John Berry

A few years ago I was guiding for Hooked On A Cure and saw a guy in a Bass Boat take out his transom when he hit a rock near Rim Shoals. There is a reason that we use a specialized boat here. There are lots of rocks and the water level is constantly changing.

Lori is not very interested in fishing in the cold either. I have been fishing with my yellow lab, Ellie. She doesn't seem to mind.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/03/2008 We have had a few days of light rain and the lake levels on the White River system have continued to rise a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam remained steady at three and five tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose three tenths of a foot to settle at four and three tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has remained at seven feet below pool. Early in the week there was virtually no generation and later in the week there were some periods of substantial generation (up to six generators). This has aided boat navigation and has created some excellent wading conditions on the White River. We had several very windy days which included lake wind advisories and some very cool temperatures. Norfork Lake has risen three tenths of a foot to rest four and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for no discernable generation early in the week and periods of significant generation later in the week. This has created excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for colder weather with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. Despite the cold temperatures and high wind, there were several anglers that took advantage of the low water to fish between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The fishing has been excellent for wading anglers particularly on the White. The State Park below Bull Shoals Dam has fished well. There are very few campers there this time of year and plenty of water to fish. There have been some nice midge hatches in the afternoon. The most productive flies have been zebra midges in red with brass wire and brass beads. Partridge and orange and green butt soft hackles have also accounted for a lot of fish. Wildcat Shoals has been a local hot spot. The partridge and orange and green soft hackles have produced a lot of fish in the lower section below the shoals, especially when fish can be seen rising. This section also fishes well with woolly buggers either in olive or brown. Both should have a bit of flash. In the shoals, zebra midge nymphs in black with silver wire and silver bead and brown with copper wire and copper bead have accounted for a lot of fish as well as the Y2K. Rim Shoals had quite a bit of pressure but still fished well with olive scuds, black zebra midges and Y2Ks. Anglers going into more remote water to find a bit of seclusion have done particularly well. Some have waded down from Rim Shoals to White Shoals and caught some nice brown trout on olive woolly buggers and green butt soft hackles. This is about a thirty minute trip and you should check the latest generation report before you begin this trek. Several anglers also found some really great fishing by going up stream by boat from the Buffalo City access to Buffalo Shoals. This area fished well with Y2Ks, olive scuds, partridge and orange soft hackles and black zebra midges. On the high water, the most effective method of fishing it to fish from a boat and use heavily weighted San Juan worms. The best colors would be hot fluorescent pink, fluorescent orange, red and magenta. Large eggs are also effective. You should use heavy tippets (4X or 3X) and large strike indicators. To handle this much weight I would recommend at least a five weight rod. Open up the loop on your cast to prevent tangling your line. On the Norfork, the bite has been a bit slow on low water. There has been so much pressure on this river in the summer and fall that the trout are very wary. There have been some midge hatches in the afternoon. Try zebra midges in black, brown and red, Norfork bead heads and Dan’s turkey tail emergers. Take special care with your presentation and use light tippets (6X or 7X). On high water use San Juan worms as described above and concentrate on weed lines and grass beds. Dry Run Creek has been virtually abandoned. The cold weather has kept a lot of our younger anglers at home. Now is a great time to bundle the kids up and give it a try. When my daughter, Katherine, was young enough to fish there, the best day we ever had was when the temperature was fourteen. She wore everything she owned. She landed a twenty seven inch rainbow and Dad got the picture. Create your own memories by high sticking sowbugs. Use at least 4X tippet. Carry the biggest net you can find and a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.

