Yesterday my neighbor, Schuyler Brower, came over and asked if my wife, Lori, would give his granddaughter, Schuyler, a casting lesson to prepare her for her first trip to Dry Run Creek today. Dry Run Creek is the gem of the trout streams in Arkansas and quite possibly the finest trout stream in the United States. It runs along the perimeter of the Norfork National Fish Hatchery and is designated Catch and Release for children under sixteen and the handicapped. This is a small stream in a narrow valley and it is teeming with large trout. Trophy trout are the norm here. This is a great example of what our rivers could be, if we embraced Catch and Release more fully, on our other trout streams.
Lori has extensive experience guiding children on Dry Run Creek and she explained that there is little room to cast on the creek. The most effective technique to fish it is to high stick. This method requires that the angler fish a very short line and flip the fly upstream to allow it to drift drag free downstream. The rod is held high so that only the strike indicator (bobber) is touching the water. When the strike indicator goes down, you quickly lift the rod to set the hook. In lieu of a casting lesson, she took Schuyler down to the trout sanctuary in Cotter’s Big Spring Park and taught her how to high stick. She managed to land three fish in the process and hooked a couple more.
At the end of the lesson, I took a few minutes to give Schuyler a few pointers on how to fish the creek. I have been fishing it since my daughter, Katherine, was eleven. She is now thirty seven with two children of her own (John and Larkin). I still guide there often and worked there as recently as Saturday. My suggestions were:
Use sowbugs, San Juan worms and Y2Ks. The primary food source on the creek is sowbugs and my clients have caught more trout fishing them than any other fly. I frequently see sowbugs on stream. San Juan worms are easy to tie and are effective. They are a big bite that will frequently move big trout. My favorite colors are worm brown, cerise and blood red. Y2Ks are the wild card. They resemble egg patterns but have a bead head that gets them down. I caught the largest trout that my client has ever landed on a Y2K on Dry Run Creek. It was a sixteen pound bruiser caught by a ten year old on his first day of fly fishing. Do not forget to mash down the barbs. It is the law!
Use 4X tippet. This is pretty heavy tippet and is about six and a half pound test. A heavier tippet will help you land some of these heavy trout. They receive a lot of pressure and are not particularly leader shy. If you get a hook-up, you want the best chance to land it. Fluorocarbon tippet is a bit stronger than monofilament and is more abrasion resistant.
Take the biggest net that you can lay your hands on. Make sure that it has a long handle. Most fish are lost at the net. A small net will just make a big fish angry. I use my boat net. When I am guiding two youngsters I carry two nets so that a parent can help me when there are two fish on at the same time.
Take your time, when landing a good fish. Do not try and horse them in. It takes at least a minute per pound of fish. You will have to let a big fish run. Before you begin, set the drag on the reel for 4X tippet. Fight them on the reel. If you are high sticking, there should be no loose line. Do not lock down on the line. Kids generally try to lock down the line to keep the fish from running. Let them go and take your time. This also means not to grip the handle on the reel, to keep it from moving. Only touch the reel when cranking in line. Over time the trout will tire and come in.
Keep constant pressure on the fish. You are using barbless hooks and they will come out if they are not under pressure. If the rod is not bent, there is slack in the line and you can lose the fish.
Don’t get discouraged if you lose one. It is a common occurrence. The idea is to learn from your mistakes. Do not dwell on the negative but give positive feedback on what to do to correct the situation.
Have fun! Celebrate success and take plenty of pictures. Keep the trout in the water until your camera is ready and keep the trout’s time out of the water to a minimum. Carefully revive the trout before releasing it. If the trout has taken the fly too deeply, cut the line rather than trying to remove the fly, to prevent unnecessary damage to the trout.
Keep these few suggestions in mind and have a good time. This is the perfect place to introduce your children and grandchildren to fly fishing.
John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.
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