Annual Electrofishing Survey

There were more and larger rainbow trout captured in upper Lake Taneycomo in the August sample than at any time in the 24 years we’ve been monitoring the fishery.  Almost 60 percent of the population exceeded 13 inches, and 12 percent were 16 inches or longer.  Condition of rainbow trout was also excellent with an average relative weight of 112 for all sizes, 114 for rainbows exceeding 13 inches and 116 for those over 16 inches.

While there has been a gradual improvement in the density and size structure of rainbow trout in the non-regulated area below Fall Creek, the downstream fishery is still dominated by small, recently-stocked rainbow trout.

Density and size structure of the brown trout population remain relatively stable.  Last year's sample showed a decline in size and condition of our brown trout population.  This year's sample shows definite improvement.  The body condition of brown trout, particularly the smaller sizes, improved from last year’s sample.  Also, based on average recapture lengths of previously-marked brown trout, growth rates have improved over the last year.  "While we did not capture any exceptionally large brown trout, percentages of fish over 13, 16 and 20 inches were similar to recent samples," remarked Kruse.

Electrofishing capture rates (number/hour) and size structure indices of rainbow trout in August electrofishing samples, 1979-2002.  (RSD- relative stock density, the percentage of fish exceeding a given length, either 13, 16 or 20 inches.
 

Year	#/hour	RSD-13	RSD-16	RSD-20
1979	256	14	3	1
1980	140	24	4	1
1981	85	17	6	1
1982	95	7	1	<1
1983	165	47	9	2
1984	191	8	<1	0
1985	103	13	5	0
1986	135	5	0	0
1987	76	19	1	0
1988	-	-	-	-
1989	74	10	1	0
1990	63	19	0	0
1991	68	<1	0	0
1992	43	8	0	0
1993	99	33	2	0
1994	44	32	2	1
1995	56	25	2	<1
1996	23	10	0	0
1997	101	30	2	<1
1998	117	46	5	0
1999	203	53	9	<1
2000	185	24	3	0
2001	175	31	5	<1
2002	274	59	12	<1

Electrofishing capture rates (numer/hour) and size structure indices of rainbow trout in August exectrofishing samples taken above and below Fall Creek, 1996-2002.  (RSD- relative stock density, the percentage of fish exceeding a given length, either 13 or 20 inches.

Above Fall Creek- Regulation Area

Year	#/Hour	RSD-13	RSD-16
1996	27	9	0
1997	121	31	2
1998	147	47	5
1999	238	54	9
2000	202	25	3
2001	205	34	5
2002	334	62	13

Below Fall Creek

Year	#/Hour	RSD-13	RSD-16
1996	10	0	0
1997	38	11	0
1998	18	14	0
1999	50	19	4
2000	78	5	2
2001	64	3	1
2002	86	31	3

Electrofishing capture rates (number/hour) and size structure indices of brown trout in August electrofishing samples, 1979-2002.  (RSD- relative stock density, the percentage of fish exceeding a given length, either 13, 16 or 20 inches.
 

Year	#/hour	RSD-13	RSD-16	RSD-20
1979	2	60	40	40
1980	10	60	7	0
1981	51	40	11	1
1982	132	10	4	1
1983	225	38	10	<1
1984	160	33	8	1
1985	188	14	6	<1
1986	273	24	2	<1
1987	134	60	14	0
1988	-	-	-	-
1989	76	37	17	2
1990	204	40	13	2
1991	62	44	16	1
1992	71	45	11	3
1993	133	57	15	3
1994	113	38	15	3
1995	145	58	20	2
1996	102	32	13	2
1997	175	42	13	2
1998	93	51	17	2
1999	124	37	10	2
2000	100	59	15	3
2001	120	36	8	1
2002	125	52	14	1

Relative weight of brown trout.  Relative weight is based on the standard weight  equation developed for LT brown trout by Weithman.
 

year	all sizes	<13.0	>=13.0	>=16.0
1993	94	93	94	96
1994	100	104	95	90
1995	100	102	99	99
1996	95	96	94	89
1997	96	98	96	96
1998	92	95	91	90
1999	92	97	87	79
2000	91	93	89	83
2001	95	97	93	89
2002	96	104	92	91

Freshwater Shrimp, Scuds and Scampy

There are two types of freshwater shrimp, the hyella shrimp and the gammarus shrimp.  Taneycomo hosts the Gammarus.  At a casual glance the only visible difference is in their size. The hyella never grow as large as the gammarus.  After I discovered bugs in gravel and weeds behind my dock, I bought a small aquarium, filled it with lake water and captured several dozen of the little guys and dropped them in the tank.  What happened next was amazing to me.

