SPECTACULAR DAY ON THE WHITE RIVER BY JOHN BERRY

Last Sunday I had a guide trip with Mike, his brother Mark and his son Matt (monograms must be simple in that family). It was a close knit family and all were accomplished fly fishers. As I have written about before, three person guide trips can be troublesome (especially when in a boat) but this time it worked out incredibly well. After twenty five years of professional guiding I have finally figured this thing out.

The basic problem is that three people casting at the same time in a twenty foot long boat is an invitation to disaster. The big problem is the back cast when your lines cross, when you cast at the same time. You are generally facing forward when casting and you don’t see the other angler’s back cast. It can produce a bird’s nest that would make the Gordian knot look like child’s play. The solution is to have one of the anglers not fish, when the other two are actively fishing. This allows the two anglers to be farther apart and it is a lot easier to keep up with what one other angler is doing rather than trying to keep up with two other casters.

It is important that everyone catch some fish so the idea is to change places from time to time. After one angler has had a very successful drift or two, where he or she has landed several trout, it is time to relax for a while and let the angler that was not fishing give it a try. If you do it right, everyone has caught plenty of trout and the catch is basically even, at the end of the day.

The other problem is netting fish in the front of the boat. When the angler, in the front of the boat, hooks a fish, I have to move from the back of the boat from my seat by the motor to the front to net the fish. On the way, I have to move past the other angler in the back of the boat and the non fishing angler in the center of the boat without tripping. The solution is simple, carry an extra net and have the non fishing angler in the middle of the boat net the fish for the angler in the front of the boat.

I figured this out, when I was preparing the boat to launch that morning.  I noticed my wife, Lori’s, boat net in the back of my Suburban. It is a big boat net like mine that she uses, when she guides on Dry Run Creek. We use it, when we fish together, in the boat, so that we can both net our own trout. If one of us hooks a big fish (over twenty inches long), we help the other one land it, of course. I put it in the front of the boat so that the non-casting angler could net the fish hooked by the angler, in the front of the boat, while I concentrated on the fish hooked by the angler, in the back of the boat. It worked flawlessly. It gave the non fishing angler something to do and kept him in the game.

We began early when there was a heavy fog on the river. I rigged them all a little differently but had all of them on a ruby midge dropper. The lead flies we used were a hare and copper, pheasant tail nymph and a cerise San Juan worm. It was quickly apparent that the cerise San Juan worm was working the best. I changed them all to a Cerise San Juan worm with a ruby dropper and we began to really catch fish. Half on the fish caught were on the ruby and half on the worm.

The action was non-stop. We caught as many as eleven trout on one drift and had several doubles. The least trout caught on a single drift was three. I didn’t count but estimated the total number of fished brought to the net to be well over a hundred. The guys enjoyed it immensely. The highlight of the day was the banter between them as they fished or netted trout. It was a definite bonding experience and it will go down as one of my most enjoyable guide trips ever.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/08/2016

During the past week, we have had a rain event (about an inch and a half here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate wind. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell eight tenths of a foot to rest at two feet below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty eight feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell one tenth of a foot to rest at six and four tenths feet below seasonal power pool and twenty and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose one and five tenths of a foot to rest at five feet below seasonal power pool and fourteen and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation in the afternoon this week with lower generation in the morning and no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose two tenths of a foot to rest at four tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty six feet and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had low levels of generation all day with no wadable water.

Seasonal power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. All of the lakes on this system are below seasonable power pool. We cooler fall weather and lower lake levels we should see more wadable water.

On the White, the bite has been excellent. The hot spot has been Wildcat Shoals. We have had no wadable water. 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 hare and copper nymph (#14) with a ruby midge (#18) 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) on bigger water. 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. The smallmouths are still active. My favorite fly is a Clouser minnow. 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.

There has been no wadable water on the Norfork. 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. My favorite fly has been the ruby midge. 

Dry Run Creek has been less crowded with school back in session. A large number of brown trout have moved into the creek. 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 there are fewer boats on the river. 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.

FLY FISHING FAIR NEXT WEEK BY JOHN BERRY

Next week (Friday October 7 and Saturday October 8 from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM) the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers will put on its annual Fly Fishing Fair. This is its big show and fund raiser for the year. For those of us who have been around for a while, this show was previously known as Conclave. I still find myself calling it that. This will be the thirty second straight year that I have attended this show. The majority of my attendances were as a fly tyer, program presenter, vendor or all three.

 The big change for this year is the venue. The fly fishing fair which has previously been held at the Baxter County Fair Grounds will now be held at the Vada Sheid Convention Center on the Arkansas State University Mountain Home Campus. This is a big improvement. I have attended several events at the Sheid and consider it to be a first rate facility. There is plenty of space to accommodate the legion of fly tyers, an increased number of vendors and plenty of attendees. There are also some first rate rooms for seminars. This is where my wife, Lori, and I teach our fly fishing class.

