Presidents’ Day gave me and two of my good friends a free day to hit the river. Now there are lots of rivers to choose from here in the Ozarks, but I usually fall back on the old standby, the North Fork. Since I grew up on the North Fork’s banks I have a bit more confidence and that can make all the difference. It is also a real pleasure to work with River of Life Farm and have them shuttle my boat.

The river was over 1100 cfs. Which is a lot of water and probably the max anyone wanting to fish. If you are somewhat unfamiliar with the North Fork and want to fish at this level use EXTREME caution while wading, or try using a boat, experienced guide, and some caution while approaching a place to fish. This is not to say it can’t be done, the rewards can be great but there is a definite risk there.

Okay enough with the disclaimer, back to the fishing report right. Well, we landed some great fish. With the water up the fish were keying in on big meals. Any fly bigger than a number 6 or 8 they seemed to slam, none of this puny midge action or tiny nymphs. There were even blue wing olives flying all around but it was the streamers, stones, and buggers that made the meal ticket in this high water. Now it was tough to get down but when you did the fish slammed the fly without hesitation. Some of the browns were so gorged they had knots protruding from their stomach and still hammered a #6 bugger. Reading the water was as usual, seams, drop-offs, and eddies were where the fish were hanging just getting there was the problem. This is where the boat comes in very handy, and most of the fish we caught were from the boat.

At the end of the day we landed quality not quantity and had a great day. Only one person went for a swim and everyone caught good fish. O’ and the Longboat was back from its cold winter paint job and looking quite charming slipping through the 3ft standing waves;)