April « 2009 « whiterivertroutdiva.net

April 21, 2009

Girls – Holla’ Back ’bout those Trout

Filed under: Trout Fishing — admin @ 10:54 am

leslie-trout12 leslie-trout21

Trout Fishin’ a “Guy Thing”? NOT! says your White River Trout Diva…

More and more women are figuring out that a trout fishing vacation on the White River is just you need to relax, unwind and have a great time…

So, my blog today is about my new friends, Jana & Leslie… They came to stay with us last week for the Great Cotter Trout Festival, and to check out the area for “product research” for Jana’s book project. Yeah… “product research”… (that’s what my husband calls it when he goes fishin’ without me!) What a job this girl has! Leslie works for Arkansas Parks & Tourism, and was, no doubt, an excellent assistant for Jana’s project…

Anyway, they spent the day checking out the vicinity near the resort, and ended up at the Trout Fest Friday night, where there were vendors, great barbecue, and live music on the river. The threat of rain kept the crowd relatively small, but those who came anyway had a great time!

Saturday morning rolled around, and it looked like we had some time where it wouldn’t rain, so I sent the girls out with Dale, our friend and one heck of a fishin’ guide, to show these girls what it’s like to hook into some of our great White River Trout! Jana had never trout fished before. Leslie was a crappie fisher, but had trout fished many years prior. Doesn’t matter — when you have a guide like Dale, you’re going to get into some good fish!

Anyway, the girls returned a few hours later… and yes, they got into some great Trout! They were so excited… We stood on the deck, laughed and hollered, did the happy fish dance (you’ll just have to let your imagination run with that one…) and Jana had some pictures on the phone of some of Leslie’s catch… (They forgot to take pictures of Jana’s catch… Hand off the camera next time, Jana!!!)

Anyway, they caught Rainbows, and Leslie caught a couple of really nice Browns, earning her two catch & release certificates, and her 2009 White & North Fork Rivers Outfitter’s Association Catch & Release pin! Fame! Fortune! Celebrity status! OK, OK… maybe not… But definitely a reminder of a great time on the White River.

Saturday night, they built a fire on the porch of their cabin, and watched the river go by. The guys next door happened to have a musician in their midst, who sat on the porch and played his guitar and sang for quite some time… Much to the girls’ dismay, eventually the guys went back into their room to play poker, but not until Jana & Leslie gave them a round of applause…

Well, Sunday morning rolled around, and it was time for the ladies to head back. They were stopping on the Buffalo for some more “product research” and at the Norfork Fish Hatchery to take a tour. And who knows how many antique shops they’ll go by on their way… What’s a girl to do?

Your White River Trout Diva

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April 18, 2009

Return of the Jedi…

leiahair

Well, you folks already know about Monday night, where my wonderful husband, Steve, just totally blew me out of the water fishing… Yes, your Diva’s ego was pummelled as 4 hours of fishing left Steve with 7 really nice fish — 3 Stripers, 3 Hybrids and 1 walleye… Do you think he was gloating a little bit??? Yes, he certainly was… That’s why I called my last blog “The Empire Strikes Back”.

But, if you remember Star Wars, there was hope for the Galaxy even after Darth Vader’s return to power… and the next part of the Star Wars story was “Return of the Jedi”. Well, guess what?

The White River Trout Diva made her comeback on Wednesday night, taking her Light Saber and puttin’ Lord Vader in his place!

(OK, it was actually a 7′ medium wt Falcon rod with Shimano Spirex reel with a rear fighting drag, not a light saber… But this IS a fishin’ story, after all!)

Lord Vader and Trout Diva took along friend and river guide, Dale, who we’ll refer to as Han Solo in this blog, for some fine company… We set out of the public ramp around 5:30 pm on April 15th. It was a little warmer today, probably 65 degrees when we left the ramp. There was almost no breeze at all, and the sky was only partly overcast. We headed toward the same couple of coves where Lord Vader had stomped Trout Diva Monday night, and set up to fish there…

However, unbeknownst to the Dark Lord, the White River Trout Diva had been practicing summoning the Light Side of the Force!

Diva started out with her 6′ 6″ Falcon medium-heavy rod with an orange/brown crayfish colored Shad rap crankbait. They don’t swim particularly deep, but deeper than your average stickbait, and you use a medium-slow retrieve. Dale was using a Mighty Minnow, and Lord Vader was using a soft plastic jerk bait, shad colored on his bait casting rig.

