Seems like forever since I’ve been able to wade fish my home waters of Beaver Lake Tailwaters on the White River. We’ve had lots of water everywhere since May so the water has been too deep to wade fish. I took a couple trips down the White River in a homemade canoe and made a couple trips down the river in a bass boat. So not like I completely abondoned my water for nearly 5 months, but it’s not the same.  

I have spent lots of time over at Roaring River in Missouri learning how to fly fish the dry fly. I had lots of issues learning when to set the hook and how to set the hook without snapping the 7x line. I had lots of frustrating outings and felt like I was feeding the fish $2 flies. I finally got it figured out. I also found a great Caddis pattern that I tie that works really well. Dry Fly fishing is so much fun and is now my favorite kind of fishing. 

Here’s a short video of my fishing turf. 

Beautiful Roaring River. 

 
Catfishing fun on Beaver Lake. 

  
My favorite Caddis pattern 

  
   
Beaver Lake Tailwaters jig fishing from boat. 

 
Beaver Lake at Monte Ne

 
Beaver Lake Tailwaters  
 
Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

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Spent the weekend fishing with family at Greenleaf State Park down by Muskogee Oklahoma. Very nice facility with ample camping spots, clean bathrooms and showers, swimming pool, nature center, marina, boat rentals, etc…..

Our target fish was catfish for this trip. I was locked and loaded with many rods and baits to do battle. Bad news is we only landed two catfish in four days. About 3 pounders. I couldn’t believe we couldn’t trick a few more catfish onto our hook. We tried worms, liver, shrimp both raw and cooked, cut fish, live fish, corn flake dough bait and then we tried them with cherry kool-aid added and WD-40. Also tried the slip bobber. 

We were able to slay the bream between 6p and 8p with worms. Before and after that you could barely get one to notice you. 

Despite the bad fishing, It was such a great weekend to spend quality time with relatives. 

   
    
    
   
Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

Man it’s been hot around here. Heat index around 105. You can tolerate it if you can find some shade, but it’s still pretty rough being outside. Been hitting Roaring River in Missouri for a few hours in the mornings and in the evenings. Fishing in the morning with zebra midges. Doing pretty well with dark midges starting with black then brown olive, then brown and finish with purple. As the sun gets higher I went with blue dun or P&P. I found you still need to add a little weight to get the small midge down. The water seems slow enough, but it’s just fast enough that the midge isn’t sinking down fast enough. 

In the evenings I’ve primarily tried the dry fly. I’m still pretty new to that and have lots of frustrating encounters. The fish hit the fly in such a different manner and it’s hard to get the timing down of when to set the hook. Sometimes you’re too early and others you’re too late. Sometimes the fish hit it hard and fast and other times it’s slow like a slurp or like a blue whale easing out of the water to jump. Then when you get it right you set a little too hard and you snap the 7x tippet or you don’t get a good set because you were too light. Feel like  I’m feeding the fish most of the time. As my lead dry fly I usually have a Stimulator fly I bought in yellow or red or a hand tied stimulator that is a mix between a elk hair caddis and stimulator both around size 16. The fish really go after that pretty well. I usually follow with a Parachute Adams or Blue Wing Olive (BWO) about 18 inches behind. I put Loon on both flies to keep them high in the water. I also make sure to use monofilament instead of the fluorocarbon I use with the midges. I usually buy the dry flies as I haven’t figured out how to tie those well yet. It’s an exillarating experience to finally catch one on a dry fly. So rewarding!!!!!

The water on the Beaver Tailwaters is still too high to wade fish and there is still limited bank to fish. You really need to use a boat. 

   
    
    
    
    
Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik- 

Took a trip out west to Vail, CO to find some cooler weather, fish and just hangout and relax. Had such a great time exploring this area. 

Did quite a bit of fishing on Gore Creek, Homesteak Creek and Eagle River. Caught lots of Browns.  Used Minturn Anglers guide service and had guide Mandy Hertzfeld show me around. She did such a great job showing me how to dry fly fish. 

http://www.minturnanglers.com/
http://www.mandykhertzfeldart.com/
We did a white water rafting trip on the Colorado River through class 3+ rapids, so exhilarating. Service was provided by Nova Guides. http://novaguides.com

Can’t wait to get back to this area and explore some more. 

Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

High water everywhere and hot temps making fishing tough around here. 

   
             

Took some time Saturday morning to pick some nice fresh blueberries at a local farm in Rogers,AR. So nice and delicious. 

Saturday evening I went down to Lake Weddington in Fayetteville to explore. Never been here before. It is such a nice facility. I took the kayak out looking for some top water action on the fly rod. I only saw one fish jump all evening. Needless to say, I didn’t end up catching anything. 

