Fishing Arkansas report

[willowhead]

Well folks here's the fly fishing in Arkansas report i promised. First of all on the White River and the Northfork River (trib. of the White), EVERYTHING is totally dependent on wheather or not they are releasing water. The White has 8 generators and even when half of them are being used the water levels are so high you cannot wade fish. Therefore most fishing is done from a boat, which means you have to hire a guide, or bring a boat. We arrived on Sat. March 6th, and fished for the next 5 days. My wife didn't outfish me this time, LOL. She actually got a fish on Tue. We fished on Sun. for about 2 hours and both got skunked. Same on Mon. both days we just got going late and found ourselves in fly shops and sight seeing most of the day. Both damms on Bull Shoals (the White) and on Norfork (the Northfork) are magnificent structures and we went driving all over the place to see the lakes (reservoirs) and take pics, etc. Tue. we went to the Northfork for the first time. Like i said she got a fish. At that point i was skunked for three days in a row. I did get one fish on Wed. My wife got none. So, for the first 4 days fishing we had one fish each. Although we had only fished a totall of about 10 hours during that 4 days. We had tried lots of different flies and had some success with Caddis emergers. I negleted to tell you that i had missed a number of strikes and lost a few fish while playing them. The main thing hatching all around were white midges. But i wasn't gonna try to land these fish with a size 22 fly. These fish are big. Finally on the last fishing day, (Thur.) i got it all together and had a "Killer" day. I got 20 fish and the largest was 25 inches. They were all Rainbows, and some of the MOST beautiful Bows you've EVER seen or EVER will see. The fins were pink. Just perfect fish.........not a mark on them. That big fat boy, (actually a hen fish) had an Adipose fin that was as big as my little finger. It may have been longer than 25 inches actually. The Northfork is only 7 miles long but it holds at least 40K fish. I saw countless pods of fish. In fact most fishing is sight fishing. There are fish EVERYWHERE. TONS of fish, browns, bows, cutts, and brookies. Some of the bowns are well over 30 inches. You need to night fish for them. Or use bait, or just get lucky. Not my dog Lucky, just fortunate, LOL. By the way guys, i have found an amazing pet sitter, (YES!!!!!!!!!), she did an EXCELLENT job while we were away, even took care of our mail..........and that's NOT in the contract. She's young too, so i'm set for many years. Anyone need her web-site url, let me know. Now, what fly was i using when i got all them fish? A bead head Wolly Bugger, LMAO. Cast up stream and let it swing all the way down below you, and then little short strips back to you, with the occassional pause, and a lifting of the rod tip, and then back down. Worked every time. I was smackin' 'em all day till we had to leave early to go help set up for the show. Actually i got those 20 fish in about 5 hours and we quit fishing around 3:00 p.m. I may have a 40 fish day if we'd stayed. Next year, he he he. It's very hard to tell if they are going to running the turbins and making electricity or not. It's a VERY strange arrangement they have with the states of Oaklahoma and whomever else it is they provide electricity for. The Sowbug Roundup show is a totally terrific show. We "Had A Ball." we were 2 of 107 tyers, and we both tyed both shifts (9 to noon, and noon to 4) both days. And boy did i come home with a LOT of new additions for the "Gallery." Also picked up an originall piece of artwork, two books, and a **** load of materials. The Wapsi company gave us a LOT of materials for free, alllllllll kinds of "Stuff." They are located right in Mt. Home and it was their way of thanking us for our efforts. We also participated in the Fly Tying Contest and had our flies framed up in a couple sets of flies by all tyers that were auctioned off. And we donated to the hats with flies by all the tyers that were also auctioned. I gave away all the flies i tied or swaped them with the other tyers. The Northern Arkansas Fly Fishers are the host club that puts on the Sowbug Roundup, so they use their club hats to hold the flies. Boy, i'll tell you guys.........get to a Sowbug Roundup sometime.........GREAT fishing, and a GREAT event. mark.........

 

[DaveR]

Mark,

Sounds like you had an AWESOME trip!! I'd really be into a trip down there someday.

Didja take any pictures? If so, post em so we can all see!

Regards,
Dave

 

[CR]

I fished the Norfork last year, never seen so many trout. I had a 40 fish day, caught them all on size 16 scud and size 18 sowbugs. On my second cast one day I caught a 20 incher. Our friend managed a grand slam....a brown, rainbow, brookie and cutthroat all on consecutive casts!

