Monday, June 25, 2012—Fishing the Upper River

DATE:  Monday, June 25, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s to low 90s, mostly sunny, slight breeze

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Quarry Park to Ackerman Access 

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, green micro jig, #14 Special K, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 9’ 6-weight BIIX

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs, occasional caddis

OTHER:   I fished solo, and apparently didn’t post an entry into the Donald’s Fishin’ Journal blog.  However, some photos of fish were dated with this date, and there were pictures of the upper part of the Norfork River below the dam, and also photos of the one man pontoon and oars.  Apparently, fishing was pretty decent as evidenced from the photos.  And, it appears that at least one large fish was caught.

Sunday, June 24, 2012—Karma and a Few Sulphurs

DATE: Sunday, June 24, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s to low 90s, mostly sunny, slight breeze

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, above the Gravel above Otter Creek downstream to Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, green micro jig, #14 Special K, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 9’ 6-weight BIIX

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs, occasional caddis

OTHER: Fished solo. I should have known not to fish during church and Sunday school hours; Karma will get you every time.  John Gulley’s truck was parked near my usual walk-in which was kind of a surprise as we had been told several times that the owner had told him not to trespass.  As I waded upstream from Mill Dam Eddy, a solo fisher was fishing the right hand chute along the island (he too had trespassed as he later walked out via Otter Creek).  John Gulley was guiding two clients at the riffle above the island but neither was catching fish.  Further upstream in the plunge pool, a couple of canoers were fishing.  Consequently, I waded all the way to the end of the gravel, arriving there about 9:30 AM, when I should have been in early church.  I didn’t catch my first fish until 11:15 AM, and it was the only bite I had—should have gone to church and Sunday school.  Having decided to wade out, I trudged downstream and the two canoes were attempting to snag fish in the plunge pool and were having limited success—they caught two, maybe three fish.  Gulley had left the riffle above the island and no one else was there so I decided to make a cast or two, and was rewarded with several fish on the green micro jig and several others on the red/silver zebra midge.  A few sulphurs were coming off and the riffle had not been fished with dry flies in several days.  I crossed the first riffle and standing between the two riffles tied on a #14 Special K and got slammed.  I took several fish this way, and then decided to try a #16 parachute sulphur dun.  Again, the fish bit, and I took several more, with quite a few misses and quite a few refusals.  Switching back to the Special K, I took a few more fish and called it a day, ending with almost 2 1/2 dozen fish, including browns, rainbows, and cutthroats.  No big fish were taken, but all the fish were “hot” and several were 14-15 inches. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012—Big Ugly

DATE: Thursday, June 21, 2012

TIME: 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, high winds

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Elisabeth Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Olive Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #20 Dunn’s Dun, #14 Special K, #10 Big Ugly

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES: Occasional sulphurs

OTHER: Fished with Wayne; we repeated yesterday’s scenario, though the bite was much less frequent, and the fish not as big.  We worked our way upstream, with only an occasional fish here and there.  About half of what I caught up to Mill Dam Eddy were on the #20 red/silver zebra midge.  Just below Mill Dam Eddy, the fish were “midging”, and I tied on a #20 black/silver cockleburr, then a #20 Dunn’s Dun.  I finally resorted to a #14 Special K and had success pulling the fly under the surface and short stripping it back.  I took 5 fish this way.  Then, I decided to try the Big Ugly in the leaf line where fish were gently surfacing.

I was immediately rewarded with a small brookie, then a nice 14 or 15-inch brown. Wayne switched to a Big Ugly and caught 4 fish, including a couple of nice 16 to 17-inch browns.  I ended the day with 14 fish. 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012—Seems Like Old Times

DATE: Wednesday, June 20, 2012

TIME: 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, high winds

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Elisabeth Creek midway upstream to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Olive Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES:  Occasional sulphurs

OTHER: Fished with Wayne; it’s been so long since we fished together, and particularly this reach of river, that it seemed like old times.  As usual, Wayne caught and released his first fish before I even had a fly in the water.  He continued to take fish, breaking off a large fish, while I broke off or missed what must have been 3/4 dozen, including a large fish.  As we progressed upstream, I finally began to get into some rhythm, and caught fish with regularity, as did Wayne.  I hooked, fought, and landed a nice 20-inch brown on the red zebra midge; thank goodness I was using 4X tippet and dropping the zebra midge with 5X.  After photographing and releasing the fish, Wayne immediately followed by catching one only slightly smaller.

We continued to take fish, but not as often.  Wayne broke off a large cutthroat upstream near Mill Dam Eddy.  As we finished up the day, Donnie and Susie from McGehee came floating down and it was a pleasure to introduce them to Wayne, and vice versa—all good people, and good fishers!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012—It Began as a Really Tough Day

DATE: Tuesday, June 19, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s to above the Gravel above Otter Creek

FLIES USED: Green Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: Fished solo. I began today fishing the tail out below the riffle from the left descending bank. I used a gray Norfork River scud and a red/silver zebra midge.  The bite was very slow, and I didn’t seem to have IT all together, with several tangles and a break off, but the first 4 fish were browns; the 5th was also a brown, but took me into the only submerged tree in the pool, forcing a break off between the leader and tippet.  This was not going to be my day.  I took an occasional fish here and there, in the riffle above the island below McClellan’s, but missed many more than I caught.  Neither the left descending riffle in the plunge pool or Ace in the Hole produced anything.  I wasn’t able to get any bites along the gravel at the old Sycamore Tree Hole or the Walnut Tree Hole.  I didn’t catch any more fish until I waded up above the gravel as far as I could and fished the right descending bank channel. The wind was blowing upstream resulting in a poor drift, so I would throw a mend creating a downstream belly in the line and used what little current was available to pull the fly along; it worked (an old Indian trick taught me by Wayne). Though the drift was about as slow as watching paint drive, a fish resulted in almost every cast. Donnie and Susie from McGehee were fishing upstream, and I visited with Donnie briefly, then headed back downstream. The tail out below the riffle above the island below McClellan’s didn’t produce any fish compared to yesterday, but further downstream, I caught a couple of fish under the trees along the island, ending the day with maybe 2 1/2 dozen fish.

