Lets Get Up to Date.

I've negelected a report so here goes.

This past weekend there was no generation on both the White and Norfork Rivers. What a change and a pleasant one I might add. It's nice to get out of a boat for a change.

On Friday and Sat I did a trip I did last year. Our first day we fished wildcat shoals access and did well with numbers of fish on caddis emergers, larvae and pupae as well as midges under an indicator. A few were taken with drys which is always fun. Did teach my fisherman (I dislike the words Sports & Clients) how to roll cast, switch cast and double lift mend and on saturday we put some of this newly learned knowledge to work nymphing. Both my fishers picked up on this quickly and soon became addicted. This easy technique quickly produced a couple of small brown trout in the 15 and 16 inch range.

Sunday I took Tim from Feather Craft and three of his buddies fishing. Tim is a superbe caster and fisherman for a young man. Very astute and learns so damn fast is scarey. His buddy andy is pretty dang good as well.
A ton of fish caught with a dozen brown trout hooked and landed as well. Tim of course hooked and landed 8 of them with the biggest at just under 20 inches.

What's new: My website http://flyfisharkansas.com is currently being re-done and I've been working on getting my webmaster pics on CD's. It will be a fabulous website with much more info and a pic gallery. Movies soon to follow. Will update as this happens. The flyshop will be greatly updated as well and the blog will be integrated with the website and be much more informative and entertaining. Stay tuned: Bookmark the website and check in often.

Jim

Fishing Report. 4/14/07

Hope every one about has the dreaded IRS out of the way 'cause it's time to go fishing.
Been a good week in a number of ways. We got some rain...but the wind howled like a wolf...I'd rather fish in a downpour than fish in the wind and when you add both it's a real Chore. The fishing has been pretty good though. Working a lot of river and driving all over the place to put in but we've been having some 100+ days and today was an absolute dandy for numbers of fish. 200+ would you belive?? 203 with 8 brown trout from 15 to 22 inches.... Lost two that would be much better. Should start warming up sunday or monday according to the latest weather liars...


Check out the new links to the right if you are planning a journey to our area. I've tested all the links I've put up this week and they worked when I tested them...

Send some e stuff to let me know how this blog is helping you with info or to make suggestions... I'ts still a work in progress and am working to make it better with info.

By The Way..... Cotter troutfest is this next weekend. Friday and Saturday....

Jimmy T.

Changes to Blog

Since I have some time off I'm attempting to add more information and to make it easier to access by adding links to the right. Lodging links as well as Arkansas Game and Fish info is listed below. Eventually it will end up on the right side of the page as well. If anyone has any links they think I should add feel free to send an e-mail to jim@flyfisharkansas.com .

Weather: Looks like it's warming up now and is supposed to be in the 60's by the end of the week.
Fishing: See last report directly below this post.
Guiding: Do have some days open for this month.

Thanks again and hope the new links will help you plan a trip to the Ozarks.

Jim Traylor
http://flyfisharkansas.com
jim@flyfisharkansas.com
870-404-8906 To book a trip.
Large groups, corporate trips welcome.

What's New

Here is whats new in Bull Shoals. First off it got cold and as I'm sitting here it's 27 degrees and the wind is howling. Have a little time off and my fisherman for today cancled out due to the weather. It will warm up again in the next day or two and the pollen will once again aggrivate my sinuses. Lets see what else? BS Dam actually shut the water off yesterday (friday) for a little white.

My thanks to all those folks who bought Tungsten beads from me. I do have another 13,000 coming in so if you didn't get the colors and sizes you wanted perhaps the next batch I get in will do this for you. The price is still $13.00 per hundred which is much less than retail and in fact much less than wholesale.

A Fishing show ADVENTURE GUIDES on TV will air next week on the old Outdoor network now called VS
On sat april 21s at 1pm EDT and 8:30 Am PDT and again on thursday 26th at 11:30 am EDT and at 8:30 am PDT.. Be sure to watch it as two of my buddies are in it.... Besides I did help in the shooting as a camera boat. It should be an interesting show as they show three (3 guides)... in half an hour...MMMmmmmm I hear it will be an interesting show as there was much controversy over it during and after it was filmed. It'll be interesting to see how that comes out on the final edit.

