Monday, October 14—The End

DATE: Monday, October 14, 2013

TIME: 8:25AM TO 11:30 AM

WEATHER: Mid 70s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Furnace Cockleburr, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, occasional cranefly

OTHER: I fished with Jerry Smith.  Jerry and his wife, Karen, are full time RVers, whom we met in Alaska.  He is a retired senior regulator/biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers.  We waded in at Mill Dam Eddy, only to find the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff continuing their channelization of the Norfork River, having moved from the right descending bank to the island, the river itself, and the bar below the island.  It is my professional and personal opinion that the greatest segment of the Norfork River has now been destroyed and rendered sterile by this state agency.  They have removed practically all structure and changed flow patterns and regimes.  Areas where I caught thousands of fish have been robbed of substrate flora and fauna.  And, there is absolutely NO SCIENCE to support what is being done.  I have lost all confidence in Trout Unlimited, Friends of the River, and Friends of the Norfork Hatchery.  These groups have coalesced in "improving" the river to the point of ruining it for me.  I moved here specifically to fish this reach of the river, and we have invested a lot of money in our property; will they buy it as I now have not desire to fish this channelized river?  Will they buy all my fly fishing equipment?  Who will compensate us for our losses?  Jerry, too, was amazed at what he saw, and as a former regulator, was astounded as to how this work was permitted.  We now have a great catch and kill, channelized river.

Monday, October 7—The Beginning of the End

DATE:  Monday, October 7, 2013

TIME: 8:25AM TO 12:15 PM

WEATHER: Low 80s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Furnace Cockleburr, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, occasional cranefly

OTHER: I fished with Michael LeBlanc.  We entered the river at Mill Dam Eddy, and a sick feeling came over me as we observed a track hoe working on the right descending bank of the river adjacent to the island.  Already disturbed by the significantly high water levels and velocities from minimum flow, this was further evidence of destroying a great river.  The area where gross bank protection was being effected was one of 3 primary spawning areas for browns, and I caught hundreds of fish along that bank under trees removed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff in the heavy structural bank protection.  Significant amounts of gravel were being mined by them and used for backfilling behind the newly "paved" bank.  And to make matters worse, the track hoe and heavy truck were tracking through an area where Bonneville Cutthroat eggs were placed the last two years—is this stupid or what?  This was, in my opinion, one of the most egregious water-related projects I have ever witnessed (after 40+ years as a water resources engineer).   How they could conscientiously do this while vehemently protesting less damaging work by the US Army Corps of Engineers to protect lives and livelihoods is beyond me.  And how Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Rivers, Friends of the Norfork Hatchery, etc. would allow this to happen is beyond my wildest imagination.  What they did at Cook's Island above Ackerman Handicap Access was horrific enough, but this…  And, despite the river's near magical healing powers, it won't heal in my lifetime from this debacle.

Anyway, Michael caught lots of fish, but had to listen to my tirades all morning!  He did learn how to high stick, and use other techniques for nymph fishing, though he is an excellent fisher in his own right.

Monday, September 16—Fishing with Bill

DATE: Monday, September 16, 2013

TIME: 8:25AM TO 12:15 PM

WEATHER: High 80s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Furnace Cockleburr, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, occasional cranefly

OTHER: I fished with Bill, and he ripped lips with the Zig-a-jig and spinning rod combination, while I managed a dozen or so on a combination scud with a zebra midge dropper.  Fishing behind him is like hunting squirrels with a .22 rifle behind someone hunting them with a 10 gauge shotgun. 

Monday, September 9—Ed Has a Still Another Great Day

DATE: Monday, September 9, 2013

TIME: 8:25AM TO 12:15 PM

WEATHER: High 80s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, occasional cranefly

OTHER: I fished with Ed.  The river was still falling when we walked in at Mill Dam Eddy, but we waded across, walked up the island, and began fishing the riffle above the island.  Ed was into fish immediately.  He seemed to constantly be hooking up, playing, and releasing fish.  He ended the day with 35 fish, using some 9 different patterns.  I didn’t catch near as many, but did have lots of fun, particularly with the pink cockleburr.

