Zack Hoyt

Upstream or downstream from the Hwy62 Access(between Berryville and Eureka) has some decent wading. Upstream a ways is the Trigger Gap access. Been a while since I waded, but I think downstream from it isnt bad. If you have access to boats, I would say go for that. Riverside Resort has some good "private" accesses they use around Eureka. They have a good 4hr float trip coming into HWY 62 and also a nice 8hr going downstrem. Water temp may be a tad cool for smallies, but with the 70's going into this weekend, you may catch some good activity. Also the level looks pretty awesome for floating. Will you be spin casting or fly rodding?

I am pretty sure it was. My great grand father drove a dump truck hauling rock into and out fo the park way back when. He has a few stories of the breaks going out coming down the hill.

Hard to define worse..... Fishing will be harder with higher water......but this equals more fish in the water longer. This also means these fish will be feeding nicely. Not to many normal fisherman will attempt to fish in high water. It can be difficult, not to mention trying to wade. Fishing pressure will be cut down for a while. It would be great if the fisheries division would throw a few extra fish in the water during this time.

Reel Recovery Retreat for cancer survivors hooks participants on fly fishing By Buddy Gough Thursday, October 29, 2009 NORFORK - Fly fishing is good - and good for you - was the lesson learned by a special group of men angling for trout Saturday below Norfork Dam. While wielding fly tackle with skill and success boosted their personal confidence, the camaraderie shared also proved to be a healing experience for the participants in a Reel Recovery retreat, a program designed to help men recover from their battles with cancer. The retreat was the first to be held in Arkansas. Reel Recovery was founded in 2003 in Denver. Since then, 72 weekend retreats in eight states have been attended by more than 800 men. Notably, two of the three founders - Jim Cloud and Coy Teobalt - are Hot Springs natives. The 15 men fishing the Norfork tailwaters Saturday each received "scholarships" to attend the retreat at no cost, including a stay at Cedarwood Lodge near Flippin, along with the provision of fly-fishing gear and the attentive assistance of volunteer instructors and guides. They ranged in age from 25 to 83 and hailed from eight states. Two were from Bella Vista and others from Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. Only one claimed to be a proficient fly fisher. The scholarships were the result of fundraising efforts of fly-fishing guide Ken Richards of Bentonville. While battling Stage 4 throat cancer, Richards attended a Reel Recovery retreat in Indiana and found the program so helpful that he became determined to bring it to Arkansas. Richards set out to garner the necessary funding of about $14,000 with fundraising floats dubbed "The Whole Durn Thing," which involved floating the Buffalo River from Ponca to Buffalo City and the Kings River from Marble to the Romp Hole Access. After completing the combined distance of nearly 250 miles, he received further funding assistance from Beaver Dam Store and the Bella Vista Fly Tyers fly-fishing club. He also lined up his fly-fishing friends to act as "fishing bud-dies" for each participant. CONGENIAL FISHING The cancer survivors arrived Friday at Cedarwood Lodge, where training and support sessions would be held and where they expected to fly fish in the White River flowing past the lodge. However, high water caused the switch to the Norfork tailwaters, where low-flow conditions prevailed Saturday morning. With low temperatures and the hills ablaze in fall colors under bright sun and blue skies, the men couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to sample fly fishing in a premier Ozarks trout stream. By noon, many of the Reel Recovery participants were paired with their guides and strung out in midstream, fishing away. As they cast and mended their fly lines and intently watched their strike indicators for hits on a variety of sinking flies, it was clear they had already acquired the basic skills of fly fishing. It also was obvious the fishing action was slow, but that would change considerably in the afternoon. Attentively watching the group from the bank, Richards noted, "The main thing is that they're not thinking about their cancers right now." In fact, they didn't seem to be thinking about anything except enjoying themselves and the companionship of their newly acquired friends when they gathered for lunch in a convivial mood. Noticeable among the attire worn by each survivor were "legacy" fly-fishing vests with backs bearing many signatures of previous Reel Recovery participants. One of the most enthusiastic fly fishers around the lunch table was Tom Carbanes of Bella Vista, who also happened to be the oldest at age 83. Although an infrequent user of fly tackle, he has been an avid fisherman for most of his life and is well known in Bella Vista for his monthly television show named Tom Talks Fishing. "This is a heckuva bunch of congenial guys," Carbanes said. Halfway through the retreat, he was most impressed with the sharing sessions. "Oh man, you should have heard some of the sessions we've had; it's unreal how inspiring they've been,"Carbanes continued. "Another thing I've noticed is how many have made spiritual type comments." Being somewhat mobility-impaired, he had had the privilege of fishing nearby Dry Run Creek with Eric Olsen of Bella Vista, who was similarly impaired and probably the second-oldest cancer survivor in the group. The little creek flowing out of the Norfork National Fish Hatchery is famous for harboring hordes of trout to huge sizes, but it's a hot spot reserved exclusively for youngsters under 16 and the handicapped. Naturally, I trailed after Carbanes and Olsen when they returned to the creek after lunch with the certaintyof photographing fishing action. With Dan Ditzler of Mount Vernon, Mo., assisting Carbanes and Wayne Patton of Bella Vista pairing with Olsen, the men set up to fish below a scenic waterfall. Before wading into the stream to begin casting, Olsen noted that his wife had encouraged him to apply for the Reel Recovery after she attended a retreat offered by the well-known Casting for Recovery program for female cancer survivors. Carbanes got into the action when he hooked a rainbow trout on his first cast - and the next, and the next, and so on. "That's number 16," he bragged at one point. Under Patton's guidance, Olsen was targeting a big trout seen in the swifter water below the waterfall but was regularly hooking smaller ones in the process. Their genuine smiles suggested that their health problems were far from their minds. REPEAT PROGNOSIS Contacted Monday morning, Richards said the cancer survivors had enjoyed good success in the Norfork tailwaters Saturday afternoon. "Everybody caught fish, and there were several guys who really tore them up," he said. "There were two guys who only lacked catching a brook trout to have a grand slam of all four species of trout in the river." Richards also was pleased with the favorable reviews from the cancer survivors and Reel Recovery officials. "From the comments of everybody, it came out fantastic," he said. "Plans are being considered to hold another one next year and possibly a second one [in 2010] as well." He also was surprised with a parting gift from the owners of Cedarwood Lodge. "Ken and Mary Ann Green shocked us all at the last minute when they donated the entire cost of using their lodge for the weekend," Richard said. Sharing the joy of fishing, it seems, is catching. Outdoors, Pages 29 on 10/29/2009

