John Berry

Greg, The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has renamed the Handicap Access to honor Bill Ackerman, a former commissioner that has a place on the Norfork.

Lori and I just drove through Gassville. It looks like a war zone. Letty's is gone, Kt's has no roof, blocks of houses destroyed. All of the gas stations were heavily damaged. There are over fifty people in a homeless shelter set up at Cotter school. The Salvation Army has a mobile kitchen to feed folks. There are power lines down everywhere. I do not understand how only one fatality occurred.

Neither my wife, Lori, or myself is a big foot ball fan. We figured that a lot of anglers would be heading for the nearest television set to watch the big game and we would have a bit of solitude. We loaded up my yellow lab, Ellie, and headed for the Ackerman access on the Norfork. It was overcast and threatening to rain, when it got there. The river was absolutely on the bottom and the temperature was in the mid fifties. As we walked up stream to the Catch and Release section, we passed four anglers walking out. We had the place to ourselves. I waded far up to a favorite spot and was only able to catch one fifteen inch rainbow on a zebra midge. I walked back to where Lori was fishing and she told me that she had been whacking them on Dan's turkey tail emerger. I went over to a nearby run and observed several nice trout working a midge hatch. I quickly stripped off my strike indicator, lead and nymph and tied on a fresh five foot 6X tippet and a dan's turkey tail emerger. I worked my way through the run and picked up several trout in the process. my biggest problem was to keep Ellie away from my trout as I landed them. The action slowed on Dan's emerger and I switched to a Chuck's emerger. I was immediately back into the action. I caught plenty of fish but I was ready for a bit more of a challenge. Besides the hatch was on the wane. I figured they might still be looking up. I tied on a size sixteen quick sight parachute adams and applied floatant. I cast it out where I had seen the most action during the hatch. it was so overcast I had trouble seeing the fly. I moved closer and shortened my line untill I could see the fly. On the third cast, I hooked a fat sixteen inch rainbow that gave me a good fight. I stood there and landed several fish on the Adams. Finally I had caught enough fish. I sat on the bank, lit my pipe and spent the rest of the afternoon watching Lori catch fish and playing with Ellie. It was the best superbowl ever!

Phil, I like this forum as is. I like the way you keep everything civil. Do not change anything.

