BDS Report _ May 8

[Guest flyfishBDS]

G'day y'all from the Beaver Dam Store crew!

We have been busier than a one-legged man at a butt kicking contest. Trout fishing has been superb. The white bass are back in the river and heading upstream above 62 bridge, and the lake is starting to fire. Another DAM week when too much fly fishing is barely enough. We have been tying flies to try to keep you all stocked with the best patterns for the river, unpacking new stuff into the fly shop, guiding, teaching and above all having some fun.

The guide trips have been a blast. I think we have four absolute new comers catch their first fish on fly rods in the past week. We think they could be hooked themselves and reminded a couple of others why they shouldn't just fly fish once a year. Think of it as preventative medicine. You will be more relaxed, sleep better, eat better, be nicer to your kids and wife _ so finish the report, take a long weekend and enjoy it.

In this week's report we offer up some on white bass fishing on the lake, the Smallmouth Rendezvous in Tahlequah this weekend and of course the fly fishing report.

WHITE BASS FEVER

And let the fun begin _ we have them back in the river and now Beaver Lake is set to fire. One of our favorite coves at this end of the lake was on fire Wednesday with smallish white and hybrids demolishing schools of shad. Fair dunkum, it look like boat wakes as the voracious little beggars chomped their way through hapless schools of baitfish.

A few bigger swirls out over the deeper water may also have been stripers. The action was hot enough for use to pin 15-20 fish in half an hour, and rue the extra hour we spent in bed. But as funny as tyhis season has been so far we went back 12 hours later for one smallie and one small male white. If there is one secret to getting the best fishing this season it is to spend time on the water. But on the up side we think the action is about to take off this weekend and through the next couple of weeks, particularly with with rain fall pushing water into the lake. So here is our guide to finding White Bass or Hydrids on this end of Beaver Lake.

Get up early or late. If you like to sleep late on weekends buy an alarm clock or stick to trout. The most consistent flyrod action come in the "grey light" period before the sun climbs over the horizon. And its usually done when the sun hits the water. Its the same at the other end of the day. Cloudy days can prolong the action, but not always.

White Bass Cove is well known, and has plenty of shore access, though make sure you buy a pass to park in the Corp's day access areas. But there are other places to access the shoreline. Indian Creek Arm also hold good quantities of White Bass and the waters east of the Dam are also good. A boat, anything from a canoe to a bass boat or even pontoon boat can give you many more options. Just be careful about chasing schools of surface feeding fish on your outboards. Driving up to a feeding schools is a great way to send the school down and ruin your fishing. Use your trolling motor or even paddle when appropriate to a position upwind of the school and drift down to maximise your chances of hitting fish. Often it can be a more productive tactic not to chase fish but hold in a likely spot and wait for the action to start.

Standard tackle can be anything from a 9' 6wt to an 8wt for most whites and hybrids. Shorebased fly fishers might want to consider using an 8wt, Steve's gone back up this season, to allow longer casts with bigger wind resistant flies for his shorefishing. Along the banks watch your backcasts. Beaver's steep banks and jagged rocks claim plenty of flies. If you clip a rock too make sure to check your hook point. A stripping basket (its easy to make one from a plastic tub and a webbing belt) can be a decided advantage on the rocks along the edge which appear to have been designed to swallow flyline, dumping your best cast just past the rod tip. We are generally using 6' of 3x or 4x Rio Flouroflex Plus joined by a loop to loop connection to a stiff butt section. We also like loop knots on most of our baitfish patterns, or for a stronger knot the Eugene Bend. Reels don't need to be fancy until you get a big hybrid or striper. We generally fish a floating line, though an intermediate or sinking line on a second rod (when the action is hot it is no time to be changing lines).

If your serious about trying for stripers step up to 8wt and heavier, for bigger flies and heavier lines. Reels need to be holding 200 yard of backing (try gelspun backing to increase capacity) and a solid drag. We have Ross and Sage Reels up to the task..

Your Lake fly box should include:

Subsurface

Gummy Minnows, the small 6s are a pretty good match for the tiny baitfish being targeted currently, for when the fish get picky.

Burks Hot Flash Minnow. Great pattern, pulls fish in. Keep an eye on your fly as it has a tendency to tailwrap

Whitlock's Shad, Another superb pattern from the master.

Clouser Minnows chartreuse/white and tan/white six 6. All round deep fly.

Pacific Fly Shad weighted and sinking. This has been a killer this season, pulling fish on even tough days.

Surface

Crease Fly. Our favorite Try the silver and the black over silver. Great poattern which can be fished quiet or noisy. Or add a sinking line and fish it the way the maker intended.

Clousers Floating Minnow: A slow waker, twitch this one back across the surface for ferocious hits. Nice!!!!!!

Umpqua Swimming baitfish. Deerhair Dahlberg type, pull under the surface and rises back to the top. Plenty of action.

FISHING REPORT

Beaver Tailwater: Woolly Bugger continue to work exceptionally well. Try our "improved" white Crystal Bugger or olive Crystal Buggers in 12s during high sun hours. But BDS olive woollies, copper brown and black Crystal Buggers, Spirit River Baby Buggers and Flash-A-Buggers are all doing well. The secret seems to be short darting strips with plenty of pauses in between to mimic the movement of the abundant small sculpins. Fish these hard up and down the tailwater

The midge hatches remain thick and a reliable means of catching trout. Bryce's TDM red and gray have been hot, smaller Pheasant Tails or Quasimodos and Charlotte's Redneck Midge on sunny days have all been doing very well. Cooee Soft Hackles and Red Asses have also been pulling fish when they are taking emergers, if you are outside the no bait zone run the wire bodies Cooee ahead of a Red butt or Dark Olive Soft Hackle. Razor Midge scontinue to do well and WD40s or Biot Midges rigged below a teeny micro indicator, are good fly choices. Parachute Adams and Cream Midges are also worth a try for those feeding on top.

Runoff from the rain can muddy the tailwater but don't let it slow you down. Think larger and brighter flies than normal. Fish the mudlines, where the runoff enters the river. Fish will be holding in these areas looking for food carried in by the runoff. San Juan worms can be very effective in these conditions. Egg patterns or Y2KL bugs can be good or larger woolies. Two fly rigs, outside the Trophy are, definately the way to go. Think about a heavier, brighter attractor as the top fly and perhaps a more natural pattern on the point.

Tight Lines from the Beaver Dam Store staff,

Lisa, Steve, Shirley, Tom, Dennis and Bryce.