If it is above freezing, I use wool fingerless gloves and carry a back up pair. When I handle fish, I remove them to keep them dry. If it is below freezing, I use the Simms wind stopper fingerless gloves with the mitten pullover. Since I am usually guiding, I use the handwarmer pockets on my Simms G3 waders a lot. That really helps.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 12/27/2007 We have had several days of rain and the lake levels on the White River system have continued their rise. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose one tenth of a foot to rest at three and five tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose two tenths of a foot to settle at four and six tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has risen one tenth of a foot to rest at seven feet below pool. There has been virtually no generation on the White for a week. This has severely hampered boat navigation but has created excellent wading conditions on the White River. We had a few windy days where there were lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has risen five tenths of a foot to rest four and seven tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for no discernable generation all week. This has created excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have wadable water on both rivers. With the low water, the fishing on the White River has been excellent. There have been precious few anglers and the ones that have shown up have had the river to themselves. Wildcat Shoals has been fishing very well. The deeper holes have produced some good fish with zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver bead and in brown with copper wire and copper bead. The slower water below the riffles has been a great place to fish soft hackles. The most productive soft hackles have been partridge and orange, green butts, and hares ear soft hackles. Round house Shoals has fished very well. The water is so low that the back of the island has fished a bit slow but the front of the island has fished quite well. Beware of the bedrock bottom. It is very slick and studded boots are highly recommended. The deeper water has been a great place to nymph with Y2Ks, olive scuds and zebra midges. Soft hackles have also worked well here, particularly the partridge and orange and the green butt. Rim Shoals has been a hot spot. There have been some really nice trout caught there recently. The deeper holes have fished well. The hot nymphs have been zebra midges, Y2Ks, olive scuds, egg patterns and pheasant tail nymphs. There has also been some nice streamer fishing. The streamers of choice have been the olive woolly bugger and the wool head sculpin in olive. With no generation for such a long time, areas that are not normally wadable are now very accessible. One of the best is Buffalo Shoals. It is fairly remote and does not get a lot of pressure. It has incredibly good trout habitat and holds a lot of fish. Some anglers walk the railroad tracks up stream from the Buffalo City Access and scramble the bank down to the shoals. This is not for the feint of heart. I recommend taking a boat up stream from the Buffalo City Access and then wading around to find the best spots to fish. Anglers have been doing well on zebra midges, small olive scuds, Y2Ks, and red San Juan worms. The Norfork has fished a bit better of late. With the low water on the White, wading anglers are more spread out and the crowds are gone. The dissolved oxygen levels are greatly improved. At the quarry park access, just below the Norfork Dam sowbugs and soft hackles like the partridge and orange and the green butt have been the go to flies. The Handicap Access has also fished a bit better. Here the flies of choice have been midges. Nymphs like the zebra midge and Norfork bead head have accounted for some nice fish. When the trout are hitting the top, Dan’s turkey tail emerger has been the go to fly. When you get tired of fishing with small flies try San Juan worms in worm brown or red, a Y2K or a western foam hopper. Dry Run Creek has been fishing well. There has been virtually no one there. Now is a great time to plan an outing during the school break. It is a bit cold but there are plenty of trophy trout to make for the trip of a life time. The most productive method for fishing the creek is to high stick sowbugs, the main food supply there. Other productive flies are San Juan worms in worm brown or red and olive woolly buggers. Be sure and use at least 4X tippet and pinch down the barbs on all flies used. Take a camera! Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

JOHN BERRY HOLIDAY FISHING REPORT We have had several days of rain and the lake levels on the White River system have raised a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose eight tenths of a foot to rest at three and four tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to settle at four and eight tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has risen four tenths of a foot to rest at seven and one tenth of a foot below pool. The generation pattern on the White River has been erratic. There has been a forty-eight hour period of no generation followed by several days of generation where the levels have yo-yoed up and down with some brief periods of very heavy water flow. This has improved boat navigation. There have been some limited wading opportunities on the White River. We had a few windy days where there were lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has risen six tenths of a foot to rest five and two tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several short pulses of generation daily. The level of generation has been a bit higher than the previous week’s. This has created some limited but excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for warmer weather with the possibility of rain. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. With the colder weather during the past week, the dissolved oxygen levels on both rivers greatly improved. Both rivers, the White and the Norfork, are now in compliance with the state standard of six parts per million. The White has fished very well on low water but has not done as well during the erratic generation. The weather and the season have kept most anglers away. As a result there is a lot of solitude out there. There have been several hot spots along the river. Wildcat Shoals has fished very well especially during low water. The most effective tactic here has been to fish soft hackles on the lower end of the shoals. The best flies are the partridge and orange, green butt and hare’s ear soft hackles. Other flies for this section would be black and silver zebra midges, red San Juan worms, and olive woolly buggers. Round House Shoals has also fished well. Here again soft hackles have been very productive in the gentle riffle water. In the heavier water, use weighted nymphs. The Y2K has been especially productive here. On some days there has been a blue wing olive hatch. The flies are very small. Use light tippets and work close so that you can see the fly. A good pattern for this is the parachute Adams in size twenty or smaller (match the hatch). Rim Shoals has been productive. On low water the fishing has been best with nymphs. The go to fly has been the olive scud in size eighteen. The zebra midge in black with silver wire and silver bead and in brown with copper wire and copper bead has also been hot. The partridge and orange soft hackle, olive woolly bugger and Y2K have also produced fish. The Norfork has fished very well during the last week. The crowds from last fall are gone and it is possible to pretty much fish where you want. With the dramatic improvement in the dissolved oxygen levels, the Quarry park access near the dam has been a great place to fish. After the recent rain, this area remained clear while the lower river got fairly muddy. The hot fly here is the sowbug in size sixteen. Other hot flies have been the partridge and orange and green butt soft hackles. The handicap access has fished well when the water has been clear. There is some siltation occurring during heavy rain. The source seems to be Otter creek. Small midge nymphs have done well here. The most productive patterns have been the zebra midge and the Norfork bead head. There have been some great midge hatches in the afternoon but the flies are incredibly small. My clients were catching fish on size twenty six dry flies. Work close in order to see anything this small. Dry Run Creek is fishing well. During the holidays would be a great time to take your youngster fishing. There are several places where they can fish from the bank. With the cold weather we have had, it is important to keep them dry. Carry a camera and a big net! Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

