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White River - February 1st, 2008
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
RECORDED: 
34 °
FISHING: Great
Frigid temperatures prevailed throughout the last two weeks of January making the fishing opportunities few and far between for this angler. There were some afternoons of which the temperature peaked in the mid-forties but the wind chill dictated the my fishing method. I admit I'm not a big a fan of extreme cold but I'm REALLY not a fan of the evil cold wind chill. No shad kill to report as of this date but that's not to say it is an impossibility. Bull Shoals Dam began an erratic generation schedule mid-month by releasing as much as six+ units in the early morning hours typically followed by a more manageable 2-3 units making boat fishing a possibility. Unfortunately the freezing temperatures deterred most anglers from choosing this option as seen by little traffic on the White. Norfork tends to be more consistent with an average of 2 units running in the early morning hours but usually shuts down by 9 am. As of late the fishing here has been hit or miss. We've had a few decent excursions with an average of 2-4 fish per hour and other times 1 per hour. Due to the water release on the White, we've noticed quite a few more anglers below the dam area and above the handicap access. Warmer temperatures are in the forecast for the first few weeks in February and no immediate threat of another cold front.Hot flies continute to be tan or olive midges in sizes 18-22, gray micro scuds, jujubee midges, DW's white tail midges, pheasant tail nymphs, Arkansas beadhead, BH Brassies, and olive wooleys.
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White River - December 3rd, 2007
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
RECORDED: 
42 °
FISHING: Great
The warm weather seems to be officially over and winter is looming. Recent wet weather combined with bitter cold may damper one’s efforts to get out there but the fishing is great and worth the effort! The foot traffic and fishing pressure has dropped considerably.
Both the White and Norfork Rivers are fishing pretty typically for this time of year. Standard patterns: Glo Bugs, Y2K Bug, San Juan Worms in pink and tan, Olive Wooly Buggers, Orange eggs with red dot, BH Olive midges in olive, Copper Johns, ‘56ers, and Sculpins are working well. A late afternoon suggestion would be soft hackles… particularly the Red Ass. It’s been working well in both the White and Norfork in size 14 and 16.
As far as water levels in the rivers, both dams have been running little or no water each day. The White is running one unit on average around the clock while suspending flow for short increments and the Norfork remains shut down during the day with usually only one unit running in the early morning for one hour. Wading is not a problem in most areas but it should be noted that the frigid air and high winds require a layer of clothing.
This is the quiet season, from now until March, so if you like a little solitude and can stand the weather, put on your warmest clothes and bring it on! Remember too that we can get a powerful amount of rain in the next couple of months and that may change the good wading conditions we have now. So take advantage while you can!
The Blue Ribbon Staff Bob Cooke, Larry Babin, Ron Yarborough, Steve Nelson
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White River - October 30th, 2007
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
RECORDED: 
69 °
FISHING: Great
The Norfork recent low water generation has attracted lots of wading anglers but at the same time created dissolved oxygen levels below the dam. That being said, be sure to release fish quickly and carefully.
Flies: Psycho & Zebra midges- red, black, and grey in 18s. Tan sowbugs & scuds. Egg patterns: beige w/orange glo bugs. San Juan worms in pink and natural colors.
Late afternoon try soft hackles such as a Red Ass!
It may not be a bad idea to have an extra spool with sink tip line…
The White continues to generate at least one unit around the clock making wading opportunities few and far between.
Flies: Olive wooley buggers in #10s and #14s, Orange scuds, Y2Ks, near nuff sculpins, 56’ers.
Careful where you walk… browns are spawning!
Make a difference! Teach someone to fly fish!
Blue Ribbon Staff
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White River - October 3rd, 2007
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
RECORDED:
78 °
FISHING: Great
Fall is a special time on our tail waters, and it’s finally here! If you like to fish terrestrials, then get out there. It’s still hopper time! September through the first week or two of October is prime time to be out plying our waters with your big ugly bugs. Watch for micro caddis in the evenings. Those little jerky flying insects that the trout are making splashy rises to are not midges. Although midges may be hatching at the same time, the trout will often key on the small (#18-22) cinnamon colored caddis that you will see during fall evenings. They require fine tippets, perfect drifts and sharp eyes, but will often reward you with some exciting evenings of dry fly fishing. On cloudy days , during a light drizzle or right after a rain, be on the lookout for blue winged olives! Be prepared with a size 18 or 20 immitation. Soft hackles work well during the early stages of both the above hatches--especially the caddis. As the days get shorter and fall moves along, streamer fishing will become more and more productive. Concentrate on early mornings, evenings and periods of fog or inclement weather. When fishing streamers, keep your rod tip within 2” of the water and pointed in the direction of your fly. Practice strip striking and not only will you feel and hook more of your strikes, but you will also get a lot of second chances at missed strikes that you would never have gotten had you jerked your fly away with an overhead strike. Nymphers: You should be stocked up with the usual scuds, PT’s, Copper Johns, Zebra midges, North Fork bead heads, Hare’s ears, San Juan worms and the like. Remember: “The deader the drift, the livelier the fishing!” As always, water releases will dictate a lot of your water choices. Also, as always, these releases are unpredictable. We can usually count on more wading water in the Fall, but ALWAYS be prepared for rapidly rising water! (Call 870-431-5311 for current conditions.)
