Another beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the upper 70s.  Best thing about today is that the wind is laying a little lower than it has been.  Looks like another nice day tomorrow, then chances of showers early Wednesday with mainly sunny skies later in the day and temperatures in the upper 60s.  Thursday, mostly sunny with wind….again!  Sun and 60s back on Friday through Saturday with rain sneaking in gain by Sunday.  Not a big chance right now, but it’s there.

Two units running the past two days with it off late at night and early in the morning.  I think they fired up the units this morning at 7:00 a.m.  It is off right now (a little before 2:00 p.m.) but the schedule shows turning two back on at 2:00.  Why bother?

Marvin from Indiana on the water with Darrell Thursday.  He caught a nice 17-1/2″ rainbow but they worked hard for fish.  The big ruby was their best pattern.  Stan had Terry from Oklahoma on the water again.  It was the big ruby for them too.

Friday, Jim took David out for half a day.  Pretty good day for then on the JQ streamer or a shad pattern.  Nothing big, but good numbers and a great day.

Sheryl & Matthew – 4/2/16

Sheryl and Matthew from the Kansas City area spent Saturday morning on the water with Carolyn.  We worked hard for fish, but caught several nice 17 inchers and 16-1/2 inches on the big ruby, cerise worm or shad pattern.  The “funnest” catch of the day was their double browns!  Of course, her’s was the larger of the two!  Good day with some nice fish.  Dana and Stan had Gordon and his son’s John and Gordon on the river.  Dana’s guys, John and Gordon were fishing a white grub or shad pattern.  Stan had Gordon senior and they were catching mainly on a shad pattern.  Another wonderful, windy day!!

Lots of rain in the area over night.  Storms woke me up several times.  But, it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Temperatures in the low 70s, sunny and a light breeze.  Looks like nice days pretty much through the weekend into most of next week.  Slight chance for showers showing up next Saturday.  But, that’s more than a week away.  Temperatures are mid 60 up mid 70s.

Today’s generation actual was a surprise.  Guess it should not have been since we got lots of rain over night.  The schedule called for no generation until early this morning, then one unit for an hour, then three for an hour, back to one unit for three hours then off!  NOT!  Instead of turning it off, then kept it as three units all day.  5:00 p.m. and we still have three units going.  I know the projection for all day tomorrow is two units.  We are just a tad above power pool (915.18) so maybe they will get it back to power pool and shut it down for us again.

We actually had a few hours of wadeable water each day this week except today.  Stan and I had two couples we have fish before out Tuesday.  When we got on the water, they were doing their morning one,

Dawn – 3/29/16

two, then three units before shutting it down for the morning and part of the afternoon.  I hit one of my favorite high water spots with the big ruby and a shad pattern dropper and Dawn and Bill started catching fish.   We picked a couple nice fish right off, 17-18″.  After catching several fish in here I started noticing that we were hanging up on the bottom a little more.   Water was dropping out real fast.  Better get out of here.  Not soon enough as we actually had to drag the boat over a little hump to get back out onto the main part of the river.  Stan and his couple, Coop and Claire, were hugging the bank on the opposite site of the river.  We went over and joined them and managed to get a little drift downstream but the wind was blowing so hard upstream, you would row three feet and get blown back five feet!.  I actually had my anchor down several times and the wind just blew us upstream or to the opposite bank.

Finally made it down to the Lookout Island where we tried to hide from the wind and have lunch.  Big decision, go on down stream or go back to the put in upstream.  Good decision, go back upstream!  After fishing around Lookout Island for a little while, we picked up our anchors and blew upstream almost trolling our flies, AND, catching fish all the way back up!  Guess there is a first time for everything.  Other than the wind, it was a great day catching.  Lots of fish and definitely some nice fish mixed in with the “dinks”.

Winter wants to hang on.  We have a frost advisory for tonight into early tomorrow morning.  But, tomorrow looks like it will be a nice day.  Sunny with a high in the upper 60s.  Tuesday and Wednesday will see 70 degrees and a chance for showers Wednesday.  Back to sunny and mid 60s for Thursday and Friday.  Upper 60s to low 70s Saturday and Sunday with sun!

Two to three units all weekend, but the projection is for no units until 6:00 a.m. when one unit will come on.  Then two units for one hour; three units for three hours, down to two, then one and off by 1:00.  No units for three hours ……we will see.  However, Table Rock is currently at power pool.

We continue to see very nice, healthy 16-18 inch fish on all our trips.  They are just stuffed with food so they are round as butter balls!  They put up a nice fight too.  Darrell on the water Thursday with Damon from Lee’s Summit.  White mega worm and big ruby were his patterns.  Very good day for him and definitely includes at least one of those bigger guys.

Stan had Jerry from Kansas out on Friday.  They had a very good day mainly on an egg pattern.

Saturday afternoon, Carolyn took Larry and his son, Andrew out for half a day. Hot start with some nice fish, but it definitely slowed down later in the afternoon when they fired up a unit.  For a while early on though it was pretty steady with several doubles on.  We were testing a new shad pattern on Andrew and Larry was drifting an egg.  Stan had Stephan from Montana and his friend David out for the morning.  They had a good day mainly on the egg pattern.

