John Berry

They are setting up the paypal account now. I will post on this forum when it is available.

Duane Hada is a well known and respected local guide and outdoor artist. His wife Marlene is a school teacher and talented fly fisher in her own right. They have a precious daughter, McKenzie. I have personally known them for over twenty years. Their art gallery is four blocks from my home in down town Cotter. They are loving and generous people. I have not attended any fly fishing related fundraiser (such as Hooked on a Cure, Casting for Recovery, Southern Council Conclave or Sowbug Roundup) in the past two decades that did not include a Duane Hada print or donated guide trip in its auction. Duane has also shared his artistic gifts with others in the community. Whether it was designing the logo on the police cars in Cotter or teaching art at ASU to name a few, Duane was there. This past year Marlene was severely stricken with advanced breast cancer. The treatment which included radical surgery, chemo therapy and radiation has left the family physically exhausted and financially strapped. The fly fishing community is now banding together to help one of its own. There is a grass roots organization of his many friends and colleagues that is developing a fund raiser to help provide some much needed monetary relief for Duane and Marlene. They are putting together a raffle of epic proportions. The grand prize is something that should appeal to every angler, a guided fishing trip with Dave and Emily Whitlock on the White or Norfork Rivers. Dave is a living legend in fly fishing. He was one of the pioneering first fly fishers to discover the incredible fishery we have here in the White River. He is an international known author, lecturer, innovative fly tier, artist and teacher. Emily is also an internationally respected lecturer, teacher and conversationalist. They are nice people and a lot of fun to be with. A day with them would be the trip of a lifetime. Two nights accommodations are provided at The White River Inn, a luxury bed and breakfast located high on a wooded ridge looking down on the White River. I have done a bit of guiding for them in the past and I can assure you that this is the nicest place to stay on the White River. In addition, a Sage fly rod, reel, and fly line of the winner’s choice are included. I recently acquired a Sage ZXL rod and have found it to be the best casting rod I have ever owned. If that is not enough to tempt the most jaded palate, they are throwing in a fly box containing one hundred flies tied by ten of the Ozarks top tiers. It should be noted that, this is one of ten prizes with more coming in daily. Supreme Boats has donated a brand new boat and trailer. There is an original framed piece of Duane Hada art and guided fishing trips with area guides complete with lodging. There are Simms G3 waders (these are the waders favored by local guides like John Wilson and myself) and a Simms G3 jacket. There are other items too numerous to mention in this article. I want to point out that all of this stuff was donated and that all proceeds will go to Duane and Marlene. The raffle tickets are only twenty dollars each or six for one hundred dollars. The roll out for the fund raising campaign will be at the Sowbug Roundup this week. The tickets will be on sale there or you can just make a direct donation. Tickets will also be for sale and donations can be made at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop, Mountain River Fly Shop and the Woodsman Fly Shop in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In addition, you will be able to purchase tickets or make donations on John Wilson’s web site, http://www.flyfishingarkansas.com . This is your chance to do something good for some people that have made a difference in this community. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty five years.

I guided a nice couple from Memphis on the Norfork yesterday. We had a cool start but it warmed up nicely by early afternoon. They were running two units at full bore (that is maximum generation on the Norfork). They kept the level steady and that helped a bit. We did not catch a lot of fish but we caught some very nice fish. The smallest trout that we boated was a fat fifteen inch rainbow. The biggest was a twenty inch rainbow that she landed (her second trout outing). We also caught an incredibly fat seventeen inch brown. The hot fly was the cerise San Juan worm. We also caught fish on Y2Ks.

I personally think it looks great! Well done.

I really hope that ADEQ kept Homeports feet to the fire.

