Because of the wind, the people, and general consensus of happiness fly-fishing away from other people on the White River (thanks to the help of Jimmy “T” Traylor of FlyFishArkansas.com) we had pretty successfully avoided the masses at the base of the dam.

However, a trip to Arkansas with low water and not at least witnessing the behemoths that lurk in the C&R waters below the dam is like going to a strip club in East St. Louis and not getting a lap dance.  It simply must be done.  When in Rome, you do romans….right?

So with that, we packed up early from Gaston’s White River Resort and checked out and took the 5 minute drive up to the base of the dam.  Jimmy “T” Traylor had booked a trip for today on the last minute, so he was off picking up his “sport” for a day of fishing.  As is the standard fair, the parking lot was crowded with license plates from all over.  I promise I did my best to put up with all the people, really I did…….but in the end I just couldn’t fish with 30 other people……the shallow stillwater of the base of the dam was calling.

You see, this is where I should’ve walked over to Brent Hinds (who was riding back to St. Louis with me, and told him I was heading up stream….with the Durango) but that would be too easy (besides he was in the throngs of all the people at Hellen Keller hole).

So off I went.  I was surprised to find out that I was only the second car at the top, and the other guy was still rigging up.  So I hopped out of the rig, grabbed my rod, and walked the trail down to the stillwater.  Fishing at the base of the dam isn’t easy, at times it isn’t hard either, but if the sun comes out and there is no wind…..it can be damn tough fishing in this 18″ section of completely still bathwater.

Today was a good day though.  A #18 trout crack under a very small amount of yarn kept the fish interested in the 2 or so hours that I fished up here.  This section of water I have found is best fished by essentially standing still and letting the fish cruise to you.  It worked today, once I got near one of the many depressions in the stream bottom.

I also had the pleasure of running into Mick Spaulding on the river again this morning.  We essentially fished across from each other and really had the time to catch up as we were midge fishing to feeding trout, stopping our conversation only to land a fish.  Mick is in the process of developing a fly-fishing related web site that I can’t wait to see.

In the end it was a good day on the water.  Lots of fish caught but no pigs.  It will give me a reason to head back down there for sure.

First let me apologize for taking so long to get to finish up this post about my early February trip to the White River.  For some reason, I have been pretty swamped lately.  But I digress…..

After a day of floating and wading the White River, we were confronted with another morning of low water on the White River.  We pondered this conundrum over a killer breakfast, surely meant to cure our hangovers at Gaston’s White River Resort.  Because of the wind, we couldn’t decide whether to put the boat in and fish down river further, or fight the crowds and fish the dam.

We were seeking some of that special alone time that only the White River can give, so after discussing this with Jimmy “T” Traylor our guide for the day (www.FlyFishArkansas.com) he thought that perhaps escaping from the crowds would be our best bet.  Boy was he right.

I will save you from all the boring details, but fish were caught…..and lots of them.  We were fishing eggs, worms, trout crack, and midges under yarn and palsa indicators to fish all day long.  We would use the boat to motor to a spot and get out and wade fish for several hours, and hardly see a sole and definitely have the river to ourselves.  It definitely made for a great day out on the river.  Just because the White River is a tailwater doesn’t mean you can’t find solitude for the “quiet sport”, you just have to know where to look.  It wouldn’t have been possible though, without JimmyT’s unbelievable ability to navigate a white river jon boat (with outboard prop motor) through channels in rock ledges, riffles and runs, and around logs that I don’t know if I would have attempted in my drift boat.  The guy is simply a captain’s captain when it comes to piloting the river on low water.

We fished hard on Saturday and in the end, I couldn’t begin to tell you how many fish we caught.  We even were able to bump into pals Jim Laing and Jeff Trigg while on the river, which was good to catch up with them.  We pulled off the river around 5pm and headed back to our room ready ourselve’s for our annual dinner at 178 Club in Bull Shoals with Davy Wotton and crew.  As always it was a good time, but it is one of those things you just have to particpate in to believe as the stories are definitely told.  Needless to say it was a long night and I think my head hit the pillow dreaming of trout around midnight.