As the water cleared into the next day, the tank was alive with swimming creatures.  Gammarus were flying from side to side all through the tanks from top to bottom.  Nothing like I had imagined.  And fast!  These guys have got to be a challenge to predator fish in the wild.  They are not the docile bugs drifting in the current  I had portrayed in articles on dead drifting sow bugs.  There's nothing wrong with dead drifting sow bugs, but there's also nothing wrong with raising them in the water column, swinging them or even swimming them.

The shrimp will mate several times per year.  During this process the male carries the female on his back as they are swimming. I've seen this a lot in the aquarium.  The  female carries about 50 fertilized eggs in her egg pouch. Because they are orange in color, they show through her semi-transparent body.  The young shrimp hatch within the egg pouch and emerge as fully developed young shrimp although microscopic in size. The young develop an exo-skeleton but molt this a number of times as they increase in size. Sometimes these discarded exo-skeletons can be seen floating on the lake surface. Since the shrimp have no natural defense mechanisms except camouflage, they usually hide in weeds and are more active during periods of low sunlight or after dark.

In the past when fishing at night, I occasionally pull out and tie on a weighted sow bug pattern and cast it downstream, letting it sink before working it back slowly.  Without even considering that I was imitating the shrimp, I've been very successful with this technique.
 
 

**Generalized gammaridean amphipod, illustrating principal morphological features. 1, head (composed of 6 fused segments) (eye is    degenerate or absent in stygobionts); 2, antenna 1; 3, antenna 2; 4, mouth parts (mostly hidden, including the upper lip, 1 pair of mandibles, lower lip, 2 pairs of maxillae, and 1 pair of maxillipeds; 5, pereonites 1-7; 6, pereopods 1-7 (1st two are modified as gnathopods); 7, pleonites 1-3 (expanded lateral margins are called pleonal or epimeral plates); 8, pleopods 1-3; 9, uronites 1-3 (pleonites and uronites are sometimes collectively called urosomites); 10, uropods 1-3; 11, telson.

What they have been eating as well as their immediate surroundings usually determine the coloration of shrimp. Since they are semi-transparent, the entire digestive tract of the shrimp shows through their shell. Although they scavenge on animal material, their primary food is often plant material and blue-green algae. The plants and algae cause most shrimp to appear as various shades of green,  sometimes into shades of bluish hues. However, the immediate surroundings can sometimes offset that color. For example, in lakes with reddish brown bottom mud, the mud is often ingested with the algae, and the shrimp tend to take on the coloration of the mud. Whether plants or mud, the shrimp is usually well camouflaged with its surroundings.  When the Gammarus dies, it turns an orange colors, sometimes with black spots on its shell. 

In my aquarium, I feed these little guys plants  from the lake.  The plant they seem to like the best is called Pond Weed, a species of Potomageton.  It's long like a vine with slender, curly-edged, long leaves.  It grows in the spring and winter but dies in the fall months.  I'm experimenting with other plants found in the lake as well as other possible foods such as decomposed leaves from a different variety of tree.

Why the big upturn in Taneycomo's scud population? Why did it decline in the first place, back in the early '80s?  No one knows for sure.  Some say it was new construction that caused silt to run without controls into the lake.  Some say it was pollution from Table Rock and other point sources such as creeks and leaky septic systems.  Others say the scuds were thriving on waste materials flushed from the hatchery, and when EPA stopped this practice, the scud numbers plummeted.  But back in the '70s, scuds ran throughout the lake in huge numbers, so all of these reasons really don't add up.  My humble opinion is in the life cycle of a man-made lake, natural events occur that affect all life forms within that environment, including bugs like scuds.  I've heard that early in a lakes' existence, their waters are rich and teeming with life.  Then they become stagnant and less productive.  This is what may have happened in the '70s, and now we're seeing another change -- this time for the better. 

Another reason for the upturn is expressed in Mike Kruse's summation from the electrofishing survey.  He stated that the constant flow of water from Table Rock Dam from early in spring on into late summer did help our scud population greatly.  That's just more evidence for the need of increasing our minimum flow from Table Rock -- to increase the square footage of gravel covered with water and give us more moving water, which our bugs like.

Regardless, whatever the reasons, our trout are big, healthy and happy . . .  and that's a good thing -- for them and for us fisher people.

** Material used with permission: 
John R. Holsinger
Professor of Biological Sciences
Dept. of Biological Sciences
Old Dominion University

Fishing the way I see it.............