I do not have a photo of it but here is a write up that Dan did recently. DAN’S TURKEY TAIL EMERGER BY DAN BERRY Dan’s Turkey Tail emerger is designed to imitate emerging midges. I first tied this fly in 1984 and since then it has become my go to fly. It is the most productive pattern that I have ever designed. I have fished this fly from the Yellow Breeches to Hat Creek and it has produced fish every where. The midge is at its most vulnerable state when emerging and this is a dead on imitation of the emerging midge. It imitates the darker midges which are the most common. To fish Dan’s Turkey Tail Emerger you should locate fish taking midges in slow water or fast water. That would be a rise form with no bubbles. You should use a floating fly line with a 4X dry fly leader and 6X tippet. Do not use floatant. Fish the fly quartering across downstream. Strip the fly to sink it into the film. This fly is not as effective if it is moving through the water causing a “v” wake. Though most strikes can be felt, some of the takes can be quite subtle and the percentage of hook-ups can be increased by carefully observing the line and setting the hook when you observe the line tightening or a swirl near the fly. Dan’s turkey Tail Emerger is particularly effective on still water. After initially stripping the fly to sink it into the film, slowly retrieve it with a hand twist technique. The recipe is: Hook: Tiemco 100 size 18-22 Thread: Rust Brown 6/0 Abdomen: Three turkey tail fibers tied in by tip Rib: 6X tippet Wing: Cream poly dubbing formed into a noodle Thorax: One fiber from the bronze portion of the eyed peacock tail Note: This fly is tied extremely sparse.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/31/2008 Despite a recent rain event, the lake levels on the White River system have fallen a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell one tenth of a foot to rest at two feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell seven tenths of a foot to settle at three and eight tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake fell one tenth of a foot to settle at six and nine 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 very light generation. This has created some great wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. It has been extremely cold and incredibly windy with a couple of warm pleasant days thrown in that allowed for some great fishing. Norfork Lake has risen one tenth of a foot to rest four and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been a mixed bag. We had a few days with no generation 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. Keep in mind that the Catch and Release area below Bull Shoals Dam opens on February, 1. This section has been closed for the past few months while the brown trout have been spawning and no one has been allowed to fish here during this period. 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. The next major event on the Twin Lakes fishing calendar is the shad kill. This is when threadfin shad are drawn through the turbines at Bull Shoals and Norfork dam. This usually occurs sometime from January to March during periods of very low temperature and high generation. This generally happens just after the brown trout spawn when they are very hungry. It is usually the best time to land a huge trout. This is not a reliable phenomenon and sometimes there is no shad kill. 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 best flies to use during the shad kill would be large white streamers. Be sure to carry both floating and sinking flies. Despite the generally cold and windy conditions, we had an incredible weekend with high temperatures and sunny wind less days. There were many anglers that took advantage of the unseasonably pleasant weather. One hot spot was the Narrows. There have been several reports of great fishing on black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads and olive woolly buggers. Rim Shoals was fishing very well. The hot flies for this section have been olive woolly buggers, olive scuds and black zebra midges with silver wire and silver bead. The deeper holes along the first island have been productive particularly with Y2Ks. On high water, the hot fly has been the San Juan worm in cerise. The Norfork has fished a bit better this week. There have been some 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 in size twenty two have been killer. To change things up try large San Juan worms in red and worm brown and Y2Ks. They frequently tempt large trout. Dry Run Creek, as always, has been the place to take the kids fishing. The warm weekend drew out a few youngsters. Those few that showed up did exceptionally well. The hot fly was a size fourteen sowbug. Other effective flies were olive woolly buggers and San Juan worms. Be sure and use at least 4X tippet and carefully pinch down those barbs. 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.

You are a better man than I. After I read the weather forecasts, I decided to write and tie flies yesterday. I am impressed that some one was out there in 40+ mile an hour winds. Well done!

Since trout feed facing up stream it is better to fish up stream. That way you will be less easily detected because you will be behind them.

I am seeing good midge hatches almost every day. Dan's turkey tail emerger has been producing all winter.

After our great outing on Saturday, my wife, Lori, and I were chomping at the bit to take advantage of the spectacular weather and low water that we have had lately. Our yellow lab, Ellie, went with us. I had fished at the Narrows a week or so ago and had done well. There were a couple of guys there when we arrived but we had was so much good water to fish we didn't even notice them. I did well fishing with a black zebra midge. Lori fished a variety of flies including Y2Ks, Dans turkey tail emerger, and the partridge and orange. By far the most productive fly was the olive woolly bugger. She caught our best fish,two eighteen inch rainbows on it. When Ellie wasn't helping me to land fish she was chasing armadillos. Once she caught up with them she would give them a sniff and walk off. We fished untill dark.

Don, Sounds like a great day. Ellie went with Lori and I to the Narrows. We did well there. Of course you should share my favorite spots. Just blind fold those guys before you take them there.

Yakfly, I do not know what is going on. There always seems to be inconsistencies on these reports. I check them daily and call for generation information daily and they frequently do not agree. I always monitor water levels and will pull the plug and leave on a moments notice. Be careful out there!

Ham, I look forward to meeting you. I will be at Sowbug and will be giving a seminar on how to fish the White and another on fishing the Norfork. When I am not giving seminars, I will be tying. Stop by and say hello. I am intrigued with the whole dry fly process and I think we have a lot of opportunities for dry fly fishing here year round. I think a lot of anglers pass them up because it is so easy to catch fish on nymphs. For me, it is the process not the numbers. Quality over quantity.

