Christmas can come any time during the year

Duane Doty hand paints fishing lures to catch trophy brown trout at Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Mo.Christmas can come any time of the year. There can be a gift exchange in July; exactly what took place after fishing Lake Taneycomo in Branson last summer during a one-day vacation.

There was an interview that day at Lilleys’ Landing with guide Duane Doty. After handing Doty a fly box with the midges – my midges – that had worked in the trophy area below Table Rock Dam on a solo trip earlier, we got down to business.

We talked about how Doty got into hand tying jerkbait lures to catch big trout on the same waters. He explained the process that eventually led to selling them at the dock’s office…