And the battle for domination of the Galaxy was back on…

Han Solo successfully channelled the Force, as he took the first fish of the evening, a nice smallmouth, with his Mighty Minnow. We continued down the bank and the next fish belonged to Lord Vader, a smaller hybrid. Your Trout Diva was getting nervous again… Where was the Force when she needed it??? Before dark, Diva had missed 3 fish. It looked as though Lord Vader’s reign of fishing terror would continue…

We switched to our “after dark” setups… We all were using stickbaits now, in Fire Tiger or similar patterns. Had my 7′ medium Falcon rod with the Shimano spirex reel and that oh-so-handy rear fighting drag.

(Ever wonder what the difference is between a stickbait and a crankbait? All stickbaits are crankbaits, but not vice-versa… To be specific, an artificial minnow or crawfish imitating bait with a large, diving lip that causes the bait to dive deep when you reel it in is a crankbait. A stickbait usually refers to to a skinnier minnow-looking lure with a smaller diving lip that goes to 3 to 4 feet deep on retrieve.)

The next fish on was Han Solo’s… It hit close to the boat, so I said without even being able to see it, “It’s a walleye!” (I’d learned from our guide Monday night that if you get something that close to the boat, that 9 out of 10 times it will be…) Lord Vader and Han were impressed with my use of the Force. But still, no fish for the Trout Diva…

Lord Vader caught a nice Striper, and a Hybrid. Nothing as big as Monday night, but still respectable fish… The count at this time??? Han Solo had 1 smallmouth and 1 walleye, and Lord Vader had 2 Hybrids and 1 Striper.

And your Diva??? ZIP… NADA… ZILCH… Even Han Solo mentioned that he was beginning to lose faith in the Light Side of the Force, and wondered where Diva’s fish where… Diva was having some of the same thoughts…

Feeling the Force trying to work with me, I kept telling Lord Vader to take the boat up toward the point, as the Force was leading me there… after some “discussion”, Lord Vader DID go in that general direction. Points on the edges of the coves are often a good place to begin your search for big fish, and I was sure if we headed that way, we’d get into something… We were almost to the point when Steve caught the his 4th fish of the evening, another Striper, I might add…

This might be a good place to mention the difference between a Striper and a Hybrid… A Hybrid is a cross between a male White Bass and a female Striper. Genetically engineered for our fishing pleasure and stocked by the mad scientists at AGFC, they’re more agressive than Stripers, and great fighters! The Hybrid is in between the size of the White Bass and the Striper, and interestingly enough, can tolerate warmer water temperatures than either species. Great sport fish!

(Sometimes you hear these interchangeable terms: Striper = Striped Bass, and Hybrid = Hybrid Bass = Wiper = Palmetto Bass; just different terms for the same fish.)

The world record Hybrid Bass was caught in Arkansas, of course, and weighed 27 lb. Folks were so sure there couldn’t possibly be a Hybrid so large, AGFC did genetic testing before declaring it the record fish! The AGFC had a great article in the March/April 2008 Edition of Arkansas Wildlife Magazine, and I’m quoting some of the information I’m giving you from this article.

Anyway, back to the fishin’ story…

I was in about 20′ of water, with water temp 53 degrees, comin’ up on that point I was tellin’ you about. I could feel the Force as I slung that Fire Tiger as far as I could cast — straight across the edge of the point and started my retrieve. SLAM! No mistaking THAT disturbance in the Force! It didn’t take long to figure out that it was a good one, too… This fish put up one great fight! My drag was set fairly tight, and that fish smoked it out at least 5 or 6 times before I could finally get it to the boat. Of course, it was the largest fish of the night, bigger than even Lord Vader’s Striper. Han Solo was my net man…

(You know, I have to mention that Han would have caught a lot more fish if he hadn’t been stuck in the middle of the boat… You know why? The one in the middle always gets “net duty”. He was a great sport about it, though! Next time, Diva will take the middle seat… really… What did you say? Oh, yes, I will! Seriously… I mean it… really!)

White River Trout Diva was BACK! Lord Vader was hoping it was a Striper, so it wouldn’t be as big, relatively speaking, but soon realized he’d been outdone… Diva tries not to gloat too obnoxiously with her 9 lb Hybrid — don’t know if that attempt was successful or not… OK, I do know… I was gloating pretty bad!