Guiding: Fishing Report:

April looks good but do have some open dates during the week if you are thinking about fishing the White or Norfok rivers. The caddis Hatch was hot and heavy till the cold weather took hold and perhaps it will start up again when it gets warmer. Midges of course have become the GO TO flies on the white now. Zebra midges in 18's and 20's black and silver, blood midges, OB Natural midges as well as a whole host of other midges. Trout Crack as well as Planarium, SJ worms, Scud and Sow bugs and of course Various stages of caddis will do the trick. Streamer type flies such as Sculpin and it's variants as well as buggers in olive and crawdads from wildcat down have produce for me over the last couple of weeks. Our next major hatch will be sulpher mayflies and we generally start seeing them around the end of may and into june. Stop Wishes and Fishes next to the convience store in Bull Shoals as I do have these flies in stock for this hatch as well as some fine sculpin patterns. The caddis patterns are about gone but I will re-stock them soon.

Would sure love to see some low water for a week or so without wind as well. I guess that's a wish but I sure would love to do some sight fishing for the big boys. See my website http://flyfisharkansas.com on this style or Technique I use to chase those guys. It can be a lot of fun. Especiall when one is hooked. It really gets the adrenaline flowing. It's the next best thing to a shad kill. Which reminds me! Jim Laing and Brad Eirling did write an article about the shad kill. We fished this past Feb during a down pour and I'm pleased with the article they came up with. Click on this link to read it. http://mwbt.com/Fishing/journal_detail.asp?wID=87&ArticleID=815


Tight lines and screaming reels.
Jimmy T.

March Re-Cap

March was a good month for fishing as spring came early this year. Caddis came off early and using emergers or soft hackle under a dry fly did provide some exciting fishing. The shad Kill this year did not extend into march like it usually does nor did the fish key in on shad patterns for weeks after the kill like they usually do. As I mentioned about spring coming early the dogwoods, Sarvis, and redbuds bloomed early this spring; Due I'm sure to the hi 70 and low 80 degrees we had.

Looking forward to April. April should be a good month to fish as well. If you are coming to fish the white or norfork rivers and are in need of a guide or a place to stay give me a call at 870-404-8906. I do have one weekend open april 6 & 7 the 22nd thru the 26th and the 29th and 30th.

Rivercliff Cabin also has some openings april 4th thru the 12th. the 15th - 18th and the 27th thru the 30th. See http://rivercliff.com and http://flyfisharkansas.com for more info and details.

Jimmy T.

Tungsten Beads: Why Are They So Expensive?

Tungsten beads sell in the fly shops for an extroidinary amount of money. Even the simple ones retail for up to 40+ cents each. Why? Because the wholesalers are quadrupling their $$$ on them and then the retailer double his money on them. Thats why....So why pay that much?????

I ordered some of these beads direct from the Factory in you guessed it? CHINA.... Thats where the dang things are made. The package is so small they don't even have to clear customs....

So just in case you find this blog and are interested in Tungsten Beads at one heck of a stupid price e-mail me at jim@flyfisharkansas.com . Here is what I have available.

Nickele Black 2.mm or 5/64 2.8mm or 7/64
silver Same as above
black same as above
Gold 1.5mm or 1/16th and 100st bag of gold 2,mm or 5/64th

I did not get the following for the Sow Bug and they are on the way. They are all 1/16th which is the smallest size.

Silver, Black, Nickle Black, Copper...

All prices are $12.00 per hundred. 50cents shipping per hundred will get them delivered to your door.

Contact me at jim@flyfisharkansas.com for more info.

Thanks
Jim Traylor (Jimmy T.)

Sow Bug Round Up: Round Up.

Attendance at the BUG this year was apparantly very good and continutes to grow. Did get to hook up with some old faces and buddies and hang with some good folks. I did spend all day thursday working my table and on sat morning I began to get sick and had to leave. Fortunatly, I have some good buddies and Charlie Bonner aka (Parrothead) from the Ez-Board covered for for me that afternoon. I spent the afternoon at the doc and made it back about 3:30 so he could go fish. Unfortunatly for me i got worse that evening and spent the next day in bed and Charlie again covered for me and did get some helpf from Tom at Buzzard bluff and Maddog. To you gentleman thanks a bunch and especially to Charlie who saved my ASS on this one. It would have been a disaster without him. Re-couped sunday and monday and back to fishing as of today.



