer lost fish.
We also caught some fish casting 1/8 oz jigs on 4# line with a 6' medium light rod. You will get many more hits than you will ever realize doing this. It is imperative that you watch and control your line as all your hits will come on the fall of the jig.
We definitely caught some of the bigger trout today than we have been catching in a while with trout up to the 20" range.If you want to catch lots of trout in Branson just give me a call at (417) 434-2823 or visit my website at johnsappington.com and I can make it happen!
March 1
Had 2 Trout fishing trips on Lake Taneycomo today. This was the last nice day we are going to have in Branson Mo for a few days. The weather was pretty nice up into the 50's with a light breeze.
They ran water all day which the trout like and the trout fishing was really good. We caught right at 120 trout between the 4 anglers. All the fish were caught on spinning rod setups.
Most the trout were caught on a jig (sculpin,ginger and white) and float combination or a midge (tan, red and p&p) under a float.
They didn't run enough water to make it to the dam so we ran to the lookout and drifted to the narrows.
We are continuing to catch some males that are milking, so I look forward to the bigger females coming up for the spring spawn. It will happen soon as we start to get some warmer days. The water coming out of Table Rock Lake has a lot of color to it so with some sunshine and warm weather I think the lake will warm a bit (never really warms much) but any will help with the bigger fish. They will come as the days get longer too. Any day you can go fishing and 2 anglers can catch upwards of 60 fish in 4 hours you have had a pretty good day.
Give me a call and book your fishing trip I guarantee you lots of fish, no experience necessary!
Feb 22
Saturday fishing, it looked like a summer day on Lake Taneycomo, actually it felt that way too. We have been under a warming trend for the last week and a half in Branson Mo. It is a refreshing change from the frigid cold we have had this year!
I fished with Jack today and it actually started out a bit slow due to the water being run and the fact that I spent the first drift using the same baits and rigs we caught 72 trout on the day before! It is hard for me to not at least try the lures you used the previous day, but I actually know better.
The first drift aside we started steadily increasing our catches as I increased my leader lengths and honed into the best baits or fly's for the day and the conditions.
With the increase in the boat traffic and fishing pressure we settled into catching the trout on fly's and eventually switched to Fly Fishing.
There were several fly's and sizes that were working, we settled on 2 rigs that were the most productive. The first being either the standard egg and #16 or #18 scud or a jig and scud rig.
Basically you are using the egg or the jig as a attractor fly and the scud as the catch fly, if I start catching fish on the first fly I will change it to something they will not bite. When you catch a fish on your attractor fly it tangles the dropper or catch fly causing a mess!
Our second rig was a double midge rig. The first midge or attractor fly was a large midge followed by a dropper fly or midge in the #18 to #20 size. The best color seemed to be red and black or P&P.
We caught several male trout and a couple of browns but no big fish. Our biggest was in the 17" to 18" range. Jack however did hook a big trout that striped line off his fly reel almost to the backing before it turned and eventually pulled free. That is the only disadvantage to using the smaller hooks on the fly's, you get more bites but the holding power of the smaller hooks is greatly less than the hooks on jigs or spoons etc.
Tomorrow the weather in Branson is suppose to turn cold again for the next 10 days! The warm weather was nice while it lasted and today on the water was one of those days where I just smiled for loving my job!
Feb 21
74 Trout on Lake Taneycomo today in 4 hours of fishing with Myles and Jamie Smith!
Myles has fished the Red River, the White River and several other trout fisheries and said it was hands down the best trout fishing he has ever experienced!
The water was off at Table Rock dam with only a slight flow of water being released into Lake Taneycomo. These are ideal conditions to catch lots of feisty trout, especially if there is enough wind to keep a good ripple on the water, which there was. We actually had high winds up to 30 miles per hour causing difficulty with boat positioning.
