Main Species Present: rainbow trout, brown trout, suckers, and largemouth bass
Lake Taneycomo in southwestern Missouri might well be considered the world’s finest trout fishery. Its popularity mostly utilizes the approximately 700,000 rainbow trout stocked each year, that causes this twenty-two mile riverine lake to be positively laden up with dumb stockies at all times. They are stocked monthly, and even towards the finish of each stocking period the lake holds many trout. Due to these simple to catch fish, few people appear empty handed here.
However, there are lots of fisheries around that hold lots of simple to catch rainbow trout. What sets Taneycomo apart may be the enormous brown trout it produces. Twenty inch browns are routine, ten pound trout aren’t at all out of place, and annually several bigger than twenty pounds are pulled from its icy waters. All this was capped off each time a Missouri Department of Conservation agent who was simply sampling the lake found a thirty six pound brown trout. There’s little doubt that some day this lake will produce the planet record brown trout with a lucky angler.
The lake may be effectively broken into three sections. The initial would be the element of lake from Table Rock Dam downstream to Fall Creek. Legal fishing begins a couple of hundred yards downstream from the dam. This section has special trophy regulations for both rainbows and browns, and this really is where most of the largest trout in the lake live. Flies and lures only are allowed in this section. This part of the “lake” is for many intents and purposes a river, and may be waded if Table Rock Dam isn’t generating.
The next element of the lake worth mentioning is from Fall Creek to the Highway 65 Bridge. The upper part of this section looks like a river, nevertheless the further downstream you get, the more it becomes a lake. This entire part of the lake holds many trout, both rainbow and brown, and it could be effectively fished from the bank with bait, as that is legal below Fall Creek’s mouth. Another popular method is to acquire a boat and troll spoons and spinners pursuingoutdoors. Trophy regulations stay static in effect for brown trout, although not rainbows.
The last element of the lake is from Highway 65 to Powersite Dam, which is the lake’s lower boundary. This far downstream, Taneycomo is definitely a river, though it is fairly shallow. Effective bank fishing can be carried out with worms and Powerbait, but it is more of a ship fishery. Both rainbow and brown trout respond to exactly the same trolling methods as above Highway 65, and that is just about the best method to fish. You won’t need downriggers, or other special equipment as a result of lake’s shallow depth. This section also boasts some very good largemouth bass fishing in the creek arms, and gigging for non-game fish is fairly popular in this part of the lake.
One item of caution is so as regarding Taneycomo. Water levels can rise rapidly in some locations. Anglers are well-advised to do their homework with this matter ahead of time. Better yet, consider hiring a Tanycomo Guide to assist you get on more fish and to help keep you safe.
Davdison Manning is a devoted outdoorsman spending over 100 days each year pursuing his passion for fishing, many in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas..His other pursuits include a number of days spent in the field camping and hunting. Davidson loves to generally share his familiarity with the outside in the hope of helping others to locate their very own link with the outdoors.