White River Caddis Hatch May 2019

April is always a good time to fly fish in Arkansas.  The streams are usually full of water, not always a good thing, and the fish are normally hungry.  The most difficult decision normally focuses on where and what species to target.  Trout, carp, smallmouth bass are all high on my list.  However, last May, my buddy Brad came home after incredible day fishing the caddis hatch on the White River and said we would be returning in 2019.  The plan was to drive up on Tuesday and fish through Sunday, with a couple days on the White, Norfork and maybe a smallmouth float.

The weather began to take an ugly shape and the plan quickly changed.  The area was predicted to receive 5+ inches of rain over the next three to four days with the possibility of severe thunderstorms. As responsible adults, one of us anyway, we looked at moving the date.  But that wasn't an option.  Next we considered heading to Southeast Louisiana or even The Great Smoky Mountains.  But the weather system included each of those areas as well.  After talking about it, we decided to stay with the original plan but stick to the tailwaters because they would not blow out.

Tying video for this caddis pupa below

As luck would have it the rain and storms hit the area as predicted but we only had to fish in the rain one afternoon.  Fortune was on our side and the severe storms came at night while we were in our sleeper cabin at http://copperjohnsresort.com/  If you're in the area and need a place to sleep without paying a fortune, Copper Johns is pretty awesome.  Located just down the road from the state park and directly on the river, it gave us a quick place to dodge storms if needed.

Rigging up the streamer rod

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If you haven't seen the many Instagram and guide posts the hatch was brilliant this year.  Check out my buddy Matt's guide service and see what I'm talking about, https://www.facebook.com/risingriverguides/.  Tons of bugs on the water and the fish were eating great.  We fished dry flies each day with some success, but with all the natural sources of protein available on the surface, it was only a fun option, not the most successful.  But I will take a couple 20+ inch browns on a EHC over several nymphed up most days!

On Friday and Saturday we decided to float the Norfork.  The generation schedule predicted 1-unit each morning starting around 9am. The fishing was equally great.  One-unit is awesome flow for nymphing and streamer fishing which we did and got a few follows from some gnarly browns.  I suspect if the rental boat hatch wasn't out in full force on Saturday atleast one of the big browns would have eaten a streamer.  But when 4 dudes, throwing rapalas constantly to cut into your drift, it can be a challenge to get a fresh look!  We won't be fishing the Norfork on a Saturday any time soon, lol!  The rental hatch cleared at lunch the fishing got good for the rest of the afternoon.

We got up early Sunday with plans to pack and drive home.  One look at the river and we changed our mind.  It looked like it was raining with all the fish coming to the surface to eat caddis.  So we hit the water for a few more hours, caught some fish and planned next years trip.  Gonna be a long wait...

Tying video for this productive pattern...

40 on the White River

It’s a wonder I have any friends at all.  The kind that take off work for two days for your 40^th birthday.  Those that know you well enough to understand that the party should be a fishing trip and nothing more.  Real friends who accept I’m not a birthday party guy or into social gatherings.  Let me explain why I’m amazed by all of this.

Sunday night, I was talking to my wife about a trip to Grand Isle, LA over the past weekend and how the fishing was decent and so on.  As expected, she was only mildly interested.  Her slight interest was mostly because her uncle and cousin were there fishing with me.  The last thing mentioned was how I needed to call my buddy and deliver some bad news.  She perked right up, “What happened?”

Her attention really caught me off guard.  The zombie from two minutes earlier was now all ears and super captivated.  Taking advantage of my newly acquired audience, I spun a great tale of a freakishly huge redfish and the ultimate sacrifice made by my friend’s 9 weight.  All she heard was, “you borrowed his rod and broke it?”  As I’m struggling to understand her concern and attempting to form a sentence, she interrupts me.  But not with the usual “you broke another fly rod” speech.  

Instead, I learned that the guy who owned the 9 weight had been planning my 40^th birthday party for two months.  He’s been busy getting his boat ready and tying big streamers for a month.  And we’re leaving in less than a week.  Yep, I’m that guy!  Now you’re amazed I have any friends, right?

Fortunately, and unfortunately, we didn’t get the flows that are typical for late January on the White.   We had minimum flows on the White and the Norfork ran one unit for three hours on Monday.  The big sticks weren’t needed much but that had little impact on our decision to throw streamers.  We had traveled here to throw meat and that was what we were going to do.  Generation was more of a nicety at this point, but we did have a secret weapon; Angela Merkel.  Sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.   

We fished the White on Sunday and it rained all day.  Angela initially took her place beside the rear bench directly below my position on the Hog Island.  She hated the rain but loved my fly line.  Like a cat with a ball of string she grabbed it often.  Wasn’t long before Angela was moved to the back of the boat.  At the first shoal, Karma rewarded my buddy with a 22-inch brown.  Unfortunately, that was the only good karma of the day.   It was late afternoon when our sore arms demanded we drift indicators and stick a few fish.  A decision we would later regret.

