The Fishing Report

THE FISHING REPORT - JAN. 02, 2009

We have had a significant rain event and some very heavy winds during the past week; the lakes in the White River system are at or below flood pool having risen a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam have fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at three tenths of a foot below power pool of 654.00 feet. This is forty one and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose one and three tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above power pool or fifteen and nine tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose one foot to rest at power pool or nine and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White was for moderate generation during the week. Norfork Lake has risen nine tenths of a foot to rest at power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty eight feet below the top of flood pool. There has been heavy generation on the Norfork with periods of no generation on most days. Last weekend the Norfork was off for over forty eight hours. This created some truly spectacular wading.

The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam closed to all fishing on November 1, 2008. It will remain closed until February 1, 2009 for the brown trout spawn. The section from the bottom of this Catch and Release section downstream to the wing wall at the State park is seasonal Catch and Release for the same time period.

Up stream the State Park has been a real hot spot with stacks of fish reported. The hot fly here has been the peach egg and various midge patterns. Be careful on lower flows to avoid redds in the seasonal Catch and Release section. They are clean depressions in the gravel that hold fertilized brown trout eggs. If you walk through them, you will destroy future trophy brown trout. On higher flows, try brightly colored San Juan worms with an egg dropper. There is a bit of trial and error necessary to determine what color San Juan worms the trout want. Try red, cerise, hot pink and fire orange.

Wildcat Shoals has been a real hot spot during the last week. At low water, it has been very productive. Anglers have done well fishing small olive scuds under an indicator. Other productive nymph patterns have been red San Juan worms, Y2Ks and sowbugs. The lower section has fished well with various soft hackles. The hot flies have been green butts and partridge and orange soft hackles.

The Catch and Release section at Rim Shoals is fishing extremely well. The hot flies on lower water level were Y2Ks, sowbugs and olive scuds. Olive woolly buggers also accounted for a lot of fish. Anglers have also done well on moderate flows. The hot flies for this water were cerise San Juan worms, peach eggs and Y2Ks. If they are running water and you want to wade, make use of the water taxi at Rim Shoals Trout Dock. For a nominal fee they will ferry you to wadable water and pick you up when you are ready to leave.

Crooked Creek has slowed considerably. The water temperature has dipped below fifty five degrees and the Smallmouth have pretty much shut down.

The Norfork has fished poorly the last week. It has received too much pressure. The most productive times have been on low water. The go to flies have been olive scuds and worm brown San Juan worms. Orange egg patterns have also done very well. On the higher water, try San Juan worms in bright colors (hot pink, cerise and red) with substantial amounts of weight. Concentrate on fishing the banks and grass beds. If you are not in the Catch and Release section try fishing a sowbug or scud as the dropper under a San Juan worm.

Dry Run Creek has been fishing well as always. Lately we have had some nice sunny days occasionally that have been perfect for fishing the creek. It is located in a deep valley and is not affected much by winds. Take your youngster there the next time you get a pretty day. The hot fly is the sowbug but also try San Juan worms. I always recommend that you take the biggest net you can lay your hands on (I use my rubber bagged boat net) and a camera. You cannot believe the size of the fish here.

Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.

FISHING IN 2008

BY JOHN BERRY

The past year has been a challenging one for fly fishers in the twin lakes area. We began the year with low water. Heavy rains and an epic flood quickly changed all of that. About the time the Corps of Engineers had cleared the water down stream and was beginning to make a bit of headway on the water stored in our impoundments, we got hit by two separate hurricanes. This began the process of drawing down the dams all over again. To say that this has been a high water year is an understatement.

There has been precious little wading this past year. I have missed the gentle feel of the water pressing against my legs. There is something very special about fishing from the stream. I just feel closer to the trout.

What we have had is a lot of boating. I acquired a new much wider river boat last year and I was able to put it to good use this year. In fact, I feel like I have spent the entire year in the back seat of my Shawnee. I must say that in the past I was a bit intimidated by high water. Now, after spending a year navigating both the White and Norfork at maximum generation, I am very comfortable in a river boat on high water.

It is not just boating in high water that was different, but also the fishing. I never considered myself a high water specialist. I therefore worked very hard at learning the ropes of fishing high water. I spent a lot of time on the water with my wife, Lori, trying to better learn the rivers and the techniques necessary for success under these conditions.

One of the keys to success was locating the fish. Trout are generally located in the main channel at low water. As the water rises, trout generally move toward the bank. They will also locate over weed beds and the tail out of islands. Concentrate your efforts in these areas.

Once you locate the trout, you have to get your fly to the trout. I experimented quite a bit with the rigging of my fly. I found that the total length of the tippet and leader needed to be twelve feet or more to get the fly down on maximum generation. I also started using much stronger tippet (at least 4X). The other thing I had to figure out was just how much lead was needed. I began using bigger and bigger split shot finally settling on AAA (which is about .8 grams). Of course to float all of this, I started using huge strike indicators.

I spent some time trying to figure what flies would work best in high water. I settled on San Juan worms. I experimented with various colors. Hot pink, cerise, red and fire orange were the most productive. I use several different worm patterns, but my go to pattern is my high water San Juan worm. This is tied on a 1/32 ounce jig. I initially had some trouble with its durability. Once I began using a whip finish on both ends of the hook shank, I found them able to stand up to the high demands of fishing high water.

Another thing I learned is that the person operating the boat in high water just cannot fish. You cannot drag a chain under these circumstances and you must remain vigilant to safely negotiate the stream. I think the high water this year has made me a better fisherman but I must admit it was a lot of hard work.

What I really missed was fishing dry flies. Normally we get an incredible caddis hatch in March and April, a significant sulphur hatch in May and June and hoppers that are prolific in the late summer and early fall. Due to the heavy generation all year, we missed all that. It is not realistic to expect a trout to rise ten feet in the water column to take a small aquatic insect.

I did catch a sulphur hatch on the White this year, but the trout were keying in on the nymphs. I ended up fishing copper Johns and catching dozens of great fish. The only true dry fly action I had this year was banging the bank with hoppers during heavy generation on the White. I caught some fish but it was not the same as fishing under normal conditions. It required a long cast and a perfect drift. It was challenging to set the hook on that long a line.

As 2008 draws to a close, I am able to wade my favorite rivers once again. Yesterday Lori, my yellow lab, Ellie, and I spent the afternoon on the Norfork. I was in heaven. After I had caught a dozen or so trout, I sat on the bank with Ellie and watched Lori catch fish. It was nice to be there!

John Berry
(870) 435-2169
berrybrothers@infodash.com
www.berrybrothersguides.com

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