Norfork River Renunion; A Norfork River Trip Report

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Every October, about as frequently as the Cardinals make the playoffs, a group of friends and I head for the tailwaters in Arkansas to chase trout in what marks the beginning of fall, and our fishing season.  It is one of the few trips that even gets planned out, and this year was no different.  Well, it was a little different.  It seems that the lonely Texan in the group would not be able to make the trip north due to “the man” and after hemming and hawing over could he go, could he not go, and useless percentages of his ability to go…….it was go time….and he did not (but was subsequently missed, never the less).  I sensed that he was a bit overtaken by how easily he was replaced……that is the one thing about owning a drift boat, there is never any shortage of people to fish with.  But I digress.

I reached out an old high school friend that had gotten back in to fly fishing over the years and within an afternoon, the boat was full and the wheels were set in motion.  Craig Peterson, Dan Ritter, and I rolled out of St. Louis around 4:30pm or so and headed south, boat in tow and loaded down with all the essentials (mainly alot of beer).  We were meeting up with two streamer addicts from Illinois (Paul Chausse and Dan Held) at a house that they had found online for rent near the Wildcat Shoals Boat Ramp on the White River.  They got an earlier start on the day than we had planned, so we ended up meeting them at the house when we rolled in around 11pm on Wednesday night.  After some catching up /rod rigging and a beer or two, it was lights out.

The alarm went off Thursday morning and we were packed up into the rigs and headed for the White Sands Restaurant in downtown Cotter.  The White Sands Restaurant is sort of an institution for the traveling fly fisherman.  If you haven’t eaten breakfast  there……well, you should.  The six of us (Craig Peterson, Dan Ritter, Paul Chausse, Dan Held, Jim Held, and myself) had a breakfast bill of no more than $40.00 and we ate like kings (which is a recurring theme for this trip).  Next stop was the Norfork River after a quick pitstop to say hello to Steve Dally over at Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher fly shop.  My license was set to expire on Friday, so i needed to renew, and the boys picked up a few odds and ends.

We rolled down to Quarry Park Campground and Access around 9am and dropped  the boats in (even dropped mine in without the plugs in it for good measure……) and ran down to Two Rivers Fly Shop in Norfork near the confluence of the White River and Norfork River to inquire about a shuttle back to the ramp and for a few bucks we were on our way back to the put-in.  The Norfork was pushing about 1500 CFS as we started our float, and the heat built up.  The weather, not the fishing, was the story of the day.  Craig and I chose to fish in shorts, sandals, and t-shirts, while Dan offered to wader up just in case someone needed to get out and push (he did once).  The temp soared to the mid 80’s for the high, but around 2pm or so a massive front moved in (we were fighting an upstream wind all day long) and the temp dropped by 30 degrees by the time we made it back to Mountain Home.

While we didn’t set the world on fire fishing, the boys stuck to their guns and threw streamers most of the day and were rewarded with a handful of small rainbows (although a few did fall victim to a bobber rig).  A yellow sex dungeon seemed to be the streamer of choice in my boat, with considerably more follows than takes.  But so it goes.  Dan Held did get an eat from a “toad” of a fish just below dock hole, but it was over in seconds and we could hear some choice words and rod waiving all the way upstream.  We rolled off the water around 4:30pm and headed back to the house in the pouring rain to change and drop the boats off and then dinner.

The Arena Sports Bar in Mountain Home seems to have become my choice for dinner (at least it was the last two trips south).  The food is always good, and there are plenty of TV’s to catch up on anything sports related.  We hung out there for a few hours enjoying dinner and conversation and were joined by Dominic Zametto (owner of Two Rivers Fly Shop in Norfork) and a couple of his buddies / clients for the day.  Good food, good drinks, good conversation, but we were wiped tired from the long night and day and hit it early on Thursday.

More to follow.