Wednesday, September 4—The Fraser River

DATE:  Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TIME: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-70s, mostly sunny, wind, light rain

WATER CONDITIONS: N/A

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Fraser River Beat 2, Granby Ranch, Colorado

FLIES USED:  Ant, #18 Caddis, #10 Deer Hair Hopper

ROD USED: 8' 9" 5-wt Winston LT

HATCHES:  Caddis

OTHER:  John and I made reservations to fish the private waters of Granby Ranch today. Granby Ranch's private three-mile stretch of the Fraser River is a beautiful gold-medal tributary of the Colorado River, containing brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout. Starting time was 9:00 AM, so we paid our trespass fee, signed a release, and drove to water's edge of Beat 2. A fly shop in Fraser has exclusive "guiding" rights to these private waters, and the shop owner told us that Beats 1 and 2 were his choice as to where he takes clients. At the river, we put our rods together, strung them up, and donned waders, boots, and vests. We both started with flies purchased at the Fraser fly shop. I had a couple of misses on the big ant, and changed to a #18 caddis, success as the little 6-inch brown was a fighter. Over the course of the next three hours, I constantly changed flies, even using several two-fly combinations, and caught an occasional fish here and there, with lots of misses; the fish would miss the fly, failing to hook up.

Shortly after noon, I switched to a deer hair hopper, and after several misses, a 9-inch brown inhaled the hopper. For the next 3 hours, I fished the hopper without hooking up, but got strikes at almost all undercut bank sections. Thunder, lightning, and a light rain finally drove us off the river. John had several fish for the day, mostly on nymphs, but of course, he's the nymph master. This was a fun river to fish, with riffles and pools at every bend. It might take a couple of days, but I believe the code could be broken.

Friday, August 23—Boat Fishing with John

DATE: Friday, August 23, 2013

TIME: 9:00 AM TO 4:00 pM

WEATHER: Low 90s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: Variable units

LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, immediately below Bull Shoals Dam

FLIES USED: #14 Superfly, #20 red/silver midge pupa

ROD USED: 9 ' 6-wt Winston BII

HATCHES: Midges, occasional caddis

OTHER: John Simank invited me for fishing the White River on Friday, which I eagerly accepted as I wanted to learn to fish high water. John is the best boat fisher with a fly rod I know, and today proved it again. With varying water discharges and levels, he caught fish when no one else was even getting a bite. I did not fare as well, catching only half a dozen fish. It was hot, and he had prepared a gourmet lunch (mainly for his out of town guests who were fishing with a guide).

Wednesday, July 10, 2013—The White River at Rim Shoals

DATE:  Wednesday, July 10, 2013
TIME: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
WEATHER:  Low to mid-90s, mostly sunny, wind
WATER CONDITIONS:  2 units and dropping to 0 units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  White River, Jenkins Creek to Lower Rim Shoals
FLIES USED:  Cerise San Juan Worm, #14 Super Fly, Brown Wayne’s Fly, #14 Furnace Cockleburr
ROD USED:  N/A
HATCHES:  Midges, sulphurs

OTHER:  I asked to be the "Boat Boy" for long-time fishing friends, Ed and John.  After launching at Rim Shoals Access, we motored upstream to Jenkins Creek, and then drifted down; both Ed and John caught fish.  We continued this drift for another hour and a half, with Ed and John catching fish on most drifts.  As the water dropped, however, the fish quit biting.  We motored downstream and drifted from Upper Rim Shoals to Lower Rim Shoals, and again Ed and John caught fish on each drift.  At about 11:00 AM, the fish quit biting and we toyed around with a furnace cocklebur.  John had 4 fish on his first drift fishing the cockleburr, catching a couple on top and a couple stripping the fly.  I left them at 12:00 noon to take care of some chores at home, but as always, we had a blast.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013—Dry Fly Fishing at Ol' Charlie's

 

DATE:  Tuesday, July 9, 2013

TIME:  8:25 AM TO 10:35 AM

WEATHER:  Low 80s, partly cloudy, windy

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Riffle Across from Ol' Charlie's and Riffle at top of Island

FLIES USED:  #20 Kay's Gray, #14 Furnace Cockleburr, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED:  7' 9" 2-wt Winston WT

