SOWBUG ROUNDUP 2016 BY JOHN BERRY

After over a year of anticipation, it is finally time for the 2016 Sowbug Roundup. This is the best fly fishing event in the area and arguably one of the best such events in the United States. It is primarily a fly tying show. This year we have one hundred and thirty seven tyers from all over the country, literally from coast to coast.

The Sowbug Roundup is put on by the North Arkansas Fly Fishers, our local Federation of Fly Fishers affiliate club. It has always amazed me that a local fly fishing club is such a small town could put on a fly tying show that has achieved such national prominence. It is a tribute, to the hard working volunteers of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers. I am proud to be a member of the Sowbug committee (I am chairman of the fly tying contest). We meet year round to ensure the success of the show.

The big draw is the fly tyers. Some of the tyers are true artists and every fly they produce is worthy of being framed. Then there are those tyers like myself that just tie down and dirty guide flies. They don’t look so pretty but they catch fish. If you take the time to sit and watch some of them, you will learn a lot. I always learn how to handle materials better of see a new pattern that I want to tie.

There are also a lot of great vendors. All of the local fly shops will be there. TFO Rods, Sage, Redington, and Rio will have booths and you will be able to test their rods and lines. Shawnee boats will have their newest boats. My favorite the Golden Rule Fly Shop will have a big corner booth. Even though I manage a fly shop, I often find hooks and other fly tying materials there that I am unable to acquire elsewhere. Don’t forget to stop by and visit with Dave Whitlock and Duane Hada. Of course I will be manning the Berry Brothers Guide Service and Blue Ribbon Fly Shop booths (they are next to each other. Stop by and let me tie you a fly.

Seminars are a big draw at Sowbug. The committee draws on local people for all of the spots. This year my old fishing buddy Bill Barksdale (a professional photographer) will teach an outdoor photography class. Three time best in show winner, in our fly tying contest, Chad Johnson will be teaching a class on tying and fishing streamers. My wife Lori will teach a class on getting started and a couple of fly casting classes. I will teach a seminar on When, Where and How to fish the White and Norfork Rivers.On Saturday I will also teach a class on how to fish Dry Run Creek.

The feature that we added last year is the Shindig. This started out years ago as a dinner for the fly tyers. Last year we added a band, beverages, lighter food and a live auction. It was an instant hit. So we continued it this year. It has turned into the social event of the year. Seating is limited when you check in be sure and register if you want to attend.

The Sowbug Roundup will be held on April 14 through 16, 2016(Thursday Friday and Saturday) from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Baxter County Fairgrounds. Admission is only five dollars for all three days. Children under twelve years of age are admitted free.

All of us at Blue Ribbon Guides hope to see you there.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 04/01/2016

During the past week, we have had a rain event (about two inches here in Cotter), cool temperatures and heavy winds (to include lake wind advisories). The lake level at Bull Shoals fell one tenth of a foot to rest at seasonal power pool of 659 feet. This is thirty six feet below the top of flood pool. Upstream, Table Rock fell five tenths of a foot to rest at seasonal power pool and sixteen feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake remained steady at one tenth of a foot above seasonal power pool and nine and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we had moderate generation this week with no wadable water. Norfork Lake rose four tenths of a foot to rest at five tenths of a foot above seasonal power pool of 553.75 feet and twenty five and seven tenths 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 bite has been a bit slow. 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 a report of a decent hatch at Rim Shoals. This is a decent sized hatch, 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 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.

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.