–Tucker

 

 

White River Scotch, Barley, & Fly-Fishing Social (10-26-11 to 10-30-11)

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During one relentless summer, brimming with endless hours at the office and intense preparation for an AISC Certification at work, the pull of the river grew irresistible. So, I reached out to my Facebook fly-fishing community, sharing my yearning for an escape to the serene White River in quest of the elusive autumn brown. To my delight, this simple act of yearning turned into a rallying call, culminating in the inaugural White River Scotch, Barley, & Fly-Fishing Social slated for October 26-30, 2011, at the tranquil Bull Shoals State Park.

The call was heeded by about 10 kindred spirits, a motley crew of fellow anglers (names including Evan Muskopf, Craig Peterson, David Stinnett, and others), each drawn by the promise of camaraderie and the timeless dance between man and river. Yet, safety was never an afterthought — thanks to my cousin who works with a fire watch company in Lauderdale Lakes, their dedication mirrored in our venture. Her company, known for their immediate response and well-equipped personnel, ensured that just as we kept a vigilant eye on the drifts and eddies of the White River, someone trained and dependable watched over our temporary riverside abode, ready to coordinate with emergency services at a moment’s notice. It was this professional vigilance that allowed us to immerse fully in the embrace of nature, knowing we were guarded against unexpected perils.

The days were blissfully spent with lines cast into the flowing tapestry of the river, and the nights—alive with the crackling of campfires and the rich tales of river lore. The event, marked by the sharing of fine scotch and the mutual respect of barley’s craft, became more than a fishing trip; it was a respite for the soul. It was in this harmonious blend of passion, peace, and protection where we found not only the catch of the season but memories etched into the current of life, ones that would meander through our minds long after the hooks were stowed away.

Day 1 (10-27-2011)

The word for the first day was WET.  It rained all day.  The temps didn’t get out of the 40’s for very long.  The only thing that was missing was wind, and this would have been the most complete day on the river.  We decided to drop the two drift boats in at the base of the dam and float to Wildcat Shoals Boat Ramp (about an 11 mile float or so).  With Evan Muskopf and Craig Peterson in my boat, combined with the overcast skies and rain the order of the day was streamers.  We were not rewarded with many fish, but both Evan and Craig got some good follows throwing various Galloup flies (sex dungeons, circus peanuts, and peanut envy) with Evan recieving the biggest follow and eat twice but no hookup.  The rain, combined with few fish made for a long day on the river.  Dan Held and Paul Chausse floated the same section with us, and were throwing some meat to, and were rewarded with a brown just over 20″ or so very early in the trip — needless to say are expectations were high for the day.  The photography would have been stellar except the rain kept the camera in the pelican case most of the day, except for when we pulled over at the Narrows and nymphed and swung streamers for a bit (with only dink rainbows the reward).

We pulled off the river and headed back to Bull Shoals State Park for a dinner of champions and to watch Game 6 of the World Series (Cardinals vs. Rangers).  We were staying in one of the Rent-An-RV units at Bull Shoals State Park and had satellite TV to catch the game.  Normally the “TV” during a fishing trip is the campfire, but this trip with the World Series had special meaning.  As we seasoned up 24oz Porterhouse Steaks, sliced potatoes for the grill, and prepared the onions for the fire, we started watching would would become one of the most epic world series games of all time.  As we ate like champions, our guest of honor arrived for the night in non other than uber Ranger’s fan David Stinnett.  I am not sure what was more fun, fitting 8 guys in the camper around a 20″ television or the hooting and hollering that was going on after the Cardinals win.  I think we finally hit the sack around 1:30am with an early morning just a few hours away.

