JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/11/2008

Gustav blew into town and left a lot of rain. The White River rose significantly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose two and seven tenths feet to rest at twenty seven and three tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is thirteen and seven tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose two and two tenths of a foot to rest at three and nine tenths feet above power pool or twelve and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake rose nine tenths of a foot to rest at seven feet above power pool or two and six tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern early in the week was for no or little generation. Later in the week, there were fairly low levels of generation. Norfork Lake has risen four tenths of a foot to rest at fourteen and seven tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or thirteen and three tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern has been to run one generator during the day and to turn it off at night. There have been some excellent wading conditions on the White and Norfork during the last week.

We caught the edge of hurricane Gustav and received a substantial amount of rain. There was greater rainfall to the south of us which resulted in flooding down stream. In an attempt to mitigate the damage, the Corps of Engineers curtailed generation for a significant period of time. As I write this there is yet another hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico (Ike), which could have the same effect on our weather. We will have to wait and see. The lower water resulted in some of the most spectacular fishing I have seen in some time. This can only cause higher lake levels for a longer period of time.

The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam, through the State Park down to Cane Island Shoals was a real hot spot. On the lower water, smaller nymphs like zebra midges, sowbugs, and scuds have been the go to flies. Soft hackles like partridge and orange and green butts would also be effective. Remember to down size to 6X tippet for the lower flows. With the lighter tippets use a fly rod with a sensitive tip and don’t forget to adjust the drag on your reel for the lighter tippets.

The section from Wildcat Shoals to the Narrows was another hot spot. Not only were there reports of hundred fish days but there were also several trophy fish landed in the area. The low levels resulted in some spectacular fishing on nymphs like the black zebra midge size eighteen and olive scud size sixteen. Soft hackles like the partridge and orange, green butt and the hare’s ear soft hackle have been killer in the broken water below the shoals. In deeper water, olive woolly buggers have been very effective.

The top spot during the past week was possibly Rim Shoals. There were also reports of hundred fish days and trophy catches in this section. The hot flies here were black zebra midges size fourteen, olive scuds size sixteen and Y2Ks. In the deeper runs olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash have accounted for a lot of fish.

The heavy rains muddied up and raised the water levels on Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River making fishing difficult. The White River below the confluence of these two streams was high and muddy also.

The Norfork is fishing extremely well on the low water. The hot spot has been Quarry Park just below the dam. Hot flies have been sowbugs, San Juan worms and zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead and brown with copper wire and copper beads) all in smaller size eighteen or twenty. The Ackerman access was also fishing well on the same flies.

Dry Run Creek fished well this week. There have been few people there. With the end of summer, there are few campers at Quarry Park. The hot fly remains the sowbug in size fourteen with the worm brown San Juan worm a close second. I like to use fluorocarbon tippet here for its greater strength and abrasion resistance. Don’t forget the camera.

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.

UNEXPECTED LOW WATER

BY JOHN BERRY

Hurricane Gustav came through the area and delivered a lot of rain. Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River were running high and muddy. Other tributaries were joining in creating flood conditions down stream. The Corps of Engineers was faced with rising water on the Lakes and on the lower White River. On Tuesday, they turned off the generators at Bull Shoals Dam. I gathered up my wife, Lori, and called the dam to make sure that it was still off. We drove from Cotter to the dam to take advantage of the low water.

As we drove over the dam, I strained my eyes to see the river. I could see no gravel bars. The dam had been off for several hours. Surely, it should have dropped out by now. We parked and walked over to the ramp and could see some pretty strong current coming through. Lori and I were disappointed. The window of low water was so short that there would be no good place to wade down stream. We loaded back into the car and drove home.

The next day I checked the generation and noted that it had been off since midnight. It had been raining non stop for a couple of days and the river was a bit muddy. I figured that it would be a bit clearer up by the dam. I checked with Lori and though she wanted to go fishing then she had a meeting with one of her consulting clients and would not be able to go until early afternoon. This gave me some time to write my fishing report and get all of our gear ready. When she got home, we loaded up and headed for Bull Shoals Dam once again.

