On The Fly 6

Beautiful. Looks like a lot of the clear mountain streams out west! Great photos.

Got to the gravel parking area around 9:30. The generation schedule said the water was going to be on from 5-8, but I guess only one generator was used. Started above the kiddie pool in the open water. I had 2 fish in about 5 mins time on a sz 14 hair and copper. I had about 8 fish before my uncle started getting any action. He was using the exact same fly I was, but I guess he wasnt holding his mouth right. Fished that pool for a few hours before moving down below the island. I kept the hair and copper on nearly the entire day because it kept producing. Finished with around 20-30+ fish. Water was still off colored, but the fish continued to eat. Great way to spend the day!

Was the water still off colored? I was there last Sunday and it wasnt real clear.

I fished the river between the 25th-27th of June with my uncle and we did pretty well on a variety of things. I say that, but it was actually a different fly on each day that we fished. We got on the water about mid morning and fished until they generated in the afternoon (nearly got stranded one day) The first day I did well on a size 18 Blue Morning dun midge. The next day we caught numerous fish on an olive micro jig. (I am, by no means, a fly fishing purist. If I can throw it with my fly rod, Ill fish it.) I also caught fish on a size 18 red midge. The last day we fished, I caught some of the biggest fish Ive ever caught at the LIR. The first big female I landed (and released) refused to surface! I thought I'd actually hooked a carp until I got her in the net. I didnt have my phone/camera with me and neither did my uncle, so no pictures. We fished the calm water area above the kiddie pool.

Ill be down there this weekend. If the Striper are hanging out then Ill bring something other than my 4wt. Nice fish!

Does anyone know of a way to contact someone affiliated with the Tight Lines Fly Fishing Club in NWA? Any information would be greatly apprecated. Send me a PM please! Thanks

The river was up a little higher than normal today. Did well on a variety of things. The biggest producer was the red zebra midge. Sz #18. I fished up stream from Parker Bottoms (just north of the parking lot) and managed 2 nice little browns! Caugth them back to back fishing the red midge 18-20 inches under an indicator. I was excited about the first one because I havent caught many Browns below Beaver.....but the 2nd bigger Brown just made my day! I caught several little Bows on the same midge, and a few on some small jigs that I was playing around with. All fished below an indicater. The weather was nice and once I was able to navigate the higher water without overflowing my waders, I found some fish! Here are the two browns I caught. Not the biggest, but still a blast to watch as they jumped in attempt to throw the hook before I got them in the net!

How did you guys fair? My dad caught a fish before me ..again, but only brought one to net the whole afternoon. I caught 5 above the kiddie pool and 5 more on the backside of the island. The ones behind the island I caught on a light grey soft hackle that I was swinging in the current. That was probably the most fun id had fishing the LIR in a long time. Seeing my dad catch a fish on a fly rod, and watching the trout hammer my soft hackle made for a good day with great weather.

I should be in a blue xterra with AR tags. It'll be my dad and I.

Im considering a trip as well. Trying to convince my dad to go too, but I'll just have to wait and see if I'll be going solo.

Saturday was my first day to fish the lake. I remember 3 gentleman asking me if I had a tape measure as I fished the deep pocket water of what I assume is the rebar hole. I finished the day with 3 fish, but I think it was the beauty of the water and its surrounding area that will bring me back! You guys have a beautiful fishery there at Taneycomo and im already looking forward to another trip!

Thanks! I look forward to this weekend!

Any suggestions for someone who has never fished the lake before? Ill be fly fishing as much as I can, but I'll have my spin cast rod with me too. After reading some of the posts in this forum, I feel pretty good about catching A fish, but id like to leave having caught SEVERAL fish! I welcome any and all suggestions. Ill be wading when I can and im not sure about renting a boat, but it is a possibility! Thanks!

Ill be making my first trip to Taneycomo this weekend. Any suggestions for flies I should have in my box?

Haha. It really wasn't bad. She was mad at me for another reason, the new fly rod just gave her something else to fuss at me about. My wife is really great about letting me buy gear and go fishing whenever I get the chance and when we have the money. She knew about my obsession long before we got married.

Indeed!