Day 2 (10-28-2011)

The alarm went off early on Friday morning, we were up at 7am and ready for breakfast at Gaston’s by 8am.  Gaston’s breakfast has got to be the best thing going for hot breakfasts on the river, perfect for a hangover cure.  We were going to float from Wildcat Boat Ramp to Cotter, a float of about 7 miles or so.  We dropped the boats in, ran the shuttle and were on the water by about 10:30am.  We spent Thursday cursing the rain, but would spend Friday cursing the crowds and the high bright sun and bluebird skies.  The fishing was a bit slow today, although fish were caught on the usual suspects, Craig Peterson and David Stinnett tried to stick with streamers in my boat as long as they could.  When Craig tired, I turned the oars over to him and I pounded the bank with not even a follow.  We pulled off the river about 3pm and headed back to Bull Shoals State Park.  There was enough light left, and Dan Held and Paul Chausse were looking to try out the motor they bought for their drift boat so we decided to drop the boats back in at the Dam.  My boat was going to float from Dam to Gastons Boat Ramp and Dan and Paul were going to do multiple drifts in the State Park area.  Craig, David, and I had a great float and fish were caught.  I got to toss some streamers again with Craig on the oars and got some eats in the State Park with no fish landed before getting back on the sticks to float the rest of the way out with Craig and David fishing.  Craig was getting constant action on a Circus Peanut as soon as he was back in the game and it was an enjoyable way to finish out the day on the water.

We finished the day back at camp with bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, grilled potatoes, sweet corn, and an apple pie washed down with plenty of beer around the campfire.  All in all a great fall day on the river.

Day 3 (10-29-2011)

We got on the river early on Friday, having been talked into floating the Norfork River at the base of Lake Norfork Dam.  At the time we decided to do the float, they were running 1 unit of generation.  They were running 1 unit of generation for the early part of the float, but once we got through the Dock Hole, they shut the water off.

The Norfork was a new river for me to float, particularly at low water.  It was interesting to say the least.  Everyone caught fish and the fishing was better than it had been on the White the previous two days.  The river is more of a “river” in the traditional sense with riffle / run / pool type structure.  It was interesting to float in a few places and we definitely left a few new scratches on the boat bottoms from some direct hits on some of the rocks and chutes.  We actually had to get out and push the boat on 3 different occasions.  But again, the fishing was spectacular.  Craig was a brown trout shy of the Grand Slam having landed numerous cutthroat and rainbows, and picked up his lone brook trout in what used to be McClellan’s Hole (wow did that change from how I remember it…..need some streambank stabilization there).

They turned the water back on just as we were getting to the islands above Handicap Access and we were greeted by an easier float out and fish as well.  What was supposed to be numerous trips down the 4 1/2 mile river turned into 1 float that lasted about 9hrs.  It was a long day, but it was a good day.

Day 4 (10-30-2011)

With everyone having longer drives than us back to St. Louis, most everyone left early on Sunday morning.  Craig, Evan, David, and I used the opportunity to nurse some hangovers and sleep in, pack up, hit Gaston’s for breakfast and then head back to St. Louis (with David driving back to the Dallas area).  I am not sure how much was drank this weekend, but this trip was about fellowship just as much as it was the fishing.

It was a good trip, the kind that we used to do on an annual basis down on the White River.  I am fairly certain it will be a trip that is more frequent in the making based upon the comments from everyone this weekend.  Until the next time on the river….

Norfork River, White River, Spring River (Somewhere in Arkansas) — October 22 – 24, 2004

I am writing this report more than a month after the trip, as I was waiting for the new OzarkChronicles web site update. The trip started off with Craig Peterson and I leaving for the Norfork River around 12pm on Thursday, October 21. We got down to the Ramada Inn in Mountain Home, Arkansas just in enough time to give John Wilson (www.flyfishingarkansas.com) a call and inquire about the fishing and a place to watch the Cardinals vs. Astros NLCS game 7. We ended up at the BackForty Bar & Grill and watched the Cards to victory while enjoying a great burger and some cold beers. We headed back to the hotel room in preparation of David Stinnett driving in from Lewisville, Texas. David showed up about 11pm and after quickly unpacking and checking the generation on the Norfork, we opted to do some night fishing at Quarry Park.

