netboy

Went to the Dam this morning as the SWPA forecast showed minimum flow for the entire day. Surprisingly, there was nobody there, no waders in sight and no boats. I didn't see any caddis today. It was cloudy, foggy and cool so that is usually not good for hatches. Cracklebacks and eggs worked best. Ended the morning with a dozen or so with a couple nice ones in the mix. Here's a couple of the better ones, got the rainbow on an egg and the tiger on a crackleback. This was my last fishing trip for a couple of weeks as we are traveling tomorrow to Nice, France and then a river cruise up the Rhone River to Lyon and then on to Paris. Looking forward to some great food and wines. Will check back in with you guys when we return.

Tilapia is a member of the cichlid family and they were "imported" to the south Texas rivers that we used to fish. The cichlids and tilapias were fun to catch as they ate dry flies and were about as good whole fried as a big sun perch.

Wild caught tilapia is great eating. The stuff you buy in the store...I wouldn't serve to the feral cat in yard.

I keep a few trout every now and then, especially when we have guests coming. I look for the ones that have a bit of orange on the bottom as they are the ones that have been in river feeding on scuds and snails. The meat will be orange colored and they taste like salmon to us. They are great filleted and sauteed and then finished with toasted almonds, butter, lemon and white wine. They also are great brined and smoked. They taste like smoked salmon that you pay $25/lb for.

Looks like that one has been eating good in the neighborhood.

I made the long trip to Roundhouse Shoals this morning (about 4 minutes from the house) and had minimum flow conditions. As usual, lots of stocker rainbows and small cutthroats. I saw a few caddis coming up and caught a couple on an elkhair caddis dry fly, but I think we are still a couple weeks away from the major hatch. Caught most of the fish on the egg/midge combo and then tied on a tiger tail and got this nice rainbow.

I went to the dam C&R area this afternoon after the water went down. Had a good day with around a dozen nice size rainbows. I didn't see any caddis today. Strange that they are starting on the Norfork, but not over here yet. Here are a couple of the better rainbows. One on an egg and the other on a tiger tail. Also wanted to mention that the Sowbug Roundup was great. I went yesterday and the crowd was the biggest I have ever seen there. As always it was well organized and the seminars were great.

Aldie's sounds like a great store. Wish we had one over here in the sticks. We have Wally World, Harp's and Sunfest.

There were probably 6 or 7 other waders. Most of them stayed close to the access, so nobody where I was.

Made a trip to Ackerman access this morning and fishing was pretty good. Started out with the usual egg/ruby midge combo and caught some on that and then I started seeing a bit of surface activity. Switched over to a tandem soft hackle setup and that is what they wanted. Ended the morning with a couple dozen rainbows, 2 browns and 1 small cutthroat. Here's a few pics...

It was definitely faster than a wheel, but slower than a tiller.

I had a stick steer bass boat back in the 70's and it was great for running thru the standing timber during the early days of Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. I imagine they would be great on a jet boat.

Looks like the tigers are growing up. The first release was in 2019. This would have been the official record, but they decided to weigh it and release it. Good for them. Facebook

The trail now goes a mile down the river to almost the end of the C&R section. Our local TU chapter worked with AGFC to hire a trail clearing contractor to make it happen. That said, it would not have happened without Gary Flippin's insinuative and there is a really nice picnic bench and sitting bench with Gary's name on it. As well as a generous donation from Hugh McClain and Mr. Frank Graham. Rim Shoals Trail (agfc.com)

Yes, no problem on minimum flow with the new trail that Gary Flippin and TU put in. You walk down the path to the "Dan Berry commemorative bench" and then cross over on the shelf.

No, last night they were running 1 unit, so I took the boat and ran to the shoal above Rim and then got out and waded.

SWPA was scheduled to run some big water this morning, so I made a trip to Rim Shoals to take advantage of the low water before the surge hit. Fishing was good with lots of rainbows, a couple browns and one cutthroat. Best flies were an orange slush egg with a ruby midge dropper under an indicator. Then around 10:00 I started seeing some fish rising to what looked to be small mayflies, possibly March Browns? I tried a couple different dry fly patterns with no luck, then tied on a crackleback and finally started getting some action. Caught 6 on the crackleback and missed about that many more. Then around 11:00 the water started to rise, so I called it a day. Here's a few of the better ones...

They claim they can get 88 kph (55 mph) out of the 30hp Yamaha 2 stroke outboards. Dinghy Derby: Boat Explanation - All you need to know (redbull.com)

Looks like a preset course with the placement of the markers and also the crowds on the shoreline.

Talk about a wild ride...😄😄😄

The SWPA forecast was for minimum flow all day today, so I headed up to the dam. I started just below the restricted area and worked my way downstream. Fishing was good with some nice size rainbows and a medium size brown. They blew the horn around 10:00 so I made a hasty retreat to the bank. There were 6 other waders and they also retreated and some of them left. After waiting 15 minutes, nothing changed, so I headed back out. I sometimes think the guys in the powerhouse hit the horn button just to laugh at us old guys scrambling to get to the bank. Ended the morning with a couple dozen rainbows and the one brown. Best flies were an orange slush egg with a ruby midge dropper. And can you say WINDY? It must have been cranking 40 mph at one point which makes for short casts and challenging drifts., Also had a visit from the Game Warden and he checked my license and fly hooking point. Always glad to see them out there. Here's a couple of the better rainbows...

I took this one across the English Channel a couple times back in the 80's. Going over it was a fun ride in some choppy seas and lots of folks seasick. The trip back to England was calm and that thing was fast and LOUD. They quit using them in the early 2000's after the chunnel (channel tunnel) was completed.

I probably average 5 days a week fishing. The other 2 days are usually weather related or trips that we have planned.

Wade fishing has been great recently with lots of low water. I waded at the Narrows yesterday and had a good day with lots of stocker rainbows and a few cutthroats in the 12-14" range. Best flies were egg patterns and cracklebacks. I spooked a big brown in a shallow riffle that looked to be around 30" and really fat. Never saw him again, but I now know where he hangs out. Here is the best rainbow of the day on a tan crackleback.

If any of you guys have a wood stove, you might want to try a couple of these fans. They run on a heat generated battery and blow the hot air into your room instead of up to the ceiling. We got 2 of them before the big freeze and really noticed a difference in the room temperature. TCFUNDY 6 Blades Fireplace Stove Fan Heat Powered Log Wood Burner Stove Fan | eBay