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Nice fish Jeremy. There are definitely some areas above rebar that hold some decent fish and are routinely ignored by most people. I have watched you fish up there and picked up a few nice fish. -Jerod

My wife, son, and I stayed at Rim Shoals Resort for a couple of days on a short tour of northern Arkansas. I managed a few hours on the water. I have to give Gary and Paula some credit for a great dose of hospitality and making our stay comfortable. Evening 5/7 I was the only person at the Rim Shoals access from 4pm on Thursday. I fished the two sets of riffles just at the walkin. I had my Taneycomo daytime fly box with me and tried a few of the standard patterns I usually would during the afternoon at Taney: san juan worms (brown and dark red), and a couple of midge patterns. No luck with the indicator, well at elast no luck with the flies under the indicator. If the indicator would have had a hook attached I would have caught several. I noticed a heavy Caddis hatch and switched to the closest pattern I had, a black and green soft hackle. I had a couple of takes but no fish to hand. I ended up the short evening with zero fish. Stormy 5/8 There were several rounds of storms that blew through Friday morning. Our cabin was only about 100 yards from the public access so I walked down to try and get some fishing in before the storm. This was around 9am. I was dressed in gortex head to toe so the though of a sprinkle didnt phase me. As I was focusing on tieing on my fist fly of the day I heard a couple of boats quickly motor past. I looked up just to notice the storm front barreling down the river and pushing the fog with it. It looked a bit menacing and was actually a really cool sight. Lightning quickly followed and chased me back to the cabin. I headed to the fly shop and chatted with our hosts for a bit as well as a local fisherman. This changed my mind from indicator fishing. I grabbed my night time streamer box and headed down to the access after the storms passed. I caught quite a few nice rainbows on a pine squirrel sculpin pattern as well as a flashy green wolly bugger. Most of them in the flat between the two riffles at the public access. The water was moving fast enough that the biggest fish, an 18 inch rainbow, put up quite a fight. Fishing the White was great and quite a bit different than Taneycomo. Given the choice I will always choose streamer fishing over indicators, so it was a pleasant suprise to do this in the middle of the day. The water was a lot less crowded, most of the time I had the Rim Shoals public access to myself. At the busiest there were 3 of us there. Part of that was probably due to the rough weather. I am already looking forward to heading back. -Jerod

After a long discussion with the Smith Optics international sales manager and an exchange of pictures. I have been duped. Apparently the sunglasses I bought at the outlet store were not in fact Action Optics glasses like I was led to believe but another brand with a very similar insignia. I will give Smith Optics a ton of credit for bending over backwards dealing with a customer they could have easily blown off. Back to the search.... -jerod

I have heard and read numerous well known guides talk about how important a good pair of sunglasses is. Typically it ranks right up there with a good rod/reel in importance. I have always worn quality glasses. I am light complected so the simple things like blocking UV rays are important. A good pair of properly fit polarized sunglasses will do a few things: Block UV rays Reduce eye strain prevent fogging protect you eyes from foreign objects allow you to see further into water improve your ability to see details such as indicators in glare apparently cost an arm and a leg -Jerod

The margins on sunglasses are crazy. That is the biggest reason I am so reluctant to fork over $150 for something that may have cost $8 to manufacture. At least I figured out how to launder $125 worth of Cabela's gift cards into cash. I am never going back to that place. -Jerod