We got to the river around 11:30pm and suited up, and headed towards the river. Not being on the river for 30 minutes, the horn started blowing and the water came up. During the rising water, David hooked up with his biggest brown trout to date of about 16″. As we were standing around the boat ramp waiting to make a decision, another angler made his way up to us. It was Troy Miller, an internet acquaintance from John Wilson’s message board. We talked like we were old pals for at least an hour, during which the water came back down. We all decided to fish a little more (even though falling water normally means no fish), and I gave the riffles in front of Dry Run Creek a try. I was rewarded with a nice 21″ brown trout, which made my trip and was the reason I came down. About 3:30pm we all met back up at the truck and decided to head back to the hotel room and get some sleep, since it was a long day.

On Friday, we rose about 10am to find that the water had been running for some time that morning and after a quick conversation with John Wilson it was decided that they were probably going to run it all day. We ate breakfast at the Country Kettle, and then decided to check out the fly shop and then go check out the White River dam area (since I have never seen that water). We walked around for a bit, and it was crowded, but there was some wadeable water on 3 generators so we decided to suite up and fish the area around the trout dock in the State Park. After about 2 hours of fishing, I found a nice incline on which to take an afternoon siesta.

After a shower, we met up with John Wilson for some drinks at the BackForty bar until about 11:30pm on Friday night. The only good that came of that night, other than the great conversation and friends getting together and telling lies was that the other guys learned how to say “Put it on Tucker’s tab.” All in all it was a great time, no matter what the bar tab.

They ran water all day on Friday and were still running water when we got back to the hotel room from the bar, and we made the decision to head over to the Spring River in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas to ensure that we got some fishing done. The Spring River diddn’t disappoint, and on Saturday we caught over 80 fish between the 3 of us (Craig caught over 40). We fished out the river for an hour on Sunday and then headed home. I am forgetting a lot about the Spring River, but it has definitely become a great standby in place of the tailwaters if they are running water. There is talk that we may head to Wisconsin to chase steelhead and lake run browns instead of doing Arkansas in October (due to water generation), we will see………..

White River / Norfork River (Mountain Home, Arkansas) — July 15, 2004

Fly Rod & Reel Trout Bum Tournament Check-In # 7

Ouch!!!! I wake up to the pain of someone pulling on my toe!!!! Matt is trying his best to wake me and that is what seemed to work I guess. Glad it was just my toe!!! One thing I have to give Matt credit about here is that no matter how little sleep or what time so far, that boy has gotten up when the alarm has gone off. I have still never heard the damn thing!!!!

As I have tried to impress upon all of you previously, you MUST keep know the water here and the generation schedules and how long it takes for the water to rise or to fall at the location you want to fish!!! I think that kinda gets the point across…….. You just don’t call up a buddy and say, “Hey, let’s wade and fish XX access on X month and X day at 7:00!” You may only get to fish 20 yards of shoreline with that rigid of an itinerary. Some of these guides down here are thinking all the time to get you the best experience they possibly can and one of them is Tom Rogers. OK, so we’re supposed to meat Tom at 7:00. Not a problem. However, what I didn’t know until much later is that Tom had already tied a couple dozen flies and figured out the power generation for the day and gotten all of the gear packed before we had gotten there.

Once at TNT, Tom tells us how the White is going to be low for a little while and how it will begin to rise just about the time we want to go visit Wapsi, and that after that, that the water will be just right to fish the Norfork. Now, I’m not the dullest knife in the block, but that is a lot of head calculating and looking ahead in my book. And you know what……that is what ALL of the guides that we have gone out with on this trip have done. It’s just a different way of thinking to me and that is why I want to pass it along. Do NOT Attempt to fish this area without learning at least a little about how power generation affects the area you may choose to fish. I’m sure ANY of the fly shops will gladly help you out with all of this. OR….just hire a guide!!

