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| r | His Place Newsletter - May / June 2003
Fire Pink Buttercup Hello! Spring has sure been lovely so far this year! The cold weather is finally gone for good! (for the summer anyway) The trees are green and new wildflowers are all over the place. We've had a little rain, but are behind in average rainfall in this area. I've started seeing Osprey again, hunting out in front of the dock. They're pretty funny birds - once they catch a fish - they want everyone to see it. They come out of the water, and circle around three or four times to make sure you see what they have, and then they take off to eat! Isaac & Rebekah, our resident eagles, have been around for the last two weeks quite a bit - flying, hunting, and acting so romantic. It's seems a little late in the year however, because the pair in Rough Hole have already hatched out their chicks. I don't think we're going to get any offspring from Isaac & Rebekah this year - maybe next year! :-)
Welcome to the Newsletter! We hope to see you soon...
Does this man know his flies, or what?
Just in case there was ever any doubt about where we had our flies tied for the Tackle Shop - Here you have a picture of Tom, who ties the majority of them (Steve ties the rest) And posing with Tom, we have a picture of "Thomasina", a nice female brown, just over 10 lbs., that Tom caught right out in front of the resort on his fly rod, while testing "new flies". He and Steve were out fishing the other night, catching a bunch of fish - nothing of any real size, however. Then, all of a sudden, something just made them shut off. Nothing. Period. So, Tom & Steve decided to put on something a little bit bigger, and changed to streamers. Steve caught a 4 lb. Brown, and broke it off right as he got it to him, while Tom was trying to help him net it. Then, on Tom's next cast - he hooked into this beauty here! A little over 15 minutes later, Tom landed her. Of course, Thomasina was photographed, revived properly, and released.
So, what's the lesson here? When you're into some good fishing, and it just shuts off, there may be a BIG reason! :-)
For everyone, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when fishing this lower water... These lower flows can put a lot of additional pressure and stress on the fish. Lower water can mean increased water temperature, and lower oxygen levels - neither of which are good for the fish, in addition to being "gathered" into smaller areas. Please do what you can to fight, land, and release the fish quickly, and with as little contact as possible to reduce mortality. We all have to do our part to protect the resource.
March / April 2003 - What the fish are biting on…
Try a "Big Bug" - They like those Stone-Flies... Did you know there were stone flies this big here? Neither did we! But there sure are, and those larger fish are asking you to "Super-Size It" at the Drive-Thru! Try something a little larger for a new challenge!
Fly Fishing - Streamers and Hare's ear nymphs - try them in a big size 14! We've also been seeing a lot of micro-caddis and mayflies lately. Bait - Crawdad tail meat is getting their attention right now. Worms are still consistently getting fish, too. Artificials - Countdowns, size 5 - silver/black and black/gold, and Rooster tails in Rainbow patterns.
Fish Story of the Month! Why we like to swim around His Place... With the lower water flows, the wading's been excellent, and enough water's been running lately to keep the river healthy. Also, with these lower water flows, the water is easier to read and understand. Have you ever wondered why the fish hang out in certain places and not others? What are they thinking??? Well, we'll never figure it out completely, but we sit on a very interesting stretch of the White that has practically every conceivable type of river bottom in about a one mile stretch. And before we figure out where the fish are, we have to first identify their "neighborhood". :-) So, this article is about "reading" the stretch starting above us near Hurst, down below us just past the 62 bridge - a distance of about one mile. This article will attempt to define this stretch for you, using common river terminology. Begin at the beginning - the waterfall. OK, so it's not a very big waterfall, but the river does actually drop a little bit - you can see it (and feel it) as you go through either way. This is just across and down from Hurst. Even at low / no generation, this is still not a stretch you'd ever want to wade into! The water is so fast, the fish don't generally hang in it anyway - takes too much energy. However, waterfalls tend to make little pools directly underneath themselves, where fish can hang out sometimes... getting your fly down there - or anything for that matter - would be the real trick! Just below that, a small stretch that would be considered rapids, maybe only 15 - 20 yards long. This water looks just like the name implies. It's fast and noisy. Fish may hang out behind larger rocks in a rapid area, but you're going to really have to entice them to come out. Then, a very short stretch of riffles just below that - approximately 50 yards. The look of the surface water is very distinctive - choppy and bubbly. Lots of O2 here, and critters to eat. This is often a good place for the trout to look for dinner. This leads immediately into a nice run that comes down past the RV park, just to the point where the current turns towards our dock (east) from the Marion County (west) side of the river. (This ends where, at about 1 generator, you can still walk out from the gas pipeline on the Baxter County side (our side) and still stand on the grass.) The run is about 200 yards or so. The run is a little deeper, and a little slower than the riffles. It's a little harder to see the bottom, and the fish seem to like it this way. They have plenty of O2 and food, and often feel a little safer. Normally, you'd think a pool would be next, right? Well, most of the time you'd be right, except not here. :-) Mother Nature had another idea when a huge (150' plus) Sycamore tree fell from the river bank on the west side, and created a pretty big gravel bar over time. (The huge limb you see that still sticks out is only a small part of the entire tree.) I have guests that have been coming here forever, who saw this tree fall many years ago, and have watched the gravel bar form. This gravel bar is what interrupts that water from the run just above it, and aims the flow back over to our side of the river. So, what do we have here? It's actually another section of riffles running almost west - east across the river nearly perpendicular to the bank. Then, about 50 yards above our dock, the run (previously interrupted by the gravel bar and diverted to our side of the river) continues on down to approximately the dock. It's relatively deep here. Even at low water, it's about 3 - 4 feet deep, but only about 15 feet wide. Now finally, the pool. It's an odd shaped pool that extends from just below the dock and goes down past the boat ramp, where once again, Mother Nature has interfered. The pool would have continued pretty much unhindered for several hundred more yards, except for the mouth of the spring creek that runs down just below the boat ramp. You may think, "That little spring creek shallowed out the (east) side of the pool?" Well, you've never seen it in a heavy rain. It's gets up to 6 feet deep with an incredible amount of flow - probably 12 MPH! That creek just recently came up like I'm describing, and moved huge boulders and a bunch of gravel and dirt out into the river. Over time, it's runoff has made the shape of the pool like a lopsided figure 8. This creek's runoff has created a small section of flats on the east side of the pool. It's pretty much defined as the three sections of rock that runs perpendicular to the shore, that can be seen at 1 or less generators. The deepest part of the channel through these "flats" is back on the west side. (the middle of the lop-sided figure 8) When there's a little more water, the fish will come out of the pool to feed here. There are typically lots of sculpins and other fish muchies here. However, be more stealthy - they can see you! And, they can get right back into the pool either above you, or below you, depending on where you're standing. The pool continues after the short section of flats for another 300 yards or so. Once again, it's deeper on the west side, but on the east side of the pool, there is a ledge that often holds fish. The pools will often hold plenty of fish, but they may be a little more wary. The water is slower and they don't have to rush to get their food. Then, another section of flats, as the pool shallows out toward the bridge. These flats also have enough food that the fish will often feed in them. You just have to be a little more stealthy... Finally,
just after the 62 bridge, the water is kind of tunnels, creating a tail-out
section. The fish don't often hold here, but will often spawn in these
areas. So, now that you know what makes up the fish "neighborhood", see if you can't put that to good use next time you come! I've given you a few hints to go by... :-) What's AGFC Commission up to lately?
