Terrierman Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 Fished the White Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday flow started out at 4000 CFS at about 7:00 at the Dam, then went to 10,000 for an hour or so and then back to 700. I got to Rim Shoals a little before noon and was concerned that I would no more get on the water than get blown out with the high water so I went down to Buffalo City. Water was too murky for my tastes due to Crooked Creek influence but still caught a few. In about an hour the big water arrived and fishing was nothing but a huge pain due to didymo and green algae. If you got three twitches on a jig before it was fouled you were doing good. I did catch a few fish on a hard bait. Nothing remarkable. Called it a day about 5:00 and headed in for dinner. Saturday was much better. Minimum flow and good clear water at Rim Shoals. Ham met me at 9:00 and we went upstream from the ramp and made a few drifts in the shoal that is at the top of the catch and release area. As usual Ham caught one on the first cast. We were both doing pretty good there. I wanted to go to a little place I know that is upstream from there and since we were in my boat, that's what we did. It's a nice deep bank run with a few big rocks that then runs out onto a flat with grass on one side and gravel on the other. We pretty well fished that area the remainder of the day. Numbers and size were both good. Ham and I both caught a lot of rainbows and a few browns, the biggest brown was 19 1/2" with a couple about 16" or so if memory serves. This fish was number 80 for Ham. Measured 21 1/2". His biggest White River Rainbow to date. With the minimum flow we were fishing 1/32 oz zig jigs. Olive and Ginger and straight Ginger were working best for us. It was a very nice day and there were a lot of other boats on the water. Parking lot was full. The day got long and the sun got low so we headed on back down river to fish the C&R shoal one more time. We had a few more there and called it a day. As some of you know, Ham counts fish as he releases them. I think it was somewhere around 105 or so when we finally quit. He outfishes me every single time. But I was doing OK so I'd estimate we probably brought 160 fish or so to hand on Saturday. That's to hand and then shaken off, not given the inadvertent early release. I don't care who you are or where you are fishing, that's a fun fun day. I always enjoy fishing with Ham - good company there. And Saturday was the usual. Sunday it rained a little in the morning. Still at minimum flow and same water conditions. I only went out for a couple of hours but the same things were working the same way in the same spots. That's just a flat out amazing river. Amazing. grizwilson 1
Ham Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 It is ALWAYS a pleasure to fish with Rick. Rick is very modest about his skill level. He is very proficient with the Zig Jig and educated me on a new location. I can barely keep up with the fish I catch so there is no way I can keep count on mine and his. I would love to know how many Rick caught. though, It seemed like he was catching PLENTY. This trip is likely to cost me some money down the road though. Rick showed me a superlight Pflueger Patriarch reel and I will likely have to have one in a year or two. I really appreciate the invite. I so needed a nice successful and NOT stressful trip. This trip was both of those things in spades. I was really impressed byu the number of 14 inch Rainbows we had as well. We had a lot of doubles and if I had not long distance released so many fish, we would have had a lot more. I kind of got spoiled not having to run the boat at all. I worked around the house on Friday so I missed out and then I attended church and ran a chain saw on Sunday and so I missed out on that fishing trip as well. I don't know how Sunday could have been better than Saturday, but I would have been glad to try. People act like trout are tough to catch at minimum flow. Buy some 1/32 oz jigs Zig jigs and swing them down and across in areas with some flow. you will catch fish. It took a beatdown from Richard Cross to teach me the improtance of having the 1/32 oz jigs, but it was so worth it. This past week was another reminder that things can change in a heartbeat. Take the time to spend time with friends and loved ones. You can not count on doing it next year. We are not here all that long and no one gets out alive. grizwilson 1 Every Saint has a past, every Sinner has a future. On Instagram @hamneedstofish
Members Ccox1982 Posted March 23, 2015 Members Posted March 23, 2015 Great report guys! Sounds like the poles were bending Saturday. I just started throwing the 1/32 jigs a little over a year ago. Game changer on them slow to no flow areas. And congrats on your rainbow Ham. Ham 1
Ham Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 I was thrilled to catch her, but truth be told, That Big fish did not pull all that well. It was exciting seeing how large she was, but lots of the 14 inch fish we caught pulled better and jumped instead of just big head shakes and rolling round in one spot. Every Saint has a past, every Sinner has a future. On Instagram @hamneedstofish
Johnsfolly Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 Sounds like a great time. Ham - congrats on the large rainbow. I hear so much about the White, I really have to get down that way to fish. Sounds like I went down there it could be creating a potential addiction.
snagged in outlet 3 Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 Man you guys are killing me. I need to get down again soon. Thanks for the report. Pete
Ham Posted March 23, 2015 Posted March 23, 2015 Hey John, How flexible is your employment suituation? You will want to re-locate to Mountain Home after you fish the White River. And the White is just the tip of the iceberg. Lakes, creeks, and rivers. More fishing with in a 2 hour drive than any man can ever hope to fish. Every Saint has a past, every Sinner has a future. On Instagram @hamneedstofish
Johnsfolly Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 I'm pretty specialized in my work with not too many opportunities in my field outside of a few locations accross the country. When I lived in PA, I knew a couple that lived in PA and communted to Manhattan to work. 6.5 hours round trip, but they both said that it was great to wake up in the Pocono mountains away from the city on the weekends. Also they had great paying jobs that allowed them to buy a lot of cheaper real estate in PA. So what I need to find is a house about 1-2 hours from the White river and 2-3 hours from Columbia. Okay first get the kids out of the house (hopefully 10 years from now for my youngest), then find a new home. Okay get the kids out of the house and no longer on the payroll and convince my wife. She's becoming a bit of a prepper. So It may not be too hard to get her move off of grid. Ham 1
Terrierman Posted March 24, 2015 Author Posted March 24, 2015 So. You want to live in Springfield. No, wait you want to be my neighbor. Ham 1
Johnsfolly Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 Do you have any room to rent out? I just need room for myself, wife, three kids (one in college so only around part time), a dog, and 15 chickens.
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