John Berry Fishing Report 9/25/2008

We have had a week without rain and the lakes in the White River system have experienced a slight decline. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose one and two tenths feet to rest at thirty one and nine tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is nine and one tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell three and six tenths of a foot to rest at four and nine tenths feet above power pool or eleven and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose one tenth of a foot to rest at nine and one tenth feet above power pool or five tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White is for heavy generation around the clock. Norfork Lake has fallen three tenths of a foot to rest at fifteen and five tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or twelve and five tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern has been to run one or two generators part of the day and to turn it off at night. There have been some excellent wading conditions on the Norfork during the last week. Boating conditions on the White have been uniformly good.

The boat ramp at Quarry Park on the upper Norfork River is closed while a contractor removes the old pedestrian bridge across the mouth of Dry Run Creek. While anglers are allowed to walk in to the area to fish, there is no boat launching allowed from the ramp until the demolition is completed. The ramp is scheduled to be back in operation on September 29, 2008. In the mean time, the only ramp available in the area is at the confluence of the White and Norfork Rivers. Any one wanting to fish the upper river will be required to run up stream.

The upper river below Bull Shoals Dam has been producing well. With the higher flows we have had this week; anglers have had to return to their conventional high water techniques. The top technique for this level of water is to fish brightly colored San Juan worms under a strike indicator. Hot colors have been red, cerise and hot pink. Other effective flies have been black zebra midges in size fourteen and egg patterns in peach and pink. I generally use 4X tippet and set the strike indicator at one and one half times the depth of the water. Use plenty of weight and I would also recommend the use of fluorocarbon tippet. It has a higher specific gravity than water and sinks. In addition, it has greater resistance to abrasion.

Once again, the section from Wildcat Shoals to the Narrows was another hot spot. In addition to fishing San Juan worms and nymphs, anglers have reported success fishing large streamers on sink tip or full sinking lines. The top flies have been kiwi muddlers, Jim Mengle’s Ozark sculpin and large woolly buggers (size 6 and 4). Be sure and use really heavy tippets, at least 3X or even 2X. Here again fluorocarbon tippet would be the logical choice.

Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River have cleared and the water levels are nearing a comfortable level for wading. Crooked Creek in particular has fished well during the last week. Hot flies have been Clouser minnows and crayfish patterns. Successful anglers have been fishing early in the morning.

The fishing on the Norfork has remained steady this past week. The low flows in the morning have enticed quite a few anglers and most have not been disappointed. The section at Quarry Park just below Norfork Dam has fished particularly well. Small black zebra midges size eighteen, scuds in size eighteen, olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash, and Dan’s turkey tail emergers have been the go to flies. I do not know how long the low water in the morning will be around, but my suggestion is to take advantage of it while you can.

Dry Run Creek is clear and very wadable. Effective flies have been sow bugs, worm brown San Juan worms and olive woolly buggers. With the pleasant weather we have had lately, now is a good time to get in some quality fishing with your children or grand children before the weather turns cold. Be sure to carry a camera and the biggest net you can find. The fish here are huge.

Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.

LINE CONTROL

BY JOHN BERRY

As a fly fishing guide, I am able to observe a lot of fly fishers and have been able to identify certain keys to angling success. Based on my observation, some of the best anglers are those that are accomplished technicians of line control. By line control, I mean the control of the fly line when it is on the water. The basic concept is that the fly line must have enough slack in it to float drag free yet you must be able to set the hook at any time in the drift. If you have too much slack in the fly line you cannot set the hook. In this article, we are going to concentrate on line control issues for floating fly lines.

The first thing I have noticed is that a large number of anglers cast too much line. The more line you have out the more difficult it is to control. When you look at the surface of a river it does not have one consistent current all the way across it. Instead, it is made of complex currents. There is a mix of small streams within the water. Some will be faster and some will be slower. The more different currents your line crosses the more trouble you will have. There is a tendency to gain more slack with longer line which will make it more difficult to set the hook. In addition, it will be more difficult to actually see the fly or strike indicator the further it is from you. Finally, if you are casting too far, you are probably casting over fish to get to the spot you are trying to reach. I generally cast twenty to thirty feet for about ninety percent of my fishing. If you are in a boat and want to fish a spot further away, just move the boat closer. If you are wading, you can usually wade a bit closer to fish that one special spot.

Even with a reasonably short line, you will have to deal with complex currents. You will often find your line and fly in currents that have different speeds. The trick is to move your line up or down stream to compensate for the difference in velocity. This is called mending. To mend your line pick the line up and move it up or down stream preferably without moving the fly or strike indicator. If your fly is in faster water and your line is in slower water then you would mend your line down stream. If your fly is in slower water and your line is in faster water then you would mend your line up stream.

Whenever I am on stream, I observe bubbles or foam around my fly. If my fly is moving faster or slower than the bubbles, I know that there is drag on my fly and I need to mend. Some times you have to play with the situation mending up or down stream until you achieve a perfect drag free drift. There are many situations where one mend will not be enough and you will be required to mend multiple times. The river is ever changing and there will also be situations on a long drift where you may need to mend down stream at the beginning of a drift and up stream toward the end of the drift.

I have found that a longer rod aids in mending line. The increased length makes it easier to lift more line. I generally fish nine foot fly rods. There are a growing number of guides and anglers that utilize ten foot rods because they allow you to mend fly line more effectively. Another observation that I have made is that as fly lines get dirty they tend to sink particularly the front of the line. When this or any other part of the line sinks it is more difficult to mend the line.

In order to avoid this, I occasionally wash my fly line. I pull the line from the reel and put it in a sink of soapy water (dish washing liquid is fine) and gently agitate it. I then rinse it thoroughly in fresh water and dry it by drawing it through a clean folded towel. I then wind it back on the reel and I am ready to fish with it. If I find my line sinking when on the stream I will quickly clean it with a cleaning pad that I carry in my fishing vest. I use the cleaning pad supplied by the line manufacturer.

If you follow these simple suggestions you will have enhanced line control and you might just catch a few more fish.

John Berry
(870) 435-2169
berrybrothers@infodash.com
www.berrybrothersguides.com