First Time

[Don]

I finally flyfished the NFOW for the first time. I floated all stretches many times for the last 25 years but never fished it. We stayed at Taylormade Rivertreks with Shawn and Christina Taylor. They are a great couple and provided unequaled hospitality. They also provide great services to veterans. The river was up and strong for wading so it took my friend and myself a half an hour to get to the riffles 100 yards upstream. My first 20 minutes I caught a brown and a bow on a black stonefly. It was my first wild trout ever and I could tell the difference. I caught another brown on a prince nymph 30 minutes later. I then broke my flyrod when I was untangling a mess of line. I was holding my rod up high and had the bottom under my left arm. The reel end of my rod slipped into the fast water and snap! Lessons learned. About 10 minutes later my partner took his first ever swim while crossing some fast water. Wading was a challenge all the while we were there. We floated Blair to our place located slightly above James bridge the next day. Even though we threw plenty of lead and bounced off the botton all day, we each got skunked unless we wanted to claim the fame of Chubmeisters. Wading opportunities were rather limited because of the flow and the river was marginal at best. However, Monday was a beautiful day and we owned the river to ourselves 99% of the time. I'll be back.

Don May

[Brian Wise]

Yeah Don, wading is a little rough at the moment. Prime time to wade the river is 700 cfs or below. Glad you caught some fish though man!

Brian

[Aaron Mills]

Well, you caught better fish than I ever did on my first NFOW fishing trip. I am pretty clumsy and have to admit I've lost the tip section of my rod a couple of times falling in holes and stuff. I'm pretty impressed you got out there to wade. I think that lower section is still a little goofy with the water backing up over Dawt Mill. I had friends tell me it's like paddling a lake after James Bridge. They didn't see many if any trout but a lot of warm water fish.

Hope the water is better for you next time.

... Brian, where do you go to find the flow reports for the NFOW?

Aaron

[Brian Wise]

USGS North Fork of the White River flow charts.

You can also find it at the top of the NFOW page on the forum under "Looky Here! River Levels "

Your friends were exactly right Aaron....it IS lake just below James Bridge.

Brian

[huz001]

I finally flyfished the NFOW for the first time. I floated all stretches many times for the last 25 years but never fished it. We stayed at Taylormade Rivertreks with Shawn and Christina Taylor. They are a great couple and provided unequaled hospitality. They also provide great services to veterans. The river was up and strong for wading so it took my friend and myself a half an hour to get to the riffles 100 yards upstream. My first 20 minutes I caught a brown and a bow on a black stonefly. It was my first wild trout ever and I could tell the difference. I caught another brown on a prince nymph 30 minutes later. I then broke my flyrod when I was untangling a mess of line. I was holding my rod up high and had the bottom under my left arm. The reel end of my rod slipped into the fast water and snap! Lessons learned. About 10 minutes later my partner took his first ever swim while crossing some fast water. Wading was a challenge all the while we were there. We floated Blair to our place located slightly above James bridge the next day. Even though we threw plenty of lead and bounced off the botton all day, we each got skunked unless we wanted to claim the fame of Chubmeisters. Wading opportunities were rather limited because of the flow and the river was marginal at best. However, Monday was a beautiful day and we owned the river to ourselves 99% of the time. I'll be back.

Don May

The wading can be a humbling experience until the water gets down; but the river is so nice, catching is secondary to me. Steve

[Al Agnew]

A good wading staff is an absolute necessity for me when the water is up. The power of three feet of fast water is incredible, but a wading staff and a healthy dose of caution does wonders.

[fishinwrench]

I suppose I need a tutorial on exactly HOT TO USE a wading staff....cuz all they seem to do for me is give me one more thing to deal with when moving about in fast water. The last time I was on NFOW I picked a perfect "staff" from the bank, attached it to a cord so it wouldn't run away from me, and attempted to use it to steady my steps. After about 10 minutes I ditched it because it was obvious that it was gonna get me wet....or hurt.