Between the several fish we’d caught in the vicinity, and a boat that came through, whatever may have been left was probably spooked, so Lord Vader fired up the Death Star and warped down to the end of the cove, near a small waterfall that fed into the lake. (Yes, it was pitch black, but the Death Star has a Humminbird, so we were relatively sure not to run up on asteroids — or the bank, for that matter.)

Your Diva had another strike relatively close — it swam straight at the boat after I horsed on it for a second… Diva knew this one had to be a walleye. It was a nice one, too! But man, do they ever have the nastiest, evil teeth! I think that thing wanted to eat my face!!! Biggest walleye of the night, too. Did I mention Lord Vader had no walleye?

walleye

What’s that fish count NOW, Lord Vader? Doesn’t much matter, since both the biggest ones of the evening belong to the Trout Diva! Movin’ on…

And speaking of big ones… We all missed fish that night — not sure how many… But, shortly after that walleye… I’m not kidding… I had something hit my lure so hard as it came to the surface that it sounded like a huge bear doing a cannonball off the bank into the water, and almost yanked the rod out of my hand — it was THAT loud! So loud in fact, and so close (maybe 30-35 ft away) I almost fell off my chair and out of the boat — Han Solo nearly did, too! In that same split-second, Han and Diva both sputtered out the same colorful adjective! I believe we both said, “WOW”… yeah, that was the adjective…

Diva, however, was simultaneously doing several things as she was being scared out of her mind. Shouting an adjective, falling out of her chair from the sheer terror, and yes, still trying to set the hook! I had that monster on for about 10 seconds, but didn’t get a hookset into it… (difficult to do when one’s heart has stopped, and one is falling out of the chair, thank you very much!)

And it got off… Trout Diva whimpered… but then remembered she was still the victor for the evening…

It was about 11:00 PM. Time to go home… Oh yeah, I lost my lucky Fire Tiger on the last cast into the ONLY snaggle of tree root/stumps on the entire stretch of the bank. Then, it was time to go home… I don’t think you could have made me leave any other way…

As I packed away my Light Saber, basking in the glory of my return to power, I reflected on the evening… Yes, it was truly “Return of the Jedi”, my friends…

Your White River Trout Diva

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April 16, 2009

The Empire Strikes Back…

Filed under: Lake Fishing — Tags: fishing, Lake Fishing, Striper fishing — admin @ 7:20 pm

Remember the Star Wars movies? Well, “The Empire Strikes Back” was about as accurate a description of our evening out on the lake as I could come up with. Yes, your White River Trout Diva got stomped BAD fishing Monday night by her loving husband, Steve. Not just a little bad… BIG BAD. He suggested I let our readers know just HOW BAD. Therefore, he wears the Darth Vader helmet in this story, because I know how to use Photoshop… Anyway — lemme tell you about it…

It was Monday night, April 13, 2009… The White River Trout Diva had been relentlessly ribbing her husband, Steve (aka Darth Vader — at least in this story…) for several days about how she’s been beating him up no matter how they’d been fishing… More fish… Bigger fish… Yes, that “Diva gloating” was fixin’ to meet up with a light saber!

Lord Vader summoned all the power of the Dark Side of the Force, as he plotted his revenge… Vader would take the Diva fishing up on Lake Norfork this night. It was about 6 PM. The weather was cool, the skies were overcast, with a 15 mph breeze coming through… The conditions were perfect for his triumphant return to power in the Galaxy… He let her continue to gloat on the way to the lake, and didn’t say a word — it was all part of his plan…

OK, enough of the Star Wars metaphors for now… Since we haven’t fished Lake Norfork much, we decided to do what we suggest our guests do to familiarize themselves with the White River — we took a guide. Darrell from Bink’s Guide Service did a great job for us! That’s what’s so great about living here — we’re right in the middle of 3 rivers (White River, North Fork River, Buffalo River) and 2 lakes (Norfork Lake and Bull Shoals Lake) so the fishing opportunities are amazing!

Anyway, we left the Quarry Marina Dock around 6:00, and Darrell knew exactly where to go… We started working a long point before sunset with some Mighty Minnows. You use a medium retrieve, and then jerk the rod sharply every turn of the reel, let in some slack, and repeat. I missed several fish before dark… Lord Vader Steve already had one Striper. Diva was beginning to worry, as Steve hadn’t had any other strikes yet, but landed the first fish he did have a strike on. It’s different from trout fishing, folks!