We have some of the year’s best weather, water conditions and fall color to look forward to between now and Thanksgiving. The trout fishing on the White and North Fork Rivers give us all much to be thankful for. Those wonderful resources also give us all a shared responsibility to care for them and use them responsibly so that we can pass them down to future generations in as good, or better condition than we received them. Stop by and see us. We’ll give you a map and get you fixed up!
Bob & Larry
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White River - June 25th, 2007
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
FISHING: Great
Summer generally means periods of heavy power generation on our tail waters. This is very good for the trout. Trout in our rivers have their highest growth rates during periods of sustained generation, so they’ll be fat and sassy. High water on our tail waters is usually crystal clear, so power generation can also be good for fly fishers—if they know what to do! Large trout loose much of their caution in high water. Fishing during generation is the best time for a chance at landing a trophy. (Fishing for spawners doesn’t count. We would never do that and we trust that you wouldn’t either). High water fly fishing means boat fishing—with a few rare and closely guarded exceptions that you will need to discover on your own! Most western guide trips are float trips with good reason—your chances of success are improved dramatically. The same applies to a day on our rivers. If you’ve never floated the river with one of our guides, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. You will learn a lot about the fishery, see more country and fish more of the river(s) than you ever have in one day! It’s a blast, and you will learn things that will apply to and help your wade fishing as well.
If you’re going to try boat fishing on your own, please be careful! Designate one person as a boat operator or take turns operating the boat and fishing. The person(s) fishing will get a better drift this way and everyone will be safer. Our rivers are really not the best places to learn your boating skills. Lessons can be hard. Every year boats capsize and sink in our rivers and the results can be deadly. Also every year people bring their big power boats only to have the water fall out and leave them stranded on a gravel bar (or worse) and unable to make it back to the ramp. Drift boats or wide, flat bottomed fiberglass jon boats are the best tools for our rivers. Aluminum sticks on rocks. Motors over 15 hp are unnecessary. If your boat needs more than 6” of water to float or 14” of water to run, it’s the wrong tool for the job. It is illegal to drag a chain, an anchor or anything else that hits bottom on the North Fork. It can also be dangerous to do so on the White. Never drag an anchor! Do not anchor in high or rising water! We want you to have fun and do it safely so that you can stop back by the shop and tell fishing stories on your way home. Remember, a good guide is worth his weight in trout—double his weight in high water!
Bull Shoals powerhouse has been generating around the clock for a couple of weeks now. As noted above, there is still some great fishing to be had on the White River—even some dry fly fishing! Mostly however, it’s deep nymphing that will be bringing your trout to the boat. Because of the clarity of the water, all of your low water nymphs, scuds, sow bugs and midge larva patterns still work—just use larger sizes and/or drop them below a larger or brighter attractor pattern (remember, droppers are not legal in catch and release areas). You will need to vary your weight, the size of your indicator and the length/depth of your tippet. Whatever it takes to get down near the bottom and stay down near the bottom is what you will have to do. This will tell you a lot about your ability to “dead drift”. A poor drift will quickly plane to the surface. You will need a lot more weight and catch a lot fewer trout if you’re not paying constant attention to your drift. This is a great time and opportunity to perfect your mending skills. That’s just one of many things that will apply to your wade fishing later.
Most days, there is still some wading water to be found on the North Fork, of course you will be sharing that water with a number of people most days. Lighter tippets and smaller flies are the rule—especially on sunny days. Midge larva like the Zebra Midge or the Norfork Beadhead tend to be the best producers. Various scud and sow bug patterns work too. Be prepared for various small caddis, mayfly, crane fly and midge hatches as well. If you’re not much on nymphing (work on that dead drift!) assorted streamers, including wooly buggers work best during low light conditions or during a rain. Try swinging a crackle back or soft hackles when it’s sunny. Watch for rising water! It’s almost sure to come up at some point during the day this time of year. When it does—get out! If you’ve got a kid (15 years old or less) with you, that’s a good time to head over to Dry Run Creek. It will make you wish you were a kid again—but don’t get tempted. You are not allowed to have a rod in your hands. Watching a youngster fish to those whoppers can sometimes be more fun that fishing yourself. Remember to wet your hands, crimp your barbs and have a blast. Stop by and see us. We’ll give you a map and get you fixed up!
