Monday, March 5—Back on the Water

DATE: Monday, March 5, 2012

TIME: 2:15 PM TO 4:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-50s, mostly sunny, strong breeze

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, upstream of Ol’ Charlie’s

FLIES USED: #18 olive Norfork River scud, #14 gray Norfork River scud, #20 red/silver zebra midge, #20 olive cockleburr

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

HATCHES: Midges, caddis

OTHER: I fished solo.  This was my first time on the water since January 4; Kay and I spent the winter in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, enjoying the warm weather, and just returned yesterday.  Waiting for wadable water, I monitored the US Army Corps of Engineers telephone message center to know when to “suit up”, and the recording kept indicating that the Norfork River had two generators on.  We opted to go into town for lunch, groceries, and deer and bird feed.  As we drove by the access, we noted that the river was low, so once again, the Corps voice message center was wrong again as generation ceased at 10 AM.  There is no excuse for this, but we’ve found an alternate method of checking water levels, knowing we can no longer depend on the reliability of the Corps!

Upon our return home from town, I finally made it into the water at 2 PM, and began getting hits immediately.  I missed the first couple of fish, then hooked up and landed a couple.  And then, I missed several more, including a couple of nice fish.  Fish were rising to midge hatch despite the wind, so I switched to a cockleburr and caught a few fish.  About 3 PM, a good caddis hatch began, and fish were keying on the caddis. I had taken the caddis box out of the vest for winter, and had not replaced it, so the cockleburr remained the fly of choice.  I did see one trout chase a skating caddis several feet before nailing it—a joy to see.  I ended the day with about a dozen fish, including this nicely colored 14-inch cutthroat.  I should have caught more, but missed at least a dozen and a half more.  

Kay Wanted to go Fishing

DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 2012

TIME: 2:15 PM TO 4:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-50s, mostly sunny, slight breeze

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to 1st riffle above island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: #16 olive Norfork River scud, #16 red/black zebra midge, #20 red/silver zebra midge

ROD USED: Winston 10’ 4-weight WT

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: I fished with Kay; she exclaimed several times during the day that she wanted to go fishing, and even thought I was not too keen on the idea (recovering from a cold), we went!  We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy and had the place to ourselves.  I picked up a couple of fish, but missed a couple as well.  The river continues to change and choosing a good run proved difficult.  After fishing two more riffles, both newly formed, we waded upstream along the island, deciding to fish this run on our return.  At the 1st riffle above the island, I took a couple more fish, but missed several others.  Kay was having trouble casting in the breezy conditions and she and I spent considerable time unraveling leaders/tippets.  As the sun began to descend below the trees on the right descending bank, we began wading downstream, and Kay fished the right side run of the island.  She has some success, with her most notable catch being a 15-inch female rainbow loaded with eggs.  As Kay was unhooking the fly, the female expelled lots of eggs, all slightly larger than a BB.  Kay quickly released the fish, we carefully avoided the eggs, and continued fishing downstream with no success.  I fished Mill Dam Eddy again, missing a couple more fish, ending the day with 4 fish (Kay says a half dozen).  It was a good couple of hours on the water, but we were both exhausted from the brief wading.

NOTE 1:  We saw thousands of scuds, #14 and smaller, at the immediate top of the island. This is the furthest downstream I’ve seem them since the flood—and they were larger. A number of our fish preferred the scud rather than the zebra midge.

NOTE 2:  The river continues to “heal” and is returning, somewhat, back to what it was pre-flood.  The riffle at the bottom of the island, i.e. Mill Dam Eddy, continues to enlarge, and two smaller riffles have formed on the left side of the riffle.  I anticipate these will all join in a few weeks.  The gravel bottoms of the riffles is very loose, and will quickly erode and move downstream, particularly with heavy generation which we have NOT had as of late.  Seemingly, there is more flow coming down the right side of the island, and conversely, less coming down the left side—again returning to pre-flood conditions. 