Every year, AGFC starts the cycle for new regulations / changes / clarifications to the codes governing fishing. The timeline for this process is as follows:
Steve & I are members of the White & North Fork Rivers Outfitter's Association - The mission statement is: The White and North Fork Rivers Outfitters Association is organized for the purpose of enhancing the trout fishing on the White and North Fork Rivers, protecting our rivers and resources and helping promote civic and general interest in the areas associated with our organization. Therefore, we watch this kind of thing fairly closely. Below are the AGFC proposals for changes to regulations for 2004. None of these directly affect the White and North Fork. However, if you would like to see changes, deletions, or clarifications to the existing proposals, and you are in the area, we strongly encourage you to attend any of the public meetings - times and dates listed below. UPDATED SCHEDULE DISTRICT PUBLIC MEETINGS MAY 2003 All public meetings will begin at 7 pm. District Fisheries Biologist and
a representative from Fisheries Administration in Little Rock will attend.
Consideration
List of Proposed Fishing Regulations Changes for
2004 Walleye Implement
an 18-inch minimum length limit and four fish daily limit on Walleye
for Beaver Lake, Carroll and Benton County. Purpose is to protect new
stocking from over-fishing early in the program and bring Beaver Lake
consistent with overall walleye management strategy on White River reservoirs. Crappie •
Implement a 10-inch minimum length limit for Lake Charles, Lawrence County.
Analysis indicates low-density population comprised of fast-growing
individuals could be improved through protection. Proposal is consistent
with Crappie
Management Plan. Bass •
Implement a catch and release for largemouth bass for Bois D' Arc
Lake, Hempstead County. This is consistent with the Bass Management Plan for
new lakes. Turtle More
precise language has been inserted to bring Section 39.00 up to date, and to
make
regulations correspond to Section 41.00. Specific changes include: •
Sec. 39.01, Permit/License Requirements for the Commercial Harvest
and Sale of Aquatic Turtles, clearly defines
the need to possess a Commercial Fisherman Permit to commercially harvest,
sell, or purchase wild caught aquatic turtles. •
Sec. 39.05, Reporting Requirements for the Sale of Aquatic Turtles,
this will allow the Commission to document
the harvest and sale of wild caught aquatic turtles. •
Sec. 39.09(H), Alligator Snapping Turtle Breeder/Dealer Permit
Requirements, will restrict the sale, barter, trade, or transfer of any
alligator snapping turtle to five (5) inches or less in shell length; •
Sec. 39.10, Alligator Snapping Turtle Breeder/Dealer Reporting Requirements,
changes the required monthly reporting date from the fifth to
the 10th of each month. Additional
changes in Sections 1.00 and 3.00 are formatting and language changes to
make codes easier to interpret and accurate. Commercial •
Clarification of Code 41.06, addition of the word "caught"
to clarify code. 41.06
PURCHASE OF WILD CAUGHT COMMERCIAL FISH RESTRICTIONS •
Addition of "scaleshell mussel" to the endangered species
Definitions (l.OOC). •
Define "mutilation" in Code 41.33 to include: tearing,
cutting or disfiguring
vent of paddlefish in any way to determine the presence of eggs. Hogging
and Noodling •
Define hogging and noodling as: Hogging
- The taking of fish by the use of hands only by a person in
or under the water. Noodling
- The taking of fish by the use of hook or snare type device,
with or without an attached line no longer than 4 feet in length,
manipulated by hand when a person is in or under the water. •
Set hogging and noodling limits and season to correspond with spearfishing limits and season. Proposal
will eliminate loophole in regulations exploited by anglers wanting to use
non-traditional fishing methods to harvest flathead catfish ahead of the spearfishing
season. Definitions will aid public understanding of these fishing methods.
In Closing...
I would like to thank you all again for your continued support - you make it all worthwhile! :-) Let us know what you'd like to read about in the newsletters and how we can make your stay even better!
Remember to pray for our soldiers, and our president, as we walk through these times.
May God Bless and keep you and yours...
Until next month - Good Fishing! Julie |
