Day Fishing
The Tail Waters flowing from Table Rock Dam form the Upper End of Lake Taneycomo. In this section of the lake, the proper name of “lake” is misleading. Upper Lake Taneycomo more closely resembles a stream or river with current flows, riffles and fluctuating water levels. There are four generators at Table Rock Dam. When the power generation is from zero to one unit, wade fishing is excellent. Two or more units restricts wading access to fishable areas.
The forage base that Lake Taneycomo has to offer resident trout does not cover a very wide range of insects. There are, for the most part, just 3 major insects that you will need to try to match in order to be successful with fly fishing on Lake Taneycomo. Sowbugs, scuds, and midges consist of the main biomass. Sow bugs and scuds (fresh water shrimp) are quite abundant in upper Lake Taneycomo. They are easily matched in sizes ranging from 12-26, in different colors of grey, tan, olive and brown. Midge hatches occur daily on Lake Taneycomo and fishing midge imitations is productive in all the water columns from bottom to surface film. Other patterns that are productive on Lake Taneycomo during the day are egg patterns, wooly buggers, san juan worms, sculpin imitations, terrestrials and bait fish imitations.
The Fall Brown Run, which can occur from late September to early December, is easily the biggest draw on Lake Taneycomo. During the Fall Run, any given cast on any given day could produce a 20-pound plus Brown Trout. There are other little events throughout the year that can make for some better than average fishing conditions.
After the Browns run, Rainbows will make a small run of their own. When the Browns and Rainbows are finished running, a shad kill could happen at any time. A shad kill happens when the water temperatures in Table Rock drop and shad die and pass through the turbines, causing a feeding frenzy for the trout waiting on the other side. Once the chances of a shad kill have passed, there is usually a brief period of low water generation before the spring rains come. This is a great time to shake some of the cabin fever that has set in over the winter. When the lake levels have started to drop down below the power pool in the summer, the generation will start to slow down on Lake Taneycomo, offering great wade fishing opportunities again. The whole cycle will begin anew when the Browns start their run in the Fall.
4 to 5 weight rods along with 5x, 6x, sometimes 7x tapered leaders and tippet are what I would recommend during the day on Lake Taneycomo. Polarized sunglasses are a must and if indicator fishing, use the smallest indicator possible. Make sure to bring a net and if fishing during the Fall Brown run, I recommend a 30 inch deep net big enough to handle some of those pig Browns that are always a possibility of catching.