Why the upturn?  Two reasons, regulations put into place in 1997 in the upper 3.5 miles of the lake and the constant water flows from early winter through the summer months.  One has enhanced rainbows'  growth, and the other has boosted our gammarus population,  freshwater shrimp, the one and only bug that can take a lake or stream from an average fishery to a trophy fishery in a short time.  I'm looking for an incredible fall and winter season  since big, fat rainbows are already on some beds in the upper lake, turning into their spawning colors of dark, deep reds and orange.

Fly fishing in the upper end  has been incredible.  Fishing from a boat or from the flats above Fall Creek, I've witnessed several patterns working with the water running:   drifting either a #10 or #12 scud pattern, beaded or not; #14 or #16 beaded midge in black/copper wire (zebra midge) brown, red, orange or pink; san juan worm in red or brown, beaded or not;  chamois worm; #14 beaded pheasant tail or prince nymph; or beaded egg fly under a strike indicator.  The depth depends on how much water and where you're fishing.  I normally set the float about 9 to 10 feet.  I usually run two flies about 18 inches apart.  Fishing behind the islands is still productive with  some midging fish at different times of the day.  I've been using a #18 or #20 brassie soft hackle pattern of Bill Babler's and doing quite well.  I also caught a lot of trout on it  in Colorado a couple of weeks ago.  The hot colors are green, red or copper.  The hatchery outlets below the dam have been crowded the last couple of days whether the water was on or off.

It seems some brown trout have moved up and are holding in the effluent.  When I boated  upstream the other day to fish with the water running,  I observed guys lined up shoulder to shoulder on the cove of outlet #1; a lot had fish  hooked.  The sight disturbed me because, one,  many of the fish there are fouled hooked (usually by accident) and, two, when the trout are played out, they sometimes die because they have been  needlessly played in water with low dissolved oxygen.  That's like hiking us  up a high mountain  where we're forced to run a marathon, only we're taken up higher where the oxygen is even thinner.  Some of you wouldn't survive -- I wouldn't.  Fishermen need to use good judgement and break off fish, even if they are fair hooked, when it means the difference between catching/releasing and killing and catch/release and survival.

With the water off below the dam in the wading area, scud patterns are working the best.  Here at the Landing we have recently invested in many types of scud and sow bug patterns.  Colors also make a difference, depending on the life phase of the scuds and even on the brightness of the day.  If you have a favorite style or color that worked great last time you were down fishing, it might not work at all on the next trip.  Always have a variety of colors and styles of bugs before hitting the water.  The same advice holds for midge patterns.  I've lately seen five different colors, sizes and styles of midge on the water at one time.  Trout key in on one style, and that's what you need to present.

Night fly fishing has picked up lately and is now including browns that have arrived for the big spawn.  Just this week, a 16-pound brown was caught during the day in one of the outlets.  I have noticed in the past that there are a good number of big browns uplake early in the season, which runs now through the end of November. ( I plan to check out the pocket of dead water at outlet #4 the next time the water is running.  That's where I've seen schools of big browns during the day when the  two or more units are generating.)  Back to night fishing . . .  I've known several people that have been night fishing throughout the summer but have been hitting it hard the last couple of weeks.  It's been fairly consistent -- very good, actually --  since numerous rainbows over the 20-inch trophy mark have been caught and released.  These guys have been fishing from the cable all the way down to Lookout Island, stripping #12 - #4 woolies in different shades of dark and light colors -- black, gray, brown, olive and white.  They've also stripped streamers -- mickey fins, matukas and clousers.  I've had luck with even slow stripping scud patterns in slower or still water at night imitating a swimming scud.

Night fishing using crank baits isn't out of the question.  In the deeper pools of water -- below the cable, Big Hole, MDC's boat ramp, old clay banks and below Lookout Island -- work the baits fast or slow or both until you find what they will hit.  Floating rapalas seem to work best, even working them on the surface with a slow retrieve.  Fishing jigs at night below Lookout (from a boat) can be fun.  All types of fishing at night require more patience and adroitness than fishing during the day, but I think it improves my sense of touch and skill in working the lure and even in handling the strike versus during the day.

If you're spin fishing with lures, jigs are still the best by far.  Either under an indicator or by throwing them straight, olive colored jigs seem to be the hot bait.  We had some anglers fishing last week with olive 1/100-ounce marabou jigs under a floats both above and below Fall Creek who caught some nice rainbows in both areas.  We're finding a lot of 13-to 15 inch rainbows between Fall Creek and Short Creek lately.  Below Fall Creek these legally can be taken.  This again shows how the trophy area  benefits all types of anglers -- whether bait or lure or those who keep fish and those who don't.