The weather of late has been brutally cold with high winds. I have ventured out with clients lately but I have not been able to convince my wife, Lori, to accompany me on a fishing trip. Yesterday the sun was shining, it was fifty+ degrees, there was no appreciable wind and the river was on the bottom. This is the kind of winter day that I live for. Lori, my yellow lab, Ellie, and I decided to head out for an afternoon at Rim Shoals. There were a few people there with the same idea but it was not crowded. We were able to easily access all of our favorite spots. The fishing was good but not spectacular. We caught enough fish to sate our desire and remind us why we moved here eight years ago. The big fish were a couple of sixteen inch rainbows (one each). The hot flies were brown and copper zebra midges and Dan's turkey tail emerger. We also landed fish on olive scuds, black and silver zebra midges, and olive woolly buggers. Ellie also had a good day helping me land several fish and hang out with us on the river. We fished fairly late and then went to KT's Barbeque for ribs. Does it get any better than that?

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/24/2008 There was locally minor rain event and the lake levels on the White River system have continued to rise. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose eight tenths of a foot to rest at one and nine tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell seven tenths of a foot to settle at three and one tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake remained steady at six and eight tenths of a foot below pool. There generation pattern on the White has been for one or two spikes of heavy generation each day followed by periods of no generation or low generation. This has created some limited wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. It has been extremely cold and very windy. Norfork Lake has risen three tenths of a foot to rest four and three tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been a mixed bag. We had a few days with no generation 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. There was an incident this week on the White River at Taneycomo where an angler drowned. He was attempting to pull his boat out of the water on an icy ramp. His car slid into the river and though he got out of the automobile he was unable to make it to shore. This highlights the danger of icy ramps in the bitterly cold weather we are currently encountering. Avoid using any ramp that is iced. Live to fish another day. Keep in mind that the Catch and Release area below Bull Shoals Dam will open on February, 1. This section has been closed for the past few months while the brown trout have been spawning and no one has been allowed to fish here during this period. I would expect that this will attract several anglers. To avoid the crowds, try to fish early or late or better yet on a week day. Despite the cold and windy weather, the fishing on the White has been good. There have not been many anglers out but those that have fished have done well. One hot spot has been the Narrows. There have been several reports of great fishing on Y2Ks and egg patterns. In addition, this area has yielded some decent browns. On high water, brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns have been quite productive. Wildcat Shoals has also been fishing well particularly on the lower end of the shoals. When there is a bit of water, egg patterns have produced well, while on low water, partridge and orange soft hackles and green butts have done the job. Rim Shoals was fishing very well. Anglers walking down to White Shoals have been rewarded. Remember that this is a long hike and if the water comes up it will be dangerous. Always check generation before beginning this trek. The hot flies for this section have been olive woolly buggers, olive scuds and black zebra midges with silver wire and silver bead. The deeper holes along the first island have been productive particularly with Y2Ks. On high water the hot fly has been the San Juan worm in cerise. The Norfork has fished a bit better this week. There have been some reliable midge hatches in the afternoon. I have done the best with Norfork bead heads in olive size eighteen and black and silver zebra midges in the same size. When the fish are keying in on the midge emergers in the film, Dan’s C B emergers (also known as Chuck Berry’s emergers) in size twenty two have been killer. Other productive flies have been Y2Ks, San Juan worms, and olive scuds. Dry Run Creek, as always, has been the place to take the kids fishing. Because of the bitterly cold weather there have been precious few kids fishing there lately. Those few that braved the cold did exceptionally well. The hot fly is a size fourteen sowbug. Also try olive woolly buggers and San Juan worms. Be sure and use at least 4X tippet and pinch down those barbs. Always take the biggest net you can find and a camera. If you are in the area and opt to visit the Norfork Fish Hatchery, be sure to remove your waders before entering the facility. Diseases such as whirling disease could be carried on your waders and this could have a devastating effect on the hatchery. 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.

Eric, Great looking Brookie. They are my absolute favorite. I am amazed that the photo of the brown came out so good. That was a tough picture to take. It was so dark that I could not see anything on the LCD screen. I just kept taking pictures and looked at the finished product untill one looked OK.

Eric, I am really glad you guys had a good time. It was a great day on the river.

