Some of you might recall a recent posting by our fellow FATC member Mike Enger of Gassville, AR in which he invited us to attend the Sowbug Roundup in Mountain Home, AR 3/24-26/22. I, Al Harper, and FATC member Russ Waggoner decided to take Mike up on the invitation and also to fish either the White River or the North Fork River while down there. The Sowbug is a fly tying and fishing expo with a good reputation in our fishing community that was finally able to be held again after a two-year hiatus due to viruses.
The roundup fans came back with gusto and enthusiasm to the Baxter County Fairgrounds venue. I was relieved that although masks had been suggested by the roundup organizers when they publicized the event months ago, those attending didn’t feel the need to wear one. Could that be a sign we are back to “normalcy”? Vendors at the roundup included driftboat and kayak manufacturers, high profile fishing outfitters, fly shops from southern MO and northern AR, and fly tying enthusiasts from many states. Russ and I were like the proverbial kids in a candy shop soaking in the wisdom and folklore pouring forth from the many booths and tables. Of course, there was some degree of lies, bravado and BS that poured out too, but that makes the conversational exchange among fishermen fun.
In addition to information about trout flies and fishing techniques, we wanted to hear a presentation by Duane Hada (pronounced “Hay’-da”) about smallmouth fishing in rivers and streams with a fly rod. Duane is not only a legendary guide in the Mountain Home area but is also a regionally known artist who owns a gallery there and a recognized conservationist as well. Duane said he could personally name more than 80 streams, creeks or other bodies of water where smallmouths are caught. Crooked Creek, which flows into the White River below Cotter, AR, for instance, is a well known smallmouth creek often overlooked even by many locals who seem fixated on browns, bows and tiger trout in the more famous White. I have floated and fished the White many times and actually caught a tiger trout on one trip. The hopper and streamer fishing down there is world class. And the odd practice of night fishing with mice flies yields predator browns in the upper 20 inches to 30 plus inch range for those with the hutzpah to try it. Author disclosure: I’ve done it about four times but only once from a drift boat and caught only one moderately sized brown so far. It is a weirdly satisfying experience but a three-ring circus in a watercraft.
Duane’s presentation was worth getting up early for. Russ and I drove the 4 hours down in time for the 9:30 am event. Increasing our prowess with the bronze backs on fly rods is something we really want to do. In addition to modified Clousers and minnow streamers, Duane talked about, and showed photos of, his own creation: The Creek Crawler. A one & one half-inch crayfish pattern. Incidentally it’s pronounced craw’-fish by natives of the dear South who instantly recognize anyone pronouncing it “cray-fish” as a damn yankee.
With regard to where to find creeks teeming with smallmouth bass and beautiful pumpkin seed bream (which some fly fishermen, myself included, are happy catching on poppers for hours on end), well, the location of those creeks is somewhat controversial. Duane disclosed a few names but went on to say that some fishermen get downright hostile if the name or location of some waterways is revealed. The reason is that smallmouths are a native, valuable resource that can be easily fished out if catch and release isn’t practiced. But darn it, they are so tasty!
There was a plethora of information provided by Duane that morning and I would also encourage those reading this report to visit his website to gaze at his wonderful artwork (https://www.rivertowngallery.com/).
Although we had a nice visit with Mike Enger and bought some flies and other fishing paraphernalia at a couple of booths, Russ and I didn’t dwell very long at the Sowbug because, after all, there are astounding rivers to float and fish without 10 to 15 minutes on either side of Mountain Home. Of course, the thing about floating and fishing tailwaters is the water release scenario is controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers. Books have been written about interrupting the online postings of SCHEDULED water release. The word “scheduled” is emphasized here because the Corps is under no obligation to adhere to it’s own published water release plans and deviate from them often, much to the chagrin of fishermen and to the dismay and horror of those who wade fish. More on that in a minute.
Our quick intelligence gathering at the Sowbug indicated that The Norfork Tailwaters might be the more interesting venue for our efforts that Saturday (3/26) morning. I brought my Flycraft (inflatable drift boat) along but upon arrival at the Norfork Dam we were thinking about wade fishing since the “scheduled” water release was minimal and many fishermen were out in the riverbed on foot and catching fish. However, as we were rigging up our rods, an Arkansas fish and game pickup truck pulled up and an officer approached. We were glad we had purchased non-resident permits and were preparing to dig them out of our wallets when the young man saw the Flycraft on my truck asked, “would you like a shuttle to the confluence?”. The confluence is where the Norfolk tailwaters (more accurately: The North Fork River which forms Norfork Lake) empties into the White River at Norfork, AR. The North Fork is four miles in length and we had intended to float it the next day, but with this invitation, and insight he provided about the fishing downstream beyond the waders, we decided to go for it. We quickly launched the Flycraft and Russ oared it out and fished solo while I took off for the confluence followed closely by the AR Fish and Game truck driven by our new buddy, fish biologist Ryan Gary. On the return trip to the put-in spot, I pumped Ryan for information about the area hatcheries, rivers and creeks. He knew a lot, of course, and was happy to share his knowledge. I even found out we were both alums of the same university — LSU in Baton Rouge, LA!
Russ and I had been on the river only about an hour and a half and were about three quarters of a mile downriver when water was released from the Norfolk dam to power the giant turbines. It’s always awesome to see the river start to quickly rise and to feel the current grow in strength and power. An anemic riffle below where we had gotten out of the Flycraft to wade fish morphed into very muscular rapids in only minutes.
The next day we were talking with a kayaker from Texas while launching for a second float. He told us he had rescued a young boy who became trapped in the river on a shoal during the release I described above. The Texas kayaker said he was able to paddle the boy, who had desperately draped himself over the front of what was normally a one-man kayak, to shore. Reminder to self and my fishing brethren: always stay attuned to rising water!
Anyway to wrap up this report, Russ and I floated and fished the Norfork Tailwaters for two days, and stayed at Gene’s Trout Lodge in Salesville, AR. We caught bows on streamers and nymphs boths days but frankly did not do as well as some others, including the Texas kayaker (lifesaver) who said he caught 45 trout at minimal release that Saturday. While many at the Sowbug said they caught fish better when the tailwaters of both the White and North Fork were at their lowest point, we found that a sudden influx of water from a release stimulated the fish to feed. Perhaps that’s more a consequence of how we were fishing (streamers vs nymphs) or just a matter of those more familiar with these rivers knowing the location of holes containing fish in low water situations. At any rate, there are some big, strong bows, but not many browns apparently, in the North Fork and it is a scenic river to float and fish.
See ya on the streams.
Al Harper