This last week, I fished one evening from my boat while the water was running.  I wanted to catch five nice rainbows  for dinner  to try out a new "SlapYa Mama" spice mix my parents had brought back from south Louisiana. Not wanting to open a jar of  bait or mess with night crawlers, I tied on an egg fly and started drifting down from Fall Creek.  I had my five  rainbows in three drifts and also released three other smaller rainbows.  Three of the ones I kept were seasoned trout, measuring 13 to 14 inches each.  When I cleaned them, I found wads of scuds in their bellies, some still kicking.  The trout  meat was very rich, dark orange in color from the gammarus shrimp they had gorged.  I was tickled pink.  The egg flies I used with a small split shot and four-pound line worked so well that I wondered why anyone would ever use Power Bait again.  I lost only one fly and caught nine trout, eight rainbows and one brown.  It cost me the price of one fly -- $1.

Brown Run

As mentioned previously, the brown trout spawning run has started here on Lake Taneycomo, and we will see browns moving up and down out of the trophy area for the next two  months.  They all don't spawn at the same time.  It's spread out over quite a few weeks.  Something we've seen just in the past three or four years are rainbows spawning alongside the browns in late fall and winter.  Browns and rainbows go through the motions of spawning, but very few actually hatch and/or survive.  This is due to the variation of flows during the spawn, which range from little current to blasts of water that cause the beds to implode and the eggs to wash down to less desirable gravel.
 

Typically, males are the first to arrive on the scene, holding back at first in the deeper, darker holes, especially during the day.  Then the females start to show up and prepare the beds.  Once the females appear, the males are less bashful and boldly move with the females, even in daylight hours.  Browns typically are night movers and feeders and don't like people; rainbows are more tolerant of people and don't mind well-lit, shallow water.  That doesn't mean, however, that browns won't react nervously when waders near their domain.  And they sure won't be interested in a fly presentation if they are agitated by careless wading or casting.

Etiquette

I know Taney is fast becoming the place to be in October and November.  The tailwater just below the dam is especially targeted,  not so much with boaters but with waders, and that means tangled lines, crowded spots and irreverant crossings.  "Tit for tat" can spread like wildfire . . .  one rude person can change the attitude of a dozen anglers, and before long,  people are inconsiderate of casting or wading in someone else's area.  I know this won't reach every ear, and most ears that hear this aren't the troublemakers.  Try to keep your cool and don't yell at the kickers.  There are plenty of trout for everyone, and if you look, there's more water you haven't explored yet.  If you're in a  boat and want to venture up into the wading area, be polite and ask if you can move up through that person's fishing area.  Up past a certain point -- say Rocking Chair Hole -- boats really don't give the angler an advantage over wading.  The water past this area is shallow and narrow.  As the fall season gets more crowded, you may think twice about boating up into this area when the water is not running.

Etiquette also should include handling trout to be released.  Maybe it doesn't but I have a major gripe with anglers who show no consideration for a fish when they intend to release it.  In the last  two days, I've witnessed some very inconsiderate fishermen holding a trout out of the water for more than five minutes as they retrieved the hook, took pics, admired their catch, dropped the fish on the ground or boat several times and finally released it by dropping it in the water without any effort to revive it.  Two guys on the bank at Pointe Royale yesterday dropped their catch four times before it was  returned to the water only to sink without movement.  They tried to get back to the trout but didn't because it appeared to us they didn't want to get their feet wet.  I don't know if the 16-inch rainbow survived.

What do you do??  Yell.  Scream.  Educate.  The latter is the better.  First, use barbless hooks.  Removing the hook will go much easier and quicker.  Second, use a catch-n-release net and handle the trout through the net, not with a cloth or bare hands.  Keep the trout in the water, even when you're taking the hook out and/or when taking a pic.  Release the trout by holding it in the net and water and let the trout swim out on its own.  If it doesn't, move the trout back and forth, allowing water to move through its gills.  Repeat this movement until the trout swims out of your grasp.
 

MDC Law

Mike Abdon has slaved as one of our local MDC agents for almost four years.  Even after answering calls at 2 a.m., chasing deer poachers down dark, unfamiliar roads, and walking up on anglers in pitch dark -- never knowing who they are or what they are packing -- he still loves his job.  

