Fly Fishing Lake Taneycomo after dark.

Fishing Lake Taneycomo is not restricted to daylight hours. As a matter of fact, turning to the dark side can lead to some of the best trout fishing opportunities. Brown and Rainbow trout are predators and the Browns are definitely known to “go on the prowl” under the cover of darkness. Fishing at night is a little different than during the daylight hours. It will challenge your casting skills and you will have to rely on senses other than sight.

There are two main ways to fish Lake Taneycomo at night, one is stripping streamers and the other would be to fish with a lighted indicator. Streamer fishing is my favorite way of fishing at night. It can be very fast paced with hits on just about every cast. Some of my favorite streamers to use are Slump Busters, Woolly Buggers, Pine Squirrel Sculpins, Articulated Leeches, Mohair Leeches and T & A Rainbows. Lighted indicators are small glow sticks pegged in medium sized indicators. The indicators will have to be drilled out a little to allow the glow stick to be pegged along your leader. Some of my favorite flies for this method are Sow Bugs, Scuds, San Juan Worms, and large Midges. This is a better method for the people that have trouble casting streamers. Simple roll casting is very effective.

A few other tips and things to think about when fishing at night are as follows:

• When fishing with streamers, you must be able to cast a fly rod effectively by feel alone. You should be able to feel the rod load on your back cast telling you when to make your forward cast. You will not be able to see the line.

• When casting, you should try to open your loop a little to lessen your chances of the so-called “wind knots”.

• Tapered leaders and tippets can be beefed up considerably. During the day, most people are using 5x and 6x tippets. At night, I use 2x and 3x. During the Brown run in the Fall I will even bump it up to 1x.

• When you fish at night, an extra change of clothes is a must because your chances of falling in are greater than fishing during the day. Remember, you are moving around by feel, not by sight. Every now and then, a big rock or submerged log will sneak up and put you in the water.

• Also, even during the summer, I would suggest bringing along a jacket. It gets a lot cooler at night around Taneycomo than the surrounding areas and when the fog rolls in, there is a real chill in the air.

• A headlamp is a must for tying on new flies. Any light will spook Rainbows at night and they will instantly scatter. The Browns are a little more tolerant of light, but not for very long. The secret to fishing at night with a headlamp, is to turn your back to the water if you need to turn your light on.

If you are going to fish Taneycomo at night for the 1st time by yourself, I would recommend going down there during the day and checking out the area you are planning on fishing. Make references to landscapes, water currents, obstacles, and locations of fish. Make a few drifts during the day, paying attention to how the current bows your fly line. This will assist you in knowing when to mend your line at night.

The water and surrounding woods come alive at night. Coyotes will start howling, great blue herons will land with loud squawks right behind you, beaver will swim by, smacking their tails on the water, and your imagination can start to work overtime with thoughts of a bigfoot stalking you or the infamous Lake Taneycomo giant squid looking for its next meal. All of this is what makes fishing at night a little more challenging, exciting and very rewarding.

One thing to remember while fishing at night is water generation. Give yourself more time to get to high ground if the horn sounds. It takes a little longer after dark, to safely move around so don’t fish for a few minutes after the horn sounds and try to rush to high ground. Play it safe and start moving just as soon as you hear the horn. Also, let someone know where you are and when you plan to return.