snagged in outlet 3

Hey Ham. I just got back from camping at Quarry Wed. - today. Plenty of room at the campground. Water stinks like Sulphur and has a weird color. We saw a lot of browns with multiple eels attached. No fly shop at McC's. Lots of people on the Norfork in general because they ran alot of water on the White. We didn't fish the Norfork dam area (never do) and spent everyday at McC's till yesterday when we drove to Bull shoals Dam only to have them crank it up 40 minutes later. Saw John Berry, hi John. Fishing is fair at best compared to the many years I've gone in the fall. Unless you like didimo, low DO, stinking water, eels, suckers, sediment from construction runoff, distressed fish and big crowds then you'll love it. There are just a lot more people fishing and the water quality is terrible. Lots of suckers and they move around a lot. Easy to spot the big browns since they have those eels hanging off of them. In my oppinion you are about 5 to 6 years late on your quest. Even when you hook the bigger fish they just don't fight that well. When the lake flips they should perk up but the overall water quality is horrible. Sorry to be so negative but those are the facts. We are actually thinking of going somewhere else next year after many years at Mountain Home in the fall. Good luck, fight em fast, release em quick and report the outcome. Snagged.

I prefer a flyline Leo. Snagged.

Thanks Michael. That's why we need pro's. How about flexament? Snagged.

They're not selling just closing the gate. They sold 40 acres up by the upper shoal and I guess thay don't need the money or hassel anymore. Snagged.

Hi Russ. How have you been? How's the boots? I think Zap a Gap "thick" waterproof superglue would work wonders. A shorter name wouldn't hurt though. Snagged.

Yes sir Mr Beeson. I know about the low DO levels, Overlook Mistakes and dry run. We go mostly to camp, cook on an open fire and I like to fleece the boys at Big Creek golf course. I know a little about you too. All good I might add! It's funny because I always camp there but never fish there. I remember times when you could stand at your campsite and see the whole area covered in redds and big fish all over the place. If it wasn't for Dry Run all those big trout would be dead or harvested. I've written to the governor and of course ADEQ. No answer from either. I don't spawn rape and really am not interested in catching tired fish. I hate the didimo problem at BSD. I was there for the conclave last week and the area doesn't look anything like it did 30 years ago. What a shame. I'll be honest though and tell you I'll fish McC's almost exclusively when I'm down there. They are closing off the access and I want to experience as much of that area as I can before Jan. 1. The fish I caught there last weekend were full of fight and I don't think low DO is a problem that far down river. The presence of thousands of suckers raised some concern though. I've been fishing there for 30 years and I've never seen that before. I enjoy your posts and hope to meet you formally sometime. Snagged.

Hey JJ. Thanks for the complement. I didn't make the get together I had to work. What's up with kids and family that need to eat and have a roof over their head? I haven't had much luck on dries in the river in the fall and winter which is when I fish the river. My favorite method down at Ho-Hum is a full sinking line with either a crackleback or a bugger. Don't tell anyone though. I take most of the browns on streamers in the winter. I always go down for the winter opener with my family and plan to do so again this year. If anyone will be there let me know and we'll meet up. We have the spring hole cabins again and it's a great time at Bennett. Although it keeps getting more and more popular every year. I'm always up for getting together to fish especially with someone from the metro area. I just returned from a ghetto trip to Il. to catch some hybrids. Caught one that went well over ten lbs and a bunch of white bass. All on a 9 weight flyrod. I'm headed to Mountain Home Wed. - Sun. this week and I'll report when I get back. we're camping at Quarry Park. Snagged.

Hi Murdoc. I saw the fish. Camera's and tape measures are great for preserving memories and the brood stock of big fish. I have pictures of my biggest trophies. 29" female rainbow, 27" male brown and a 24" female cutthroat. I quit bringing the camera a few years ago When I realized I catch them for my own gratification. The pics are on the wall around my fireplace in matching frames that my wife did up. I also have some beautiful pictures of the area's I fish at first light and so on. It makes a wonderful setting in my hearth room. My fishing friends are all C and R. But people who don't fish always make the best comments. "You let that go??!!!!" I feel better about that, than killing it. I know two guys that have large trout mounted that are in closets or somewhere, what a waste. I've never seen a mount that did the fish justice when it was alive anyway. My 2 cents. Snagged in Outlet 3.

I agree Dano but sometimes it feels good to vent even if it is to the choir. I wrote letters and sent emails for Taney and the debacle on The Norfork and you're right. Nothin, nada, zip!!!! Snagged.