OK, so this will seem like a much shorter report than yesterday, but that is only because we were trying to do too much (not the guides fault) and too many things as opposed to this day. So, after we meet Tom, we go to a local gas/deli shop for fuel, coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Tom wouldn’t let us pay a cent!!! After fueling the truck and us, we headed to Rim Shoal on the White River in the C&R area. Tom wouldn’t let you do a thing. If you needed a new fly, leader, tippet, split shot, indicator adjustment, monster tangle (so I’ve heard… ;)), ETC!!!!……Tom would do it for you. I felt guilty actually for as much as he was doing. For goodness sake…I think the guy could easily juggle cats!!! If he already doesn’t.

We caught 22 fish there before noon. However, we needed to leave by then to go visit Wapsi…..the fly tying material people. You all know them. Just look around your favorite shop. I have a feeling you will see the name………ALL Over!!! On our way to Wapsi, the Rogers’ offered to buy us lunch at subway. Man did that sound pretty good on such a hot day. We ate our sandwiches on the drive to Wapsi and I think I even looked at the back of my eyelids for a little while……glad Tom was driving!!! The next thing I know, were geting a private tour of the place and seeing not only what they “distribute” but also what they make themselves.

Our jaws were dropped most of the tour. I just wanted to ask if I could only have “one of everything”. Even at that rate, I probably would have had to rent a cargo trailer too take “one of each” home!!!!

After that incredible tour at Wapsi, we headed to Dry Run Creek and the Norfork National Fish Hatchery. We took, a few photos at this location and would like everyone to know how fun it is for the youth — PLEASE check regulations. Following the sight seeing, we chose to fish. Up until just before 8:00pm we fished and caught a total of 26 fish. Many were really nice.

We hurriedly got off the river and the boat on the trailer due to the impending rain and lightening storm. One of Becky Roger’s favorite places is El Charro in Mountain Home, Arkansas, so that is where I went. Allthough we did NOT try to bum dinner that night, the manager basically cut our bill in half. What a cool man.

By this time it is about 8:45 and we need to get the computer working. YES!!! Matt is good. He has it done and we are on our way home by 11:15. Once there, we packed all of our “stuff” and I washed a load of laundry in the kitchen sink and all smells much better this morning. Well, I catch myself just dropping off (into sleep) in the middle of the sentence. I think it’s time for bed. Take care All. I really need some sleep,

 

Tight Lines,

Brent & Matt (written by Brent)

Norfork River (Mountain Home, Arkansas) — July 14, 2004

Fly Rod & Reel Trout Bum Tournament Check-In # 6

Hey Everyone, here we are again. Not sure what the exact problem is in getting the updates to you. Seems FR&R didn’t get an email or two of ours, and we have been totally swamped since Wednesday. So here are a couple of reports FR&R hadn’t gotten and the rest also. The last days have been just a blur actually. As you will see we basically got only a couple hours sleep (literally) went fishing and ate on and off for a couple days. Please just look at the dates we type in as the order of events will follow these dates…….I have had to keep a notepad and pencil in my fishing shirt pocket constantly, and take notes of when we have done what just to keep track of all that we have done. What a wild ride we’ve been on!!!

Well, after fishing with John during the day…..Hey, he’s still with us!!! Guess who is bumming off the bums??? Like I’m complaining. NOT!! We’ve learned a lot. OK, back to where I was……we finish fishing and head into Mountain Home, AR for some eats. We stopped at a couple restaurants, but since it was late, most managers are off work and no one else can authorize freebies. Finally we made our way to El Charro Mexican restaurant (see pic) and asked if we could bum dinner. YEP!!! We even bummed dinner for John. What a hoot. Food was great; service was awesome and quick as can be. Thanks El Charro!!!

