RiverRunner

Welcome aboard, middle TN is a nice area with some beautiful water for both smallies and some trout in the Elk, Duck, & Caney Fork. Reminds me a lot of North AR & Southern MO.

We're getting a little bit of the white stuff (didymo) down river where I've been fishing, but its not nearly as bad as it is up near BS dam. I don't fish much up there, so I'm not a good judge of conditions up there. From what I've been hearing, fishing is better downriver (Rim, Buffalo, Ranchette) this year. I think the quality fish are still there, they've just moved to where the food is. The one thing that is helping fishing where I'm at (below Norfork) is the lack of heavy generation recently has allowed a lot of vegetation to take root in the river, and their are a lot of scuds & other aquatic insects in the river right now. Of course, they will probably crank up generation when it warms up and a lot of the moss will be gone. I really think that the White is a cyclical river, it has its ups and downs as far as fishing goes. I think some areas are in a down cycle compared right now compared to an up-cycle that we had a few years back. The White is such a long tailwater that is possible to move around and find completely different situations as far as fishing is concerned. I plan to stay with the downriver fishing until higher generation makes it tough.

I've always wondered about that sign. I'm sure that there is an interesting story about its placement.

I braved the cold on Saturday and headed to my honey hole below the confluence that is rarely wadeable. Despite the wind, I did pretty good, I landed around 35 with a lot of long-distance releases. Biggest fish was 16" rainbow, but most were 12"-13". These were the most beautiful fish I've caught out of this section of river, all brillantly colored and fat as pigs. River is in the best shape that I've seen it, with lots of vegetation and lots of food. A lot of bait fisherman have been complaining of tough fishing, but I think that the fish just have too much to eat right now, I hope that this can keep up. Caught fish on #10 olive crystal WB's and olive beadhead mohair leach. I can't wait to get back up there on a warmer day.

You need to put these in book form and get them published, you never know, maybe you could turn your short stories into a movie.

I fished the 11 point not far from you (near Dalton, AR) a couple of weeks back and had the same results, small fish, and the river seemed empty. I wonder when the lower Current and 11 point are going to turn on?

I've never fished roundhouse, but I've driven by it plenty of times while working though:( . Does it get pretty crowded, or can you get away from the crowd and lawn chair brigade somewhat? I need to try some new water!

I learned how to catch trout on Dry Run Creek when I was a kid. My folks have two photo albums full of pictures of me & my brother on the creek in the late 80's and early 90's. It was a sad day when I turned 16 and could no longer fish there. That deep pool you are talking about produced a 11 lbs brown for me when I was 11 years old. If I ever have any kids, its gonna be great to take them to the same place that I enjoyed when I was there age. I'm thankful that I've had parents who took me when I was that age.

Thats a good idea, PM me if you want to do it. That way we can have some company at the campsite and tell fishing stories . . . .

I'll be there (I hope), I'm gonna be camped out at the state park, so the best that I can probably do is some bags of chips and some cokes. If there is a grill available, I would be glad to cook burgers & dogs as well.

"What we need are more anacondas, to keep the human pests under control. " Funny you should say that, someone around here released a "pet" Anaconda at Wappanocca Wildlife Refuge over near the Mississippi River that has been spotted several times. Also, concerning snake handling deaths, most have occurred in recent years in snake handling church services when the bitten person did not seek medical attention. With anti-venom that is available these days, you really have to be trying for a snake to kill you.

I guess I'm going to be coming up for the next OA get together at Taney, and I was wondering where the best place for me to camp will be. I usually just sleep in my SUV, but I need electricity to plug up my fan and it has to have shower facilites available. I would prefer to camp as close to the river as possible, but that is not absolutely necessary, I just like the cool breeze that comes off the water. If you have any suggestions, chime away!

You've got to look at genetics too, the stream smallmouths that we have in AR, MO, & OK are different genetically from the smallmouth found in the Tennessee & Cumberland River drainage. The genetics of our smallmouths just don't allow for many 5 lbs plus fish like you see from Pickwick, Wilson, & Dale Hollow. I know AR & OK has started stocking smallmouths with Tennessee genetics in lakes, and a new OK state record smallmouth at over 8 lbs caught recently shows the difference between the two subspecies.

The White & Norfork can rise pretty quickly once generation starts, and it can be a little hairy if you are far enough downstream that you can't here the warning horn. I don't let that stop me from wading below the dams though. If you are observant and pay attention to the water and surroundings, you should be OK. Its a good idea to pick out a rock near or sticking out of the water and to watch that to see if water is rising. If you are really concerned, put a $20 bill on the rock, that will keep you watching!