Boat position is a critical aspect of Trout fishing or any fishing as far as that goes. On the days the water is off it is less critical as boat position is on days that the water is running. Therefore windy days when the water is running are sometimes tougher this is always tougher if the wind is blowing against the current! The harder the wind blows against the current on Lake Taneycomo the tougher the fishing will be, these are the only days we have hard times putting lots of trout in the boat. The good thing with Taneycomo Lake winding through the Ozark Mountains in Branson Mo is I can always find a productive place to fish out of the wind, it might not be the most productive spot on Taneycomo but I have yet to find a area there where we cannot catch fish.
Typically under windy conditions is where the jigs, spoons and minnow style baits shine the best. And when there is no wind or light winds the fly's tend to produce better results.
The reason the fly's don't work as well when it is windy is the wind will actually blow your line whether it be fly line or the line on your spinning reels. Actually due to the diameter of the fly line it is even more effected by the higher winds making fly fishing the toughest on the windiest of days.
There are lots of trout being caught below fall creek also. There was a reported release of 4,000 plus fish around Cooper Creek Resort and they have been catching fish good past Lilly's Landing and p to Fall Creek boat dock. The best baits have been power bait combo with a white power bait and a different color of the gulp bait added to it. The best hook size for this rig is a #8 or a #10 hook on a drift or Carolina rig with just enough weight to tick the bottom of the lake as you drift. A pinched crawler has been working too but not really necessary.
Good fishing and if you want a Lake Taneycomo trout fishing trip to remember just give me a call and we will make it happen! Tight lines Fishing Guide John Sappington.
Feb 17
Another great day on Lake Taneycomo, 104 trout! David caught trout on both Fly rods and spinning rods. David started out with a fly rod then the wind really started howling forcing the switch to spinning rods. The fish catching obviously continued.
Most of the fish were caught on either on a white micro jig or a tan #14 scud depending on the current flowing from Table Rock Lake dam.
Several of the trout we caught were males that were milking or had there spawning colors, this is a good sign that the larger female trout are heading this way.
The awesome trout fishing makes up for the fact that the bigger trout are just not tin the trophy area or at least very many of them in the trophy area.
Feb 16
We had a great day Fly Fishing on Lake Taneycomo with (Coach) JW Page! He was fishing by himself and caught 43 trout (by him self) JW did great and it was a joy to share the boat with him again.
Most the fish came on a TFO 9' 5wt fly Rod which JW handled nicely. The best Fly's were a #18 light gray scud and a P&P #18 midge.
The boat traffic was heavy but being the first nice weekend that is understandable, it has been a long cold winter in Branson Mo and the big lakes are still really cold. The trout fishing stays good year round on Taneycomo Lake.
Feb 14
Another great day Fly Fishing Lake Taneycomo. I fished with the Edwards they were both experienced at Fly Fishing which made it nice as the wind was howling! On windy days it makes everything harder than it should be, boat control, controlling your line and also keeping from wrapping your line around your or someones head!
They were scheduled to run the water today but they never turned it on on our fishing trip.We ended up catching 84 trout on our 4 hour guided fishing trip Pretty awesome day!!!
Most of the trout came on either a micro jig in brown or tan or a larger midge (size 14) in black and silver and red and silver. Under windy conditions you can get by with bigger line and baits to increase your hookups. The fish still nip at baits and you have to be quick to catch them.
If you want to go out on the lake and catch lots of fish just give me a holler and we will make it happen!
Feb 13
First warm day of the month in Branson Mo. Had a fly fishing trip with the Melton’s from Dallas.This was the first time fly Fishing for them and they had never trout fished either. We spent about 15 min going over the basics of fly casting then practicing without fly’s on the end of the fly line, and they easily figured the casting technique it out.I tied a couple different fly’s on and they jumped into the world of fly fishing. There is always a learning curve to catching trout on Lake Taneycomo. The styles and tactics are sometimes a little different then bass fishing plus there are several ways to catch them especially if you try fly Fishing for the first time but I guarantee you will love it.Today we ended catching most of our trout on a midge and scud. The best color on the midge was black and silver the best colors on the scud was tans and gray. Adjust your leader to the depth the fish want. Typically long leader with the scud and shorter with the Midge.They saw the first eagle they ever saw in the wild too. Eagles are a regular sighting on Taneycomo Lake. Last year they raised 3 baby eagles and it was awesome to watch them grow!
