John Berry Fishing Report 8/27/2009

[John Berry]

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/27/2009

We have gone a week without a rain event. The lakes on the White River system continue their fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose four tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is forty and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at one and two tenths feet above power pool or fourteen and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at six tenths of a foot below power pool or ten and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White has been for no generation in the morning and occasionally no generation at night. The flows have been moderate in the afternoon during peak power demand. This created some excellent conditions for wade fishing. Norfork Lake has fallen three tenths of a foot to rest at seven tenths of a foot above power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty seven and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool.

Remember that there is a new size limit on Brown trout. All browns less than twenty four inches must be released immediately no matter where they are caught on the White and Norfork Rivers. Only one brown trout may be kept in the daily limit of five trout.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in conjunction with the Corps of Engineers began installing fish habitat designed to provide cover for juvenile trout in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam on August 17, 2009. This work is being done at low water levels and is scheduled to take forty five days to complete. It should provide reliable wadable water on the White River during this time. There is some concern that the habitat will create navigational hazards for river boats at low levels of generation. The work is now substantially complete.

The fishing in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam has been particularly good for the last week. We have had substantial periods of no generation each day that have fished particularly well. The trick has been to avoid the areas where the construction is active. The heavy equipment really didn’t seem to bother the trout very much, at all. Midge patterns have been the ticket on lower flows. The hot flies have been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Later in the day, when we get heavier flows, the most effective technique has been to fish brightly colored San Juan worms (cerise, hot pink and red) and egg patterns (orange) below strike indicators. Use long 4X tippets and large split shot (AAA) to get the flies down to the bottom. Be very careful when drifting in this area. There are some new significant obstacles to navigation and you need quite a bit of generation to safely clear them.

The Narrows has fished well this past week. It got a bit crowded over the weekend. The hot fly was the black zebra midge but the olive woolly bugger came in a close second.

Wildcat Shoals has been another hot spot. While the black zebra midges have been the go to nymph, the hot flies have been the partridge and orange soft hackle and the green butt. Dan’s turkey tail emerger was also effective.

Rim Shoals has been red hot this past week. There were several days with wadable water. The water was gin clear and 6X tippet was the key to success. The hot fly has been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead in size sixteen. Other flies, specifically red San Juan worms and grasshoppers accounted for some large fish. On some days there were moderate flows that were very productive. Here again the zebra midge and the grasshopper were the most effective flies.

Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River have cleared and are fishing well. The cooler temperatures have moderated the water temperature. The hot flies have been Clouser minnows and Barr’s meat whistles.

The Norfork River has fished a bit better this week. With wadable water on the White, the crowding here has substantially decreased. On low water, small midge patterns have been the ticket. Try black zebra midges, Norfork beadheads in black or olive and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Soft hackles like the green butt and the partridge and orange have also been effective. Grasshoppers have also been producing. The upper river at Quarry Park has fished particularly well. On high water, the most effective tactic is to fish brightly colored San Juan worms or egg patterns under an indicator.

Dry Run Creek has fished well this past week. The hot fly, as always, has been the sowbug. Other hot flies have been worm brown San Juan worms and egg patterns (orange). The project to enhance fishing on the creek is scheduled to begin soon. The project will include a 130 foot boardwalk to enhance fishing opportunities for handicapped anglers and substantial fish habitat structures designed by Dave Whitlock. This will make the creek more accessible and increase its fish holding capacity.

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.

[jkilroy]

Hello,

I'm planning on heading up tp the White on Sunday for some wade fishing, where in relation to the dam is rim shoals? Looks like the forecast generation schedule has zero generation until 3:00 in the afternoon, have they been holding to the schedule? Just wanting to know because I have a 3 hour drive.

Thanks.

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 8/27/2009

We have gone a week without a rain event. The lakes on the White River system continue their fall. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam rose four tenths of a foot to rest at nine tenths of a foot above power pool of 654.00 feet. This is forty and one tenth feet below the top of flood pool. Up stream, Table Rock Lake fell two tenths of a foot to rest at one and two tenths feet above power pool or fourteen and eight tenths feet below the top of flood pool. Beaver Lake fell four tenths of a foot to rest at six tenths of a foot below power pool or ten and two tenths feet below the top of flood pool. The pattern on the White has been for no generation in the morning and occasionally no generation at night. The flows have been moderate in the afternoon during peak power demand. This created some excellent conditions for wade fishing. Norfork Lake has fallen three tenths of a foot to rest at seven tenths of a foot above power pool of 552.00 feet or twenty seven and three tenths feet below the top of flood pool.

