View source for Lake Taneycomo

[[File:Taneycomo fog.jpg|thumb|300px|right|{{center|Fog rising from Lake Tanycomo}}]]
'''Lake Taneycomo''' is a man-made [[lake]] or [[reservoir]] on the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] in the [[Ozark Mountains]] of [[Taney County, Missouri]]. The reservoir is named for the county in which it is located:  '''Taney Co'''unty, '''MO'''. It flows through the city of [[Branson, Missouri]]. Tanycomo is the third of four reservoirs on the White River before it enters the [[Mississippi River]]. The other three are [[Beaver Lake (Arkansas)|Beaver Lake]], [[Table Rock Lake]] and [[Bull Shoals Lake]].

== History ==

Lake Taneycomo widened out to be a lake with the completion of the [[Powersite Dam]], near [[Forsyth, Missouri]], in 1913.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/V8/N8/S84g.htm |title=Powersite Dam |accessdate=30 August 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410004354/http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/v8/n8/s84g.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 1913 until 1958 it was a warm water lake.<ref name=Pfister>Fred Pfister, ''Insiders' Guide® to Branson and the Ozark Mountains'' (Guilford, CT: Insiders' Guide, 2009), p. 189</ref> The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] completed the [[Table Rock Lake|Table Rock Dam]] in 1958.<ref>Milton D. Rafferty, ''The Ozarks, land and life'' (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2001), p. 211</ref> This changed Tanycomo from a warm water lake to a very cold 58 degrees [[Farenheit]] (maximum).<ref name=Pfister/> Gone were the [[Smallmouth bass]] the White River was famous for.<ref name=Dufur>''A Paddler's Guide to Missouri'', ed. Brett Dufur (Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri, 2013), p. 67</ref> But it turned Lake Tanycomo into a world class trout fishery.{{efn|Lake Tanycomo is ranked as one of the top 5 [[Rainbow trout|Rainbow]] and [[Brown trout]] [[fisheries]] in the [[world]].<ref>Marv Fremerman, ''Bass Pro Shops Hunting and Fishing Directory: Outfitters, Guides, and Lodges'' (Lanham, MD: The Derrydale Press, 2001), p. 41</ref>}}<ref name=Pfister/> 

In 1957, the [[Missouri Department of Conservation]] [[construction|constructed]] the Shepherd of the Hills [[Fish hatchery|Fish Hatchery]]. It provides 
between 350,000 and 400,000 pounds of rainbow and brown trout per year, most of which goes into Lake Tanycomo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/southwest/shepherd-hills-fish-hatchery |title=Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014 |website= |publisher=Conservation Commission of Missouri |accessdate=10 May 2014 |archive-date=20 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420062821/http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/southwest/shepherd-hills-fish-hatchery |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2001, while doing a survey of the lake, Missouri Department of Conservation [[biologist]]s captured a 36.5 inch long trout they estimated weighed 37 pounds. The trout was promptly released.<ref name=Pfister/> In 2009, Scott Sandusky, caught the Missouri state record Brown Trout which was 37 inches long and 24.75 inches in [[girth]]. It weighed 28.8 pounds and was taken on a [[spinning rod]] with 4 pound test line.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fieldandstream.com/forums/fishing/trout-fishing/missouri-state-record-brown-trout-caught-taneycomo |title=Missouri State Record Brown Trout Caught on Taneycomo |author=Phil Lilley, ozarkanglers.com |date=November 21, 2009 |website=Field & Stream |publisher= |accessdate=10 May 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Recreation ==

Lake Taneycomo is both a [[river]] and a lake. The [[:wikt:shallow|shallow]] colder water, located near the Table Rock Dam, averages 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Here it resembles a river and allows [[fishing]] from the banks (sides) of the river.<ref name=Pfister/> Moving downsteam the temperature of the water gets warmer and the lake deepens to more than {{convert|50|ft}} near the Powersite Dam in Forsyth.<ref name=Bransonmo>{{cite web |url=http://www.bransonmo.com/BransonMoLakeTaneyGS.htm |title=Lake Tanycomo; One of the World's Premier Trout Fishing Lakes |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1997–2014 |website= |publisher=Dream Vacations |accessdate=10 May 2014 |archive-date=4 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904155118/http://www.bransonmo.com/BransonMoLakeTaneyGS.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Current (fluid)|current]] can be very strong when Table Rock dam is generating power. The water temperature also drops.<ref name=Bransonmo/> At this time the fishing tends to be very good. All methods of [[trout fishing]] — [[fly fishing]], [[fishing lure]]s, and [[Fishing bait|live bait]] fishing — may be used year-round to catch trout that inhabit the waters of Lake Taneycomo.

Lake Taneycomo offers a variety of recreational activities including [[hiking]], [[sightseeing]], [[hunting]], fishing, [[boating]], and [[waterskiing]]. People coming to Lake Taneycomo are able to visit area [[restaurants]], [[shopping]], and [[show]]s in the Branson area.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Other websites==
{{commons category|Lake Taneycomo}}
* [http://showmelakes.com/laketaneycomo.php Showmelakes: Lake Taneycomo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209230244/http://www.showmelakes.com/laketaneycomo.php |date=2013-12-09 }}

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[[Category:Geography of Missouri]]
[[Category:Ozarks]]
[[Category:Lakes of the United States]]