Here are pictures from the event: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/5752669...?vhost=outdoors

Eric, who was your boss? I and a few others helped Ken Richards with fund raising and organization. I was one of the river buddies and had an absolute blast. I will post some pictures when I get a minute. Edit: We can definitely use your help. We will be setting down pretty soon to start planning fund raising events for this next year. You and your family will be in my thoughts.

No need.......wasn't funny anyway. Carry on.

Because I think credit should be given to the individual who did the work...... http://www.myoutdoortv.com/crappie/2.html This site has some great information regarding many species.

Area Lakes To Get Trout Thursday, Friday Posted on 21 October 2009 By The Morning News Four area lakes will be stocked with rainbow trout Thursday and Friday for winter fishing. Lake Brittany in Bella Vista will by stocked today with several hundred rainbow trout purchased by the Bella Vista Property Owners Association. Only POA members and their guests may fish for them. Lake Atalanta in Rogers, Lake Springdale and Murphy Park Lake, also in Springdale, will be stocked on Friday by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Game & Fish cold-water coordinator Melissa Jones said Lake Atalanta will be stocked with 1,400 rainbow trout. The Springdale lakes will receive 500 trout. The trout stocked by Game & Fish average 11 inches long. The daily limit is five trout. Anglers age 16 and older must have an Arkansas fishing license and trout permit.

Tis kinda ironic given his signature.......

