JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 7/05/2007

[John Berry]

Recent rain events have pushed our local lakes a bit higher. Bull Shoals has risen approximately a foot to three and four tenths feet above pool of 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has risen slightly to rest at one and eight tenths feet above pool and Beaver Lake has remained fairly constant at one half of a foot above pool. At Bull Shoals, the generation pattern has been similar to last week. There is light generation in the morning and then they spike it with up to seven generators for several hours in the afternoon. This allows for some marginal wading conditions on the upper river in the morning and a bit down stream later in the day. Great care should be taken as the water could rise quickly. For the last two weekends, they have shut everything down for several hours creating some limited but excellent wading. The boating conditions on the White have been excellent. On the Norfork, they have been generating two full generators most of the day and turning everything off for a few hours at night. The weather has been moderately warm but the generation has kept the water temperatures near perfect.

The White River has fished well for the past week. The Catch and Release section just below Bull Shoals Dam has been a bit spotty. One day is excellent. The next day may not be so good. This is possibly the toughest place to fish on the White. The fish here have seen it all. In addition, the water is shallow and at low water the current is slight. This section fishes much better with a little water coming through it. The best flies for this section are small midges and emergers. As the water comes up, switch to flies a couple of sizes larger. When big water starts coming through, try brightly colored San Juan Worms along the bank. At very low or no generation you should give dry flies a chance. Terrestrials like grasshoppers and large ants have been very productive at times.

Just down stream, the State Park has been fishing particularly well. There have been several trophy Browns caught as well as some good sized rainbows. This section gets a fair amount of pressure. It is a good idea to fish early to avoid the crowds and take advantage of the lower water. The olive woolly bugger and the sowbug have been accounting for some of the best fish here.

The Cotter area has also been very productive. The fish here may not be as big as those further upstream but there are plenty of them. Anglers have had some great days here on a variety of flies. Sowbugs, zebra midges, woolly buggers, and soft hackles have all been effective. There is a lot of water here that remains wadable on low levels of generation. Great care should be taken because the water could rise at any time. This area does not seem to get as crowded as others because there are so many places to fish. There are three and one half miles of fly fishable water within the city limits of Cotter.

Rim Shoals has been fishing particularly well. The low level of generation early in the day has created optimal boating conditions. There have been few wading opportunities here during the last week. The hot fly has been the black zebra midge in size fourteen. There has also been some nice grasshopper fishing, especially up against the bank.

The heavy generation on the Norfork has all but eliminated wade fishing during the day. The heavy water is a challenge to fish. The best bet is brightly colored San Juan worms on long tippets with plenty of weight. The best colors would be hot pink, bright red and fire orange. Carefully work weed beds, the points of islands and the banks. Be careful when boating with this much water. I would recommend that everyone wear a personal flotation device. Keep your motor running at all times in case you have to maneuver your boat quickly to avoid an obstacle.

I expect Dry Run Creek to get a bit crowded this weekend. There are a lot of families in the area for the Fourth of July holiday and this is the place to take kids. You should fish early or late and fish sections that do not get as much pressure. There are trout every where.

Always practice water safety and check conditions before you leave home.

[Lshack2]

John,

I took my 13 yr old son to Dry Run on the 2nd and he had a wonderful time. He landed a 22" pig rainbow and lost one bigger than than that got downstream before I could get him in the net. We switched up flies pretty freqently and did best on SJ Worms, Sowbug and a 14 soft hackle with a split shot fished under an indicator. There were several families on the creek, but everyone was curtious and seemed to have a good time. He probably landed 15 in a couple of hours and had several more hooked....

Larry

[John Berry]

Did you get a photo? The best memories my daughter and I share are the times we spent on Dry Run. I am waiting for my grandchildren to get old enough to take there.