JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/2/2015

During the past week, we have had no rain, warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell three and four tenths feet to rest at twelve and three tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is twenty one and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell seven tenths of a foot to rest at one and five tenths feet below seasonal power pool and fifteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell six tenths of a foot to rest at three and seven tenths feet above seasonal power pool and four and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had high levels of generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell two and six tenths of a foot to rest at six and seven tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and seventeen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had no wadable water.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. The lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and are slowly falling. We can expect high levels of generation for the next month.

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 Wildcat 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 (my current favorite is a hot fluorescent pink or cerise San Juan worm with an orange egg 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 4X) 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).

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are active. 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 has fished better of late now that the lake level has dropped enough to prevent the leakage around the flood gate that was being repaired. It has had no wadable water. 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. My favorite combination has been a grass hopper with a root beer or ruby midge dropper.

There is a major construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. You can still access Dry Run Creek. It has seen more pressure with school out. It still fished well. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). Despite the construction you can still visit the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.

The water on the Spring River is navigable. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and fishing is better. 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 for Blue Ribbon Guides in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.

BUSY FALL BY JOHN BERRY

I am normally a pretty busy guy. I am a full time fly fishing guide, I teach fly fishing at Arkansas State University Mountain Home and I write a weekly newspaper column and a fishing report. If that were not enough, I recently took a job as the manager of Blue Ribbon Fly Shop here in Mountain Home. I must say that it has been a struggle for me to keep everything going.

It is my first foray into retail and I have a lot to learn. It has given me a new level of respect for everyone involved in the retail trade. I accepted the job on a temporary basis, while they find someone to take over the fly shop. I am still maintaining my guide schedule. Luckily I have Henry Seay to help me in the shop. He covers for me when I am on the river. He is very knowledgeable about fly fishing locally and provides great advice on where to fish and what to use. He is a definite asset to the shop.

The next thing that I have going is the fly fishing class that my wife, Lori, and I teach at ASU. This fall the class is scheduled for Thursday October 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 6:00 PM on the ASU Mountain Home Campus. Luckily for me this is taught at night after the shop is closed and my guide trips are over. To register for the class you should contact Sarah Sykes at ASU(870) 508- 6105. It will follow the same format as in previous years. The emphasis as always will be on teaching you how to cast. At the same time, we will cover in detail equipment, knots, water safety, rigging, entomology, fly selection and reading water. We will show you four basic techniques to catch fish with a fly rod. When you finish this class, you will be ready to hit the water.

While I really love to teach, I find that my favorite spot to be is on the river. October is generally my busiest month and this year is no exception. I have several guide trips scheduled and I look forward to each of them. I generally don’t allow high water to keep me from catching trout. I do admit that I prefer wading. With the high lake levels that we have now, I expect to be in the boat through the end of October.

In the midst of all of this, is the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council Fly Fishing Fair. Earlier in the year I committed to be a vendor with a booth at the fair. Now I find that as the manager at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop I have another booth. I am responsible for two booths. I am also slated to make a presentation on Friday on a Simple Approach to Rigging and I am slated to be a fly tyer. Stop by and say hi! I will tie you a fly.

All of this sounds like a lot but I say that, if you love what you are doing, it is not work!

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/25/2015

During the past week, we have had no rain event, warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell two and nine tenths feet to rest at fifteen and seven tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is eighteen and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell seven tenths of a foot to rest at eight tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool and fourteen and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell five tenths of a foot to rest at four and three tenths feet above seasonal power pool and four and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had high levels of generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell one and four tenths of a foot to rest at nine and three tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and fourteen and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had no wadable.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. The lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and are slowly falling. We can expect high levels of generation for the next month.

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 Wildcat 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 (my current favorite is a hot fluorescent pink or cerise San Juan worm with an orange egg 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 4X) 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).

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are active. 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 has fished better of late now that the lake level has dropped enough to prevent the leakage around the flood gate that was being repaired. It has had no wadable water. 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. My favorite combination has been a grass hopper with a root beer or ruby midge dropper.

There is a major construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. You can still access Dry Run Creek. It has seen more pressure with school out. It still fished well. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). Despite the construction you can still visit the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.

The water on the Spring River is navigable. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and fishing is better. 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 for Blue Ribbon Guides in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.

