7/6 First Time Fishing The White Report

[BKB]

I am late in posting this, but just got back in town from family vacation. As part of our trip, we camped at Bull Shoals/White River state park for two days on July 5 and 6. I only got to fish on the morning of the 6th from about 8:15-12:00.

Water was perfect for wading and was very foggy.

I started right at the upper campground circle and waded across to deeper water. There were a fair amount of people fishing....looked like a MO trout park in spots. I did not catch a thing with only one bite for the first hour or so and neither did anyone fishing around me. I noticed a large hatch of small black insects around 9:30 and fish eating them off the surface. I did not pack a ton of dries for this trip, but i tied on a size 14 black and tan EHC. It was a hit with the trout! First cast = 16" very FAT brown trout. Caught about 5 on that fly and then tied on a small dropper and caught 3 more on it. I was the only one catching fish around me. Then, the dry fly bite turned off like a switch. I caught a few more on a black and silver size 18 zebra midge.

I moved downstream from the state park dock a few hundred yards to a good riffle. I proceeded to get a fish or a bite on almost every cast on either a red copper john or black and silver zebra midge. Caught 8 there, including my first every brook trout. I had to stop fishing to join family for lunch.

This was my first time ever fishing the White and I really liked it....hope it will not be my last.

BTW - I have read the other threads on the White river recently about the "Golden Trout" being caught. I saw one in the slack water by the concrete pier at the park both days during high water.