Don Adams
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White River - May 23rd, 2007
supplied by: Blue Ribbon Fly Shop
RECORDED:
75 °
FISHING: Great
Congratulations to Bob and Debi Cooke, the new owners of Blue Ribbon Fly Shop! Lots of new things are happening at Blue Ribbon. Come check them out! Bob and Debi have been in the fly fishing industry for some time now. They own a fly fishing lodge in musky country up north and a salt water fly shop and guide service down in Florida. They have some big shoes to fill here in carrying on the quality reputation of Blue Ribbon but I think you’ll find that they are up to the task. You’ll enjoy meeting them and will soon find that they are quality people who are going to be an asset to fly fishing here in North Central Arkansas. They have a lot of new ideas and it’s going to be exciting to watch and be a part of their new adventure. Let’s lend them our support and give them a big Mountain Home Welcome!
Now, on to the fishing report…
The recent low water periods on both the Bull Shoals and Norfork tail waters have brought with them more wading opportunities and also some excellent opportunities to fish dries on both the White and North Fork rivers. Our rivers have never enjoyed a great reputation as dry fly water but we do have regular hatches of caddis, mayflies and midges throughout the year. When low water conditions coincide with these hatches, we can have some truly excellent dry fly fishing. The large light wing, olive bodied caddis are done for the year. Now dry fly fishers should arm themselves with at least a few of the natural elk wing, tan bodied #16 and #18 caddis, #16 PMD’s and sulfur mayfly patterns and some #22 and smaller midge patterns. You might look for crane flies (usually about a #14 or #16) to be important on the North Fork at times. Prior to these hatches, corresponding soft hackles can be swung with success—especially prior to and early during a caddis hatch. Remember to flatten the barbs on all of your flies. The C&R areas require barbless hooks but I flatten all of my barbs no matter where I’m fishing (If you tie, you can flatten them in your vice before tying, if not smooth jawed hemostats work best.) Barbless hooks are much easier on the fish plus you’ll get faster, deeper penetration, more hook-ups, more landed trout—and when you get one stuck somewhere it shouldn’t be, it will come out easily!
Hints: When fishing dries, keep most of your casts either upstream or down (rather than across) and don’t be afraid to work with a little slack. You’ll find it easier to control drag in this way—and that’s perhaps the most important thing about fishing dries. Some of these flies are pretty small and tough to see while on the water. Watch where your fly lands after the cast, make sure you’re going to drift drag free, and then keep track of where you think your fly is. When you see a rise in that location, raise your rod gently as if to start a slow easy back cast, if you don’t hook up, follow through by completing the back cast and recasting. Sight fish to rises when you can and remember that the holding location of that rising trout is generally upstream of the rise location. The trout will rise from the bottom, allowing the current to push it downstream and up to the surface as it tracks the fly. When descending, the trout will usually slide down beneath the main current and move back up to its holding location—so make your presentation well upstream of the rise. There’s more to tell, but this should get you started.
When you’re not fishing dries, the standard fare will almost always work. Dead drift #12-20 scuds, sow bugs, midge larva and assorted nymphs beneath the smallest indicator that will do the job. Fly size will often be dictated by water flow (More water = bigger flies). Stock a few San Juan worms in your box: reds and browns in small and medium sizes. Woolly buggers and various other streamers usually work best during inclement weather, low light periods or on a sink tip line during light power generation. As mentioned previously, you will want some soft hackles of various sizes and colors in your box. Wolly buggers and soft hackles are good flies to start out with if you haven’t yet mastered the “dead drift” required for nymphs and dries. As we move closer to summer, terrestrials will become more and more important. Stop by the shop and be prepared!
