JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 5/01/2015

During the past week, we have had a rain event, (less than an inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose four tenths of a foot to rest at eight and seven tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is twenty seven and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose five tenths of a foot to rest at five tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose three tenths of a foot to rest at seven tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool or eight and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation with very limited wadable water. Norfork Lake rose one foot to rest at five and one tenth feet above seasonal power pool of 553.7 feet and twenty one and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had heavy generation with little wadable water

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. Due to recent rains, all of the lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and the Corps of Engineers is aggressively releasing water to draw the lake levels down to power pool. I do not foresee reliable wadable water in the near future.

On heavy generation, the best way to catch fish is to switch to longer leaders and heavier weight. On the White, the hot spot was the Catch and Release section at Rim Shoals. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers (#8, #10), Y2Ks (#14, #12), prince nymphs (#14), zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead #16, #18), pheasant tails (#14), ruby midges (#18), root beer midges (#18), pink and cerise San Juan worms (#10), and sowbugs (#16). Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (try a prince nymph with a ruby midge or root beer midge suspended below it).

Conventional wisdom states that hopper fishing begins in late summer. I reject this idea and fish them all year. I favor shorter leaders (seven and a half foot 3X) and a stiff six weight rod to proper deliver these weighty flies. My favorite flies are Dave’s hoppers (#10) and the western pink lady (#8). To increase hook ups I always use a dropper. I am currently using a ruby or root beer midge in size eighteen on a three foot or longer tippet (depending on the depth of the water I am fishing).

There have been several reliable sightings of caddis hatching. This is our major hatch of the year. They are size fourteen and easy to see. Before the hatch, you should concentrate on fishing prince nymphs. When the trout key on the top but no insects are present, switch over to my green butt. When you observe trout taking adult insects from the top of the water column, you should switch over to elk hair caddis dry flies.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are stained and high. With the weather warming, the smallmouths should be active soon. 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 better recently. The most productive flies have been small midge patterns (#18, #20, #22)  like ruby midges, root beer midges, zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead) and soft hackles (#14, #16) like the green butt. Egg patterns have also been productive. 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 #10). 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.

There is a major construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery and the walkway between the two sets of stairs to the creek is closed. You can still access the creek by walking the trail beside it. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10).  

The water on the Spring River is stained and high. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and there are fewer boats on the river to interfere with your fishing. 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 (#10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (#10) and Y2Ks (#10).

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.

GET YOUR FLY DOWN BY JOHN BERRY

The key to fishing high water is to get your fly down. Trout normally feed on the bottom two inches of the water column about ninety percent of the time. During the high water conditions that we are now experiencing, that percentage is probably even greater. It is a long way to the top to tempt them with dry flies. 

The most productive way to fish the bottom is with nymph techniques. The trick is to get your fly down to the bottom two inches. This is easier said than done when the water flows are as deep as we now have. You will have to begin with a longer leader. Your leader tippet combination must be long enough to allow your fly to sink to the bottom. 

You will also have to add weight to the leader. This is most easily done by adding a split shot or more to the leader. I always place my split shot just above the knot where I attach the tippet to the leader. This trick will keep the split shot from slipping down. There is always the problem with your tendency to cast them off. I also have found that Dinsmore’s egg shaped split shot hang on to the leader better than other brands (I get them at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop). 

 To make sure that I always have a split shot on, I carefully watch the cast when the leader hits the water. There should be a splash where the split shot hits the surface. There should also be a similar splash when the fly or flies hit the water. By watching the cast I can easily tell when my client has lost a split shot or fly. They are always amazed that I know when this has occurred. I also ask them to check their rig whenever we are moving to a new location. 

Another way to easily add weight to the leader is to use heavily weighted flies. While you can always add a few wraps of lead when you are tying your flies, it is usually easier and more effective to add a brass bead to your flies. Tungsten beads are heavier and even better for heavy water conditions. 

Tippet selection can also assist in getting your fly down. Fluorocarbon leaders and tippets have a higher specific gravity than monofilament and therefore sink. While this is a disadvantage when fishing dry flies. It does help when fishing nymphs. Tippet size is also important. Tippets with a smaller diameter sink faster than a large one. This means that 5X tippet will sink faster than 4X. 

