Norfork Trip (1-21)

Well, I traveled to the Norfork on Saturday. Stopped at Blue Ribbon Flies in Mountain Home (as I'd forgotten my pliers and hadn't mashed my barbs down yet) where I got a warm welcome by two beautiful and well-behaved golden retrievers. Got to the River Ridge access at 1205 and the water was high and could not be waded. I called the powerhouse and they had ceased generation at 1159. So I had another cup of coffee and some frito pie and within forty-five minutes I had low water. Not a particularly good day in terms of numbers caught. I only landed one fish, a 17" rainbow. Had several other fish on for a few seconds and another almost to net. Had to go down to size 21s and 22s before the fish would acknowledge my fly and so this may have accounted for a few missed fish. Saw an older gentleman fishing just upriver from me with his hired help and he landed about eight in the three hours they fished--not a huge number but I guess the guides still know a few things that I don't. The fish were sipping flies very subtly which made detecting strikes a little tricky. I'm sure I saw a few very tiny mayflies coming off the water around 2:00, blue winged olives I suppose. Tried tiny BWO nymphs as well as WD-40s and finally caught my one fish on a size 21 WD-40. Pretty scenery and lots of wildlife made for a great day despite the low numbers of fish caught.

The Complete Angler

Should there be any angler happen upon this blogspot and also be looking for a good read I recommend Izaak Walton's The Complete Angler. It is one of the very first books on the instruction of fishing--how to catch and cook fish. Walton finished the book around 1650 and it is said to be the second most reprinted book after the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. The subtitle, The Contemplative Man's Recreation refers to Walton's favor of contemplation and he quotes Paul in Thessalonians saying "study to be quiet." Many believe Walton was also talking to the society of his day on a number of social issues through use of metaphor which is what brought me back to the book as Kent Hodskins talked recently of our need to be actively working to influence and benefit the world around us. Charles Cotton wrote the the second part to this book in 1676 when asked by Walton and speaks more specifically to fly fishing. Probably not a read for everyone but if you want to learn a little about the English countryside of Walton's day and the history of our great sport then give it a go.

Support Your Local Fly Shop

I spent some time in several local flyshops over the holidays. I had a great time checking out new gear, talking fishing, and building relationships with the local shop owners and guides. I was sad to hear that White River Angler's #1 competitor is the Orvis catalog which is too bad because WRA (an Orvis retailer) can order any Orvis product they do not have in the store for at least the same price as Orvis will sell it directly to the fisherman. The store benefits from ordering for the fisherman and the fisherman benefits because he still has a flyshop to go to (which comes in handy before fishing outings as well as when your wife is hosting a third or fourth baby shower of the year in your home). Many flyshops have to work dang hard moving merchandise, tying flies, teaching fly tying lessons, and guiding out on the river just to keep their doors open. So go support your local flyshop (there are three in NWA and I visit all three) and refrain from ordering online--just one more way the internet is raping our society.