John Berry
(870) 435-2169
www.berrybrothersguides.comDuring the recently held Federation of Fly Fisher’s Southern Council Conclave there were a few incidents that came very close to being tragedies. As you know, we have suffered through two high water years in a row. There has been precious little wadable water during the last couple of years and there is a lot of pent up demand among anglers to get in a little wade fishing. In order to satisfy this desire for low water and accommodate several on water seminars, Larry Babbin, of Blue Ribbon Fly shop, the Conclave chairman, petitioned the United States Army Corps of Engineers to provide wadable water on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during Conclave. The Corps agreed.
On Thursday morning, several anglers were fishing low water below Bull Shoals dam. They were doing well. This section is popular with fly fishers because of the quality of the fishing and the proximity to the dam which has a horn that is blown five minutes before generation to warn of rising water. This makes it one of the safer places to wade on the White River. As they were fishing, they noticed that the water was rising. It came up fast and they had to scramble for the bank. Luckily everyone made it. They looked up and noticed that three gates were open. About that time, they heard the horn and two more gates were opened.
This incident was not too serious but could have been worse. The powerhouse operator is supposed to sound a horn before generation begins. It was not done until the additional gates were opened.
Friday was worse. A group of anglers from Little Rock were fishing at the Narrows. The better fishing is pretty far from the access. If the water comes up, you have to move quickly to get out. They were doing well. To ensure that they were safe, they called Bull Shoals powerhouse and listened to the recording. It said that the dam was still not generating. They were relieved and returned to the job at hand, catching some trout. Suddenly they were hit with what they described as a wall of water. The river was rising very fast and they were scrambling for safety. Four anglers went swimming. Three of them were miraculously rescued by their fishing buddies. One was stranded.
A quick call to 911 reached the Cotter Volunteer Fire Department Wildcat Shoals Substation. They quickly launched their rescue boat and safely recovered the very damp angler. For the angler, it had been a harrowing experience. For the firemen it was another day’s work. We are very fortunate to have an organization like the Cotter Volunteer Fire Department available to perform rescues. We appreciate them.
This incident occurred because the Corps of Engineers turned on the generators and did not update the dam recording for six hours. Several years ago the Corps maintained a phone system that was automatically maintained by a computer whenever generation started or ceased. The problem was that there was only one phone line and it was difficult to get through and check on generation. Then a few years ago the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers, the North Arkansas Fly Fishers and the Mid South Fly Fishers funded a new system for the Bull Shoals Powerhouse with multiple lines. The new system was much easier to reach but it has a flaw. The new recording system is not computer generated but must be updated manually when generation begins or ceases. If the powerhouse operator does not update the recording, it is incorrect. This incident was exacerbated by the abrupt rise in the water level. They went from zero to four gates introducing a large volume of water in a short time.
In two days we had two incidents that created some dangerous wading conditions. The White River is always listed as one of the ten most dangerous bodies of water in the United States. We do not need to make it any worse.
The bad thing is that these occurred during Conclave when we had a lot of anglers from several states that were here to check out our storied waters. At Conclave on Saturday, everyone was talking about what had happened. Now when these folks go home what will they be talking about? Will it be their great fishing or the dramatic wading conditions?
If we are to flourish as a recreational area, we need to provide as safe as an environment as possible. It is imperative that we receive the most accurate information on water conditions as they occur. Our only source for this information is the Corps of Engineers.
It is also our responsibility to carefully monitor water conditions at all times. We must act swiftly as soon as we detect rising water and get to safety, so that we can fish another day.