I FISH THE LITTLE RED BY JOHN BERRY

Here, of late, the Corps of Engineers has been running a lot of water, on the White River, around the clock. On the Norfork, they have been running high water most, of the day, with a brief window, of low water, in the morning. That brief window keeps getting smaller. The other day I got a call from Ron, an old client of mine. He wanted me to teach his lady friend, Patricia, how to fly fish, on the Little Red River. I have not fished the Little Red in a while and had not kept up with water conditions so I checked out the water levels, on my computer, as I talked to him.

The first thing I noticed was that the lake level was well below the top of power pool and there was wadable water available most of the day every day. This sounded like something that would be a nice change of pace, from the fishing conditions that we have here. I agreed to meet him and teach Patricia how to fly fish and at the same time put him on some trout.

The Little Red is the closest trout stream to Memphis and Little Rock. This is a double edged sword. While it is convenient to both cities, it gets a lot of pressure and there has been a lot of development on and near the river. At some places on the river, I almost feel like I am fishing in someone’s back yard. That is the down side. On the up side there is no minimum flow and the wading is pretty easy.

I met up with Ron and Patricia around 8:00 AM at Swinging Bridge, a public access on the Little Red, on a Thursday morning. There was no one else there. We had it all to ourselves. The temperature was in the sixties with a predicted high of seventy two degrees. We started with a casting class for Patricia and then walked down to the river and began wading downstream. I started by fishing soft hackles but had no takers. I then moved downstream a bit further to a nice deep run and began fishing pink San Juan worms. It had rained the day before and the river was lightly stained. I always try San Juan worms after a rain and this time it paid off.

After a few casts, Patricia hooked and landed a nice brown trout, her first trout ever. She was off to the races. She landed three before Ron landed one. After the worm quit producing, we switched over to peach eggs. That worked like a charm and we did well. We ended the morning with around a dozen trout.

At noon, we waded back to the access and drove over to Cow Shoals, another access. It had picnic tables, in the shade, porta-potties and some good looking water that we hadn’t fished. We ate our lunch and returned to the water. This water was upstream of swinging bridge and was gin clear.  I switched them over to a sow bug and went looking for a spot to fish. I noticed some nice holes in the mostly weed covered bottom and had them fish those. The results were immediate. We walked about looking for those holes in the weed and found that most had one or more good fish in them. We spent the afternoon fishing them and did quite well. Patricia thoroughly enjoyed herself and figured that this sport was for her. Ron was ecstatic with the outcome.

About 3:45 PM, the water came up. By then, they were about worn out and had caught enough trout. We walked out, stored our gear and headed back home. It had been a great day for me and was a pleasant change of pace, with low water, easy wading and plenty of time on stream. We all look forward to our next trip there.

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 09/18/2015

During the past week, we have had a rain event (a quarter of an inch here in Cotter), cooler temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell two and five tenths feet to rest at eighteen and six tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is fifteen and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell four tenths of a foot to rest at one tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool and fourteen and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at four and eight tenths feet above seasonal power pool and three and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had high levels of generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell one and two tenths of a foot to rest at ten and seven tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and thirteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had limited wadable water every day.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. The lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and are slowly falling. We can expect high levels of generation in the coming months.

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 Wildcat 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 (my current favorite is a hot fluorescent pink or cerise San Juan worm with an orange egg 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 4X) 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).

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are active. 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 has fished better of late now that the lake level has dropped enough to prevent the leakage around the flood gate that was being repaired. It has had the only wadable water and has been crowded at times. 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. My favorite combination has been a grass hopper with a root beer or ruby midge dropper.

There is a major construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. You can still access Dry Run Creek. It has seen more pressure with school out. It still fished well. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). Despite the construction you can still visit the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.

The water on the Spring River is navigable. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is over and fishing is better. 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 for Blue Ribbon Guides in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.

GREAT TRIP WITH JOHN AND DON WITH BLUE RIBBON GUIDE DENNIS SCHULE

Here are a few photos of some some nice rainbow trout and brown trout from a recent White River guide trip with clients John and Don from Pennsylvania.  Great job guys!