When matching flies to naturals it is size, shape and color. With color the least important and size the most important.

I guided two groups of anglers for the last five days. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, my clients were from Minnesota and thought the weather was quite mild. Each day we fished a differant spot on the White and then went to the Norfork after the water fell out. We only wade fished. Tuesday we fished Wildcat Shoals and Rim Shoals. We absolutely whacked them. The hot flies were the partridge and orange soft hackle and zebra midge. On Wednesday we fished Roundhouse Shoals and had a really good day. The hot flies there were the Y2K and partridge and orange. On Thursday, we returned to Wildcat and had another great day on partridge and orange soft hackles. There was no one but us at any of the places we fished on all three days. The big fish were seventeen inch rainbows, most were fourteen inches and fat and sassy The clients on Friday and Saturday were from Kansas and were accomplished anglers. We floated in the Rim Shoals area on Friday and absolutely slayed them. All of our fish were caught on zebra midges, brown with copper wire and copper beads and black with silver wire and silver beads all in size eighteen. We were in constant action all day and never felt the need to try any other flies. The big fish was a seventeen inch rainbow and we caught a lot of sixteens. We were the only ones floating that section that day.

I guided two groups of anglers this week for a total of five days. It was cold every day and rained quite a bit. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, my clients were from Minnesota and they thought the weather was quite mild. On each day, we fished on the White in the morning and then went to the Norfork each afternoon after the water dropped out. Every day we arrived at the handicap access to discover that we were the only ones there. We fished the Catch and Release section and did well. One of my clients was seventy five years ond. He was fishing size twenty six dry flies that he had tied and was tagging plenty of fish. The big fish was a nineteen inch rainbow. We caught fish on a variety of flies: zebra midges, partridge and orange soft hackles, pheasant tails, San Juan worms and Y2Ks. On Saturday, I took some clients from Kansas. We had done very well the day before on the White. We went to the handicap access and found the water muddy. We caught three fish and decided to go to the dam to find some clear water. We fished sow bugs and partridge and orange soft hackles and absolutely slayed them. One of my guys landed four brookies. All in all the best fishing that I have seen on the Norfork in a while. The poopy weather definately thinned the herd but did not affect the fishing.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 12/13/2007 Though we have had several days of rain, some of the lake levels on the White River system have continued to drop. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam, however, rose one and two tenths of a foot to rest at four and two tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to settle at four and six tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen one tenth of a foot to rest at seven and five tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for a short period of fairly heavy generation in the morning and again early evening. This has improved boat navigation. There have been some limited wading opportunities on the White River. We had a few windy days where there were lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest five and eight tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several short pulses of generation daily. The level of generation has been a bit higher than the previous week’s. This has created some limited but excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather with the possibility of snow. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have improved significantly. The dissolved oxygen level was around two parts per million. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has declined. It has averaged three tenths part per million. Once the water has traveled a bit down stream and runs over rocks and riffles, it picks up oxygen. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. There has been some good fishing on the White River with the limited wading. The colder weather and rain has limited the number of anglers willing to leave the comfort of their homes. Those that have braved the elements have been rewarded with some extensive solitude and some very nice trout. Wildcat Shoals has fished very well. In the deeper water, zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver bead have accounted for a lot of trout. In the flat water below the shoals the hot flies have been partridge and orange soft hackles and olive woolly buggers. In the late afternoons we have had some decent blue wing olive hatches. The parachute Adams in size twenty has been the go to fly for this hatch. Further down stream in Cotter, there has been some really great top water action with partridge and orange soft hackles at Roundhouse Shoals. The action has been best in the channel behind the island around mid morning. There has also been some really good nymphing with size twenty pheasant tail nymphs and size fourteen Y2Ks. Olive woolly buggers with a bit of flash have also been productive in this area. The bad weather has also kept a lot of anglers from fishing on the Norfork. If you have wanted to fish there but want to avoid overcrowded conditions, now is the time to fish there. There have been some very good midge hatches in the afternoons. These are best fished with cream midge dry flies in size twenty four and twenty six. When fishing something this small you will have to work a short line and use small tippets (size 8X). Other effective flies have been bead head pheasant tail nymphs in size twenty, black zebra midges in size eighteen, and Y2Ks. Overall the fishing has been a bit slow here but there have been some nice fish caught. The best time to fish here has been late afternoon. Dry run creek is fishing extremely well. There have been precious few kids to fish here lately. Here again, now is the time to avoid the crowds. The best way to catch fish is by high sticking sow bugs which is the major food source in the creek. I have found that the fish tend to congregate around the hatchery discharge pipes. The water coming from there has a constant temperature, higher oxygen content and creates some nice riffles. If you are going to take pictures be sure and make sure your camera has a flash as the deep valley the creek is located in is sometimes very shady. If you decide to visit the hatchery while you are there be sure and remove you waders to prevent the possible spread of whirling disease. Practice water safety and always check conditions before leaving home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local waters for over twenty five years.

