STELLAR DAY AT RIM SHOALS BY JOHN BERRY

As I have mentioned in previous columns, I was pretty busy this spring. During this time, I was unable to fish much on my own or even worse, I wasn’t able to fish often with my favorite fishing partner, my wife, Lori. We had been out a time or two either wading or kayaking but we had not been out in my White River Jon boat. 

The White River Jon boat is arguably the most effective fishing platform for the White and Norfork rivers. They are large steady boats with comfortable seats and plenty of room to cast. In a pinch, they can accommodate three anglers and they can easily handle either extremely low or high water. Unlike drift boats, you can easily move upstream to access new water or fish a productive section over again and you can also avoid the use of shuttles. 

The down side is that like drift boats somebody needs to steer it. When you are fly fishing in a White River Jon boat you are essentially drifting downstream and casting out from the boat and the fly is moving at the same speed as the river. This makes for a drag free drift. We float backward so that if we encounter obstacles all we have to do is turn on the motor and go upstream. The key to success is to keep the boat parallel to the current. There are a few ways to accomplish this. 

One is to keep the motor running at all times. I find this distracting at best. I got into fly fishing to relax on stream and enjoy the environment. Sitting there listening to an outboard motor is not my idea of fun. I also believe that the noise from the motor can spook fish, especially big ones. 

The current trend is to add a set of oars to your river boat to control the drift, when not using the engine. This totally eliminates the rower’s ability to fish. It is also a lot of work. At the tender age of sixty seven years, I am not too keen on taking up rowing. I have more than one fellow guide that is encountering serious health issues from rowing a Jon boat or a drift boat day after day. The addition of oars also requires the use of another seat at the center of the boat for the rower to sit. This limits the capacity of the rowed Jon boat to two anglers and one rower. 

Then there is the old school method of dragging a chain. It is actually a length of rope with an eighteen inch section of chain secured to it (make sure that the rope/chain combination is shorter than your boat so that it doesn’t interfere with your propeller when you are under way. The down side is that this method can be dangerous at high levels of generation (with four or more generators the chain can grab the bottom and sink the boat). It can also not be as effective with heavy winds. This is my chosen method and I use it most of the time. It is most effective with little or no wind. Under these conditions, I can use a canoe paddle to refine my drift from time to time and I am able to fish myself. 

Last weekend we got a perfect day with a generation prediction that called for minimum flow (700 cubic feet per second or CFS). The weather report called for warm sunny conditions with a slight chance of rain and very light winds. We had planned to wade but when I verified the real time generation on the Corps of Engineers website, I found that they were actually running 2,000 CFS or the rough equivalent of a bit over half a generator. This was too much to wade but, with the predicted light wind conditions it would be perfect for me to drift in my White River Jon boat and actually fish myself. 

We arrived at Rim shoals around 10:00 AM. It took a few minutes to prepare the boat and rig a couple of fly rods. It was nice to fish with Lori because she rigged her own rod and we got on the water sooner. I motored up to a riffle and began my drift with the drag chain keeping me straight. We had purposely rigged the two rods differently so that we could zone in on the best fly combination. I had a bead head flash back pheasant tail (#14) with a size 18 ruby midge below it. Lori had a cerise San Juan worm with a copper John below it. 

I was the first to hook a fish. In fact, I caught the first three (one is a fluke, two is a coincidence and three is a trend). We stopped to change Lori over to the fly combination that I was fishing. After that, it was Katie bar the door. We caught trout after trout. Most were on the ruby midge but the pheasant tail claimed enough trout for us to leave it on. 

The weather got pretty hot. We had a light shower. We continued fishing with no rain gear because the rain felt good and cooled us off. It didn’t last long and the overcast conditions made us more comfortable. We fished till around 3:30 PM and finished the day with over fifty trout brought to the boat. I definitely had the hot hand and caught more trout than Lori did. She did however catch the big fish, a nice eighteen inch rainbow, and a couple of nice seventeen inch browns, one of them being a wild brown as pictured below. I consider that we both were successful. 

 By using a drag chain I was able to fish from a boat without having someone else run the boat. I just had to choose the right day. 

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 6/27/2014

During the past week, we have had a rain event (an inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell nine tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot below seasonal power pool of 661.7 feet. This is thirty three and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock Lake rose two tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above seasonal power pool and thirteen and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool or nine and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had limited wadable water. Norfork Lake rose two tenths of a foot to rest at four tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool of 556.5 feet and twenty three feet and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had wadable water every day.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset higher for the lakes in the White River system. All of the lakes on this system are at or near seasonal power pool. We should receive more wadable water.

On the White, the hot spot was Rim Shoals. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers, Y2Ks, prince nymphs, zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead), pheasant tails, ruby midges, pink and cerise San Juan worms, and sowbugs. Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (try a beadhead pheasant tail nymph with a ruby midge suspended below it).

The sulphur hatch has been sighted but is sparse. Several anglers have reported success fishing this hatch. It seems to be late, possibly due to the brutal weather last winter. This is our most reliable mayfly hatch of the year. It is a size fourteen or sixteen insect and it is yellowish orange. Before the hatch, I fish mayfly nymphs. My favorites are copper Johns and pheasant tails (some guides including myself are fishing flashback pheasant tails). As the insects begin their emergence, I switch over to a partridge and orange or partridge and yellow soft hackle. This is often the most productive tactic. When you observe the adults on the top of the water, switch to a sulphur parachute dry fly.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are a bit high and clear. With the warmer weather, the smallmouths are active. The most effective flies are Clouser minnows and crawfish patterns. Carefully check the water level before entering Crooked Creek or the Buffalo River. There are no dams on these streams. They both have large drainages and are prone to flooding during and following any rain event. The water can rise very quickly.

