By Silas Gray
sports@joplinglobe.com
Several months ago I was standing at the edge of a trout pond with three of my friends — Russ Kinerson, Greg Edster, and Kerry Ogle — when someone mentioned that we should make a fall trip to Lake Taneycomo for the brown trout.
We all agreed that this was a great idea and that we should plan it some day. Russ was quick to produce his pocket calendar. He wasn’t going to let us get away with “some day.” We eventually settled on staying for the entire third week of October. Once I called Dan and Jeanette at the Parkview Lodge in Branson and booked rooms, we were all set.
Unfortunately, early in October, it began raining. Initially, we weren’t concerned. However, after several rainy days Table Rock Lake reached its critical level and all of the flood gates were opened. This quickly raised the tailwater below the dam by 11 feet, which eliminated any chance of us wade-fishing in Taneycomo.
On the morning after arriving, Russ, Greg, Kerry and Kerry’s wife Dee were standing and watching the water as it shot from every gate from the face of the dam and flooded the overfilled section of river below.
We had brought along three kayaks and a canoe, and although we knew that the torrent of water would make for a fun ride down the river, it would not be good for fishing.
Luckily, right across the road from the Parkview Lodge is a state park with a concrete ramp which leads into the more stable water of Table Rock Lake. We decided to try the lake that day and then spend the next day floating the more river-like Lake Taneycomo.
There was some wind which can make fishing on a big lake rough, but by sticking to the more protected coves, we’d be fine. Kerry had his fiberglass fish and ski boat and decided that it was a more appropriate fishing platform and that he could watch out for us.
We soon had the vehicles parked and the boats launched. It was quite an assortment with Kerry in his fish and ski, Russ in his canoe, and Dee, Greg and I in kayaks. We paddled along the flooded trees near the ramp, casting popping bugs and small streamers.
With the dam wide open and the lake water dropping slowly, the fish tend to pull back out of the flooded area and return to safer water, so we were mainly targeting the outside of the timber.
The cove where we’d been fishing was large, and we’d just about made it to the main lake when we heard laughter and the amplified voice of an announcer. It wasn’t long before the first duck came into sight. Not the usual mallard or wood duck that one normally encounters in the outdoors but instead a “Ride-the-Duck.” It was one of those large amphibious military vehicles that was surplus from World War II.
They have been adapted to carry tourists through the streets of Branson and then directly into Table Rock for a trip around the lake.
The passengers had duck calls and waved and quacked and took pictures as the announcer pointed out the anglers off the port side. We were Branson celebrities — at least for a minute or two.
Unfortunately, the fish weren’t cooperating all that well, and we’d landed only two or three small sunfish and one dinky bass while fishing the edges. Dee and I decided to move into the trees and cast to the shore.
Although the shoreline was flooded, that submerged gravel and rock was a perfect spot for sunfish. Casting a nine-foot fly rod from a kayak amongst the trees is rather challenging, but we did well, catching lots of fish. However, rather than the usual bluegill, all of the sunfish we caught were long ears. Eventually, the action did stop and we were forced to move on.
Kerry, who had been fishing deep, brought his big boat in and began fishing in the shallow 10-foot water. It wasn’t long before we heard him shout and saw him hold up a big smallmouth. He’d given up on his fly rod and had caught that nice fish on a heavy skirted bass jig with a seven-inch plastic worm attached. It wasn’t a typical lure, and I was glad that I hadn’t laughed too loudly when he’d tied it on.
We heard the blast of a ship’s horn and looked up to see the large paddlewheel riverboat, “Showboat Branson Belle,” as it took off from its dock just outside the cove where we’d been fishing. The 278-foot long boat with its 112-foot stacks looks rather ominous from a kayak, and we quickly turned to prepare for its wake. I was surprised to find that the waves generated by the big boat were low and rolling and quite fun to ride.
Once the boat pulled away, the others paddled on to investigate the water beyond. However, Kerry and I stayed to fish a nice rocky shoreline and fell behind.
To catch up quickly Kerry offered to tow me on my kayak. The ride was wet but we did cover a lot of water fast and soon caught up with the others just in time to turn around and head back for the ramp.
Although our hopes for catching big brown trout were dashed by walls of water gushing from the entire face of the dam, we did pretty well. We caught fish, saw several of those ducks and found out that a riverboat isn’t such a scary thing to a little boat.
Also, hitching my kayak to Kerry’s boat worked out so well that it gave me an idea. I wonder if the captain of the “Showboat Branson Belle” would notice if I tied a rope to its railing?
