More Of The Same

TIME: 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

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

ROD USED:  8’ 9” 5 wt Winston Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED:  Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 Red Zebra Midge, #20 Black Zebra Midge

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  The pool fished better today, though not great; however, Wayne managed to catch several fish, about twice as many as I caught.  The large riffle at Mill Dam Eddy again did not fish great, though Wayne picked up several fish fishing from from the opposite side than what we normally fish.  I fished the small riffle at the end of the island, and caught several fish, including some 14-inch fish, in water less than a foot deep.  For the day, both Wayne and I missed a lot of fish, and no big fish were caught, though I did have a couple in the 16+ inch range.

As a side note, on this particular fly reel setup, I’ve been using Mastery fly line with a high float tip.  When it was brand new, I really liked it, but after a few weeks, I noticed that the tip section was quite soft and was easily nicked and/or cut by tippet, etc.  Consequently, this fly line will quickly disappear off the reel and another brand will take it’s place.  I’ve also been using Hook and Hackle fluorocarbon tippet, but the verdict is still out as it may not be rigid enough.  Maybe it’s time to go back to Orvis tippet!

Wayne’s Back

TIME: 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River

ROD USED:  8’ 9” 5 wt Winston Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River Gray Scud, #18 Norfork River Olive Scud, #18 Red Zebra Midge, #14 Ginger Cockleburr

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  We both struggled through the Pool on the way upstream.  I caught a few fish at Mill Dam Eddy, while Wayne waded upstream catching a couple alongside the island below McClelland’s, and a few at Ace in the Hole.  I caught 3 fish in the tailout of the riffle just above the island, and 3 more at Ace in the Hole after dropping the #18 red Zebra Midge below the olive Scud.  Wayne began catching fish with regularity along the bank opposite Otter Creek, and continued catching fish on the way back downstream.  He caught fish again at Mill Dam Eddy, and wore the upper Pool out wading downstream.  I had about a dozen fish for the day, while he must have caught 2 or 3 dozen.  He’s back!  And it’s always fun fishing with him. 

Combat Fishing, Almost, And A Grand Slam

TIME: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Ace in the Hole to Elisabeth Creek

ROD USED:  8’ 9” 5 wt Winston Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED:  #14 Norfork River Gray Scud, #20 Olive Cockleburr

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER:  Fished solo.  It was a great day to fish, but catching was difficult; I had to work very hard for each fish.  Once again, I struggled in the Pool, not catching any fish.  Mill Dam Eddy produced only one fish on the Cockleburr, and the reach along the island below McClelland’s did not yield any fish.  The tailout of the riffle just above the island fished very well from the right descending bank, i.e. river right, with several nice fish caught and released, including an 18 inch cutthroat.  In fact, about one third of the fish caught were 15 inches or better.  Ace in the Hole did not yield a single fish, but the reach on the right descending bank opposite Otter Creek fished better than at any time since the flood though nothing compared to pre-flood fishing.  After a difficult day, I managed to catch between 2 dozen and 30 fish, with a grand slam coming after catching a small brown. 

Back On The Water, Finally

TIME: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 70s,

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River

ROD USED:  8’ 9” 5 wt Winston Joan Wulff Favorite

FLIES USED:  Brown Wayne’s Fly, #14 Norfork River Gray Scud

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Fishing was great, catching was difficult.  I struggled in the Pool, catching only one fish.  Mill Dam Eddy was occupied with a fisher fishing both sides, taking up the entire reach, and he was catching lots of fish.  The reach along the island below McClelland’s did not yield any fish, but just above the island proved to be good, with several fish caught using the Gray Scud.  Ace in the Hole was quiet and I only caught 3 fish there.  All told, I caught 8-10 fish.  It was great to be back on the water.

Five Lakes Outing Club, April 2010

DATE: April 27-29, 2010
TIME:  Afternoon of April 27, morning and afternoon of April 28, and morning of April 29
WEATHER: Partly cloudy, mid 70s, windy
WATER CONDITIONS: Slightly above normal lake level
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Five Lakes Outing Club, near Seyppel, AR
ROD USED: 9’ 3 wt custom-built G. Loomis
FLIES USED: #10 Foam Spider, yellow and black; #10 Bream Killer; #4 gray and white clouser
HATCHES:  N/A
OTHER:  Once again, we were guests of our gracious hosts, Ed and Linda, at Five Lakes Outing Club.  Five Lakes is a relic of the past, one of the South’s finest and most elite of sportsman’s clubs, the likes about which Nash Buckingham wrote.  In fact he had been a guest at the club during his writing days.  This is its 99th year of existence, and we enjoyed some great bream and bass fishing.  I fished with Joe on April 27 PM, Ed on April 28 AM, Kay on April 28 PM, and Dave on April 29 AM.

On the afternoon of April 27, Joe and I fished a large bream bed near the launching ramp along with Dave and John.  We all caught lots of fish.

On the morning of April 28, Ed paddled me around the lake for some bass fishing, and I managed to take 8 or 9 on a Clouser minnow.

On the afternoon of April 28, Kay and I fished the bream bed again, and she caught her first bluegill using a fly rod.  Up until then she had never understood my passion for bream fishing.

On the morning of April 29, Dave and I fished the bream bed while Ed bass fished.  We both caught large, colorful bream.  I caught this one under a limb on the right side of the large cypress tree in the background, using a sidearm cast.

Batting Zero, aka Striking Out

TIME: 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy, mid 60s, windy

WATER CONDITIONS:  3 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  White River, Rim Shoals area

ROD USED:  9’ 6 wt Winston

FLIES USED:  Weight Fly, White River Zig Jig

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER:  Fished with John and Dave.  It was a very tough morning, and I didn’t catch a fish or even get a bite despite throwing the Zig Jig several times.  John caught a couple and Dave caught one, both fly fishing, during our morning session.  Caddis were hatching, and the fish began keying on them just as I quit at 11:30 AM. 

Kaden Fishes Dry Run Creek

DATE: April 1, 2010
TIME: 1o:15 AM to 12:45 PM
WEATHER: Partly cloudy, low 60s,
WATER CONDITIONS: N/A
LOCATIONS FISHED: Dry Run Creek
ROD USED: 9’ 6 wt Winston
FLIES USED: #14 gray Norfork Scud, Brown Wayne’s Fly
HATCHES: Midges
OTHER: Had the distinct honor of watching our grandson, Kaden, fish Dry Run Creek—one of life’s true pleasures.  He did a great job of casting and mending, and managed to pick up a few fish along the way.

He tried valiantly to get a big rainbow or brown to hook-up at the bottom of the pool, but neither so much looked at his flies, though he put the flies in the right place.  A youngster above him, who was much less accomplished but far luckier, hooked up and landed a 30+ inch fish.  Just goes to show…