I called the Dam and made sure that the water was still off. When we crossed the dam, I once again checked out the river and once again I did not see any gravel bars. The water had come up again. We ran into a fellow guide that was leaving the water with two clients. He said the water had just come up. We were disappointed again but this time we had a much bigger window of low water to work with. We considered several options like Rim Shoals, Roundhouse Shoals and the Narrows. We knew the water would be clearer close to the dam and therefore decided to fish Wildcat Shoals. We figured we would get several hours of fishing in before the water got there.

We drove over and donned our waders. It was raining to beat the band and we huddled under to hatch back to get ready and try to stay dry. We rigged our rods and headed for the water. It was heavily stained and we could not see the bottom in the deeper water. We tentatively waded out into good water. I still had a San Juan worm on from my previous fishing trip. Worms are always good choices after a rain because worms are always washed into the river during heavy rain and the trout key on them. I cast in a likely spot and was immediately into a nice rainbow. I stayed with the worm for a while and landed several fish.

A trout hit my strike indicator and I saw another trout rise. I couldn’t believe that there were fish hitting the top in this heavy rain and stained water. I talked to Lori about it and we decided to try soft hackles. I rerigged my line to accommodate the green butt I chose to try. It was no easy task as the rain had picked up and was coming down in sheets. I finally got it on and fished a likely looking run for thirty minutes without detecting a single bump. Lori landed one fish on a partridge and orange but we decided that other techniques would be more effective.

I went back to the San Juan worm and quickly landed a nice fish. I took the time to pump its stomach. As I deposited its contents in my hand I discovered that it was full of olive scuds. I gently released it and quickly changed over to an olive scud size sixteen. I was quickly rewarded with a great trout for my efforts. I stayed where I was and landed one trout after another. Lori on the other hand had switched over to an olive woolly bugger and proceeded to catch a trout on almost every cast. As I was relishing the great fishing, in spite of the rain, I detected a slight increase in the velocity of the water. I took a close look at the rock I had picked out when I had originally moved to that location and realized that the water was coming up. I yelled over to Lori that the water was rising. We reluctantly cranked in our line and waded back to the bank and walked over to our car.

As we removed our waders, I thought how an unlikely day with heavy rain and stained water had turned out to be an unexpected surprise. Life is good!

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/04/2008

Gustav has brought us plenty of rain this week. The White River continues to fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell two and six tenths feet to rest at twenty four and six tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is sixteen and four tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell one tenth of a foot to rest at one and seven tenths feet above power pool or fourteen and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at six and one tenths feet above power pool or three and five tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White has been to run all eight generators around the clock with slightly higher flows in the afternoon. Gustav dumped a lot of rain on the area and the Corps of Engineers turned off the generators. Norfork Lake has fallen one foot to rest at fourteen and three tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or thirteen and seven tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern has been to run one generator around the clock. The Corps has also turned off the Norfork, for how long?

As I write this, it is raining and there is no generation at Bull Shoals or Norfork Dam. The forecast is for us to receive five or more inches of rain. We have already received three. There are flash flood warnings in the area. How will this affect lake levels? I would think that the lake levels will rise and that it will take longer to get them down to wadable levels. How long will the lower levels last? It depends on how much flooding there is down stream. My recommendation is to go fishing now and enjoy. I would think that the rivers are muddy, so I will head up stream. The sudden drop in water level has stranded literally thousands of trout along the banks of the river. Most were small browns and rainbows. This is unfortunate but a reality of life.

The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam, through the State Park down to Cane Island Shoals has been a perpetual hot spot for months and the past week has not been different. On high water the hot flies remain brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns. The most productive colors have been red, cerise, hot pink and fire orange. On lower water try black zebra midges, scuds and sow bugs. Soft hackles like green butts should also be effective. Remember to down size to 6X tippet for the lower flows.

