THREE ON DRY RUN CREEK

BY JOHN BERRY

Last Tuesday, I had a guide trip with three boys on Dry Run Creek. Wes was ten, Reese was twelve and Tristan was fourteen. It was a trip put together by their grandfather, Howard, a retired executive from Kansas. 

I was quite apprehensive, as the date drew nearer. The weather forecast was for rain, a high temperature of thirty three degrees and heavy winds. There was a possibility of icing conditions, in the area. Now, I have the proper gear for me to survive harsh conditions but I was concerned for the boy’s ability to cope with the weather. I called Howard a couple of days before the trip and voiced my concerns. I then suggested that we delay the trip for one day. That way we would have much warmer and sunnier conditions. He agreed and we changed the date. 

I was also concerned about the fact that there were to be three anglers. The more anglers that a guide has the less time that he is able to spend with each one. This is a serious concern, when you have young inexperienced anglers. This was mitigated by the fact that Howard put on his waders, grabbed his boat net and pitched in to help me with the boys on-stream. 

Another concern with three anglers is that I have to find three fishing locations that are close together and will produce fish for all three boys. Luckily we arrived at the creek first and had our choice of prime fishing spots. I was able to keep the guys close together and all were able to catch fish. This cut down on my running from one place to another and allowed the boys to share on each other’s successes. 

When we arrived, I tried to start the guys in spots that would complement their abilities. I put the youngest in the easiest spot to fish and the oldest in the most difficult spot with the understanding that we would rotate them through the various spots. I was generally impressed with their casting abilities. They were also willing to set the hook and fought the trout well. Howard had schooled them well. We were into trout immediately and stayed in them all day. All of the boys had their own net and were able to land smaller fish with no help needed. 

Howard rotated among the boys spending quality time with each for a couple of hours at a time. He is an accomplished angler and worked on improving the boy’s technique and helped them land the larger fish. This allowed me to work with the other boys. When there are three fishing, it seems like one has a fish on, one is tangled and one is hung up. I dealt with these issues one at a time and tried to keep them on trout. The plan worked flawlessly and they caught trout after trout. 

By the time we stopped for lunch, the guys had lost count. We talked at length about the success of the morning and all were pleased with the numbers and sizes caught. We decided to concentrate on bigger fish in the afternoon. I took Tristan upstream in search for a big fish. We landed several over twenty inches and then he finally hooked a stout twenty seven inch rainbow. As he was struggling with the huge trout, I realized that I didn’t have a big net with me. I coached him to draw it into a shallow spot out of the current. He lured it in and we were able to gently lift it from the water for a photo. 

When we got back to the others, we learned that Reese had just lost a really big brown (larger than the fish we caught). He had fought it well but it was just too big and eventually broke off. He was disappointed but immediately set out to catch another big brown that was nearby. After about a half hour of casting, he hooked up again. He had this one on for about fifteen minutes before it too broke off. It was not meant to be. 

We fished until dark. I don’t know how many fish we landed but it was a lot. The boys had the best day of fishing they had ever had and granddad got to share it with them. Life is good! 

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.