Crowded River

DATE: Thursday, December 29, 2011

TIME: 1:45 PM TO 4:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to below McClellan’s dock and return

FLIES USED: #16 olive Norfork River scud, #16 red/black zebra midge

ROD USED: Winston 10’ 4-weight WT

HATCHES: Midges, blue winged olives

OTHER: I fished with Wayne and Bill.  As we walked in near Mill Dam Eddy, we noticed that the river was full of fishers, at least at Mill Dam Eddy and downstream.  As we walked further, the upstream reach was crowded as well, with fishers everywhere.  The pool above the island below McClellan’s had a couple of “openings” and Bill and I set up shop there, leaving Wayne downstream of Mill Dam Eddy.  I took a couple of fish on the zebra midge, and motioned for Bill to come upstream and join me and he took a couple of fish as well.  Fishers in the first riffle departed, but had been standing in the lane where fish usually hold, so we continued upstream.  No fewer than a dozen one-man pontoons, kayaks, etc. passed, each with at least one fisher and some with two; this was in addition to the dozen or so fishers already there when we arrived.  All but one of the mobile fishers transited the water where Bill was fishing; he is so much a gentleman that he would not complain. To avoid this traffic, I fished the tiny left riffle in the plunge pool hard, missing 3 fish, and catching only one.  I waded and walked upstream to the area above Otter Creek where I had success a week ago, knowing that few, if any, fishers had fished it.  Again, I cast far to river left, and picked up fish, forcing a drift via mending.  It seemed each time I would mend a fish would be on the scud; no fish took the zebra midge.  I waded further upstream as far as I could go, depth wise, without getting wet, fishing river left, and caught a total of a dozen fish, though it took longer than last week.  About half the fish were between 14 and 16 inches long.  As the sun began sinking below the river right horizon, I walked rather quickly downstream to join Bill and Wayne. 

NOTE: Continuing to post regarding the healing of the river, today, the single channel that had formed by the merging of the two channels at the end of the island at Mill Dam Eddy had more than doubled in size, and much of the gravel bar prohibiting further widening had formed on very loose material.  Material quickly moves when one walks on it.  I fully expect it to erode further with increased generation.  It is truly amazing that the river continues to “heal”.

An 18-inch Rainbow and a Grand Slam

DATE:  Thursday, December 22, 2011

TIME: 12:00 PM TO 3:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-40s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to below McClellan’s dock and return

FLIES USED:  #16 olive Norfork River scud, #16 red/black zebra midge, #16 black/copper zebra midge

ROD USED: Winston 10’ 4-weight WT

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: I fished with Wayne, and we had a ball.  It had been some time since we fished together, and we really enjoyed the afternoon.  Immediately after walking in, we fished Mill Dam Eddy.  It fished much slower than yesterday, but I did catch 3 fish, all on the red/black zebra midge.  Wading upstream along the island, I noticed other fishers already at the top of the island, but continued anyway.  There were 4 fishers at and below the riffle above the island, but none were catching fish.  I caught 3 fish in the pool above the island, and the other fishers left, wading downstream.  Wayne waded up and we decided to fish our way to the wide water, i.e. near Otter Creek.  Fishing proved slow, though I caught 4 in Ace in the Hole.  I didn’t catch any more wading upstream, though Wayne picked up a fish here and there.  Above Otter Creek, I noticed that water was flowing both left and right of the land mass that had been forming in the river, so on a whim, I cast far to river left, and picked up a fish.  I waded further upstream, fishing river left, and caught a total of a dozen fish.  By that time, I had waded to within 75 yards of the island across from the location of McClellan’s Dock.  Wading back downstream, I fished Ace in the Hole and the plunge pool and picked up a few fish, then fished the riffle above the island, picking up one more.  I finished the day with slightly over two dozen fish, and a grand slam.  It was so much fun fishing with Wayne again, and I consider it one of my best times fishing.

NOTE: Continuing to post regarding the healing of the river, today, the two channels at the end of the island at Mill Dam Eddy had become one wider channel, and a small channel has opened to spill into the pool on river left immediately at the tip of the island.  The river continues to “heal” and is returning, somewhat, back to what it was pre-flood.  Also, as I noted above, water is flowing both right and left of the land mass above Otter Creek.  I anticipate that the left hand side will eventually close and all flow will return to the right side.