The Narrows has remained hot during the past week. On high water, the key to success has been to fish a brightly colored San Juan worm with a nymph on a dropper. The most popular nymphs have been zebra midges, trout crack, sowbugs, scuds, and bead head hares ears. On lower water try the same nymphs in size eighteen. Olive woolly buggers have been killer in slightly deeper water.

Another hot spot has been the Rim Shoals Catch and Release section. I have done well with brightly colored San Juan worms, the hot colors have been cerise, hot pink and red. I have noted several anglers take advantage of Gary Flipin’s water taxi to deliver them to the bottom of the second island for some wade fishing and pick them up later. Check by Rim Shoals Trout Dock to take advantage of the service.

The Norfork is fishing a bit better this week particularly on the low water. The hot spot has been Quarry Park just below the dam. Hot flies have been sowbugs, San Juan worms and zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead and brown with copper wire and copper beads) all in smaller sizes (eighteen or twenty). On higher flows, the same midges in size fourteen have been effective in this area.

Dry Run Creek continues to receive little pressure. School is back in session. No one is there during the week. The weekends are seeing more traffic. The hot fly is a gray sowbug size fourteen and small worm brown San Juan worms. Be sure and take your camera. This is the place to capture the memory of a life time. I would suggest that you make sure that the camera has a flash. The creek has a lot of tree cover and there are low light conditions.

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.

KT’S BARBEQUE

BY JOHN BERRY

One of our favorite places to eat in the twin lakes area is KT”S Barbeque. My wife, Lori, and I have become regulars. KT’S is located at 406 Main E (US Highway 62/412) in Gassville, Arkansas across the street from Letty’s Mexican Restaurant. They are open from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. There is no smoking allowed and no alcoholic beverages are served. It is in a funky looking red building and always has a bunch of cars parked in front of it. It is very popular with the locals.

On my first visit, I ordered the pork shoulder sandwich (they only make jumbos) $4.65 and a side order of baked beans $ 1.10. The sandwich was piled high with meat and was a meal in itself. It was probably the most tender pork sandwich that I have ever eaten. It had a smokey flavor that really appealed to me. Now as a former resident of Memphis, I am familiar with what barbeque is supposed to taste like and this is it. The sauce was not as savory as the ones I am used to but good in its own right. It is more vinegary and a bit spicy. I prefer the hot version over the mild. The side order of beans was really good and ample. After a little whining they gave us each a rib to try. Wow! It was the best cooked rib I have ever had. It was meaty, tender and moist.

Lori went for the Chicken sandwich $4.25 and a side order of potato salad $1.10. It, like the pork sandwich, was piled high with meat and sauced very nicely. The chicken was very tender and incredibly moist. It was the best barbeque chicken sandwich that Lori or I had ever tasted. The potato salad was OK, but nothing special. They put a couple of barbeque chicken wings on her plate and we fought over them (Lori has a mean left hook).

On our next visit, I ordered the barbeque sausage platter $6.85. It contained a generous portion of smoked sausage, a portion of barbeque beans, slaw and Texas toast. The sausage was incredibly tender and moist. It was some of the best I have ever tasted. The slaw was homemade and pretty good. Lori got another chicken sandwich and an order of beans. To top off my meal I ordered their signature dessert, peanut butter pie. It was, of course, homemade. It had an Oreo crust, creamy peanut butter filling, whipped topping and a heavy sprinkling of Heath bar bits. Yum!

Last night Lori’s sister, Terri and her husband Larry were visiting. We fished late and we decided to stop by KT’S for some take out for supper. We got a beef brisket family pack $23.25. This consisted of a pound and a half of barbequed beef brisket sliced thin, a pint of barbeque beans, a pint of slaw, five toasted jumbo rolls and a half pint of barbeque sauce. We took it home, broke out some adult beverages, and commenced to chow down. It was wonderful! The beef brisket was incredibly tender and like everything else that I have tried there was well smoked and flavorful. We also got several slices of peanut butter pie!

I would recommend that if you are in the area and crave barbeque that you give KT’S a visit. I have had pretty much everything on the menu. I would especially recommend the barbeque chicken, beef brisket, and ribs. They are worth the trip. Don’t forget a slice of peanut butter pie. Tell them John sent you.

