JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT
John Berry
(870) 435-2169
[email protected]www.berrybrothersguides.com|
JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/01/2010
During the past week, we have had a couple of minor snow events and much colder conditions. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose three tenths of a foot to rest at twelve and seven tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is twenty eight and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake dropped one tenth of a foot to rest at two and at seven tenths of a foot below power pool or eighteen and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose four tenths of a foot to rest at seven and two tenths feet above power pool or two and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the White, we have had much lighter generation which included some wadable water on several days. Norfork Lake rose one and three tenths feet to rest at seven and eight tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. On the Norfork we have had much lighter generation and some wadable water.
While the rains we received here had very little effect on lake levels, the rains were much heavier in other parts of the state and resulted in significant flooding down stream. As a result, the heavy draw down of the lakes in the White River System was curtailed. As soon as the flooding clears down stream, we will see a return to the aggressive draw down. At this time, I cannot predict when the lakes will return to power pool.
There will be significant changes to trout fishing regulations effective January 1, 2010. The Catch and Release section on the Norfork River will be increased from it current size of 1.1 miles to a new total of approximately two miles. The new upper boundary will be the bottom of long hole and the new lower limit will be the Ackerman access. The new regulations will also allow for multiple hook points in Catch and Release sections on the White and Norfork Rivers. Up to three treble hooks will be allowed. All hook points must be barbless. Of interest to fly fishers is that the new regulations will allow the use of droppers, multiple fly rigs and articulated multiple fly streamers.
The fishing in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam closed on November 1, 2009 for the brown trout spawn. It will remain closed until January 31, 2010. 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.
The section from the Narrows to Wildcat Shoals has fished well. The hot flies were various midge patterns (black zebra midges and Norfork bead heads), scuds and sow bugs. On higher flows, use brightly colored San Juan worms (red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise) and egg patterns (red, pink and orange). The best fishing was when there was on wadable water and the lower flows.
Rim Shoals has been the hot spot for the last week. There has been some limited wadable water that has fished well, particularly the Redbud Shoals area. Hot flies were black zebra midges, olive scuds and Y2Ks. Drift fishing on lower flows with midge patterns and San Juan worms has also been very effective. On higher flows, use brightly colored San Juan worms (red, hot fluorescent pink and cerise) and egg patterns (peach and orange).
Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River have cleared up a bit. The water temperatures are a bit low for the smallmouth.
The lower flows and wadable water on the Norfork River have fished very well. Anglers fishing there have noted some significant changes to the river bed caused by the recent heavy flows. The hot flies for the lower flows have been red and hot fluorescent pink San Juan worms. There have been some midges hatching in the afternoon. The best technique for this hatch has been to fish Dan’s turkey tail emerger on a long tippet (five feet) with a classic quarter and down tight line. Be sure and strip the fly down into the film as soon as it hits the water. Other effective flies have been black zebra midges, pheasant tail nymphs and egg patterns. On higher flows, brightly colored San Juan worms (red, cerise and hot fluorescent pink) and egg patterns (peach and orange) have been the go to flies.
Dry Run Creek has fished well. The hot fly has been sow bugs in size fourteen. Worm brown San Juan worms and egg patterns have also done well. The cold weather has kept a lot of families from fishing here. Do not let the weather keep you from fishing here. Bundle up the youngsters and go there to take advantage of the absolute best place to take kids fishing that I know of. Take frequent warm up breaks and don’t forget a thermos bottle full of hot cocoa.
The Spring River has been fishing well. The flows are up a bit and the water is stained. The hot flies have been Y2Ks, olive woolly buggers, cerise San Juan worms and cotton candy. Be sure and wear cleated boots and carry a wading staff. There is a lot of bedrock that can get very slick.
Remember that the White and Norfork Rivers 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.
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.
ASK JOHN
Mike B asks: What are the advantages and disadvantages of fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
The advantages are greater strength, much greater abrasion resistance, and a higher specific gravity. That means that fluorocarbon is heavier than water. Therefore it sinks. This is great for fishing wet flies, streamers and nymphs. In addition, it is much harder to see in the water than nylon.
The disadvantages are the greater cost (three times as much as conventional nylon). It is a bit harder to knot (be sure to careful form and test every knot). Since it sinks, it is not recommended for fishing dry flies.
John Berry
(870) 435-2169
[email protected]www.berrybrothersguides.comReply
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Kevin
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show details 10:22 AM (6 minutes ago)
Since we were talking about the river, I thought you would like John Berry's adventure this week.