Speaking of being prepared, some of you who are reading this report may have never fished our tail waters. If not, I guarantee that you have never fished waters that can change in depth and speed so radically and quickly and with no warning. Don’t let that scare you off, but do stay aware. The gentle 10” deep water you are standing in can become a 4’-10’ deep raging torrent in a matter of minutes! This is because of the unpredictable releases of water for power generation. You can call the dam at: 870-431-5311 24 hours a day to find out what the current number of generators on line is. There is however, no way to find out RELIABLY how many generators will be turned on the moment you hang up—or how many were on just before you called! The safest bet is to stay alert. ALWAYS wear a wader safety belt. If in doubt, make sure to fish upstream (that way if you run into rising water you can walk out down and away from it rather than try to fight upstream against rapidly rising water) and stay on the same side of the river you accessed on. If you find yourself in rapidly rising water—get out. If you are on the wrong side of the river—don’t try to cross. Get out on your side and wait until you can flag down a boat for a ride across. For the most part, our wading here is very easy compared to out west—until they turn the generators on. If you’re not sure if the water’s rising, pick out a rock that’s sticking out of the water by only an inch or so. If that rock goes under it’s time for you to get out of the water. We want you to come back for many more successful trips. Be safe!
The Trout Summit Meetings recently held in Mountain Home by the Arkansas Game and Fish Department were well attended. They were also refreshingly productive, as they were conducted by professional arbitrators who took the animosity out of the meetings, while extracting the attendees’ best ideas. It was encouraging to see that almost everyone was on the same page. Top suggestions and advice for the department were to preserve the quality of our rivers, while managing for a larger average trout size. Close behind were other good ideas which will aid those goals such as: increasing law enforcement, the elimination of both chumming and fishing on spawning trout, enforced restrictions on building development , outlawing the removal of bait from the rivers, lowering the possession limit, river-wide barbless hook regulation, longer length/slot limits and lengthening the mileage of the North Fork and Upper White River catch and release areas. If the Department begins implementing these ideas then we will all have some exciting fishing to look forward to. Things are looking up!
Don Adams
May 1, 2007
Congratulations to Bob and Debi Cooke, the new owners of Blue Ribbon Fly Shop! Lots of new things are happening at Blue Ribbon. Come check them out! Yes, this may be kind of a shock. All of us are going to miss Dale. Dale has been--and will continue to be--an icon to fly fishing in this part of the country. His contributions to the development of fly fishing on the White and North Fork have helped us all and are a lasting asset. Don’t worry, Dale’s not really going anywhere! You can still stay out at Fulton’s Lodge and now you’re going to have a much better chance of bumping into Dale down on the river, as he’s going to have a lot more time to fish with his lovely wife Ronna—lucky guy. Dale will be staying on for the next couple of weeks to help with the transition at the shop, so right now would be an excellent time to stop by, say howdy to Dale and to meet the new owners Bob and Debi Cooke (no relation to Charlie). Bob and Debi have been in the fly fishing industry for some time now. They own a fly fishing lodge up in the musky country and a salt water fly shop and guide service down in Florida. They have some big shoes to fill here in carrying on the quality reputation of Blue Ribbon but I think you’ll find they are up to the task. You’ll enjoy meeting them and will soon find that they are also quality people who are going to be a great asset to fly fishing in North Central Arkansas. They have a lot of new ideas and it’s going to be exciting to watch and be a part of their new adventure. Let’s lend them our support and give them a big Mountain Home Welcome!
Now, on to the fishing report…
Time for dries! The recent low water periods on both the Bull Shoals and Norfork tail waters have brought with them some excellent opportunities to fish dries on both the White and North Fork rivers. Our rivers have never been especially known as dry fly water, but we do have regular hatches of caddis, mayflies and midges throughout the year. When low water conditions coincide with these hatches, we have some truly excellent dry fly fishing, as I experienced Sunday afternoon.
Right now dry fly fishers should be prepared with at least a few #14 and #16 bleached elk wing, light olive body caddis, natural elk wing, tan body #16 and #18 caddis, #16 PMD’s and sulfur mayfly patterns and some #22 and smaller midge patterns. You might look for crane flies (usually about a #14 to #16) to be important on the North Fork at times. Prior to these hatches, corresponding soft hackles can be swung with success—especially prior to and early during a caddis hatch. Remember to flatten the barbs on all your flies. In the C&R areas the regulations require it but I flatten the barbs on all of my flies anyway. You'll get better penetration, more hook ups, more landed trout--and when you get one stuck somewhere it shouldn't be, it will come out real easy!
Hints: When fishing dries, keep most of your casts either upstream or down (rather than across) and don’t be afraid to work with a little slack. You’ll find it easier to control drag in this way—and that’s perhaps the most important thing about fishing dries. Some of these flies are pretty small and tough to see while on the water. Watch where your fly lands after the cast, make sure you’re going to drift drag free, and then keep track of where you think your fly is. When you see a rise in that location, raise your rod gently as if to start a slow easy back cast, if you don’t hook up, follow through by completing the back cast and recasting. Sight fish to rises when you can and remember that the holding location of that rising trout is generally upstream of the rise location. The trout will rise from the bottom, allowing the current to push it downstream and up to the surface as it tracks the fly. When descending, the trout will usually slide down beneath the main current and move back up to its holding location—so make your presentation well upstream of the rise. There’s more to tell, but this should get you started.