This year they are adding a new event, the Fly Fishing Film Tour. This is the first and most prestigious cinema experience designed by and for fly fishers. This marks the tours tenth season in North America and its first visit to Mountain Home. It is an unprecedented opportunity to see some of the best films dedicated to fly fishing in this country and around the world. The tour will be shown on Friday October 7, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Sheid. There will be a live auction preceding the event at 6:00 PM. There will be typical movie concessions.

 The big draw for me has always been the fly tyers and vendors. As an avid fly tyer myself, I appreciate the artists that we have working with fur and feathers. I have tied at this show for a number of years and I am always amazed with the overall quality of the tyers and their flies. There are several top notch vendors signed up for this year’s fair. Most of the local fly shops will be there namely Wishes and Fishes, Dally’s Ozark Angler, Two Rivers Fly Shop and Blue Ribbon Fly Shop where I work. In addition the Golden Rule Fly Shop will return. I often find things there that I cannot find elsewhere. There is also Temple Fork Outfitters Fly Rods, Fayette Chill, Duane Hada and Berry Brothers Guide Service (my guide company), to name a few.

 Then there are the seminars. You can learn a lot by attending them and there are plenty, to choose from. I will be teaching on selecting and operating White River Jon Boats. Lori will be addressing “Why Do Some Anglers Catch More Fish Than Others”. There are lots of classes on fly tying, how to fish certain streams and how to improve your cast.

 If all of this sounds like something that you would be interested in, join me at the Fly Fishing Fair and let me tie you a fly. Don’t forget to sign up for my fly fishing class at ASU also starting next week.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 09/20/2016

During the past week, we have had a rain event (just a trace here in Cotter), cooler temperatures and more wind. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell a foot to rest at three and two tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is thirty seven and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell one tenth of a foot to rest at six and three tenths feet below seasonal power pool and twenty and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose one and two tenths feet to rest at five and five tenths feet below seasonal power pool and twelve and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation in the afternoon this week with lower generation in the morning and no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose four tenths of a foot to rest at two and two tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and twenty six feet and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had reliable wadable water every morning, with moderate generation in the afternoon.

Seasonal power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. All of the lakes on this system are below seasonable power pool. We cooler fall weather and lower lake levels we should see more wadable water.

On the White, the bite has been excellent. The hot spot has been Rim Shoals. We have had some wadable water. 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 hare and copper nymph (#14) with a ruby midge (#18) 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) on bigger water. 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. The smallmouths are still active. My favorite fly is a Clouser minnow. 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 on the lower water but has been crowded with no wadable water on the White. 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. My favorite fly has been the green butt. 

Dry Run Creek has been less crowded with school back in session. It has fished a bit better and is yielding some trophy trout. 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 there are fewer boats on the river. 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.

ONCE AGAIN IT IS TIME TO REGISTER FOR THIS FALLS FLY FISHING CLASS BY JOHN BERRY

As many of you know, my wife, Lori, and I have been teaching a basic fly fishing class at Arkansas State University Mountain Home, for several years. Our fall class is scheduled for four Thursday nights (6:00 PM to 8:00 PM) on October 6, 13, 20 and 27 on the ASUMH campus. This is the perfect place for us to hold our classes. It is conveniently located just off the US 62/412 by pass across the street from the Donald W. Reynolds Library in Mountain Home. There is ample parking, a nice lawn for us to teach casting and a great class room for us to teach in.

When we moved here sixteen years ago, we left careers, in the corporate world. I was a CPA working for Ducks Unlimited and Lori was a counselor working in marketing and corporate training, for a large psychiatric hospital. The idea was to simplify our lives, concentrate our efforts on fly fishing guiding and teaching and enjoying the laid back lifestyle here, in the Twin Lakes area. We have never regretted our move. We have been successful, in establishing ourselves in new careers and making a living doing what we love to do.

Hands down, the favorite part of our new careers is the teaching. Working with new fly fishers is very rewarding to us. Though Lori has been teaching fly casting for fifteen years and I have been teaching it for over twenty five years, she is the better casting instructor and therefore leads the casting instruction. I concentrate on bring my twenty five years of guiding to bear when leading the classroom portion of the class. I teach things like equipment (what to buy and what not to buy), water safety, knots, rigging, fly selection and reading the water, to name a few,

Half of the class is devoted to casting instruction (with an emphasis on personal attention) and half is devoted to the class room. I assist Lori on the casting and she assists me in the class room. We have slowly improved the curriculum over the years to keep everything simple and easy to comprehend. This is all taught in a comfortable, non-threatening atmosphere, where questions are welcome. It is the perfect opportunity for anyone to learn how to fly fish. Couples find it to be a great place to share a new endeavor.

