netboy

Probably right on 2 months to go from pellets to natural food. Here is my take on it.... Jim Hinkle started stocking the bigger trout around the first of the year. I saw a big improvement in the size of the trout on the Spring river earlier this year as did my friend/guide over there Mark Crawford. This spring when the White and Norfork were running big water I made some trips to the Spring river and I watched them load from the same runs to stock the White. I think we need to thank AGFC, Christy Graham (trout program manager), Melissa Jones and the folks at Jim Hinkle for a job well done. I think they are looking at the same number of pounds but fewer/larger fish going into the rivers. Don't know about you guys but I am happy with less small stockers and more decent sized trout.

Those are some nice ones Ham. The new regulations seem to be helping and they are also stocking larger fish. I watched the truck from Jim Hinkle hatchery dump a load at the Cotter boat ramp last week and they looked to be 12-13" instead of the normal 10-11". The driver said they have increased the size of the stockers. Don't know if that is also the case with the trout from Norfork National hatchery.

Ouch! Pinch those barbs down. Much easier on the fish and the fisherman. Voice of experience!!!!

Cool, she will always remember that experience.

That brown was in 1 foot of water looking for caddis. I saw him eat 2 caddis and I was able to sight cast to him and watch him take the fly. Pretty cool.

I think the bigger browns really like them for dinner. The only place I consistently catch brookies is the C&R area just below Bull Shoals dam. Usually catch 2 or 3 each time I go there.

Waded the C&R area at Norfork this morning and the fishing was pretty good. Caught 7 cutthroats (2 were Bonnevilles), 2 browns and a bunch of rainbows. Had a pretty good hatch of caddis around 9ish but it only lasted about 30 minutes. Elk hair caddis worked great during the hatch and then I switched to a green butt soft hackle and caught a few more. The Y2K/ruby midge combo caught the rest. There were lots of rainbows midging in the still water areas but I have yet to figure out how to fool them. Here's a few pics... Second to last pic is a Bonneville. This post has been promoted to an article

All systems are on go. Go get um and post some good pics.😄

Oh my, I forgot to mention that a great day tour nearby is Mesa Verde National Park. It is a bit west of Durango and very well worth the visit. Here is a link... Really worth the effort. And then don't forget the Million Dollar highway which runs from Durango to Silverton. Absolutely the best scenic highway you will see. And then when you get to the end of that pack your fly rod and visit Ridgeway park (Pa co chuk puk area). Very nice little tailwater with some pretty nice trout that really like PMD's during the summer. Dangit you are making me want to make another trip up that way. https://www.durango.org/discover-durango/mesa-verde

Abe's fly shop can set you up with a guide as well as local fishing conditions and what's working. If you want to try it on your own the best advice I can give you is think small. I'm talking 7x tippet and tiny midges, size 20 down to size 28. The catch & release area holds some really nice rainbows and decent browns.

That is probably true since it is a smooth bottom whereas the tin boats have ridges on the bottom.

I think is just a matter of opinion. The White river jons are cloned from the old original wooden jon boats in the area. The southern Missouri aluminum boats were designed there and very popular. That said I have a 17/48 Blazer with a 25 Merc jet and use it on the White/Norfork with no issues. What I have noticed is that the fiberglass Supremes and Topwaters are set up better for fly fishing guides with the center rowing station. I would probably get one of those if it came with a rower guy.😄

Took the kids on a float trip this morning from White Hole access to Cotter. We stopped a couple of times for some fishing and the first stop I hooked a decent brown on an elkhair caddis. I got him worn down a bit and handed the rod to the granddaughter for the final bout. She was pretty excited. Had a nice picnic on the river and lost way more trout than we caught but still caught about a dozen or so.

Looks like a great trip. You really have that jig fishing mastered. I miss about half the strikes I get on jigs and also lose quite a few jigs each trip. Fortunately I tie my own so it's no big loss. I went to the Norfork Sunday morning since there was minimum flow scheduled. There were sulphurs and some caddis coming off and the fishing was pretty good. Got a couple of pretty cutties (pic below) and some rainbows but only 1 brown that might have made 16". Mostly on Elkhair caddis and some on a PMD (pale morning dun). Got the kiddos here this week so were are getting ready for a float trip on the White this morning.

Should be getting good. Lots of hoppers in the yard. I saw a couple of guides having their clients hit the banks at Rim Shoals yesterday. Looked like hoppers were on the end of the line.

Best of luck on your upcoming trip to Taney. I'm sure we will see some nice nighttime trout pics. Night fishing would probably be great for big browns below Bull Shoals dam but I am just not that mad at them anymore.

Bull Shoals dam that is. I went to Bull Shoals dam C&R area this morning. They were running 1 unit so it was fishable, just had to stay close to the shoreline. Caught a bunch of rainbows, this nice (but skinny) brown and 6 brookies. I was surprised that I was the only one wading there. Saw quite a few sulphurs and some caddis coming off. Fish were rising but they were too far to reach. Should be some great dry fly fishing when they go back to true minimum flow. This post has been promoted to an article

Maybe we can catch some chartreuse trout now. Johnsfolly can add one to his list. 😄

Apparently it was just a hole in the rock ledge. https://www.springriverfliesandguides.com/mark-s-blog

No doubt that the new regulations and implementation of minimum flows have really helped. It will be interesting to see how the new minimum length limit of 24" on cutthroats and possession limit of only 1 rainbow over 14" per angler per day will pan out. I think I may have spoke too soon about the lower flows on the Norfork as they are scheduled to run both units tomorrow but it looks like lower flows on the White.

Looks like SWPA is finally starting to lower the flows on the Norfork. Today was scheduled to be 1 unit all day. That's still a bit much for wading but great for the boat. Took the boat there this morning and had a good day. Caught around 20 rainbows and 3 nice browns. About half on the spinning rig with jigs and the other half drifting a Y2K with a ruby midge dropper. Should be some great dry fly action whenever they drop it to minimum flow. Here's a couple of the better browns... This post has been promoted to an article