HATCHES:  Midges, occasional sulphur, occasional caddis

OTHER:  I fished solo.  A single fisher was fishing near the stocking chute, and had a fish on as I waded across; the area was stocked last week.  Otherwise, no one else was in sight, even across from Ol' Charlie's and it has always been a good place to fish dries, midges, and emerges.  There was a heavy mist over the water, but fish were still sipping midge emergers.  I tied on a #20 Kay's Gray, and took an occasional fish until the mist burned off.  And then, fishing picked up.  A sulphur would hatch here and there, so out came the pink cocklebur.  Sure enough, the first cast produced a fish, and they continued taking the fly until I moved upstream at about 9:45 AM.  Fish in the upstream riffle also liked the pink cockleburr, and were a bit larger and heavier than those in the downstream riffle.  Some put a significant bend in the 2-weight Winston.  With generation forecast to begin at 11:00 AM, I left the water early, having caught about two and a half dozen fish, all on dry flies.  It's so fun to cast to a rising fish, and catch it, or even to get a brief hook-up.  It doesn't get much better!  

Monday, July 8, 2013—Wadable Water Again

DATE:  Monday, July 8, 2013

TIME:  8:25AM TO 12:15 PM

WEATHER:  Low 80s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek to Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED:  #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Furnace Cockleburr, #14 Pink Cockleburr

ROD USED:  8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES:  Midges, occasional sulphur

OTHER:  I fished solo, beginning an upstream wade at Mill Dam Eddy, and walking upstream to the pool above the island (between the riffle and the island).  I fished the gray Norfork River Scud with the Zebra midge dropper, for several minutes without any action.  About halfway up the pool, I began catching fish (8:54 AM). 

The second fish proved to be a large, slender brown, the longest fish of the year —so far; it was the skinniest large fish I have caught on the Norfork.  The action was slow, but the fish hooked-up consistently.  I took a dozen fish out the pool, and all but the brown were small.  The riffle produced several fish on the furnace cockleburr, but they fish were sipping rather than slamming the fly.  Some takes were so innocuous that they were hard to detect, except for watching the fly very carefully and actually seeing the fish sip it in.  A couple of the fish would easily measure 15 inches, but most were smaller than what I had caught there previously.  The plunge pool below Ace in the Hole did not yield any fish, though there were lots of sippers; I only threw a half dozen casts.  Downstream, along the island, the fish were taking the furnace cockleburr on top, but mostly on the swing.  I caught 10-12 fish along the island, including a nice 15-incher.  It was a good day, but fishing was tougher than usual—the dog days of summer!

Saturday, July 6, 2013—Family Fishing, V. 3

DATE:  Saturday, July 6, 2013
TIME:  8:30 AM TO 11:15 PM
WEATHER:  Low 80s, sunny
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek
FLIES USED:  #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/copper Zebra Midge, #14 Pink Cockleburr
ROD USED:  9’ 3-wt custom built G Loomis
HATCHES:  Midges, a few Sulphurs
OTHER:  I "guided" Karyn and Matt.  Hoping for a repeat of late yesterday afternoon, we waded upstream expecting the fish to be rising like crazy, but instead found several dead fish in the pool below the riffle. (I suspect poachers had been in the area during the evening.)  I tied on a scud and zebra midge dropper combination on both Karyn and Matt’s lines, but hook-ups proved to be evasive, with only a few fish caught.  Switching to a pink cockleburr proved to be no better, and in fact resulted in less hook-ups.  Matt fished the plunge pool above the riffle but didn’t have any success.  It was a slow fishing day.  

Friday, July 5, 2013—Family Fishing, V. 2

DATE:  Friday, July 5, 2013
TIME:  4:15 PM TO 6:30 PM

WEATHER:  Low 80s, sunny
WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Riffle Above the Island Below Otter Creek and Plunge Pool below Ace in the Hole
FLIES USED:  #14 Pink Cockleburr
ROD USED:  9’ 3-wt custom built G Loomis
HATCHES:  Sulphurs
OTHER:  I "guided" Ron and Matt.  On our return from the White River a couple of hours earlier, we noted that the Norfork River was unexpectedly down.  After gulping down a late lunch of tacos, Ron and Matt suited up in their waders, and we drove to a neighbors for private access.  Another neighbor was fishing Mill Dam Eddy, so we walked upstream and noted fish taking bugs on top like crazy.  Armed with Pink Cockleburrs, the guys took one fish after another, and most were 14 to 15 inches and "hot" as firecrackers, not having had a lot of fishing pressure for two weeks.  I waded upstream to the plunge pool and had some ferocious hook-ups; I called for Ron to come up and he, too, had some ferocious hits.  Regrettably, his leader was too short and dragging his fly under.  After rebuilding his leader, he began to see the hook-ups and took several fish.  Both guys had a great late afternoon, and I was glad to that Ron was able to fly fish this trip.  