I would like to thank everyone that attended the Home Waters Book Signing at Angler’s Coffee Cafe last Saturday. It was a lot of fun!

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

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/28/2008

In spite of a minor rain event, the reservoir levels on the White River continue to fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell two feet to rest at twenty seven and two tenths feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is thirteen and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell seven tenths of a foot to rest at one and eight tenths feet above power pool or fourteen and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell three tenths of a foot to rest at six and five tenths feet above power pool or three and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White has been to run all eight generators around the clock with slightly higher flows in the afternoon. While these flows made for excellent boating, there have been few safe wading opportunities on the White. Norfork Lake has fallen eight tenths of a foot to rest at fifteen and three tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or eleven and nine tenths of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern has been to run one generator around the clock. There have been no wading opportunities and limited boating opportunities.

The water flows on the White and Norfork have both been significantly reduced during the past few days. It has been several months since the floods we had this spring, and we have not made significant progress in lower the lake levels at Bull Shoals and Norfork Dams. It seems like we could make more progress if we ran more water as we were a few weeks ago. If we are going to run lower water levels, why not turn off the dams for a few hours? When you do run water, do so at a higher level. Coordinate generation on the two dams so that the same amount of water is sent down stream. By doing this we could have some wadable water. Throw us a bone guys!

The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam, through the State Park down to Cane Island Shoals has been a perpetual hot spot for months and the past week has not been different. Some anglers, while reporting great fishing, say that the constant fishing pressure has made the fish more selective. The hot flies remain brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns. If you are not doing well with one color, do not hesitate to change to a different color or pattern. The most productive colors have been red, cerise, hot pink and fire orange.

The section from the Narrows down to Wildcat Shoals has remained hot during the past week particularly the section around the Narrows. The key to success has been to fish a brightly colored San Juan worm with a nymph on a dropper. The most popular nymphs have been zebra midges, trout crack, sowbugs, scuds, and bead head hares ears.

Another hot spot has been the Rim Shoals Catch and Release section. In addition to the brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns, the hot technique has been to bang the bank with big streamers on sink tip or full sinking lines. Effective streamers have been kiwi muddlers, Jim Mengle’s Ozark Sculpin, wool head sculpins and woolly buggers. Vary your retrieve to determine the most productive speed. With the lower flows we have had this week; several anglers took advantage of Gary Flipin’s water taxi. For a nominal fee Gary will ferry you to the bottom of the second island and pick you up when you are ready to go.

The Norfork has had lower flows this week also. They were too high to wade and too low for easy navigation. The Norfork is more difficult, in general, to navigate than the White. Great care should be taken when running up or down stream. There are several spots that can be treacherous.

Dry Run Creek has received little pressure in the past week. School is back in session and no one is there during the week. The weekends are seeing a bit more traffic. The hot fly is a gray sowbug size fourteen. There is a sizable population of them on the creek. Other productive flies are small San Juan worms in worm brown and olive woolly buggers. While guiding some youngsters on the creek a couple of weeks ago, I ran into Dave and Emily Whitlock. They were working on the plans to enhance fishing there. This is a project of the Friends of the Norfork Fish Hatchery and will make a great fishery even better.

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.

HOME WATERS BOOK SIGNING

Local fly fishing guide and Baxter Bulletin columnist, John Berry, will be signing copies of the recently released third edition of the home waters fishing guide at Angler’s Coffee Café on Saturday August 30, at 2:00 PM. The book was a collaborative effort involving several fishing guides and serious anglers writing about the streams they fish. John wrote the chapters on the White River, Norfork River, and Dry Run Creek plus a section on Boating Etiquette. This is the third edition of the highly successful fishing guide. The book is published by the Mid South Fly Fishers, a not for profit fly fishing club in Memphis, Tennessee and all proceeds are used to support their conservation and education programs. There are locations and descriptions of fishing accesses, detailed maps, fly recipes, color photography and much more. This is a great resource for any one planning on fishing in this area.