The Norfork River has fished poorly recently. With little wadable water on the White there has been more angling pressure on the Norfork.  The most productive flies have been small midge patterns like zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead) and soft hackles like the green butt. Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective. Try a small bead headed nymph (zebra midge, copper John or pheasant tail) suspended eighteen inches below a brightly colored San Juan worm (hot fluorescent pink or cerise). There have been reliable hatches of small midges (try a size 24 Adams parachute) and caddis (try a size 18 elk hair caddis).The fishing is better in the morning and late afternoon and tapers off midday.  

With warmer weather, there has been a lot of action on Dry Run Creek. It has been crowded at times. Remember that there are trout everywhere. Now would be a great time to fish it. The weather has been perfect on some days and it is more comfortable for young anglers. The hot flies have been sowbugs, Y2Ks and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise).

The water level on the Spring River is a bit high and clearing. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. We are in the midst of canoe season and it can be difficult to fish during the aluminum hatch. You should fish during the week to avoid the crowds. Be sure to wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick. The hot flies have been olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash, cerise and hot pink San Juan worms and Y2Ks.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is making repairs to the Dam at the State Fish Hatchery at the Dam Three Access. During this process water may be diverted from the main channel to the north channel that runs alongside the parking lot resulting in a rise in the water level there of up to two feet. The access will remain open to the public although the parking may be limited to the lot on the North side of the railroad tracks during busy times. All users are requested to exercise extreme care when in the area.

The White River Trout Unlimited Chapter #698 will be planting Bonneville trout eggs in the Norfork River at Mill Pond on Saturday June 28. If you are free, volunteer a few hours to help establish a Bonneville cutthroat trout fishery. If you are fishing in this area, please give the volunteers plenty of room to work.

Remember that the White and Norfork Rivers and Dry Run Creek are infected with didymo, an invasive alga. Be sure and thoroughly clean and dry your waders (especially the felt soles on wading boots) before using them in any other water. Many manufacturers are now making rubber soled wading boots that are easier to clean and are not as likely to harbor didymo.

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

FIRST KAYAK TRIP OF THE YEAR BY JOHN BERRY

It has been a busy spring and I have not been able to fish much on my own and I have not been able to kayak any of our streams at all this year. This has been a bit of a disappointment, although it is nice to make a living as a fly fishing guide. I just had to wait for a little down time. It finally came last week when my wife, Lori, and I were able to plan our first trip together. I need to point out that she had been out a few times. We invited our friend Cheryl to join us. She is an avid fly fisher and kayaker. 

We considered all of the alternatives to determine which stream and what section to float. We finally decided to float from a point below Wildcat Shoals (a private access) down to Cotter. It is close to home, holds plenty of trout and contains no tricky water. The generation prediction was for minimum flow which is about 700 cubic feet per second. That is plenty of water to float a kayak and low enough for us to wade several sections of the river. The kayaks gave us access to wadable water that we could not normally reach. 

We took a while to prepare for the trip. Our kayaks were already loaded on our kayak trailer in the garage. We gathered up fishing gear, paddles, pfds (personal flotation devices) and a small cooler with snacks and bottles of water. We dressed for the weather. It was warm with a slight threat of rain and we put on waders to accommodate our wading. 

We drove to the access and loaded our gear into the boats. Lori drove her car and the trailer to the Cotter Ramp so that it would be there when we finished our float. Our neighbor, Schuyler, met her there and drove her back to the access. This was an easy and convenient shuttle. 

We launched our boats and headed downstream with the current. We stopped at the first riffle below Hurst and spread out along the fast run there. As I was wading into position near the top of the run, I saw a sulphur adult. I only saw the single insect and did not see any fish keying in on the top so I opted to fish a nymph. I tied on a beadhead flashback pheasant tail with a ruby midge dropper under a bit of lead and a strike indicator. I immediately caught a nice rainbow on the pheasant tail. I worked my way downstream picking up a few fish in the process. 

We decided to move on downstream to the next riffle. I thought a partridge and orange soft hackle would be more effective in this water and I took a couple of minutes to strip the nymphs, lead and strike indicator off. I then tied on a fresh 5X tippet and a partridge and orange soft hackle. I fished the entire run without a bump. Lori and Cheryl had similar luck so we decided to kayak further downstream. 

I carefully attached my rod and fishing vest to my kayak. I put on my pfd and sat in my boat. I pushed off and began my float. I was broadside in the current and before I could correct my drift I lost my balance and flipped the boat dumping me into some pretty cold water. When you are kayaking, it is not if you will flip your boat but when you will flip it. I was in pretty shallow water and was on my feet quickly. I had my paddle in my hand and took a few steps to catch up with my kayak. I righted it and checked my gear. Everything had been secured to the boat and I lost nothing. I was a little damp and I only took about a cup of water into my waders, because I was wearing a tight wader belt. My vest got soaked and my fly boxes took on a bit of water. Nothing was damaged but my pride. I sat in my kayak and continued downstream. 

The next riffle was much more productive. Lori had some early success with the partridge and orange (an excellent sulphur emerger) and Cheryl and I followed suit. We spent the rest of the afternoon there and caught several trout. We finally decided to float on out and head home. When we arrived there, we put away the kayaks and all our gear. I took a while to empty my fly boxes and spread the flies out on paper towels to dry. 

I finally had a chance to kayak. I had a minor spill but recovered quickly, because I was wearing a pfd and had all of my gear secured to the boat. I look forward to my next float this week. 

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