I second this thought. It is the convergence of three different types of landscapes. The fishing conditions vary tremendously throughtout the river. Also, it is not lmited to smallies, though it is very well known for them.

Haven't heard anything. Looks like it topped at 1126.5ft. Tailwaters are lowering due to the flood gates opening at TR. They have been generating a few hours a day, but nothing major. There is some decent rain predicted for Wednesday and Thursday, so that may throw a wrench in things. So really not a ton of info more than you probably know. Who knows what the Corp will do, but I dont see them tearing through the water on Beaver. Probably get it down to 1120 over a few weeks and somewhat hold it there.

Welcome Chad. There are a ton of us who love to fly fish for bass.....whodathunk. There is a ton of great water here in the Arkansas and Missouri Ozarks.

Great story Bill. Being a yungun in the "biz", I would love to set around a campfire and hear some stories. We ought to have a guides retreat one of these weekends.

Phil Lillley - Forum Nazi........has a nice ring. Just kidding. Keep fighting the good fight.

Welcome from NW Arkansas.

On a heavy fishing day, it usually takes me 6hrs to get down to Bertrand. Canoeing with kiddos, I doubt you will be dottling as much as we do, so you should be off the water before generation starts. Even if they do, you will be far enough down stream that it wont directly effect you.......its not like there is a huge tidal wave shooting down teh water. With the way they have been generating, it is more or less like being on a faster flowing river. The Dam Store will not put you on if they think there is any danger. There are also a few good gravel bars(even though most are under water) that you can stop at along the way to stretch your legs.

That guy is a very good friend of mine. He is thrilled. I would have thought it would go for more.....but maybe the bad economy, etc.

Sfiser has got it right. There is no current right now on Beaver Tailwaters. Makes it hard to drift a fly. The dam down to Spider Creek is a nice float. Trees are jsut starting to change, so teh scenery is great. The higher water makes wading difficult, so there arent a ton of bank fisherman. Stop into the Beaver Dam Store and say hey to Bryce......he is the guy with a white beard who looks like a knome. He is a good buddy and super guy.

I don't know about all the way to the Dam, but most likely quite a ways past Parker Bottoms. It would be worth a stop in at the Bathouse walkin to see how deep it is there. As long as you stay in the channel, you should be alright.

Love pictures like that. It reminds me of every sunset I have seen........love it.

Main problem with a Wrangler.........its not a Subaru. Be very careful with a used Jeep, especially if it has been "toyed". I had alot fo friends who added mods to their Jeeps.....that really should ahve had it done professionally. They are usually bought to be beat on, so expect that to have been done. I would shoot for finding one of the old CJ's. Very simple, very plain. Easy to work on, etc.

Water was pretty clear. There are not a ton of creeks feeding the Tailwaters, so not a ton of muddyness. Alot of the runoff is from the banks, so by the time it gets to the water is is pretty well filtered. If you are using a sink tip and chunking stremers, I would say you will have good luck. With the deeper water, the fish are schooling, so dont stay in one spot unless you are catching fish. I was going to take the boat down there on Friday, but I decided to sneak over to Lake Atalanta in Rogers. Havent fished it since I was a kid. The Warm water fish in there should be full into their fall feeding, so I am hoping to get lucky.

I drove over the Kings at Berryville this weekend. Water was too high to float and VERY muddy. Lots of brush and stuff in the water. Outfitters are saying it may be floatable this weekend, but they are not planning on it. Have heard a few landowners said some bank damage had occured, so be very careful if you vrture out of strainers and root wads. As of now, Kings is 2' over the higher point which I float it. With more rian forecasted, it might be a safe bet to avoid the water for a bit.

Just wanted to pass this along. Beaver is currently 6.5' over optimum wading. There isnt a ton of generation scheduled from the COE, and TR is pushing water out......but for at least the next week, very little wading. I was fishing 6' under an indicator yesterday and having marginal luck. Sink tips and wollies would work well, but a boat or float tube would be needed. With water this deep, the fish will be moving alot. If you find a small pod, you can do alright......but finding them is the tough part.