Friday, July 5, 2013--Family Fishing, V. 1

DATE: Friday, July 5, 2013
TIME: 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM
WEATHER: Mid 80s, sunny
WATER CONDITIONS: 2 Units falling
LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, Rim Shoals
FLIES USED: #14 BHFB Pheasant tail
ROD USED: N/A
HATCH: A few midges
OTHER: Guided Karyn, Matt, and Kaden. The trail that I normally take to access downstream was overgrown, and I could not find it. Consequently, we bushwacked through the overgrown riparian habitat, until I found some semblance of trail. After a short hike, we waded into the still high water. Each of the fishers started with different combinations of flies. Karyn started off like gangbusters, catching two fish on a zebra midge. Kayden followed with a fish on a sowbug. And then Matt began what would prove to be a very successful day, catching fish on a BHFB PT. He is a fearless wader, and fished the entire area of the river. And he did it with only one fly, and no accessories or other flies. Karyn was outfitted with Kay's vest and wading staff, but found the deep water in combination with the multitude of rocks strewn along the bottom to be treacherous, getting wet a couple of times, but seemingly covering the whole river. Nevertheless, she's a good sport and still caught fish. Kayden remained near our access, and caught 4 fish. He continues to improve as a fly fisher.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Monday, June 24, 2013—3 Spell Trouble in River City

DATE:  Monday, June 24, 2013
TIME:  8:00AM TO 1:30 PM

WEATHER:  Low 90s, partly cloudy, windy

WATER CONDITIONS:  1 unit

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Quarry Park Access to Island at Ol’ Charlie’s

FLIES USED:  #14 Weight Fly, #14 cerise San Juan Worm

ROD USED:  Winston 9’ 6-weight BXT

HATCHES:  Midges, sulphur

OTHER:  I fished with Ed and John.  There’s always trouble when the three of us fish together—entanglements of fishing line, leader, and tippet; casting over another’s line; and lots of long distant releases.  One never knows what will happen, but you can be sure it will always be fun times.

We launched at Quarry Park Access, Ed drove to the White River Access at Norfork and parked the trailer, and Kay shuttled Ed back to Quarry Park.

The Resort Hole produced nothing.  The Long Hole, however, produced at least a fish on every drift.  Ed started out like gangbusters, but the action slowed for him, and I only picked up a few on the Weight Fly.  More and more “guide” boats ended up drifted the Long Hole, and it became too crowded for us.  The pool below the Upper Riffle at McClellan’s to just above McClellan’s proved to be a good area, particularly for John as he pulled at least one fish in on every drift.  We moved further down, and the pool below McClellan’s produced nothing.  The wind really picked up just before noon, and made keeping the boat on a good drift line near impossible.  The pool below Mill Dam Eddy fished very poorly, with only a few fish caught.

Based on past experiences fishing the Norfork with generation, today proved to be a very slow day.

Thursday, June 20, 2013—Not A Repeat, And A Bonus Recipe

TIME:  8:30 AM to 12:35 PM

WEATHER:  Mid-80s to low 90s, partly sunny, windy

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy, to near McClellan's

FLIES USED:  #14 gray Norfork River Scud, #16 black/copper Zebra Midge, #20 black/silver Zebra Midge, #14 pink Cockleburr

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, a few Caddis, Sulphurs

OTHER:  I fished solo.  Shedding the fly fishing vest in favor of a small Mayfly necklace pack, I felt "nekkid", and missed the several hundred flies normally carried.  Also, tried a different floatant, and found that I did not like it as much as what I had been using.  Again this morning, the river valley was shrouded in mist, and the sun was not yet high enough to begin burning it off.  Wading to the top of the island, and then upstream along the left descending bank, I caught only a couple of fish in the pool between the island and the riffle; the fish were not rising to the surface and sipping insects like yesterday, and the mist may have kept the fish down. I bypassed my favorite riffle and waded upstream to the end of the gravel, and then further towards McClellan's.  This area produced lots of fish last year on the gray scud, but this year has not been productive!  I caught two more fish at the top of the gravel. 