I live in my waders and I wear Simms. They are hands down the best made. I prefer the G3s for winter and have a pair of waist highs for summer.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 3/06/2008 We have had a major rain event and the lake levels on the White River system have risen significantly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose five and six tenths feet to rest at five and seven tenths of a foot above power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose two feet to settle at two and three tenths feet above power pool. Beaver Lake rose three and seven tenths of a foot to settle at nine tenths of a foot above pool. The pattern this week has been erratic. Early in the week, there was no generation due to a drowning down stream. After that, there was a brief period of high generation followed by a long period of lesser generation. This has created some excellent wading opportunities early and some excellent boating opportunities later. The weather has been warm then cold and very windy including snow, heavy rain and lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has risen four and one half feet to rest at four and four tenths of a foot above power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been similar to that on the White. We had a few days with no generation at all and some days with heavy generation. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for the weather to remain cold with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions above power pool, I would expect heavy generation and little or no wading on both rivers. With higher water conditions you will need to employ different techniques. The fish will be in different areas. In low water, they tend to congregate in the main channel. In high water, they will be closer to the shore and around weed beds and sunken islands. The best flies for this type of fishing will be brightly colored San Juan worms. The best colors are red, hot fluorescent pink, cerise and fire orange. One fly that has been particularly effective lately is the Y2K. Be sure and weight them heavily so they get down to the bottom. This will necessitate using a larger strike indicator to support the added weight. I still want to caution boaters to avoid dragging chains during high water. They can get easily get caught and sink the boat. Also avoid anchoring in heavy water as this could also result in sinking. I would recommend wearing your personal flotation device when on the water especially during high levels of generation. This past week, during the low water, the action moved down stream a bit. The Narrows was a real hot spot. There were several reports of hundred fish days with some really nice fish caught. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers, worm brown San Juan worms and olive scuds. The big news was the first sighting of the rhyancophilia caddis. The best flies for this, our most important hatch of the year, are the green butt soft hackle when they are emerging and the elk hair caddis in size fourteen when they have hatched. Anglers have also done well fishing at Rim Shoals. Over the weekend, there were a lot people fishing in the area, and the action was hot. The most productive flies in this section have been Y2Ks, zebra midges in brown with copper wire and copper beads, olive scuds (size sixteen) and worm brown San Juan worms (San Juan worms are killer patterns after heavy rain or high levels of generation). Another hot spot has been Buffalo Shoals. Anglers have been walking up the tracks from Buffalo City or boating up. This area is holding a lot of trout. Good flies in this area are Y2Ks, olive scuds, zebra midges and olive woolly buggers. The caddis were also seen in this area in the past week. The Norfork has fished a bit better. There have been few anglers here. There has been good fishing on the high water days, particularly on Y2Ks and San Juan worms. The fishing in the Catch and Release area has been a bit slower and has been mostly midges. Try brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper bead and Dan’s turkey tail emergers in this section. I like to mix it up and switch to large attractors like Y2Ks and San Juan worms from time to time even when the trout are keying in on midges. Dry Run Creek, fished particularly well this past week. The hot action was on Y2Ks and egg patterns. Also try olive woolly buggers fished below a large strike indicator or sow bugs fished the same way. Another fly that is always effective is the San Juan worm. Good colors are red and worm brown. Be sure and carry the biggest net that you can lay your hands on 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.

