JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/06/2007

[John Berry]

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 9/06/2007

Water levels continue their drop and every impoundment in the White River system is now well below power pool. There has been a little rain and the daily high temperatures have cooled to the mid eighties. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has dropped seven tenths of a foot to rest at two and one tenth of a foot below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has dropped three tenths of a foot to rest at two and six tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has dropped three tenths of a foot and is now at four and three tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation in the morning and then to spike it with up to seven generators in the afternoon and early evening, when there is peak demand for electricity. This has created some excellent boating conditions but little if any acceptable wading. Norfork Lake has dropped three tenths of a foot and is now two and eight tenths of a foot below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern is to turn the generators off in the morning and to run a full two generators in the afternoon and early evening. This has created some excellent wading opportunities on the Norfork early in the day. The forecast is for slightly cooler weather and more rain. With the existing conditions, I would hope for some low water on both rivers.

On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels continue to drop. This is most critical during periods of no generation. Last week, the dissolved oxygen level regularly dropped below two parts per million. There was one instance where it dropped below one and six tenths parts per million. On the White River the dissolved oxygen has continued to drop. It has been below five parts per million most of the time. There was one instance where it went below four and one half parts per million.

When there is inadequate dissolved oxygen, the trout will be stressed. This has, in the past, resulted in fish kills. Great care should be taken to prevent stressing the trout particularly near the dam where the dissolved oxygen will be the lowest. Fish should be quickly landed and carefully revived before release. As the water flows down stream it tumbles through shoals and is oxygenated.

Fishing on the White has been spectacular. The milder temperatures and consistent water flows have created some near perfect fishing conditions. There seemed to be a smaller than usual number of anglers on the recent holiday weekend. The fishing has been good from the Dam to below the confluence with the Norfork.

The Catch and Release section at Bull Shoals Dam, Cotter, and Rim Shoals were all hot spots. The usual nymphs like the zebra midges and scuds were very productive.

The top producer in the past week has been western terrestrials. These are the western foam grasshoppers, big ants (size six or larger) and foam beetles. These flies have been accounting for the larger fish caught and have been producing numbers of fish as well. The western flies, as a group, are easy to see and float like corks. Since they are essentially made from closed cell foam, they do not require a dressing to make them float. Conventional hopper patterns like Dave’s hopper and Schroeder’s hopper have accounted for a lot of the fish caught.

On high water the best bet is brightly colored San Juan worms (bright red, hot pink, and fire orange). Big egg patterns in pink and orange have also been catching fish. If you are not fishing in a catch and release section, tie a small nymph dropper to your worm or egg. A good choice for this would be a size eighteen black zebra midge.

The Norfork has not fished as well as the White. With no wadable water on the White all of the anglers desiring to wade ended up on the Norfork. It got severely crowded and many anglers expressed frustration with the situation. With that much pressure the fishing was spotty at best. Those anglers reporting success caught fish on small midge patterns like the zebra midge in black and brown and the Norfork bead head in olive. All of these flies were size twenty or smaller.

Dry Run Creek has remained the ultimate place to take kids fishing. Sowbugs and San Juan worms are the ticket. There were several fish caught on dry flies there recently. This requires a bit more skill than most kids have. Remember to take the biggest net you can find and a camera.

Practice water safety and always check conditions before you leave home.

John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas. He has fished our local streams for over twenty five years.