Keep it up, we can't do enough to stop this in every state. I find it crazy that here in the St. Louis metro area runoff from construction is a big deal and closely monitored but in these areas where our real gems are, people don't care or are more interested in the dollar than the long term health of our best waterways. You can't do any more damage to streams around here that hasn't already been done for 150 years. The creeks in this area have long been polluted and disturbed beyond repair but we still see that runoff will eventially make it to the big rivers and cause more damage. See what happens when construction runoff flows into somebodies backyard around here. Our local stay at home moms have more backbone than any of those "committies" or local politicians in charge around our best natural resources. What a joke that Overlook Estates debacle has become. Maybe we should pay some of these stay at home moms to go down there and take care of it. Snagger.

Wow very cool!!!

I made the report of it in Taney in the spring and I stick by my guns. I know what it is and I saw some in the KOA hole. I knew after posting that I should have taken a piece as proof. Phil told the MDC and they reported that there was no didymo found in Taney. That is neither here nor there. I was at Bull Shoals Dam this past weekend and that stuff has covered everything that is below the low water mark. Makes the whole river look awful. Nice to see you at the Conclave Phil. Snagged.

Oct.5. Drove down from St. Louis and reached McClellans around 1PM. (Rumor is that McC's is closing Jan.1, real shame) High sun, beautiful weather and believe it not had the whole area below Otter Creek between me and one other guy (awesome). Started with terestrials and caught 5 cutthroats in ten minutes. Reached the Big Hole and nymph fished till water came on at 4Pm. Caught fish almost at will with the biggest around 17 inches. The fish were full of fight with many jumpers. Oct. 6. Played tag with the dam guys. Drove to Bull Shoals at 5:30 AM only to have them turn the water on at 6. Drove all the way to McC's and fished there all day till water came on. Not as good as Thursday and the water never really fell all the way out. Not sure what is going on with that but it was like that on both rivers Friday and Saturday. Caught enough fish to stay happy. Oct. 7. Bull Shoals Dam off at 3:15 AM so I drove thinking they wouldn't turn it on for a while, Wrong!!! Pulled in the lot and promptly at 6 they blew the horn. Couldn't believe it. Drove all the way back to McC's and fished the upper shoal (alone, can't believe that). Started slow till the sun hit the water then it was game on. Caught fish on dries till the sun got high around 11AM so I left. Went to BSD after calling the line and finding out they only turned it on for an hour and a half. Off at 3:15AM, on at 6AM and off again at 8:30 AM. That makes perfect sense. Water never dropped all the way out and the fishing was tough, caught only five small fish all afternoon. Conclave. Met Phil and John Berry and stopped there everyday in between fishing. My dad who is 80 doesn't fish anymore but loves the Conclave so I would drop by to check on him and drive him where he needed to go. My dad has always taken me fly fishing since I was a kid and he took me everywhere in the country with some famous fly fishing guys. He's a past national president of FFF and still serves on the national board I beleive. I'm 45 now so I had to be patient with him and remember he's getting old and a little slow. It's always nice to see some of the guys we used to go with and reminisce about old times. Snagged.

Hi Jim. Great report. Sounds like you caught more fish than most lately. I agree with all your theories. The one I think that has the biggest effect is the lack of rain for the past 3 years. We really need some this fall and winter. I follow reports from a forum on the White and Norkork (www.flyfishingarkansas.com) and they are making the same observations there as you are on Taney. Lots of suckers on the upper Norfork and with the current Overlook Estates debacle a study was done that showed a dramatic decrease in scud populations as compared to just last year. Sowbugs have all but disappeared in the White River drainage over the past 7 years or so. Overall poor water quality in the whole system. It's sad but I think it will get worse before it gets better. A big increase in rain would help a lot as would more environmental control of runoff and tighter restrictions on future developement. Take a look at John Wilson's Fly Fishing Arkansas website. Click on the forum and see what's happening on the Norfork and White from just one careless developer. Snagged.

Bumpin it up. Anybody going? I'll be there Thursday mid-day to Sunday. I'm going with my pop who is 80 and doesn't fish anymore but loves the conclave and the chance to see all his old buddies. That means I'm solo as far as fishing so if anyone wants to hook up let me know. Phil, I'll stop by your booth to see what's up. Snagged.