I guided three guys from St Louis on Friday. The day started very cold but it did warm up. We started at Rim Shoals. The going was a bit slow. We did not catch a lot of fish, we caught good fish. We landed a sixteen inch rainbow, an eighteen inch rainbow and a twenty three inch brown. When the water came up we went to the narrows. We arrived at about four o'clock and stayed until it was too dark to see the strike indicators. We absolutely slammed them there. We probably landed over fourty fish in two hours. The big fish was a sixteen inch brown taken on the last cast. The hot fly was the Y2K all day long (including the big brown). We also caught trout on worm brown San Juan worms, black and silver zebra midges, brown and copper zebra midges and olive scuds.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/17/2008 There was minor rain event and the lake levels on the White River system have continued to rise. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose six tenths of a foot to rest at two and seven tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose seven tenths of a foot to settle at two and four tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake rose two tenths of a foot to settle at six and eight tenths of a foot below pool. There generation pattern on the White has been a mixed bag during the last week. We had several days with no generation, a few days with a spike of heavy generation for a short period, and a day with a spike of heavy generation followed by a period of low generation. This has created some good wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. We had several very windy days which included lake wind advisories and some very cool temperatures. Norfork Lake has dropped two tenths of a foot to rest four and six tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has also been a mixed bag. We had a few days with no generation and some days with a brief period of heavy generation. This has created excellent wading conditions every day. The forecast is for cooler weather with some precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. Many anglers are eagerly anticipating the opening of the Catch and Release area below Bull Shoals Dam on February, 1. This section has been closed for the past few months while the brown trout have been spawning and no one has been allowed to fish here during this period. The browns do not feed when they are spawning so they will be hungry. This will be an opportune time to land a good one. The fishing on the White has been good. There have not been many anglers out but those that have fished have done well. The upper river, from Bull Shoals State Park to White Hole, has fished well. On low water, the hot flies have been black and silver and brown and copper zebra midges. On high water brightly colored San Juan worms and egg patterns have been quite productive. The front side of Roundhouse Shoals has fished particularly well. It seems that the best fishing is either at the top of the shoals or at the bottom. The hot flies in this section have been bead head pheasant tail nymphs, olive scuds size eighteen, brown and copper and black and silver zebra midges, partridge and orange soft hackles and green butts. Rim Shoals was fishing quite well. Anglers that motored up to Jenkin’s Creek area by boat did particularly well. On low water, the hot flies in this section were Y2Ks, crapadans, olive scuds size eighteen, and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. On high water the hot fly has been the San Juan worm in cerise. On the warmer days, there have been some really nice caddis hatches and some anglers were reporting nice fish on elk hair caddis size eighteen. Another hot spot has been just down stream from the confluence of the White and Norfork rivers. This area fishes best when there is a bit of generation on the Norfork. Hot flies here have been zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver bead and in brown with copper wire and copper bead. Soft hackles like the partridge and orange and the green butt have also been effective. The Norfork has fished a bit better this week. There have been some reliable midge hatches in the afternoon. I have done the best with Norfork bead heads in olive size eighteen. When the fish keying are in on the midge emergers in the film, Dan’s turkey tail emergers in size twenty two have been killer. Other productive flies have been Y2Ks, San Juan worms, and olive scuds. Dry Run Creek, as always, has been the place to take the kids fishing. It is located in a deep, tight valley and is seldom affected by the strong winds we have had lately. There have been precious few kids fishing there lately and now is a great time to avoid the crowds. The hot fly is a size fourteen sowbug. Also try olive woolly buggers and San Juan worms. Be sure and use at least 4X tippet and pinch down those barbs. Always take a huge 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 our local streams for over twenty five years.

I took a nice couple fishing at Jenkins Creek today. We motored up from the Rim Shoals ramp on very low water. We waded the riffle and absolute slaughtered the trout. The hot flies were crapadans and Dan's turkey tail emergers. We caught some very nice trout in the fourteen to sixteen inch slot. The water came up a little after two. We hopped in my boat and drifted through the shoal. We switched to magenta San Juan worms and caught fish. Not as many as on low water but bigger trout. Our best was a fat eighteen inch rainbow. The wind picked up toward the end. All in all a great day.