 

[Andre]

If you guys drove how long does it take? If you flew, what airport? are there places to stay near the Norfolk? Even with the releases, can I expect to at least fish part of the day wading? thanks,

 

[troutrob]

Sounds like a great trip, I never realized the fishing was that hot down there, and they really stocked cutts??very cool. maybe a future trip...

 

[willowhead]

Hey guys.......in order. Dave, when we get the pics developed, i'll send some to Dennis and he can post them. Although we didn't get any fish pics i don't think. CR, the damm and the lake/reservoir are called Norfork, the river is the Northfork. And your right about a 40 fish day..........easy to do there if you put in the time. I tried one scud pattern but didn't get any hits. Although i did see the fish actually digging their noses down in the weeds to scare up some scuds and eat them. It IS the main diet there. That's why they can grown an inch a month in that river. And they DO. Sounds like you guys must of fished right up near the damn or off the campgrounds there? That's where most of the brookies and cutt live. Andre, we flew to Little Rock, Arkansas and then rented a Chevy Blazer. Takes about 3 and a half hours to drive from Little Rock to Mt. Home. It's better to fly to Springfield, Missouri. Much shorter drive........(we didn't know). Plenty of places to stay. They call them resorts, but basically they look like run down motel/campsites. Both rivers are so close together that you can stay in Mt. Home or Flippin and be a half hour to the water. Actually i would reccommend Wildcat Shoals Resort. Nice place, clean and with vacillities for cooking and a great fly tying, t.v. room. It's right smack dab on the banks of the White. And you can be on the Northfork in no time. The Wildcat is inexpensive to, but very cool. It's run by very nice people too. Rob, yes they do stock litterally millions of fish especially in the White, including Cutts and Brookies. The Northfork is a great experience. I highly reccommend it for a great place to go fishing in the month of March when things here are just freezing and still white, and your just sick of it. Head for Arkansas. mark.........

 

[willowhead]

Andre....i forgot..........yes you can still fish it depending on how many trubins they have operating. Bull Shoals damm (the White) has 8 and i think the Norfork damm (the Northfork) has 6. You just have to go and see what's up each day EARLY! Then wait it out. Often they stop generating by 11:00 a.m. Then you can fish after that starting up at the damm and then on down. Or you can wait til say 1:00 p.m. and fish from the Handicapped access (great place including the C&R area) and on up or down. There are fish EVERYWHERE. GFI Bro. mark.........

 

[CR]

It's really a different kind of river than anything up here. First off, the world record brown trout once came from the Norfork (40 plus piounds!).

The best place to fish is the trophy C&R section called the McClellan's Trout Dock....you drive up, put a few dollars in a tin can and your license plate number, and are allowed to park for the day.

There are so many huge fish, you don't have to move more than ten feet in any direction. It gets crowded, but it doesn't matter....too many fish, everywhere you look.

You have to call an 800 number prior to going to get the generation schedule. If I remember correctly, one turbine is optimal. Two is possible, but wading becomes very tricky.

Words of caution....you absolutely must watch the water level all the time when you are fishing, because the water goes from tranquil to absolutely dangerous in about 8 minutes. I got caught in the middle on my first day (no one told me to watch) and I had to swim in my waders to get back safely. Keep your eye on any one rock to see if the level is changing.

There are three airports within a few hour drive, including Memphis, Little Rock and Branson, Missouri.

It's an interesting place, with tons of huge fish. I hear it is also amazing by the dam at night, some real hogs!

It's also good to look at the handicapped-and children's fisherman only stream, which is a tributary up by the dam. Only kids and handicapped are allowed to fish, this tiny thing, but they stock all the breeders. There are 20 pounders in there..you can see them everywhere.

 

[willowhead]

Crazy Charlie

I saw that little stream when we were up at the dam. That is a trip for kids. I want to fish more right up at the dam next time i go. More cutts and brookies up there. The Northfork is a real amusment park for big fish.......i GOTTA go back. There's no need to pay to park if you park at the handicapped access and walk up stream to the Trophy C&R section, about a quarter mile or less. From there the series of islands will keep you in fish all day. Look out for "Crazy Charlie" a local nut case that harrases anglers all day long. I think he's pretty much harmless but i've heard a few stories about him calling the cops on guys, but he's mostly a bag-0-wind. His house is right on top of a GREAT pool to the left of the first island. He just sits up there and harangs anglers about their casting and fishing abilities or the complete lack thereof, LOL. Guys actually a gas.........hence the name bag-0-wind. You'll be ritwlyao with some of the things he says. mark.......