SOWBUG ROUNDUP FLY TYING CONTEST 2017 BY JOHN BERRY

As many of you know, the most important fly fishing event of the year is the Sowbug Roundup (the Friday night Shindig has also become the fly fishing social event of the year). It is a three day celebration of fly tying that is scheduled for May 23, 24 and 25 in 2017 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.  I am on the Sowbug committee and I believe that the next Sowbug Roundup will be the best one ever. It is our twentieth anniversary and we are pulling out all of the stops.

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 (they must be exactly the same size, color, etc). 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 72626 or you can drop your entries off at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop at 1343 East 9^thStreet Mountain Home, AR 72653 by Wednesday February 15, 2017. The winners will be announced on Friday March 25, 2017 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. In the past we have discovered talented local tyers like Chad Johnson who is now a judge. Last year’s discovery was Tradd Little, who won five categories at the age of thirteen. He is returning this year.

My only regret is that, as a committee member and judge, I cannot enter the contest. I hope you enter and join me at Sowbug.

THE THRASHER BY JOHN BERRY

A couple of weeks ago I guided Susan Thrasher. She is a repeat client. I always enjoy fishing with her because she is a guide (she owns a nice lodge on the Caney Fork River in Lancaster Tennessee) and is also a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor. To say that she is an accomplished angler is a bit of an understatement. In addition, she had career as an executive in a large international engineering firm.

We fished the Catch and Release section at Rim Shoals and it was a gorgeous day. It was sunny with no wind and a high temperature of seventy two degrees. I rigged her rod with the usual suspects, a ruby midge below a cerise San Juan worm (the flies that I have been fishing with great success for months). We began drifting and were into nice fish immediately. The hot fly was the ruby midge.

After a while, she asked if she could use her favorite fly. Now my business philosophy is that the day belongs to the client, so I said sure. She ties a size fourteen black thread midge with a tungsten bead on a scud hook and has had great success with it on the Caney Fork and other rivers. She wanted to see if it would work on the White. The fly was way bigger than the midges I have seen, on the White (the ruby is a size eighteen) and I was interested to see, if it would work here. We clipped off the ruby midge and tied on her fly. We were into fish immediately and fished that way for an hour or so. In the process, we caught a lot of trout.

She wondered if her fly would out produce the ruby midge. I proposed a simple experiment. We would rerig her rod with her fly as the lead fly and the ruby midge as the dropper. Once again, we were into fish immediately. We didn’t count but it was pretty apparent that her fly was catching the majority of the trout. We replaced the ruby midge with another of her large black midges.

We noticed that several trout were hitting the strike indicator. We went back to my suburban and got an extra rod that we rigged with a Western pink lady grasshopper and used her fly as a dropper. We took a couple on the hopper but the black midge caught even more trout.

I was intrigued and asked the name of the fly. She said that she really didn’t have a name for it but often referred to it as the miracle midge. I knew of another fly pattern with that name and suggested that she call it the Thrasher, her last name. She liked that.

We fished until around four PM. She landed well over sixty trout most, of which, were caught, on the thrasher. As other boats came in with friends of hers, in them, they asked if we had fished with her fly and how well we had done. I answered yes and very well. It was what they had expected.

Sometimes we learn of new fly patterns, in unexpected places. I took the fly that was still, on my fly rod, below the grass hopper and gave it to my commercial fly tyer at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop to reproduce. I want to fish it myself and see if it works for me too. I think it will and that it will be a fly that earns its own keep.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/04/2016

During the past week, we have had no rain, warm temperatures and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals fell one and four tenths feet to rest at five and nine tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is forty one and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose two tenths of a foot to rest at five and nine tenths feet below seasonal power pool and nineteen and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at five and nine tenths feet below seasonal power pool and fifteen and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had heavy generation in the afternoon with lower generation in the morning and no wadable water. Norfork Lake remained steady at one and two tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty seven and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had low levels of generation all day with wadable water every day.

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. With cooler fall weather and lower lake levels, we should see more wadable water.

The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam is closed from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 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 bite has been spotty. Some days have been excellent and some poor. 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 cerise San Juan worm 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 wadable water every morning on the Norfork. The lake has turned over and there is a sulphur smell on the upper river and with lower dissolved oxygen, in that area, the bite has been slow there. 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.

MOLLY SEMENIK BY JOHN BERRY

The North Arkansas Fly Fishers (NAFF), our local fly fishing club, which is affiliated with the Federation of Fly Fishers, sponsors the Sowbug Roundup. This is the best produced and most successful local fishing event and has been gathering a lot of national notice and respect in recent years. A successful show like this also creates a nice source of revenue. NAFF uses a substantial portion of these revenues to currently fund $13,200.00 in scholarships for local area college students. 

