2015 A YEAR IN REVIEW BY JOHN BERRY

For me 2015 has been a mixed bag. Part of it was good and part of it was not so good.

The year began well enough. He fishing in the late winter and early spring was pretty good. I was busy guiding and my clients did well. Somehow I managed to totally miss the caddis hatch. To begin with, I don’t think that it was as prolific or as heavy as it has been in previous years. In addition, I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. My clients and I did well on the nymphal stage particularly with prince nymphs and the emergence with my green butt soft hackles. We just never caught any really good dry fly action on that insect.

In March we had the best Sowbug Roundup ever. His year we made a fundamental change to the fly tiers dinner. We made it much more casual and added music. Rather than have a sit down dinner we served heavy appetizers with wine beer and soft drinks and enlarged the auction. The changes were well received and we had record attendance.

The next month tragedy struck. My ninety four year old father had a stroke from which he never recovered. Dad was a world war II veteran and a force of nature. At ninety four he walked three miles a day, did yoga and his hobby was ball room dancing. He drove at night and had an active social life. He was always immaculately groomed, was well spoken and had courtly manners. He was the guy that first took me fishing.

A week later it got worse. My brother, Dan, passed away. He was the one who got me involved in fly fishing. He was my fishing buddy, my business partner and my best friend. We traveled all over the United States to fish. We hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail to fish for small brookies, flew to Utah for big browns and Yellowstone for cutthroats. He was the best fly tyer and fly caster I ever met. I miss them both.

Midsummer was much better for me. We had low water for most of it on the Norfork and I finally got into some great dry fly action. This year’s sulphur hatch was quite late. I didn’t see them until late June. It was not prolific but it was reliable and the trout really keyed in on them. I caught it on several occasions and it provided me with some of the best dry fly fishing that I have had for several years. I managed to take a fat nineteen inch rainbow on the top and I was able to introduce several novice clients to dry fly fishing.

The rest of the year has been plagued with high water. We had a brief respite for a few weeks that provided for some spectacular fishing then we got a seven inch rain, which sent the lake levels up. We have just about gotten them back down and as I write this we have several days of rain in the forecast. Hopefully it will be light.

Finally it has been a great year for Tilley, our fishing dog. She is an English Labrador Retriever. My wife, Lori has been training and showing her all year. He has six obedience titles and is two thirds of the way to her seventh. We expect her to earn that at a dog show two weeks from now. She is also about half way to her championship in conformation. We hope she completes that next year.

Like I say it’s been a mixed bag. Maybe next year will feature lower water and great hatches!

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

SOWBUG ROUNDUP FLY TYING CONTEST 2016 BY JOHN BERRY

As many of you know, the most important fly fishing event of the year is the Sowbug Roundup. It is a three day celebration of fly tying that is scheduled for April 14, 15 and 16 in 2016 at the Baxter County Fairgrounds. Fly tyers from throughout the United States will be there and we usually draw a tyer or two from abroad.  Am on the Sowbug committee and I believe that the next Sowbug Roundup will be the best one ever.

My job on the committee is chairman of the Fly Tying Contest. This has become an integral part of the show and I really enjoy doing it. I invite each of you to enter the contest. There are nine categories, nymph, dry fly, wet fly, streamer, smallmouth bass, bass, warm water, salmon/steelhead and salt water. In addition there is a best in show. The winners of each category and the best in show will receive a plaque (the perfect thing to hang over your tying desk). The real prize is the bragging rights for winning.

Rules have been kept to a minimum. The entrant must tie the fly submitted for judging. Each entry must include the name, address, phone number and email address along with two flies for each pattern submitted. You need to include the recipe for the fly and instructions on how to fish it. You may submit as many patterns for as many categories as you want. All flies submitted will become the property of the contest and will not be returned. Any fly that contains insect parts (legs wings, etc.) will be eliminated from competition. Commercially tied patterns will not be accepted. The decision of the judges is final. Committee members and judges are not eligible to participate in the contest.

To participate, all you have to do is send your flies, recipes and fishing instructions to me, John Berry, at 408 Combs Ave. Cotter, Arkansas or you can drop your entries off at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop by Monday March 7, 2016. The winners will be announced on Friday April 15, 2016 at the Sowbug Roundup Shindig which will be held at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church beginning at 6:00 PM. This event has become the top fly fishing social event of the year.