February With the record cold weather we have been having the generation has been under heavy flows early and late in the day and moderate generation flows during the day. This makes for great fishing pared with the low fishing pressure. Our average 4 hour trout fishing trip on lake Taneycomo is 0ver 50 fish, actually I think the slowest 4 hour trip with 2 anglers this year is 40 trout! The trout are feeding on the usual scuds and midges with the sizes being adjusted depending on the amount of water that is flowing out of the Table Rock Lake dam. Under the higher flows we will use baits up to size #12 and under the low flows or when the water is off the trout want the smaller baits down to size#18 or smaller. The best colors for the scud have been gray and tan's. The midge colors have been reds browns and blacks with silver or copper beads and wire. Lots of fish being caught on micro jigs also either by being cast or fished under a float. The best colors are sculpin, browns, greens and some on white. The best sizes are from 1/8oz under high flows to 1/100th under slow flows or when the water is off. This is a fun time to trout fish on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Mo, we are not catching many big fish right now but it is a blast catching lots of fish! Come see me and I will show you how to catch them!
12/17 The winter trout fishing is good as ever on Taneycomo Lake in Branson Mo. The bite in the trophy area is really good, we are averaging over 50 fish per 4 hour trip. They have been running the water pretty much all over the board the last few weeks, mostly high flows in the AM and PM and slow or off in the afternoons and nights. We adjust or baits and weights to match the flow of Taneycomo Lake but the fish continue to bite regardless of the water flow. Under high flow we have been catching some of the bigger trout on 1/8oz jigs in white, green or brown combos. Also a egg and scud in gray tan or molting colors or a San Juan worm in reds pinks or natural colors under a float, match your weight, lure size and leader lengths to the current flows. In the lower lake from Fall creek to the Branson Landing you can catch fish drifting Berkley power bait and gulp in about any color you want or have if I was going to buy some I would get white and pink, or some night crawlers to drift with. Use light line 2# and as light of a weight as you can so you still feel the bottom. If you want to have a blast trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake give me a call or visit my site WWW.fishingguidebranson.com
Taneycomo Lake Fishing Report 10/9/2013
The trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake in Branson Missouri is great! The Generation schedule from the Table Rock Dam has had the water mostly off in the mornings and been generating 2 to 3 turbines in the afternoons. When the water is off trout are being caught below fall creek on night crawlers injected with air (you can cut a large crawler into 3 pieces) Berkley power bait in orange, pinks and white on a Carolina rig. You can also catch trout on a float rig using trout magnets in salmon and orange and Berkley trout worms on a 1/100th ounce jig head. use light line 2# and longer leaders in 6 to 12 ft depending on water depth. When they are running the water use the same baits but in heavier weight, also switch from a Carolina rig to a drift rig or 3 way swivel rig. You can also go to 4#line to keep from loosing as many hooks and sinkers. The best areas have been from just above Trout Hollow past Cooper creek and from Monkey island to the 65 bridge also in front of the landing. Above fall creek in the trophy area (there is no bait of any type allowed)! When the water is off midges in size 14 to 22 in colors of red and silver, black and copper and Primrose and pearl fished under a float on 6x and 7x leader. We are also catching fish on the jig and float with 2# line. When the water is running go to a longer leaders and you can continue to catch fish on the egg pattern jig in yellows and orange combination's. You can use the drift rig or a float rig with a long leader to catch the trout with a egg and scud (in gray, tan and molting scud colors) rig or egg and sanjuan worm rig (in red pink or worm brown colors) Some bigger fish are moving upstream for the fall spawn run and we are catching lots of fish averaging 40 to 50 trout per trip if you want to have a blast trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake give me a call or visit my site WWW.fishingguidebranson.com
9/14
The trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake in Branson is on fire right now! We are averaging well over 40 rainbow trout per 4 hour trip right now and it will get better as fall approaches. We remain in the trophy area, or the upper 3 miles of Taneycomo lake where only artificial lures may be used, and are catching trout on a variety of lures like midges, scuds, jigs, egg patterns and the occasional hopper when the water is running. All these can be fished on either spinning gear or fly fishing gear depending on clients skills or preferences. Up till the last few days I would almost guarantee my clients a 20" rainbow trout or if they were running the water a 20" brown trout, but the big trout have been elusive? This will change shortly as the biggest trout in Taneycomo Lake are thinking hard about moving upstream for the annual fall span run that is about to kick off! We are catching numbers of male Rainbow trout that are leaking milk in anticipation of the females that are headed upstream to Table Rock Lakes tail waters for the spawn!
