Questions!

[Hogs on the Fly]

Nick,

Don't overlook an assortment of scuds between #14-20. Olive, grey, and rust colors. If they ain't eatin' midges, this is what they're eatin'.

Best!

LB

[Nick Williams]

Rust color? I've heard of doing that color before.

[Nick Williams]

So one day of fishing left.. I can say, from still being pretty new getting into fly fishing, that this river is a humbling experience. I feel like I've thrown everything that has been recommended plus everything else and I have 3 bows to show or it!

I finally managed to get those three on a size 18 grey scud about 18 inches under a palsa onto of a weed bed area. I wasnt even wading or on our rented boat at the time. Just right off the bank.

I tried nymphing (read as midges, nymphs, scuds, anything with an indicator), soft hackles, streamers, terrestrials, some dries. Needless to say, while fly fishing is always a relaxing opportunity, it has been frustrating trying to get into a rhythm! Not exactly what I had expected in terms of results on the "legendary" white river.

Planning on doing more wading in the morning, any last minute advice??

[Hogs on the Fly]

Sorry to hear that Nick. So many variables come into play when being productive on this system. Not sure where you're fishing or techniques, but send me a pm and I'd be happy to assist if possible. Best! LB

[Greasy B]

Your experiences are pretty close to my first attempts on the white. My advice would be to keep it super simple:

1. Use only one fly, a # 10 olive bead head bugger.

2. Keep moving, do not cast to the same place twice unless you find fish. Make your cast, swing down stream, hesitate at the end of the swing, strip a couple of times, take two steps downstream and repeat.

Like fish anywhere they will go through cycles of being active then less active through the day. During the cooler months (starting about now) mid to late afternoon is pretty reliable.

[OKFlyFisher44]

I know its too late but I'm on my way home from there right now. We stayed over on Norfork all weekend and it fished great.

We floated Saturday evening into the night and had a great streamer bite with black or tan. No big browns but plenty of feisty rainbows.

For today, wade fished this morning and just pushed a bobber all morning. Eggs, scuds, and purple/black pyscho princes killed the rainbows along with some browns mixed in. Then did an afternoon float once they turned the water on. Once again, black streamers were killer...

Don't let it get u down bud, these rivers can be fickle...

[Nick Williams]

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time there, and I do plan on going back sometime. It was definitely cooler than fishing at LIR, but at the same just so much more of a learning curve than that.

I got one more trout yesterday swinging a soft hackle through some riffles up in the catch and release section. I did lose trout as well though so it wasn't overall bad!

We talked about going over to Norfork and Dry Run to wade that area, but decided we didn't want to put too much on our plates in terms of learning new water. That's sweet that you had success though. Hearing reports like that is what makes me want to head back already and figure it out.

We passed Crooked Creek on the way home so we decided to stop and fish that for a few hours. Not really what I had expected from a blue ribbon stream, but it was still cool to get a chance at some smallmouth in the same day as some trout. I even had a hook up with a big carp but he snapped my line when he took off. Not to hijack my own thread, but does Crooked Creek change farther downstream from the access point we were at? I think it was off of hwy 62?

[cnr]

Crooked creek is really, really low right now, and is showing 9.49 on the gauge at Kelly's slab. At the Pyatt access on Hwy 62 the creek is pretty small anyway and gets better water volume about 2.4 miles down where two creeks come in on river right. Crooked Creek has a fair amount of slab bedrock bottom to it with a mix of good chunk rock and gravel. If you look in the Smallmouth forum and Crooked Creek forum you can get some good info.

[joeD]

Nick- Hire a guide. You will learn so much. They live there. They fish there. You don't. It's a too big and changeable a river to walk in with a few "hot" flies and expect to do well. Especially if it's a once a year destination. Get over yourself and pay the money for a guide. It's a great investment that will serve you well in the future. Take advantage. You go there to catch fish don't you?

Or, you can become a fly-fishing martyr, toiling year after year, gaining hard won wisdom, but still not catching the numbers and size of fish others are. Legally.

I'm not religious, but I agree with Billy Joel. I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. Really. Often, stubbornness is not a virtue.

Hire a guide. Catch fish. Learn. Be happy.

PS: Crooked Creek at 62 is the Pyatt Access. It is extremely low. Not the best place to fish right now. But it is a wonderful smallmouth stream. Don't give up on it.

[Nick Williams]

It didn't have anything to do with stubbornness. Being semi new to fly fishing every trip I take to trout water becomes a learning experience while being relaxing and getting to be outdoors at the same time, and this past weekend was no different, and I enjoy that. I caught 4 fish the whole weekend and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. Would I hire a guy to understand the river better and also to see more of the river? Yes, if it fit into my budget I wouldn't hesitate to do it.

I also feel though that if I was so worried about catching fish I could have tossed out some worms or powerbait, but that really ruins the challenge/experience! In my opinion anyways!

I had assumed that it was a little low, but I didn't know that those multiple great fisheries were so close to each other! That could make for a fun week o fishing!