Fishing with Dan

BY JOHN BERRY

Almost three decades ago, my brother, Dan, taught me how to fly fish. We have fished together ever since then. Over fifteen years ago, we started our business, Berry Brothers Guide Service. While we started as a guide service, our initial concentration was in teaching fly fishing and fly casting. Dan was the first Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor in Tennessee. Over the years, we literally taught thousands of people to fly fish and cast a fly rod.

Over time, I grew to prefer the guiding portion of the business. Almost nine years ago, I moved to Cotter to do just that. Dan stayed in Memphis and concentrated on teaching casting and developing his commercial photography business. While we occasionally get together for special projects, we just do not have many opportunities to fish together like before.

This past year has been the worst ever. The high water did not appeal to Dan. He prefers wading in gentle water, light tackle, long casts and tiny flies. Fishing from a boat with eight generators running at maximum capacity and heaving heavily weighted flies with serious meat sticks is just not his cup of tea. Oh, we went out a couple of times and he caught some decent fish but it was just not his thing. I, on the other hand, have come to embrace high water. It is not the genteel essence of fly fishing like in the fly fishing magazines. It is, for me, a viable fishing strategy that allows me to fish challenging conditions and produce trout.

Now that we have had some reliable low water, I have been calling Dan and trying to lure him here to fish with me. I told him tales of large fish on low water. In a final act of desperation, I reminded Dan that we could begin the day with a hearty breakfast at The Sands. There is nothing that flips his switch like a two or three of the Sand’s homemade biscuits swathed in sausage gravy. He finally agreed and asked a friend, Gary Powell to accompany him. He made it up on Saturday afternoon and they headed directly to the Norfork.

Dan and Gary waded up into the Catch and Release section. Dan migrated over to his favorite spot, the ring of rocks. This spot is a glass smooth pool with a gentle current running across it. There are always a fish rising there. The key to success here is a seventy foot cast and size twenty four or smaller flies. He rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and his signature fly, Dan’s turkey tail emerger. He expertly cast to some large rising fish. Though his casts were perfect, he was unable to set the hook on most of the takes. Dan managed to land a few but he felt like he was off his game. Gary fared no better and only landed a couple.

I called Dan early the next day and we agreed to meet for breakfast and then fish at the Narrows. I arrived at the Sands first and drank a cup of coffee while waiting. When they arrived, we ordered breakfast. Tragedy struck. They were out of sausage gravy! Gary and I were OK. We ordered something else. Dan was inconsolable. After studying the menu, he finally ordered oatmeal and toast. When it arrived, he picked at it but did not eat. It was not his beloved biscuits with sausage gravy.

We left the restaurant. I stopped by the house to pick up my yellow lab, Ellie. Dan stopped by a gas station to get some peanut butter and crackers. We met at the pull out and walked through the cane break to the river. There were a few anglers there that had motored up in their boat but there was plenty of water to fish. We spread out and vainly tried several flies. We caught a few trout but it wasn’t happening. In desperation, I suggested a move to Wildcat Shoals a few miles down stream.

We parked at a friend’s house and walked through his yard to the river. There was no one there. We could see over a mile of river before us. It was on the bottom. With a sunny windless sky, the conditions were perfect. Dan hadn’t fished there in a while so I pointed out the most productive water for Gary and him to fish. I went upstream to fish some water where a client had done well a couple of weeks before.

Gary wanted to observe Dan’s technique so he located near him and just watched. Dan rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and a partridge and orange soft hackle. On the second cast he landed a fat nineteen and one half inch rainbow. Two casts later he landed an eighteen inch rainbow that was fatter and fought better than the first fish. He was getting his mojo back. His reflexes were sharpening and he was definitely enjoying himself.

Gary got the idea. He rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and a Dan’s turkey tail emerger. He located down stream from Dan and began picking up fish immediately.

The spot I was fishing was not producing much. I landed a couple of small fish but nothing like Dan’s. I stopped what I was doing and waded to a spot upstream from Dan. I rigged a partridge and orange soft hackle on a long tippet and began working the water before me. I picked up a few fish but I quickly realized that fishing behind Dan was not a great career decision. He was vacuuming the good fish from the water and leaving me a few runts. I moved far downstream below Gary to find some productive water.

By now, it was time for Dan and Gary to head back to Memphis. Dan’s success in the afternoon had renewed him, Gary had learned a new technique and I had been able to fish with my brother. The only thing that would have made the day better was some sausage gravy and biscuits.