John Berry

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/23/2007 Water levels continue their drop and every impoundment in the White River system is currently below power pool. There has been no appreciable rain in several weeks and the daily high temperatures have cooled somewhat to the mid-nineties. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has dropped nine tenths of a foot to rest at one and one tenth feet below pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream Table Rock Lake has dropped four tenths of a foot and is currently one and six tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has dropped seven tenths of a foot and is now at three and one half feet below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation in the morning and then to spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon and early evening, when there is peak demand for electricity. This has created optimal boating conditions but has severely limited wading. The constant generation has greatly helped the trout cope with the high temperatures. Norfork Lake has dropped three tenths of a foot and is now one and eight tenths of a foot below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern is to turn the generators off in the morning and to run a full two generators in the afternoon and early evening. This has created some excellent wading opportunities on the Norfork early in the day. I predict that we will continue to see heavy generation on both rivers in the afternoons. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels continue to drop. This is more critical during periods of no generation. There were several instances in the last week when the dissolved oxygen level dropped below two and a half parts per million. There was one instance where it dropped below two parts per million. The oxygen level will be the lowest just below the dam. This is not considered a problem on the White River at this time where the dissolved oxygen remains at five parts per million or higher. Though the heat wave has kept most anglers huddled around the air conditioner for the past week, fishing has been excellent for those willing to brave the heat. The upper White River has been a hot spot. The Catch and Release section at the base of Bull Shoals Dam has been very productive particularly early in the day during periods of low generation. The hot flies have been midge larva patterns like the black zebra midge size twenty and midge emerger patterns like Dan’s turkey tail emerger size twenty two. During high generation try San Juan worms in red, hot pink and fluorescent orange. The area from Cotter to Buffalo Shoals has been another hot spot. The better fishing is during the lower generation flows. Hot flies have been the black zebra midge size eighteen; sowbugs size 16, and small pheasant tails. The grass hopper is still the hot dry fly. There are a lot of patterns to choose from but I have done well lately with the Dave’s hopper. Make sure that you use at least a 4X tippet. This is a large fly and you will need a big tippet to turn it over. The Norfork is not fishing as well as the White. There has been no stocking in the middle section for some time. With McClellan’s closed there is no stocking point in that section. Small midges are still the best bet. Hot patterns are the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead, brown zebra midge with copper wire and copper bead, and the Norfork bead head in olive. All are most effective in size twenty or smaller. Grass hoppers have also been effective here. There have been some large fish caught on worm brown San Juan worms. The best way to escape the heat is to take a kid fishing on Dry Run Creek. The water from the hatchery discharge pipes, the tight confines of the creek valley and the heavy tree cover all contribute to making this the coolest place to fish in Arkansas. It is also the best place to introduce kids to fishing. The creek is loaded with trophy fish. The most effective way to fish it is to high stick sowbugs in heavy water. San Juan worms in brown and red are very effective. Remember to take a camera and the biggest net you can find. Remember to practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.

Catman, I totally agree with you. Water is definately the way to go. I always carry it with me, even in the winter.

Taking an extended break at mid day is definately a great idea. I have done this before. Get there bad early (day break) and fish untill it gets hot say one o'clock. Go home, drink plenty of fluids, and take a nap (under the air conditioner). Return to the river at five and fish untill dark. You maximize the fishing during the coolest hours and do not stress your self during the heat of the day.

Great idea! I will try that tomorrow.

That is the reason that I wear the big cowboy hat! I learned that from my grandmother. She always wore a big straw hat when she was in the garden to protect her face. I too have a fair complexion and keep it covered.

I have been guiding and fishing during the last couple of weeks in what can best be described a heat wave. The fishing has been remarkedly good. I have been on the Norfork and White. The secret has been to stay cool. In the boat there are not many places to hide. I have been wearing light tropical clothing long pants,long sleeved shirts, sun gloves, a huge straw hat and boat sandals. When I waded, I waded wet. The same clothing as in the boat with differant footwear. I wore wading boots with neoprene booties. I carried a flexiflask filled with water and an extra bottle of water in my vest. In the boat, I carried a cooler full of water. Before I started, I drank a bottle or two of water. The best place to carry water is in your body. The best fishing was early or late. During the middle of the day we caught fish but it was a bit slow. There has not been much competition and during the middle of the day I pretty much had it to myself. There are fish to be had and it is a decent way to cool off.