Three days of wind.  30-40 mph gusts, plus 15-20 mph steady winds most of the day.  Fortunately, other than yesterday, the days were fairly warm.  Yesterday it never got out of the 40sa so it was a pretty brisk day.  Today, sunshine and very little wind.  We should see temperatures in the mid 60s.  Tomorrow more sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s.  I am seeing a pretty good chance for rain on Easter Sunday with temperatures only in the mid 50s.  Monday and Tuesday shows more sunshine and Monday in the mid 60s with Tuesday in the low 70s.  Maybe our cold snap is over!?

Still running the equivalent of two units almost every day.  Today, however, we have three units running until noon.  At 1:00 p.m. it will drop to 75 mwh which is a little less than two full units.  Both Beaver and Table Rock are less than a half a foot from being at their power pool levels, but so far, no cigar.  Hopefully, we are getting close to a time when we will see less or no generation for a few hours here and there.

Steve – 3/23/16

Great day and a half on the river for Steve and Dick from Oklahoma this past Tuesday and Wednesday.  They were out with Gina and

she kept them busy catching fish.  their first day was an afternoon trip and the white grub and mega worm were working.  They started catching on these the second morning, but when fishing turn a little south later in the day, Gina switched them to stripping the JQ or Tiger Tail or drifting the egg pattern.

Dick – 3/23/16

As you can see, nice, quality fish.  If there was anything not perfect about this day, it would have to have been the wind and lots of it!

Stan took Bill from Pennsylvania out yesterday.  Not only did they have WIND, it was also a very brisk day.  Temperatures hovered somewhere in the 40s.  No luck on white yesterday either.  Probably the best pattern was an egg pattern.  Bill had a very good day also.  Ready to come back again next year or sooner if he can figure out a way.

Pretty nice day today with temperatures in the low 60s and sunny skies.  Looks like mid 70s tomorrow, but high winds are in the forecast.  Wednesday there is a 50% chance of rain, and again, high winds.  Winds are carrying through to Thursday when the temperatures will only be in the low 50s.  By Friday, however, looks like sunshine again and mid 60s.  Sunday upper 50s with chances for rain again.  Back into the mid to upper 60s for the first part of next week through Wednesday.

Since the spillway gates shut down last Friday night, we have pretty much see the equivalent of two generators running every day, all day.  A few little blips here and there but that is the general flow.  Less than a foot away from normal power pool, but that fluctuates based on how much they release from Beaver.  All I can say is that we are getting close to a point where we could see no or low generation for wade fishing.

In the meantime, we have been on the water almost every day.  During the spillway gates being open and continuing since they shut them down, anything white has been the ticket.  With all the shad that came through the gates, the fish are stuffed with shad.

Dana was on the water Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Bob from Louisiana.  Bob’s wife joined him on the last day.  First day was a little tough, but it certainly got better on

Bob – 3/18/16

Friday.  Saturday, Bob and his wife both had a good day and Bob caught another brown.  Since Dana was out all day Saturday, I’m sure he was grunching even more than Stan about the wind.  Saturday was windy and Byron, from Nebraska, spent half a day on the water with Stan.  Good day for Byron on the white worm.  Good quality (fat with shad) fish.

Lynette – 3/20/16

Orin – 3/20/16

Sunday, Stan and Carolyn spent the day on the water with a family and their future daughter-in-law.  Stan took Dennis and Naomi, and Carolyn had son, Orin and his girl friend Lynnette.  Great day for everyone!  This was a late birthday celebration for Orin and I think and hope he’ll remember it.  Everyone boated nice fish and lots of fish.  This was Lynnette’s first time with a fly rod and she did very well.  We think they all probably slept well Sunday night.  Yes, everything was caught on white.  White jigs, worms or wooly buggers.

Not too bad of day today.  The sun it out and it is in the low 50s.  We can handle that.  Tomorrow looks like another today and Sunday and Monday look even nicer.  Mid 60s Sunday and mid 70s Monday through Wednesday.  Right now, Wednesday looks like a windy one with winds 20-30 mph.  Then, a cooler Thursday with chances of rain.

The flood gates, aka spillway gates, were closed yesterday around 4:00 p.m.  We are now experiencing two generators which is the projection through Monday.

Jim – 3/16/16

Wednesday Jim on the water with Gina.  They were doing best, due to the heavy shad population in the water from the spillway gates, on anything white.  With five gates open plus the generators, it was a little tough fishing.

Thursday, Darrell and Carolyn took Jon and his son Scott, and his son, Andrew out for half a day.  This was Andrew’s first outing with a fly rod and he did well.

Andrew – 3/17/16

It was another anything white day for this group.  Friday Stan and Gina took them out again and things got even better.  Andrew was hot from the gate, and caught more and bigger fish than his first day.  I think he has this fly fishing figured out.  Gina had Scott and Andrew stripping the silver bullet, which they really liked.

