NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS 2015 BY JOHN BERRY

It is the New Year and time for me to make my New Year’s resolutions. Last year my main resolution was to get into shape. I joined a gym and went on a diet. I lost twenty pounds, gained quite a bit of muscle mass and increased my stamina. This year I want to bump up my fitness program. I would like to lose a little more weight and minimize my body fat. It is important for me to stay in shape. Guiding is an active physical business. I am sixty eight and I am competing with guides half my age.

I want to fish new water. Like everyone else, when I am fishing on my own, I get in a rut and mostly fish the same four or five spots almost every day. I am catching plenty of fish but it is time to get out of my comfort zone. For instance, when I kayak the Norfork River, I launch my boat at the dam and sprint to McClellan’s to fish my favorite spots. In doing so, I pass a lot of really good trout water. I need to slow down and fish my way down stream. I do it when I am guiding from my river boat and I need to do it, when I am kayaking on my own.

On the White, my wife, Lori, and I tend to always fish Round House Shoals, on our days off. It is only four blocks from our house and really easy to access. We still need to venture into other spots. There is a lot of fly fishable water in Cotter and we need to fish it. Lori likes to kayak from the Blue Heron Campground down to Big Spring Park in Cotter with her girlfriends, when I am guiding and she is not. I only floated once last year and really enjoyed the lure of different water.

I will not buy any more fly rods or reels in the coming year. I don’t care what nifty new gear comes out or how good a deal I am offered by a major manufacturer or fishing buddy. I have more gear than I can possibly use in a lifetime. Now I will still buy equipment to loan to clients. This gear gets a lot of abuse and I have to replace stuff from time to time. A fly line will only last this use for about a year and I go through tippet and leaders at an amazing pace. The rods and reels are warranted for life and they are often returned to the manufacturer for repair.

This year I will get an EBay account and sell some of the gear that I have never used. I have a Hardy multiplier fly reel that I bought after attending a Dave Whitlock Bass Fishing Seminar over twenty five years ago and never put on a fly rod. The same goes for the Sage fly rod that I bought at the same time. I also have an Orvis two weight fly rod that has never been fished and a Richardson fly box that I have never taken fishing. It is time to clear out the idle equipment and maybe generate a little cash, so that Lori and I can take a trip to Montana.

It is time to make a few changes. Happy New Year!

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years. John is a partner in Blue Ribbon Guides with his wife, Lori, as well as Dennis Schule.