John Berry

Early in the day, Lori and I helped introduce a group of Girl Scouts to Dry Run Creek. We had a blast! I think every one of the young ladies caught at least one trophy! It turned into one long photo op. Afterwards we took a couple of clients into the Catch and Release section of the Norfork. We were the only ones there when we arrived. Others came in later but for the most part we had it to ourselves.It was really windy and cold. We did not catch a lot of fish, but we caught quality. The biggest fish we landed was an incredibly fat eighteen inch Rainbow. The smallest was fifteen inches. The hot fly was Dan's Turkey Quill emerger. We saw some crane flies coming off but the wind was too high for the effective fishing of dries.

I do not know exactly what type of oversite that TU will maintain on this issue. I can say however that I am personally pleased that they got involved. I think this issue was a wake up call for ADEQ and they will be more involved in this type of situation in the future. The person that really worked on this one was my friend, Leon Alexander. He is the Treasurer for the Southern Council of the FFF and Vice President of the Friends Of the Norfork Fish Hatchery.

Took a couple of clients into Roundhouse Shoals. There was no caddis hatch noted. Maybe the fourty degree drop in temperature had put them down. We caught over twenty fish. The largest was about sixteen inches long. Most were about twelve inches. The hot fly was the green butt. The wind was howling and it was really cold. Good fishing, tough weather!

The show features my wife, Lori Sloas not me. For some inexplicable reason those hollywood types go for leggy attractive blonds rather than ruggedly handsome geezers like myself.

Very good point Don. There is quite a bit of bedrock in the area. I always wear studded boots around Roundhouse. Watch what you are doing.

It is a really big area with a lot of wadable water. If you are willing to wade across the channel it gets a lot less crowded. The water up stream though slower is quite productive. There are some very nice runs in it. The water behind the island is a bit more secluded but can be a bit tougher to get out of if the water comes up. Get the most up to date river conditions before you venture there. I fish Roundhouse often and it is one of my favorite spots on the White. Lots of access, lots of water, and lots of fish!

Lori and I fished Roundhouse Shoals this afternoon. Elk hair caddis! Lori caught so many fish that I think she blew her elbow out. Too many fish! My lovely wife needs to better pace herself. I do not know how many we caught but it was a lot. The biggest was fifteen, most were twelve. We finished the day fishing caddis pupa (me), and green butts (Lori).

Greg, Now is a nice time for a visit. We finally have some wadable water and to put the icing on the cake an incredible caddis hatch.

There has been siltation and degradation to the Norfork caused by the Overlook Estates debacle. It cannot be fixed until the situation at Overlook Estates is stabilized.

Lori and I fished Rim Shoals this afternoon. When we got there we took the last parking space. It was packed! Our usual spots were taken. We moved around and looked for rising fish. We quickly found them and began fishing elk hair caddis. We slayed them. When the hatch waned we switched to caddis pupa nymphs and caught several more trout. We caught over twenty a piece. The biggest was fourteen inches, most were twelve. We fished untill dark.

Well, the Baxter Bulletin reported today that Homeport Land Company submitted a stormwater pollution prevention plan to ADEQ and was on schedule. The bulletin went on to say that construction began on check dams etc. The estimated cost of the clean up is $500,000.00. I sincerely hope they are doing it right. I am also glad that something, anything is being done to correct the problem. This is a problem that they brought on themselves.

My wife, Lori, and I fished Roundhouse Shoals (four blocks from the house) this afternoon. We fished green butts and caught a bunch of fish. About 4:00 PM the caddis began coming off and the trout started keying in on them. We switched to elk hair caddis and started whacking them. The hatch came in waves. There would be an intense hatch, it would wane and then in a few minutes it would get intense. We caught around twenty a piece. The largest fish landed was a fifteen inch rainbow. Most were around twelve inches. Lori landed a nice fourteen inch brown. We fished later but the action was over at six.

Between my wife and I, we own several Winston, Sage, and Orvis rods. We have found that it depends on what you are doing. No rod does it all. I generally fish with a Sage Light Line. Lori favors a Winston Joan Wulff Favorite for fishing. When we practice distance Casting we use a TFO TiCrX. Fly fishing in the Smokies it is Bamboo or a soft Orvis. For the Salt it is a Sage RPLX. Some of these rods are over twenty years old and still used.

Take a look at L L Bean. They have several nice jackets in your price range. They also have something the others do not, a lifetime guarantee!

Some of the fondest memories I have of my daughters childhood were times spent on Dry Run Creek. I look forward to my grandson and grandaughter getting big enough to fish there.

I agree that wading in high water can be dangerous. I would like to point out that in July and August we normally have lower water. I would think that you could find some wadable water at that time. I would recommend that you use the links on this website to monitor the water levels and generation. As the time for your trip comes you should be able to reasonably predict the water patterns. When in doubt, be conservative and safe. Feel free to give me a call to discuss the conditions.

I agree. It would put the weight further back and move the balance point back. When I took up fly fishing it seems like everything was down locking.

My wife, Lori, and I fished Rim Shoals yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. Lori fished the Green Butt and caught about 25. I fished an elk hair caddis and caught about fifteen. Our biggest fish was probably a sixteen. The average was more like twelve with several fourteens. The hatch would ebb and flow. Sometimes the action was non stop and then there were long lulls. The water came up about 3:45 PM and rose fast. Life is good!

I fished the Norfork yesterday and just about had the place to myself. There were a few people about but I was able to hit most of my favorite spots. I did not catch a lot of fish but I did manage to land a really fat twenty inch rainbow on a Dan's Turkey Quill Emerger size 18.

I fished the Norfork yesterday and just about had the place to myself. There were a few people about but I was able to hit most of my favorite spots. I did not catch a lot of fish but I did manage to land a really fat twenty inch rainbow on a Dan's Turkey Quill Emerger size 18.

The best pizza that I have had in the area is at the House of Pizza in Mountain Home near Walmart. They make their own crust. and have some tasty pasta dishes. Oh yeah, they also dispense adult beverages.

The green butt is basically a red butt with a green tag. The recipe is: Hook: Tiemco 102Y (or 103BL) size 15 Thread: danville brown 6/0 Tag:bright flourescent green single strand floss Body:single strand peacock herl Rib:fine gold wire Hackle:Hungarian Partridge (two wraps) Fish it like any soft hackle and hang on.

And rightfully so!

I have a lot of empathy for your limited vision. I wear glasses that look like coke bottles. The distance that I will fish a given fly depends to a great deal on the size of the fly. I can fish a size eight grasshopper fifty feet or more. But a size twenty parachute adams will be pretty close. Say twenty feet or less. I will even high stick dry flies. That is, I will only have a foot or two of fly line out and fish the fly by flipping the leader, tippet and fly upstream and let it drift down just like you would high stick a nymph. You would be surprised to see how close you can get to rising fish especially in a riffle.

Great question. I want to see the fly well enough to see the actual take. I want to see the trout close his mouth and then i set the hook. I never even notice the leader. The main point I was trying to make was that I prefer to fish dries close. It always amazes me to see someone tie on a size twenty and the cast it seventy feet away. I was having trouble seeing a size fourteen elk hair caddis yesterday because of the overcast conditions. Never feel bad about taking one of my flies. It is my fault for not sitting down to address the vise. Wish you had stopped by so we could chat.