CRAZY MORNING ON THE WHITE RIVER BY DENNIS SCHULE

As the fly fishing guide profession goes I have to admit, we really do have a pretty cool job.  We get to meet some really great and interesting clients.  We get to be on the rivers to enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife.  We get to use all the new products, gear and equipment on the market and most of all we are allowed to witness our clients have unbelievable days on the water. 

This past Tuesday morning was one of those fishing days we dream about and wish we could provide for our clients every day.  Believe me, we have great days, marginal days and some not-so-good days.  There are days when you can't buy a fish on the river.  However, this brings me back to this past Tuesday morning.

I was working a corporate outing through River Ridge Inn in Norfork that was hosting a group of anglers from Texas.  I had two anglers, Hill and George who had limited fly fishing experience.  Hill had some experience but George had never fly fished before.  Both spent the previous day on the White River with another guide who gave them some great casting instruction so my day was much easier.

We drove to Rim Shoals to launch the boat.  I noticed that the water was down and the weather was pleasant.  We launched the boat, headed up river and began our first drift.  No sooner did Hill and George have their flies in the water, Hill struck a very nice fat rainbow.  Shortly after, George caught his first rainbow. From that point on the fishing was insane.  Every drift Hill and George caught numerous fish and this action continued all morning.

As things started to slow slightly on this shoal and the boat traffic began to increase, I decided to drift farther down river which turned out to be a good decision.  Hill hooked into a fish and immediately said it was a big one.  All of Hill's prior experience came into play and he fought this fish like a pro.  At first I thought he had hooked into a nice brown trout because of the way the fish was staying down.  Then he got the fish close to the boat and I could see that he had a very nice cutthroat trout.  All I could think about was that barbless hook dislodging and watching the fish swim to freedom.  Hill gave his rod one last lift and the fish came to the surface and into the waiting net. 

Hill and George were elated and this old guide gave a sigh of relief and celebrated right along with them.  Hill had landed a huge cutthroat measuring 18 1/2".   I held the fish in the net in the water for a short period giving it a chance to recover after the long fight.  The fish was removed from the net for a couple of short pictures and then returned to the river to fight another day. 

Since this was a half day trip and the anglers had to be back at the lodge by 1:00 PM, we had to call an end to the day.  After landing over 50 fish and losing probably another 20, I guess this day can go down in the record books as great day.

A GOOD MORNING ON THE NORFORK BY JOHN BERRY

Now that I am managing Blue Ribbon Fly Shop while still maintaining my guiding schedule, I have precious little time to fish on my own. April was particularly busy for me because of my participation in the Sowbug Roundup and my fly fishing class at Arkansas State University Mountain Home. Finally this past week I got Sunday off. My wife, Lori, was in Fayetteville competing in a dog show with our English Labrador Retriever, Tilley. I checked the generation prediction and noted that the Norfork was to be off until around 3:00 PM. I decided to get a little fishing in on my own.

I got up early, showered, stopped by McDonalds for a quick breakfast and was on the river by 7:30 AM. It was sunny and cool with a promise of much warmer temperatures in the afternoon. I wore a light down sweater to fight the cold. It was sunny and the river was on the bottom. I took my Sage ZXL five weight because I expected a little wind later in the day. I found the water to be much clearer than I had on previous trips to the river this year.

As is my usual habit, I began the day fishing with the flies on my rod from my previous trip. In this case it was a ruby midge dropper under a hot fluorescent pink worm. I fished it for a few minutes but didn’t get a sniff. It was time to try something else.

I saw a few caddis. It was not a hatch but a few but a few insects returning to the river to lay eggs. Then I saw a rise. I immediately thought of my green butt. A week or so before I had been tying and giving away my green butts to anyone who stopped by my booth at the Sowbug Roundup. In previous years, I had been caught short, when I gave away all that I tied, leaving none for my use during the spring caddis hatch that year. This time I had tied a couple of dozen for my own use before Sowbug.

I removed the San Juan worm, ruby midge, lead and strike indicator. I tied on a 6X tippet so that I had a leader tippet combination of twelve feet. I cast downstream at a forty five angle. I gave my line a quick strip to sink the fly into the film. I let the fly swing in the current. I began to work my way downstream. On the third cast, I caught a fat fourteen inch rainbow. I kept working my way down and eventually landed ten or twelve nice fish. Nothing was huge but all were respectable.

I have come to the point in my fishing, where that is a good day. I do not have to catch every trout in the river. When I am fishing with Lori, this is where I usually quit ant sit on a rock to watch her fish. The wind picked up and it was about 11:00 AM and I reluctantly left the river to go home and cut my grass.

It was a great morning and I really enjoyed being back on the river 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.

FOUR GUIDE TRIP ON DRY RUN CREEK BY DENNIS SCHULE

On April 29th we had heavy rains dumping a large amount of rain in the Twin Lakes area.  Knowing that we had a four guide trip scheduled at Dry Run Creek the next day brought some concern to the guides.  However, on Saturday morning we awoke to cloudy skies but no rain.

Today was going to be a challenging day at DRC with a large group of kids and their fathers from the Little Rock area coupled with stained water from the previous day’s heavy rains.  All of the guides met at the parking lot at DRC and prepared for the day.  By the time the kids and their fathers arrived we were all rigged and ready to go.   All four guides were paired up with the fathers and two kids.  We headed to the creek and began the day. 

I had Hunter and his father, Troy, along with Camp and his father, Jay.  After a brief casting lesson with the kids they were off and running.  Neither of the boys had ever held a fly rod in their hands but picked up on the casting technique quickly.  Camp was the first to strike with his very first trout -- a scrappy little Rainbow about 12" in length.  Then Camp struck again with a very nice rainbow about 18" and as round as a football.  Both Camp and his father were elated.

 

Then I went back to Hunter and his father, Troy.  The fish weren't quite as cooperative with Hunter.  Hunter really had to work to get the fish to bite.  Finally, Hunter stuck a nice little rainbow for his first trout ever.  Hunter did a fine job fighting the fish and brought it to the net.  Hunter caught several other rainbows and both father and son were happy with the day.

 

At the end of the day all guides reported that their kids caught plenty of fish and had a great time.  There is nothing better than spending the day on DRC with kids and their parents, many of which get the bug for trout fishing and are hooked for life.  

A big thank you goes out to the group of kids and fathers from Little Rock.  We had a blast.

One quick note goes out to our readers.  Remember, Dry Run Creek is limited to handicapped anglers who possess a handicapped license and to kids under the age of 16.  Kids under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a licensed adult. Only single barbless hooks are allowed.      

   

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT FOR 04/29/2016

During the past week, we have had a minor rain event (about a quarter of an inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals fell five tenths of an foot to rest at one and three tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty seven and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose two tenths of a foot to rest at four tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool and fifteen and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake remained steady at four tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool and ten feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had moderate generation this week with no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose one tenth of a foot to rest at eight tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty seven feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had wadable water every day.

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 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 a bit 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 hot fluorescent pink or cerise San Juan worm with a hare and copper suspended below it).

It is time for our big caddis hatch which usually provides our best dry fly fishing of the year. I have observed a few caddis on the White and have had reports of a spectacular hatch at Wildcat Shoals. This is a big insect, about a fourteen. Before the hatch I fish prince nymphs. When I see top water activity but no insects, I fish with my green butt or a partridge and orange. When I see trout taking adults from the top, I switch over to an elk hair caddis.

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 more 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 cleared somewhat stained 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 has seen less pressure with spring break over but was quite busy. 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.