This is more of a vent than anything.... I am shopping for some new polarized sunglasses. Last weekend I was loading my 11 month old son into his car seat in my truck and he pulled my Smith Optics sunglasses off while I was messing with the buckle. Next thing I hear is *snap* and he is holding the frame in one hand and the arm piece in the other. I wanted to cry. I am tempted to take the new pair's cost out of his $400 college fund (it just started). Brands: OAKLEY - I always wore Oakley's in the past but finding a decent pair that is polarized and doesnt make this mid 30s dad look like a wanna be snowboarder is difficult. Their polarized lenses tend to get pricey as well and difficult to find at a vendor who generally doesn't cater to fly fishing fans. I lost my last pair of Oakley's in January of 2008 at Taneycomo. I fished from the afternoon into the evening and moved my sunglasses up onto the top of my hat when it got dark. I took my hat off while walking back to my truck and never heard the sunglasses hit the ground by the pavilion. I hope they poke out the eye of whoever found them and never responded to my frantic search. Costa Del Mar - These sunglasses are supposed to be great, but I cant tell the difference between my $12 truck stop emergency backup glasses and a pair of these. I actually picked out a $159 pair of CDM's at Cabelas this weekend and paid for them. When I got to my car and put them on I realized that a 1 pound pair of glass lenses was never going to cut it when I have to wear them for hours on end while bouncing around a flowing river. I walked right back in and returned them. Smith Optics - I loved my old pair that were actually labeled Action Optics. Same company and confuses the hell out of sales people. I bought mine for $39 at the outlet mall in Branson. Great deal for me! Now I am looking at $179 to replace them or I could drive 3.5 hours to Branson and try to find the exact same pair I bought a year ago only to find out it was a one off special shipment that will never happen again. Gas Station Brand - I have a pair of these and they are about a size too small for my lollipop head. It feel like they are going to bruise the side of my head after a couple hours and i cant see anything while fishing. They work for driving and seeing cars, but no way can I count on seeing a red indicator at 30 feet in glare. Worthless but they keep me from going blind. I live in Kansas City and Cabela's is a PITA. I love the place but actually finding something never works. 100,000 square feet building, yet I can darn near stand in their fly shop and touch the walls on both sides of me. Add to the fact that I can ALWAYS find something in the catalog I want, yet after driving 30 minutes to get to Cabela's, and dealing with 200,000 whiskey tango race fans, the item is NEVER in stock. At least I can leave with a 2 pound bag of cinnamon jujus. I have scoured the web. I can find sunglasses where I like the picture. I get to the point where I am ready to buy them and realize they are some obscure small size or that I dont know what 57cm is going to feel like for a fit and can't ever pull the trigger. I can also find the brand I want but the frame that is available would look better on Paris Hilton than me. I dont want to fly fish with a bunch of bling on my face. This is so frustrating.......... -Jerod

Congrats Michael. So does the sale apply to phone orders too? Too far to drive... -Jerod

I have a TLS 5wt as well. It was my first real fly rod after a couple of Cabela's combos. I had very similar feelings when i got my new rod about my TLS. "I paid what for that Orvis rod?" Disappointing. And anyone caught stealing from a fisherman's car should be shot on the spot. -Jerod

4 hours..........sounds so pathetic. Some day I will be retired and looking for something to do besides fly fish... -Jerod

I have my fingers crossed for low water. I will definitely be wading. In theory I want to fish both the Norfork and White while I am there with maybe a 4 hour chuck on each. That is why I am trying so dilligently to plan ahead. Chances are those plans will go out the window as soon as I unload to fish... -Jerod

By now you might have ready a couple of my posts in asking for help planning a trip. This is a new one. I have decided to fish the White for a couple of days next month. I will be staying at Rim Shoals. Between the central location, satisfactory lodging, and water taxi service it seems like a really good fit. I have spent the past 5 years learning Taneycomo, the Current, and some reluctant time in the parks. This is my first trip south of Missouri with a fly rod. Since I am limited to a couple days fishing and there are miles of river I am looking for some advice in where to fish. Rim Shoals is clearly going to be the easiest access for me but I would love to hear some local advice. -Jerod

This looks like great advice. Staring at the google map everything seems so far apart. Never realized that Norfork is only 20 or so minutes away from Cotter. -Jerod

Hey Terry, I will be taking one for the team and pushing a stroller and window shopping the first two days. It does give me a chance to stock up at the Silly Chili though. It isn't fishing but it is fun time with the family. I did fish Beaver two years ago and I have to say that I am not a fan. We were there during some generation and high water, much like Taneycomo most of it was unfishable. Wading access was a little more limited than Taneycomo and when the water was low enough to fish I found myself dodging the locals and their arrays of powerbaited Zebcos. It was not an endearing experience. -Jerod