The eleventh annual sowbug roundup is scheduled for March 13, 14, and 15. This is the premier annual event of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers, our local fly fishing club which is affiliated with the Federation of Fly Fishers. This is primarily a fly tying show that draws approximately 1500 attendees each year. It is held at the Redeemer Lutheran Church Family Life Center at 307 W. North Street in Mountain Home, Arkansas. The hours are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Admission is only $5.00 for all three days and children under twelve are free when accompanied by a parent. This is a great place to take the whole family. The big draw here is the fly tiers. There are over one hundred of them from all over the United States (from Montana to Florida). This year they have even drawn two tiers from Europe, Niclas Runarsson from Soderham Sweden and Hans Weilmann from Amstelveen, Netherlands. There will be some local fly tying legends like, Earl Stanek and Tony Spezio, whose flies have been featured in numerous fly tying publications, tying the flies that made them famous. Local guides like me and Davy Wotten will be there to tie the patterns we use on our local streams. Other tiers will be tying a variety of patterns that range from traditional salmon flies to bass bugs, to tiny midges, mayflies and everything else in between. How are they able to convince all of these tyers to come here? It is the spectacular fishing on our blue ribbon trout streams that draws them here. I can assure you that every one of these tyers plans on sneaking out for an afternoon or two of fishing on the White or Norfork River. It is easy to see why receiving your first invitation to tie at the sowbug roundup has become a rite of passage for aspiring fly tiers. In addition to the fly tying, there are a number of fly fishing seminars. John Wilson is scheduled on Thursday to talk about night fishing. That is one that I want to attend. Fox Statler will speak on color, light and perception of fish on the same day. On Friday I will talk about fishing the Norfork River, Terry and Roxanne Wilson will discuss fly fishing for bass and Fox Statler will talk about temperature, light, water color and how it affects fly selection. On Saturday, I talk about fishing the White River, my wife, Lori Sloas, explains about getting started, and Scott Branyan discusses trout feeding behavior on the tail waters. For those looking for fly casting instruction there are quite a few opportunities. Lori Sloas will conduct a ladies casting clinic and Allen Crise will conduct a beginners casting clinic on Thursday. On Friday, Chuck Easterling and Art Mazzier will conduct another casting clinic. If you want fly tying instruction there will be ongoing beginning classes on Friday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Drop ins are welcome. There is no additional charge for any of these clinics. The best kept secret of sowbug is the food. The event is catered by the church ladies. They have a full commercial kitchen in the Family life Center and they offer a variety of home made goodness for lunch every day. Last year, I zeroed in on the sloppy Joe sandwiches and the steaming bowls of chili. Be sure and try the home made cookies. My personal favorites are the buckaroos. These are essentially rice crispy treats with a heavy layer of milk chocolate. There is coffee, tea and soft drinks. I usually wait until I get there every morning and gobble down a few cookies and a cup of coffee for breakfast. The costs are incredibly reasonable and the service is excellent. Simply put, the sowbug roundup is a must see event. This is a great opportunity to see some great fly tiers, learn a few things about fly fishing and have a great time at a very reasonable cost. You can bet that I will be there. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.