The university has made everything easy by developing a website for effortless enrollment in the class. Just go to https://asumh.edu/services/community-education.html and sign up. If you do not have access to a computer, call Sarah Sikes at (870) 508-6105. There is a nominal fee, for the class.

If this sounds like something that you would be interested in, please sign up. Lori and I look forward to working with you.

JOHN BERRY'S FISHING REPORT 09/23/2016

During the past week, we have had a rain event (a bit over an inch here in Cotter), warm temperatures and moderate winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell nine tenths of a foot to rest at two and two tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 661 feet. This is thirty six and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell two tenths of a foot to rest at six and two tenths feet below seasonal power pool and twenty and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose eight tenths of a foot to rest at four and three tenths feet below seasonal power pool and twelve and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation in the afternoon this week with wadable water on some mornings. Norfork Lake rose four tenths of a foot to rest at one and eight tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 555.75 feet and twenty six feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had reliable wadable water every morning, with light generation in the afternoon.

Seasonal power pool has been reset for the lakes in the White River system. All of the lakes on this system are below seasonable power pool. We should expect more generation in the afternoon to supply power for the increased demand for air conditioning.

On the White, the bite has been excellent. The hot spot has been Wildcat Shoals. We have had some wadable water. 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 hare and copper nymph (#14) with a ruby midge (#18) 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) on bigger water. 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. The smallmouths are still active. My favorite fly is a Clouser minnow. 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 on the lower water and has not been as crowded with wadable water on the White. 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. My favorite fly has been the green butt. 

Dry Run Creek has been less crowded with school back in session. It has fished a bit better and is yielding some trophy trout. 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 in full swing and there are a lot of boats on the river. You should fish during the week, if you can. 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.

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY BY JOHN BERRY

There is an old saying that I have heard all of my life, every dog has its day. What does it mean? Simply put, no matter what your luck, skill level, intelligence, religion or country of national origin, you will eventually have one of those days where everything breaks your way. If you are fortunate enough to be fishing when this happens, you will have a stellar day where you catch an inordinate amount of fish and leave your fishing buddy in the dust. I had such a day last Sunday.

I had just gotten by boat back from the shot a couple of days before, to have Rob Williams at Supreme put a battery charger in my boat and roller bunks installed on my trailer. A few weeks ago, I had a trolling motor and a couple of batteries installed in the front of my boat. I had the battery charger installed to make recharging my batteries easier. I also noted that the weight of the trolling motor and the batteries had made the front of my boat heavier and more difficult to launch. The roller bunks made it much easier to launch. The object of the fishing trip was to familiarize myself, with how to launch the boat, with the roller bunks. My wife, Lori, who is also my favorite fishing buddy, accompanied me.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The starting temperature was in the high sixties, there was not a cloud in the sky and there was light generation (around 2500 cubic feet per second or the rough equivalent of 2/3 of a full generator). I strung up my Sage ZXL nine foot five weight with a size fourteen hare and copper fly with a ruby midge below it under an indicator. I also pinched on an AB split shot above the tippet knot and set the indicator six feet above the bottom fly. Lori was fishing one of my client rods (a TFO nine foot five weight) that was rigged the same except that her top fly was a bead head pheasant tail nymph.

I launched the boat using the roller bunks without a hitch. I found it to be much easier than I had ever experienced. We began our first drift and I was on fire. I caught nine trout on the first drift.  Over half were on the hare and copper fly. I had three others on but lost them. I have never caught that many trout on a single drift. I have not seen that many trout landed on a single drift, even with multiple anglers. I have had many days, where I did not catch that many fish all day long. It is almost two limits of trout.

Meanwhile, in the front of the boat, Lori was struggling. She had around three hookups but did not land a single trout. To make matters worse, she cast a tailing loop and tangled her line in the process. She spent several minutes untangling her line and changing out the bead head pheasant tail nymph for a hare and copper. She was snake bit! This is a woman that often out fishes me.

The next drift was a bit better for her. She managed to catch three to my four. I caught three or four trout on every drift. I did not count but I was hot all day. I have no idea just how many I caught but it was a lot. I was in constant action during the entire trip. It was one of the best days I have ever had fly fishing. 

When I analyzed the day there was nothing different from any other. I was using my usual rod and the flies I had used on the Norfork a few days earlier. Both of us had eaten the same breakfast and we were wearing our usual fishing clothes. Yet, I had a stellar day and Lori struggled.

Every dog has its day and mine was last Sunday. Maybe yours is coming up. I hope so!