When you set the hook for trout, you just basically lift the rod firmly. Too hard, and you’ll rip the hook right out of a trout’s mouth. When you’re on the lake, you have to SET that hook! Steve gets another fish — a nice walleye. (Just a note to you trout fishers that may go to the lake to enjoy yourselves… Do NOT try to “lip-hold” a walleye! TEETH — BIG, EVIL LOOKING TEETH!)

OK, I can see it now. My husband is just giving me “the grin”… Ladies, you know what I mean. The grin that says, “How’s that gloating working for you NOW?” I switch over to another rod with a Fire Tiger Stickbait, so I can get used to it before dark. You don’t jerk these; you just use a medium retrieve that’s just a little slower than where you can feel the vibration.

Your Diva misses about 5 more fish… Had 2 on for about 5 – 10 seconds, and both got off. Probably not getting that good hookset, no doubt. The count by this time? Steve had 2 Stripers, 1 Walleye, and 2 Hybrids.

Then, it was my turn. I caught a nice hybrid, but not as big as Lord Vader Steve’s. It was so much FUN, though!!! Then, Steve caught his big Striper. The one in the picture? That was actually his smaller Striper! The picture of the big one did not come out, so I couldn’t share it with you. Steve thinks I did that on purpose, but I ask you… Would I actually DO that???

Moving on… All evening, Lord Vader did not miss a single strike. He did not tangle up his rod. He did not lose a lure, and he did not get hung up anywhere… He wound up with 3 Stripers, 3 Hybrids, and 1 Walleye — all noteworthy fish.

And your Trout Diva? Ratted up my line at least 3 times — once so bad I actually had to change rods — what a rookie mistake! I KNOW I heard my dear husband giggle and our incredibly patient and professional guide did not say a word — he just handed me another rod, and we continued on. I missed probably 9 fish. I wound up with 1 hybrid, and I’ll tell you what — I had an absolute BLAST! And I learned so much… and it’s a good thing, too, cuz you know what? I’m plannin’ my comeback…

Tonight may have been “The Empire Strikes Back”. So be it. But my NEXT blog to you folks, God willing, will be entitled, “The Return of the Jedi”. Talk to you soon.

Your White River Trout Diva

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April 9, 2009

Trout Diva gets into some Crappie

Filed under: Lake Fishing — Tags: Crappie fishing, Lake Fishing — admin @ 3:44 pm

crappie

You know… Trout Diva doesn’t ALWAYS fish the White River… I spent my childhood on a small lake outside of Kansas City, MO called Lake Tapawingo. My Daddy taught me how to fish when I was about 6 years old, and I spent many a lazy day down by the water, soakin’ up the sun in search of crappie and bass. Now that I’m all grown up, and living smack-dab in the middle of 2 lakes & 3 rivers, I have lots of fishing options!

Well, yesterday, Steve & I sneaked away from the resort about 2:45 in the afternoon, and went to the Fairview public ramp on Bull Shoals Lake. I’d been hearing about the great lake fishing that’s been going on, and my husband had already been out a few times (without me!) doing some “product research” as he calls it… So, we hit the water about 3:15 to see what we could find.

You’ve probably heard this before, but the first thing that always strikes you about Bull Shoals Lake is the crystal clear water. We had 20′ water visibility – easy… it was about 65 degrees, light breeze, blue sky… perfect!

We quickly scanned a few coves with the Humminbird to look for larger schools of baitfish, hopin’ that what we wanted would be close by… Wind was blowin’ from the west, so we stayed on the east side of the lake, figuring we’d have better luck, as the baitfish will usually be found in the direction of the prevailing winds. The third cove we got into had significantly warmer water, and we had more initial fish sightings, so we decided to take a closer look here. It was about 4:00.

As we cruised the shoreline staying at a 30 – 35′ depth, we saw several larger schools of baitfish concentrated on the sides of a larger point, in the general vicinity of some brush piles that had been added by AGFC. We had to wait awhile for another gent to clear… Didn’t have the heart to tell him, but he was in too close to the shore! After he moved on, we came around of the north side of the point and set up.

