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...

Grass Carp fly pattern - One of my favorites.

Over the last few months I've gotten a lot of questions about the what fly I use.  Here's one that I've had some success using.  It's a simple leech pattern (took me longer to type this post than tie the fly) that I've talked about before.  It's not much different than any other leech pattern except I add a foam head to either keep it floating or slow the fall down.  This allows me to drop it right in front of a feeding grass carp and it slowly falls right in front of their face.  They can't resist that slow fall.

Materials
sz 6 Gama SL45 Bonefish hook
Black or whatever color head you want craft foam.  Cut to less than hook gap and 1.5 inches long.
UTC 70 thread or whatever you have.
Black Marabou (or any color you prefer) I do these in olive also.
Black Rabbit strip.
Saddle Hackle
Black Crystal flash - optional

Secure the hook in the vise. I pinch the barb on mine but forgot to do it for this post.

 
Put down a thread base.  Then tie on the rabbit strip.

 Tie in the foam.  Leave enough room at the eye to fold back and build a small head.

 Next up is the marabou

Matched to the same length or slightly less than the rabbit strip...couple lose raps then pull to the length you desire.  

 More marabou on the bottom.  Measured at about half of the rabbit strip.

Add some flash.  Tie in on one side then cross over and down the other side.  I avoid the loud or obnoxious flash.  I skip this step at times.

Tie in the saddle hackle by the tip.  Only 3-4 wraps.  I don't want the longer fibers found at the base.

 Here you can see it's just enough to give it a buggy look but not too much.

For the head just fold the foam back to the desired size you want.  I make them in a few different sizes.  Bigger they'll float at or on the surface.  Smaller they'll sink head up.

Whip finish over the foam.

 Finished and ready to fish.

I fish these either under a small pinch on indicator, as a dropper or alone.

Got questions post in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them.

It was the night before Colordomas...

I haven't been on here much the last few weeks and wanted to fill everyone in on whats been happening.  A few months back, I was invited to tag along on a road trip to Colorado.  That trip heads out tomorrow.  It's a week long mix of DIY and a few days camping on the Colorado River with Yampa Valley Anglers.

Some new, some chewed

Since this will be my first trip to Colorado, I've been researching and tying a bunch of flies for the trip.  I plan on picking up a few from local fly shops when I get into town but I was so excited that I had to do something to keep from going crazy.  Here is a glimpse of the madness my wife and children endure on a daily basis.

Tying closet is out of control

I'm hoping to feed the trout a steady diet of streamers, hoppers and dry's but I've also checked the nymph box just in case.

Hope this is enough!

Stimulators

Sallies and attractor sallies

A couple streamers from today.

I learned to glue the eyes on after placing the head.

Those are just a few of the patterns I tied for the trip.  I left out the midge and soft hackle box.  Good thing we're driving or I'd be paying a fortune in baggage fees!  Now we'll see if they catch.  Keep up with this adventure on my Facebook page and Instagram.

Every pattern I tied I found at these YouTube sites (credit the source)

Fly Fish Food

tightlinevideo

Fly Fish the Ozarks

InTheRiffle

ebersoleMEDIA

  

I won the LOTTERY!

Not really...well maybe the fish lottery.  The month of February was one to remember!  The weather was exceptional and the BIG fish were biting.  The GoPro has been really handy.  Not necessarily in the cool edits stuff (one more thing I have no talent for).  Rather, I’ve used it like a golfer would to analyze their swing.  I’ve been able to look back at the footage and see exactly what I did, where, how long I let a bait rest and what side a tree a bass came off.  Or in most cases why I suck as a fisherman.  Funny how I’ll remember something completely different than what actually happened and WHERE it happened!  Old age....

When I haven’t been fishing I have been writing fishy tales.  The latest was in Kayak Bass Fishing Magazine, https://issuu.com/chrispayne94/docs/spring_2016_kbfmag, pg 24 “Force of Nature.”  If you review the contributors, you’ll probably recognize some familiar names from the JK team and others that I have a lot of respect for.  Great info in this FREE magazine!

The other story was in the February issue of The Fisherman’s Journal, http://www.joomag.com/magazine/the-fishermans-journal-february-2016-kayak-edition/0642190001455768899, pg 70 “Gifts of Winter.”  Again, the list of contributors is very recognizable and the content they provide is great.  

Between fishing and writing, I’ve been preparing for a trip to the Florida Keys in March.  To me the Keys means fly fishing and I’m pumped!  Knowing I’ll probably only spook everything in sight, I decided to tie up a bunch of salty patterns.  That way I can blame my lack of talent on the tying and not the actual fishing.  The reality is I’m not that talented at either.  Maybe I’ll snag a bone with a poorly presented fly as it’s fleeing from the sight of my ridiculous crab pattern!

The month of February ended great.  Got to spend a weekend with Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters in Hot Springs, AR representing Jackson Kayak at the largest boat show in Arkansas.  Had an awesome time talking to the public about kayak fishing and the outdoors in general.  Plus, getting to hang out all weekend with like-minded individuals is always fun.

Ending this post with a, "was that a gator getting in the water" short clip I made!

Driftless on the fly

This was my second trip to the "driftless", and since I only had 1 day to fish, I decided to revisit a good looking stream.  My first stop at the stream, I got a late start, and spooked every fish in the county.  There's a learning curve to small stream fishing and I didn't want to fumble through learning a new stream.  I had a good idea of the access and pools, and hoped, I'd be more efficient this trip.  Knowing where to cross the stream and which side to approach a pool seems to be very important in these environments.  It's been great fun learning these new techniques.

Big brown on size 18 dropper

Like I said, I had an idea of the stream.  It was early, 530 am when I arrived.  I started with a black bugger in a pool not far from the access.  I saw a few fish rising but they wouldn't eat the bugger.  I didn't spend much time in any 1 spot.  I was searching the deep pools and any woody cover I could find.  The first eat was a bow.

Not long after that I broke off in some cover.  The bugger was getting some eats so I stuck to that same "stick and move" pattern.  After 2 hours (that seems like a long time but when you're tip toeing around a creek in chest high poison sumac, ivy, oak and whatever else - it's not...my right hand blistered a day later), I had managed a couple bows and a brown.  I rounded a corner and saw about 20 browns sipping something off the surface.  My heart jumped, my hands started shaking, and it took about 10 minutes to tie on a dry.

I manged a few browns from that hole, that wasn't much bigger than a 2 car garage.  After hooking several, losing most, and landing a few...they got wise to the idiot standing behind them.  I was just happy to be fishing dry's.

Around 9 am, I switched to a hopper/dropper and the fishing was...I lost count of how many I caught.  I decided to call my realtor and put the house up for sale...unfortunately, there's no cell service in the area.  I guess that's my only complaint for the day...if that's really something to complain about!

They mostly ate the dropper but a few wanted the hopper.  A 18-20" brown came and took a look, but the sudden increase in my heart rate must have sent him back down.  I finished around 1 pm, the water started to feel warm and the fish were taking longer to revive.  I had planned on fishing the evening, but I was completely satisfied with the day, and didn't feel a need to annoy any more browns.