I took three guys into the Narrows yesterday. It was partly cloudy, maybe sixty degrees and the river had been off for three days. The fishing was spectacular. My guys caught an unbelievable number of trout. They all lost count after a few minutes. The action was non-stop. The big fish was a twenty inch rainbow. We caught several eighteens and seventeens. The average fish was more like fourteen.While the hot fly was an olive woolly bugger, we also caught fish on worm brown San Juan worms, olive scuds, Y2Ks and zebra midges.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 2/28/2008 Though we have had a bit of precipitation, the lake levels on the White River system have fallen a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell two tenths of a foot to rest at one tenth of a foot above power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake went down six tenths of a foot to settle at three tenths of a foot above power pool. Beaver Lake rose five tenths of a foot to settle at two and eight tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern this week was for heavy generation (up to seven generators) for long periods during the day and for lower levels on generation at night. Then there was no generation for a few days. This has created some excellent wading opportunities mid week and some excellent boating opportunities earlier. The weather has been cold and very windy including lake wind advisories. Norfork Lake has risen two tenths of a foot to rest at one tenths of a foot below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for a bit more generation. We had a few days with no generation at all and some days with heavy generation. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for the weather to remain cold with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions at power pool, I would expect some wading on both rivers. The attention has still been concentrated in the upper river specifically in the recently opened Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. Most of the action has been from a boat. On higher levels of generation, San Juan worms in bright colors and peach eggs have been the ticket. Y2Ks have also accounted for a lot of good fish. The big browns seem to be staying in the area much longer than usual. In past years, they had moved back down stream by now. On lower water the hot flies have been San Juan worms and midge emerger patterns. Of course, the big story in this area has been the shad kill. They have been observed coming through Bull Shoals Dam. This has not been noted on Norfork tail waters at this time. The best flies to use will be white marabou jigs and streamers. Be sure to have sinking and floating patterns, though most of the action will be on the bottom. So far, it has not generated the interest that it has in past years. On one day, there were only three boats in the Bull Shoals Dam Catch and Release area. I still want to caution boat anglers to please avoid dragging chains through the Redds (spawning beds recently filled with fertilized eggs by brown trout). Now is a particularly vulnerable time for the eggs and they need to be left alone so that they can hatch. The redds can easily be identified as clean light colored depressions in the gravel bottom. Anglers have also done well fishing at Rim Shoals. Though there have been very few people fishing in the area, the action has been hot. The most productive flies in this section have been Y2Ks, zebra midges in brown with copper wire and copper beads, olive scuds (size sixteen) and worm brown San Juan worms (San Juan worms are killer patterns after heavy rain or high levels of generation). Another hot spot has been White Shoals. Anglers have been walking down the trail from Rim Shoals. This area is not fly-fished very much, but it is holding a lot of trout. Good flies in this area are Y2Ks, olive scuds and olive woolly buggers. The Norfork has fished a bit better. There have been few anglers here because of the inclement weather. There has been good fishing on the high water days, particularly on Y2Ks. The fishing in the Catch and release area has been a bit slower and has been mostly midges. Try brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper bead and Dan’s turkey tail emergers in this section. The river in general does not fish as well when there has been no generation for over twenty four hours. Dry Run Creek, as always, fished well this past week. The hot action was on gray sow bugs size fourteen. Also try olive woolly buggers fished below a large strike indicator. Another fly that is always effective is the San Juan worm. Good colors are red and worm brown. Be sure and carry the biggest net that you can lay your hands on. These fish are larger than you think they are. Do not forget the 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.

Yes, I was surprised. I quickly rearranged my day to take advantage of it.

When I got up this morning, I called the dam and noted that there was no generation. After running a few errands and eating lunch, I loaded up my yellow lab Ellie and headed to Rim Shoals. When I got there one guy was leaving and I had the whole place to myself. I started off fishing a brown zebra midge with copper wire and copper bead. I fished it for a while and caught several fish. When I broke of on a good brown, I switched to a size sixteen olive scud and things really picked up. I absolutely slammed them. Near the end of the day I tried a worm brown San Juan worm and caught my big fish, a pair of eighteen inch rainbows. I finished the day with over thirty trout and a wide grin.

Clay, You are not stepping on my toes. In fact, I just read a posting on another forum saying that shad had been sighted by no less than three differant guides today. Mr. Berry is my father. I am John!

Yesterday, my wife , Lori, and I went in two directions. I was guiding a couple from Oklahoma. And Lori was guiding a father and son on dry run Creek and the Norfork. My clients on the White did well. We launched the boat and motored up to some more remote spots and fished in virtual seclusion all day. It rained hard most of time and the wind blew pretty good. We caught fish everywhere we went and fished untill it was too dark to see. We ended up catching around forty trout. the biggest was around sixteen. It took a variety of flies but the big producer was the Y2K. Lori did well on Dry Run. Her client landed several big fish and lost a twenty pounder after a long fight. The hot fly there was a size fourteen gray sowbug. They fished by the dam and did well on Dan's turkey tail emerger. It was nice to sit down at dinner and compare notes. Lori had an early day and still had enough energy to cook. Life is good!

Droppers cannot be used on Catch and Release waters in Arkansas. Single hook artificial! I do not like it either but it is the law. Also consider olive woolly buggers and Y2Ks. Forget sight fishing. Work deep fast water. Fish for the trout you cannot see.

I believe my biggest cutt was a twenty two also. I caught it on a size twenty two Dan's turkey tail emerger.

