Your one-stop website for fly fishing the White River, the Norfork Tailwater, and Lake Taneycomo
Taneycomo River Breakdown
“The best fly fishing waters on Lake Taneycomo outside of Branson, Missouri, are primarily located in the first two miles below Table Rock Dam. This page offers detailed information that describes this entire stretch from the Shepherd of the Hills Trout Hatchery to just below the Point Royal area. Although the best wading water on Lake Taneycomo is short in length, the high numbers of trophy rainbow trout and huge brown trout makes for plenty of fly fishing fun, and with a little bit of creativity, it is possible to find the seclusion that White River fly fishermen and White River fly fishing guides so desire.”
Outlet One (AKA) "The Chute"
Zone 1: From the Cable to the "Big Hole/ Point"
I will explain a little about the zones or sections on Taneycomo and what each has to offer any level of fly fisher. If you wade upstream from the main parking areas around the hatchery you will find a cable that goes all the way across the river. That's marks the start of the fishing area. I will give you a few pointers on where to go up here. The first things you will notice when you get to the water and start looking around are a couple of outlets where the hatchery affluent meets the river. You will always find lots of trout and fishermen holding here. Fish seek the chutes because it's an easy way to get a meal and the moving water is rich in oxygen. If you throw scuds and small patterns in and around the chutes, you can hook fish all day. Just make sure you switch up patterns after they've seen your fly enough times. Make sure to have scuds in several colors when fishing these outlets. Grey, tan, and brown are the colors of choice. My dubbing of choice is awesome possum.
Ok, back to the first chute right at the dam. As soon as you get there, you will see that you can fish all that open, flat water that goes up to the cable from the first outlet. Many people don't fish this area because they don't think there's a way to get there or they think it's bad water. I've been fishing Taneycomo for many years, and for some reason I don't see many people wading on that opposite side of the bank. I would take advantage of this area because it's a bluff. So you can bet these trout can relate to things falling out of the trees. This means: if you like dry fly fishing, this slow pool can offer some great strikes on big dries.
Trying to get to the other side of the bank to fish is easy, and it only gets deep in one spot. You will notice when wading in the water to get to the other side, it will get deep and you will want to turn around. It only stays that way for a second then it will get shallow real fast. Once you notice that you’re coming up hill again you need to follow that shoal all the way up, because that drop off is holding fish up to the cable. You should only be in knee high when wading up here. If you are wondering exactly where to wade in to get across, get in the water just downstream of outlet #1 where a gravel area on the bank was an old boat ramp. That's where you want to wade in to the water. Just walk straight across and not at an angle. If you go all the way to the cable you will see current on the right side of the river as you’re walking up the shoal. Make sure you fish that area as you start walking down. Fish scuds and midge patterns and you should clean house. Another thing you can do is throw soft hackles to the bank behind you and strip it back in short quick strips. ***Due to spillway releases in 2008, this spot may no longer be accessible.
Looking downstream from outlet one.
Coming up on outlet two.
Outlet Two (AKA) "The Chute"
As you fish downstream you will notice a second, more substantial outlet that is always crowded with people fishing. That is chute/outlet two. There are some stairs that will lead you down to the river. From chute two to the rebar hole has some of the best fishing for bigger fish in the upper reaches of the tailwater. You will notice a lot of fish cruising along the bank in still water. Out in the middle of the river are the deeper spots where dead drifting flies can be very rewarding. When the chutes start to tail out, many of the bigger fish will hang out waiting for food because there is less competition from the smaller trout. Right in the mouth of the chutes will be a ton of trout holding (mostly rainbows) and they can be foul hooked easily. I personally think there's more challenges in the open water and you will find yourself learning more if you venture away from the chutes. You still can catch big fish out of them if you fish there long enough, but it is not very sporting.
You will notice down from chute two that the river starts to get narrower as you walk downstream and the current starts to pick up where the river splits to the right. We like to call this the rebar hole because of an old piece of rebar that sticks up there. This run is also another hot spot for fly fishers. It's one of the few current areas on Taneycomo in low water, and big fish get caught in this stretch all the time (great night time hole). At the end of the rebar hole the river will bend to the left, but just before the bend you will notice a big drop off. This hole holds some of the biggest fish I've seen in this river, especially when the browns run. It's also great water to fish with a sinking line when throwing streamer patterns. Small wooly buggers work great during the day in size 10 or 12.