Andrew – 3/18/16

Scott – 3/18/16

Last, but certainly not least, Carolyn took Megan and her mother Susan out for half a day on Friday.  This was Megan’s second time with a fly rod and Susan’s first.  Good, fun day for the ladies.  Megan could do no wrong.  All her fish were nice.  Once we got Susan up to speed with a hook set, she brought in a few fish.  They even shared the spotlight with a double during the trip.

Megan – 3/18/16

Susan – 3/18/16

Another beautiful, warm, sunny day today.  However, think we are in for a change tomorrow.  They are saying showers will move through here tomorrow afternoon along with a drop in temperatures.  Highs for the next three days look like mid to upper 50s.  However, by Monday, we are back into the 60s and Tuesday and Wednesday look like 70s with sunshine.

Still lots of water running due to the spillway gates being open to compensate for the one generator that is under maintenance.  At the rate it is dropping, we should be to the desired 916 feet some time tomorrow late.  At that time the spillway gates should be closed, but we will probably continue to see two or three of the generators continue running until we hit 915.  We’ll just have to see!

Zach – 3/13/16

Since it is Spring Break time, we have seen lots of new, young fly fishers.  Dana was on the water Sunday with Zach from Iowa.  He had been wanting to learn fly fishing so his mother set him up with us.  I think his first fish was a nice 18″ rainbow.  He had a very good start to fly fishing on the big ruby, cerise worm and ruby 2 midge.  He definitely likes it!  Stan had Steve and his son, Clay out for the day.  They did well on the big ruby and cerise worm.

Monday, Carolyn took Matt and his son Luis out for half a day.  Good day for Luis too as one of his first fish was a 16-1/2″ rainbow he caught on the big ruby,

Luis – 3/14/16

He continued catching most of the trip and left Dad just catching a few.  Dad was okay with this as he wanted Luis to had a good time.   Stan had Steve and Clay out again for half a day.  A bit tougher day for these guys.  Boated a few fish but definitely not as good as the day before.

Two brothers, Justin and Jack, from Kansas spent Wednesday afternoon on the water with Stan.  Good day for these young fishers.  Jack’s first fish was 19-1/2″.

Jack – 3/16/16

Justin – 3/16/16

Yesterday around noon, the Corp opened five of the spillway gates. No, we

Five Gates

are not in a flood condition.  If you go to the Real Time website of the Corp of Engineers,  (http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/data/tabular/htm/tabrock.htm) you will see the following explanation.

“ATTENTION: One unit is offline for maintenance. Spillway gates are being used to make up for lost release capacity. The spillway release is approximately 5,000 cfs. [Total Release = Turbine Release + Spillway Release]”

The total release is around 15000 cfs.  According to their information, they plan to continue with spillway gates and generations until Table Rock is at 916 feet.  We are presently at 916.60 feet.  At that time they will shut down the gates and release only through the generators.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop on this great weather.  Yesterday was in the upper 70s and sunny all day.  We are expecting that again today.  Little cool down moving through so tomorrow and Thursday will only be in the upper 60s.  Friday and Saturday a little cooler….mid to upper 50s, then back into the 60s Sunday and Monday and 70s by Tuesday.  Minimal chances of rain currently forecast through this period.

We continue to see generation.  Yesterday they ran four units for a couple hours early in the morning, then three for the balance of the day.  Today they have scheduled three units all way.

The water is still off colored, but I think it is improving a little.  At least you can see out three to four feet away from the bank in some areas.

Last Thursday, Stan took Don and Steve from Illinois our for half a day.  Very good half day for these guys.  Steve finally caught his first brown and he has been fishing with us for several years.  It was a nasty day last Thursday.  It was 50 degrees with a strong cold wind and drizzle.  But, when you’re catching fish, one can tolerate anything.  Best patterns were the cerise worm and big ruby midge.  Mark and Scott also from Illinois spent the morning on the river with Jim.  Short day for these guys as Scott underestimated how cool it was going to be on the water (despite recommendations from both Jim and Mark), and he was almost frozen in no time so off the water.

Mark – 3/11/16

Carolyn had Mark and Don on the water Friday.   Mark had the front of the boat and he was on fire.  It was another big ruby midge day.  Stan also on the water.  He had Mike who comes to us from Kansas out for half a day.  They too had a good day on the big ruby but also the cerise worm.

It managed to drizzle most of the day.  Cleared up around 2:30 p.m. when everyone came in.  No more rain for tonight, but 60% chance for showers sometime later in the day tomorrow.  Saturday looks like thunderstorms during the evening and maybe scattered showers during the day.  Sunday, more of the same,…thunderstorms developing later in the day.  Of course, Monday…weekend is over…sunny and high in the 70s.  That looks like the trend most of the week.

Three generators running most of the day at the equivalent of two units.  706 to 707 feet elevation.  Looks like they will do that again tomorrow plus run four early for a couple hours.   We just about picked up a half foot of water in Table Rock, so that wll probably continue for a few more days.

Stan on the water today with Don and Steve from Illinois.  They have fished with us for several years.  Good day for the guys on the cerise worm under the big ruby.  Good news too was that most of the fish were nice.  We have seen and heard of good days with fish 14″ and better and “dink” days with fish 10″ or less.  This was a nice fish day and plenty of them!   The only negative was the cold drizzle all morning.