Recent Abdon Adventures:  A caller a couple of weeks ago roused him out of bed, reporting there were two people illegally bait fishing at the boat ramp below the dam.  Abdon dressed and headed out into the night, leaving a warm bed, his wife and kids.  When he arrived, he slipped into the woods above where he approximated the suspected violators were fishing.  Moving closer, he saw a silouette of one person, and then another.  He hit is spotlight, and to his surprise, four, six, then eight people appeared, dashing through the treees to  make a run for it.  Alone and uncertain of what he was dealing with, he still pursued one fellow and caught him by the arm.  He then led him to the MDC truck, but  as soon as Abdon  let go of his arm, the man ran.  Mike called the Branson police for back-up, and within a couple of minutes, red lights and sirens pierced the night's peace.

Mike headed back down to the water and encountered a young couple gathering up rods and tackle.  When they saw Mike, they dropped the stuff and said it wasn't theirs.  They also denied knowledge of what had transpired, and Mike couldn't prove they were in violation of any game laws.  They were cited for being in the area after 10 p.m. by the Branson police, which cost them only a small fine.

The incident was spooky for Mike because there were more people than he could handle by himself, and he knew neither their intentions, nor whether they were armed.

In another incident last week, Mike and two other agents, headed out one evening to set on some fields in eastern Taney County where it had been reported people were spotlighting deer.  Mike picked his field and sat, waiting for any sign of illegal action.  About 10 p.m., a van came down the gravel road at a pretty good clip, then skidded to an abrupt stop next to the field.  A light came on and illuminated the freshly cut pasture.  Mike, without lights, moved up behind the van and stopped, hit his lights and siren and approached the van.

Inside were a man, his wife and child, and another man; both men were in the front seats.  He asked them to step out of the van and show some identification.  He ran both licenses through the Taney County Sheriff's Department system, and one came up with a "flag" or caution  for violence, and the other was "flagged" with a weapons' caution.  The guy who was flagged for weapons had an outstanding warrent in Harrison, AR, for non-appearance at court.  Again, Abdon was outnumbered and faced  with lots of questionable scenarios --all on a dark, lonesome road.  Mike was pleasant but matter-of-fact.  He explained that  they were in violation and needed to come with him to Forsyth to post bond.  He smelled what he thought was marajana and asked whether they had any drugs on them.  They denied  any possession.

When they arrived in Forsyth, Mike discovered more about the  apprehended men. One of the "hunters" had been caught two years before  by Tracy Creede, MDC agent for the Forsyth area, for the same offense.  Mike said his hunting privileges probably would be revoked for two or three years, besides that he would be fined.  A strip search revealed the other man was toting  drugs as well as other contraband.
 
 

Minimum Flow

2003 Tournaments

Branson Chapter of Trout Unlimited to Hold Fundraiser

Here's a list of items up for auction:  Custom built 9' 5wt. 3 pc fly rod, Waterskeeter boat, autographed sports collectables, gift baskets, quilts, fine dining, guide trips, entertainment packages, outdoor clothing, Orvis 5 wt. 4 pc fly rod, fly tying vise, Charles Daly 12 ga. shotgun and much more.  Come and bid- get great stuff and donate to a good cause.

The evening will feature bucket raffles, silent and live auctions and, possibly, a few surprises.  Money raised will go to the local chapter for projects on Lake Taneycomo as well as other coldwater fisheries in the immediate area.  Any donations are greatly appreciated.  Just a hint -- hand-tied flies in a fly box are always a great hit.

Branson Chapter of Trout Unlimited monthly meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., at the Shepherd of the Hills Trout Hatchery below Table Rock Dam.
 

Fall Cookout

This year we're going to be at the shelter all day.  We're going to set up the vises and tie until our fingers cramp.  I'll also bring my fly rod and do some fishing along with Bill Babler and Brian Shaffer.  Chili is on this year's menu with all the fixings --  spaghetti, rice, cheese, onions, crackers, sour cream, and hot sauces of all kinds.  If it's a cool evening, the heat will be much welcomed.  And, of course, we have guys who bring their own special meats and side dishes.  It goes without mention -- but I will -- there's never a charge to this event.

I've already heard from some fishing buddies who plan to attend.  It really is special meeting new fishing faces from all over.  We fire up my generator and light lights into the night . . . enough to see fly tiers showing off new fly patterns for all who want to learn.  Some bring pictures of Taneycomo trips as well as trips to other fisheries.  I'm mentioning the event early so that you can plan ahead and visit.  Please come.  If you know you're coming, drop me a line and let me know.
 

New Venture