[Stan Wright]

There is much more to Branson, Missouri than music. It is an anglers paradise. Since I can bass fish any time, I skipped Tablerock Lake and tried my hand at fly fishing for rainbow trout.

Guide, Darrell Lundberg met me at River Run Outfitters where I was fitted with waders and got my fishing licence. I also got a t-shirt, cap, and assorted goodies from this well stocked fly shop. River Run Outfitters is the "2006 Orvis Endorsed Outfitter of the Year". They provided everything..... waders, rods, flys, even drinks, lunch, and snacks.

Lake Tinicomo, formally the White River, starts below the dam at Tablerock Lake. It's 40 degree water is thick with rainbow and brown trout thanks to an aggressive stocking program.

Darrell launched our boat and handed me a feather light, 5wt Orvis rod. The fly was a very, very, tiny Midge. These flys were so small you could put 6 of them on the finger nail of your little finger. I looked at the fly and then looked at the 10 or 15 nice rainbow trout holding in the slow current and thought "no way".



A few casts later as the line floated down current the strike indicator ducked below the surface and I had a nice 2 pound rainbow trout dancing on the end of my line.


Fish could be seen everywhere in the clear shallow water. Some attacked the fly with wild abandon, while others ignored the fly completely. Darrell used the oars to position the drift boat, sometimes using the anchor to hold on a likely spot. He was constantly changing flys and handing me another rod to try. It was just a matter of "matching the hatch". I'm glad he was tying on the flys... the 4# test line and mini-micro hooks were way too small for me to see. LOL



It was a wonderfully relaxing day of drifting down the river enjoying the fall colors, good company, and frequently being interrupted by a frisky trout.



Mahalo to Darrell for sharing his fishing skills and good company on a wonderful day on the water. I can't wait to go again.

Aloha,

Stan

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Stan,

Thanks for your report. Sounds like you had a great trip.

I went to the River Run Outfitters site and was disappointed that they don't list prices for a guided trip. When an outfitter or guide doesn't list prices I assume I can't afford them. Years ago Orvis use to list the price of trips in their catalog. When they stopped listing the prices I stopped paying attention to Orvis trips.

Frank