netboy

Fishing has still been good with minimum flow until noon. I met my friend in the parking lot and we had a good day. It was foggy early and we had to work for a bite during the midge hatch but a CDC midge dry fly caught a few. Then around 10am the sun came out and the caddis started popping. Caught a bunch of nice rainbows and 1 cuttthroat. At one point there were caddis popping everywhere and the trout just seemed to appear from nowhere to get them. After the horn went off at noon I waded down to my friend and we had fun doubling up on nice rainbows on the rising water. He said somebody should take a picture when we were both hooked up with 19" rainbows. I told him we can only imagine what a full day of minimum flow would be like... but that will probably not happen this year, Looks like higher water tomorrow. Here's a pic of one...It was too good to get a lot of pictures.

The SWPA schedule said minimum flow until noon so I went to the dam this morning. Fishing started off good with the usual midge hatch early and I caught 7 on a size 18 parachute Adams. The fog burned off at 8:30 and the caddis were just starting to hatch... and then at 9:05 the horn went off. I got to the bank and waited to see how much water was coming. It looked to be 3 or 4 generators so I left along with all the other waders. Lots of grumbling about SWPA in the parking lot. I got home and decided to go to Roundhouse Shoals access and take advantage of the minimum flow. Ended up catching a bunch of stocker rainbows on a Y2K/midge combo along with this nice brown.

I am surprised that SWPA is still holding water back at Bull Shoals dam. My fishing buddy from Corpus Christi has been here for the last couple of weeks and we have been taking advantage of the caddis hatch. The hatch is getting less each day but the trout are still looking up for them. There was the usual midge hatch early and a size 20 parachute adams worked great. Caught a dozen nice rainbows and 1 cuttie on that and then around 10am the fog cleared and we started to see some caddis hatching. It got better as it warmed up and then the caddis really started.... but then the dreaded horn blew at 11:45 am. Still ended up with about 25 nice rainbows and a few cutties. Here's a couple of the better rainbows.....

It hasn't been too bad. Most folks won't fish the dam if is not minimum flow. It does limit access but there are still a few places to fish. I think lots of fly fishers have been going to Norfork lately as they have been running minimum flow until noon every day for the last few weeks. I think all this will change soon as the lake is now 7 feet from the top of flood pool. That is 25 feet above power pool. We did have minimum flow on the White this morning for the first time in weeks. Fishing was good and I lucked out and got this pretty 20" cuttie on an elk hair dry fly along with some nice rainbows.

SWPA ran 1 unit this morning so I went to the dam and met my friend up there. Caught a few nice rainbows and 1 cutthroat on a ruby midge early and then around 9 there were a few caddis and small tan mayflies coming up. Tied on an elk hair caddis dry and caught a couple, but they were not too interested in that. Next choice was the soft hackles that worked yesterday and still not many takes. I switched to a crackleback and that was what they wanted today. Caught around 20 and missed a bunch more. Here's a couple of the better ones...

Well I do get the hoe out when I see a copperhead or a rattler.😁

Yesterday I was using a green butt soft hackle with a bright green butt and peacock herl body. I have seen very few sulphurs up there, but still seeing caddis on the sunny days.

The friend that identified it said they are good snakes to have around. They eat rodents, lizards and other snakes.

Hopefully the water will stay down.

A friend that knows his snakes corrected me. He said those were Racers, not Coachwhips. I can say that I saw the big male this morning when driving up the driveway and when he saw me, he took off like a rocket. Fastest snake I have ever seen.

The rain slacked off a bit mid morning so I went to the dam C&R area. They were running a little less than 2 units and there was still a light drizzle. I started with an egg/midge combo and caught a few. Switched to a tandem soft hackle rig and that is what they wanted. Caught some good rainbows and a couple nice cutthroats. Here's a pic of the big one for the day....

Wasn't too bad here on the White river. Quite a few boats out Saturday, then fewer Sunday and very few today.

That could really hurt if he hit ya.

Here is another one...

Walked out to the back patio just now only to be greeted by these 2 Coachwhip snakes doing their mating thing. The male looked to be about 5 feet long and they weren't too concerned about me taking their picture.

I went back this morning and the water was quite a bit higher. Didn't see any bugs coming up so I used a ruby midge and then later on, a soft hackle. Caught 10 including these two nice rainbows...

The cutthroats are now in spawning mode so they take on those pretty colors. Saw a couple pair on redds last week at Dry Run creek.

I noticed that the water was lower than predicted at the dam this morning so I decided to go check it out. I was the only one there until about 9 and then only 2 other waders. Water was running about 1/2 of a unit so it was good for wading. Eggs and midges worked early on and then around 9:30 a few caddis started coming up so I switched to an elk hair caddis and caught 6 on top. Then the caddis stopped so I switched to a soft hackle and caught some more. I ended up with around 20 including 3 nice rainbows in the 19-21" range and a couple of colored up cutthroats. I also lost 2 other big rainbows that came unbuttoned. Here are some pics...

Interesting read on some of our common phrases... In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint) *** As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy. *** In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board..' *** Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.' *** Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced'. . Wore a tightly tied lace. *** Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades.' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.' *** Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to 'go sip some ale' and listen to people's conversations and political concerns.. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. 'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip.' *** At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the term minding your 'P's and 'Q's *** One more and betting you didn't know this! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. l Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)

I launched the boat at Wildcat this morning and ran up to Tucker Shoal and then got out and waded. It was foggy and only a few caddis flying. I used the egg/midge combo and caught around a dozen rainbows and one 17" brown. The fog finally burned off around 10 so I took the boat up to a large weed bed and there were fish rising. I noticed some bigger fish rising right along the shoreline so I positioned the boat above them and dropped the anchor. Turned out to be a group of nice browns waiting on the caddis to drift by. I caught 6 browns in the 18 to 20" range from an area that was about 10 square feet. It was strange that there were no rainbows in that small area. They all took a size 18 elk hair caddis. Here a few pics...

Must have been one hell of a rusted screw....😁

Oh man, that really sucks.

I have seen many eagles swoop down and catch smaller trout but they always get them with both talons, which would make more smaller punctures. Whatever this was had at least a 6 inch spread and two claw marks on one side and one on the other side. Also no spoonbills that I know of below Bull Shoals, never seen a gigger up there, but who knows what goes on after the sun goes down??? Still wondering what he ran into but glad he survived and was the best fight of the day. Probably made 6 jumps clear of the water and took me into the backing twice.

I went to the C&R area below the dam this morning. The sun was out and there were caddis coming up when I got there so I tied on an elk hair caddis. Caught a half dozen rainbows and 1 cutthroat on the elk hair and then the clouds moved in and fog started to form. That was the end of the surface activity so I switched to a soft hackle and caught another 10 including this big male. It had three big puncture wounds, two on one side and one on the other. He put up quite a fight so he was still healthy. Any ideas on what would cause this? I thought maybe an eagle, but the fish was pretty big for an eagle to target.

They were scheduled to run about 3 units this morning so I took the boat up to a shoal that has been fishing good recently. The water was a bit high for safe wading so I anchored upstream of the area where the fish have been concentrating and had a good morning. Caught around 25 including some nice size rainbows, a decent brown and a nice cutthroat. It was interesting that I saw a number of trout come up to the fly and then turn away. I changed from the usual size 16 elk hair caddis to a size 18 and that seemed to be what they wanted. There were smaller caddis coming up with the bigger guys but they stayed on the water longer than the bigger ones. Got lots more takes with the 18 but also lost a few good ones due to the small hook. Here are a couple of the better ones...