GOURMET SHORE LUNCH BY JOHN BERRY

I received a call a month or so from Hans, a retired professor who was interested in a guide trip. The first thing that he said was, “I don’t want a Subway sandwich for lunch”. A lot of our local guides get Subway sandwiches for their shore lunches. It is easy and they get a discount. I went on to explain to him that my usual shore lunch consisted of fresh whole wheat bread, deli ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and mayonnaise and that you made your own sandwich. I also take a variety of chips, Pepperidge Farm cookies, fresh fruit, soft drinks and water.

That was not quite what he was looking for. He regularly goes to Patagonia and other exotic locales and was more interested in a gourmet type lunch with a bottle or two of nice wine. I am not a teetotaler but I don’t want my clients to over drink because of liability issues. I figured a couple of glasses of wine with lunch would be okay. We talked at length about what kinds of food he might be interested in.   

I discussed the lunch with several other guides and they said they would avoid it and if necessary they would not book the trip. I decided that I wanted to be the guide that furnished a higher level of service to my clients. In the past, I had furnished Kosher and diabetic meals when needed and it had all worked out just fine. We exchanged emails and several phone calls to determine which items to include and which wine to bring. 

Luckily for me my wife, Lori, is a gourmet cook. She was kind enough to cook one of my favorite side dishes, French potato salad, from a recipe, in Julia Child’s masterpiece cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She spent a significant amount of time gathering all of the items he had requested, delivering it streamside and setting it all up on a picnic table in the shade at Rim Shoals. She went all out and brought a table cloth, some trout plates that she had picked up at a silent auction and some unbreakable wine glasses. She called me on my cell phone, when it was all ready.

We motored over to the ramp and were impressed with what we saw. For our appetizers, there were two cheeses (Brie and Monterey Jack), two types of crackers (Triscuits and Carr’s wheat crackers), salami wrapped around prosciutto, white seedless grapes and a nice Pinot Noire red wine. For lunch, there was the previously mentioned potato salad, fresh vegetables (cherry tomatoes, English cucumber, and hydroponic lettuce) and deviled eggs. There was fresh whole wheat bread; Boars Head roast beef, Imported Swiss cheese, three types of mustard and mayonnaise, for sandwiches, and a nice bottle, of merlot wine. Desert was yogurt, strawberries and fresh sliced apples. 

Hans and his fishing buddy, Jim stopped and took photos of the spread, while I poured them a glass of wine. They sat and tried everything. They enjoyed the meal and it made their day something special. Fortunately there were leftovers. I am nibbling on some Brie and grapes as I write this. Life is good!

For me, it was a pleasant change of pace. It made me think about the next time Lori and I go fishing on our own. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, give it a try.

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 04/22/2016

During the past week, we have had several minor rain events (for a combined total of a quarter of an inch here in Cotter), cool temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories).The lake level at Bull Shoals fell three tenths of an foot to rest at eight tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty six and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose two tenths of a foot to rest at two tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell one tenth of a foot to rest at four tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool and nine and ten feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had moderate generation this week with some wadable water. Norfork Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty seven and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had some wadable water.

The water level for the top of power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. All of the lakes on this system are currently at or below seasonable power pool and we should encounter lower levels of generation, on our tailwaters, with limited wadable water.

On the White, the bite has been a bit slow. During higher levels of generation the river is “dirty” with large amounts of aquatic vegetation suspended in it. 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 a hare and copper suspended below it).

It is time for our big caddis hatch which usually provides our best dry fly fishing of the year. I have observed a few caddis on the White and have had a report of a decent hatch at Rim Shoals. This is a big insect, about a fourteen. Before the hatch I fish prince nymphs. When I see top water activity but no insects, I fish with my green butt or a partridge and orange. When I see trout taking adults from the top, I switch over to an elk hair caddis.

The best bet for large trout has been to bang the bank with large articulated streamers delivered with heavy twenty four to thirty foot sink tips (350 grains or heavier). You will need an eight or nine weight rod. This is heavy work but the rewards can be great.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are more 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 is stained and has fished poorly due to daphnia. 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 cerise worm with a Sunday special dropper.

Dry Run Creek has seen less pressure with spring break over but was quite busy this past week during Sowbug. It is still a bit off color yet still fished well. There is another phase of the project to repair the Norfork National Fish Hatchery now going on. Access to the creek is not impaired. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). While you are at the creek you should 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 Spring River is fishing well. 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.

