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Fishing the North Fork
- Fishing Tactics -
Flies &
Fly Tactics
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Brian's Blog ~ Fly Fishing The Ozarks

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"Having Brian Wise guide
for ROLF
has brought professionalism
and positive qualities to our
business.
Brian's skills are tops,
his joyful personality is
contagious
and I have absolute confidence
in him.
Brian trains our guides, speaks
publicly for ROLF
and leads our flyfishing
program."
- Myron McKee, River of
Life Farm |
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Here is some background
info and fishing tips
from Brian
to let you get a little
better acquainted with
him.
Background
Fly
fishing is not a hobby
for me, it is a way of
life. I love every
aspect of this wonderful
sport, the river, the
fish, and the feeling of
peace. When I am not on
the river, I am tying
flies or reading
everything I can to help
my fishing and
ultimately my guiding
... I spend around 150
days on the river yearly
and I am as excited
every time I hit the
river as I was the first
time.
Fishing History
Brian is an experienced
North Fork of the White
River guide with more
than 6 years of guiding
experience under his
wading belt. He has been
floating the North fork
for more than 14 years
and know the river very
well. Growing up just
minutes from the river
helped him get
acquainted with the
North Fork at a young
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Brian has the
ability to cater to what ever
kind of trip you are looking
for. For beginner fly fisherman
he can teach you the art of fly
fishing in his laid back and fun
style of teaching. For the
experienced fly fisherman he can
help work out the bugs and fine
tune your skills. If all you
want to do is CATCH FISH he can
do that too!
At the end of
the day he often stays to do
casting instruction to help
"tweak" your casting stroke.
Working with casting champions &
Master Casting instructors has
helped him become an outstanding
casting teacher. Whatever you
are looking to accomplish out of
your time with Brian he will
give you 110% to achieve your
goal. |
click to see a larger
picture
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Brian was recently invited to do
a 2 hour seminar on fishing the
North Fork of the White River
for the St. Louis Parks and
Recreation's "Gone Fishin'"
program, the largest outdoor
informational program in the
state.

The Seminar was also written up
in an article for the St. Louis
Post Dispatch.
He also be spoke to the Capital
City Fly fishers out of
Jefferson City, Missouri in
April 2005 and is available to
speak to your club upon request.
Brian is American Red Cross
certified in Advanced CPR,
Wilderness First Aid, and
Wilderness First Responder, so
your experience fishing with him
will be a safe & memorable one.
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Fishing the North Fork |
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Fishing Tactics
The North Fork being a large
river for Missouri Trout fishing
has it's "good" water and it's
"not so good" water just like
any other body of water that
holds fish so reading water is
key. Here is what I look for in
any given fishing spot:
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Seams --
Where fast water meets slow
water.
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Drop Offs
in a riffle or at the end of
a riffle
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Eddys --
the slow water on either
side of the fast water
These three things will produce
the best numbers of fish.
I fish faster water and riffles
75% of the time....they are the
better producers. But some of
the slow deep pools hold some
HOGS so you may not want to pass
them up!
While nymphing faster water make
sure the flies are deep.
Split-Shot (weight) is a
necessity on the North Fork.
But even with weight it is very
important to get a good
dead-drift to get the fly down
in this fast water, and most
importantly to get the most
natural movement out of the fly.
I focus on the riffles, in the
headwaters above them, the
tailwaters below them, and all
through the riffle.
When using a strike indicator be
sure to use one that can be
easily moved up and down the
line to move with the
ever-changing river depth.
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Favorite Flies
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Nymphs:
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Prince * |
Size 14-10 |
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Kauffman Stonefly
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Size 10-4 |
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Hare's Ear |
Size 16-12 |
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Pheasant Tail
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Size 16-12 |
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Crackle Back
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Size 14-10 |
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*Ask Brian about his
Teal Prince
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Streamers:
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Wooly Buggers -
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Olive, Black, Brown
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Mohair Leeches -
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Olive, Tan, Rust |
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Sculpin Patterns
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Dries:
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Adams |
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Elk Hair Caddis
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Stimulator |
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Blue Winged Olives
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Cahills |
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Griffith's Gnat
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Terrestrials:
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Near 'Nuff Crayfish
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Kyle's Pine Squirell
Crayfish |
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Madam X |
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Dave's Hopper
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Fly Tactics
As for
dry flies I like using Elk Hair
Caddis, Griffith's Gnat,
Stimulators, and Duns with the
occasional terrestrial in the
summer and fall.
Skating
the Elk Hair Caddis through the
riffles works real well, while
drifting and skating everything
else.
When
casting to rising trout try to
"match the hatch" or I like to
use Griffith's Gnats because
they can imitate so many flies.
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Click on Photos below to enlarge



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If you are interested in
retaining the guiding
services of Brian for
your next fishing
adventure on the North
Fork River, please call
or
email
Myron
or
Brian for
availability and
details. Additionally,
more information is
available on our
Guides Page.
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For guiding
questions, Please call Myron
at 417-261-7777 or
Brian at 417-683-0516
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Visit our
Policies Page |
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Call today to make your
Reservations!
River of Life Farm
RR. 1 Box 4535
Dora, MO 65637
417-261-7777
Myron@RiverofLifeFarm.com
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