All of this stuff is hard to fish under a small strike indicator. I use Thingamabobbers (the half inch size). They float high, are easily adjusted and can be added after you tie on your fly. Buy them in bright colors, so that they are easily seen. 

If you are fishing streamers you will need to use a sink tip line. A sink tip fly line has a forward sinking section with a floating back section. For streamers, you need a twenty four to thirty foot sinking section. You will need a few lines with different weights (they vary from 150 to 400 grains). You then match the sink tip to the water flows. When attaching the fly to the fly line use a three foot heavy tippet to keep the fly down. If you used a long leader, the fly would tend to ride up. 

To catch trout in heavy water, you have to get the fly down. 

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 4/17/2015

During the past week, we have had several rain events, (an inch and a quarter here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose three tenths of a foot to rest at eight and three tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is twenty seven and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell eight tenths of a foot to rest seasonal power pool and sixteen tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell one tenth of a foot to rest at four tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool or nine and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell one and one tenth feet to rest at four and one tenth feet above seasonal power pool of 553.7 feet and twenty two and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had heavy generation with no wadable water.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. Due to recent rains, all of the lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and the Corps of Engineers is aggressively releasing water to draw the lake levels down to power pool. I do not foresee wadable water in the near future.

On the Norfork, one of the generators is down for routine maintenance. In an effort to draw the lake down the Corps of Engineers is releasing additional water through the flood gates. The total release is approximately 6,000 cubic feet per second which is near maximum release through the generators.

On heavy generation, the best way to catch fish is to switch to longer leaders and heavier weight. On the White, the hot spot was the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers (#8, #10), Y2Ks (#14, #12), prince nymphs (#14), zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead #16, #18), pheasant tails (#14), ruby midges (#18), root beer midges (#18), pink and cerise San Juan worms (#10), and sowbugs (#16). Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (try a prince nymph with a ruby midge or root beer midge suspended below it).

Conventional wisdom states that hopper fishing begins in late summer. I reject this idea and fish them all year. I favor shorter leaders (seven and a half foot 3X) and a stiff six weight rod to proper deliver these weighty flies. My favorite flies are Dave’s hoppers (#10) and the western pink lady (#8). To increase hook ups I always use a dropper. I am currently using a ruby or root beer midge in size eighteen on a three foot or longer tippet (depending on the depth of the water I am fishing).

There have been several reliable sightings of caddis hatching. This is our major hatch of the year. They are size fourteen and easy to see. Before the hatch, you should concentrate on fishing prince nymphs. When the trout key on the top but no insects are present, switch over to my green butt. When you observe trout taking adult insects from the top of the water column, you should switch over to elk hair caddis dry flies.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are stained and high. With the weather warming, the smallmouths should be active soon. 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. The most productive flies have been small midge patterns (#18, #20, #22)  like ruby midges, root beer midges, zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead) and soft hackles (#14, #16) like the green butt. Egg patterns have also been productive. 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 #10). 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.

There was more fishing pressure on Dry Run Creek due to spring break. It has been a great time to fish there. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10).  

The water on the Spring River is stained and high. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and there are fewer boats on the river to interfere with your fishing. 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 (#10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (#10) and Y2Ks (#10).

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.

GUIDE DENNIS TYING THE 'GOOBER MIDGE'

https://youtu.be/4qsKI3I8gmY

HIGH WATER RETURNS BY JOHN BERRY

If you have looked out the window very much in the last few weeks, you will have noticed that we have received quite a bit of rain. All of this rain has caused a significant rise in the water levels at Bull Shoals and Norfork Lakes. In fact, all of the lakes in the White River System are now over power pool and are currently in flood pool. As a result, the United States Army Corps of Engineers is running significant amounts of water through the dams, in order to bring the lake levels down to power pool. This is done to prevent flooding.

When I checked this morning, they were running about 12,000 cubic feet per second (the rough equivalent of four full generators) at Bull Shoals, with a prediction of more to come. At Norfork, they were running 3,000 cubic feet per second from its one operating generator. To make up for the lost flow from its other generator, which is down for maintenance, they are running another 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the flood gates. The total is 6,000 cfs or the rough equivalent of two full generators, which is the maximum flow from Norfork.