FISHING WITH DOGS

BY JOHN BERRY

After my wife, Lori, one of my favorite fishing buddies is my yellow lab, Ellie. She is a great companion. She doesn’t care how bad the weather is, although she is becoming storm phobic in her old age. But let’s be serious. If lightning is striking around us, I don’t need to be out there either. She doesn’t mind much if the fishing is good or bad, though she does prefer the non stop action of a good day. Ellie does not give me any trouble about losing a good fish or missing a lot of takes for that matter. She is also a good water depth gauge. If she begins swimming, I know the water is over knee deep.

Early on in our relationship I figured out that Ellie was not going to be a boat dog. On our first venture in a canoe, she refused to load; the movement of the boat spooked her. Finally, in frustration, Lori and I began our trip figuring she would eventually get in the boat. She followed the boat for five miles. If she got tired of swimming, she would go to the bank and run along until she caught up or was ready to swim again. When we got out and fished she joined us and when we canoed back to the access she followed us back.

I cannot take Ellie with me on a guide trip because, when we have a good fish on, the retriever gene kicks in and she tries to help land the fish. Now I don’t mind so much when she knocks off a good fish from my line. That can be disastrous when she does it to a client’s fish. I observe a lot of anglers that fish with their dogs. These canines are content to just sit on the bank and watch. Why does mine have to be in the center of the action? I often find it necessary to fish while standing in shallow water so that she does not have to tread water as she does in deeper water. Other wise she will swim right in front of me for hours at a time, which throws me off my game.

Because of her propensity to stay pretty close to me while I am fishing, she has been hooked on several occasions. This is a great case for barbless hooks but it also points out that I am letting my back cast drop, but that is another story.

I always carry a Ziploc full of dog biscuits in case I have to bribe her to leave someone else’s fish alone. I carry a nylon lead for more difficult situations. I have taken to leaving her in the car until I get my waders on, rod strung and am generally ready to start fishing. That way, she stays out of trouble and doesn’t beg other anglers for treats.

Not all dogs are interested in fishing with you. My wife, Lori’s, recently deceased Rottweiler, Lexie, was a classic example. She was devoted to Lori and was totally committed to protecting her but did not like the water. Since she had a short coat, we got her a neoprene vest to provide some insulation and a bit of flotation. It was made of camouflage material which made her look even more imposing. She hated to be left in the dog run so we would take her with us. When anyone would wade near Lori she would warn them with a low growl. It was a great way to ensure that Lori would not be crowded when on stream. She was well trained and never attacked any one but it was a bit much and we always tried to fish remote water with her.

When Lori was fishing shallow water, Lexie would position herself just below her and watch the strike indicator. When it went down she would retrieve the trout and look at Lori as if to say “here is your darn fish can we go home now”? She was very gentle with the fish and never harmed one but we were concerned particularly with large fish. When Lori would wade deep, she would stay in shallow water and bark. Lori would ignore her and eventually she would stop barking but she was definitely not happy. As her health declined we would leave her at home and left Ellie to keep her company. After she passed away we began taking Ellie fishing. Once again she was in her element.

If your dog enjoys the water, you may have found a great fishing companion. Give that canine a chance.

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

Berry Brothers Guide Service

As they say if you want to catch fish then fish where the fish are. If you are looking for trophy trout on the fly rod then you need to fish the clear streams of the Ozark Mountains. Berry Brothers Guide Service is a small guide service located in Cotter, Arkansas. They specialize in guided float and wade trips on Arkansas’ White, Norfork, Spring and Little Red Rivers and fish for trophy Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat and Brook trout. Smallmouth opportunities are also available. Private fly casting and fly fishing instruction specifically tailored to fit your individual needs and abilities is included. Day and half day trips are available. All trips are catch and release and include on-stream lunch, soft drinks and flies. Guides John Berry and Lori Sloas provide a high level of service and work hard to make this trip that “trip of a lifetime.” For more information go to www.berrybrothersguides.com or call 870-435-2169.