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Kevin
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« on: January 27, 2011, 09:27:21 AM » |
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TWO WAYS TO FISH THE TOP OF THE WATER
BY JOHN BERRY
I caught a break in what has been a long period of frigid weather. The forecast high temperature was to be forty one degrees and the winds were to only be five to ten miles per hour. The skies were overcast but after the past couple of weeks it was almost balmy. I checked the generation prediction and noted that the Norfork was to be off for the entire afternoon. The South West Power Administration generation prediction website has not been very accurate lately. I did not leave the house until I could verify that the generation at Norfork dam had ceased by calling the Corps of Engineers powerhouse telephone number.
My wife, Lori, was unable to join me but my yellow lab, Ellie, was more than willing to go. In fact, once she saw me put on my fishing clothes and pack my wader bag, she followed me around the house, so that there was no chance that she would be left at home. I loaded my gear and Ellie in my ancient Volvo and headed toward the Ackerman access, on the lower Norfork River.
We were the first car in the parking lot and the water was still falling. I took a few minutes to don my waders and pull my rod from its case. In my rush to get to the stream, I made a fateful error. I left the Ziploc containing Ellie’s dog biscuits on the hood of the Volvo. By the time I left the access another angler had arrived. He chose to fish close by. I gathered up Ellie and we waded far upstream into the Catch and Release area. For hours, I had it all to myself.
Ellie and I settled into one of my favorite spots. It had a consistent current perfect for swinging soft hackles or emergers and it was shallow enough for Ellie to stand close by. As she gets older, I have had to limit my fishing to spots to where she can comfortably sit or stand in order to conserve her strength. If I don’t, she over does it and she is sore and has trouble getting around the next day.
As we were walking in, I noted several rising fish but saw no insects. I figured that the trout were keying in on emerging insects. Our dominant hatch at this time of year is midges so I decided to start with my go to midge emerger, Dan’s turkey tail emerger. My brother, Dan, developed this fly for the Norfork over twenty five years ago. It is one of my top producing flies and is particularly deadly in the winter.
I tied it a five foot 5X tippet connected to a seven and a half foot 4X leader on my Sage nine foot four weight Light Line fly rod. I waded out and began fishing. I fished about twenty five feet of fly line directly downstream. I cast to either side and let the fly swing in the current. When I felt or sensed a take, I set the hook. I was into fish immediately. I landed maybe thirty. My catch included two small brookies, two nice browns and numerous rainbows. I only needed a cutthroat to get my grand slam (a grand slam is where you catch all four species, cutthroat, brown, brook and rainbow in one day). I decided to fish another spot in hopes of landing the cutt. As I had been fishing, I saw another angler slowly making his was up to where we were.
As I waded out of the water, Ellie moved close. This is when I normally give her a treat. She was confused when she did not get a dog biscuit but handled it well. We continued upstream to another productive spot. I fished it for a while. I changed flies several times but was unable to land a cutthroat. I decided to go back and fish my way out. When I returned to my original spot, I noted that the other angler I had seen was now fishing nearby.
As I approached him, I realized that it was George Peters, a fellow Cotter resident and a fishing buddy. George and I both like to fish the top of the water column but he prefers to fish dry flies. Prefers is a bit of an understatement. I would say that he fishes dries almost exclusively. This day was no different. He had been fishing his favorite fly, the parachute Adams. I once looked in his fly box and noted that it only contained various sizes of parachute Adams.
We stood around and chatted for a while. George had been fishing his beloved parachute Adams and had done well. He was rigged in a similar manner. He had about a twelve foot leader tippet combination although his ended with a 7X fluorocarbon tippet. He was fishing a nine foot six weight Winston Boron II X rod, his favorite. George was casting far across the current and mended his line to achieve a perfect drag free drift. If he saw a strike, he set the hook. He had caught several trout including a good cutthroat.
Ellie stood by patiently wondering where the dog biscuits were. I knew it was time to move on. I decided to fish my way out. I said good bye to George and started making my way back to the access. I picked up a few more fish but no cutthroat. When we got back to my car, I found the Ziploc of dog biscuits and gave them all to Ellie. She had kept her part of the bargain. She provided loyal companionship without a whimper at my error. George arrived at the access a few minutes later and we left for home at about the same time.
On the drive I reviewed the Day. George and I had both fished the same midge hatch with completely different methods and we had both been successful. We had chosen our day and reveled in the improved weather and great hatch.
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