Dry Run Creek is open to anglers under 16 with no license required. Sowbugs are the fly of choice in size fourteen. Use at least 5X tippet and carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on. Do not forget the camera. Here is a photo of a previous expedition. David was ten years old. The brown weighed sixteen pounds. Where does he go from here?

Snagged, Sorry but I do not know. I am to guide on the Norfork tomorrow. I will try and find out.

That was 6X tippet. on a fish that large it was quite an accomplishment. To make landing it even more of a challenge the fly was a size eighteen with the barb pinched down.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 2/14/2008 We have had a recent rain and ice event and the lake levels on the White River system have risen a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose on tenth of a foot to rest at one and nine tenths feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose two tenths of a foot to settle at three and four tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake rose three tenths of a foot to settle at six and two tenths of a foot below pool. There generation pattern on the White has been a bit of a mixed bag. On some days, there have been one or two spikes of heavy generation followed by periods of low generation. On other days, there have been long periods of low level generation. This has created very limited wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. The weather has been cold and windy. Norfork Lake has risen four tenths of a foot to rest three and three tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for very little generation. We had a few days with no generation at all and some days with one or two brief spikes of heavy generation. This has created some excellent wading conditions every day. The forecast is for the weather to remain cold with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. The attention has still been concentrated in the upper river specifically in the recently opened Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. The generation pattern has severely limited wading and most of the action has been from a boat. At low levels of generation, the hot flies have been midge patterns. Zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver beads and brown with copper wire and copper beads have been particularly effective. On higher levels of generation San Juan worms in bright colors and peach eggs have been the ticket. I still want to caution all wading anglers to please avoid walking through the Redds (spawning beds recently filled with fertilized eggs by brown trout). Now is a particularly vulnerable time for the eggs and they need to be left alone so that they can hatch. The redds can easily be identified as clean light colored depressions in the gravel bottom. Every one is still on the look out for shad coming through the turbines at Bull Shoals and Norfork Dams. The recent rain and cold front should help create the conditions necessary for this natural phenomenon. The shad kill usually occurs during extremely cold weather and high generation. As yet, there have been no shad observed. It should be noted that, the shad kill does not necessarily happen every year. Anglers wishing to avoid the crowds at Bull Shoals Dam headed down stream to find a bit of solitude. One of the better spots was Wildcat Shoals. This area is wide and fairly shallow. It is therefore fairly easily waded at the lower levels of generation that we had at times. Hot flies here were partridge and orange soft hackles, green butts, and olive woolly buggers. On higher water, brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns did the trick. Rim Shoals was fishing very well. On lower levels of generation the area around White Shoals was productive. Gary Flipin at Rim Shoals Trout Dock runs a river shuttle from his dock to access this remote area for a nominal fee. On high water, the section below the first island has fished particularly well. The hot fly has been the San Juan worm in cerise. The Norfork has fished a bit better. There have been few anglers here because of the inclement weather. Some really nice fish were caught on brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper bead. The bigger fish were caught on falling water. The river in general does not fish as well when there has been no generation for over twenty four hours. Anglers have also done well with Dan’s turkey tail emerger when the fish were keying in on the midge emergers in the film. There were a few kids at Dry Run Creek this past week and predictably they did well. While sowbugs are the dominant food source, try fishing a Y2K or big San Juan worm. They generate a lot of strikes and the larger hook helps to land some of these big fish. The majority of big fish are lost at the net. Take your time and do not rush the process. Of course a big net helps. 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.

Dano, A few years ago, I landed a righteous nineteen incher at McClellans. It was a real beauty incredibly fat and well colored. I have not seen its equal. Of course, I didn't get the photo. I had a client land land a fifteen last year.

