THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER BY JOHN BERRY

It finally happened. This week all of the lakes in the White River system are finally below the top of power pool and we are getting more fishable water. If you remember, a couple of months ago I predicted that this would happen, in early or mid October. It is nice to right every once in a while.

The water has been much lower this week and I have been on the river every day and the fishing has been nothing short of spectacular. On Sunday, the flows, on the White, were around 4,500 cubic feet per second (CFS). I was guiding two gentlemen from Missouri. We were rigged up both anglers with a Y2K lead fly and a pheasant tail nymph (size fourteen) dropper. We caught over forty trout with most of them, on the pheasant tail nymph. I started with a ruby midge dropper and we did not hook a fish, on it.  

On Monday, I had two other anglers, from the same group. The generation had decreased to 3,500 CFS which made for even better fishing. I started out one angler out with a ruby midge below a Y2K and the other with a pheasant tail nymph below a Y2K. The ruby midge was working but the pheasant tail was. What a difference a day makes. I always say the one fish on a fly is a fluke, two is a coincidence and three is a trend. It was time to change the pheasant tail for a ruby midge. Both were soon into trout. We finished the day with fifty plus trout with ninety percent of them on the ruby midge and a couple of trout on the Y2K. All in all, it was a great day.

Then, on Tuesday, I guided an angler, from Texas. The generation level was down to 2,800 CFS. This is as low as I have seen the White, in some time. This time I started him with a ruby midge below a Y2K. I was surprised when we caught the first two trout on the Y2K. I generally use it as an attractor, with most of my fish caught on the dropper. This day was the exception. I caught more trout on the Y2K than on the ruby midge. I had fished on three successive days and had the trout keying in on a different fly every day. It is no wonder that I carry so many fly boxes.

During these three days, the Norfork was on the bottom, with absolutely no generation, for the majority, of the time. Though I love to wade it, I declined because it is still extremely off color from the flooding we had last April. In addition, there is low dissolved oxygen, on the Norfork, and the fish are stressed particularly on the upper river. If you choose to fish there be sure and carefully release any fish caught.

We are finally in a position where we can fish lower water. Life is good!