More minimum flow and a first 2/22

[netboy]

SWPA ran a little water this morning but shut it down at 9:00 am. I headed to the dam C&R area and got there at 9:30. Water was already down and fishing was good with some nice size rainbows and a couple of cutthroats. Surprisingly I have yet to catch a brown up there since it reopened Feb 1.

Now for the first... I was wading in the middle of the river and a guy in a kayak comes straight towards me. I am thinking WTH is he doing? Then I hear, Hi, State Game Warden. So I said cool, what do you want to see? He says license and wants to see my fly. I say great... glad to see you out here. Well I had a bit of trouble digging my wallet out of my back pocket in waist deep water, but finally got to it. I have a 65+ lifetime license for fishing and hunting and all the stamps. Fly was barbless and all went well. He did say he was checking the entire C&R area and said he saw some flies/lures with barbs😒.

That is the first time I have seen a GW on the water since I started fishing up here 7 years ago. Glad to see them out there as I have picked up quite a few spinning lures with barbed treble hooks from the root wads up there. Also some heavy duty bait rigs with big hooks with barbs.

Here's a couple of the nicer rainbows...

 

[Phil Lilley]

Love the report.  Enjoy the down water.

Oh what did you catch them on?

[Ham]

Yeah, pretty disgusting to see "guides" up there with clients dragging baits. A) I doubt they are barbless  b) I doubt they are using artificial and c) it's the part time fly bt night guys that guide < 10 times a year

[netboy]

1 minute ago, Ham said:

Yeah, pretty disgusting to see "guides" up there with clients dragging baits. A) I doubt they are barbless  b) I doubt they are using artificial and c) it's the part time fly bt night guys that guide < 10 times a year

Yeah I see it too. And then when they catch one you hear the live well top slam shut and no release.

Glad they are starting to patrol it more. 

 

[netboy]

7 minutes ago, Phil Lilley said:

Love the report.  Enjoy the down water.

Oh what did you catch them on?

Size 16 ruby midges.

[Phil Lilley]

They're hitting midges here on Taney too.

[gotmuddy]

I do not fish as much as I would like, but in the last 13 years fishing on the white/cc/buffalo I have never been checked or even seen a warden.

[snagged in outlet 3]

17 hours ago, Ham said:

Yeah, pretty disgusting to see "guides" up there with clients dragging baits. A) I doubt they are barbless  b) I doubt they are using artificial and c) it's the part time fly bt night guys that guide < 10 times a year

D)  Going up past the no fishing line....

[Ham]

I must have a guilty look about me.

I have been checked on the White (twice), Current, Buffalo (twice), Bull Shoals, Norfork, and Caddo River. I'll spare you my Louisiana and Texas stories.