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…

These Guys Can Catch Fish

TIME: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Partly cloudy, mid 50s,

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Below Otter Creek to Island below McClellan’s

ROD USED: n/a

FLIES USED: #14 Gray Norfork River Scud, Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 Olive Cockleburr

HATCHES: Midges, Caddis

OTHER: Accompanied Bill, Dick, Mike, and Larry for some Norfork River fly fishing. We walked up to Ace in the Hole and fish were taking midges like crazy, as Dick caught about a dozen fish. We made our way downstream to the area above the island, where fish were also taking midges in abundance, but Dick couldn’t get one to strike his fly. We walked to the bottom of the island and Dick caught several fish on the Cockleburr while Bill and I watched and critiqued, enjoying lots of laughs along the way. Mike and Larry caught lots of fish in the areas they fished using a partridge and yellow soft hackle.

As a side note, I saw a half dozen caddis coming off. We're close.

2010 Sowbug Roundup, Day 2

Another beautiful day in Arkansas’ Twin Lakes area.  Tying began today promptly at 9:00 AM, though most tiers were going strong at 8:30 AM.  Once again there were several seats empty at the tying tables, but the crowd was a bit larger than yesterday, though still small compared to previous years.  There just didn’t seem to be the interest in flies being tied; I again tied the foam Chernobyl Ant with very little interest from the public—if they only knew how effective this fly could be!  With beautiful weather and wadable water, I left an hour early to fish before the “last” winter storm of the season comes in.

Fishin’ Dry Flies

TIME: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

WEATHER: Partly cloudy, mid 60s,

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

ROD USED: 9’ 6 wt Winston

FLIES USED: #14 Black Cockleburr, #20 Kay’s Gray, #20 Olive Cockleburr

HATCHES: Midges

OTHER: Fished solo. Began at the top of the island, and caught a half dozen on Olive Cockleburr and Kay’s Gray. Moved downstream across from Ole Charlie Cook’s, but wasn’t able to catch any fish, though there were several fish sipping midges in the area. Moved over in front of the pipe at Ole Charlie’s place and caught quite a dozen or more fish on the Black Cockleburr. I didn’t catch any big fish today. Saw a couple of caddis come off, but the fish did not key on them. It has been a long time since I fished dry flies exclusively, and I really enjoyed it.

2010 Sowbug Roundup, Day 1

Today is the first day of the 2010 Sowbug Roundup, one of the biggest fly tying shows in the world.  Tiers reported in at 8:30 AM, and the official program began at 9:00 AM.  It was great seeing old friends.  The crowd was a bit thin, no major vendors were present, and several fly tying seats were open, a first in my memory and I have been tying here almost since the beginning.  The economy must really be worse that we imagine.  I tied the foam Chernobyl Ant with chartreuse bottom, black top, and yellow indicator.  There was very little interest in this fly, though a few folks stopped by to watch it being tied and receive their free fly.  They were generally interested in it as a bluegill, i.e. bream, fly though we use it for trout from mid-February through mid-November.  Looks like this may be my last fly tying show—the desire is just not there anymore.  I will miss tying with old friends, but look forward to attending and watching others tie.  This is the best value for a fly fishing show that I’m aware of--$5 for three days.