While Steve was riggin’ us up, we had a fair breeze to contend with — about 20 mph or so… not extreme, but enough to put my trolling motor skills to the test, to be sure! I hadn’t been lake fishing in some time, and my skills with the trolling motor were… well, shall we say, somewhat “rusty”…

Anyway, I set up to fish off the back of our bass boat about 4:30 or so, rigged for about a 24′ depth. Not long after that, I caught a pretty small largemouth. Then, I caught that brush pile that AGFC had so conveniently placed there for me, and, much to my husband’s delight, I completely lost my rigging… (Just a note here: Your Trout Diva does not make these kinds of mistakes without assistance, thank you very much! My husband should have been holding us 5′ deeper as we went around the point — just wanted to clarify that!)

Anyway, I got rigged back up and started coming around the point. Caught a few nicer smallmouth, and 2 more largemouth. They were from last year’s successful spawn, and for “yearlings”, they were actually quite large and very fat! This is really exciting news for the lake fishing in the next few years to come.

You know that reminds me… There’s an article in the March-April 2009 Arkansas Wildlife magazine talking about what the high lake levels did for the spawns. In a nutshell, water up into the treelines, which we had most of 2008, provided nutrients and cover and blooms of the small invertebrates eaten by crappie fry. The combination of the additional food and cover ensured the survival of 2008’s bumper crop of crappie, and other fish, too.

The samples taken last year were 4 times greater than any spawn since biologists began sampling the lake for spawning success in 1972. Did I read that correctly??? 4 times greater than ever measured??? Yes, folks, the lake fishing is going to be phoenomenal for quite a few years to come!

And speaking of crappie…

We came around that long, slow drift the second time, and I had my minnow surgically removed from my hook twice in a row. I’d missed fish twice already… Something smarter than the average fish… Something more stealthy… So, I was payin’ attention to any little twitch or movement in my line — I wasn’t going to be embarrassed a third time! I felt just the slightest little tug and I set the hook like I meant it!

It felt like a snag for a couple of seconds, and I was about to start yakkin’ at my husband for drifting me through yet another brush pile… After all, it IS his responsibility, considering HE was operating the trolling motor at the time, and HE had the other depth finder at the bow, right by his feet! If there was another brush pile — I should have been notified!

But, before I could make a snippy comment, I felt that line pull back hard! And I grinned… I knew whatever it was… it was GOOD! Steve asked me if I was snagged up again, and I just smiled at him as I shook my head, no… He asked me if I was sure? I just shook my head, yes…

As I got it close to the boat, we both thought it was a big bass for a second or two, just because of its size of the silvery flash down in the water. I had the drag set fairly tight, and when it got a look at us, it decided to go back down — smokin’ my drag along the way… So I was patient, let it tire itself out a little, and then brought it to the boat — and we both had our eyes pop out of our head! It was probably the nicest crappie I’ve ever caught… I wore it out pretty good, so about 30 minutes in our aerated livewell gave it a good chance to revive before taking a quick picture and releasing it.

We both caught some more fish, including some more nice crappie, but none like that one! Anyway, it was about 7:30 by now, and I didn’t want to load the boat in the dark, so we headed back to the ramp… nice afternoon on Bull Shoals Lake!

By the way, did I mention that I caught 6 more fish than Steve that afternoon??? Well, I didn’t remember mentioning it to you… I do, however, remember mentioning it to my dear husband… maybe several times, actually…

Your White River Trout Diva — (Crappie Queen in my spare time…)

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April 6, 2009

What are the White River Levels going to do?

Filed under: White River — Tags: water flows, White River — admin @ 6:24 pm

What ARE the levels on the White River going to do? You have no idea how many times I get asked this question… Sometimes I’m sure it seems like water generation patterns from our dams are completely random…

But, they’re not. There are just a lot of factors, often in opposition to one another. Rainfall can’t be predicted. Variances are applied for and granted for events on specific days. The farther into the future you try to predict any complex pattern, the more detail you lose; just like in a weather forecast, folks. Which is more accurate — the 3-day or the 10-day forecast?

But you will be able to make some reasonable generalizations after you read this… it’s really not black magic or voodoo! It will be sort of like making generalizations that it’s more likely to be hot in July than in December. I want to talk about the primary decision-making element that affects water releases — the 1998 Water Control Plan the US ACE uses as a general guideline.

Will understanding this plan enable you to know if the water’s going to be at 0 generators at 5:00 AM tomorrow, and turn on to 3 generators at 10:30 AM? Sorry! It sure won’t. In this blog, I’m going to be talking “big picture”, here.