Remember that there is a new size limit on Brown trout. All browns less than twenty four inches must be released immediately no matter where they are caught on the White and Norfork Rivers. Only one brown trout may be kept in the daily limit of five trout.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in conjunction with the Corps of Engineers began installing fish habitat designed to provide cover for juvenile trout in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam on August 17, 2009. This work is being done at low water levels and is scheduled to take forty five days to complete. It should provide reliable wadable water on the White River during this time. There is some concern that the habitat will create navigational hazards for river boats at low levels of generation. The work is now substantially complete.

The fishing in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam has been particularly good for the last week. We have had substantial periods of no generation each day that have fished particularly well. The trick has been to avoid the areas where the construction is active. The heavy equipment really didn’t seem to bother the trout very much, at all. Midge patterns have been the ticket on lower flows. The hot flies have been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Later in the day, when we get heavier flows, the most effective technique has been to fish brightly colored San Juan worms (cerise, hot pink and red) and egg patterns (orange) below strike indicators. Use long 4X tippets and large split shot (AAA) to get the flies down to the bottom. Be very careful when drifting in this area. There are some new significant obstacles to navigation and you need quite a bit of generation to safely clear them.

The Narrows has fished well this past week. It got a bit crowded over the weekend. The hot fly was the black zebra midge but the olive woolly bugger came in a close second.

Wildcat Shoals has been another hot spot. While the black zebra midges have been the go to nymph, the hot flies have been the partridge and orange soft hackle and the green butt. Dan’s turkey tail emerger was also effective.

Rim Shoals has been this past week. There were several days with wadable water. The water was gin clear and 6X tippet was the key to success. The hot fly has been the black zebra midge with silver wire and silver bead in size sixteen. Other flies, specifically red San Juan worms and grasshoppers accounted for some large fish. On some days there were moderate flows that were very productive. Here again the zebra midge and the grasshopper were the most effective flies.

Crooked Creek and the Buffalo River have cleared and are fishing well. The cooler temperatures have moderated the water temperature. The hot flies have been Clouser minnows and Barr’s meat whistles.

The Norfork River has fished a bit better this week. With wadable water on the White, the crowding here has substantially decreased. On low water, small midge patterns have been the ticket. Try black zebra midges, Norfork beadheads in black or olive and Dan’s turkey tail emerger. Soft hackles like the green butt and the partridge and orange have also been effective. Grasshoppers have also been producing. The upper river at Quarry Park has fished particularly well. On high water, the most effective tactic is to fish brightly colored San Juan worms or egg patterns under an indicator.

Dry Run Creek has fished well this past week. The hot fly, as always, has been the sowbug. Other hot flies have been worm brown San Juan worms and egg patterns (orange). The project to enhance fishing on the creek is scheduled to begin soon. The project will include a 130 foot boardwalk to enhance fishing opportunities for handicapped anglers and substantial fish habitat structures designed by Dave Whitlock. This will make the creek more accessible and increase its fish holding capacity.

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.

[John Berry]

Rim Shoals is twenty four miles below Bull Shoals Dam. The projection you were looking at was for last Sunday. Check the dates at the top of the page. The projection for Sunday does not come out until Friday at 5:00PM. They are accurate about 75% of the time. Good luck!

[Brian K. Shaffer]

That was a great report. Makes me want to get in the car and get down there to Rim.

The hopper action can sometimes be sick.. so much fun.. splattin' em down ... ferocious takes.. it is crazy fast paced fish catching awesomeness.

I used to go to Fultons to pick up one of thier bass sized grasshopper patterns. It is the only one with a mono weed guard I've ever seen. One could last you a week on 3x depending on if the fish chew them off your line or not. This is certainly the right time of year for it. Click that link below to see more hoppers.

Flies of Umpqua / Hopper Link

I found the pic of the one I was thinking of :

Just wish we had 'em biting on hoppers with any consistancy up here. Cheers, Brian

[jkilroy]

Here's a few more questions, since I'm going up Sun. Is there a public access, and, I saw on the web there is a fly shop nearby, is that correct? I need some hoppers. Are they open Sun?

John Killinger

That was a great report. Makes me want to get in the car and get down there to Rim.

The hopper action can sometimes be sick.. so much fun.. splattin' em down ... ferocious takes.. it is crazy fast paced fish catching awesomeness.

I used to go to Fultons to pick up one of thier bass sized grasshopper patterns. It is the only one with a mono weed guard I've ever seen. One could last you a week on 3x depending on if the fish chew them off your line or not. This is certainly the right time of year for it. Click that link below to see more hoppers.

Flies of Umpqua / Hopper Link

I found the pic of the one I was thinking of :

Just wish we had 'em biting on hoppers with any consistancy up here. Cheers, Brian

[John Berry]

At Rim Shoals, there are two public accesses (a ramp and a walk-in), and a fly shop. They are open on Sunday.

[jkilroy]

Thanks for all the info.

At Rim Shoals, there are two public accesses (a ramp and a walk-in), and a fly shop. They are open on Sunday.