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We were up at 4:45am to shower and gear up before meeting Jim Traylor of FlyFishArkansas.com for breakfast at the Gold Pan Cafe in Lakeview, Arkansas.  We have fished with Jimmy in the past and that fact that they were running water had our spirits up, particularly because we spotted Gulls taking something from the water near Gastons….could we have hit the impossible…..the White River Shad Kill.  A drastic temerature change was going to occur today with the temps ranging more than 30 degrees.  Our hopes were up.

We caught up over breakfast, as it has been since October since we have seen each other  The group breakfast has become sort of the tradition on our trips to the White River.  It is cheap, eats pretty good, and keeps you from needing a lunch when out on the river, besides nothing nurses a hangover like a good shit after a greasy breakfast.  After the chit-chat, we piled into JimmyT’s Yukon and headed over to the boat ramp to launch.

The water was running about 6 units, the telephone message said 7 units, but it looked more like 6 units of water and made no difference to any of us we were just happy to be fishing together…….all 4 of us in one boat, and 3 of us throwing fly rods.  Did I mention, it is easily doable in one of the big fiberglass white river skiffs that the guides use down there.  The very first drift, Brian Greer ties into, and lands a 22″ brown trout.  You know the day is doomed when it starts like this.  We were all pumped and actually caught some of it on video, so we continued to cast knowing each cast could produce a bigger fish.  We picked up fish, here and there, but didn’t catch another brown trout all morning.  The fishing was pretty slow, for White River standards, but we were catching fish against the adverse conditions.  The wind had started blowing and was putting white cap waves blowing upstream on the river, so it made every run upstream a very wet one.  But all was not lost, the sun was out, fish were being caught, and we were among friends.

We were drifting below the State Park when we noticed that the water had started to fall out, and promptly reeled in and headed back towards the dam and our boat trailer.  There was a mass exodous of guide boats at the boat ramp when we got there, and everybody was reporting about the same results — fish were caught, but the 22″ brown was the biggest that we had heard.  We discussed hanging around and waiting for the water to drop and wade fishing the dam, but the hangovers won over and we were off to Cosmo’s Burgers and back to Gaston’s while we waited for it to fall out to enjoy a barley beverage or two.

About 2pm we headed out again, this time we headed to a private walk-in access that JimmyT has and were promptly greeted with fish.  Wade fishing the White River on low water can seem like a daunting task, because the river is so damn wide in places, but today it didn’t seem to matter.  We finished out the day drifting eggs and midges under small indicators (i was using yarn) to fish.  Brian Greer was in rare form and picked up a 19″ brown from accross the river while Brent Hinds and I were catching rainbow and rainbow.  Not a bad day on the river by any means.

The part of fly fishing that I think I like most of all is the fraternity of fly fisherman.  We ran into Mick Spaulding and Rob Finley when on stream.  It had been several years since I had last had a beer with Mick at the Back Forty in Mountain Home, but we didn’t really miss a beat in catching up and what not.  It is always good to see old friends on the river.  We also had the pleasure of meeting  Ron Yarborough of Ron Yarborough’s White River Fly Guide LLC.  Ron is no newcomer to the White River, having guided out of Dale Fulton’s flyshop in Mountain Home for several years before Dale sold it.  We met up with him as we were walking out from the river and ended up enjoying several brews at our room in Gastons before the evening wore out.

It was a long day, with alot of fishing, and we were tired puppies by the time 10pm got there, after watching Beer Fest it was lights out for the day.

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It isn’t often that a 32 year old man has the “santa syndrome.”  As we grow older the appeal of Christmas and the mysterious ways of Santa Claus looses its appeal as we age.  Yet for the past week, I find myself counting down the days until February 1, 2009 with as much energy and hope as a 4 year old waiting on the big guy in red.

February 1 is a magical time for the Ozark fly fisherman.  Some of the biggest trout in the midwest have made their homes in a section of unmolested water below Bull Shoals Dam and they haven’t seen an angler since October 31.  These fish can be epic in size, and my first experience with low water on this river had me referencing the fish as “logs”, because they were so damn big.

The fishing isn’t glorious, and on low water it can be rather crowded, but for some reason the appeal of trout over 10lbs leaves me moist with anticipation for February 1 every year.

If you have never experienced, what are you waiting for.  Gas prices are only going to go up, and the economy isn’t going anywhere soon; so get out and fish.

–Matt Tucker