9/10
Great day fishing Beau Barnes is putting the hammer to the rainbow trout, fly fishing on Taneycomo lake in Branson Mo!
6/5
Slow on fishing reports and I apologize for that! We have had good and bad conditions for the Trout Fishing on Taneycomo lake this last month. They got into a pattern of low flows for a while and we were smoking the feisty rainbow trout on Taneycomo lake in Branson Mo! however this last week with all the rains we have been having they have been running lots of water from the Table Rock Dam into Taneycomo Lake. Our fish catching averages have suffered with the higher flows of water but have still been pretty good according to my clients. When you go from catching large numbers of trout to only 25 or 30 per 4 hour trips It seems like it is really tough but in reality that's pretty good fishing! Today they are suppose to have the water off till noon then run 2 generators the rest of the day, I guarantee we will catch them like normal now, back in the 50 plus fish range! Under high current flows the egg and scud drift rig has been the best with a 1/8 to 1/4 oz weight. I have fought the drift rig and avoided using it in favor of the float rigs just for the satisfaction or the enjoyment of watching my clients indicator go down! I have come to the realization (on my trip yesterday afternoon) that unless I have fly fishing clients, the drift rig will consistently outperform the float rig for trout day in and day out under the 3 plus generator flow conditions. However on Taneycomo lake I fully believe the float rig will always catch the bigger trout!
5/1
I had a 4 hour trout fishing guide trip on Taneycomo Lake in Branson Mo with 2 clients this morning and we caught 71 trout in 4 hours! The water was off when we started and we would have easily caught over 100 trout had they kept the water off but as usual when things are going great they change the water flow! No worries though we switched tactics and continued catching the feisty Taneycomo Lake rainbow trout, we even caught 1 brown trout which has been rare lately! I have been seeing a few big browns up in the trophy area since the ran all the water last week, one probably in the 10# range and we have broken off or lost some big fish we have not gotten a look at! The best baits are egg's, in yellow, orange and red, scuds in tan, olive and gray and midges in gray, olive tan and brown's. If you want a guaranteed good time fishing in Branson Missouri just give me a call and we will make it happen!
4/25
The Trout fishing on Taneycomo Lake in Branson Mo is good as ever, with the high water and the increased generation through Table Rock dam we are not catching quite the numbers of fish we were under the low flow levels but we are making up for it with catching some of the bigger trout the high water as brought up river to the trophy area. We are still catching between 40 to 75 trout in 4 hours with either Fly Rods or Spinning rods and catching trout up to 21"
2/15
Lake Taneycomo Trout Fishing
This Is Branson Trout Fishing Guide John Sappington. The trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo in Branson Missouri is fabulous! We are catching fish right and left. I had the pleasure of fishing with the Guthry"s yesterday and they caught 102 trout on Taneycomo! We never caught that elusive trophy fish but lost some nice ones, however there was steady fish catching action and repeated doubles (both of them having fish on at the same time)! The water was off all day (no generating at Table Rock Dam) but they must have been generating at Power site dam due to the constant flow and the unusually low water level on Taneycomo Lake. The best baits changed throughout our Guided fishing trip due to the changing conditions, we started out catching fish on midges due to the numerous trout that were sipping them off the calm surface of Taneycomo Lake. As the day moved on we fished deeper with the rising sun and calm conditions using micro jigs, nymphs, scuds and egg patterns. We fished these both on spinning rods and fly fishing equipment.Read more
Taneycomo Trout Fishing Guide
417-434-2823