The idea behind the fly tying contest is to identify and acknowledge those talented tyers among us that nobody knows about. The best example of this is Chad Johnson. He is a respected local guide that has entered the fly tying contest for the last three years (the first year it was sponsored by the Baxter Bulletin) and has won the Best in Show in every one of them. He has become a bit of an institution in the local fly fishing community because of the quality and effectiveness of his streamers and bass bugs. He is now teaching fly tying and is a designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants, a large supplier of flies. This year he is going to retire from competition and become one of our judges. We are very proud to have him join us and we all look forward to having a new tyer rise to the top.

My only regret is that, as a committee member and judge, I cannot enter the contest.

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

                                                     

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 12/18/2015

During the past week, we have had a significant rain event (about an inch and a half), cool temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals fell one and three tenths feet to rest at three and six tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty two and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell two tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose two and six tenths feet to rest at five feet above seasonal power pool and four and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation this week with no wadable water. Norfork Lake fell one and five tenths feet to rest at one and eight tenths feet above seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty four and four 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 below seasonal power pool and we should encounter lower levels of generation on them with wadable water.

The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam is closed from November 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016 to accommodate the brown trout spawn. The State Park will be seasonal Catch and Release for the same period. All brown trout must be immediately released. In addition, night fishing is prohibited in this area during this period.

On the White, the hot spot has been 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 black midge suspended below it).

Conventional wisdom states that hopper fishing begins in late summer. I reject this idea and fish them all year. I favor shorter leaders (seven and a half foot 4X) and a stiff six weight rod to proper deliver these weighty flies. My favorite flies are Dave’s hoppers (#10) and the western pink lady (#8). To increase hook ups I always use a dropper. I am currently using a ruby or root beer midge in size eighteen on a three foot or longer tippet (depending on the depth of the water I am fishing).

The Buffalo National River and Crooked Creek are higher and off color. With the cold 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 fished better of late. It has had no wadable water. 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 aSunday special dropper.

There construction project at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery is complete. It has seen less pressure with school back in session. It still fished well. 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 water on the Spring River is navigable. 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.

THANKS DENNIS FOR YOUR FLY TIE OF THE WEEK!

DENNIS TEACHING HOW TO MAKE A DUBBING BRUSH!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW:

MAKING A DUBBING BRUSH

A DISCUSSION ON BOATING ETIQUETTE BY JOHN BERRY

It seems to me that boating etiquette has become a problem here locally on the White and Norfork Rivers. When I first started guiding, lo these many years ago, a fifteen horsepower outboard was the standard motor for a White River Jon boat. There may have been the occasional twenty five horse engine for high water but there were smaller engines such as nine point nine or even eight horsepower motors.

Now the standard new motor is more like forty horsepower with several in the sixty horse range or even larger yet the boats are still the same size. They are all not jet drives. The jets are less efficient and you need about forty percent more horsepower to equal the power of a prop drive motor. The advantage of the jet motors is that they can easily go through water that is too shallow for the propeller drive motors. Jet motors are much less efficient and more difficult to steer at lower speeds. That is basically why they all have installed oars on their boats so they can control their drifts, without using their motors.

The jet motors are much louder than the prop drive motors and they tend to throw a much higher wake. This is exacerbated by the need to move at a higher speed. The wake is the real problem especially, if you are fishing nearby. Your boat will be tossed about like a rag doll. The wake is also a big problem for waders, canoeists and kayakers. A month ago, when just about all of the guides were fishing on the Norfork River, the problem was pretty bad because of the congestion and the narrowness of the Norfork, which does not allow for much maneuver room.

The obvious solution would be for the guys with the big jet outboards to slow down when they are passing anglers that are actively fishing. Now, if they are passing another motor boat that is under way, then I see no need for them to slow down. The problem is that these guys do not see much need to slow down for any reason and it is not well received by their fellow anglers. I have heard more than one angler talk about the need for horsepower limits for motors on the White and Norfork River similar to the limits set on the Buffalo River (under ten horsepower).

The problem for me is that most of these guys are fly fishing guides and I work with almost all of them at one time or another. I thought that the best thing that I could do is to set a good example. Whenever I pass one of them, or anyone else for that matter, I slow down and make sure that I don’t put a wake over them. I also make sure that I pass them on the side of their boat, from which they are not fishing. I don’t think that this has made much of an impression. I have sat down and talked to a few of them and they have responded positively.

I think the answer is for all anglers particularly those with the larger jet motors to slow down when passing other anglers. Just pretend that your Mom is in the boat that you are passing.

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