John Berry Fishing Report 8/14/2008

[John Berry]

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/14/2008

We have had a week with a substantial rain event and much cooler temperatures. The reservoir levels on the White River continue to fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam fell one and seven tenths of a foot to rest at thirty one feet above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is ten feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell one and eight tenths of a foot to rest at three and two tenths feet above power pool or twelve and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake remained steady at seven and three tenths feet above power pool or two and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White has been to run all eight generators around the clock with high flows both day and night. While these flows made for excellent boating, there have been few safe wading opportunities on the White. Norfork Lake has fallen one and eight tenths of a foot to rest at seventeen and five tenths feet above power pool of 552.00 feet or ten and one half of a foot below the top of flood pool. The pattern has been to run two generators with occasional brief periods of no generation at night. This made for some limited wading conditions at night.

The cooler temperatures have certainly made for some pleasant fishing conditions and a welcome change from the horrendous heat of the previous week.

The upper river from Bull Shoals Dam, through the State Park down to Cane Island Shoals has been a perpetual hot spot for months. The better fishing is in the morning when the water flows are generally a bit lower. The hot tactic for this area has been to bang the banks with streamers fished with sink tip or full sinking lines. Some guides recommend a fast retrieve while others suggest a slow one. The best bet is to vary your retrieve until you figure out what the trout want. Sculpin and baitfish patterns are the ticket for this technique. My favorite has been Jim Mengle’s Ozark Sculpin.

Another hot spot has been the Rim Shoals Catch and Release section. The hot technique for this section has been to fish brightly colored San Juan worms on long leaders (twelve to fifteen feet) with a large strike indicator and a lot of lead. This is a tricky rig to cast. Make sure that you have removed all slack from the line before you begin your cast and open up your loop to keep the line from becoming tangled. Keep your back cast high to avoid hitting your self in the head. With the amounts of lead being used this could really hurt (this is the voice of experience). The top producing colors have been red, cerise and hot pink.

The Buffalo Shoals section has been yet another hot spot. There is a lot of incredible structure in this area and it holds a lot of fish. The top producing flies have been sowbugs, scuds and brightly colored San Juan worms.

The Norfork is not fishing as well as it has recently. It is experiencing increased boat traffic. They are still catching warm water species there. In fact, there was a very large Striped Bass caught near the mouth of Dry Run Creek today. It is important that when these warm water species are caught that they be removed. These fish are predators and could have a negative impact on the fishing on the Norfork.

This past week has been a great week to take a youngster to Dry Run Creek. There were fewer people fishing there and the temperatures were much milder. When you do take a child there, remember that they get to fish not you. They need to cast, hook and fight the fish. You need to limit your participation to coaching, netting and taking photographs. Of course it is alright to rig the rod and untangle knots. Just make sure that you are not the one fishing. The hot flies this past week have been San Juan worms (red and brown), sowbugs and olive woolly buggers. Be sure to take the biggest net that you can find and make sure to bring the camera. Remember that the creek is over grown with large trees and you frequently will need a flash with your camera because of the low light conditions. This is a very special place.

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.