Heading for the Norfork 10-24-06

[Danoinark]

Snagged.

Yep that was us. Wished we had known. It would have been a pleasure to meet and chat with you gents.

Dano

[RiverRunner]

I think that someone mentioned in another post about closing Quarry during the fall. I have thought that it would be an ideal location for year round C&R regs, at least from the Dam to the new boat ramp or from the ramp down to the park boundary. Maybe that way everyone including bait fisherman can be happy. I know that it is not enough for a lot of people, but I would think that it would help somewhat.

[jOrOb]

Norfork is a short run of river, only 4.5 miles. Why not make it C&R only? I mean it would only make bait fishing on the White better. Few people live near the fork (or on it), so I don't see how bait chunkers could say that they are being made to drive to the White. They have to drive right there to access the Fork.

Seems to me it would greatly ease enforcement.

[Terry Beeson]

I think Gene's, Riverside, and Norfork resorts would resist that move with every fiber in their bodies... Not to mention what it would do to the campsites at the dam.

Not that making Norfork a totally C&R is a bad idea...

I think the answer is a "season" on the Norfork... close it down during mid-October to say... February? January? Closed to all fishing for part of that, then C&R only after the spawn until... well...

But then again, I think you have the same problem... NOW you've gotten into someone's pocketbook...

[RiverRunner]

In 2002 it was proposed by the AGFC to make the Norfork C&R with artificals only. This was shot down by protests from the public and the businesses mentioned by Terry. I really can't blame them for that, it is their livilehood, and they have just as much right to make a decent living as anyone else. The key, IMO is too find a solution that everyone can live with and that will help the fishery survive & thrive. Simply excluding people will do nothing to help the fishery. We need everyone on the river's side.

[Ham]

Well I'm back. I'm happy and bummed out all at the same time.

Thanks to the help I received here and BRF and on the water I was pretty successful. I guess I caught between 15-20 nice sized trout. Mainly Rainbows. I landed one 12 inch Brown and a very fat 15 inch Brookie. I did not get my cut throat though. I lost a large Brown and a LARGE rainbow.

I was stunned by the number of visible DEAD brown trout. I could see 7 from one spot. I was told by the folks around me that caught large Brown trout feet away from me that the Browns were very sluggish compared to he Rainbows.

I don't know if that is a water quality issue or lamprey or being caught 1/2 dozen times or the rigors of spawning or what. I saw several fish in the process of dying come tumbling down Dry Creek from the limited access area.

I was using size 18 mymphs (brown seemed better than olive) on 6x tippet. I used my 5 weight rod. I enjoyed watching my indicator, but I bet I could have caught fish w/o it.

I did not catch any fish on a WB fished down and across even though with the conditions I had, it should have worked.

I only fished Wednesday at Norfork. The fish were awesome, but I can see that I was part of the problem.

I was befriended by the regulars that are there every year. I'd like to be part of that crew, but jeez I have met the enemy and we are them. I'll join the chorus for closed October through Feb or at least barbless artifical lures only above the new boat ramp. Could there be some habitat improvement projects to give the trout more holding areas ? Could something be down to revitalize the gravel?

Quarry campground was nice. Weather was great for fishing. There were a fair number of guys fishing, but everyone was very nice. My Brookie was a beautiful surprize and made up for the large Brown I lost.

[Crippled Caddis]

<I have met the enemy and we are them.>

Pogo spoke with great wisdom. I suspect I've persecuted the trout on the upper Norfork for the last time also.

<I'll join the chorus for closed October through Feb or at least barbless artifical lures only above the new boat ramp. Could there be some habitat improvement projects to give the trout more holding areas ? Could something be down to revitalize the gravel?>

Read the threads here and on John Wilsons' Ark/Mo board concerning the problems that beset the river. There is much to be learned.

It is questionable that any regulation is going to help. Certainly it would be the best course to prevent further stressing the fish by catching them. But the political reality (make no mistake--it is a political problem of the first water; no pun intended) is that it's not going to happen until it is already too late. The problem is the very water itself. It is so degraded that it is not conducive to healthy aquatic life. Unless or until that issue is addressed all else is moot.

Until such time as the fishermen and the public at large make life painful for the political structure of the state of Arkansas, and I mean extremely painful, there will be no improvement. Perhaps the single guiding light we should adopt if we would do something of value is "Throw the basta**s out".

Nothing gets a politicians' attention like discovering his sinecure is endangered.

This is the ugly reality of the situation without the view through the rose-colored glasses. The expertise and will to remedy the problems already exists within our fisheries personnel. The will to unshackle our fisheries scientists and give them assistance doesn't exist in Little Rock. The political infrastructure in Little Rock shares bedspace with the business interests of the state. It is a fact as old as Arkansas politics. Does anyone truly think there was any other reason it took ADEQ so long to make a half-hearted response to the Overlook Estates debacle?

Until we stop thinking of it as a fisheries problem and take it on as a political football absolutely nothing will be accomplished. Commit the foregoing sentence to memory.

I'm starting to understand the frustration that has led Fox Statler to tell us all to go to He77.

[Danoinark]

No truer words Crippled. Everyone who have read my posts about the debacles on Norfork knows how I feel about the issues there. I won't belabor anymore at this point. But I do want to let everyone know and you will hear more about it, but there will be a meeting December 1 concerning all issues on the Norfork.

The time and exact place will be announced. Davy Wotton is the organizer. Stay tuned.

Dano

[Ham]

I don't know the politics of it and I'm not sure of the causes of it BUT I'm pretty sure there is a problem. All the rugulars mentioned more fishermen and less fish. Apparently fishing has been very slow this year.

Even if they close the fishing on the upper Norfork, the White river is right there. Generation is a blessing and a curse. It is nice having a secod option when they begin generating on the river you're trying to fish.