Jimmy T.

Goings On. 3/9 -3/12 2007.

Friday and Saturday saw the caddis hatch continue to move upstream and on saturday a good hatch was encountered at the narrows. We did drift a dry with an emerger on dropping water. The emerger worked better but perhaps my dries are not so delictable. Nevertheless it was a good day with tons of fish caught as was friday morning. Sunday brought a day off and time to get stuff ready for the BUG this T-F-S... Monday we put in at the dam on 4 units that rose to 5. I had a fisherman who could throw a heavy streamer 70ft. as we were looking for a GOOD fish (Brownine). But to no avail so I took out and hit Ranchetts to catch the rise. Lots of fish in the afternoon riding the rise and again no good fish. Am looking forward to some sight fishing when the water goes down.

If ya'll are gonna hit the Sow Bug this weekend look me up as I will have a table. Tungsten Beads (they better show up soon) and flytying tools such as bobbins, whipfinishers, threaders, ect, as well as Indicators in various sizes and types. All right at or just below wholesale.

See ya;ll there

BTW Leon Russell will be playing at the Bull Shoals Theatere at the end of the month.

Jimmy T.

Fishing 5th thru 7th

Fishing Downstream is apparantly still better than on the upper end according to another guide who had ten boats out on monday 'cause on tuesday I saw them all down stream and everyone was catching fish.

Monday we put in at ranchetts and the water dropped out encough to wade fish. We did pretty good with some numbers caught. Tuesday and Wednesday I put in at Rivercliff (newlands hole) and stayed in front of the water so my three fisherman could wade. Made it to the middle of Buffalo shoals tuesday and down to Buffalo city on Wednesday. The water was turned on for much later wednesday than on tuesday and we were able to stay in some hot spots much longer wednesday. Buggers were the big ticket with tons of fish caught. My soft hackle fisherman did not do well with these as he is very good at fishing them. Caddis hatch continues and is moving upstream slowly and is now at armstrong and up into millers hole. Should be at wildcat in a day or two. Am fishing wildcat area today and one unit is on. Sure beats 7 units.

Sow Bug Round Up

The annual Sow Bug Round Up is taking place march 15th -17th this year. I do have a table again and will be carrying some Tungsten Beads, Leader & Tippit material, indicators, Zingers, Bobbins, and other materials.

Be sure to drop by and say hellow and introduce yourself.

Jimmy T.

Fishing Report 2/27/07

More than a year ago I donated a days fishing to the friends of the Little Red River a fishing trip. The fisherman who won the trip and I got together a time or two and scheduled various days. Well the weather ice and snow mostly got in the way and then we both got busy and sort of forgot about it. While going through some tax paper work I came across the trip and arranged with the gentleman to complete the trip. It was for a good cause and today we did that trip.

A decent first two hours of the morning on the floating shad pattern. Lots of lookers and three good takes. As usual the best one got off as the fish swam right at the rod (can't get 'em on thte reel doing this) and it got off. We did howeve land two decent bows in the 16 inch range...Not foat ones but nevertheless a func two hours watching various fish LOOK at the fly and dolphining on it.

We did drop down into newlands holeand got into some numbers fishing deep and on the bottom with SJ Worms, Blowflies, Dollflies....Various other flies my fisherman felt comfortable with did not work but I never say no 'cause if I do they will work and I'll look like one big dummie.

Suppose to be some rain coming in tonight and tomarrow which could bring the lake up again. The ground is still pretty damp so runoff could be a factor with an inch or two. Generally a fast rain with a wet ground and for every inch of rain the lake could come up a foot.

Jimmy T.

Lodging Info:

Starting at the top of the White River here are some lodging choices:

Bull Shoals State Park. Great camping park with dock rental boats and they do sell my flies and some tied by others. The park is also a mile long public access area with parking and is just below the Catch & Release area.

Gung-a-la is the next spot down just below the state park. It is up for sale so I'm not sure they are taking any bookings or not but I'd better list it anyway.

