Wednesday, June 13, 2012—Awesome Fishing

DATE:  Wednesday, June 13, 2012

TIME: 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, light wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s to just upstream of Mill Dam Eddy

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun, #20 Special K, #14 Special K

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs, occasional crane fly

OTHER: Fished solo.  I began by fishing the  the tail out below the riffle with Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge, taking about a half dozen fish. The first sulphur came off at 9:22 AM, and I switched immediately to a #16 parachute sulphur dun, and moved upstream to the area between the right and left riffles. The fish were not crazy about the fly, but I did manage to catch a dozen or more, fishing it pretty hard.  I noted that fish were taking midges instead of the natural sulphur, so I put on a #20 Special K, a pink-bodied, furnace-hackled cockleburr, and the fish liked it.  I couldn’t see the fly well against the sun, so switched to the larger #14 size, and the fish really like it.  I managed to catch another dozen and a half fish on this fly.  I didn’t have any big fish today, though most were in the 14-inch category.  It was an awesome day on the river, but my “cold” seems to be getting worse as I was having chills and coughing like crazy.  Hope it’s not pneumonia.  .

Tuesday, June 12, 2012—First Fish on a Dry Fly

DATE: Tuesday, June 5, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, light wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

LOCATIONS FISHED: Norfork River, Riffle above the Island below McClellan’s

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 7’ 9” 2-weight LT

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: Fished with Whit and Patty, friends from Little Rock.  As a relatively new fly fisher, it was Whit’s first time to fish with dry flies.  We began in the tail out below the riffle with Wayne’s Fly and a red/silver zebra midge.  The bite was slow, yielding only a few fish.  The first sulphur came off about 9:30 AM, and we switched immediately to a #16 parachute sulphur dun.  The fish really liked the selection and took Whit’s fly steadily, including his first fish ever on a dry fly, shown in the photo above.  He took a couple of dozen fish before the hatch ended, and Patty took quite a few fish as well, though we had her positioned in a less desirable area.  In between various coaching sessions, I took about a dozen fish. 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012—A Dry Fly Grand Slam

DATE: Tuesday, June 5, 2012

TIME: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny, wind

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Winston 8’ 6” 5-weight WT JWF

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER:  The “cold” is steadily improving, but the coughing and hacking is slowly dissipating. In fact, I walked the trash to the big garbage bins on the other side of the campground. Today, I fished with Bruce, a friend from the Arkansas Travelers RV Club. Bruce asked about fishing, so we loaded our wading stuff and drove to the house to change into waders and boots. We accessed at Mill Dam Eddy, and waded upstream of the island. The wind was blowing steadily into our faces, and made casting quite difficult for Bruce, a novice fly fisher. He did all the right things, but couldn’t get a trout to take the fly. I played around for about 30 minutes with a parachute sulphur dun, and managed to catch over a dozen fish, including a grand slam on the dry fly.

Thursday, May 31, 2012—More Good Sulphur Fishing

DATE: Thursday, May 31, 2012

TIME: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Sage 9’ 4 wt. SP+

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: I fished solo today. This “stupid” cold is getting progressively worse, but so far, I’m not going to let it control my life!  (I may live to regret writing this!)  So, knowing the sulphurs were coming off, I suited up, gathered vest and fly rod, and headed off to the river. Sulphurs were already hatching, so I hurried to the riffle. The fish were hitting the fly almost every cast, and I managed to take a really nice fish, having missed two others which were bigger.  Along with caddis fishing in late March and early April, this is my favorite time of year to fish.

I really dislike fish the Sage rod, but don’t remember it fishing this poorly.  First, it’s too stiff, and second, it’s too heavy.  And it doesn’t load well; perhaps a different line will help.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012—Good Sulphur Fishing

DATE: Tuesday, May 29, 2012

TIME: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-80s, mostly sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: Sage 9’ 4 wt. SP+

HATCHES: Midges, sulphurs

OTHER: Despite my suffering from severe allergy problems (or a cold), the river looked too inviting to ignore. I suited up, gathered vest and fly rod, and headed off to the river. Sulphurs were already coming off, and after a few fish, I switched from the Wayne’s fly/zebra midge combination to a parachute sulphur dun. The fish were hitting the fly almost every cast, and then with a fish on I noticed the water steadily rising. While reeling in the fish, I gingerly waded to the bank for a quick hike downstream. The river has come up without warning more this year than all the previous years combined I’ve fished the Norfork. I made it safely out, drove back to the house for a shower and clean clothes.

The Sage does not fish well; it seems to be underlined.

Saturday, May 12, 2012—Fishing with Ron and Kaden

DATE: Saturday, May 12, 2012

TIME: 7:00 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER: Low 50s to mid-70s, mostly sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Elk Hair Caddis, #16 Parachute Sulphur Dun

ROD USED: 8' 6" 5 wt Winston LT JWF

HATCHES: Midges, caddis, sulphurs, crane flies

OTHER: Fished with Ron and Kaden. It was only Kaden's second time on water other than Dry Run Creek. We began fishing early in order to avoid the crowds, but as it turned out, we saw no other fishers until we finished at 1:30 pm. Kaden hooked and missed several fish, but caught 4 or 5. He did an excellent job of managing his line, including both upstream and downstream mends. He had all the fishing he wanted by 10 am, so he and I waded out and drove to the house.

I returned and waded back upstream and began fishing, using the #14 cockleburr, catching 3/4 dozen fish in the film. I switched to an elk haired caddis and caught several more. After seeing a few sulphurs hatching, I switched to a #16 parachute sulphur dun. Casting to a spot that has produced fish all spring, I hooked and landed what ended up being a 17-inch rainbow, ending the day with a couple of dozen fish.

Ron caught a bunch of fish as well, including a couple of 15-16 inch rainbows, and several on an elk haired caddis. It was the first time he had fished in some time, and we both had a great time.

Thursday, May 10, 2012—Introducing Fishers to the Norfork River

DATE: Thursday, May 10, 2012

TIME: 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM

WEATHER: Low to mid-70s, mostly sunny

WATER CONDITIONS: 0 Units

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

FLIES USED: Brown Wayne’s Fly, #20 red/silver Zebra Midge, #16 Elk Hair Caddis

ROD USED: n/a

HATCHES: Midges, caddis, sulphurs, crane flies

OTHER: Fished with John, Ted, and Glenda. Walked in at Mill Dam Eddy, and waded upstream to above the island. Ted caught a few fishing the left descending side below the riffle; his first two were nice browns. He then fished the left side of the left riffle using an elk hair caddis and caught several. We moved to a location between the riffles and he caught more in both the left and right riffles on the caddis. Wading out, Ted fished the right-hand side of the island, and had several takes, but no solid hook-ups. He ended the day with 14 or 15 fish, and missed others which refused to fully take the fly.