Rim is my home water. Though I live four blocks from the river in Cotter, I love the section at Rim. One of my favorite spots is Jenkins Creek. Just up stream from the ramp it is a nice small shoal tht holds a bunch of fish and does not get too much pressure.

Saturday, my wife, Lori, and I went fishing at Rim Shoals with my yellow lab, Ellie. There were fog warnings out and there was a pretty heavy fog out all day. It was wet and cold. We dressed warmly and it didn't slow us down much. There was only one other angler there when we arrived and maybe two others that came after we got there. The fishing was good and we caught a bunch of fish. The big fish was a fat male eighteen inch brown. We caught a few sixteen inch rainbows but most were in the fourteen inch range. I caught my all my fish on a brown zebra midge with copper wire and copper bead in a size eighteen. Lori did well on a size eighteen olive scud. We fished untill dark.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 12/06/2007 Despite a major rain event, the lake levels on the White River system have continued to drop. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam, however, rose three tenths of a foot to rest at five and four tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen four tenths of a foot to settle at four and four tenths feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen five tenths of a foot to rest at seven and four tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for very little generation with long periods of no generation. This has created some difficult water to boat on. On the other hand there have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. We had a few windy days where there were lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest five and six tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several short pulses of generation daily. The level of generation has been a bit higher than the previous week’s. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have a lot of low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have improved a bit. The dissolved oxygen level was around three tenths parts per million. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has declined. It has averaged five tenths part per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Once the water has traveled a bit down stream and runs over rocks and riffles, it picks up oxygen. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. The low water on the White River has made for some excellent fishing. Wildcat Shoals has been fishing very well. The deeper holes have been fishing well with zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver beads and in brown with copper wire and copper beads both in size eighteen. Other effective flies have been olive scuds, sowbugs, trout crack and Y2Ks. In the lower end of the shoals soft hackles like the partridge and orange and green butts have been the go to flies. The section from Cotter to Rim Shoals has been very productive. Rim Shoals has been a particular hot spot. The hot fly has been the olive scud in sizes sixteen and eighteen. There has been a fairly predictable blue wing olive hatch most afternoons which can create some spectacular top water action. Other good flies for this section would be zebra midges in brown and black, red San Juan worms, Y2Ks, and sow bugs. The real story on the White River has been the ability to fish some of the very productive shoals down stream that have not been wadable for some time. Places like Buffalo Shoals have been quite wadable and fishing quite well. To reach this shoal, you will need to boat up stream from the Buffalo City access. Hot flies have been olive scuds, zebra midges, prince nymphs and San Juan worms. Another such spot is Steamboat Shoals which is located between the confluence of the White and Norfork Rivers and Red’s Landing. It is accessible only by boat and you must consider both generation from the White and Norfork River when planning a trip there. The Norfork has been fishing a bit better. The lower water on the White River has drawn a lot of the wading traffic from the Norfork and eased the overcrowded conditions from earlier in the year. The hot flies have been zebra midges in black and brown, Norfork bead heads, olive scuds, trout crack, and San Juan worms. It should be noted that, in general, the flies should be a size or two smaller on the Norfork. I also find that smaller tippet sizes like 6X or 7X are required for success. Dry Run Creek is fishing very well. The higher oxygen content of the water has kept the resident fish comfortable and drawn other trout seeking acceptable conditions. In addition there are still some spawning browns in the creek. The hot flies here are sow bugs in size fourteen, egg patterns, San Juan worms and olive woolly buggers. I generally fish heavier tippets here, at least 4X to ensure that the kids land the fish they hook. Always carry a big net and a camera. Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