On Bull Shoals, the target lake level is 654′ above sea level. (No, Bull Shoals Lake is not actually that deep…) When it’s above that level, the US ACE is in control. Their job? Get rid of that excess water. And they use the 1998 Water Control Plan to guide them. It’s not as simple as “run the water until it gets down to 654′”.

There are 3 major factors involved — the season, the current level of the Newport water gauge, and the combined 4-lake capacity of the flood-control pool, as measured above their target levels.

I call the Newport Gauge the “trump card”, because if it wasn’t for the considerations based on the current levels of this gauge, the flows of the White River would be much more predictable. Managing river levels to the Newport gauge is done to protect farming interests down river.

So, what is this plan all about? Basically, it dictates different release rules when crops are either more or less likely to be damaged. This is a summary:

Dec 1 – April 14 — the Newport gauge is regulated to 21 ft., except if a natural rise exceeding that occurs, then they can regulate to 24 ft.
April 15 – May 7 — the Newport gauge is regulated to 14 ft., with the exception of regulating to 21 ft. from April 15 through April 30, or 18 feet from May 1 through May 14 only if the 4-lake system exceeds 50% full. (Click the Lake Forecast http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/WCDS/Reports/Daily/lakfcst.txt to get the current 4-lake system %.)
May 8 – November 30 — the Newport gauge is regulated to 12 ft., with the exception of regulating to 14 ft. from May 15 through November 30 if the 4-lake system flood storage exceeds 70% full.
Special circumstances and requests for variance are also defined.

OK, How about a practical example to make this more meaningful to you?

Example 1:

It’s April 20th, so we’re trying to regulate to 14 ft. on the Newport gauge.
The 4-lake system is below 50% for this example.
The Bull Shoals Lake level, for whatever reason, has risen to 657′ in our example. That’s 3 ft. above pool.
The Newport gauge is currently below 14′.

Result:

All other things being equal, Bull Shoals is going to release as much water as they can until that gauge hits 14′, and they get the Bull Shoals Lake level back down to 654′.

So far, so good. Now, let’s say it starts raining. Crooked Creek & Buffalo, and all the other feeder creeks above this gauge start raising the water level. Guess what happens then? Bull Shoals shuts off, or throttles back accordingly.

What if we had this exact scenario, but the 4-lake system was above 50% instead of below? Bull Shoals would run to manage to 21′ instead of 14′, and then throttle back accordingly to try and get the Bull Shoals Lake level down to 654′.

(Don’t forget if Bull Shoals is above pool, Norfork probably is, too. Water will have to be dropped in that lake as well, and they’ll bounce back and forth with generation between the two lakes to do it.)

This is a rather simplistic scenario, to be sure. But if you take the time to read the plan, and study that chart, it will make it a little more meaningful to you!

What if the 4 lake system is below 0%? (That means all 4 lakes are at their target level or lower — 0% is in reference to the Flood Control, not that the lakes are empty.) Well, the US ACE has then done their job, and gotten rid of the excess water.

Now control is in the hands of SWPA (Southwest Power Administration, a quasi-governmental agency which is part of the Department of Energy). Unlike the Corps, whose job it was to get rid of that extra water, the job of SWPA is to make money with the water. So, they won’t run it just for the sake of running it. They’ll run water to generate power at peak demand times, when they can make the most profit.

(Side note: In the past, their operational mandate has created situations of extended periods of “dead-low” water that have caused fish kills and has damaged the river, and why the Minimum Flow Initiative is so important. Soon, these extended periods of dead-low water will be a thing of the past.)

So what does this mean for generation when SWPA has their finger on the button? It means that they will abide by the same guidelines when they do release water, but they don’t have to release water. When they’re in control, there’s often less generation on weekends than during the week, for example.

Read the 1998 Water Control Plan in full at http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/WCDS/documents/White%20River%20Master%20Manual.pdf.

For more information, and help understanding the other tools that are available regarding river flows, I have an entire web page dedicated to it at http://www.hisplaceresort.net/River-flow.htm.

newport

I hope you find this useful and informative. Tell me what you want to hear about!

Tight Lines & Good Fishin’ — Your White River Trout Diva

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April 2, 2009

Fishing the Changing Waters of the White River — Part 3

Filed under: Trout Fishing — Tags: His Place Resort, Trout Fishing, White River — admin @ 5:53 pm

Fang - Brown Trout on the White River

Part 3: More Tips for 6-8

So, you’re out there… You’re in 6 to 8 generators of water. What would you look for? Of course, it’s always helpful to know what the river bottom is like when the water is low. The trout will come out of those deeper holes in the bigger water, because once again, they’re just not as spooked and they’ll try to get meals without expending any unnecessary energy. So, they’ll try to look for some slower water.

