kevin July 3rd, 2009 Share

I often fish with a strike indicator and have my clients do the same. It is not that easy. It took me years to master the technique. There are many ways to fly fish that are easier such as swinging a soft hackle or a woolly bugger. What differentiates fishing with a strike indicator is that it is dead on effective when done properly.

The hard part for most novices is that you have to set the hook. This isn’t like crappie fishing where the bobber heads for the bottom and stays there. When fishing for trout, the strike is much more subtle, particularly when fishing a size eighteen or twenty two, as we often do here. The indicator may not go down at all. It might stop momentarily of move slightly up stream. When in doubt set the hook. There is just not that much time to think about it. You basically have a half a second to lift the rod.

Another aspect of fishing with a strike indicator that is difficult, is achieving a perfect drag free drift. The trout are basically lying on the bottom facing upstream. As the food comes down stream, they will take the morsels as they pass.

Read the rest of fishing guide John Berry’s article on fishing with a strike indicator.

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ducktape June 30th, 2009 Share

We have had no rain and unseasonably hot weather (high nineties). Most of the lakes on the White river system have fallen. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell eight tenths of a foot to rest at fifteen and six tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is twenty five and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose one tenth of a foot to rest at one and six tenths feet above power pool or fourteen and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at eight and one tenth feet above power pool or one and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White was for round the clock generation of varied flows (3,000 CFS to 12,000 CFS). During the night and morning we have been getting lower flows. The flows have been much heavier in the afternoon during peak power demand. This created some challenging conditions for drift fishing and some limited wade fishing.

Read the rest of this report over in the fishing forum

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kevin June 23rd, 2009 Share

The other day I was guiding in the Catch and Release section at Rim Shoals. We had stopped for lunch and were sitting at a picnic table in the shade relaxing for a minute before returning to the water. I noticed a boater drive up to the ramp and launch his river boat. He drove his truck up and parked. As soon as he got to his boat, he scurried back to his pick up and backed back to the river. He had not put in his plug before launching and his boat was slowly sinking in the river.

Luckily he was able to get his boat back on the trailer and pull it out of the water before it sank. He let the water drain from his boat and then inserted his plug. He was able to return to the water and get a bit of fishing in.

It got me to thinking about my pre launch checklist. All boaters should have one. It is the mental exercise we go through before we back our boats into the water. There are a variety of tasks that must be performed before you are ready to launch.

Come inside the Arkansas Hunting and Fishing Forum to read the full boat launch checklist from fishing guide John Berry.

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kevin June 17th, 2009 Share

If there is one thing sportsman love to do as much as hunt and fish, it’s eat! So, from here on out, Arkansas Outdoors Online.com will unveil some of our favorite fish and game recipes ranging from entrees to appetizers, venison to fish, turkey to duck … and beyond. We’ll try to keep things seasonal, but if it tastes good, we’ll post it!

Here is the first dish in our fish and game recipes of the week feature. Dig in!

Beer & Mustard Deep Fried Fish

Everybody has there own little trick when frying fish. Add a little of this, a dab of that.

But for me, there are two key ingredients I use to mask the distasteful “fish” tang, and bring out a sweet, almost zesty flavor in my fillets: Beer and Spicy Brown Mustard.

These two ingredients, combined with your favorite breading (mine is Zatarains Crispy Southern Style Fish-Fri), will leave your family and friends raving with their mouths full at your next fish fry.

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of beer (of your choice)

1/2 - 1 cup spicy brown mustard

2 eggs

1 to 2 packages of Zatarains Fish-Fri, Crispy Southern Style

Click here to head over to the forum for the complete cooking instructions.

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kevin June 12th, 2009 Share

It was a rainy day and my wife, Lori’s, parents were visiting. We had been scheduled to take them to Branson for the day but had rescheduled for the next day, due to the weather. I checked river conditions and noted that the river was down. I decided to get in an afternoon of fishing. The prospect of doing it in the rain did not bother me. Lori’s parents silently questioned my intelligence and wondered just what the heck their daughter had gotten herself into.

I pulled out my beloved 9 ft., 4 wt. Sage Light Line fly rod and began rigging it. The sulphurs had been coming off during the preceding week, so I tied on a Copper John nymph in size 14. The sulphurs are our major mayfly hatch of the year. They are yellowish orange and the Copper John is a dead-on imitation of their nymphs. I used an 18 inch, 6X tippet, a bit of lead tape just above the tippet knot, and a strike indicator set at the depth of the water plus a couple of inches.

I zipped up my rain jacket and closed the hatch back. I walked the trail down to the top of the shoals. I carefully waded across. The water was still dropping out and the wading was a bit treacherous. Halfway across I stopped and pulled out my wading staff. I always carry a folding wading staff and pull it out whenever I encounter fast heavy water. I carefully made my way across and breathed a sigh of relief when I emerged on the other side.

Come inside to read about John Berry’s day on the river, as well as pick up some good tips on fly stages such as nymphal, emerger and adult/dry.

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kevin June 9th, 2009 Share

Read part 1 of this article here.

The points I made earlier about fishing upstream instead of down are not etched in stone and unwavering.

To be sure, I have had many successful Arkansas fishing trips where I floated downstream with the current. And, not surprisingly, many long river holes have quality fishing in the very middle of them. However, they are always rock solid patterns and will greatly increase your chances of catching fish.

Two other reasons to base trips on fishing against the current involve using only one vehicle instead of two. Float trips usually require two trucks with one driven to the start of the trip and the other left in the area where you plan on ending. By floating upstream you can use just one vehicle and fish upstream and then pilot back down to the place where you started.

Equipping your boat with a strong trolling motor (take 2 batteries for safety ) and traveling against the current eliminates the other vehicle altogether. You approach the fish undetected and use very little time in the day coming back down to where you started. Secondly, you don’t have to have a fishing partner to assist you. I have very few people that river fish with me and the ones I do are not always available to go. Therefore, a man can go fishing by himself and effectively float a stream or river with no help using this river strategy. The trolling motor takes the work out of moving up and downstream and you can catch fish in the water you targeted on the way up.

Often other fish will move into structure where you caught fish earlier and as you return over that used water you can cast back into the area and catch even more. Rivers have prime spots where fish congregate to feed and rest so when one leaves the area another fish will quickly replace it — a very important thing to remember when maximizing fishing time.

Shane Goodner is a Central Arkansas fishing guide based in Hot Springs, Ark. To book a trip with Shane, visit Catch em All Guide Service.com

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ducktape June 8th, 2009 Share

Well considering this is National Fishing and Boating Week, Arkansas Outdoors Online wanted to start our Monday off with a small checklist for using your outboard motor. If you plan on hitting one of the many Arkansas lakes or rivers please take precautions, check the water levels, the fish and game forecast, make sure that throwable flotation device is in the boat, and most importantly use common sense.

If you need some tips on what the fish are doing, check out our Arkansas Fishing section for up to date tips and don’t forget that the free fishing weekend is this coming up weekend.

Read the checklist for safely and correctly operating your outboard engine over in the forum.

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