Yes, I am saying that there are midge hatches on the Arkansas tailwaters in Winter. I have fished them and done well, particularly on the Norfork.

I fish midges and big western dries (hoppers and ants) during the winter and have had some great days on them. The trout do not have calenders. The water on tailwaters maintains a fairly constant temperature.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS Yesterday Lori and I went fishing and it looked like summer was over. It was 41 degrees, there was no sunshine and the wind was howling. I landed a fat eighteen-inch brown and Lori landed an eighteen and a nineteen-inch rainbow. In addition we landed a lot of other good fish. For me truly great fishing begins in late fall and continues through winter. Here in Arkansas we have a twelve-month season. But to take advantage of the most productive time you have you need to be able to stay outdoors to do it. To be comfortable you need to have the proper clothing. The first consideration is waders. While neoprene provides insulation and a certain amount of flotation they do not breathe and tend to get a little clammy. My first choice is breathable waders. To provide the necessary insulation I wear capeline or polypropylene underwear and pile pants. What you have to remember is that the water at a constant 57 degrees is probably warmer than the air. When it is bitterly cold and windy you may find yourself wading deeper to stay warm. I buy my wading boots two sizes larger than I normally wear so that I can wear two pair of expedition weight capeline socks and still have room to wiggle my toes. It is more important to be able to wiggle your toes than to have additional insulation. Tight shoes will be very cold. Next you should consider your clothing, which should consist of three layers, the wicking layer, the insulation layer and the shell. The wicking layer is the closest to your body, your underwear. The idea is to wick moisture away from your body in order for you to stay dry and dry is warm. New synthetics like capeline or polypropylene are the ticket here. What you want to avoid is cotton. When cotton is wet, the water in it cools as it evaporates. The property that makes it a fantastic fabric in the summer makes it the wrong choice for winter. The insulation layer functions as it sounds it holds heat. The fabrics of choice are pile or wool. Wool is a traditional fabric and functions well. It will keep 60% of its insulating value when wet. I prefer pile garments made from polartec or synchilla. These can be wrung out when wet and then put back on. The thing you have to consider is that they are not wind proof. Down garments should be avoided as they lose all their ability to insulate when wet. You can wear several insulating layers and remove them as the weather warms. This of course brings us to the shell. The shell is designed to keep the wind and rain off of you. While you want the shell to be wind and waterproof you also want it to breathe. Once again dry is warm. The fabric of choice is Gore-Tex. It has tiny openings in it that allow water vapor to escape but keep out water in its liquid form. Another choice is waxed cotton. These cotton jackets have been treated with wax, which keeps the fabric from absorbing water. Waxed cotton is very functional, durable, and can be easily retreated at home. It does tend to be heavy and a little pricey. You should always have a hood on your shell to keep your head warm and dry. Always wear a hat. If it is not too cold, I prefer a felt cowboy hat. The broad brim provides a lot of sun protection and they just look cool. If the weather really turns cold I wear a pile hat with a brim and ear flaps (think Elmer Fudd). I also wear gloves. I prefer fingerless wool but also have a few pair of fingerless pile gloves. I always carry an extra pair in case one gets wet. If it’s bitterly cold I wear neoprene gloves and polypropylene liners. They are waterproof and warm. If you follow these suggestions you can easily stay out in the worst weather and catch the big one while your buddy is huddled up in front of the fire trying to stay warm.

Yesterday my wife, Lori, my yellow lab, Ellie, and I spent the afternoon fishing the Norfork. We waded into the Catch and Release section and were surprised to find only three other anglers in there. No one parked in a particular spot, everyone was moving around covering a lot of water. We landed around twenty five trout with no big fish. Most were around thirteen to fourteen inches long with a few sixteens. We used a variety of flies, trout crack, olive scuds (16 & 18), red San Juan worms, copper midges, and Y2Ks. All in all a very pleasant day!

