West Fork Jason

Yes, the creek flows north there. Camera is a point and shoot, olympus stylus tough. For water temps, I have a digital meat thermometer that works well. Just don't put the part with the screen and batteries in the water. Similar to this one, except mine is yellow - http://compare.ebay....mTypes&var=sbar Or you can one that says Whorvis on it, and pay the cost of a new fly line.

Fished Sugar Creek up river from Lake Bella Vista this afternoon, after the morning thunder showers. Air temp was 57 when I left at 4pm, and the water temp was 54. Pan fish were very aggressive and the largemouth were biting as well. First time fishing here, nice afternoon! A few spin fisherman there were doing well with olive tubes worked slow near the bottom.

Motored up to spider creek from Houseman, and drifted back down. Just about wore my arm out casting 280 grain sink with sculpin patterns. Little slow, only caught a few rainbows. No walleye. Action picked up a bit just downriver from HWY 62 bridge, couldn't make a nice fish stick next to the boat. Conditions were a little on the bright side? Cheers J

Nice midge hatch. A good number of folks out, but they all cleared out mid afternoon. When the front moved in and it clouded up (around 3 or 4pm?) the fish really became active. Used my smallest elk hair dry and dropped a size 18 bead head midge below it a couple of feet. To my surprise a nice size fish came up an ate the elk hair instead of the midge. Wasn't ready with the small tippet, and lost the fish and the fly....Switched to strictly dries (the smallest ones in my box) and picked up a couple more, in the 12-16" slot limit. The good times didn't last real long, maybe an hour tops. The herons were eating well! Cheers J

Any reports on folks catching the wipers in the bella vista lakes? I'm headed down to visit my folks, and wouldn't mind helping with my end of the put and take fisheries theory. Wipers a good when fresh on the grill!

So does anybody have any beta on the landing on Beav O Rama? Is it open to the public to launch a boat?

It's been a few years since I've been down to Beav o Rama, Isn't there a launch there? Any beta on a twin bridges to Beav O Rama float, or Beav O Rama to Sonora (412) Launch?

Is there a good landing (to back a drift boat trailer down to the water) down river from Twin Bridges to do a nice day fishing trip?

The're still chomping up here! Only a couple weeks left for the musky season, but things will start freezing up soon. Had to take advantage of the upper 40's temps yesterday, a real blessing this time of year. This one was on an area lake that feeds the headwaters of the Chippewa. 10# with Airflo's 7 in/sec sink striper line. If you make it up this way again, look me up!

I enjoyed the float in a drift boat from the dam down to houseman or parkers when generating, streamer fishing. The current is really moving when both generators were on. If you don't pick it apart, it will go by quick.

one with fillets

already posted this during the winter, but worth the repeat???

Good work sir; I think you timed that flow upswing just right. What part of the river did you float? We're a long ways away from active bronze backs up here.

Bluewave- I went out on beaver around new years and tried casting my fly rod with 2 other guys that were live bait fishing. The graph showed the bait down about 40' and stripers all over it, but not near the surface. I did have one random fish blow up on me near the surface before any of the live bait got a sniff, but did not hook up. It almost made my heart stop to see it though, it was a huge fish. If my friends weren't there fishing bait and trolling, i would have put a little more effort into it and probably hooked one eventually. I was using a 4/0 gizzard shad clouser that i tied up, with YELLOW eye's. I think the yellow is important. A good graph is a must so you can locate the thread fin shad schools with the distinctive arc's of the stripers around it. You can't just have bait on the graph, must have both... attached photo is a picture of a graph from the year before. It was colder that day and they were deeper, but you get the idea b/c it shows the thread fin shad as a blob from 60'-80' and all the arcs are the stripers. Both the bait and the stripers are schooling fish. As far as rod and line, i happened to have my musky rig with me. It's a 10# Pikesaber. For line i swear by Airflo's 40+ extreme distance. They have it in cold saltwater sinking, it's AWESOME for casting big flies and putting them deep. The new version of it is called "sniper" and i think there's a 490 grain cut to your desired length sinking head that's going to be the next line i get. If they are closer to the surface, i would have an 8# with airflo's 40+ full floating (my musky top water rig) with a big noisy popper, or that new Pole Dancer fly by Charlie Bisharat that "walks the dog". I think it was designed specifically for salty stripers. a good double haul is mandatory with these shooting head lines, put the payoff is huge. You minimize false casting and maximize distance. Don't screw around with too light of leader and hook, that lake is full of trees at the bottom and they always run for 'em after getting hooked. Gotta put the brakes on if you're around the wood!!!! Good luck, I'm with you and really want to get these things on the fly. My timing has been off, need to come down there around the end of april or so some time. Fall is out of the question as that's prime time for the musky's up here. They don't peel the line off like a striper, but the initial bite is just insanely frightening and they tend to get a little upset around the boat. j

You forgot streamers... 4/0 diachi, starting from bottom of fly working towards the top- white Icelandic arctic sheep wool flashabou silver/black flash black northern bucktail b/c southern bucktail is too small and little black dot is a boobie area feather from a road kill northern flicker. (one each side of streamer of course). Don't forget the yellow eyes!!!