Grass & moss beds that are out of the water when no generators are running will often hold fish when the water’s up – often larger ones, who will sit in the slightly lower areas waiting for their next meal to drift by. The water is often quite a bit slower on an inside bend, or maybe on a gravel bar behind some kind of island or other obstruction.

They may also take advantage of creek mouths or sloughs where the water is relatively slack, but they can quickly get back into the current if they see something interesting.

And yes, of course, they’ll get into and behind trees, snags or root beds close to the bank, which can offer them some semblance of protection while they stalk their prey. Remember, just as you are taking advantage of premium conditions for stalking your prey, the larger trout are trying to take advantage of those same conditions for stalking their prey!

Here’s something else that might surprise you a little bit. If you’re fishing in 6 to 8 generators, there may have been rain recently. If so, you might have some mud-lines at the edges of the river from various feeder creeks. Many folks avoid them. Typically, this is because Rainbows will avoid them.

But, guess what? Mud-lines do not seem to bother brown trout much at all. They’ll often intentionally sit inside the muddy water, and come out into the clearer water to grab a snack. And, sometimes, they’ll just stay right in that muddy water and depend on the shadow and motion of what you’re presenting to decide if they want it for dinner or not!

It is a fact that brown trout have more of the cone receptors in their eyes, so they do see better than rainbows, for example. I’m just guessing here, but it could have something to do with the fact that they don’t avoid muddy water like other trout do. So, the point is, don’t necessarily avoid that muddy water spitting out of that feeder creek! You might just be surprised with what you hook in to!

In closing this blog, I got a link to a great article about the brown fishing here, and it was on water with these conditions that you may be interested in:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/fishing/trout/where-fish/2009/03/trip-report-big-browns-white-river

Anyway, I hope this is helpful for you, and hope to see you soon! Tell me what you want to hear about!

Tight Lines & Good Fishin’ from your Trout Diva

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Fishing the Changing Waters of the White River — Part 2

Filed under: Trout Fishing — Tags: His Place Resort, Trout Fishing — admin @ 5:46 pm

Fang - Brown Trout on the White River

Part 2: Tips for 6-8

So, where to begin? Let’s start with 6 to 8 generators… You’ll need a john boat, of course. And you’ll need to concentrate on your boat handling in order to keep the boat drifting at, or slightly slower than the speed of the water. Give yourself some time to adjust to the boat handling aspect of fishing in these conditions.

Whether spin fishing or fly fishing, your chances of larger fish are better in these conditions, as they’re a little less spooky than when there’s only 6 inches of water over their backs!

One thing that may surprise you a little bit; when the water is up like this, especially shortly after it has risen, those bigger fish move surprisingly tight to the bank in search of their next meal. Remember, too, that after a brown trout hits about 16 inches in length, their diet changes from primarily bugs to “meatier cuisine”… Yes, they become downright cannibalistic!

If you don’t believe me, stand here on the observation deck one day, and look down into the water… (Do you hear the soundtrack from “Jaws” playing?) You may just see a big brown come up and slam a smaller trout, usually a rainbow, and when it’s stunned and twitching, the brown will swallow it whole – head first! Sometimes, they actually grab them from the side and shake them first to stun them, like a dog shaking a toy, before releasing them for a few seconds before gulping them down head first!

So, what would you use in conditions like this? Larger Rapalas (Countdowns) in size 7 or size 9 often do the trick. The 2 most consistent color combinations are the simple Black/Gold and Black/Silver. The Black/Silver works a little better in the late winter and early spring, and the Black/Gold works better pretty much any other time. The Brown Trout pattern is often as good, while the Rainbow patterns are either “really hot” or “really not”.

Here’s a tip: When you’re drifting in a boat, cast those Rapalas as close to the bank as you can get without hanging up on something, and bring them back out toward you with a medium retrieve, giving them a little jerk now and then.

What won’t work? Leave your smaller spoons and rooster tails in your tackle box today. They typically won’t go deep enough quickly enough to do you any good, and if you weight them down, the often don’t “swim” quite right. They won’t be nearly as effective.

Of course, you can still use the standard river rig, and drift red worms, night crawlers, artificial worms and various colors of Eagle Claw power balls with them; you’ll just have to use a heavier sinker. (Using one ball as a “head” and then threading on a worm below it is often a great combination!)

