I would suspect that many of you are wondering when you will be able to see low water and be able to wade and wet a line on the rivers. No doubt we will likely see high water levels for some time; but there may be some windows of opportunity for periods of time when generations are shut down.
More or less since the first floods, and a few days after, l have been out there on both rivers guiding. Some days were slow but others provided some outstanding fishing with many trophy fish, particularly Browns and the odd few Cutthroats. The elusive 20 inch plus Bows are hard to find; but l have seen a number borderline fish at BSD a few over the 20 inch mark and many in the 15 to 17 inch range. The fish are in great shape.
Despite the deluge of 17 flood gates open and all 8 generators at BSD, we fished there and caught fish, both with rod and line. We also caught other species such as Walleye that had been tossed into the river below the flood gates. As they floundered on the surface, we netted them out. The fish fry was good. That was a great added bonus for my fisherman.
It is still not easy to evaluate what has taken place on the White so far as how the substrate has been moved around at the lower levels of the river. l have fished down to just below the confluence. No doubt the river has had one heck of a flush out. It is sad to see so many trees knocked down, the degradation of the shore lines and in many cases large amounts of gravel now built up in areas not seen before.
There are some plus factors here despite all this. It does appear from what l am able to see that the didymo at BSD and down has been scoured off. Probably it will return as we see lower water levels and light can penetrate the substrate. For now, the trout at BSD can gorge on the sowbugs, as was very evident when we fished a low cfs there Sunday. My customer landed 40 fine fish and lost many more, fishing size 16 DW sowbugs. I also had a few casts, hooked a great Bow of around 3lb that jumped and promptly threw the hook. At least l know he is there for another day.
Rim, now that the water has cleaned up, is also loaded with fish. Yesterday fishing at Rim proved that one beyond doubt. Certainly at Rim the moss beds are in great shape and will provide great habitat for the fish. In fact the section from Roundhouse to Rim is in great shape.
Lower downriver is still cloudy; and it will need to clear up before l can evaluate the substrate there.
Norfork, as we all know, suffered a massive torrent of water that has changed the face of that river big time. Most of the trees on the islands are either gone or laid flat and much of the soil around those islands is also gone. Damage to the shorelines is serious and a great deal of work will need to be done for restoration. Here again during low water generations, navigational routes will have changed big time and l suspect that we will not be able to reach the dam from the confluence when we have a low 1 gate open, as we have been able to do before. Very likely also we will not be able to reach McClelland's at low water from the park and return by boat unless we are prepared to get out and drag the boat over the new gravel bars.
I have as yet not had the opportunity to walk and wade fish the river to check it out. It will be interesting to see. Fishing on the river has been good at times and l have seen some trophy fish caught, mainly Browns and a lovely 21 inch Cutt. Bows are between the stockers and some prime fish in the 14 to 17 inch range.
The river did of course suffer to being scoured. Most of the moss beds are gone. There have been reports of large numbers of scuds swimming around. No doubt the fish will feast on those guys. The problem may well be that scuds, sowbugs, caddis larva and most other invertebrates also need a food base and suitable structure to forage and live in. Without that, we may see a situation there for some time that reduces the food base for those fish. It takes time for a river to recover, particularly a tail system. Natural spring-fed rivers and freestone systems do recover in a reasonable time as they see a constant so far as river flow rates are concerned.
Certainly the hatchery will afford some nutrient into the river which will help.
High water is demanding fishing and not always as much fun as fishing low water. In many cases chuck and duck is the name of the game. You simply have to get the fly down to the fish's zone of vision. Unlike fishing with a sinker, as the bait guys do, it is not so easy to do that with a fly rod as you are not able to extend long lengths of line without causing the fly to rise. This is caused by the limitations of weight you are able to use, even with a 10wt rod. There is a limit to how far from the fly the indicator can be placed fishing over deep water zones. Working the margins is a very good bet as here many fish will be found and as a rule you do not need one or more AAA shot to maintain fly depth.
Other options are fishing with streamers into and off the shore. This has also been very productive these past few weeks.
Many believe that you do have to fish larger bright colored flies, which is not always the case. The streambed moves slower than the surface and fish will eat scuds and sowbugs in very deep water zones if they see them. Worms which are washed into the river will be a great food source for those fish while the high water situation lasts and the banks are being scoured.
In the case of scuds and sows up the sizes to 12's and 14's.
Fish also wise up to seeing the same fly repeated; so l looked for other materials that would provide something different like San Juan worm type patterns which work well in high water. l found one that is a killer. Called Pearl core braid, it does add a new dimension to the typical SJW chenille worm. It adds a great deal more effect that in many ways looks very similar to what you would see on an earth worm with the shiny appearance that shows at times a very iridescent effect.
Mtn River fly shop should have the material in stock before too long. They also carry the flies that Tbird has tied to my specifications. See Fly of the Month.
