Arkansas River / Nuke 1 Flyfer Trip

[Ham]

So, last year as I was scrambling to try to catch 100 Species in a Year on my Flyrod, my friend @FishnDave was like yeah, but when are you going to have 100 Freshwater Species on fly? I had never even thought about that differentiation. It would have been nice if he could have let me obsess about one thing at a time, but nooooo. So the wheels start turning and I start trying to get freshwater species lined out and figured out. I had some success late in the year and then set an Evil plan in motion to help get Dave across the 100 FW Species line as soon as possible and follow him across as soon as I can hopefully in 2024.

Dave and I arranged the earliest time we could which was 1/26-27-28. He drove down from The STL and I wandered down Hwy 7. very gloomy inside the clouds. 
I got there a little before Dave which was expected and got the boat launched. It was crowded AND more worrisome the water was lots dirtier that when I last fished there 1/4/24Dave is fly only, but I was gonna do both fly and spin. I have 3000 fish I want to catch this year so I’m gonna hit the easy button some (or a bunch). 
Got set up and a few casts in. Boom. Little Drummer Boy ate my Keitech. Then Dave was there so back to the ramp. 
I had a plan, but as Mike Tyson says that lasted until I got punched in the mouth. 
back in action and I’m picking up some stuff here and there, but it was slow. I got a Striper to show Dave they were still there. Then I got a nice LMB just cos and a White Bass cos why not. It took Dave a little bit, but I think he got a drum or two and then Boom! Dave gets his Flyfer Striper on a fly he tied. His 99 th Freshwater Species. Huge worry off my mind and everything from there out is gravy. There seems to be a strong afternoon bite where the Stripers get active about 2:30 until dark. We roamed around looking to take advantage of that. I was trying Fly mostly too and Save had the better of it catching Drum and Striper after Striper after Stripers I did finally land a Striper on fly. I had lost one at the boat previously and missed a good take or two. I think I finished the day with 14 fish caught. Exactly one fish on fly. 

[Ham]

So, we knew Friday was our best weather day. Saturday was going to be both cooler and wet. 
We wore our waders with rain coats over the top. I HATE to fish with a hood up, but I dang sure did for most of the day. It was rainy pretty steady at first and off and on after that. If I would take my hood down, the rain would start again. 

It was cooler, but that was compounded by the wind picking up a little. Wind chill is not your friend. 
There is a morning bite and you would think it would be extended by the dark skies, but not just a whole lot. at some point I got a nice crappie on fly. I also caught one on a jig. This is probably the jig fish.But I do know that this nice LMB came on fly. We fished both sides of the boom. We caught what we could before  abandoning that plan. We dropped down in the Current and I fished a double jig rig down and across. I ended up catching 4 skipjack. The largest I measured was 16 inches. 
So, we sort of eased around areas adjacent to  the heavier current flow. Dave is gonna have to help out with photos here. With the rain, I was keeping my phone under wraps and if he was snapping pics, I did not. 
We were both using fly at this point. I cycled through multiple rods and multiple flys trying to find something that would work. Dave was catching drum. He wouldn’t share.

We were both trying for a blue cat on fly. My thought was if we try long enough one of us finally had to get Lucky.

So Dave hooks up and his rod is a big inverted U. I asked if he thought it was another big old drum and he said maybe it’s a blue. It swirled at the surface and it was a Blue Cat. I dropped my rod and ran to grab the net. Dave played the fish well and I was able to get a net under it.

I could hardly believe it. That was awesome! Dave’s Flyfer Blue Cat! His 100 th Freshwater Species on fly. 
I was (and am) Super Happy for him, but we still had time to fish. We kept grinding. It’s not super glamorous fishing streamers along bottom in dirty water, but that’s what we had. 
Dave kept catching drum. I kept catching nothing. 
I finally managed to get a drum. It hurt my arm on the hookset, but I was glad to have him. 
We moved back and forth. I picked up a Striper while trying for more skipjack. We wandered around and at some point lightening struck again and Dave got an even Larger Blue Cat. Nice strong fish with a massive tummy full of Shad. It sucks to be a Shad. Again, I was super Happy for him, but I didn’t think it was gonna happen for me. How many four leaf clover leaves can you find in a day?

Well, I saw a slick forming a couple hundred yards away. I put the TM on 10 and made a beeline for the slick. I felt like that slick was formed by oils coming off baitfish being eaten.

On my third cast into the slick, I got a Thump. Strip set and Fish On! It felt heavy and I feared it was just another drum, but it felt a little different. Especially towards the end of the struggle. It started to roll I guess and it didn’t feel at all like a drum at all. It showed itself and it was a Blue Cat! 
Dave got the net for me and we got it in the net. Wow! Finally. I was kinda in disbelief for a few seconds. Not Happy so much, but stunned. I had assumed I was just grinding and putting the time in, but I didn’t think I was gonna get one that day. So, the skies cleared just a bit and the temps dropped. Dave started struggling to use his fingers. So, we called it a few minutes early. Dave had to really help me get the boat on the trailer. A NW wind is not your friend there.

Epic Day draws to a close. Way to go Dave!

[gotmuddy]

Great report ham, looks like yall really had a great time despite the weather.

[Ham]

@kjackson I used that 9 foot TFO spinning rod to great effect: it helped me reach some stripers that we’re hanging a long ways off. It’s performance kinda drops off as you get closer to the boat, but it plays the fish really well. 

[bfishn]

Awesome! Hope you kept some for the pan, those AR River blues are some fine eating!

[kjackson]

6 minutes ago, Ham said:

@kjackson I used that 9 foot TFO spinning rod to great effect: it helped me reach some stripers that we’re hanging a long ways off. It’s performance kinda drops off as you get closer to the boat, but it plays the fish really well. 