Michael You didn't bore me. I like your points, very well made. I'm gonna stop in your shop hext time through Springfield. Will you be at the Clave? I could stop in and see you there. I'll have to try one of the Rio's next. I like the idea of higher floatability and the sealed loop. I'm using the GPX now. Which Rio line is closest to the weight forward GPX? I like to streamer fish followed by long distance dry fly fishing. I'll nymph to catch fish if I have to or want to cocentrate on a specific fish. I use a 5 weight 9.5 foot Sage for most of my White River drainage fishing. I only got to the parks if I have to with the family. Snag.

I've used a lot of lines over the years and I don't think $60 is too much to pay. I get a lot of use out of one fly line and if you only use it a couple times a year I would think it could last ten years or more. $6/year doesn't seem extreme. I'm currently using a Pale Olive SA GPX, 5 weight, weight forward, floating. This line casts like a bullet, is very abrasion resistant but is very stiff. It's not a great line for close-in fishing with short casts or when cold out. But it is great for streamer fishing and dry fly fishing with long casts. Not good for Bennett but I like it for Taney and The White River. The previous line I had was the Peach Cortland 444 in the same dimensions as above. Very supple, casts well close-in, but was not very abrasion resistant. This is a better line for Bennett but I went through one in one season because it was all scratched up. This is a better line in cold weather. You give up some features with either line but I like the abrasion resistance because I use the line longer and feel I'm getting more for the money. I like the pale olive color way better than the peach. The peach seems out of place when I'm wearing pale green everything but flipping a fly line that almost glows in the dark. I haven't tried Rio or the Wulff because my fly shop doesn't recommend them and I tend to stick with what they are using and pushing. Okay how about this. You buy a new $60 dollar line and your loop collapses while throwing a big streamer and the hook almost cuts the line in two!!!!!!!!! OUCH!!! New fly line please!! I hate that. Snag.

Terry. No I kind of tightened up. Scary it was. I think of it every time I go to Mcclellans. Snagged.

Hey Ollie thay have made it to the missouri River. Only a matter of time before they cross it. I'm sitting in a porta-john at Mcclellans in the dark about 4AM. I have the door open for ventilation and all of the sudden I hear something coming straight at me from the woods. I'm in a real bad perdicament as you can understand when finally my flashlight catches sight of the beast. It's two dillo's headed straight toward me while I kind of back up the back of the john. Right at the last minute they split a part and go right around either side of the john. Whew!!!!!! I had to put off my business for a while. Night fishing was good though!! Snagged.

Hey Phil and Russ. I'm thinking of coming down Thursday with my dad. He won't fish so I wasn't sure if I wanted to come down and fish alone the whole weekend. If you guys are going I'd like to have someone to fish with, at least some of the time. Snagged.

Sounds like a great time Phil. I'll have to go up and check our fields for some new arrivals. Snag.

Hey Kickn. I went out for the dove opener and the Sunday of that weekend you can look at my report under general discussion, "season opener". Snag.

I can't believe I'm reading this. You would think at this point that local business owners, local political leaders and just plain old fishermen would be out in force to draw attention to the problem and get it fixed pronto. I've seen housewives stage pickets and call the local TV news when their yard gets runoff from a builder next door putting up new houses. Are you telling me that this guy still hasn't fixed and repaired the Norfork problem and now has started this new project? This reflects badly on local and state leaders that apparently don't care or can't get anything done. SAD!!!!!!!! Snag.

The question is "Are guides worth the money?" Good guides are worth every penney and more. Bad ones are not worth it and not fun. I've paid for all kinds of guides, mostly saltwater. I don't have a boat in New Orleans, Florida, Newport RI or the Bahama's either. For me there is no other choice if you want to fish a new area, especially salt. I not only don't have a boat but I don't know tides or anything else about fishing in or around the ocean. A good guide will put you on fish and tell you the method's that have been working for them lately. A little history of the fishery and some neat things about the area are expected I think. They should know the fishery and the surrounding area. I floated the Colorado and the guide told us about an underground coal fire that was still burning after 20 years, a dinosaur dig and the best place to get Margarita's in town. He worked with my son on casting, mending and how to fish from a drift boat. What a wonderful day we had. My son only brought one fish to the net and broke off a big one but he had a great time. We don't have enough money to get a guide for more than one day but we always do it on every vacation. Every good guide has undestood that and told us area's we could access on our own and what flies and techniques to use. Really we only had two bad guides out of 25 or so. Check around with buddies and fly shops you deal with locally. They may know of guides in the area you are looking at. Have fun, catch a few fish and enjoy the outing, then everyone wins. Snag.

Hi Terry. It's right next door to the big store in Springfield, just south. What they do sell there is a great deal just depends on your timing. Snag.