Another primary use is to bring in National speakers on fly fishing to help educate the public. Such an event will occur this weekend Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30 at Gaston’s Visitors Center over looking Bull Shoals Dam. It will feature Molly Semenik a Federation of Fly Fishers Master Certified Casting Instructor, a member of the Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructors Board of Governors, an experienced professional fly fishing guide and outfitter, an accomplished fly tyer and author. The programs will run from 9:00 AM till 4:00 PM on Saturday and from 9:00 AM till 3:00 PM on Sunday. Attendance is open to the public at no charge. 

Molly is known primarily as a casting instructor and the range of programs she is presenting illustrates this. On Saturday, she begins with a seminar, on fly casting faults and fixes, based on the most common casting errors she sees, when guiding and teaching. Then she concludes the day with a seminar, on accuracy casting. Both are taught outside and feature group participation. On Sunday, her casting seminars are about distance casting and making the Spey cast with a single hand rod. 

She has several travelogue type presentations featuring the Yellow Stone River (she guided there for fourteen years), Tarpon fishing in Florida, Steelhead fishing in the Pacific Northeast and Christmas Island. She will also talk about fly fishing technique like how to fish from a boat or how to cast to a pod of rising fish during a midge or Blue Wing Olive hatch. Both of these would be very valuable around here. 

What really interests me is a presentation on her new book, 25 Off the Beaten Path Montana Fly Fishing Streams. I have been to Montana a dozen times and I always find myself fishing the same famous trout streams over and over again. I think it would be nice to check out some lesser known streams that are off the beaten path. Unfortunately, I am scheduled to guide this Saturday and will be unable to attend. Maybe I can chat with Molly about that on Sunday. 

This is a rare opportunity to improve your casting and learn a bit about fishing in various locations and techniques that will help you here. The fact that it is free and open to the public is wonderful. Thank you North Arkansas Fly Fishers. I hope to see you there.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 10/28/2016

During the past week, we have had no rain, cool temperatures and heavy winds. The lake level at Bull Shoals remained steady at four and five tenths feet below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is forty and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose two tenths of a foot to rest at five and seven tenths feet below seasonal power pool and nineteen and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at five and five tenths feet below seasonal power pool and fifteen and one tenth 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 fell three tenths of a foot to rest at one and two tenths of a foot below seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty seven and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork, we had low levels of generation all day with some 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. With cooler fall weather and lower lake levels, we should see more wadable water.

The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam is closed from November 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 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 bite has been spotty. Some days have been excellent and some poor. The hot spot has been Rim 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 cerise San Juan worm 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 precious little wadable water on the Norfork. The lake has turned over and there is a sulphur smell on the upper river and with lower dissolved oxygen, in that area, the bite has been slow there. 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.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT FOR 10/14/2016

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 a foot to rest at three feet below seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty nine feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock rose 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 fell one tenth of a foot to rest at five and one tenth feet below seasonal power pool and fourteen and seven 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 fell four tenths 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 low levels of generation all day with little 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 spotty. Some days have been excellent and some poor. The hot spot has been Rim 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 cerise San Juan worm 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 little wadable water on the Norfork but it has fished well. 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.

GRAND SLAM ON DRY RUN CREEK BY JOHN BERRY

A grand slam is where you catch all four species, brown, brook, cutthroat and rainbow trout on one day. In my thirty plus years of fly fishing on the White and Norfork Rivers, I have done it five times (two of which occurred on the same day). It seems like catching three of them is fairly common but the ever elusive brook trout is not very abundant. I have never had a client catch one on Dry Run Creek in my twenty five years of guiding there. All of that changed last Thursday.

My client Scott brought his twelve year old daughter, Grace, and his nine year old son, Scotty, up from Memphis to fish Dry Run Creek. It was a cool start but a beautiful day. We were the first ones there and I brought some of my loaner waders and lots of socks to equip the kids in waders. If your children wear waders, you can fish spots that are difficult to get to and do not get as much pressure as others.

Early on Grace had the hot hand. Her first fish was a stout twenty three inch brown that was quickly followed by a twenty five inch brown that was fat and colored up and some rainbows. When I guide on Dry Run Creek, my goal is for all of my clients to land at least one trophy trout. Now Grace had landed two but Scotty was fishless. He had a monster on but lost it. I coached him on his mistake and had him trade spots with Grace. He was soon on a fat twenty two incher and this time managed to get it to the net. The next trout was a spectacular twenty five inch male brown with a spectacular kype. A few rainbows followed.

It was time for a change in scenery and we walked far upstream. Grace continued catching browns and rainbows. Scotty was still in the game. Dad was working with Grace and I was working with Scotty. About this time he landed a twenty one inch cutthroat. It was a great fish and it made me consider the possibility of a grand slam. The very next trout was a brook. It was only ten inches long but it got me more excited than any of the other much more spectacular fish that we had landed, because it gave me my first client grand slam on Dry Run Creek. There were photos and high fives galore.

My only question is now that you have landed a twenty five inch male brown trout and achieved a grand slam, on your first day of fly fishing, at age nine, where do you go from here?