I generally like to tie the blood knot with a pretty long tag. I go for about four inches. If you do not have at least that amount of material, you will have a bit of difficulty forming your improved clinch knot. Once you form the knot and trim the tag, the fly will be pretty close to the leader. For me the big thrill is to hook up a double. Each fish going in a differant direction. That is a blast. I first started fishing doubles when Bream fishing and just changed over to trout.

I frequently fish droppers. The way I rig them is that I tie the tippet on with a blood knot. I leave the tag with the larger diameter on and i tie one of the flies to it. With this method you could also fish three or more flies. I generally use it for soft hackles but have also used it for dries and nymphs.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/16/2007 Water levels continue their drop and every impoundment in the White River system is currently below power pool. There has been no rain in several weeks and the daily high temperatures have been soaring above 100 degrees for over a week. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has dropped three tenths of a foot to rest at two tenths of a foot below pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream Table Rock Lake has dropped one and one tenth of a foot and is currently one and two tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has dropped one foot and is now at two and eight tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been no generation in the morning and then to spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon and early evening, when there is peak demand for electricity. This has resulted in optimal wading conditions. Norfork Lake has dropped one and one tenth of a foot and is now one and one half feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern is to turn the generators off in the morning and to run a full two generators in the afternoon and early evening. This has created some excellent wading opportunities on the Norfork early in the day. The weather is forecast to cool down about ten degrees and there is some rain expected. I predict that we will continue to see heavy generation on both rivers in the afternoons. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels continue to drop. This is more critical during periods of no generation. There were several instances in the last week when the dissolved oxygen level dropped below three parts per million. The oxygen level will be the lowest just below the dam. This is not a problem on the White River at this time where the dissolved oxygen remains at six parts per million or higher. Despite the weather, the fishing on the White has been excellent. With the predictable low water conditions, anglers willing to deal with the excessive heat have done well through out the river. The best way to deal with the low water and heat has been to wet wade. Anglers have been wearing tropical shirts, light slacks, big hats and wading sandals to stay comfortable. To prevent heat stroke they have also been carrying and drinking a lot of water and sports drinks. Others, in an attempt to escape the heat, have been fishing at night. This is dangerous business. Do not fish alone at night. The Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam has been a hot spot. As usual, small midge patterns like the zebra midge in black with silver bead and silver wire and in brown with copper bead and copper wire have been the ticket. There has also been some really good hopper fishing. When the water comes up in the early afternoon, fish the rise and switch to brightly colored San Juan worms when the water gets high. The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam to White Hole has fished well with the same basic techniques. The section from Wildcat Shoals to Cotter has been fishing well. The hot flies in this area have been sowbugs (size sixteen) and partridge and orange soft hackles. Grasshoppers have also been very effective particularly when fished with a small dropper like a zebra midge or pheasant tail (size twenty). Another killer technique for this area has been to dredge the deeper holes with an olive woolly bugger fished on a sink-tip line. Rim Shoals has been another Hot Spot. There has been some spectacular fishing there on zebra midges, scuds and sow bugs. Soft hackles have been very effective. The best pattern has been the partridge and orange. Grasshoppers (size ten) have been very productive, especially later in the afternoon. The Norfork has not been fishing as well as the White. The Catch and Release section has been crowded all summer. With optimal wading conditions on the White, I would expect there to be less pressure here. The section as McClellan’s is still the bright spot. There are some nice fish in that section but it is still difficult to get there. The safest way is to float down from Norfork Dam. Be prepared to drag your boat through a few low spots. The weather is forecast to cool down in the coming days and with the lower water conditions, I would expect some great fishing this week. Remember to practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

Ellie is not the only dog around the house. This is lexie, lori's dog. Not only does she watch the strike indicator, she also makes sure that nobody crowds Lori.

Don, You need to show me that fly. I did see you in an inordinate number of fish. I tried the hopper on the way out . I had a couple of fish look at it but no takers. it was definately a day for numphs.

The reason that Ellie and I haven't fished together in a while is that our rottweiler is declining. Ellie has faithfully kept her company now that she cannot get out. We have a box fan going in the dog run to keep her cool and my wife Lori is feeding her by hand. It is a sad process but part of life. I remember fishing with her. She didn't like the cold but would sit and watch the strike indicator. When it went down she would dive in to retrieve the trout.

We used to have a Brittany, Sam. He was the best hunting dog I have ever seen. The down side is that he destroyed everything in the back yard. He chewed everything from rose bushes to grill brushes. He could point a quail in his sleep and never quit. We still miss him.