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Berry <
[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 9:07 AM
Subject: JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT
To: Dan Berry <
[email protected]>
ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH
BY JOHN BERRY
My wife, Lori, and I were tired of watching huge amounts of water flowing by from the White and Norfork Rivers. I have been writing about fishing the Spring River lately but have not actually been there for a while. We caught a sunny day with a fifty five degree high and decided it was time to give it a try. We left Cotter about 10:00 AM and arrived in Mammoth Springs about 11:30 AM. We stopped by the fly shop to say hello to fellow guide, Mark Crawford, and check river conditions. He said the river was fishing well and that he wished that he could join us. While we were there, we ran into local Cotter guides, Mark Poulos and Chad Johnson. They had driven over to get in a little wading and to check out their new spey fly rods. We chatted for a while and then headed over to the Dam Three Access.
We ate a quick lunch and donned our waders. The river was flowing about 450 cubic feet per second and was stained from recent rains. This is a perfect water level for wading but the stained water had very limited visibility and was a bit difficult to wade in. There were a few cars in the parking lot and there were several anglers around. It was by now means crowded. Lori and I walked on the road over to the island and made our way down stream. I stopped mid way down and waded out in the stream to fish the channel. Lori continued down stream to fish the confluence of the two channels at the bottom of the island.
I rigged up a Y2K on 5X tippet with a bit of weight and a strike indicator. I cast into a current stem and mended the line several times to achieve a perfect drag free float. There were no takers. I fished the fly for several minutes. I tried several other nymphs but had no success until I tried a cerise San Juan worm. I worked the current stem down stream to the bottom of the island and took several small trout.
I heard Lori call my name. I figured that she was into a good fish and wanted a photo. I cranked in my line and waded over to the island. I saw her far down stream. She had waded down to a bed rock riffle and had caught a good trout. I pulled out my wading staff and carefully made my way down to her. The going was tough and it took me a while. Lori kept the trout in the water to keep it healthy. When I arrived, I put my rod on the bank and pulled out my camera. As I was focusing the shot, the trout took a last minute run and broke the tippet escaping into the run. Lori was disappointed because it was a great fish and she wanted a picture.
I picked up my rod and joined Lori in the run. I caught a few trout and then sat on the bank and watched her fish for a while. It was a gorgeous day and I was drinking it in. I sat there for quite a while and watched the sun starting to set. We decided to call it a day. The quickest way back to the car was to walk the tracks. As we neared my ancient Volvo, we noticed that the run right in front of the parking lot was abandoned. Over the years, we have caught fish right there. Since we still had a few minutes of daylight left, we decided to give it a try.
We waded out in the run. Lori had been fishing an elk hair caddis and was changing over to a Y2K. I had one on and cast out in the current. On the third cast I hit a good fish. After a brief struggle he surrendered to my net. Lori walked over to take a look and was surprised to see a fine twenty four inch female rainbow. We stopped for a while and took several photos. I carefully revived it and watched it swim back into the run. I returned to fishing and a few casts later hit another good fish. I got a good look at it and saw that it was a bit larger than the first trout. It took a good run and was able to slip the hook. By this time, Lori was rigged and fishing intently.
We were fishing hard. I moved up stream to give Lori a bit more room. We both caught the tree behind us and both of us lost flies. Once I rerigged, I returned to the task at hand. In two casts, I hit another big trout. When I got a good look at it, I realized that I had foul hooked it. I put heavy pressure on it to land it quickly and Lori used my big net to get it in. When we saw it up close we realized that I had foul hooked the twenty four inch female that I had hooked a few minutes before. I had caught the same trophy trout twice in five minutes. With the big one that got away, it had been the hottest five minutes of fly fishing that I had ever had. I revived the big trout and released it once again.
I continued fishing. I had another take and set the hook. I missed the trout and caught the tree once again. I figured that I had used up all my luck. I cranked in my line and waded out to remove my waders. Lori stayed until she lost another fly in the tree. It was now too dark to fish with an indicator and she reluctantly left the stream also.
We had driven over to the Spring River and we had really enjoyed it. It was every bit as good as we remembered it. We are planning our next trip.
ASK JOHN
Mike B asks: What are the advantages and disadvantages of fluorocarbon leaders and tippets.
The advantages are greater strength, much greater abrasion resistance, and a higher specific gravity. That means that fluorocarbon is heavier than water. Therefore it sinks. This is great for fishing wet flies, streamers and nymphs. In addition, it is much harder to see in the water than nylon.
The disadvantages are the greater cost (three times as much as conventional nylon). It is a bit harder to knot (be sure to careful form and test every knot). Since it sinks, it is not recommended for fishing dry flies.
