Guess I’ve Lost the Touch

TIME: 11:45 AM to1:45 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 60s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above the Island

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), Wayne’s Fly (Olive), and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  This is going to seem like a stuck record.  Mill Dam Eddy produced absolutely nothing, not even a bite.  I fished the right descending bank along the island, but again, nothing.  At the top of the island, I crossed to the left descending bank but caught nothing in the pool above the island, then moved to the riffle above the island below McClellan’s and caught several, mostly small fish—more than at anytime the last few weeks.  I then wades upstream and fished the next rather small riffle and pulled a couple from there, then worked across the river, fished the plunge pool below Ace-in-the-Hole, but did nothing there.   I waded and fished my way downstream, but didn’t even get a bite.

The river is really funky right now, with an odor and discoloration.  Folks camped at Quarry Park say its coming from Dry Run Creek.  Also, significant river work is occurring at the island across from Ol’ Charlie’s, with trucks and other heavy equipment using the river bottom for a haul road to dump huge boulders to “protect” the island.  It is my opinion as a 40+ year experienced water resources engineer that this will do absolutely nothing to protect or enhance the fishery, and in fact will have a net negative consequence.  Because of this work, expect to see more bank caving and instability in the area; I guarantee this will happen. I wonder if the US Army Corps of Engineers were doing the same thing to protect humans if they would not be sued and tied up in court!  Seems like we have our priorities wrong.  As neighbors, we weren’t given a warning, notification, or an opportunity to comment on environmental impacts. Oh, well!

Tough Fishing on the Norfork

TIME: 11:45 AM to 2:45 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 60s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

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

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), Wayne’s Fly (Olive), and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Mill Dam Eddy produced absolutely nothing, not even a bite.  I fished the right descending bank along the island, but again, nothing.  At the top of the island, I crossed to the left descending bank but caught nothing in the pool above the island, then moved to the riffle above the island below McClellan’s and caught a few, mostly small fish.  A drift boat had stopped for lunch and fishing and fished the right riffle, but I only saw the three of them catch one fish.  Consequently, I did not fish the that riffle.  I did cross there after they left and worked my way up to Ace-in-the-Hole, but again, did nothing there.   Crossing back again to the left side, I fish all the way up to near McClellan’s (as far as I could walk), then back down, and only had one bite, on the scud.  It was a very slow day, but the walking was fun.  

Still Tough Fishing

TIME: 10:45 AM to 1:45 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 50s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Unit

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island Below McClellan’s

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), Wayne’s Fly (Olive), and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Mill Dam Eddy fished even slower than yesterday, though the water was still dropping.  The right side of the island produced nothing.  I crossed to the left descending bank and caught a few fish in the pool above the island, then moved to the riffle above the island below McClellan’s and caught a few more, mostly small fish.  Fishing as I crossed the riffle produced a few more fish, but they too were small.  The right side of the island gave up a couple of fish.  It was a tough day, but not as brutally cold as yesterday, though more windy.  I did see quite a few fish. 

CONTINUING MY RANT, a call to Generation [(870) 531-4311] this morning indicated that Norfork had 2 generators on since 5 AM, contrary to SWPA schedule of generation (but it hasn’t been accurate over 50% of the time, either).  Further checking showed that generation had ceased about 9 AM, BUT THE CORPS HAD FAILED TO KEEP THEIR PHONE ANSWERING MESSAGE UP TO DATE (this is becoming the norm).  I dressed quickly, and drove to my access.  AGAIN, THIS IS RIDICULUS, and demonstrates an unacceptable level of arrogance, lack of respect, and foreboding service to the public by both the Little Rock District Corps of Engineers and the Southwest Power Administration.  I encourage you to write or call you congressman or senator, making them aware of the issue.  An inquiry from your US congressman and/or senator to the Corps will most likely resolve the problem, particularly if they threaten to suspend operation and maintenance funding! 

A Tough Day, and a Bluegill

TIME: 11:45 AM to 2:45 PM

WEATHER:  Cloudy, high 40s, and very windy

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island Below McClellan’s

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Fished Mill Dam Eddy, but with little success.  Fished the right side of the island above Mill Dam Eddy, but only caught a couple towards the top.  Ace-in-the-Hole produced a few fish with some very hard fishing; I did manage to take a bluegill here, a first for me on the Norfork River.  The riffle above the island below McClellan’s did not yield many fish either, despite some hard fishing. All in all, the afternoon produced about 9 fish, even though I fished harder than on most days.  I did note the water was quite warm to the touch, and “cloudy”. 

Fifteen Minutes!

TIME: 11:00 AM to 11:15 AM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 – 1 Unit

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Walked in at Mill Dam Eddy, caught 3 fish, but noticed the water coming up—CONTRARY TO SWPA SCHEDULE!  This is happening too often.

About the only thing that will resolve this is for concerned citizens to contact the US Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock, District Commander and request resolution.  It does absolutely no good to contact the local (Mountain Home) Corps office.  If contacting the District Commander doesn’t work, if enough voters contact their US representative or senator (not local/state representative or senator), stating their concern and frustration, and requesting the US congressman or senator use their position to resolve the position, then it will be resolved, particularly if the congressman or senator threatens to suspend operation and maintenance funding for the Corps!  I promise this will work!  Is my frustration showing? 