After the bend the river gets shallow and starts to widen out. You will see fish holding in all this water. I would recommend you fish from the bank instead of wading in. You can spook these fish quite easily because the water is so shallow and it’s narrow. At the end of this spot you will notice it gets deep again, this is great water to dead drift scud's. There's also a rock just under the water that I like to stand on to see the fish.
Brown Boulevard
Entering the Rebar Hole
Rebar Hole
Guantlet Hole
Zone 2: From the "Big Hole/Point" to the Boat Ramp
This stretch is where the river starts getting wide from bank to bank. The top of this section is called the "Big Hole". This was one of my favorite spots when I was learning this river. Here is where the people start thinning out and you can have some of the river to yourself. This spot is also where the river starts to educate you and challenge you on what flies to use. The thing I've figured out about this stretch is, trout love soft hackles there because the current is slow and you can make longer casts to get a longer "swing presentation" out of the drift. Also standing on the bank stripping sculpins can offer numbers if you like playing the numbers game. I have caught 60 fish in one day throwing either a single scuplin or a single soft hackle pattern in this spot.
As you walk from the big hole down to the boat ramp, the river will pretty much stay wide with a few good fishing spots along the way. I'm sure you will notice them as you walk downstream past the Big Hole. Make sure you fish in the spots that you see where the current starts getting faster in narrow/shallow shoals and then deepens up at a drop off. I personally like standing on the other side of the bank and fishing. The fish seem to hold on the north side of the bank and the current is better there with deeper holding water. It will shallow up a little as you get closer to the boat ramp. When you get to the boat ramp it starts to get deep in the middle of the river and can be tricky to wade.
Left of the boat ramp is a big tree hanging in the water on the same side as the boat ramp. That area always holds fish and fishing from this bank is ideal for people who forgot their waders. Right after the tree you will see the river bend to the right and get narrow. This is another great place to fish. On the opposite side you will see plenty of fish holding on a shoal right at the mouth of this spot. You can fish this next trench all the way down to the houses at Point Royale. This stretch is adjacent to a KOA campground. If you are wondering about accessibility, this area is accessible, but do not stray too far from your access point in case the water comes up fast. There is a trail with steps leading down to the river downstream of the boat ramp. This is only safe if the water is low. The steps will be under water if they are generating. Also, throw the same flies as you did upstream. Typically, the river stays the same with respect to what flies work...most of the time, anyway.
Big Hole
Zone 3: From the Boat Ramp to Point Royale and Fall Creek
I would say this is where you need a boat to get to the best spots that contain the most fish. For the most part this water is unwadeable and you will see more boat traffic here. If you do have a boat, this can be some great water and for the most part, you will have it mostly to yourself on weekdays. The reason why I like this water is you can make long drifts when fishing out of your boat. There is no recasting all the time. Zebra midges are the fly of choice for most fly fishers. It is easy to catch fish after fish when the water is off by throwing zebra midges set 18-inches under your indicator. There doesn't seem to be much difference in where you fish here as all the water is productive. The only other thing this section has to offer is dry fly fishing on the bluff side. In the summer I've fished dry flies as large as size 4 and had big browns and rainbows nail this fly. I'm sure you will read reports on this presentation. The hits are so explosive it will scare you.
As you get closer to Fall Creek you will see the river bend one more time after an island. I would say that is the last good spot to stop and wade before heading downstream to fish much deeper water from a boat. It gets very deep right after Fall Creek Dock and that's about where I stop fishing, because it's mostly bait fishers and a lot of boats detract from the fishing experience for the rest of Lake Taneycomo. I hope this helps you. My dad always told me to stay on the K.I.S.S. program. "Keep it simple stupid". Just use scud's, san juan worms, midge patterns, wooly buggers, heavy lead eye sculpins, cracklebacks, plus a few dries and you should be fine fishing anywhere on this river.
Click here to read about what "bugs" insects we have in this tailwater.