I mostly tie them in 12s and 14s in yellow and orange.

I took a couple of clients to the Norfork yesterday afternoon. We had fished at Rim Shoals in the morning. After a nice lunch we walked up stream into the Catch and release area. When we got there, the only person we saw was a distinguished gentleman sporting a tweed hat and a six foot bamboo rod with a silk line. He was on his way out leaving the entire section to us. We reveled in the solitude. We walked up to one of my favorite spots and caught an eighteen inch rainbow on the first cast. We moved about from one great spot to another catching some very fat healthy trout in the process. The hot flies were olive scuds and olive Norfork beadheads. We also caught fish on Y2Ks and black zebra midges. About three o'clock it began raining. It was a pretty light rain and we didn't bother putting on our rain jackets. We fished untill dark and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 1/10/2008 We have had a rain event that was heavy in some areas. As a result, the lake levels on the White River system have continued to rise a bit. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose two tenths of a foot to rest at three and three tenths of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake rose one and two tenths of a foot to settle at three and one tenth of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has remained at seven feet below pool. There has been no discernable generation pattern on the White during the last week. We had a day with no generation, a few days with heavy generation, and a few days with very limited generation. This has created some good wading opportunities and some excellent boating opportunities. We had several very windy days which included lake wind advisories and some very warm temperatures. Norfork Lake has dropped two tenths of a foot to rest four and six tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for some generation every day accompanied by long periods of no generation. This has created excellent wading conditions every day. The forecast is for cool weather with no precipitation. With the existing conditions, we should have some wadable water on both rivers. Last Sunday, the Corps of Engineers control room telephone recording (431-5311) reported the previous days recording which indicated no generation for over twenty four hours. However, there had been light generation from midnight to six AM on Sunday morning which was not mentioned on that recording. At the same time, the Corps of Engineers website was not properly functioning and could not be relied on to provide any information on generation for Bull Shoals Dam. Luckily the generation levels for that day were very light and no one was hurt. This certainly brings the reliability of generation information into doubt. As a result, you should always remain vigilant for rising water. Constantly observe water levels and always have an escape plan formulated. The fishing on the White has been consistently good. Several anglers took advantage of the unseasonably warm albeit windy conditions to enjoy some nice water and cooperative trout. Rim Shoals was fishing particularly well. Anglers that were willing to wade down to White shoals did particularly well. The hot flies in this section were olive woolly buggers, olive scuds size eighteen, and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. On the warmest days, there have been some really nice caddis hatches and some anglers were reporting nice fish on elk hair caddis. Obviously, this has been an added benefit from the warm weather. Buffalo Shoals has fished well. There have been several fly fishers that boated up to the shoals on the last few days. This is a treacherous place to take a boat on shallow water. I usually anchor my boat at the bottom of the shoals and wade around to find the hot spots. The hot flies have been partridge and orange soft hackles, green butts, olive scuds and bead head sow bugs. Another hot spot has been just down stream from the confluence of the White and Norfork rivers. This fishes best when there is a bit of generation on the Norfork. Hot flies here have been zebra midges in black with silver wire and silver bead and in brown with copper wire and copper bead. Soft hackles like the partridge and orange and the green butt have also been effective. There have been some nice caddis hatches reported in this area on the warmest days. On the Norfork, the bite has been a bit slow on low water. There have been some midge hatches in the afternoon. I have done the best with Norfork bead heads in black and olive sizes eighteen and twenty. Dan’s turkey tail emergers in size twenty two have been killer. Use them when you see fish keying in on the midge emergers in the film. Take special care with your presentation and use light tippets (6X or 7X). On high water, use San Juan worms and egg patterns. Fished over weed beds, they have accounted for a lot of good fish. Dry Run Creek has been the place to go. The warm weather has made perfect conditions for our younger anglers. Dry Run Creek is located in a deep, tight valley and is seldom affected by the strong winds we have had lately Create memories by high sticking sowbugs. Use at least 4X tippet so that you have a good chance to land some of these huge fish. 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.

