Branson Trout Lodge
March 16-19,2017
Thursday Evening:
At 2:45 PM, Anthony, the driver for StealthCraft rolled into the driveway with our new Powerdrifter 18 on a flatbed. We unloaded the boat and got things organized for the drive down to Branson. It was a late one by the time we walked through the front door of Trout Lodge. We were soon asleep.
Friday:
Jemi and Nan slept in the big bed and we all took our time getting up. Jack and I got the boat ready for our first rip out. We had to get the Kansas numbers installed and load our fishing gear up before heading to the Cooper Creek launch. We launched around 11 and headed up river. I stopped at fall Creek Marina and talked to the manager about getting a slip for the weekend, #9 was open and for $15 a night we had a place to store and plug in the boat. Being 5 minutes from our unit made it very convenient to get on the water quickly.
We first fished along the channel side of the Brown House run, between the flat rock and the straight tree. We picked off about 10 fish slow drifting in the minimum flow. Midges down about 6 feet were the right combo. Black Zebra's, Brassies, Olives were best. We ran up to the River Park hole and fished there with little success before coming back down to the dead-fall channel area and finished out the afternoon. We got about 25 fish on the day.
Nan and Jemi spent the day at The Landing and fooling around Branson. Jake and his family arrived around 6PM, Since it was St Patrick's Day we had our family favorite Chicken & Dumpling dinner prepared by Sonya. The weather was pleasant and spring is 2 weeks ahead of where we are in Lawrence.
Saturday:
Up early today and packed a lunch for our first trip out, ran from Fall Creek up to the River Park hole, waited until the sun was on the water, really slow going as the cool morning gave way to the sunshine. At 10am they began to run a single generator of water, the flow increased and we drifted the south bank toward the Brown House run and picked up a few. Around 11 after full sun was on the water, we got into some fish, mid river near at the middle of the Brown House. The Brassie with a peacock hearl collar seemed to be the ticket. Jake and Jack did well, I had a tough day only catching one trout. The boat served us well and got us around the river, it is a great platform to fish from.
The kids were able to go swimming and play at both parks during the day. The weather was warm and sunny.
Installed Jackie's shelves in the afternoon. Had Shepard's Pie for dinner. Sharon, Jack's guest joined us and we had a good relaxing evening talking and getting to know her.
Sunday:
We learned that being on the water too early was not an advantage and the fish really did not move until the sun was on the water. Jake, Leslie and I ran the boat up to Brown house. This was Leslie's first time fly fishing for trout and she caught 5, losing a nice one at the boat when the brute snapped her leader. We caught around 10 fish in the 2 hours on the water. Leslie's Aunt and Uncle met us at the Fall Creek Marina where Jake and Leslie stayed behind to fish with them from shore.
We walked over to the Clubhouse Grill for lunch and sat at a round table in the back room. Jack, Henry, Sonya, Midge, Olivia and I ordered food and had a nice lunch with some of the other guests. Jemi and I ran up river and picked up Jake and Robert who were fishing from the shore. Midge, Cricket and I ran the boat back down to cooper creek and met Jake and Jack at the ramp. We loaded the boat, got back to the unit and packed up for the drive home.
March 4th-5th, 2017
Saturday Morning Beat: Jack and I arrived last evening and took a look at the river near the hatchery ramp. We watched a fishermen working the slow water with indicators and small flies, he caught a half dozen fish as we watched. Finished the evening organizing gear and working on a shot list for filming. We were up at 5:30 this morning, on the water at the hatchery ramp by 7:15. Jack picked up 4 fish the largest being 14", I picked up 6 fish largest between 17 1/2" . All of Jacks fish were on a red bead head midge, mine on a mix of brass midge point fly with a brown scud above. River is at minimum flow.
Saturday Afternoon Beat: Fished the River Park Hole this afternoon, back on the water around 1:30. Spent some time collecting some b-roll video footage. Jack hammered the trout with a red midge, size 20. He caught 2 fish to my 1, I landed 14, so Jack had to have landed 20+ fish. Late I tried the white worm above a midge, the combo brought a lot of short hits but seemed to work at attracting the fish. Wind coming down river all afternoon, sunshine giving way to high clouds later and it was a little cold at the evening came. We loaded up and headed back to Trout Lodge for dinner. Jack cooked up some hamburger with cheddar and Mango Habenero sauce, sauteed mushrooms and salad. Good first fishing day, just a little shy of 50 fish all together.
Sunday Morning Beat: Back at the River Park Hole this morning, cloud cover and 50 degrees, total of 4 fish in 2 hours. Jack landed a good 17" rainbow first off, then one small fish to compliment the 2 small rainbows that I landed. Picked up for coffee at the warming hut at 10:15. Heading back out again before breaking camp.