WHAT SOWBUG BY JOHN BERRY

I know that it seems like every column that I write the week after the Sowbug Roundup is about how this Sowbug is the best ever. The fact is that it just keeps on getting better and better. This year’s was no different. I really enjoyed this one. For me, one thing that made this one special was that my sister, Ernestine, was able to visit. She came from Memphis (a long drive even if you are in a Mercedes). This year I had two booths. One was for my guide business, Berry Brothers Guide Service, and another for Blue Ribbon Fly Shop, the fly shop that I manage. To make it work, I got them side by side. Ernestine was in the Blue Ribbon booth. We were able to interact with attendees and chat a bit.

I was chairman of the fly tying contest and this year we had more new tyers and more flies submitted than we have ever had before. The break out fly tyer was a twelve year old from Greeneville, South Carolina, Tradd Little. He has been a fly tyer at Sowbug since 2014 and has garnered quite a bit of attention as an accomplished tyer.

This year he entered the fly tying contest for the first time. He submitted flies in all ten categories and won in five that is half. This is an unprecedented achievement. We have had tyers win in two categories but never in five categories and at such a young age. If that were not enough, he also won the blindfolded woolly bugger fly tying contest. Then Wapsi (a local company that is the largest distributer of fly tying materials in the world) gave all of the tyers a new product and asked them to tie a fly and submit it for judging. He won that. What a fly tyer.

He is not just a fly tyer. I observed him fishing last fall, when I was guiding a mobility impaired adult client on Dry Run Creek. Tradd was systematically moving up the stream sight casting at big browns and catching an incredible number of fish. He was netting his own trout and having a huge time. His dad was on the bank watching him and beaming in admiration. My only fear was that he would catch all of the trout in the stream.

The food, like last year, was excellent. This was done by a non-profit group from the local Methodist Church that funds a back pack program to feed local children. They are basically a group of church ladies (although a few guys were involved). Breakfast featured home baked muffins, biscuits with sausage gravy and other fine baked goods. Lunch included burgers, barbeque, Frito pie (a personal favorite), salads and daily specials. It was all great.

The special touch, other than everything being homemade and delicious, was that they would go around the building and take lunch orders. If you were too busy to leave your vise they would bring lunch to you. What a great deal. At the end of the day they would reduce the price of what was left to make room for fresh goodies the next day. I must say that I took a few muffins home.

We definitely had it going on this year and I look forward to next year’s Sowbug Roundup!

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

JOHN BERRY FLY FISHING REPORT FOR 04/15/2016

During the past week, we have had several minor rain events (for a combined total of a quarter of an inch here in Cotter), cool temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories).The lake level at Bull Shoals fell four tenths of an foot to rest at four tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty six and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock remained steady at seasonal power pool and sixteen feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell three tenth of a foot to rest at three tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool and nine and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had moderate generation this week with some wadable water. Norfork Lake fell eight tenths of a foot to rest at seven tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty six and nine 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. All of the lakes on this system are currently below seasonable power pool and we should encounter lower levels of generation, on our tailwaters, with limited wadable water.

On the White, the bite has been a bit slow. During higher levels of generation the river is “dirty” with large amounts of aquatic vegetation suspended in it. 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 a hare and copper suspended below it).

It is time for our big caddis hatch which usually provides our best dry fly fishing of the year. I have observed a few caddis on the White and have had a report of a decent hatch at Rim Shoals. This is a big insect, about a fourteen. Before the hatch I fish prince nymphs. When I see top water activity but no insects, I fish with my green butt or a partridge and orange. When I see trout taking adults from the top, I switch over to an elk hair caddis.

The best bet for large trout has been to bang the bank with large articulated streamers delivered with heavy twenty four to thirty foot sink tips (350 grains or heavier). You will need an eight or nine weight rod. This is heavy work but the rewards can be great.

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are navigable. With the warm weather, the smallmouths are becoming more 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 is stained and has fished poorly due to daphnia. 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 cerise worm with a Sunday special dropper.

Dry Run Creek has seen less pressure with spring break over but should get a lot of traffic during the Sowbug Roundup. It is still a bit off color yet still fished well. There is another phase of the project to repair the Norfork National Fish Hatchery now going on. Access to the creek is not impaired. The hot flies have been sowbugs (#14), Y2Ks (#12) and various colored San Juan worms (worm brown, red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise #10). While you are at the creek you should 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 Spring River is fishing well. 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.

Don’t forget that the Sowbug Roundup is this week, April 14, 15 and 16.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide with Blue Ribbon Guides in Arkansas.