Running a planer board off of each side is a great idea. We were doing a slow troll with live bait a few days ago on Beaver targeting fish that were keyed on bait balls that came up to 30-40 feet on the graph. We were going slow enough that I could cast my fly rod with sinking line off the bow to each side effectively with a 4/0 shad pattern, and had a REALLY nice random cruising fish blow up on me. And that was before any of our live bait rods even got a sniff. I'm sure a board on that side would have at least gotten a good look from that fish, probably more than a look. In-line planers are used very effectively where it's legal to power troll for muskies. I know a few guides that do it, one brought a 54 incher to hand this season with a board. It's not my preferred way to musky fish as i'm not meat hunting for them, but it works on big water really well. Went out for coho near duluth this spring and ran 3 off each side, dipsy divers (those could work great for striper too) inside the planers, and down riggers off the stern. The planers were the preferred thing that day, and the "candy" was delicious. A boat going over the top of fish can really spook 'em. The better graphs out there sometimes seem to show the boat pushing fish (of all different species i've noticed) down a few to several feet after you make an initial pass. Keep us posted on those home made planers.

My uncle and I got to the river before the sun crested the tops of the river gorge. It was a little chilly, but once the sun came out all was well and we were losing layers quickly. Very nice day out, we floated from the dam to houseman. The water dropped out on us to zero flow around the 62 bridge. A fellow in an inflatable was trolling with sinking line and was getting into the waldos on the lower end of the float. I chatted with an old timer fly fishing near the dam and he said that he caught a little parr marked juvenile bow....pretty healthy fish in this system. I should have brought my .270 or .308 or .44 mag down with me; always wanted to get some veni from the drift boat! It couldn't be done this year back home, to cold and iced over during deer season. (9 days around thanksgiving in wisco) J

Size 2 9394 TMC I put a little flash under the brown and tan marabou. Then tied in a patch of natural colored buck tail. The buck tail runs the length of the fly, plus a little extra to flair up to make the fat head these little fish have. Add a couple pheasant feathers for the pectoral fins, and a metz head to tie it all together. I've seen Mottled Sculpin as far north as the streams on the north shore of Lake Superior. I'm sure their range is even farther north yet.

It was a cold evening on the river yesterday. My friend Brian and I had just enough time to do a quick float from the dam down to the Bertrand access. We didn't get started until 2:30ish, and had ice building in the guides right away. I would like to say our late start was due to shenanigans and hijinks from night before but i was in bed by 9. Fresh sculpin only fish we caught with above fly; little slow. I'm blaming the cold. And the two toads that I lost the last time at beaver; bad juju after that sort of thing.

Spent the day out on Beaver striper fishing after all the tornado sirens quieted down. I tried casting the 10# weight sinking line with a shad clouser minnow that i tied, and had one fish blow up near the surface. No hook up. Once the sun came out, the wind really started blowing hard. It was time put the fly rod away and get serious about harvesting some striper fillets as i was only fly fisherman in the boat. All the fish landed were caught trolling with umbrella rigs. Blue seemed to be the magic color. fillet and release

Zack- Your message box may be full, it said you were unable to recieve new messages.

I drug my clacka all they way down here, and need to use it! Just did the Beaver tailwater and had a blast. (See short report in Beaver Tailwater forum) So if anyone in the area familiar with the river that would like to share the oars with me, please let me know. I'm about 2 - 2.5 hours away in Bella Vista and in the area until the 10th of januaryish. Thanks J

Floated from the dam down to Houseman access. We started at sun up and we were at houseman around noon, good flow the whole time. In hind sight, I did this float alot faster than ideal. But a first time down a river is always more an exploratory mission than anything. Great float though, good scenery and a couple big fish lost! I shouldn't say lost, i should say they spanked me. Myself and a fellow that hadn't fly fished in 5 years made the float. He was a little rusty with the casting, so the heavy intermediate shooting head fly line was a challenge for him. So when i was on the oars, very ineffective casting wasn't getting the job done. I'd say it was extremely critical to get the streamer to the bank for an effective presentation. He did OK on the oars though, and I lost two beauties. I'm used to fishing musky with my breaking point in the leader around 30lb. in little current, so a big hog of brown or bow in that fast current with 3X tippet surprised the @#$% out of me. If they want line, better give it too 'em! Makes me want to get back out there even more!!! Any one out there interested in doing this float(generation permitted of course, this would be a tough float at low water)with me in the drift boat is more than welcome, I'm here until around the 10th of January. If there is water this friday(tomorrow); i plan on being there. J

...i'm visiting my folks here in Bella Vista until around the 10th of January and looking for some fellow fly fisherpeople to fish with while i'm here. My main pursuit back in northern Wisco is Musky on the fly, Lake Superior steelbows second, and spring river browns a distant third. I drug my Clacka with me down here, so anyone interested in sharing the oars with me would be great. Floated the beaver tail water the other day, and was pleasantly surprised with the river. Good scenery and some nice browns and a few bigger bows. Casted big junk to the banks with shooting head line, but the other fellow in boat with me wasn't the greatest stick in the world so it made it tough. I would really like to try Taneycomo with the drifter, so anyone in the area familiar with it interested please give me a shout! Thanks - J