HENRY REVIEWS 'THE SIMPLE FLIES' BOOK

ANOTHER GREAT DAY ON DRY RUN CREEK BY JOHN BERRY

Last week was spring break and Dry Run Creek was rocking. There were loads of people from all over the United States that had traveled here to have their children fish there. At times, the parking lot would be full. One thing is evident; Dry Run Creek is the worst kept secret in the lower forty eight. In the midst of this madness, my wife, Lori, and I worked most of the week. I guided three days and she guided two. Luckily for me, we got to guide together on Thursday. In addition, my brother in law, Larry Allen, was in town hoping to fish and he ended up helping us with several kids during the time.

You would think that with that many people fishing on the creek that it would get too crowded and there would be nowhere to fish. What we found was that the people would cluster at certain spots and there was plenty of water to fish. Over the course of the week, we caught about as many fish as we usually do and several of them were true trophies. On Tuesday, I had a spectacular day and caught plenty of fish. One of the fish was a bit different from the rest.

My client (a fourteen year old first timer) had been fishing a deep hole and had pretty much caught anything that was in there. We decided to walk the creek and look for a bigger trout. We caught a few fish and then saw a really large rainbow sipping insects out of the film. It was rhythmically rising in some slack water near a riffle. The water was quite shallow and we could easily see the fish.

I couldn’t see any insects but figured that it was keying in on midge emergers. I figured that if the trout was feeding on the top maybe I could interest it in something big. Think double bacon cheese burger. I decided to try a hopper. I know that it is not hopper season but I figured that the rainbow didn’t know that. My favorite hopper pattern is the western pink lady. I mashed down the barb and tied one on. I had my young client cast a couple of feet upstream of the trout. It was a perfect cast and a perfect drift. The trout followed it for a few inches and then returned to its lie, our first refusal. We gave it a couple more casts but the big rainbow was not interested.

My client’s father was standing next to me. He said”what are you going to do now?” I said ‘I’ll keep trying flies until we catch him or move him.” I thought about my next choice for a minute and then decided on a size eight Dave’s hopper. It is one of Dave Whitlock’s most effective flies and a dead on imitation of a grasshopper. I pinched down the barb, tied it on and applied a liberal portion of fly floatant.

My client deftly cast the fly upstream of the fish and let it move downstream in a perfect drag free drift. As it passed over the big rainbow, the fish rose in the water column and inhaled the fly. My client was mesmerized by the take and stood there looking at the trout as it went down toward the bottom. I yelled out “set the hook!” He quickly lifted the rod. The trout felt the sting of the hook and took off downstream. With a big size eight streamer hook, 4X fluorocarbon (seven pound test) and a properly set disc drag on a fly reel, it could not go far. I netted the trout, a brightly colored fat twenty five inch male rainbow. We swapped high fives and then took the photographs. It was the highlight of a spectacular week.

We found than an occasional double bacon cheeseburger is good for fly fishing.

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

SPRING FLY FISHING CLASS COMING UP

Wow, spring is here. On the way to Blue Ribbon Fly Shop this morning, I noticed that the redbuds and forsythia were in bloom. This got me thinking about fly fishing (everything gets me to thinking about fly fishing), so I quickly checked the generation on our rivers and noted that the Norfork was off. That means we finally have some wadable water! This is also the time of year, when we get our first and biggest caddis hatch. It is definitely fishing season and I am ready to be a part of it. 

 

Toward that end, my wife, Lori, and I have scheduled our spring fly fishing class for Arkansas State University Mountain Home on April 7, 14, 21 and 28. The classes run from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM on the ASU campus. If you have been thinking about taking up fly fishing or you just want to hone your skills for the coming fishing season, this class is the perfect opportunity for you. Lori and I have been teaching this class for several years and we both love to teach.

I always say that the hallmark of the class is our fly casting instruction. We devote half of our time to teach casting. Lori leads the fly casting portion of the class and has done so for years. I assist. It is difficult for me to say this but she is a better caster than I am and is a gifted instructor. She has a master’s degree in counseling and is able to get the information across to all of her students. Whenever we go to a fly fishing show, like the Sowbug Roundup, Lori is teaching casting or hanging out with the fly casters. At the same time, I am teaching seminars or hanging out with the fly tyers. We each have our separate areas of interest, which complement each other.

The other half of our time is devoted to a variety of subjects, equipment (what you need and what you don’t need), water safety, knots, rigging, fishing strategy, fly selection and reading the water, which I teach. All of this is based on my being a fly fisher for thirty plus years and working as a professional guide for over twenty years. I have learned by trial and error. Lori assists me in this. It is all done in a casual non-threatening atmosphere where questions are welcome and answers are forthcoming.

If this sounds like something that you might be interested in, why don’t you sign up for the course. There are several ways to register. The easiest way is to do it online. Go to the website  www.asumh.edu and find the community education section. You will find the course listed and you can sign up there. If you don’t have a computer, you can do it over the phone by calling Sarah Sikes at (870) 508-6280.  There is a nominal fee. 

Lori and I hope to see you there.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 03/25/2016

During the past week, we have had a minor rain event (about 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 one foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty six and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell seven tenths of a foot to rest at five tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell seven tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above seasonal power pool and nine and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavier generation this week with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell six tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty six 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 at or near seasonable power pool and we should encounter lower levels of generation, on our tailwaters, with limited wadable water.

On the White, the hot spot has been 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 a hare and copper suspended below it).

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 a bit high and off color. With the cool weather, the smallmouths are less 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 been and has fished poorly. 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 more pressure with spring break. 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.