DAPHNIA BY JOHN BERRY

The Norfork tailwater has been fishing poorly lately. When I check with other guides and anglers, I have been getting the same story. They see plenty of fish but the bite is slow, very slow. One of the bait guides that I talked to said that, when he cleaned the few trout that his clients had caught, they were full of tiny (the size of a pin head) translucent organisms that looked like insect eggs to him. I checked with everybody I could find on stream and several had made the same observation. We all agreed that it was Daphnia.

I had run into this situation a few years ago, when I was guiding a corporate group for River Ridge Inn on the Norfork River. None of the guides were catching many fish. When one of the guides pumped their trout’s stomach, he found they were all gorged on the tiny translucent organism that another guide (biology major) identified as Daphnia. They are commonly referred to as water fleas.

What is Daphnia? I was an accounting major, so I didn’t have a clue. Luckily for me I live next door to Dr. Eddy Dry an entomologist and a biology professor at Arkansas State University Mountain Home. I was out cutting my grass the other day and saw him outside mulching his garden. I stopped for a break and went over to see what he knew about Daphnia.

It turned out that he knew quite a lot. He began by telling me that he was no expert on the subject. He went on to say that Daphnia was a micro crustacean like scuds although much smaller. They are classified as zooplankton, which are small aquatic animals that are at the mercy of the currents. As a result, they can be washed through the generators from the lake into the river.

Though at the mercy of currents, they can migrate vertically (up and down) for food, sunlight or to escape predators (they are pretty near the bottom of the food chain). They are frequently used as fish food in aquariums. Eddy was not sure what had caused the bloom or increase in the Daphnia but assumed it was due to the high lake levels and mild winter that we had. This is a natural phenomenon.

We don’t know how long it will last and we definitely don’t know how to control it. We do know that trout on the Norfork tailwater are keying in on it and gorging on it. The best bet is to employ a strategy of tempting the trout with larger bites that are easily seen. Several guides on the river are using brightly colored San Juan worm and egg combinations with limited success. You could also try streamers like woolly buggers and marabou jigs.

This won’t go on forever. Until then try something bigger and brighter to bring them in.

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

HENRY'S WALKING AND WADING REPORT BY HENRY SEAY

 Probably everyone who fishes has run into the situation that allows one angler to land a trout after another angler gave up and left in frustration.  The fish could be called a hard to catch fish.

By hard to catch I mean one that has been often fished over and probably caught many times especially if you fish in a catch and release section of a stream.  Such trout can drive you mad.

Hopefully some of the following suggestions can be of help.

Use smaller flies.  Yes, there can be a lot of exceptions to this rule-of-thumb, but hard to catch trout are more readily caught on smaller flies.  Often times on our Ozark streams we run into situations where a #16 & 18 were too large.  However, when trout are sipping they will take a #26, 24, 22 or a #20 while turning their nose up at an #18.  Likewise, 8X and 7X tippet take many more trout than 6X or 5X especially in clear water.

If your # 18 fly or smaller is tied on a hook that is not offset, you should widen the gap and offset your hook, by using a small needle nose pliers to slightly bend the hook.  This will give you a greater hooking ability with small flies.

On our Ozark Tailwaters only a few type of flies are necessary --midges, sowbugs/scuds, soft hackle, woolly buggers, eggs and worms.  Certainly many other flies will work but you can pretty much rely on these year around.

I carry a fairly big assortment of midges because they catch so many trout.  I have also used them in the lakes to catch sunfish, bass and crappie.  Wading up and down the banks of lake Norfork and Bull Shoals using a Zebra midge has kept me busy with bream and small bass when nothing else seemed to work.

When fishing the tailwaters don't just carry a few zebra midges, carry a fly box filled with midge larva (red and brown work well), midge pupa, I like zebra, pt (pheasant tail) midge, rainbow warrior, ruby as well as Andy Kims Yong special in #20 and 22.  As a matter of fact the Yong special, pt midge and red midge larva have become my go to flies on Ozark tailwaters and also work on our freestone rivers.  

I currently have a new midge that is undergoing testing and tweaking right now and all the material is coming out of the Ozarks.  It is looking very good.

When fishing for hard to catch trout, the basics become more important than ever.  Drag free drifts, correct size tippet and leader and length, making a good presentation and keeping a low profile are all part of the game plan. 

By all means try to keep your flies simple.  I believe trout have tiny brains, so don't get too complicated with your fly selections.

LIFE IS GOOD IN THE OZARKS                                 

TAKE A CHILD FISHING...YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!

Henry is a guest writer for Blue Ribbon Guides serving the White, and Norfork Rivers in Arkansas as well as Dry Run Creek, and many other nearby rivers and streams.