 Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
Posted by jeremy on April 08, 2008
I was very excited to finally get a chance to fly fish Arkansa’s White River, until I looked out the airplane window. Monster rains had drenched the mid west and serious flooding had made poor fishing conditions the least of many peoples worries. With that said, I never underestimate fishermen’s addictive and somewhat absurd passion. Low and behold, although the rain was still coming down in buckets and every creek and waterway was cresting over its banks there were still a good number of die hard fishermen casting into any water that was somewhat fishable. So, was this trip going to be as picture perfect as I had imagined in my mind? Nope. Most of he picturesque riffles and runs that I had read about were now class 4 rapids and the White River was anything but white. So, I sat and watched the water poor out the flood gates at Table Rock dam. I watched as fly fisherman attempted to try their best and cast into water that was just barely fishable. They were literally fishing in the trees and casting into pools that should technically be dry riverbank. They were catching fish, but I knew there had to be something better. So, I used my best fly fishing resource; my friends. I called Boz and said, “Dude, don’t you have a buddy who lives out here?” Next thing I knew, my cell phone rang and I answered, “hello?” The voice on the other end said, “Yo, Jeremy it’s Chambers .. boz’s buddy.” The rest was history. Chambers lived a few hours away and the conditions were not so hot in his neck of the woods, but he fly fishes the majority of good fishing sections on the White River area often and knows
them well. So, he looked at the flows, did the math, asked some buddies and said, “Jeremy, looks like you will want to go to Bull Shoals dam and fish that tail water. It’s definitely fishable.” That was all I needed to hear. Oh ya, I did need to hear one more thing; so I asked him “What flies should I use?” He told me, “Small midge stuff … you know zebra midges and stuff like that.” So, I got directions and some small midges and started driving through the Ozarks. After getting lost a half dozen times, I finally made it to Bull Shoals. It was definitely fishable. Totally different than the Table Rock tail water I had been at. I guess the river was so high in lower sections of the river; they simply could not release any water out of the dam. So, the first few miles of river from the dam down were in very decent shape. There they were, the midges were hatching; just like Chambers said they would be. So, I “quickly” snapped 4 knots while my hands shook in anticipation of catching something. I made tons of sloppy casts to rising fish and spooked them like a pro. After a long winter of no trout fishing, I had no patience whatsoever and did everything totally wrong! It was a blast! Then, I saw that everyone was using these super long John Boats. So, even though it wasn’t totally necessary I said to myself, “I need one of those!” So, I found a place to rent one for cheap and there I was motoring up the White River to the spot where the majority of trout had been rising but I could not reach from shore. I beached the John Boat, or whatever it was called, on a gravel bar and bingo; I was in the game big time! I proceeded to spend the day casting to and catching rainbow and brown trout on dry flies, nymphs and streamers. I did not catch some of the true and legendary monsters that I saw rising and eating midges; but I caught some beautiful trout and it was a great personal success considering the circumstances. That is really what I love about fly fishing. No matter how bleak and “impossible” things may seam; the fish are still there somewhere and with enough will and determination and a little bit of luck it is possible to find them and catch them.
PS. Thanks Boz and Chambers, I appreciate all your help!
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by MarshallD on April 09, 2008 http://www.flyanglersguide.com | Excellent story Jer. Way to get it done. I've always admired the ways you are resourceful...calling friends, renting boats, going the distance....having faith that the 'fish are there'.! Then, catching them on all kinds of stuff!
After not fly fishing for awhile, we all degenerate don't we? But the skills bounce back in a few moments....
Marsh |
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by Boz on April 09, 2008 http://www.maineriverguides.com | Jeremy,
Glad you got out down there and put a bend in the rod...That brownie looks thick.
Too bad you didn't get a chance to fish with Chambers...he'd fit in great with the rest of the "characters" that frequent FliesandFins...
Though conditions are still on the wintery side hear...it wont be too much longer until we're posting some Maine fish :)
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by chambers on April 09, 2008 | | glad to see you got on the fish and i could be of service.come back again when conditions are right and bring boz. my wife and i ended up on the little red river that day(the only way to be able to go fish with a 9 and a half month pregnant wife, take her with you! and let her catch most of the fish) we did o.k. I think you made right choice to hit bull shoals. glad to see you got the "jon boat" a.k.a. "arkansas drift boat" |
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by joey on April 09, 2008 http://www.laterallinemedia.com | | Nice tale jbone. i am picturing you right now bombing up the river in a long boat. Just like that dude on the Kennebec near bingham. Way to make it happen in not so favorable conditions. Cool Pic of that brown.. |
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by donjuanfour20 on April 11, 2008 | | good job man, way to "git er done"! hey I dropped a line to king for a day letting them know how I found about them. the next day, I recieved an e-mail from them thanking you for putting the link on the website. tight lines to you! |
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Re: Arkansas: The White River, Well Not Exactly ...
by Austin on April 13, 2008 | | Awsome job jeremy! i love how you got it done despite the difficult circumstances. i have seen the power of the fly fishing friend base before....i'm glad boz's friend hooked you up! |
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