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By MattTucker, December 26, 2011 8:17 pm

The holiday break often affords me with time to catch up on some past trip reports.  The 2011 Christmas Holiday was much the same, and in keeping with that tradition I will wind back to a trip Hannah and I took on November 19, 2011 to Dry Run Creek.  These trips to Arkansas are something that I will always remember, so often than not it is the trip that we actually remember more than the fishing, and this trip was no different.

We started this trip, late on a Friday night after rolling out of St. Louis and were in Mountain Home by 11pm or so.  Up early and off to the stream, we found ourselves to be the only ones there for the first hour or two.  It was a magical hour or two as well.  Hannah is really starting to come in to her own with fishing, we will next work on tying on the flies and knots, but from hook set to release, it is all her.  She caught and released numerous fish, including a really nice Cutthroat.

The entire Wise Family (Brian Wise, Jenny Wise, Parker Wise, and Carter Wise) caught up with us on the stream around 9am or so and we continued to catch up as the kids fished.  It is nice to have another adult/kid combo on trips as sometimes Hannah will get bored with fishing with me and it is fun to swap around and fish with another youngster.  Today was no different, and Hannah quickly jumped at the opportunity to fish with Brian and Parker with me.

Parker is a little fly fishing stud.  The kid can fish and is intent on fishing. The kids fished for a few more hours with many more fish brought to hand and released.  The kids were getting tired and Hannah and I were going to break for lunch and drive back to St. Louis that afternoon, so we headed towards Mountain Home and had a nice lunch with the Wise family and were on our way back to St. Louis by 3pm or so.  It was another satisfying trip.  Lots of photos were taken, and Hannah even made an appearance in Brian Wise’s 2011 Fall Fly Fishing Video.

But as with the more recent Dry Run Creek trip reports, it wouldn’t be a report without Hannah’s version:

Fishing Story November 18/19,11

By:  Hannah Tucker

Me and my dad left are house about 4:45. We were on the road for fifteen minutes and my dad almost hit a deer. But luckily we did not hit the deer.  It was like a miracle. I thought we were going to hit it .My dad put on the brakes and we made it .He said ‘If we had hit that deer, our fishing trip would have ended and we would have to call uncle Dan to pick us up, and trust me I did not want that to happen.  We kept on driving I fell asleep. When I woke up dad said’ what do you want for dinner?  I said I don’t care.  Dad said the same thing. So we went to Arby’s. We went through the drive through and got back on the road. I was about to go to sleep when we were listening to Jonny Cash.  We got to Ramada Inn and I was so tired.  I got in my p-jays and fell onto the bed. I couldn’t sleep at first because dad had the TV on. He finally turned off the TV.  When I woke up I got dressed and we went down to the lobby to get WESTERN SIZZLIN coupons. We went to eat and they did not have the buffet.  Dad asked the one of the staff and she said they were not open to the public.  So me and dad left and went to a different place.  Once we left that place we went to Dry Run Creek. We got on are waders and boots.  We got down to the creek and started  fishing.  I caught some small fish, mostly browns.  My dad was looking through his fly box  and wanted to do  something new.  He put on a yellow Sally.  And I caught a 23 inch cut throat.  It had the most beautiful orange stripes on the bottom of its mouth. Me and my dad went back to the car to take off our jackets.  Went back down to the stream to fish and it was like catch ,unhook, release, catch, unhook, release over and over.  I just kept catching fish.  Brian, Jenny, Parker, and Carter came to fish with us too.  We switched off so that Parker went with my dad and I went with Parker’s dad.  Brian couldn’t believe that the yellow sally was that good.  I kept catching fish.  The total of all the fish I had caught  so far was 36.  Is that awesome or what?  We went up the stream again and spotted a big brown.  It was huge. I fished to it, but sadly it was not eating.  I  fished to some more fish and my lucky hook  got stuck in the tree.  So I could not put it on my hook Keeper thingy migiger.  I fished a little bit more.  We walked back down the creek. We saw a fish with a eel thing on it. My dad told me to catch it so that he could  take that eal thing off.  Sadly I did not catch it.  We went back to the car and got in our regular clothes and went to lunch with Brian, Jenny, Parker, and Carter.  After that we went home.  The End.