The Norfork is Beginning to Heal

DATE: Tuesday, December 20, 2011

TIME: 12:30 PM TO 2:00 PM

WEATHER: Low-50s, partly cloudy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Olive Wayne’s mini sculpin, #14 cerise egg, #14 cerise San Juan worm, #14 furnace cockleburr, #20 Dunn’s Dun

ROD USED: Winston 10’ 4-weight WT

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: Kay and I fished together. Mill Dam Eddy had not been fishing well for me the last several weeks. I started fishing with an olive Wayne’s mini sculpin and dropping a cerise egg. I didn’t get any hits immediately below the island, but as I fished a drop-off further downstream, had a few hook-ups. Meanwhile, Kay was able to catch a couple on a gray Norfork River scud with a dropped cerise worm below it. We both switched to midge emergers and fished sporadic rises, but I managed only one fish, caught on the Dunn’s Dun fished in the film. I ended the day with 8 or 9 fish, better than expected.

NOTE AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING OPINION:  The tree and root wad that had anchored just below the island at Mill Dam Eddy is no longer there, though the other tree and root wad just downstream and closer to the bank remains. The river is slowly, but surely, healing itself from changes wrought by the major spring flood and ensuing long-term generation.  More flow is returning to the right-hand chute, and the channel is widening at the end of the island.  I hope the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff and trout, river, and hatchery “protection” organizations will leave it alone; it will stabilize in a relatively short time, returning much the way it used to be. It’s my opinion that they have permanently damaged the river at Cook’s Island and downstream, and I am sure that it will never ever recover from their work! If they had just left the river alone, it would have healed itself.

Slow, but Steady on the Norfork

DATE: Wednesday, 12/14/2011

TIME: 12:15 PM to 2:45 PM

WEATHER: Low 60s, cloudy, windy

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, island at Ol’ Charlie’s above Ackerman/Handicap Access

HATCH: Small midges

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

FLIES USED: Wayne’s olive sculpin with bead pegged above, #14 furnace cockleburr, #20 olive cockleburr, #20 Dunn’s Dun, #18 olive Norfork River scud

OTHER: I fished solo today, and fished around the entire island, beginning at New Charlie’s and wading in a counter clockwise direction. I missed several fish just downstream of New Charlie’s, and didn’t get so much as a look in front of Ol’ Charlie’s. I caught a few fish at the end of the island on Wayne’s sculpin, and missed a few as well. Seeing several fish taking midges on top, I fished a furnace cockleburr, both dry and stripping just under the surface and took a couple of fish, but again missing several others. The Dunn’s Dun proved more effective and took a few more fish, but again I missed more than I caught. Switching flies again, this time to an olive cockleburr, I caught another two or three fish, and missed as many more as I waded upstream. I moved to the riffle at the top of the island, switched to a #18 olive scud fished under an indicator with one shot a few inches above, and began to consistently take fish, ending with almost a dozen in this location.

I’m continuing to work on a book chronicling my fishing activities since retirement, and will include significant fly patterns (and their recipes and tying instructions) that have been successful on the Norfork and White Rivers.  I gave a presentation to the Arkansas Fly Fishers in Little Rock on Monday, December 12, and will be able to use a significant portion of the information contained in that presentation in the book as well.  Thus far, I have over 200 pages written.

Too Many Fishers, Too Few Fish

TIME: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER:  Cloudy, slight breeze, mid 50s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Island above Ackerman Handicap Access

HATCH:  Midges

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

FLIES USED:   Wayne’s Fly (Olive), #20 Kay’s Gray

OTHER:  Fished solo.  As soon as I walked into the river, I saw fishers everywhere.  There were 4 fishers in the small uppermost riffle on river left at the top of the island above Ackerman Handicap Access.  None were catching fish.  I moved downstream  to where I caught several fish yesterday on the Kay’s Gray, but didn’t raise a single fish.  Fishers were everywhere downstream as well.  I asked to fish an area below the next riffle downstream, but the fisher downstream politely said it was a little close.  Respectfully, I moved across the island to fish the right descending chute, catching one fish above Ol’ Charlie’s.  I continued upstream and fished the lower part of the pool, catching 2 fish on a very, very slow drift.