Sunday I took the family to Roaring River in MO to spend some time. The water was high and full of silt. The visibility was close to zero. My wife was able to get some nice size fish on white rooster tails. I only saw two bites on different flies I was trying. Can’t wait for the water to get back to normal around here. 

I had a bunch of my fish and scenery pics published in an online magazine this week So Much Water. I’m in the Beaver Lake Tailwaters section. Check it out and subscribe for future issues. It’s free. 

Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

                   

  
   
  

 Took a Long weekend trip over to Norfork Arkansas this past week. Took my Mom who is visiting from AZ and my youngest daughter Rissa. 

We took our time cruising over Thursday and stopped and did a little junk shopping in Alpena. We then had a belated Mothers Day dinner at PJ’s White River Lodge. We ate out on the deck overlooking the beautiful White River. We had reservations for 7pm which made it just the right time to eat outside and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The food here is unbelievable!  Such a hidden gem in the middle of no where. I highly recommend it. Make a reservation online and enjoy some 5 star type dining.  Yes, it’s 5 star quality in the middle no where and you don’t need to wear a jacket. 

Friday we rented a boat for half a day at Gene’s Trout Dock. It was such a nice morning for fishing or just being out. The fishing wasn’t that great, but we did manage to catch enough for a nice dinner that evening. I was teaching my Mom the maribou jigging technique which she enjoyed and caught several with. I did manage to get a little fly fishing in off the front of the boat. They took a Rootbeer and Ruby Midge along with a Sunday Special. 

Saturday we decided to participate in the kids fishing derby at the Norfork dam. There were probably 300 kids and their families fishing.  It is really a great event. Hosted by The Friends of the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.  Read more about them online. They really do a great job.  They had trophies for three age divisions and every kid got a door gift ranging from fishing poles to frisbees. Rissa got fourth place. She had 2 get off the line 5 ft from shore. Had she got those in she would have been tied for second. So close. It’s always about the ones that got away at every age. 

They ended up generating out of Norfork Sunday morning so I didn’t get a chance to get any serious fly fishing in this trip. I was locked and loaded for battle, but it will have to wait. 

Overall it was a great and relaxing time. Glad I got to take my Mom and daughter over to the Norfork area and show them around.

Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

                            

Fished a few times at Roaring River over the last 2 weeks. The water is still a little high and the visibility low. Fishing is good with purple midge and green crackle backs. They just closed the flood gates at Beaver Lake so the water may be ready to go by next weekend. 

I’ve spent more time in the saddle of my bike the last 2 weeks. I didn’t hardly ride at all last year because I fished every free moment. With high water in the area fishing has been rough so decided to get myself and the family back in the saddle. 

On Saturday May 30th we went on a family ride of 22 miles with a burger stop in the middle. It was such a great time to explore Rogers and Bentonville. 

The completion of the Razorback Regional Greenway has added nearly 40 miles of trails linking Fayetteville with Bella Vista. If you are in the area it is definitely worth the time to explore a section or two. 

Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Spent the last week camping at Horseshoe Bend on Beaver Lake here in Arkansas. We have received a ton of rain in the last two weeks. The lake level came up about 3 feet in the week we were there. They ended up closing the peninsula first come camping area on Tuesday so we had to move up the hill. On a Memorial Day we were asked to leave because the high road had six inches of water and was rising. The Corp of Engineers ended up opening the flood gates on Monday afternoon. 

Tried fishing a couple different times around the rain. Roaring River was high as well with limited visibility. Caught a few fish there. Fished the Beaver Tailwaters on Saturday and didn’t have any luck. First time I’ve been skunked there in a couple years. Didn’t even try night catfishing on Beaver Lake. 

Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Had a chance Saturday to float the Beaver Tailwaters in a canoe my buddy Alex made. It’s homemade, handmade out of wood from designs he compiled from different internet sites.  Pretty nice piece of art and functional as well. I couldn’t believe how many people commented on the boat and had several conversations about boat making. 

The waters are high right now. All the lakes are near capacity, but with flooding down river near Calico Rock area after the Buffalo River dumps in, the lakes aren’t able to release quite yet. Wade fishing is very limited right now. 

Fishing was slow at best. Was able to catch a few on peach and olive micro jigs and one each on a purple midge and P&P midge. There was threat of rain much of the morning, but we didn’t have any on our outing. The wind was strong from time to time making it difficult to drift fish and when we did anchor it was still tough to cast effectively. It was great to get out and explore the water and take an overhead look at the spots I catch fish the best at. Great time on the water!

Happy Fishing and Stay Trout Tough!

Erik-