My opinion of the water depth was, it was too deep to exit the boat.  Someone else, whose identity will remain a secret, saw it differently.  As, his name isn't Brad, departed the boat in what can only be described as a wet exit, we knew Angela was responsible.  About an hour later, while trying to free his midge from a rock, the dude with the broken 9 weight, broke his 4 weight.  Sunday was a tough day for us.  The only sighting of a 30-inch brown was hanging on the wall of a local burger joint, Taylor’s Freeze-King in Gassville, AR.  It became very obvious Angela wasn’t impressed with our group later that night.  While unloading gear, I stepped in cat poop and tracked it into our room. 

Monday, we headed out early to chase the limited high water on the Norfork.  Not wanting a repeat of the prior day, we relocated Angela several times before she found a spot she liked.  In the beginning, she perched on the right oar.  When the anchor line broke sending the anchor to the bottom of the river, we took the hint and started moving her on a regular basis.  She seemed pleased with the attention and in return kept the remainder of trip out of the ditch.     

Bag of rocks is a good substitute for an anchor

The birthday ended at the confluence of the White river sharing fish stories and planning several future trips.  In that last hour of daylight, we worked out all the logistics and the world seemed to agree with our lofty endeavors.  It became clear that this trip was less about the pursuit and more about friendship.  Tomorrow we’ll deploy our secret weapon, Angela Merkel, in hopes of trying to secure permission from our better halves. 

AR tailwaters (part 4)

Finished up my overnighter in the Ozarks and had to make a decision.  TS Bill was moving through the area and dropping a lot of rain.  With 5-8"s of rain forecast in the area I decided to take a time out and watch the weather a little closer before I made a final decision on the next stop.

Got up bright and early Monday and headed to Lake Conway.  The catching wasn't red hot, but I managed a few and this bass made up for the slow action.

Monday evening, I got in touch with a buddy and we changed our plan.  Originally, we were going to gravel bar camp on a river in MO.  But the fear of drowning in a flash flood made us change locations.  We decided to bring a boat and fish the controlled flash flooding below the Norfork and Little Red River tailwaters.

It rained all night Tuesday, but it was bright and sunny on Wednesday.  We arrived at the Norfork and found only 1 unit running for minimum flow.  The fishing was great in the morning.  I'm not sure of the count but it wasn't slow.  Midges were on the menu and I had to replace a few after the thread got worn and unraveled.

We worked our way down 2-3 miles before the COE turned on the other unit and high water fishing started around 1 pm.  That isn't an option from a kayak so I was really excited to be throwing streamers from a boat.

My buddy worked the oars first and let me take the first run.  My first fish wasn't an eat, but a follow from a brown that looked to be as big as my leg.  It was huge.  It came up behind the articulated streamer and just watched for a second or 2.  I was watching for the white flash of an eat but instead he just ghosted out.

My heart was racing so fast, the only words I could get out were, "brown, big, follow me".  Most days, I don't need any help sounding like an idiot and big fish make it worse.

It wasn't much longer, and I had an eat from a 20+ brown.  Got a good look at it when it came to the surface, but as my buddy reached for the camera, the brown came unbuttoned.  That signaled my turn on the oars.

We motored back up to the dam and started over.  The first run wasn't successful...probably more my fault as I was getting use to working the oars.  The 2nd run resulted in much of the same except a few more follows.  So we switched out again.  Nothing was happening, and I was starting to wonder if we had pounded the area to much.

Made a cast below a tree that was hanging over the river, and something crushed the streamer.  It was mad and fighting hard.  Saw a silver flash, and knew it was a big bow.  It came to the surface and I figured it was going to do a self release.  But luckily it stayed on and ended up in the net after a few minutes.

After that, it got slow.  A few follows and few eats from small cutthroats (barely bigger than the streamer).  We decided to put the boat on the trailer and head to the LRR.

We only had a half day to fish on Thursday.  The COE was running water when we arrived so it was going to be more high water fishing.  It rained off and on all day and lots of fog...it was perfect conditions for throwing streamers and the fish were biting!  My buddy was catching but my day was frustrating at best.  In short....I hooked 5 browns (various sizes), got them all to the surface, and watched as they all self released!

BUT...I'm not complaining, getting eats, seeing fish, and watching my buddy catch made the day awesome.  Of course, I wanted to bang my head against the boat a few times.  Mostly, b/c I was taking up the majority of the fishing...we switched at catches (in the beginning)...and I wasn't holding up my part of the deal.  I hate being a slacker!

We called it quits around lunch time.  Despite the rain and lack of catching on my part, it was an awesome day (days).  A great ending to a great road trip.  Drove home unpacked and repacked for a weekend of fun with my family.

Where is everyone!?

Big "Thank You" to my wife and all our family for all they did for me and the girls.  They took care of everything during the 2 weeks of art camp.  Best fathers day gift ever!!

"Play and Display" Arkansas Arts Center

Is it too early to get commitments from everyone for next year?!  Just kidding...but seriously.

Road Trip 2015 - NEI Driftless
RT 2015 Part 1

RT 2015 - Truly Wild
RT 2015 Truly Wild (part 2)

RT 2015 - AR Ozarks SMB (part 3):
SMB float