WELL this is the last fly fishing report from us for 2011 and what a year it has been.
It still blows my mind that there has been so many big fish caught this year: high flows, the extended slot limit on brown trout, the skills of our guide team and the passion of y’all have all contributed. Five 10lb+ brown trout for our guides, their fly fishers and shop customer. One at night, 2 on streamers and incredibly 2 on dry flies.
Then the are the hordes of 20” plus fish which have been caught and released. Perhaps we get blinded by the bigger fish, an 18” to 22” brown is a tremendous fish in many parts of this country, even with all the fly fishing riches available. Release them fast and healthy, but don’t disrespect these fish, take a moment to admire their colors and wild nature.
And there is the White herself, change irrevocably by the introduction of the Dams, but still young and growing in substance. Remember back to spring, before the floods, and the bounty of the caddis hatch, it was as good as any I have seen anywhere, and if it continues in this form, with won’t be long till it is spoken of alongside that on the Arkansas River in Colorado.
The cicadas this year were awesome in patches, and sparse in others, perhaps victims of flood in ‘08 and ‘11. And the hopper season was again spectacular, as a whole, if you worked at it.
And while we as fly fishers venerate wild stream born fish, truly it’s a miracle that any survive the odds stacked against them on the White and Norfork, we shouldn’t disdain the stockers either. Their very entry to the river ecosystem, dead or alive, fuels the river in the same way as Alaskan salmon. Our rivers would be a very different place without that biomass.
But now its time to finish off the 2011 and celebrate the arrival of 2012. Seriously this year has been so awesome, on and off the river, I cant wait for the next one.
And now onto the rest of the fly fishing report for the White River and Norfork Tailwater:
WHITE RIVER : It seems that South West Power is find plenty of buyers for power across the region, and Table Rock, Greer’s Ferry and Bull Shoals are carrying the load.
All 3 lakes are at the top of power pool, or slightly over, which promises good flows through the next couple of months of winter, prime for our streamer season and possibly a shad kill, its too early to call but in ‘09 after our last monster flood and very high lake levels the shad kill was awesome. Keep that on your mind as winter rolls on and Bull Shoals Lake cools.
We have had several streamer addicts through the shop this week, and some big big fish lost. 18” to 20” fish are hungry and on the bite. The best colors seem to be tan, black and yellow, but Chad got some action on an olive/white.
With peak am flows hitting 20k cfs having 2 rods in the boat is a real plus, as you are able to work more of the bank in an efficient manner. And we are seriously covering some territory on these flows.
The big water should also be producing a tremendous worm bite, fish the flooded grass edges and outflows of sloughs. Stick on Davy’s worm patterns and/or the cheeto egg and watch that bobber, you never know how many hungry post spawn browns you can manage.
NORFORK: Norfork has been offering windows of wading water and by all reports we have had has been fishing well. Jim’s wife Brenda c+r a very nice 20”+ brown but decapitated a favorite 5wt in the process. Thank goodness for rod warranties.
Which reminds me, if you ever bust a fly rod don’t leave it until late fall/early winter to send it back _ like everyone else does. Lead times at most factories blow out, apart from TFOs who seems to have plenty of replacements at hand.
Run Davy’s Sowbugs, particularly in gray, Wilson’s Trout Crack and McLellan’s Woven V-Rib Sowbugs. Camel Midges, Rainbow Warriors and Purple Holo Midges are all doing well.
