HENRY'S WALKING AND WADING REPORT

The best advice I have ever received regarding fishing was 11 years ago.  I had just moved to Mountain Home and my first stop was Blue Ribbon Fly Shop owned and operated by Dale Fulton.  Like a lot of new arrivals, I asked the question “Where is the best place to fly fish for trout this time of year and what flies would you recommend?”

His answer was a masterpiece of wisdom and one I will never forget.  Dale said "Part of the fun of fishing is finding the fish, wouldn't you agree?”   Then he went back to reading his paper or whatever he was doing when I interrupted.

To begin my education on a low water day I stepped into the White River at Rim Shoals at Jenkins Creek and walked and waded the length of the catch and release area, about 1 & 1/2 miles.  At the end of my journey I knew or thought I knew every hole, log, boulder, beaver dam, root rot, blow down and undercut bank that held fish in that section.  Thanks Dale.

I allowed my education to continue to places with names like Bruce Creek, Three Chutes, Narrows, Wildcat and I'm still learning new places especially with minimum flow having changed so many of my favorites so that now I have new favorite places.  Some are better -- maybe and maybe not. 

My learning has taken me from the dam at Norfork to Highway 5, the North Fork of the White in Missouri and I'm having more fun meeting new folks and catching more fish and making memories in some of the most lovely places you can only imagine. 

So, if you ever ask anyone “Where do you recommend I fish?” and they say “Part of the fun of fly fishing is finding the fish.  Wouldn't you agree?” remember to say “You’re right and thanks for reminding me”.

All these many months of high water has created a lot of moss if you haven't noticed.  A lot of wading anglers have fled the scene rather than take the time to figure out how to fish moss beds.  Let me tell you a one lb. trout on your line with 5 lbs. of moss can be pretty exciting.  Throw in a strong current and you have a fight on your hand.

If none of this sounds like your cup of tea, may I suggest you hire a guide even if for only a 1/2 day.  Make sure your guide knows you want to wade.  We have several guides here who enjoy the time honored method of fly fishing and will be glad to take you wade fishing.  Even in the unlikely happening of no fish (it can happen to the best), rest assured you received a good education that will serve you well in your next quest for the elusive trout.

FYI:  This week we are seeing hoppers being gulped down by the fish.  Try a hopper dropper....a hopper for your indicator and a ruby midge, gold bead hares ear, San Juan worm or zebra midge for a dropper has worked well.  We should be seeing a Sulphur hatch soon so carry #14 Pheasant Tails with you.  Sow bugs just ticking the top of the moss or in the open areas around the beds have produced some good results.

LIFE IS GOOD IN THE OZARKS!

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

MEMORIAL DAY PREDICTION BY JOHN BERRY

For those of you who are woefully uninformed, next Monday is Memorial Day, a National Holiday and the official beginning of summer. Therefore, this weekend is a three day weekend and we will have a lot of vacationers in the Twin Lakes area. In fact, this will be one of the busiest, if not the busiest weekend of the year. If you are a local angler who cherishes solitude on stream, this may be the weekend to stay home and watch Dialing for Dollars. If you do venture on-stream, take a bit of patience with you. 

One of the problems is that many of the anglers you may encounter are new to the sport. As a result, they may not be up to date on angling etiquette. In particular, they may be fishing what you believe is too close to you. Be polite and explain the predicament and how far away he or she should be fishing from you. If they are struggling, now would be a good time, to give them a suggestion or even a fly. In the past other anglers have done this for me and it was greatly appreciated. It is important that we all become ambassadors for the sport. 

Another problem that you will encounter is an influx of watercraft. It is what I refer to as an anything that floats weekend. You can expect to see a lot of canoes, kayaks, kick boats and float tubes. In addition, you may run into some unexpected types of watercraft. Several years ago I watched someone launch a twenty foot pontoon boat at Cotter. He was pretty much limited to the water there in front of the ramp. 

It seems like somebody always brings their bass boat. I watched one guy launch a bass boat at Rim Shoals, where he proceeded to terrorize all of the anglers there with some pretty big wakes that almost swamped several boats. He eventually hit a submerged rock at a high rate of speed and took out his transom. For that, he received a standing ovation. 

Make sure that you carry rain gear with you when you are fishing this weekend. The weather channel is predicting a sixty percent chance of rain on Saturday and Monday. Do not let the rain deter your fishing. I have had some of my best days fishing in the rain. My theory is that the fish are already wet and they don’t care. The rain will have the benefit of keeping a lot of anglers from fishing thereby reducing fishing pressure. Nothing thins the herd like a little rain. 

Water conditions should be good. I have not seen a prediction for the generation this weekend yet but the pattern has been for minimum flow on the White River and for moderate generation on the Norfork. The White has significantly more fishable miles of trout water and there is more room to spread out. While there is a significant algae bloom, this year it seems to be on the wane. 

Finally, I have been on the river several days in the past week and the fishing has been good. In addition, to guiding, my wife, Lori, and I have gotten in the rare day here and there, where we got to fish together and we had some great days. For us, the hot fly was the ruby midge but I have talked to other anglers that have done well with olive woolly buggers and partridge and orange soft hackles. 

Happy Memorial Day and good luck out there!

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 5/27/2016

During the past week, we have had several rain events (combined for a total of three quarters of an  inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals rose a foot to rest at seven tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 662 feet. This is thirty three and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose one tenth of a foot to rest at seven tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fourteen and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose five tenths of a foot to rest at five tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and eight and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had little generation this week with wadable water every day. Norfork Lake remained steady at two and nine tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 556.75 feet and twenty six and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had no wadable water.

Seasonal 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 erratic. One day is great and the next is 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 pink San Juan worm with a ruby midge (#18) suspended below it).

Our sulphur hatch provides some of our best dry fly fishing of the year. I have observed a few caddis on the White and have had reports hatches on the Norfork. This is a big mayfly, about a fourteen. Before the hatch I fish pheasant tails. When I see top water activity but no insects, I fish with a partridge and orange. When I see trout taking adults from the top, I switch over to a sulphur parachute.

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 active. My favorite fly is a Clouser minnow. 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 cleared somewhat and has fished better lately. 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 fly has been the green butt. 

Dry Run Creek will be very busy this holiday weekend. It is cleared some and 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 with Blue Ribbon Guides in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.