(The photo is looking upstream from the gravel at Otter Creek.)  Two and a half hours of fishing a scud/zebra midge combination produced only 4 fish, and no big fish!

Wading back downstream and switching to a pink Cockleburr, I fished the riffle above the island (my favorite), and took only a few fish, but there definitely were not as many fish there as last week.  It appears that when a small area is fished really hard for several consecutive days, the fish will either stay down, or leave, and this area has been pounded the last 6 days from daylight to high water.  I did note a large number of fish holding in the funnel at the top of the island—could they be from the riffle?

The chute along the island did not produce any fish, though I had several misses and refusals, until the last tree downstream leaning over the chute (in the photo, water is flowing from right to left).   Typically, this area does not produce fish except for September when it is loaded.  However, the last couple of days has been different.

From there, immediately under the downstream overhang of the tree shown here (3 fish were caught at the overhang within a 4-foot diameter area) and for the next hundred yards, I caught at least half dozen fish—mostly rainbows, and one cutthroat and one brookie.  The cutthroat was about 10-12 inches long, so likely not one hatched from the eggs put in last year.

Mill Dam Eddy was the hot spot today, yielding about a dozen fish, all on the pink Cockleburr.  Several fish hit the fly as it was stripped back.  

PINK COCKLEBURR

HOOK:  Tiemco 100BL Dry Fly Hook (or similar), Size #14-#20  (I use #14 exclusively)

THREAD:  UFC Red, Size 140

BODY:  Pink All Purpose Rabbit Dubbing with guard hair

HACKLE:  Ginger, oversized by 2 sizes (e.g. #10 hackle for a #14 fly)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Lay a base of thread on the hook.
2. Tie in hackle at the gape of the hook (above the barb, if hook is barbed).
3. Sparsely apply dubbing via noodle, or splitting the thread, technique and wrap forward to about two eye lengths behind the back of the hook eye and tie off.
4. Palmer hackle to about two eye lengths behind the back of the hook eye and tie off.
5. Whip finish.

HOW TO FISH THE COCKLEBURR:

1. Fish the Cockleburr as a dry fly, applying floatant (particularly after every hook-up), and casting to rises or emerging fish.
2. Fish the Cockleburr as an emerger by casting the fly quartering downstream, pulling it under, and stripping back in 2-inch strips; you’ll feel the fish hit.
3. Employ a combination of the above two techniques, pulling the fly under after its drag-free drift, and stripping back.

NOTE:  This fly was featured in the fly fishing column in our local newspaper, the Baxter Bulletin, last year about this time.  The author, a local guide whom I've known almost 20 years, was having difficulty hooking-up fish, and I offered him my spot at the riffle, giving him this fly and suggesting he use it, on the condition of silence—asking him to swear secrecy about the pattern and his using it—to no avail as it was in the paper the next week.  It is effective from mid-May until mid-September, and is particularly effective during a crane fly hatch. 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013—It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

TIME:  7:45 AM to 11:10 AM

WEATHER:  Mid-70s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy, to Plunge Pool below Ace in the Hole

FLIES USED:  #14 gray Norfork River Scud, #20 black/silver Zebra Midge, #14 pink Cockleburr, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, a solitary Caddis, Sulphurs

OTHER:  I fished solo.  At 7:45 AM, the river valley was shrouded in mist, and the sun was not yet high enough to begin burning it off.  A few casts along the island with the scud/midge combination did not result in any looks.  At the top of the island, I waded upstream along the left descending bank, and noted the fisher I rescued yesterday occupying the riffle above the island.  He has fished there 6 consecutive days, and is not catching fish—most likely the fish are either holding tight, or have left the area.  There were sipping fish in the pool between the island and the riffle, and one immediately struck the gray scud; the action did not slow after switching to the pink Cockleburr.  Upstream of the riffle at the top of the Plunge Pool, fish either sipped or hammered the pink Cockleburr with several coming out of the water and down on the fly.  The Plunge Pool yielded a dozen and a half fish.  After crossing the river, walking back downstream, and re-crossing it again, I fished the right chute adjacent to the island, and was surprised to find a decent sulphur hatch and fish rising to them.  After several fish were caught on the pink Cockleburr, a #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun was tied on, but did not even get a look.  Back to the pink cockleburr and the fish hit, some with a ferocity I'd never seen.  One 16-inch rainbow turned and swam about 4 feet before slamming the fly.  The chute produced fish on dry flies the entire length of the island, a first for me.  For some reason, the fish would not strike a fly cast upstream and drifted down, but would hit the fly when dead drifted downstream.  The chute produced at least a dozen and a half fish, maybe more!  At Mill Dam Eddy, the fish were sipping insects but proved to be a tough catch in the clear, slow moving water.  I did manage to catch a few small fish, and then an 18-inch rainbow gently sucked in the pink Cockleburr beside the tree in the middle of the river—an almost imperceptible take—and immediately sounded.  Putting as much pressure on the line as it could stand, the fish yielded and came over the log without spitting the fly.  Regrettably, the memory card was left out of the camera, so no photographs, but it is the largest fish of the year…so far.  Todays fish were a mixed bag, and included 3 browns and a couple of cutthroats.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013—Caught, Again!