FISHING HIGH WATER BY JOHN BERRY

If you have been out on the river lately, you have probably noticed that they are running a lot of water. The good news is that by running a lot of water they will eventually lower the lakes and create the possibility of wadable water. The bad news is that fishing water this high is challenging. Now there is a nice option, we do have some productive low water conditions every morning on the Norfork but they are very short periods and it can get a bit crowded at times. I have mostly been fishing the White lately and have learned to embrace high water conditions. The fish are still there and they are still feeding on a regular basis.

        The first thing that concerns most anglers is the sheer volume of water. They believe that high water is inherently more dangerous than shallower water.  I actually believe that the shallow water is more dangerous. In shallow water there are more rocks and other obstacles than are around in high water. In high water, you are generally safely above those obstacles. When running my boat in shallow water, I tend to hit more rocks and ding up my propeller and lower unit. During the last three years we have had low water and a lot of the guides switched over to jet drive motors which can function in much lower water. Now that we are in a high water the advantage of a jet is gone.

If you are on the river on heavy water, you won’t be able to fish and run the boat. Things are moving quickly and it is a bit harder to maintain a straight drift. I do not recommend the use of a drag chain on heavy water as it could hang up and sink the boat. Take someone with you and take turns fishing and running the boat or better yet hire a guide.

       The next thing of concern is how to get your fly down to the fish. Water this deep will require longer leaders and a lot more lead than low water.  I am currently using a leader/tippet combination that is about eleven feet long and Ihave the strike indicator (a ¾ inch Thingamabobber) set all the way up to the top of the leader.  I am currently using a double fly rig with a pink San Juan worm on the top and an egg dropper. I have talked to a lot of my fellow guides and they are all pretty much doing the same except they may be using a different dropper (some use prince nymphs, some use pheasant tails and some use midges). To get the rig down I pinch an AAA split shot about eighteen inches above the San Juan worm.

        Casting this heavy rig properly is the key to avoid being tangled. Forget the tight loop. Cast with a large open loop. With these heavy flies, split shot and strike indicator, the tendency is for the loop to crash. A big open loop helps avoid this. Whatever you do don’t rush the back cast. This will tangle your line immediately. Double fly rigs tangle easily and are difficult to untangle. Do not false cast. This is an invitation to tangle. Remember, if you are tangled, you are not fishing.

If fishing under an indicator is not your cup of tea, try fishing a grasshopper. Banging the bank with hoppers is a great way to spend an afternoon. The take of a large brown trout can be explosive. I like to tie the hopper to the end of a seven and one half foot 4X leader.  I generally add a small nymph as a dropper to increase the takes. My current favorite pattern is a western pink lady. My favorite dropper is a ruby midge. Most strikes occur as soon as the fly hits the water.

If you strictly want to target larger trout, then you should be fishing streamers. Big streamers on heavy sink tip lines are the best way to target the big ones. The problem is that this is a lot of work. Swinging an eight or nine weight with a heavy fly line and a big wind resistant streamer all day is heavy work. You don’t get a lot of takes but when you do, it can be the fish of a life time.

Don’t let the high water intimidate you. Get out there and catch some trout.

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/11/15

During the past week, we have had a rain event (an inch and a quarter here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell two and six tenths feet to rest at twenty one and one tenth feet above seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is twelve and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell nine tenths of a foot to rest at three tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and thirteen and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell five tenths of a foot to rest at five and two tenths feet above seasonal power pool and three and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had high levels of generation with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell nine tenths of a foot to rest at eleven and nine tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and twelve and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had limited wadable water every day.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. Due to recent rains, the lakes on this system are well above seasonal power pool and are nearing the top of flood pool. We can expect high levels of generation in the coming months.

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 (my current favorite is a hot fluorescent pink or cerise San Juan worm with an orange egg 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 4X) 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).

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are active. 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 has fished better of late now that the lake level has dropped enough to prevent the leakage around the flood gate that was being repaired. It has had the only wadable water and has been crowded at times. 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. My favorite combination has been a grass hopper with a root beer or ruby midge dropper.

There is a major construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. You can still access Dry Run Creek. It has seen more pressure with school out. It still fished well. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). Despite the construction you can still visit the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. It is fascinating. Be sure and remove your waders before entering to prevent the spread of aquatic diseases.

The water on the Spring River is navigable. This is a great place to wade fish, when they are running water on the White and Norfork Rivers. Canoe season is in full swing and can be a nuisance to 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 for Blue Ribbon Guides in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.