John Berry Fishing Report 2/28/2008

[John Berry]

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.