I hope this helps. SINK TIP BY JOHN BERRY If you only have one fly line it should be a weight forward floating line. If you buy a second line it should be a sink tip. The sink tip is basically the combination of a floating line (on the rear of the line) and a sinking line (on the front of the line). The major advantage of the sink tip is that it will be easier to cast than a sinking line and still be able to deliver a fly deep into the depths of the body of water you are fishing. A sink tip will get a fly down deeper and faster than a floating line with weight on the leader. The sinking section can be various lengths (from four to thirty feet). Generally the longer the sinking section the deeper it will sink. When you buy a sink tip the package will indicate the length of the sinking section. There are also a variety of sink rates, Type I to Type VI, (it is also assigned a sink rate in inches per second). The higher the sink rate the faster it will sink. This all sounds great but what sink tip should you buy? The sink tip that I have found the most useful is the ten foot Type VI. This is the one I use when I dredge the deeper holes on the White River or the Spring River. In fact this is the only sink tip I buy. If I need a shorter sink tip to use on lower water, just cut down an old line to have a five or seven foot sinking section. This is what I do with old damaged sink tips. When I buy a sink tip or other line I also buy a new spool for my reel. That way, when I want to change lines, I just change the spool. When I fish a sink tip, I always carry an additional spool with a floating line in the event that I happen upon a decent hatch and want to fish dry flies or soft hackles. One of the things you will notice is that a sink tip will occupy less space on the reel than a weight forward line. The sinking section is a smaller diameter than the corresponding section of a floating line. As a result, you will be able to put more backing on your reel. This is a major advantage when that trophy brown hits your fly and heads downstream at a great rate of speed. I always attach a loop to end of my line. To rig a fly I take a section of 3X or 4X tippet about three and a half feet long, I tie a surgeon’s loop knot on one end and attach it to the fly line with a loop to loop connection. I tie the fly on and I am ready to fish. I rig this way because if I used a normal leader the fly would tend to rise and that would defeat the purpose of using a sink tip. I prefer a stiff rod to handle a sink tip; one that has plenty of back bone. My personal favorite is an old Sage RPL nine foot six weight. To cast a sink tip, the trick is to strip the line in till you only have twenty to twenty-five feet of line out. Put your rod tip down on the surface of the water. Execute your back cast with authority and make sure that you have a crisp stop on the back. Let your line straighten out and make a forward cast with a crisp stop on the front. Shoot as much line as you need. The heavily weighted section of the sink tip will cause it to cast like a bullet. To fish the sink tip, I cast it downstream at a 45degree angle to the bank. I let the line swing in the current until it is directly below me. As it swings, I will mend the line up stream to allow the fly to sink better. I will mend any bow in the line up stream to allow the fly to sink deeper. At the end of the swing, I strip the fly back toward me. I generally use short strips (a couple of inches) and vary the speed of the retrieve until I figure out what the fish want. It is usually easy to detect a strike. In fact, a good trout can almost jerk the rod out of your hand. I generally use woolly buggers and other streamers (I especially like to fish sculpins or crayfish imitations). This is also a great tool to fish for small mouth bass when they are deep. So the next time you are out on the river and you want to add some depth to your fishing, think sink tip. John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter and has been fishing our local streams for over twenty five years.

After a nice morning on the White river at Roundhouse Shoals, I took my clients over to the Norfork. We ate lunch and watched the water drop out. At first the fishing was a bit slow. As it got later in the day, the action picked up and we did well with size eighteen olive scuds. We also caught fish with olive and black zebra midges, both with silver wire and silver beads. The big fish was a seventeen inch rainbow. We lost two monsters. The first one wrapped a rock and we lost the leader, fly,etc. On the other one, the fly line got wrapped around the reel seat and the big boy broke off! We fished untill after dark. Around dusk we got a midge hatch and we caught several with the diamond midge. All in all a very good day!