This may ruffle some feathers, but to be quite honest, I wouldn't make an 8-hour drive here to fish the tailwaters without some kind of boat access if we are in a "high water year". It may be a moot issue come the summer if it stays as dry as it has lately, and generation is reduced like it was last year to the point that you can drive from access to access and stay ahead of the rising water. Hopefully, we will have some lower water at the time that you want to come. If you keep an eye on the lake levels and generation patterns, you should get an idea of what kind of water to expect. I've found that fishing off the bank in high water is tough unless you are there when they dump a load of stockers in. When the water is up, the fish go into a different mode. Luckily, there are several different tailwaters within a couple of hours drive from Mountain Home, AR (I would recommend Mt. Home as a central location) Bull Shoals, Norfork, Table Rock, Beaver & Greers Ferry that may have wadeable water at one time or another. If all of them are running water, you can fish the spring fed Eleven Point and Spring River or the trout parks further up in Missouri. There is also some good warmwater fishing for smallmouth bass in the area. Its looking like a lower water year right now, but things can change quick around here, hopefully you will have lower water when you can make it here. To me, wading into the the White or Norfork at heavy generation is asking for trouble, the White is not a small river and has claimed many lives over the years. So be careful and have a good time, this board has some great info on all of these rivers, so check in often!

I just got back from Harrison, & it looked like they were burning in the Leatherwood Wilderness area where Marion, Searcy, Baxter, & Stone counties come together. I'd hate to be working on a fire crew back in there, that's rough country for sure. I couldn't spot any smoke coming up from the Jasper/Newton County area today, but it was pretty hazy all the way back to the flatlands.

I've always wondered what a "tommycock" is.

Arki, You ought to come down to the NEAFF meetings (2nd Tuesday of the month) and fly tying (4th Saturday). I haven't been around long, but I've learned a lot, esp from Bear. Wished I could have made Sowbug, but I guess I'll have to make up for it at conclave.

I never did see Maddog, I think he likes the faster water near the boat ramp, I was up in the slow water. I figure I can get one more trip in at the LR before the crowds show up, then I'll be off of it until the fall and over on the White & Eleven Point. Unless we get a flood this week, I'm gonna chase brown bass next weekend.

After being forced to stay close to home and miss Sowbug, I finally got reinforcements here in Mosquitoland on Saturday night that allowed me to hit the river on Sunday. Started out in the boat and went to Mossy Shoal and points downriver. Water was up from Saturday's generation, which made it excessively difficult to wade or get a good drift. Pulled boat out about 12:30 and went to JFK park and waded. This was a good move, fished the old C&R area above the hatchery and did pretty good. Brought 17 to hand, all rainbows. No lunkers this trip, best was about 14", but all were full finned and dark colored, about 1/2 were males. Water was dropping out and extremely clear. Caught all fish on a #16 tan zebra midge with silver wire and black T-bead fished about 4 feet under the idicator on 7x tippett. Fish bit best in the "heat" of the day when there was a decent chop on the water. After the sun went behind the bluff, the wind died and it got tough. There were about 10 people in the C&R area when I got there, but I had the place to myself after about 3:30. Nice to have some solitude. All in all a good trip where I learned some more.

Some might disagree with me, but for the best ribs around are Interstate (wet ) and Rendezvous (dry) in Memphis. Also, you gotta get the sausage and cheese plate at Rendezvous. I think "yankee style" BBQ is anything cooked on a grill to our cold weather friends. Of course, I'm sure its better than that horrible stuff they call BBQ in North Carolina. I'm sorry, but pure vinegar is not BBQ sauce. I think I need to got to Memphis tonight!

Judging by its gut, I'd say that fish had been hanging around the fish cleaning station. I've seen a lot of big fish on the White hanging around any place where fish are cleaned. Still a beautiful fish though!

I think I was quoted around $5,000 for a new one with rod lockers and a premium trailer. Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to save (for a while) for a new one. Also, there are plenty of older and narrower 20' fiberglass jonboats for sale that can be found for $1-2,000. I've got an older one that does pretty good, so don't rule on them out.

If you are in the Mt. Home area, check with Bearskin Marine on the highway in Flippin. There is also a dealer right on 62B in Mt. Home and another in Gassville that has them. Used ones are hard to come by, but keep an eye in the Mt. Home paper (Baxter Bulletin). Also, new boats are pretty reasonably priced. I got a quote from Lynn @ Supreme a while back and it was pretty reasonable to me.

Unfortunately there are a lot of schools now where the students are in charge and not the administrators. A lot of parents do not want teachers discplining their kids at all. Its easy to spot those schools, there the ones with all of the openings!