After eating, we decided we better go to Wal-Mart to try and transfer Matt’s pictures from his camera card…..remember?…..the one he dunked? OK, so we get at Wal-Mart a little after 9:00. Dhooooppp!!!! The camera center has JUST shut down. Matt’s rear was still puckered wondering whether or not his card was ruined, so we begged the nice woman running the center to PLEASE just let us see if the card had pictures on it, even if we couldn’t burn a CD at the time. She agreed. SHWEW!!! Card was fine and Matt’s pics were saved. Well, at least Matt felt better. We just decided to let his camera dry out a bit more before we would attempt to use it.

After Wal-Mart, we headed over to John’s place to pick up some glow-in-the-dark fly lines for all of us to use during night fishing. We grabbed that stuff and headed over to His Place Resort to respool reels with the new line sine we didn’t have spare spools with us. John taught us a few new knots while doing the respooling and we BS’ed a bit and finally got to bed about 11:00……well, they got to bed, I slept on the floor again!!! Actually, they offered to switch, but I said no, so I could whine to you all instead!!!

2:15am and the alarm goes off!! That was a nice nap. We all pop up and grab our clothes and gear and hit the road by 2:40. At 3:15 we are sitting at a private access (pays to know people that know people) and holding our new fly lines in the headlights of the dodge to charge them and we hit the trail. John told us to shut off our headlamps unless we wanted to shut all the fish down for a couple blocks as we walked. We kept close on John’s heels as we had seen a bunch of logs and large rocks earlier in the day. Way we figured it. If John dropped out of sight, we would stop or at least move to one side so it didn’t happen to us. We walked about a half mile upstream in the pitch dark about waist deep. It was a really cool experience. We would see through the fog enough above to see the stars and even satellites, but we could hardly see more than 30 feet in front of us. There was no moon yet tonight. That’s why John wanted to night fish. All around us as we waded, we could hear fish breaking the surface and feeding. Some of the splashes sounded like “toads”. That’s an Arkansas term for HUGE fish. Fish well over 10 lbs and 30 pounders had been caught where we were fishing.

The glowing spools of line looked like Homer Simpson had put plutonium in our reels and John told us to keep our reels on the bank side of us so the fish wouldn’t spook. By 3:45 am we were spaced out along the stream and could see the eerie glow of the gossamer like line unfurl in front of us as we cast in to the darkness. As we stripped in our big flies, every once in you would hear a “OH”, “CRAP!!” or other term from the darkness as one of us missed our first hits. In less than 20 minutes though, Matt and I had landed 5 fish. We were pumped.

Matt landed a nice rainbow and we decided to take a picture of it. We tried to take a few pics using our red lights on our headlamps, but they didn’t turn out well. We took a pic with the flash and started fishing again. That flash turned the fish off for 20 minutes. DANG!!! Finally we got into fish again and landed 17 fish with the average about 16”. Then Matt hooked up with a nice brown. Now this one was worth shutting the fish down for a little while. Although we didn’t have a tape measure, using the net as a scale to confirm later, it appeared to be a little over 20”. Nice fish Matt!!!! At 4:45 am the moon rose and our night fishing was done for the night. We walked back down to the access with a very satisfied look on our faces. Even driving out, was kinda cool. Not everyone gets to use a private access on property owned by a prominent member of the fly fishing community. Sorry….we were sworn not to tell who or where we were. Heck…..I doubt we could find it again anyway…

At 6:00am we ended up at Norfork Café to get breakfast. After talking with the cute waitress and telling her about our plight, she agreed to feed the bums and even the bums bum…..”GOG ESPN Guy”. That was one heck of a breakfast. If you are in the town of Norfork or around McClellans access you should really eat at this great place. At 8:00 am we were back at His Place Resort for a little shut eye. And I mean LITTLE!! We awoke at 10:00 to get a few things done. Matt, John & I headed down to the office of His Place Resort to thank Steve and Julie for all of their help and hospitality. Well…mostly……I had to bum batteries off of them for my camera so that we could take a few pics of them and their place to show all of you. J