The wife, 1 year old son, and I are taking a trip down to Arkansas from KC in early May. She gets 2 days in Eureka Springs, I get 2 days to fish. Here is where I need help. I have to pick a river, find a place to stay, and do it soon. I had a thread in the Little Red Forum asking where to stay and got some great suggestions for all 3 rivers. That is covered. Now I have to decide where to go. In the next 3 years I will fish all three, but this year I get to pick one. Unfortunately my wife is dictating the budget and lodging and baby rule out a guide. Keep that in mind. Requirements: Fly fishing only Catch and release Walk in wading access The opportunity to catch more than a brown/rainbow intrigues me Won't be renting a boat Close access to town/entertainment for wife/son if she decides to drop me off and take the truck So far, I am leaning towards the White below Bull Shoals. It seems to have the easiest wading access, a fly shop close by, close access to decent lodging, etc. I appreciate the input and advice. -Jerod

I would give you 25 inches on that skunk fish Leonard if it is any consolation. -Jerod

so there is another Jerod out there???? -Jerod

Thanks all that contributed. This is exactly the kind of information that I needed. -Jerod

I am headed down fro KC with the wife and 10 month old son for about 4 days of rest and relaxation in early late April or early May. The first couple nights will be in Eureka Springs to appease the wife, the second couple of nights will be more geared towards me wade fly fishing either the Little Red or Bull Shoals. I need some help finding a place with decent access to food/amenities while still being reasonably close to fishing for me. Maybe a bed and breakfast. It cant be the normal dive I would usually hole up in by myself. I could alse use some pointer for wade fishing access since this will be my first trip to the area. Thanks, Jerod

Is it black with some flies in it and you found it between the cable and the point? -Jerod

Stripping streamers is the exception where i will go with a heavier than 6x tippett. Since the fish is striking a moving target and the line is typically pointed away from teh fish they dont get the opportunity to see the line. Now fishing a size 20 midge on 5x......you might as well be using twine. -Jerod

It is a shame that the records are being tainted by these fish. They don't naturally occur and are genetically altered, hence they shouldn't be counted. These guys have found a loophole in the regulations and are exploiting them to stack up world records. It is a pitty. It would be the same as a hunter growing a giant hog and releasing it on his fenced land then shooting it and claiming a world record. Don't get me wrong I would love to catch one.

I watched the Norfork show this past week and it really made me want to hit the water soon. Fly fishing and Airstreams the perfect combination! -Jerod

I am convinced they have some agreement with my boss and do it out of spite when i want to take 3 day weekends. -Jerod

I vote RIO Gold without hesitation. I have it on 2 different rod/reel combos and love it. Paired with Z-Axis it is absolutely perfect. I havent fished a line that floats better/longer and shoots as well as RIO gold. The line does start off as a camo green color and transitions to orange near the end of the taper. The two tone thing is probably more gimmick than anything but i do like it when fishing at night. It makes it easier to tell how much line I have out in the dark. -Jerod

When you are standing out in the middle of the water, there werent any other cars when you walked in, there also havent been any more headlights pulling in, and something big is moving through the brush or walking accross the gravel on the bank, that is when night fishing is the best. There have been quite a few nights where I was the only one out there and I was pretty sure Bigfoot, a bear, or a mountain lion was clumping around on the bank just outside my little circle of fog waiting for me to have to pee. I am 6 foot 4 and 260 pounds. There have been a couple times where I was walking briskly and almost running to the safety of the pavilion lighting. It was probably a raccoon or an armadillo, but I was pretty sure it was going to eat me. I have heard stories from Michael and his dad about snagging bats out of the air while casting. I am not sure a 9 foot leader would be sufficient space. I would probably have to cut my fly line mid taper and leave. -jerod