Fishing Report

[Jeremy Hunt]

White River & Dry Run Creek

I don’t know where to start. I know it’s been awhile since I’ve reported, but all this fishing keeps me very busy. I’ve had trips alone, fishing by myself, and I must say, it’s been fun exploring all this new water. I’ve even stumbled on water where we switch over and catch bass.

News Flash

I don’t know if anyone is talking about Walleye still being in the White River or not, but I know for a fact they are because they have been chasing the rainbows we’re catching all the way to the boat. They’re so keyed in on the fish they don’t even think about the boat. And these rainbows we’re catching are not small either. Some of them have to be in the 14-16 inch range. There’s one place in particular that they’ve done it the most so that tells me they like it there and will probably be there until someone catches them. I’ve tried to get my camera out in time to take pictures, but by then it’s too late. I let you know because maybe someone reading this will go get them out of there. If you fly fish, the gamble could be to throw a big white streamer with a sinking line, or either dead drift it, and you might have a shot at catching a monster brown trying to comb out the walleye. I haven’t tried it, but it’s a thought. I’m sure conventional tackle would be a better way to go after these walleye, so here’s the spot: It’s up at the dam as you’re going up to the signs on the right side, along the rock ledge. You’ll see it wrap around and straighten out. As soon as it straightens out there’s a big break in the current and right at the front of it is where they’re hanging. I know there are more than a few because the size seems to vary when we see them.

Jenkins’s Creek

Jenkins’s Creek is another place where you can find warm water fish. I went in there two days ago to get out from the sun. While we were under a shaded tree I noticed three white bass schooling in a circle. My first thought was how long have they been here and what else was in this creek right now. I knew as soon as I saw it, that this was “bass heaven”, if there was such a thing. The structure and the way it was mapped out was sweet. One side would be shallow and the other dropping off to a deep pool. It didn’t go too far in there, but it went far enough to hold, from what I saw, fifty or so bass. Sizes went from babies to the biggest around five pounds. The picture you see was about the average bass caught. I didn’t bring all my gear so I was stuck throwing only a few big woolies that I use for smallmouth. The fly though is one that I firmly believe in every time I’m stuck thinking about a fly I would use for any warm water situation and I’m glad I did. It imitates a lot or variations of darter patterns in the creeks we have around here. I’ll have to put it up here when I have some free time. I’ll make sure it’s done soon. Easy pattern, but very effective. You’ll see once you go out and fish it.

Crooked Creek

Went to Crooked Creek from the White River access and went back as far as I could go. Probably two miles up. I went slow to see everything and sneak up on fish so I could figure out where these fish hold. It turns out that there’s a lot of largemouth in this creek. I can’t say for sure if it was a fluke deal, but right now there’s over 200 bass I know for sure are hanging around grass beads and big boulders. I stripped streamers in between the clear spots in the subsurface areas and they came right out and got it. I tried a few popper patterns, but in the middle of the day, in the heat, they didn’t want anything to do with it. I knew that going in, but when you see bass in front of you, I guess you’ll try a few ways to get them. I’m going back in the evening and I bet the poppers will be the ticket!!

Norfork

I’ve had a few more trips to Dry Run Creek since the last report. Still catching big fish, but nothing to the net to speak of. It makes me wonder if other guides help their clients catch these fish. I know, for me, it’s difficult to coach somebody that’s never been fly fishing, to bring one of these monsters to the net. I’ve been hooking them, but most people try to horse them in, especially if they’ve been tough on conventional gear or have never landed a fish before. I guess the excitement gets the best of them. I‘m sure eventually we‘ll get some to the net. On the another note, we have caught some decent browns and rainbows that were all in the 18-20 inch range. And for a kid, that‘s not a bad way to start fly fishing. But the most important thing is getting kids involved with the outdoors and teaching them to take care of what we have for the next generation to enjoy (catch and release).

White River

The only place I’ve been fishing is right up at Bull Shoals. Maybe it’s me, but the time I’m going is only in the evenings around 4pm till the fog gets heavy on the water which varies from 7-7:30pm. That’s when “I think” the bites the best. You wouldn’t believe that I’m usually the only boat fishing and have the whole river to myself ( I wonder why that is ?). That’s a huge advantage because there’s no pressure and few flies drifting by fish. So of course if they haven’t seen something in awhile then they get more curious to come over and take a peek. And that’s exactly what’s happening. I had a trip with Jon and Ron two days ago and Ron had probably the biggest fish I’ve had on up there in high water. We played it for fifteen minutes before it broke off. It’s funny the way big fish react, 18-20 inch fish seem to run hard as soon as you plug them, but trout over that will sometimes let you raise them up to where you can get a look and then they dig back down and don’t come back up at all. We saw this fish for a brief moment before it went back down and this brown was well over what I’ve been catching. I would say it was in the neighborhood of 26-28 inches. Big fish. I know that for sure, and the fight he put on was so strong that I couldn’t believe how strong this fish was. Even though we didn’t get it to the boat, I know I did my job putting this guy on a fish of a lifetime. To really live through that is still a rush and will continue to be as long as us trout bums live for the next big one. Go check it out for yourself, I know if you go it will pay off. We’re also catching a lot of numbers with not much dead time. The bite seems to be consistent.