Blue Ribbon Fly Shop Fishing Report

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February 1st Fly Fishing Report from Bull Shoals Dam.

February 1st, 2010: This is a date that all local Ozarks anglers know well, as it is a big day on our tailwaters. For those who are not in the “know”, the first of February marks the official opening of the one-mile catch and release area immediately below Bull Shoals Dam on the White River – the special regulations start 100-yards below the dam and extend to the upstream boundary of Bull Shoals State Park. Beginning November 1st, this section of river is closed to the fishing public in an effort to protect the legendary brown trout that spawn on the river’s upper reaches. This year’s opening day at Bull Shoals Dam fell on a Monday, and there was still plenty of snow left on the ground from the 12-inches that fell during the last week of January. I decided to get a crew together and take this opportunity to investigate the status of this immensely popular fly fishing zone. Jeremy Hunt, a fellow Blue Ribbon Fly Shop guide, and Darren, an HD-video and photography guru, joined me (Larry) for a day on the White.

We got off to a late start due to series of mundane circumstances that should be addressed, but we won’t go into that now. Having arrived at the dam first – the other guys were on their way to meet me –I took the chance to drive around the near vicinity looking for picture-taking opportunities. With snow still heavily blanketing the ground, there was plenty of great photo fodder. Surprisingly, there were very few vehicles using the ramp on the Marion County side, even though this launch was free of ice and snow. The Baxter County boat ramp is in the shade almost all day, so it is hardly useable due to being covered up and frozen. Only a few anglers lined the banks trying to wade the heavy flows, and even fewer boats were out drifting the seven-unit flow, which was quick and heavy. While we were rigging up, one of the spin fisherman we could see landed a nice walleye. These predators are still prevalent in this upper stretch of river after a bunch of them came over Bull Shoals Dam when the flood gates were opened in 2008.

It was 10:30 when we finally launched the boat, and we had a game plan in place. The first goal was to locate, turn or potentially land a big brown with a streamer pattern on a nine-weight rod and a 450-grain full-sinking line. Due to the fact that a shad kill could start up at any moment – and there was a good chance the fish had seen shad already – the obvious first color of streamer to try was going to be white. There has been a positive, new regulation change which allows two barbless hooks to be used in catch and release areas – this means that we now have the opportunity to fish with droppers and articulated streamers that incorporate a trailing hook. We pounded the banks for several hours and shot footage on the Marion County side of the river from the dam down to the state park. A few pesky rainbows wanted to play, but ultimately they would just get in the way. Getting the fly to sink fast enough became an issue, so we added a 1/4ounce tungsten cones to our tippet for more weight. This rig would hit the water like a ton of bricks, and at one point, Jeremy got smacked on the arm. Ouch. I’m not sure if hurts more or less when you do it to yourself. This was a perfect time to use the line, "I feel for you but can't quite reach you!”. After about two hours of working hard at throwing streamers, we were not able to land any sizable browns, but we did have a few big fish chase our flies, and we saw some really big fish at the State Park point.

Around noon, the water began to fall out very quickly. Some of regulars on the river do not like falling water in the least, as the bite slows when the fish must work to situate themselves in deeper, safer lies. I have experienced great fishing when they cut way back on the water while I was in the dam area, and this was indeed the case on this day once we rigged up with nymph rigs. Bite after bite after bite ensued, and we were able to record some very productive video footage - it is currently being edited, but check www.blueribbonflyfish.com soon for the link. Seriously, this fishing was unbelievable. The water wasn’t just dropping - it was drastically dropping. I figure the depth dropped by at least six-feet from the time we started fishing and when we left around 3:30pm. The rainbows were plentiful, to say the least, and the largest one came in at 18-inches. This fish was remarkably colorful. Even the increased boat traffic had little effect on the bite, as we were doubling (and even tripling) up all afternoon. No large browns were to be landed, as I believe the majority of the big guys are further down river. Still, the mission of this day was to conduct research and development on the catch and release zone below the dam, and what we found was a fishery that is loaded with healthy and vibrant rainbows. It is going to be a great year up there, and the fish we catch in the Bull Shoals Dam area seem to get bigger as we progress into March and April.

I’m guessing that a lot of you are interested in learning about the exact fly that we used to hammer triple-digit numbers of fish up by the dam. With trepidation, I will say that we fished a pattern we like to call the “Miracle Fly”. It is an adaptation of an egg pattern, and it absolutely slams fish throughout the year. The Miracle Fly is not for those who prefer subtle presentations, but this pattern will catch one fish after another, even at times when no other flies seem to be working. This fly has little bit of history in the Ozarks, so we decided to come up with an article that explains more about what the Miracle Fly is and the best ways to fish it.

Click http://www.blueribbonflyfish.com/custom.php?page=678 or paste your browser to read this groundbreaking content that details a coveted guide fly pattern and fishing technique.

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