TIME:  8:30 AM to 10:45 AM

WEATHER:  Mid-70s, overcast

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units increasing to 1 unit

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Below McClellan's

FLIES USED:  #14 gray Norfork River scud, #20 black/silver Zebra Midge, #14 pink Cockleburr, #20 Dunn's Dun

ROD USED:  8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES:  Midges

OTHER:  I fished solo.  After walking across Mill Dam Eddy, and then upstream to the tailout of the riffle above the island, I began casting the pink Cockleburr.  I missed several fish, which held on the fly only momentarily.  The fellow who crowded Ed on Thursday was fishing the riffle, and I gave hime plenty of space; he told me the fishing would pick up when the caddis started coming off; I nodded, but did not say anything!  The plunge pool below Ace in the Hole did not yield any fish, despite several near hook-ups.  One fish succumbed to the Zebra Midge near the walnut tree.  I waded all the way above Otter Creek towards McClellan's as far as water depth would allow; the usual great fishing did not occur there this morning.  Wading back downstream just above the gravel, I caught several fish, including a nice 16+ inch rainbow.  Across from Otter Creek, I noted the water had a little more velocity as the strike indicator was moving a wee bit faster.  Upon further inspection, the water had risen about 4 inches—with generation beginning an hour earlier than scheduled.  (It sure makes one touchy about taking chances!)  I immediately reeled in and began walking/running downstream, crossing at the bottom of the gravel with water near the top of my waders.  Continuing downstream, I notified the lone fisher who had crowded Ed, despite my wanting him to learn a lesson, and he insisted on following me downstream.  We waded along the right descending bank, with him grabbing hold of my arm unexpectedly; I asked him to grab my belt instead.  He insisted on trespassing to get out, but lost his way and ended up back where he started.  I admonished him about trespassing, made sure he knew I could not grant permission, and shuttled him to the access—you can't fix stupid.  He profusely apologized for crowding Ed and being disrespectful to him; I remained silent as he knew I was thinking I just saved his (explicit language).

I had a slow day, taking only a half dozen fish, most on the gray Norfork River Scud, but had a good time until it was cut short.

Y'all be careful out there.

Monday, June 17, 2013--It Helps To Have The Right Fly

TIME:  8:30 AM to 10:15 AM

WEATHER:  Mid-70s, overcast

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Island above Ackerman/Handicap Access

FLIES USED:  #14 olive Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun, #14 pink Cockleburr

ROD USED:  8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES:  Midges, Caddis, Sulphurs, Craneflies

OTHER:  I fished solo across from Wayne's.  The river was shrouded in mist when I arrived and the mist did not lift all morning.  No action occurred on the scud/midge combination, but there was an occasional gulping of midges on the surface.  Taking a chance, I put on the pink Cockleburr and immediately hooked up with a nice 16-inch rainbow.  A few fish were caught in the near riffle, but most hit in the fly when cast to the riffle on the left descending bank.  About half of the dozen and a half fish I caught were in the 16-inch range, including one brown and one cutbow; the others were rainbows.  Observing an occasional sulphur, I switched to a Parachute Sulphur Dun, but received no action.  Switching back to the pink Cockleburr, the fish resumed attacking the fly.  One fish porpoised onto the fly and was close enough that it was pretty exciting as I saw the whole thing up close and personal.  With both rain and generation forecast later in the morning, and with mist covering the river, I only fished less than a couple of hours, taking a photo of the last fish of the day with a Cockleburr in its mouth.  On the way walking out, I saw a large number of pipe vine swallowtail butterflies clustered on the ground, ending a short, but great morning.