I fished on the park this past Sunday. As I was pulling my line through the guides for the first time that day...the tip of my 4 wt decided to snap off. I stood, dumbfounded, looking at the broken piece of my fly rod. After a few choice swear words, I had to make a choice...drive the hour and ten minutes back home, or go see if I could get a decent rod for a good price at Tims. After weighing the pros and cons in my head and trying to imagine the frustration I would hear from my wife, I did what any rational person would do and went to get a new rod . I found a nice little Orvis Streamline for a good price that Tim had just traded for and gladly took it off his hands. I was back on the water in 30 minutes. I managed a few fish on dries with my new purchase before calling it a day and heading home to face the music. The events that followed weren't pretty, but I get to keep my new toy!

I've caught and seen numerous caught on a red zebra midge. Size 14-18. I've also caught a few on a blue dun midge and an olive zebra midge.

I fished today. I got on the water around 10:40. Started above the kiddie pool in the deeper water and got a take on the first cast. Unfortunately, the fish got off as soon as I started working it in. I was excited! I knew for sure I wasn't getting skunked in that area again. I was wrong. I had numerous takes, and I rolled a fish or two, but brought nothing to hand. I also wanted to play around with some flies I had tied up, so I switched quite often. After about an hour of rejection, plus needing another layer of clothing because of the wind, I headed back to the parking lot to grab my jacket and gloves. I then decided to try the south side of the island. I tied on a brassie sz 14 and put it about 8-10 inches below an indicator and cast out towards a fallen tree on the far bank. First drift, first fish. I managed 3 more before I decided to throw a wooly I'd tied up. Cast out and started stripping it in. Another fish. I fished the wooly for about 45 min before getting tired of the wind. I had at least 1 or 2 takes every cast and with the water being clear and fairly shallow, I got to watch most of them! I went back to dead drifting a brassie again and managed a few more before tying on a pink jig looking thing I'd made. It caught a few fish, so I guess they thought it was edible. Overall it was a pretty good day. Not sure what my finishing number was, but it was way better than my last trip to the LIR!

So, I've recently decided that it was time for me to stop buying all my dry flies and start making them on my own. I've been tying all my own nymphs and midges for about 3 years and I've always felt confident picking up a fly, looking it over, and feeling that I could tie it. Dry flies were another story. I've just simply been afraid of tying them...especially the itty bitty guys that most streams around here require! I also started tying with foam and this is my first Chernobyl Ant. It seems to have turned out OK, but the true test will come when it hits the water. Any advice on what dries I could focus on? I've tied up some BWO and Elk Hairs in size 18 and 20, but I haven't gone any smaller yet. I figure I'll need some smaller hooks as well. Thanks for looking!

I fished at Watts and at the gravel parking area. I saw more cars than I'd ever seen before but I think a lot of that had to do with it being the last fishing day of the year. I started fishing around 11:30 and didn't catch a freakin thing until I was about to leave around 4:45. There were people everywhere with stringers full of fish, but I hadn't even had a bite! Lots of lead chunkers pulling fish in at the kiddie pool, but there was only myself and two other guys fly fishing above the boulders. One guy fishing the slower water near me was catching fish. I was not. I hate being out fished by spin cast fisherman for some reason. Anyway, after everyone had cleared out of the kiddie pool and I had started making my peace with not catching anything, I started back to the car. I paused for a moment at the kiddie pool and sure enough, I caught a fish right away. I figured why not dink around a little longer, so I kept my line in the water and pulled in one more. I got numerous hits and rolled several off the bottom, but I knew that I should be heading home to spend new years with the wife so I reeled in and headed to the car. That was probably the 2nd worst experience id had at the LIR simply because it was really crowded and I couldn't catch a thing! Hopefully my next excursion will yield better results

Any reports from yesterday?

Im wanting to fish the NFOTW this Saturday. It will be my first time and I know little about the river except what I've been reading on this forum. I'll be driving from NWA and I plan on wading. What should I look for as far as water levels etc? What are some of the better places to try my luck? What towns are nearby for lunch or dinner plans? Any information would be much appreciated!

I was just curious to see if anyone had been out on the water and had a report. Living in Fayetteville, Beaver is the closest tailwater for me, so I fish it the most. Its also one of the least active forums in regards to posts and updates. So, any news is better than no news!