Glad to hear it proved useful.  I envy you the stripers...and some of your adventures. 

[FishnDave]

I'll add some pictures, of course.

@Ham continues to find ways to put even a hack like me on cool fish!  Hamilton's description of the trip is excellent, although I feel he over-embellished my success in terms of numbers.  Its entertaining to watch him catch fish after fish, while I trudge along for hours between bites on my fly gear.  Definitely helps pass the time.  😁  To be fair, I do this to myself... forcing my fly gear into situations that could much more efficiently be fished with spinning gear.  If we go back next year, since I no longer NEED to catch these species on my fly gear, I may dust off my spinning gear that hasn't been used in... I forget how many years ago it was.  It was definitely the better way to go.  See there?  I've gotten @Ham to fish a lot more with fly gear, and he may yet get me to do a little spin-fishing again! 😲

The cold wet weather on Day 2 definitely was hard on dexterity of the fingers.  I believe it wasn't so much the temperature as it was the fingers being wet, and  the cold wind blowing across them all day.

On Day 1, I caught 1 Drum and 4 Striped Bass.

I tried a number of fly patterns...but ended up catching EVERYTHING on this trip on the fly below.  Pearl estaz grande body, silver flash and white peacock tail, on a 1/8 oz jighead (Waspi Super Jig Head).  That heavy jig wasn't easy to cast very far on the fly gear.  I did do some fly casting, using a sink tip and also floating lines, but in the end vertically jigging this heavy deal to get down and stay down on the bottom got me the fish, plus I've been having elbow issues in my casting arm, so this technique was easier on me.  I tell you what...when those Drum would thump the jig, and I'd set the hook, those dudes are STRONG and definitely sent pains up my arm!  Fun!

 

 

[FishnDave]

Day 2, I think I caught maybe 4 Freshwater Drum, a Largemouth Bass, a White Bass, and 2 Blue Catfish.  For some reason, I couldn't buy a Striped Bass all day!  Hamilton caught a bunch, tho.  

I've caught many Channel Catfish (including plenty on fly), and maybe a couple dozen Flatheads (not on fly), but I've never caught, nor personally SEEN anyone catch a Blue Catfish before, so this was really cool for me to finally be able to add them to my flyrod lifelist.

White Bass:

2nd Blue Cat:

I am SUPER HAPPY to have caught Striped Bass and Blue Catfish!  @Ham keeps making my fishing dreams come true!  (No pressure, ha!) Huge thanks, Hamilton! 👍

 

[Ham]

So, one of my weird self motivation things is I want to catch at least 100 fish every month this year. I was at 59 going into this trip and honestly my expectation was for 100 plus fish for the three days of the trip, but it just wasn’t happening. 
Friday I caught 14 fish. I run a clicker to make sure I keep it accurate. Dave thought I had caught 10 when I was at 7. I thought Dave was catching more than he says he caught. Saturday, I caught 21. At least 4 were on fly. 
Sunday, Dave felt like he had done what he was hoping to do and given the temps and wind, he decided to opt out of going. Be like Dave, Dave is Smart.

I wanted to go catch some fish. I had paid the postage to get there and I had the yard pass and I needed 6 more for January. So, I went.

Got there. White capping. The WNW wind really blows in on the ramp. Stripers were calling me though. I thought about donning waders, but opted not to cos I hate fighting waders on and off. 

Backed the boat in. I had everything set. , but the boat slid off further than I wanted it to and white caps pushed it sideways and I could not pull it back to me and it was too far of the trailer to pull the boat back up. Well, I never in my life had the skill set to do parkour and at my current age I move more like a sleestak than a gymnast, but I ventured as far out as I could on the trailer frame and jumped for the bow. It was dumb, but I made it. Waders would have made that very easy.
I managed to secure the boat well enough and parked the truck and off I went.

I got to my spot. Tossed a fresh Keitech 2.8 Fat Impact out that and missed a couple of bites before some fish took the tail off. Swapped to a 3 inch Slim Swim Z and caught my biggest Striper of the trip on the first cast with the Z man. Went to take a pic and I had no phone. In my aged mind, I was sure that my phone had been in my jacket pocket and I could see how it could have fallen out when I jumped for the boat. Not a good thought to have running thru your head while you are fishing. Too late to do anything about it at that point.

Next cast, Another Striper. Some missed bites. Some struggles, but eventually I got a third Striper. 
I moved on and tried some other stuff. I got a Skipjack in a random spot. I got a Skipjack in a predictable spot.

I tried the fly rod some. I played with CheaterScope some. I tried. 
The wind was killing me if I faced into it and the glare was killing me if I faced down wind. It was cold and so windy that I struggled to feel anything. 

so, I re-rigged my double jig setup. 1/16 oz with a 1/32 oz tied to the hook bend of the larger jig. I went back to the current seam and fished it down and across. I caught a monster Skipjack on the first cast for my 6 th fish of the day. Now, I’d love to say that I quit then and there, but I didn’t. I fished another 15 minutes and decided enough was enough.

I got back to the rain and the wind was blowing even harder. I made several attempts to get the boat on the trailer by myself, but I finally got some help from a. Couple of guys to hold the boat out of the way long enough for me to get the trailer in the water. 
All smooth after that. My phone was in the truck. Easy 2 hours and 50 minute driver with boat in tow on typical Arkansas roads. 
Really enjoyable trip. A smarter guy sleeps in and has a hassle free morning, but I’m not that guy.

Thanks Again Dave for joining me on an adventure. 
 

[Johnsfolly]

Definitely sounds like satifying fishing under crappy conditions. Congrats to @Ham and @FishnDave for the great trip report and to your success. Maybe I can convince you guys to head out this way for shad and white catfish.