John and I dropped Matt off at Tom & Becky Rogers’ of TNT Fly Fishing, Inc. so that he could work a little on their computer before we were to go out with Tom fishing later in the day. Mean while, John and I decided to try to get those pics off of Matt’s memory card again to send to you all. Well, after about a half hour at Wal-Mart and even getting the manager to agree to let us bum the cost of transferring them to disk…….their machine didn’t work. Seems it had never been set up for burning CDs yet. Just our luck. Next John and I headed to U-Haul to pick up a trailer to move some of his furniture into his new digs. He had mentioned moving the night before and I gladly offered to help. DANG!!! He actually took me up on it!!! Nothing like moving nice light furniture like a sleeper sofa, refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc in the middle of the day with a heat index of 110 degrees. It was at that time I wished I knew enough about computers to be sitting in air conditioning like Matt. 😉 Actually, I was happy to help out John. Only wish I could have done something in return for the rest of the wonderful guides we had thus far also. Thanks John for all your great guiding!!

We were finished moving, dropped off the U-Haul and I met Matt and the Rogers’ at their place about 2:30. By 3:00 we were off with Tom and Becky to the access at the confluence of the Norfork and White and had the boat in the water by 3:30. Up the Norfork we went to near the dam. This time we were in one of the classic jon boats used in the White River system for trout fishing. This was again a totally different kind of fishing than we had done thus far. The generators were going on the Norfork and we were fishing for large fish in high water. That has been one of the coolest things about this trip. It’s not that we have just been fishing riffles and runs on different rivers, which is what I generally do, but we had been fishing completely differently from guide to guide. What an education!!!

We fished with Tom until about 8:00 pm and caught 18 fish ranging from 14 to 18 inches. After driving back to TNT, we said goodnight and set a time for the morning and headed to a bar and grill in Mountain to meet John for a beer and a burger. I could hardly think. I was a little tired to say the least and I still hadn’t eaten since breakfast (….although Matt smiled as he told me that Becky made mean poppy seed chicken when he was working on their computer!!! BUM!!!!) John has an internet board that a lot of people communicate on and one of those guys was at the bar also. I still don’t think I ever caught his name. I had just gotten turned down at the bar & grill for bumming when this guys says he will buy Matt and I dinner and a couple beers (No I’m not making this up). I think I said thanks and ordered a beer from the waitress all in the same breath. Thanks Dude!!! Actually, he said their was no need to offer up his name and he refused a picture. Bummer!!! That was our first bar bum and I had been waiting for that one. Oh well!!!

After eating a burger and drinking a couple beers, Matt and I were off to the Ramada to use our wireless internet access to try to write a report and send it to all of you. Now looking back on our day, I can see why we were so tired, spinning our wheels and decided to try to get a couple more hours sleep instead of sending this in. Hope you all don’t mind too much, but I wonder what we would have written then would have made any sense anyway. We decided to call it a…….day? It was 11:30, we had had only about 3 or 4 hours sleep the night before……(at two different times) and we needed to be up at 6:00 am.

I am sure I have missed a few things and at this time feel that we need to really give all of our guides more credit than we have thus far. Heck with our daily update confusions, you all still haven’t read about our day on the Beaver River. I sure hope you all get to read that one soon. I’ll upload it again tonight. Hopefully all will work well this time. Matt and I will talk more about how our experiences were so different with each guide at the end and how wonderful all of them have been too. Personally, I think the guys we have had thus far have been absolutely awesome. I would recommend any of them to all of you. It just depends on what type of fishing turns your crank, because all of them have a little different way of doing things. Wading, drift boats, jon boats, nymphing, streamers, dries, midges, low water, high water, night, day, numbers of fish, large fish, etc., you name it……we have done it here so far.

Well, that is about it for now. Hope you all are doing well….I know we are.

Tight Lines,

Brent & Matt (written by Brent)