Fishing Report 2-21-09

Before starting a crazy month of guiding coming up in March I had the opportunity to fish with a buddy. Matt Tucker came down from St. Louis after I sent him several emails about the incredibly nice water that we have now. It had also been a while since either one of us really had the opportunity to shoot some on-stream photos besides regular fish photos.
We started the day by putting the drift boat in at the dirt (read MUD) "ramp" at Kelly Ford which is always a fun experience in itself. But as soon as the boat hit the water it started snowing...big snowflakes. Turns out that was probably the warmest part of the day as the wind really blew later in the afternoon and it was a "too the bone" kind of wind.


Water levels were around 740 cfs. We rowed up to Lamb and nothing happening so we drifted through to Kelly--made 3 drifts at Kelly and landed as many fish. We hit another stack of fish below McKee Bridge and caught several, several fish in one spot.

Ok, so pretty much every stop and pretty much all riffles produced fish the rest of the day so lets get on to the photos. :)




Even caught a nice......sucker.....yeah, that is a look of pure excitement on my face.

Had a great time. And for a little more info on the river, it does look like the really, really nice water we have now will be holding on for a little while. The fall-out is really slow and with some rain coming later this week hopefully it will hold on that much longer. Don't be shy about fishing 700cfs and under, it can be some of the best water levels to fish the river. It doesn't make wading an already sketchy wading river any easier so watch your step and remember....most of the time you won't have to make a very long cast to catch these fish at higher levels so wading out real far and casting into the SUPER fast water really isn't necessary (you wouldn't stand in it so why would a fish hang out in it for very long) hit the seam.

Brian Wise

Head Guide

River of Life Farm

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;)

North Fork of the White at approximately 2000 cfs.

The combination of the Ice Storm melting and around 2.5 inches of rain brings us this....

This photo is literally hot off the press as of this morning (2-13-09) of The Falls at about 2000 cfs.

Sink-tip and a big nasty streamer anyone? :)

Brian

February 09, 2009 was a great day on the North Fork. Me, Randy Hanner, and Tommy McKee spent an entire day casting into eddy lines in hopes of large colorful hungry trout. Though there were more casts than fish it was a great 70 degree February day on the river.

We each caught our share of rainbows and Tommy seemed to catch the sickness that is fly fishing. At the end of the day Tommy fished longer than the two seasoned guides and when I say sickness I mean the passion of hunting for that next perfect rock that has a feeding trout behind it. Tommy scoped out the far rocks of the rock garden and was the first to cross the river flowing at 1000 cfs, Determined that the big one was behind that nice sycamore root wad on the far bank. It was great to see that fresh determination in his eye and eager anticipation of a strike at each drift, that is what makes guiding so great.

The river began to rise on Saturday night and continued throughout Sunday. This I’m guessing was from the groundwater influence of the show and ice melt, because there was no rain that night. The fishing was best the first half of the day when we all landed the majority of our catch. Caddis larva was the ticket this day and scored the majority of the fish. The stonefly and mayfly nymphs coming in a close second on catch rate. As Brian Wise always stresses “DEEP” was the ticket and in the high water it was difficult.

At the end of the day we had landed 10 between us and performed long distance releases to that many more. Though any day on the river is always much more than how many fish you catch, it is about the time just hanging out, laughing, and enjoying the freedom of the outdoors.

2009 Spring Fishing Outlook

With the temperatures hitting 70+ today (February 7) I thought it was time to take a look at what to expect for spring fishing on the North Fork of the White River.
As most of us remember last year epic floods moved through the area and at one point an Ark was handling the river better than my drift boat. All we can do is hope that this year those floods don't have as much of an impact as they did last year.

Gear-wise, your standard 9' 5wt is going to cover a lot of different scenarios on the NFOW. But those of us who enjoy using some lighter tackle Spring is a great time to break out a 3wt for swinging wet flies or tossing some dries. I have a tendency to use a long leader but 9' 3-5x leaders will cover all your bases there, while 4-6x tippet will do you well.

Spring-time is, of course, a great time for hatches. From Blue Winged Olives, Caddis, Mays, Stones, and on and on the hatches on the NFOW are solid. To match these hatches make sure to bring #14-18 Adams, #14-18 Blue Winged Olives, #12-16 Elk Hair Caddis, #12-16 Cracklebacks, and #14-10 Stimulators. A lot of the time you may run into one of these hatches and not see a single rise (or very few anyway) so also have in your arsenal some soft hackles, some general wet flies, and emergers to get the fish that are eating those bugs before they get to the surface...which is a super fun bite as well.

Nymphing is without a doubt the best way to fish the river any given day. When nymphing make sure you are deep, DEEP. I can't say it enough, if you are nymphing make sure you are deep enough that you are going to lose some flies--or at least come close. :) Probably the best rig for nymphing the NFOW is going to be a heavy stonefly with a smaller nymph as a dropper. The dropper can be one of an array of different flies like Princes, Hares Ears, Psycho Princes, Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs, San Juan Worms, and so on.

Fish Hard, Nymph Deep, and Tight Lines,

Brian Wise

Head Guide

River of Life Farm

When traveling to fly fish the North Fork of the White River in Missouri:

Set aside a few days to get to know the river. This stream can humble the best fishermen. With out a guide or a week to learn how the stream and the fish work you may go home without a trophy picture. The second reason to stay a few days is that the weather is sure to change and that can make all the difference. Thirdly, it takes days to completely let the wild river wash away that entire residue of civilization locked up inside from work and real life.

A weather example: I fished three days in a row the first days of 2009. Day one, I fished with a national fly fishing tournament member and we both were skunked. Day two, Fished with my little brother in law and caught two bows but had to work for them. Day three, I was fishing by myself and caught ten fish in about two hours. Now, on the third day the weather was changing. The fish went bonkers. I’m not sure if it was the weather but in past experience this has been that case.

An example of being freed by the river: In October I planned a trip for seven of my good friends and family. We spent 3 days fishing the North Fork and 3 days fishing the Eleven Point River. When our time was up I forgot where I was in life. I felt like I was on drugs for a week and was on cloud nine. Now I have been on the river a lot! But never have I had such a great time as a week long trip with my friends and forgot every care in the world. I can’t wait to do that trip again!

So next time your down at the North Fork take some time, enjoy your surroundings, and never rate a trip by the number of fish you catch you will always be disappointed. Remember if you don’t have the time that is where the guide steps in to tell you what pattern the river is in that day, help you notice the singing wood thrush in the trees, and make your trip the best ever.

Have a good time on the water and say hi, if you see a longboat floating down steam.

Ice Storm '09

Although the ice storm that swept through the mid-west was devistating to some, there is no denying it's beauty.

Their sons voted it was the best vacation

Anne & Myron, I just wanted to let you know how much my family enjoyed their time at ROLF. Everyone was quite satisfied with the accommodations and my little sister’s two boys voted their time there the best vacation they ever had—even beating out Disneyland. There is something to be said for reconnecting with nature and family in such a beautiful setting. The family already wants to go back for our next Thanksgiving. I guess I’ll start working on setting that up soon. Hopefully this time, we will have the whole family in attendance. Thank you again for the wonderful hospitality and we look forward to seeing you in the future.Stephanie