What about fly fishing in 6 to 8 generators? Personally, I’m a fan of fly fishing in these conditions. (Check out the website sometime and look on the video page. That’s me, catching a really nice brown trout in 8 generators on my 6 wt.)

In conditions like that, you need about 12 to 14 feet between the end of your fly line to your fly. Whether you use a 9 ft leader and add several feet of tippet, or set up with just monofilament on the end of your fly line instead, you want to get your fly down. And you don’t necessarily need to use sinking line, either. Barbie pink San Juan worms have been a consistent producer any time of year for me, drifting them under an indicator set deep. And yes, get your Sculpin patterns and Zonkers out of your fly vest, cast them very close to any kind of cover, and strip ‘em back quickly.

Of course, the effectiveness of even the most consistent flies, lures or bait can and will change, often frequently. We’ll always be there to help you with what’s working best at any time.

More to come… Look for Part 3 of Fishing the Changing Waters of the White River.

Tight Lines & Good Fishin’ from your Trout Diva

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Fishing the Changing Waters of the White River — Intro

Filed under: Trout Fishing — Tags: Trout Fishing, White River — admin @ 5:42 pm

Fang - Brown Trout on the White River

Part 1: Introduction

It’s spring again! I’m ready for it… Already we’ve seen the normal variations in the flow of the White. It rains, they run more water… Bull Shoals Lake level drops to 654′… They shut the water off. Changing river conditions are a fact of life on any tailwater fishery, and the White River is no exception.

When we purchased the resort 8 years ago, we were several years into a drought cycle in this area. I’ve talked to many an established local, who has told me that the “wet & dry” cycles for this area come in 7 to 12 year stretches.

Enough folks have shared this with me that I’m pretty convinced it’s true. I’m also convinced that after last year, the drought cycle is pretty much over, and we’re coming in to a “wet cycle”, for lack of a better term.

This is incredibly good news for the river and the trout! Case in point: After the consistent heavy flows that we experienced in 2008, the river is in much better shape than it has been in years. And it was good to begin with.

It sounds kind of silly to say, but “water is good for fish”! Keep the bottom of the river covered, and the moss & plant life thrives. The undesirable Didymo moss (that ugly cotton-y looking stuff) is gone. (High water’s the only thing that can get rid of it, according to a U of A contact…) I’ve never seen as many scuds & sowbugs in the White River as I have this spring, either. And tons of sculpin. And thousands of various small bait fish…

And the trout themselves??? Well, if you’ve been here lately you already know… They’re as fat and healthy as I’ve ever seen them. The higher water keeps the temperature colder, and with the additional food supply, they just constantly gorge themselves!

With the addition of Minimum Flow, and the new 2009 regulations which specifically protect our trophy brown trout, the White River is going to become the most INSANELY GOOD trout fishing spot on the planet! And you know how good it is already…

Now, looking at this from a strictly “goin’ fishing” point of view, the fact that the drought cycle is most likely over may seem like good news, indifferent news, or not-so-good news, depending on your point of view… My guests run the gamut of their preferences for river levels, to be sure.

About 50% are fine with the water at any level. If it’s 0 to 2 generators, they’ll wade. If it’s more, they’ll take guides or boats. This group is primarily folks that have fished here long enough to have experienced all conditions, they’ve learned to fish it all, and they really don’t care what it’s doing.
I have about 25% of our guests that really want the water to be 0 to 2 generators. Most of these folks want to wade, or take a boat and be able to anchor up safely. The other 25% want at least 3 to 4 generators running, and some won’t come unless there are at least 6 generators going, but they would prefer all 8. Those are typically the guests more interested in trophy fishing.

At any rate, regardless of your preference for no generation, more generation, or “crank it up”, chances are you’ll experience all of it at one time or another. And you can catch fish in all of it; you just have to change your techniques.

How do I know? Living here 365 days per year, fishing whenever I can (not nearly often enough, though…), reading about fishing and talking to guides and guests every day about trout fishing does give me a pretty good idea of what it takes… But, mostly, I try to learn all I can to share with you because it’s very important to me that YOU have a good time while you’re here! And providing you with this kind of information is one way I can do that…

More to come — look for part 2 of Fishing The Changing Waters of the White River

Tight Lines & Good Fishin’ from your Trout Diva

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