Thursday, August 17, 2006

DATE: Thursday, August 17, 2006

TIME: 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM

WEATHER: Low 70s rising to mid-90s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units, slightly turbid

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Cook’s Island to top of 2^nd island above Ackerman/Handicap Access

HATCH: A few midges and crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #14 furnace cockleburr, #20 furnace cockleburr

OTHER: I fished solo today. Neither the riffles nor the pool yielded much today. I managed a 17-inch tagged fish at the bottom of the pool on a tan scud, and one other small fish. I switched to a #14 furnace cockleburr and caught a few fish on top. I switched again to a #20 furnace cockleburr and caught several fish on top, and stripping; a couple of the fish—cutthroats—were about 17 inches. Today, I caught rainbows, cutthroats, and a brown. I observed redds beginning to show up with fish guarding them. I also saw John Wilson catch a huge brown right in front of Cook’s Island. He “hooked” the fish twice and broke off, and “hooked” it the third time and landed it. It was over 30 inches.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

DATE: Wednesday, August 16, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s rising to mid-90s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units, slightly turbid

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, the Pool to Mill Dam Eddy and back

HATCH: A few midges and crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #20 furnace cockleburr

OTHER: I fished with Wayne. I fished the riffle below the island and caught two rainbows on the tan scud. Moving into the Pool, I made long casts but caught no fish, though I did note several fish closer in. By shortening the cast, I began catching fish on the scud, including several rainbows, cutthroats, and a brookie, but no browns. One rainbow was about 17 inches. I moved to a long riffle and managed to take several on a #20 furnace cockleburr. The amount of sediment from development of Overlook Estates that had moved in and accumulated via rains and corresponding runoff of August 10 and August 11 was amazing. Near Elisabeth Creek, huge piles of sediment had accumulated over 1 foot deep forming an area of about 100 square feet, and included a pile of 1-inch aggregate mixed in with the sediment. The river bottom has changed dramatically, and is filling with the sediment. Areas several feet deep are now only inches deep. Wayne commented that it took the river over 3-1/2 hours to clear with full generation this time compared to near instantaneous clearing before. Is this the beginning of the end?

Saturday, August 12, 2006

DATE: Saturday, August 12, 2006

TIME: 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s rising to mid-90s

WATER CONDITIONS: 1 unit

LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, Rim Shoals 2^nd riffle

HATCH: A rare caddis or two

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

FLIES USED: #16 bead head flashback pheasant tail, #14 mini bugger, #14 furnace cockleburr

OTHER: I fished with Karyn, her boyfriend Matt, and Kay. I focused most of my time guiding, and Karyn managed to catch 3 or 4 fish—one on a #16 bead head flashback pheasant tail and the others on a #14 bead head mini-bugger. Matt caught a half dozen or so (his first time ever to fly fish) on a #14 mini bugger; I think he's hooked, both ways! Kay didn't fare well today because of the high water, and a bad ankle prohibited her from wading very far. I caught several using both the bead head flashback pheasant tail and the furnace cockleburr greased and stripped. Fishing was tough; a number of fly fishers crowded us as we were the only ones catching fish.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

DATE: Wednesday, August 9, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 70s rising to low 100s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units (no generation prior 5 days)

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, the Pool to Mill Dam Eddy and back

HATCH: Some few midges and occasional caddis flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #20 furnace cockleburr

OTHER: Wayne and I fished together. I witnessed the most awesome morning of fishing I've ever seen. Wayne caught, measured, photographed, and released 7 straight browns over 20 inches. He played all the fish extremely well, and each was beautifully marked. I photographed him holding each fish. This was a morning that if you didn't see it with your own eyes, you would not have believed it. My, oh my! I managed to catch a dozen and a half rainbows and cutthroats, with the largest maybe a mere 16 inches. All of my fish were caught on tan scud, except two which were caught stripping a #20 furnace cockleburr. Here are photos of some of Wayne’s fish.

Monday, July 24, 2006

DATE: Monday, July 24, 2006

TIME: 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

WEATHER: Low 80s rising to mid-90s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units (no generation prior 5 days)

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, the Pool to Mill Dam Eddy and back

HATCH: Some few midges and occasional crane flies

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 tan Norfork River scud, #16 tan Norfork River scud, #20 furnace cockleburr

OTHER: Wayne and I fished together. Wayne is a fishing machine, catching fish almost every cast. The river was great today, and with Wayne's style of fishing, we both had sections of the river to ourselves with no one in sight. My improved clinch knot kept pulling off the hook when fish were on, causing me to lose several fish AND flies. I must have finally got it right as the knot remained intact. After I got the first fish to hand, I managed to take a lot of fish, including three about 16 inches, on the tan scud, and the fish were particularly heavy. At about 10 AM, I switched to a #20 furnace cockleburr and had a blast, catching fish both on the surface and in the film. I t was a great day. I left the water at 11 o'clock for some volunteer church work.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

DATE: Saturday, July 22, 2006

TIME: 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

WEATHER: Low 70s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units (no generation prior 5 days), with unexpected beginning generation

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, the Pool to Mill Dam Eddy and back

HATCH: Some few midges

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 gray Norfork River scud

OTHER: I fished solo, but Wayne came out of the river just as I was coming out. He had been upstream of me. This was my first day back on the Norfork after an absence of 3-1/2 months. I managed to hook several fish, but brought nothing to hand. It demonstrates what a lapse of fishing can do to one's timing on the Norfork. The river was packed, even in areas traditionally not fished. I had one guy casting, not drifting, to within a couple of yards of me. It was all I could do to remain silent. It’s just another reason not to "pack heat" while on the water. I had only been in the water about 30 minutes and generation began; I was skunked for the first time in a long time—a humbling experience.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

DATE: Thursday, July 20, 2006

TIME: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low 90s rising to low 100s

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units (no generation prior 5 days)

LOCATIONS FISHED: White River, Wildcat Shoals

HATCH: Some few midges

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED: #14 bead head flashback pheasant tail, #16 White River sow bug, #20 zebra midge

OTHER: Wayne and I decided to fish somewhere out of the ordinary, and chose Wildcat Shoals. As usual, Wayne caught fish continuously. I managed to take a few. We fished our way downstream from the public launch about 1/2 mile, then back up. Fishing was best about 200 yards below the public launch. It was HOT, weather wise. This was my first day back on home waters since early April.