Boat Fishing the Norfork River

TIME: 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  1.0+ Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Dam to McClellan’s

ROD USED:  N/A

FLIES USED:   White River Zig Jig

OTHER:  Fished with Bill.  Our intent was to fish Rim Shoals, but the Norfork looked enticing, and I had not seen the upper river since the spring flood.  After launching, we boated upstream to the dam, and made a couple of runs to the old access at Quarry Park, picking up a couple of fish along the way.  We did not fare so well in the Resort Hole, but fishing picked up along the left descending bank in the Long Hole.  We spent considerable time just downstream from McClellan’s and caught several fish.  Bill is not only an expert fisher with spinning rod and jig, but is also an expert boatman, and put me in the right place all afternoon.  I begged off after only a couple of hours due to a severe backache.  We had a great afternoon on the water, and did pretty well catching fish.  

Taking A “Bath”

TIME: 8:45 AM to 11:30 AM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0.25-0.5 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle above Island Below McClellan’s

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive), Wayne’s Fly (Olive), John’s Superfly, San Juan Worm (cerise) and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished with Bruce.  We walked in at Mill Dam Eddy, but opted to fish upstream.  I waded to the riffle above the island below McClellan’s and caught a few fish, but the river began rising, and the fish just turned off.  The forecast was for SWPA to pulse generate for one hour to help with dissolved oxygen, and my intent was to wait out the pulse since I was on the left descending bank.  I waited, and waited, but the water level never got lower.  I decided to cross back to the island while water levels were still “reasonably” low, and made it just fine via deliberate and careful wading across the “pumpkin patch”.  Then, I tried crossing to the right descending bank to get Bruce’s attention to rising water, and was only in water just over the knees, but the velocity and flow as so great that it swept me off my feet.  I had a difficult time getting up, but finally made it to shore, got Bruce, and we had to wade up the creek, then bushwhack to our trail.  I managed to catch a dozen and a half fish this morning, but had to change flies every two or three fish.  Wayne’s Fly, cast quartering downstream and stripping back, seemed to work best.  This is the first time I have gone down in the Norfork River, and it was a bit embarrassing, though it reinforced the fact that flowing water is dangerous.  Upon arriving home, I rinsed my waders and boots, and laid out the myriad of fly boxes to dry. 

Having worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers for 31+ years, I was more than ticked off that Southwest Power Administration’s forecast is so terribly unreliable.  It has been inaccurate over half the time the last couple of weeks, but the Corps says I’m the only one complaining.  Beware of minimum flow when it gets here because reaction time to rising water levers will be significantly less, and I venture to say a lot of people are going to be stranded on the river—BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR!

A Dynamic River

TIME: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Norfork River, Mill Dam Eddy to Riffle Above Island below McClellan’s

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive) and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished with Wayne.  It was great getting back on the water with Wayne as we haven’t fished together since before the spring flood.  He began catching fish as soon as we walked in the water, not having lost any of his acumen for knowing where to fish, then catching fish.  Mill Dam Eddy did not fish as spectacularly as it appeared, but it had been pounded all weekend by a local guide and clients.  The channel along the island has narrowed and deepened, but fishing was not as good as usual.  We did spot a couple of redds with small fish on them.  The top of the island did not fish as well as previously either, but the riffle above the island fished well, though no big fish.  We each caught enough fish to satisfy our fishing fix, and returned home early as we’re out of shape!  

A Great Day Was Had By All

TIME: 1:15 PM to 3:30 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

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

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud (Olive) and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished with Kay.  This afternoon was one of those rare days that Kay and I fish together, and it is always thrilling to share this wonderful pursuit of beautiful trout.  We fished close to home, and caught lots of fish, mostly in skinny, fast water.  Kay caught 7 fish for the afternoon, and I managed to take about 3 dozen, but no big fish, though I did catch rainbows, cutthroats, and a couple of browns.  The best fishing was from the left descending bank where few people fish.  The leaves are beginning change and combined with our fantastic fall weather, it made for a great afternoon on the water.

Back on the Norfork River

TIME: 7:15 AM to 8;30 PM

WEATHER:  Clear, mid 70s

WATER CONDITIONS:  0 Units

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

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

FLIES USED:   #14 Norfork River Scud and #20 Red/Silver Zebra Midge

OTHER:  Fished solo.  Wanted to get in some last minute fishing before Southern Council conclavers began pounding the fish. The 2011 Southern Council Conclave is October 6-8. Despite the early hour, there were other fishers downstream on the river, but none upstream.  I fished the fast water in the riffle and caught several fish before I noticed fishers marching upstream from the access en masse.  I gave my spot to a guide friend with a couple of aging clients, moved upstream further for a few minutes, then left the river.  A last glance showed fishers about every 10 feet in front of Ol’ Charlie’s—too crowded for this ol’ boy.  No more fishing for me until everyone leaves.