Trout, a Teapot, Necklace and a

Irecently attended the February Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) Media Camp held at Lilley's Landing, Branson, MO. This event brings together Missouri outdoor writers for two days of discussions and trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo. I had never gone to this event because it occurs over Valentine's Day and Mrs. Urich's happiness remains my third highest retirement priority just behind my out of state hunting and fishing trips of course.

A major retirement goal is to be home and with her for more than 50% of the annual milestone events including her birthday, Mother's Day, our wedding anniversary, and Valentine's Day by our 50th wedding anniversary. Being absent on another Valentine's Day was not contributing to my success with this goal. But I'm excellent at mitigating and soothing the disappointment associated with my absences.

Mrs. Urich collects antique brown Betty English teapots. I keep several of these hidden that I picked up secretly in antique stores for when I need a get-out-of-jail-free card. I wrote a romantic Valentine's Day poem with hints on where in the house I had hidden the teapot. While I was on the lake fishing, I sent her the poem from my cell phone. She was extremely pleased and this innovative strategy soothed her feelings over my absence on another special day. I explained to the others at the media camp how I dealt with my Valentine's Day absence and they all agreed it was an innovative approach. I could tell by the blank look on their faces that they would never try this method with their spouses.

Lilley's Landing, a sponsor of the media camp, is an excellent fishing and lake destination. The rooms are modern and well done. I stayed in a 2-bedroom suite with a kitchenette. I was impressed with the broad range of fishing equipment in the tackle shop. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly. I had forgotten to purchase a trout stamp and they helped me with that process which took less than a minute. The facility has a large boat dock on Lake Taneycomo with rental boats and access to excellent fishing guides. It’s a great place to take families with kids for a summer trip.

We began the media event by watching the Super Bowl in Lilley's Landing commons room. Roeslein Alternative Energy, a northeast Missouri producer of natural gas from natural materials, sponsored a dinner including wings, barbecue and other football foods. The next morning, we were divided into teams of two and assigned to expert fishing guides in 20-foot long flat bottom boats.

I had never fished for trout in Lake Taneycomo. This lake is between the dam at Table Rock Reservoir and a 1908 powerhouse and dam downstream from the Table Rock dam. The water flowing through the generators at Table Rock dam is cold and sustains trout that are stocked from the Shepherd of the Hills Department of Conservation hatchery. Over 300,000 pounds of rainbow trout are released annually into Lake Taneycomo supplemented with brown trout.

I fished the first morning with Kent Keene from the National Assembly of Sportman's Caucuses, an organization that works with CFM on legislative matters impacting hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreational activities. The organization was also a sponsor of the media event. Our guide was Billy Elbert with SoMo Fish Co.

Our guide motored up the lake close to the Table Rock Dam. All four of the power generators were discharging water so the lake level was high with a swift current which made for good trout fishing. The guide handed us 7-foot-long light spin casting rods and reels with 4-pound test line. There was a 2-pound leader on the end of the fishing line about 3 feet long that held a colorful artificial fish egg and artificial scud both on small hooks. A scud is the nymph stage of freshwater shrimp and is a primary food source for Lake Taneycomo trout. These scuds were dark grey and only about ¼ inch long.

The leader had a light weight on the end about a foot below the scud to keep the lure on the bottom. There was a slip bobber with stopper bead about a foot above the artificial egg that could be adjusted depending on how deep the water was.

My job was to cast this rig at the correct angle from the boat with enough slack in the line to form a gentle ark on the surface of the water and keep my eyes peeled on the bobber. When the bobber went under the water, I pulled up to set the hook. Pulling sideways can jerk the small hook out of the trout's mouth. This assignment was harder than it sounds because I was fascinated with the huge, expensive homes along the bank of the lake. Plus, there were eagles and herons in the trees and a noisy rookery along the bank, all very interesting but distracting to the novice trout angler. Several times the guide alerted me to my bobber but I always responded too late. Slowly, I redoubled my attentiveness and started catching trout.