Needless to say, all of this water will affect fishing. Wading is virtually out of the question. There may be a spot or two, where you can hug the bank and catch a fish or two, but the results will be marginal at best. To effectively fish under these conditions, you will need to be in a boat. I know that there are a lot of anglers out there that do not want to hear this, but this is reality. To make matters worse, I expect these conditions to continue in the near future.

Therefore we need to think about how to fish from a boat and what to use. When they are generating a lot of water the fish are generally pushed toward the bank. At low water we generally fish the main channel but in high water we generally fish the banks. 

The most productive method will be to fish nymphs under an indicator. With deeper water, you will need longer leaders and more lead. Make sure that you are ticking the bottom with your files. The traditional high water rig is spaghetti and meatballs, that is an egg pattern (peach or orange) suspended below a San Juan worm (I like hot fluorescent pink, cerise and red). Other nymphs like prince nymphs, ruby midges, root beer midges and caddis larva will also be effective. Cast out about twenty feet from the boat and have your indicator drift, with the current. Mend your line as necessary, to achieve a perfect drag free drift. Set the hook quickly, whenever you detect a take.

Another effective method is to bang the bank with a grass hopper. I like a shorter heavier leader, in order to turn over these larger flies. I add a small nymph dropper on an eighteen inch tippet in order to increase the hook ups with this rig. Cast as close to the bank as possible and retrieve with some erratic strips. You will get more hits on the dropper.

If you want to target bigger fish, then you will need to fish large streamers. This does not produce large numbers of fish but it does target larger trout. You rig large streamers on short heavy leaders on sink tip lines. Here again you bang the bank and strip the line in. Vary the strip until you figure out the retrieve they want. This is best done with heavier rods (eight weight or better) and is heavy work. It is not for the novice caster.

We are going to have some big water for a while. Don’t let it keep you away. Get out there and catch some trout. They are still there.

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 4/10/2015

During the past week, we have had a several rain events, (a bit over an inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals rose four and seven tenths feet to rest at eight feet above seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is twenty eight feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose seven tenths of a foot to rest at eight tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose one tenth of a foot to rest at five tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool or nine and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose one and one tenth feet to rest at five and two tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 553.7 feet and twenty one feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had heavy generation with no wadable water

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. Due to recent rains, all of the lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and the Corps of Engineers is aggressively releasing water to draw the lake levels down to power pool. I do not foresee wadable water in the near future.

On the Norfork, one of the generators is down for routine maintenance. In an effort to draw the lake down the Corps of Engineers is releasing additional water through the flood gates. The total release is approximately 6,000 cubic feet per second which is near maximum release through the generators.

On heavy generation, the best way to catch fish is to switch to longer leaders and heavier weight. On the White, the hot spot was the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers (#8, #10), Y2Ks (#14, #12), prince nymphs (#14), zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead #16, #18), pheasant tails (#14), ruby midges (#18), root beer midges (#18), pink and cerise San Juan worms (#10), and sowbugs (#16). Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (try a prince nymph with a ruby midge or root beer midge suspended below it).

Conventional wisdom states that hopper fishing begins in late summer. I reject this idea and fish them all year. I favor shorter leaders (seven and a half foot 3X) and a stiff six weight rod to proper deliver these weighty flies. My favorite flies are Dave’s hoppers (#10) and the western pink lady (#8). To increase hook ups I always use a dropper. I am currently using a ruby or root beer midge in size eighteen on a three foot or longer tippet (depending on the depth of the water I am fishing).

There have been several reliable sightings of caddis hatching. This is our major hatch of the year. They are size fourteen and easy to see. Before the hatch, you should concentrate on fishing prince nymphs. When the trout key on the top but no insects are present, switch over to my green butt. When you observe trout taking adult insects from the top of the water column, you should switch over to elk hair caddis dry flies.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are stained and high. With the weather warming, the smallmouths should be active soon. 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. The most productive flies have been small midge patterns (#18, #20, #22)  like ruby midges, root beer midges, zebra midges (black or red with silver wire and silver bead) and soft hackles (#14, #16) like the green butt. Egg patterns have also been productive. 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 #10). 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.

There was more fishing pressure on Dry Run Creek due to spring break. It has been a great time to fish there. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10).  

The water on the Spring River is stained and high. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and there are fewer boats on the river to interfere with your fishing. 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 (#10), cerise and hot pink San Juan worms (#10) and Y2Ks (#10).

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.