This year we have had
conditions that have been favorable to fish dry flies, particularly the spring
caddis hatch, which is our best longest lasting hatch of the year. The trick,
as always, is to be on stream, when the insects are coming off. My favorite way
to fly fish for trout is to fish dry flies. Therefore, I went to the Norfork
the other day in search of the caddis hatch.
My wife, Lori,
accompanied me as did her sister, Terri, and her husband, Larry. Terri and
Larry are avid fly fishers and frequent guests at our home, in Cotter. We began
our Sundayfishing trip with a hearty breakfast at the White Sands
Restaurant. As my late brother, Dan, used to say, “You need a couple of sausage
gravy biscuits to keep your feet in the gravel”.
Conditions were near
perfect. It was sunny with a bit of wind and a high temperature in the low
seventies. The water was at minimum flow and the prediction was for no
generation for the entire day. To our surprise, the Ackerman Access was not
very crowded. We had expected a much larger crowd on a day this near perfect.
We waded up stream into
the Catch and Release section. There were no caddis coming off. I was
determined to fish dry flies. I had my favorite fly rod, a thirty year old Sage
light Line nine foot four weight that had originally belonged to Dan. I had
rigged it with a seven and a half foot leader and a five foot 5X tippet with a
size sixteen olive elk hair caddis with an application of fly floatant.
Though there was no
active hatch, I figured that the trout would be looking up. Therefore I began
casting not at rising trout but at spots, where I expected them to be. After
three casts, I was rewarded, with a nice fat seventeen inch rainbow. A few more
casts and I landed an even fatter nineteen inch rainbow. I was on a roll. Lori
noticed my success and joined in on fishing dries. She didn’t have the same fly
as I was fishing, so I gave her one. She had quick success.
About that time Terri
and Larry arrived. They had been fishing downstream with limited success. I
showed them, how I was fishing, and they quickly rigged their rods accordingly.
I gave them my spot and I went looking for new water to fish. Larry was into a
good trout as I walked out.
I found a likely spot
and began fishing in earnest. I hooked a nice fourteen inch rainbow and as I
was bringing it in a Great Blue Heron decided that it looked like lunch. I gave
him a shout and he gave up the chase. I caught several more trout there.
Meanwhile Lori was having success nearby.
About this time, Larry
hit a big fish. It was a huge Rainbow that was fat and in excess of twenty four
inches long. The fight went on for quite a while. A drift boat that was
floating through dropped anchor upstream so that it would not interfere with
his fight. As luck would have it, the fish slipped the hook at Larry’s feet. He
was stoked over the trout but disappointed for not landing it. I have been
there before!
Success had eluded
Terri. But her time had come. She rerigged to my green butt soft hackle and was
immediately into trout. Lori and I had caught enough and we were ready to go
home. Terri and Larry stayed on-stream for a while, so that Terri could catch
up, with our success. The trout cooperated.
You don’t always have to
have an active hatch to fish dry flies. Sometimes the trout are looking up and
will fall for a well presented fly.
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