Friday, June 14, 2013—A Great Day Boat Fishing the White River

TIME:  8:00 AM to 2:30 PM

WEATHER:  Low 90s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units, falling water

LOCATIONS FISHED:  White River, Upstream of Cartney Access

FLIES USED:  #14 Weight Fly, #14 San Juan Worm, #14 Egg, Brown Wayne's Fly 

ROD USED:  8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES:  Midges

OTHER:  I fished with Ed and John.  We left John's house about 7:15 AM, drove to Sneed's Creek, but water was roaring.  We drove back upstream to Cartney Access and noted falling water.  After launching, John skippered us upstream a couple of miles and Ed was into fish immediately, mostly on an egg pattern.  It didn't take long for me to switch, but he was in a zone and was catching fish, seemingly every drift.  We made a couple of long drifts, and we all caught fish.  John and I switched places so I could learn to use the new Honda outboard motor.  Ed remained in a fish-catching zone the rest of the day, catching fish at will, almost all on the egg pattern.  As usual, we all had a great day fishing with lots and lots of laughter.  It was good to be fishing with these guys again.

On our return, the water had dropped so much that it was difficult motoring back to the ramp.  This is great water to fish, but one must exercise caution motoring upstream (or anywhere near the ramp) during low water.

Thursday, June 13, 2013--Fishing Again

TIME: 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Mid-80s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy, to Ace in the Hole

FLIES USED: #14 gray Norfork River Scud, #20 red/black Zebra Midge, #14 pink Cockleburr, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges, a few Caddis, a few Sulphurs, Craneflies

OTHER:   This was my first time fishing since November 2012, and first time serious fishing since September 2012: I simply had had enough.  But, one knows when it's time to get back on the water and today was the day.  I fished with long-time fishing companions Ed and John.  Along with Wayne, I have fish with Ed and John for about 20 years, and the three are among my closest fishing friends.

Ed and I walked upstream to the riffle and pool above the island, fishing a double-rigged setup on falling water, with little success.  After the mist burned off, a small midge hatch began and fish started rising to the insects.  I tried various flies, before finally remembering that the pink Cockleburr had been effective this time of year in the past.  After tying one one, so to speak, I was rewarded with a hook-up.  Though not rapid fire, the fish were taking the fly with frequency.  Ed moved up to the dead water between the cross riffles and had success with a two-fly nymph set-up, and also on dries.  I moved upstream to the plunge pool below Ace in the Hole, and caught about 8 fish on the pink Cockleburr, all on top.  Ace in the hole produced no fish, even with the Norfork River scud and midge pupa rig.  I returned to the riffle above the island beside Ed and had limited success on a parachute Sulphur Dun.  On our way downstream, the first tree produced a fish on a black/red Zebra midge dropped below a Norfork River scud.  For the day, I had a couple of dozen fish, all rainbows except for one cutbow.

Not having fishing in so many months, it was easy to see subtle changes in the river, with more gravel on the bottom, and seemingly more shallow water.  Also, the fish were hotter than I remember, and all fought hard.  

Saturday, June 8, 2013--Karyn Remembers How to Catch Fish

TIME: 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER:  Mid-80s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Island above Ackerman/Handicap Access

FLIES USED: #14 gray Norfork River scud, #20 black/copper zebra midge

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: I did not fish but "guided" Karyn and Matt.  We arrived late in the fishing day, and the water had been heavily fished prior to our arriving.  However, Karyn hooked-up right away, and continued to catch fish the remainder of the afternoon.  She's a natural fly fisher, both casting and mending well.  Matt regrettably had to fish left-over water, but did catch several fish, though he was not in Karyn's zone.

Saturday, May 11, 2013--Back on the Water after 6 Months

TIME: 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM

WEATHER: Mid-70s, sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: #14 gray Norfork River scud, #20 red/black zebra midge

ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5-wt Winston JWF

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: I did not fish but "guided" Ron and Kaden.  We arrived late in the fishing day, and the water had been heavily fished prior to our arriving.  Ron caught one fish, while Kaden was in the optimum location and caught 3.  I "accidentally" caught one while demonstrating a technique to Kaden.