The White river was on the bottom. As I passed by the dog run, my yellow Lab, Ellie, gave me that I want to go fishing look. It was beastly hot and we both needed to cool off. We went to Rim Shoals and we quickly noted that we were the only ones there. The water was low, clear, and loaded with hungry trout. Ellie waited in chest deep water near the bank. When I would hook a trout, she would swim out and help me land it. We had a blast. The hot fly was the size eighteen black zebra midge. We must have landed over fifty trout. It was like being in a duck blind on that perfect winter day. I was in awe of Ellie's energy and enthusiasm. She was the perfect fishing companion. She didn't whine and she was impressed with every fish I hooked. I will always remember that day.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/09/2007 Water levels continue their drop and every impoundment in the White River system is currently at or below power pool. There has been no rain in quite a while and the daily high temperatures have been soaring into the high nineties. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has dropped seven tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream Table Rock Lake has dropped six tenths of a foot and is currently one tenth of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has dropped nine tenths of a foot and is now at one and eight tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River is to run low levels of water in the morning (one to two generators) and then spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon when there is peak demand for electricity. There was one major instance of no generation in the last week. Norfork Lake has dropped seven tenths of a foot and is now four tenths of a foot below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern is to turn the generators off in the morning and to run a full two generators in the afternoon and early evening. This has created some excellent wading opportunities on the Norfork early in the day. The weather is forecast to stay extremely hot. I predict that we will continue to see heavy generation on both rivers in the afternoon as temperatures rise and power usage spikes. With daily high temperatures rising this high it is important for there to be regular generation to keep the water temperatures down. This is particularly important on the White River below the confluence with the Buffalo River. On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels are dropping. This is more critical during periods of no generation. There was one instance when the dissolved oxygen level dropped below three parts per million. The oxygen level will be the lowest just below the dam. As the water tumbles over rocks and riffles as it goes down stream, it will become more oxygenated. Trout will tend to locate in riffles because of the higher oxygen levels. They will be more vulnerable so you should land them as quickly as possible and take extra care when reviving them prior to their release. The fishing on the White River has been excellent. The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam to Cane Island has been a hot spot. Small midge patterns, caddis emergers, San Juan worms and soft hackles have been the ticket on low water. When the water comes up in the afternoon be sure and fish the rise. Wildcat Shoals has been another hot spot. This area fishes well with the low levels of generation we have been getting early in the day. It is a wide, shallow, easily waded shoal that holds a lot of good fish. Try the usual midge patterns and soft hackles. Do not be afraid to try a grasshopper particularly when the action slows in the afternoon. This is not Catch and Release water so you can rig a small nymph as a dropper here. Cotter to Rim Shoals has fished especially well on low water. The hot fly here has been the zebra midge in black with a silver wire and bead and brown with copper wire and bead. The best size is eighteen. Small sowbugs have also been productive. This is another area that is a great place to fish grasshoppers. The high water has not been reaching here till quite late in the day. The Norfork has been a bit spotty. The lower river has been fishing poorly. There has been a lot of pressure on it. With it’s consistently low water in the morning, wade fishers have had little choice but to go there. A lot of anglers are still wading up to the McClellan’s area. I consider this to be very dangerous. The water has been coming up very fast and very high. You should also be careful when wading down stream from the handicap access. The water rises fast there also. The safest place to wade is to go upstream from the Handicap access. The Norfork is still producing some large trout. The hot fly has been the Norfork bead head and the black zebra midge. Dry Run Creek has been fishing well. This is a great place to escape the heat. When you are down in the creek, it feels like air conditioning. It is the best place to take a youngster on a hot summer day. Be sure and take some sowbugs, a big net, and a camera Remember to practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

Greg, I am glad you got some low water. The Norfork has been fishing a little slow here lately. I am hoping that since we are essentially at pool that we may see some low water. Thank you for reading my stuff and your kind words.

Terry, I had not fished it in a while. I decided to give it a try. The handicap access parking lot was full so we opted to float down to Mac's. It worked and we had a great day.

