Fly fishing specs

[Chef of the Sea]

Heading over from Fayetteville this weekend. Used to fishing beaver tailwaters, 5wt with 7x tippet, small flies. Any advice to a white river newbie on flies, lines, and tackle? I've got 2 5wts and a 7 Wt. Would a sink tip be recommended. Spending time with my dad so I'm sure we'll resort to spin rods eventually but first id like to try to swing a fly. Thanks for any help

[Clay Goforth]

With the amount of water that has been running (consistently 3 - 5 units) I would fish a sink tip. Although, if you have a floating line, the dry fly bite is kicking off over there in the slack water seams. I would throw that 5wt with a white and grey streamer or with a black wooly bugger, somewhere in the size 14 range with a strip retrieve and an egg pattern or san juan worm to drift.

I wish Mr. Berry would comment here. He is on the water every day and usually has great insight.

[hoglaw]

Hope you're fishing from a boat with all of that water. Wading will be tough. If you can catch 5 units, the big articulated streamer bite might be awfully good.

I'm ready to go over there and do some hopper fishing. I've never done it before (at least not the way I want to) and have a perfect boat for it with giant decks front and rear. Maybe someone will show me the ropes over there this year?

[Ozark Sweetwater]

Currently we are sitting 13 ft above power pool. I would expect generation over the weekend. Probably 2-3 units.

I would try the streamer tip on the 7 wt and bang the banks with streamers. With the 5 wt try some nymphing with a San Juan worm or egg , midges and caddis pupae. Hoppers are starting to show up so if there is at least 2 units running try throwing some hoppers right along the bank.

[Chef of the Sea]

We are staying at wildcat shoals, and the rental comes with a Jon boat and motor so I shouldn't be doing much wading . Haven't fished there since I was a kid and if it's half as beautiful as I recall I'm in for a treat. Weather looks perfect. Thank you again for all the advice

[sfiser]

they have been running about 1/2 a unit in the AM and its been fishing great (thats 25 MW on the chart). Later in the day its been coming up and getting fairly trashy around 3-4 units. If you can stay on that 1/2 unit flow or a little more the fishing has been really good with some caddis popping and the standard midges putting lots of fish in the boat. Once that rising water catches you it begins to get mossy and trashy in a hurry and the bite goes downhill till it passes or you run up above it.

[Chef of the Sea]

Got back today from wildcat. Phyllis is such a nice lady and the fishing was spectacular! Not much size to the fish but there were three in our boat and caught around 50 gorgeous fish. This was my first fly trip that I would call a "success" they were eating tan elkhair caddis in the morning beneath a VERY thick fog and when the generators started flowing the San juan was deadly. To be perfectly clear I get skunked more times than not, hoping to just learn a thing or two each time I go. This trip was a blast and left feeling much less defeated than when I fish below beaver. Seems like everyone on this forum should be thanked for their input!