Rivercliff Cabins and Outfitters: (870-431-7777) info@dlnt.com http://rivercliff.com is next door to Gung-a-la and the third driveway past the state park. I'm partial to this place as my wife books the cabin. About as close to the river as you can get plus it has a dock you can fish from and if you bring a boat a stall can be arranged you you to use. Pets accepted. There is also a boat ramp and it is one heck of a night fishing spot. At the tail end of Due eddy shoals.

Newlands Lodge http://newlands.com 1-800-334-5604 is two doors down from Rivercliff with some really nice houses with 4 bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms with T.V.'s Boat rental available. Good for big groups and newlands will cook breakfast and dinner outside for you.

Copper Johns http://copperjohnresort.com 870-431-4454 or info@copperjohnresort.com is further down stream. Copper Johns has some unique camping cabins with fridge,microwave, heated and cooled and overlooking the river. The place looks like a tree house to me from the river. They also have a nice lodge with three bedrooms, full bath and a half bath as well as a full kitchen, living room and bigscreen T.V.($125.00 for two) with access to the river and rental boats. Good prices at this place especially on rent boats. Copperjohns also has a general store and can fix you up with flies,fishing licenses, sodas, ect.

http://whiteriverfrontretreat.com is a little more upscale and private with lots of open space and a view of the river as well as access via staircase. I've been in this place and it's big and the furnishings are great. Lots of room inside and it will sleep a bunch of folks or 3 or 4 couples comfortably. $250.00 per night for two

http://patricksonthewhite.com is a small place with three rental units and some very good access to the river. I've sent lots of guys here for a place to stay that is cheap. No frills here just a nice place to sack out with some of the best access to the river just above Cane Island. Give Pat a call.

http://caneislandflyshop.com there is no fly shop any more but Rebecca has a supernice house she rents out for about $150.00 a night for two. I have been in it and think it has either two or three bedrooms with access to the river at Cane Island. Private access.

http://gastons.com is the biggest on the river 870-431-5202 A large selection of lodging but can get crowded.

http://mtnhome.net/fultons/ phone 870-425-0447 is above the narrows and provides some walk in access. Affordable and clean.

Sportsmans http://sportsmans-resort.com 800-626-fish is in the same hole as Fultons, White River Lodge and Ashleys Retreat. fishing@mtnhome.com .

http://whiteriverlodge.com next door to Fultons Lodge. Three levels and will hold a moderate size group. Two full kitchens, super nice deck area on two levels with one heck of a nice BBQ pit.

http://cedarwoodslodge.com for the ultimate in luxury on the river in the ranchetts area and above buffalo shoals. This is a really nice spot with dock and sun/casting deck. Ron and Kester have done a good job of refurbishing this place to accomodate folks who wish the very best. I have fisherman who stay at this place. 870-453-7785

Hope this helps and it will grow as time goes by.

Thanks
Jimmy T.

Feb 23-25/07 Fishing Report

Helped out guide Clint Wilkerson with a group of 12 from the Atlanta FFF club. Each day the guides had two different folks in their boats. My first day was spent at the dam at Bull Shoals. One windy day for sure and the fishing was a little slow, perhaps due to the abundance of shad the fish had gorged on. 18 fish in all for the day with the biggest right at 19 3/4 inches..a rainbow that went 3 1/2 lbs. Our second day was spent at Rim Shoals in the rain and wind. Lots of fish caught this day mostly on SJ Worms on or near the bank using a 3/0 split shot.
On our third day we all hit the Norfork River as we were having a catered lunch at Quarry Park. The wind was really kicking up on this day with gust up to 35 mph. The fishing was pretty slow with 3 or 4 fish landed and a couple of strikes for the morning. After lunch we hit the White at Wildcatshoals and went upstream. A good move I might add as in the three hours we fished we hooked and landed 25 fish behind the back side of gravel bars in slower water. Generation was at 6 units and w used SJ Worms in various colors of Red, and fire orange as well as wapsi's Worm color tied on #14 scud hooks.

Check this space often for regular fishing reports and info on the area.

Jimmy T.

Welcome

Check here often to get updates on fishing the White and Norfork rivers and to get info on the area such as lodging, best places to eat, which stretches of the rivers are fishing the best. Feel free to e-mail me with questions on the area, about the fishing or other things to do. I will give the most honest answers possible.

Jimmy T.