It is funny the things that she remembers and the things that I have forgotten on these trips; such as the deer, the lamprey eel, or the breakfast.  Oh to be young again.  Until next time.

–Matt Tucker

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By MattTucker, November 13, 2011 12:26 pm

As I was searching around on the interweb today, I got to thinking about all the cool shit that is online from our very own local fly-fishing talent.  For an area of the country that is often overlooked as a “destination” for fly-fishing; we certainly have an abundance of homegrown amateur bloggers, photographer, and videographers.

As someone that knows how much effort you can and sometimes don’t put in to a blog, I thought it was time to sort of showcase some of my favorite sites from some of the local guys.  The list is not any particular order, other than alphabetical, and is definitely not all inclusive.  Check them out and let me (and more importantly them) know what you think.

Brian Wise – Fly Fishing The Ozarks
Fly Fishing The Ozarks is the online home of Brian Wise, head guide at the River of Life Farm on the banks of the North Fork of the White River near Dora, Missouri.  In my mind, Brian is sort of the forefather of amateur videography for the Ozarks; he puts out some quality videos and continues to set the bar high.  You can check in on Brian’s adventures by clicking here http://flyfishingtheozarks.com/

Chris Barclay – The Bream Bum
The Bream Bum will fish for anything, particularly if it can be caught on a fly rod.  Chris has only found fly fishing for trout in the last few years, but loved to chase fish in warm water before.  His blog often features a different write-up from adventures with his conspirator Will King and his photos and written prose follow along nicely.  You can follow Chris’ adventures at this link http://breambum.blogspot.com/

Jeff (Last Name Unknown) – High Plains Fly Fisher
High Plains Fly Fisher is where Jeff, whose last name remains a secret at this time, calls home on the net.  If there is one thing about him, this guy gets out and about.   His writings and photography tell the whole story, from departure to arrival and back to departure.   At times his photography can be stellar and place you in the moment.  It is apparent that Jeff values the entire fishing trip from start to finish.  You can read his blog here http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

Randy Hanner – Troutcore To The Max
Randy Hanner is a member of the 2011 Fly Fishing Team USA competitive fly fishing team.  He doesn’t update his blog as much as he should, but he doesn’t do it because he is Randy “f’ ing” Hanner.  Seriously, this guy can fish and is making a name for himself in the world of competitive fly fishing.  Maybe if enough of us click on the links, Randy will start updating his blog more; you can check it out here http://www.motroutbum.blogspot.com/

R. Reidy (and other Reidy Family Members) – TroutJourney
This is the online fly fishing home of the Reidy Family.  The story here is the videos that they keep putting up on Vimeo.  The videos are videos filled with a bunch of fishporn, instead they are videos that show the importance of family and the outdoors.  The videography is stellar and the story is there.  I always look forward to seeing their next video or blog posting.  Check out thier site at http://www.troutjourneys.com

Rick Coffman – Live2FlyFish Radio
Rick Coffman hales from Rogersville, Missouri and posts “semi-regular” podcasts online about fly-fishing the Ozarks.  His podcasts aren’t followed as much as they should be, but we are fortunate to have someone local spending his time putting such shows on.  Give them a listen at http://www.liv2flyfish.com/

Will King — The Riparian Corridor
The Riparian Corridor is the online prescence of Will King an aspiring writer, medium/large format film photographer,  and wild trout connoisseur.  A quick read of some of Will’s posts and you are taken away from your desk at lunch and put on the trip with him and his conspirators.  Great writing and the photography at times is stellar as well.  I am looking forward to his first book about the Ozarks.  Check his site out at http://theripariancorridor.com/

If there is a blog or site that you think is in the caliber of the sites above, drop me an email and let me know.  Always looking for new sites.

–Matt Tucker