The Ole Seagull’ s Run on the upper end of Branson Lake Taneycomo

Although Branson’s Lake Taneycomo offers 22 miles of excellent Rainbow and Brown Trout fishing each mile offers a different type of topography and fishing opportunity. The Ole Seagull calls the portion of upper Lake Taneycomo that he regularly fishes the Ole Seagull’s Run. He has fished it extensively for over 20 years and it serves as a point of differentiation for its roughly one and a half miles of length from the rest of Lake Taneycomo’s 20 plus miles. It is this area that he is referring to in The Ole Sea Gull’s Journal that is posted in the Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report published on line in the Branson Courier.

Lake Taneycomo is actually an impoundment of the White River at White River Mile Marker 507 about 22 river miles north of the Table Rock Dam. That’s right, north. As the White Rive flows underneath Lake Taneycomo it is actually flowing in a northerly direction and actually reaches its most northerly point near Long Beach, Missouri, approximately 253 river miles north east of where it began, just west of Boston, Arkansas.

For reference purposed is should noted Points A through E in The Ole Seagull’s Run Satellite Photograph run from south to north with Point A, the Point Royale Island, being the southern most point and Point E, approximately one and a half river miles north of that point, the most northern point. The channel follows the east bank, the bluff side, for the entire length of the run. The shallower water with its gravel bars and wading opportunities is along the west bank, the Point Royale side. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the vast majority of the west bank is privately owned by either property owners in Point Royale or its property owners association.

Boat provides the best access. Boats can be “anchored” in the shallow water around Point A on the Point Royal Island, it is not privately owned, and excellent wade fishing is available from there. There are shallow gravel bars available at Points D and E along the west bank that also provide access to excellent wade fishing. Of course one of the most convenient ways to fish it is from a boat. The Ole Sea Gull’s Journal covers, in detail, a variety of ways of doing just that.

It should be stressed that the Ole Seagulls Run is located inside the Special Trophy Trout Area where no bait, power bait or otherwise, may be used and has slot and other special regulations apply. Also, every person fishing it has to have a “Trout Permit” in addition to the required fishing permit, whether or not they are going to keep the trout.