John Berry Fishing Report 11/08/2007

[John Berry]

JOHN BERRY FISHING REPORT 11/08/2007

Overall the lake levels fallen slightly. The lake level at Bull Shoals Dam has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five feet below power pool at 654.00 feet. Up stream, Table Rock Lake has fallen four tenths of a foot to four and two tenths of a foot below power pool. Beaver Lake has fallen two tenths of a foot to rest at five and seven tenths of a foot below pool. The pattern on the White River has been for low levels of generation around the clock or no generation. There have been several very windy days that included lake wind advisories which resulted in some difficult drift fishing. There have been some excellent wading opportunities on the White River. Norfork Lake has risen one tenth of a foot to rest at five and four tenths feet below power pool of 552.00 feet. The pattern on the Norfolk has been for very limited generation. This has created some excellent wading conditions. The forecast is for cooler weather and sunny skies. With the existing conditions, we should have low water on both rivers.

On the Norfork, the dissolved oxygen levels have dropped lower. The dissolved oxygen level was around two tenths parts per million and dropped well below this level on several occasions. The state standard is six parts per million. On the White River, the dissolved oxygen has also declined. It has averaged one and six tenths parts per million and dropped below one and four tenths parts per million. The oxygen level is at the critical stage on the Norfork. 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.

With the Catch and Release Section at Bull Shoals Dam closed until February, 1, the action has moved down stream. The Wild Cat Shoals area has been fishing very well. On higher water the hot flies have been black zebra midges with silver wire and silver beads, brown zebra midges with copper wire and copper beads, Y2Ks and hot fluorescent pink San Juan worms. On lower flows soft hackles like the partridge and orange and green butt have been effective.

The section from Rim Shoals to Buffalo Shoals has been hot. There have been nice blue wing olive and caddis hatches late in the afternoon. At higher flows, the best flies have been the black and brown zebra midges in size fourteen, olive scuds, Y2Ks, and San Juan Worms. Grass hopper patterns are still producing fish as are Chernobyl ants. The Jenkin’s Creek area has fished well with olive woolly buggers. If you need to access wadable water during generation, stop by Rim Shoals Trout Dock to arrange for a water taxi for a nominal charge.

The section from the confluence to Reds landing has been the hot spot. The fish are stacked up in there and several anglers have reported spectacular days. This section does not generally get as much pressure as the upper river but fishes well on two generators. Here again the best flies have been zebra midges, olive scuds and San Juan worms.

The Norfork has not been as crowded lately. The sometimes lower water on the White has helped to prevent overcrowding here. The fishing has been a bit slow. There have been some blue wing olive hatches. The generation has been a bit erratic but has been limited to low flows. The most productive flies have been olive Norfork bead heads, Y2Ks, zebra midges, and olive scuds. There have been some nice midge hatches that the trout have been keying on. The best fly for this has been Dan’s turkey tail emerger in size twenty two. To fish some thing this small you will have to go down to at least 6X tippet. In order to thread the eye of this small a hook, clip your tippet at a forty-five degree angle to form a point on the tag end.

Dry Run Creek has been red hot. There are loads of fish stacked up in it to take advantage of the high oxygen content in the creek. The most effective fly for here is a gray sow bug in size fourteen. Use at least 5X tippet and be sure and test your knots. The trout are huge here! My young clients have also done well on olive woolly buggers fished under an indicator. Carry the biggest net you can lay your hands on.

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

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

[Greg]

Nice report John. Thanks. I'd like to make the trip down this weekend or next.

Greg

[John Berry]

Greg,

It is a nice time to come down. The leaves are at prime, the weather is near perfect, and the fish are cooperating.