Yesterday it rained all morning. Around noon, it cleared up and the sun came out. My wife, Lori, my yellow lab, Ellie, and I headed for the river. After we had been there for an hour, the wind started blowing ferociously (15 to 25 mph), rain began coming down in sheets, and the temperature dropped twenty degrees. We had on good gear so we just hunkered down and continued on. Ellie didn't know the differance. We caught plenty of fish including some really fat chunky rainbows. Lori landed a fat and sassy twenty incher. I caught two eighteen inchers back to back. The hot fly was a size sixteen olive scud.

They are located in Yelleville, Arkansas.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/29/2007 Overall, the lake levels on the White River system have continued to drop. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam dropped one tenth of a foot to rest at five and seven tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has risen two tenths of a foot to settle at four feet below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen eight tenths of a foot to rest at six and nine tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for very little generation with long periods of no generation. This has created some difficult water to boat on. On the other hand there have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has remained steady at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for several short pulses of low level generation daily. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have a lot of low water on both rivers. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have improved a bit. The dissolved oxygen level was around three tenths parts per million. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has declined. It has averaged six tenths part per million and dropped below four tenths parts per million on occasion. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. Once the water has traveled a bit down stream and runs over rocks and riffles, it picks up oxygen. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. The low water on the White River has made for some excellent fishing. With no generation there have been some opportunities to fish excellent water down stream that has not been available for wading for some time. Places like Buffalo Shoals are fishing very well. The best way to get there is to launch a boat at Buffalo City access and motor up to the shoals. Some anglers walk the railroad tracks from Buffalo City upstream to the shoals. This necessitates a tough scramble down a steep bank and then back up when the day is over. There are loads of fish in the shoals. I like to fish scuds, San Juan worms and prince nymphs in this section. The popular spots have also been fishing well. There are many more places to fish now and the anglers are much more spread out. Wildcat Shoals has been fishing very well. There has been excellent wading here even during the low levels of generation we have been getting on some days. The better fishing has been on the lower section with soft hackles and woolly buggers. The best soft hackles have been partridge and orange and green butts. The woolly bugger of choice has been olive bead heads with a bit of flash. In the upper shoals, nymphs like the zebra midge and olive scud have been the ticket. Rim Shoals has been another hot spot. The low water has made for easy wading. The crowds from earlier in the fall have certainly thinned and the trout have been cooperative. The Jenkins Creek area has fished very well as well as the White Shoals area. Hot flies have been zebra midges (particularly black with silver wire and silver bead), Y2Ks, sowbugs, scuds and San Juan worms. The Anna K soft hackle in green has also been producing. Upstream at Round House Shoals, there have been some pretty reliable blue wing olive hatches in the afternoon. These are pretty small flies and they will be difficult to see in the waning light. The best flies for this situation are blue wing olive quick sight parachutes. The best sizes are eighteen and twenty. A reasonable substitute is a parachute Adams in the proper size. With flies this small you will need to work a fairly short line. Before the hatch try pheasant tail nymphs in size eighteen and twenty. The lower water on the White River has greatly benefited the Norfork. With more wadable water available, there is much less crowding on the Norfork. Norfork bead heads, small scuds and large San Juan worms have been the hot flies. Dry Run Creek has been very productive. This place is stacked with huge fish. The browns have come upstream to spawn and other fish have gone upstream to find oxygenated water. The best fly is a size fourteen gray sowbug. Other productive flies are olive bead head woolly buggers, San Juan worms and egg patterns. Carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on and a camera. There will be photo opportunities. Practice water safety and always check water conditions before leaving home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

Size thirty and four wings. This one has me stumped.

Mr. Berry is my father. Terry met him at Conclave last year. I am John.

I have not been able to note any differance with the various fabrics. I would concentrate on the reputation of the manufacturer to stand behind their stuff and details like hand warmer pockets and d rings to hang stuff on. It is always nice to be able to fold up a jacket and put it in your vest when the weather improves.

It is my understanding that two cycles are a thing of the past. I do not know the draft but it is not a whole lot. I can comfortably and safely carry five in my boat including me.

I own a Shawnee, my second one. They are built very stout. Mine is 48 inches wide and incredibly stable. I find a mercury fifteen horse two cycle engine to be the way to go.