Sunday Afternoon Beat: After a break we took a drive down to the Hatchery Ramp Hole. Jack took some photos as I waded into the river, took 10 steps out from shore, stepped on a slimy slanted rock and went down in the icy water to my neck. Nothing like cold water in your waders before the first cast. I fished for 30 minutes but the fishing was slow. Got skunked. The only real difference between Saturday ans Sunday was the overcast skies...maybe we learned something here this weekend.
Looking forward to St. Patrick's Day weekend in 2 weeks and another opportunity for the whole family to come up and enjoy being at Branson Trout Lodge.
February 3-5, 2017
Maiden Voyage
Friday - Day 1: The lead up to our maiden trip to Branson with the McCleary nine was much like prepping for a moonshot, with coordination of vehicles, car seats, provisions in addition to a precision military grade schedule, we arrived in Branson Friday night around 7:30 PM. Our midpoint stop in Collins, MO at Smiths Family Restaurant was timely after nearly a couple of hours in the car. We were all ready for a break, on the ride we all studied the photocopied glove-box menus then placed our well planned orders with Diana who had a table ready for us. The cafe has been standing since 1958, with a certain utility and efficiency that comes from years of steady patronage, it is a cash only establishment, a feature that seems in no way to slow down business from the locals. We all shared 3 slices of the chocolate pie and boxed the rest for later at Trout Lodge.
Stacked at the front door of Trout Lodge, we turn the key and unveiled "Branson", Olivia believes that the actual condo unit is called Branson and she makes no connection to the city itself, anyone who challenges her on this point will be swiftly corrected, she is almost 3 and in charge of the world. She ran from room to room, each one a new experience that she loved. There were beds to assemble and fit out with sheets, blankets and pillow cases, by 10 pm we were all ready for bed, trailer empty and provisions stowed, the lights dimmed and Branson went quiet.
Saturday - Day 2: Morning came and we had some egg casserole. The no phone rule was in effect and we had a good time just being together as a family. Jake and I built the fireplace, we grilled sliders and dogs on the electric grill at noon and enjoyed a chilly February day. Sonya, Leslie, Jemi , Olivia and I took a trip over to the indoor pool and hot tub, it was big fun for everyone and we had the place to ourselves. Jemi and Leslie took a cribbage lesson from Jack and again, without the distraction of the phones all day, we enjoyed our time together.
Sunday - Day 3: We had a big pancake and bacon breakfast, I installed some more barn wood on the beam and back of the hutch. Olivia and I dropped Jake, Leslie and Jemi at the basketball hoop while she and I went up to the Golf Park, we tested out the swings and slides. After, we picked up the others and went down tot the River park where the playground has more fun stuff. The river had been running minimum flow all weekend but was seeing a release beginning at 1 PM, there was good flow in the river. We all chipped in and cleaned up the unit, getting ready to head home. We stopped again at Smiths, had some supper and made the rest of the drive home listening to the Superbowl on thin radio waves, New England mounting a historic comeback in the 4th to beat Atlanta in OT. We dropped the kids off and made it back to the farm around 9 PM, a full and fun weekend for us all.
Travelers: GG, Jack, Jon, Sonya, Jake, Leslie, Jemi, Olivia, Henry
February 2nd, 2016
Family Time
It is Friday morning and we are packing up for our first trip to Branson Trout Lodge with the entire family, a total of 9 travelers from 8-months of age to 70+, 4 generations all together for a weekend of fun, family, games, food, fishing and whatever else we want to do. For the last two weekends, Sony, Jack and I have been getting the place ready, all systems are go and it will be the first test of our new vaction home. Big fun.
Trout Lodge - Branson, MO
January 12, 2017
The start of 2017 is an exciting time for the McCleary family with the recent purchase of Trout Lodge, our soon to be multi-use recreational property in Branson, MO. There are a few reasons that we chose to look for a vacation property there. Here are a few of them...
1) The fishing, Lake Taneycomo flows out of Table Rock Dam and is supplied with a steady stock of trout from the nearby hatchery. Over the past year, we have had a chance to fish the tail-water with a local guide with much success.
2) The property is located in Pointe Royale, a golf resort community. Our unit 124 Grandview #3 is a 1200 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo on the lower level of a 4 unit building overlooking the river. The Pointe, has swimming, tennis, golf and kids playgrounds on site along with a restaurant located at the clubhouse.
3) The town of Branson has a lot to offer as well, tailored for tourists, the shows, restaurants and businesses provide an unlimited number of options for family fun.
4) A four hour drive puts Branson in a location that requires us to unplug from the farm and really use Trout Lodge as a vacation and recreation property.
We are scheduled to close on the property a week from tomorrow on January 20th, at that time we plan to rent a u haul trailer, load up some new furniture that we are building in the shop, housewares and the entire McCleary crew, then make our pilgrimage to our new place for a long weekend.
Today, Jack and I are picking up the first of 2 futon mattresses ordered from Walmart and will begin construction of the frames tomorrow.