No big fish were caught, though the number and percentage of browns was even higher than yesterday.

Monday, June 18, 2012—Moving Upstream

DATE: Monday, June 18, 2012
TIME: 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM
WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, wind
WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s to Otter Creek
FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/silver Zebra Midge.

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs
OTHER: Fished solo. I began today, as I do most days, by fishing the tail out below the riffle, except today I fished it from the left descending bank.  I used a Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge, taking about a half dozen fish.  I moved out of the riffle and waded upstream to the plunge pool and missed a couple of fish in the left descending bank riffle.  Wading further upstream on the left descending bank, Ace in the Hole was quite productive, and I took another half dozen fish right immediately, then the action stopped.  Further upstream, the Walnut Tree hole produced a few fish.  I was intent to fish all the way upstream as far as water depths would allow wading—above the gravel above Otter Creek (below McClellan’s Dock) and I saw Donnie and Susie from McGehee, and looked forward to visiting with them.  I caught quite a few fish at the top of the gravel, and had decided to wade further upstream, but saw a couple of kayaks coming down the river, and it can get real crowded real fast.  I turned downstream and fished my way back.  The tail out below the riffle above the island below McClellan’s fished better than at any time this year, producing a half dozen or more fish in a brief period despite the fact that I had fished it earlier from the other side of the river.  Further downstream, I missed a couple of fish under the trees along the island, ending the day with maybe 3 dozen fish.


No big fish were caught, though the number and percentage of browns were higher than I can remember ever catching.

Thursday, June 14, 2012—A Big Fish

DATE: Thursday, June 14, 2012

TIME: 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, light wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s to just upstream of Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun, #20 Special K, #14 Special K, #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/silver Zebra Midge.

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: Fished solo. I began today, as I do most days, by fishing the the tail out below the riffle with Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge, taking about a half dozen fish. The first sulphur came off about a half hour after I began fishing, so I tried the #14 Special K that was so successful yesterday.  I took a few fish pretty quickly, then it really slowed down.  I switched to a #16 parachute sulphur dun, and only took a few fish.  Next, I tied on a #20 Special K, but it only brought a couple of fish to hand.  I moved out of the riffle and waded upstream to the plunge pool and took a couple of fish on the small Special K.  Continuing wading upstream, I fished above the walnut tree, and caught a 20+ inch brown, my biggest fish this year.

I continued fishing upstream above Otter Creek, and took almost a couple of dozen fish in the slow water pool below McClellan’s Dock, all on the gray Norfork River scud.  I met Donnie and Susie from McGehee.  Donnie attended some fly tying seminars I presented in Little Rock in the early 2000s.  He is probably the best fisher I’ve ever “taught”; I sure wouldn’t want to fish behind him.  He informed me that Susie caught a 30-inch brown yesterday on a fly on the Norfork, and they had photos to prove it.  WOW!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012—Awesome Fishing

DATE:  Wednesday, June 13, 2012

TIME: 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, light wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s to just upstream of Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun, #20 Special K, #14 Special K

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs, occasional crane fly

OTHER: Fished solo.  I began by fishing the  the tail out below the riffle with Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge, taking about a half dozen fish. The first sulphur came off at 9:22 AM, and I switched immediately to a #16 parachute sulphur dun, and moved upstream to the area between the right and left riffles. The fish were not crazy about the fly, but I did manage to catch a dozen or more, fishing it pretty hard.  I noted that fish were taking midges instead of the natural sulphur, so I put on a #20 Special K, a pink-bodied, furnace-hackled cockleburr, and the fish liked it.  I couldn’t see the fly well against the sun, so switched to the larger #14 size, and the fish really like it.  I managed to catch another dozen and a half fish on this fly.  I didn’t have any big fish today, though most were in the 14-inch category.  It was an awesome day on the river, but my “cold” seems to be getting worse as I was having chills and coughing like crazy.  Hope it’s not pneumonia.  .

Tuesday, June 12, 2012—First Fish on a Dry Fly

DATE: Tuesday, June 5, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, light wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: Fished with Whit and Patty, friends from Little Rock.  As a relatively new fly fisher, it was Whit’s first time to fish with dry flies.  We began in the tail out below the riffle with Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge.  The bite was slow, yielding only a few fish.  The first sulphur came off about 9:30 AM, and we switched immediately to a #16 parachute sulphur dun.  The fish really liked the selection and took Whit’s fly steadily, including his first fish ever on a dry fly, shown in the photo above.  He took a couple of dozen fish before the hatch ended, and Patty took quite a few fish as well, though we had her positioned in a less desirable area.  In between various coaching sessions, I took about a dozen fish. 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012—A Dry Fly Grand Slam

DATE: Tuesday, June 5, 2012

TIME: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER:  The “cold” is steadily improving, but the coughing and hacking is slowly dissipating. In fact, I walked the trash to the big garbage bins on the other side of the campground. Today, I fished with Bruce, a friend from the Arkansas Travelers RV Club. Bruce asked about fishing, so we loaded our wading stuff and drove to the house to change into waders and boots. We accessed at Mill Dam Eddy, and waded upstream of the island. The wind was blowing steadily into our faces, and made casting quite difficult for Bruce, a novice fly fisher. He did all the right things, but couldn’t get a trout to take the fly. I played around for about 30 minutes with a parachute sulphur dun, and managed to catch over a dozen fish, including a grand slam on the dry fly.