I took three clients to the Norfork. We launched my boat at the Dam and floated/drug it down to McClellan's. We fished all of my favorite spots and landed four rainbows over twenty inches. We caught several other trout. The water came up at noon and we motored back to the dam. We loaded up the boat and went to Rim Shoals. We caught plenty of nice trout there but nothing to equal the size of those on the Norfork. The hot fly on the Norfork was an olive Norfork beadhead size twenty. On the White, the hot fly was a copper zebra midge size eighteen.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/04/2007 Area Lakes have continued their fall and there has been precious little rain. While Bull Shoals Lake has dropped two tenths of a foot to sit at eight tenths of a foot above pool of 654.00 feet, up stream Table Rock Lake has fallen eight tenths of a foot to rest at one half of a foot above pool and Beaver Lake has fallen seven tenths of a foot and now sits at nine tenths of a foot below pool. Norfork Lake has fallen three tenths of a foot and to rest at three tenths of a foot above pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the White has been to turn off generation or run low levels of water most of the day and then spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon. There has been a bit of wadable water. Boating, in general has been excellent. On the Norfork, there has been little or no generation in the morning while they have been running a full two generators in the afternoon and early evening. This has provided some excellent wading opportunities early in the day. As the lakes continue to fall, we should see more low water and some excellent wading opportunities. There has been a problem in the last week with the Corps of Engineers line graph for cubic feet per second of discharge from the Bull Shoals power plant. It has either provided an inaccurate or no reading. Many anglers have come to rely on this graph to determine the actual level of water in the river as it has been a more accurate indicator of river conditions than to call the Bull Shoals power plant and listen to how many generators are on line. The Corps has taken this graph off line. In the mean time, you can use the Tailwater (msl) graph. This graph records the actual height of the water expressed in feet above sea level at the base of Bull Shoals Dam. The weather forecast for the next week calls for temperatures in the nineties and no rain. This means that we can count on generation in the afternoon when electrical usage is at its peak. It also indicates that the water temperatures on the White down stream from the confluence of the Buffalo River will rise during periods of little or no generation at Bull Shoals Dam. Fishing has been good on the White River particularly in the morning. Up stream at the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam down to Cain Island, fishing has been good on small midge patterns like the zebra midge on low water. When the water rises significantly in the afternoon, you should switch to brightly colored San Juan worms. Bright red, fire orange and hot pink are the best colors. Further down stream from White Hole to Rim Shoals the White has been fishing very well. On low water, zebra midges have been productive. There have been some blue wing olives hatching. The fishing has been better on the nymphs than on the actual hatch which has been a bit sparse and unpredictable. The hot flies have been copper johns and pheasant tails in sizes sixteen and eighteen. The real action has been on grass hoppers. The best time seems to be windy afternoons. The best patterns have been Rainey’s hoppers and Dave’s hoppers. Work the water near the bank and around heavy structure for the bigger fish. If you are not in Catch and Release water rig a dropper to the hopper. Tie an eighteen inch section of 5X tippet to the bend of the hook of the grasshopper and tie a small pheasant tail or other small nymph to the other end of the tippet. Fish as you normally would and set the hook every time the hopper goes under. It is a killer technique for this time of year. The action on the Norfork is a bit slow but large fish are still being caught. This is the beginning of the season for low dissolved oxygen on the Norfork. The dissolved oxygen level is already dropping below four parts per million during periods of low generation. Any fish hooked should be landed quickly. Avoid long struggles and be sure and carefully revive fish before releasing them. The dissolved oxygen will be lower near the dam. The water will become more oxygenated as it flows down stream over riffles. Dry Run Creek is still fishing well. The dissolved oxygen level there is higher than the Norfork because of the way water enters from the hatchery. The hot flies as always are sow bugs and San Juan worms. This is a great place to escape the heat. Remember to practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

Dano, The Dave's hopper is more realistic and just looks right. It does take a bit of floatant. I like it for the Norfork where the water is a bit slower and the fish are a bit pickier.

Dano, The Rainey's foam hopper pattern is pretty popular here but I fish several and do not really have a favorite. The best size now is fairly small. I was fishing a ten yesterday and that was working well. As the summer goes on the hoppers get larger. I carry twelves, tens, eights and larger. I try and match the hoppers I find on the bank as I walk in. I also fish Dave's hoppers if I think the trout are being selective. I carry tan, yellow and olive but I pay a lot more attention to size. The hopper fishing has been really hot! I am personally not fishing much else.

I fished eleven Mile a few years ago and really enjoyed it. You can drive way back to a trophy area. I did the best there.

Yes, they pleaded ignorance. I pointed the signs out and suggested that they read them. I carefully described the complete area covered by the C&R regulations. They left.

I would expect some wadable water. Be sure and bring some hoppers. The grasshopper fishing has been fantastic. I took about fifteen on the top in one afternoon a couple of days ago.

I observed some guys taking fish in the Rim Shoals Catch and Release Area a couple of days ago. I explained the laws to them and told them that I just saw Game and Fish a few minutes earlier checking barbs. They left quickly. There is a substantial amount of Poaching going on and it affects all of us.