When you’re not fishing dries, the standard fare will almost always work. Dead drift #14-20 scuds, sow bugs, midge larva and assorted nymphs beneath the smallest indicator that will do the job. Stock a few San Juan worms in your box: reds and browns in small and medium sizes. Woolly buggers and various other streamers usually work best during inclement weather, low light periods or on a sink tip line during light power generation. Don’t forget to have a few cracklebacks in your box (fish them down and across, strip them back and hang on!) and, as mentioned previously, plenty of soft hackles. It’s early yet for terrestrials, but I’ve seen some pretty big hoppers out there that survived the winter—be prepared stop by the shop and get stocked up before you go!
Speaking of being prepared, some of you who are reading this report may have never fished our tail waters. If not, I guarantee that you have never fished waters that can change in depth and speed so radically and quickly and with no warning. Yes, there are horns by the dams but you can't hear them if you're not up there and it may be hours before that water reaches you. Don’t let that scare you off, but do stay aware. The gentle 10” deep water you are standing in can become a 4’-10’ deep raging torrent in a matter of minutes! This is because of the unpredictable releases of water for power generation. You can call the dam at: 870-431-5311 24 hours a day to find out what the current number of generators on line is. There is however, no way to find out RELIABLY how many generators will be turned on the moment you hang up—or how many were on just before you called! The safest bet is to stay alert. ALWAYS wear a wader safety belt. If in doubt, make sure to fish upstream from your access point (that way if you run into rising water you can walk out down and away from it rather than try to fight upstream against rapidly rising water) and stay on the same side of the river you accessed on. If you find yourself in rapidly rising water—get out. If you are on the wrong side of the river—don’t try to cross. Get out on your side and wait until you can flag down a boat for a ride across. For the most part, our wading here is very easy compared to out west—until they turn the generators on. If you’re not sure if the water’s rising, pick out a rock that’s sticking out of the water by only an inch or so. If that rock goes under it’s time for you to get out of the water. If you don't want to have to think much about rising water, book a guide trip. Your guide will keep track of the water levels for you and when the water comes up, you just hop into the boat and the great fishing continues. We want you to come back for many more successful trips. Be safe!
TROUT SUMMIT
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is hosting a Trout Summit on May 14 and 15 from 6:30 – 9 PM both nights at the Ramada Inn on Hwy 62 East in Mountain Home. PLEASE ATTEND IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. This meeting is for the Game and Fish Dept. to receive public comment concerning future management plans for the White and North Fork rivers. As many of you know, the rivers here remain a great fishery DESPITE (not because of) current management and enforcement plans. Just imagine what kind of a fishery we would have with modern day regulations in place! There is room for multiple user groups on our rivers. Some people really like to eat trout. I don’t allow any trout to be killed/kept on my trips, but catch and release may not be the end all answer to trout management either. Currently it is legal (if you could catch them) for each and every fisherman to kill two 10 pound browns, two five pound cutthroats and a 3 pound brook trout each and every day of the year. Or you could kill a string of five 8 pound rainbows! These regulations (and worse) have been in place for decades. The regulations have become complicated and difficult to enforce. Imagine if we did something simple like: No Bait and: 3 rainbows per day under 13” and one trout per year (tag system--any species) over 28”—on the whole river. Wow! What kind of a fishery would we have then? We’d actually be catching those 5-10 pound trout again on a daily basis—the fisherman who wants a shore lunch or the guy who wants to take fish home to his family could still do it—and talk about easy regulations to enforce. Some may think the chance of us ever having regulations remotely close to these is about equal to catching the next world record brown on a size 26 midge but that’s what they thought 25 years ago on the Green River in Utah too. They changed their regulations river-wide in the mid 80’s against huge protests from local outfitters, but when business doubled within the first year, smart businessmen changed their minds and the rest is some very encouraging history. Sure, in a perfect world, the whole river might be catch and release, fly fishing only—and me and you would be the only ones allowed to fish there! But, of course, that world would only be perfect for you and me, so this meting is about compromise and about finding a management plan we can all live with, one that will benefit the river, the fish and all those who use the resource. Unless you think that the solution is mass numbers of 12” stocked rainbows, no restrictions and no enforcement, PLEASE come be a part of these meetings. Your ideas and input are needed on regulations, enforcement and habitat. Let’s encourage the Game and Fish Department to manage this great resource to reach its greatest potential. See you there!
Don Adams
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