I guided a gentleman from Memphis on the Norfork yesterday. We arrived just as the water was starting to fall out in the Catch and Release section. The weather was perfect. It was sunny, about 55 degrees and not that windy. There were only about three other people in that section. We took an incredibly fat twenty inch rainbow right off the bat. The girth was pretty amazing, a true riffle hog. We landed a few other bows up to seventeen inches long (the smallest was fifteen). Then we hooked a twenty two inch cutthroat that was the nicest cutt that I have seen in quite a while. Halfway through the fight my clients reel started freewheeling but he deftly managed to strip it in. It was the biggest cutt that he had ever caught and he was thrilled. After the water completerly dropped out the action really slowed down. We fished a while longer and finally called it quits. We had not caught a lot of fish but we had landed some really nice specimens.

Phil, Sorry I missed you. Great report! I was working on the Norfork yesterday.

I do not recommend it. If the water were to come up, it would be pretty tricky coming out. It is much safer to take a boat, canoe, or kick boat down from the Dam. If the water comes up you can just float out. Roses trout dock in Norfork will do a shuttle for you.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 2/07/2008 Due to a recent violent storm front rain, the lake levels on the White River system have risen a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam remained steady at two feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose two tenths of a foot to settle at three and six tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake rose four tenths of a foot to settle at six and five tenths of a foot below pool. There generation pattern on the White has been a bit of a mixed bag. On some days, there have been one or two spikes of heavy generation followed by periods of low generation. On other days, there have been short periods of no generation. This has created very limited wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. The weather has also been a mixed bag. Some days were cold and incredibly windy and we had a couple of unseasonably warm days that spawned a killer tornado. Norfork Lake has risen seven tenths of a foot to rest three and seven tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for very little generation. We had a few days with no generation at all and some days with a brief period of heavy generation. This has created excellent wading conditions every day. The forecast is for the weather to remain cold with the possibility of precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. All of the action during the last week was centered in the recently opened Catch and Release section at the base of Bull Shoals dam. Numerous anglers came into the area to participate in the opening of the area after the spawn. There were several trophy trout caught. The action seemed to be best on midges, eggs (peach) and on heavy generation San Juan worms. Due to the infestation of this section by Didymo (the invasive algae), we are not seeing many sowbugs or scuds here. I caution all wading anglers to please avoid walking through the Redds (spawning beds recently filled with fertilized eggs by brown trout). Now is a particularly vulnerable time for the eggs and they need to be left alone so that they can hatch and become big brown trout. The redds can easily be identified as clean light colored depressions in the gravel bottom. Every one is still on the look out for shad coming through the turbines at Bull Shoals and Norfork Dams. The recent rain and cold front should help create the conditions necessary for this natural phenomenon. The shad kill usually occurs during extremely cold weather and high generation. As yet, there have been no shad observed. One of the early indicators is, gulls converging below the dams to feed on the shad. The most effective flies to use during the shad kill would be large white streamers in floating and sinking versions. Anglers wishing to avoid the crowds at Bull Shoals Dam headed down stream to find a bit of solitude. One of the better spots was Roundhouse shoals in Cotter. There is plenty of water there with easy access. Hot flies here were gray sowbugs, olive scuds, zebra midges and olive woolly buggers. On higher water, brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns did the trick. Rim Shoals was fishing very well. The hot flies for this section have been gray sowbugs, olive woolly buggers, olive scuds, black zebra midges with silver wire and silver bead and brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper beads. On high water, the section below the first island has fished particularly well. The hot fly has been the San Juan worm in cerise. The Norfork has fished a bit slow. There have been few anglers here in spite of the reliable midge hatches in the afternoon. Anglers have done the best with Norfork bead heads in olive size eighteen, zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver beads and brown with copper wire and copper beads in the same size. When the fish are keying in on the midge emergers in the film, Dan’s turkey tail emerger and Chucks emerger both in size eighteen have been the go to patterns. There were a few kids at Dry Run Creek this past week and predictably they did well. While sowbugs are a reliable producer, try fishing an olive woolly bugger under an indicator. They generate a lot of strikes and the larger hook helps to land some of these big fish. With these you can use really heavy tippet (3X or 4X). Most fish are lost at the net. Take the biggest one that you can lay your hands on and do not forget the 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.