Here’s a followed up letter from one of the guy’s I took out. I was glad to be a part of this and will continue to help out with Project Healing Waters.
Thanks again for all you did for our vets. To Whom It May Concern: My name is David Carey and I’m a Disabled National Guard Veteran from Iraqi Freedom.
I’ve been attending fly tying both at Bass Pro Shops in Memphis and at the Memphis VA Hospital. Most recently I was invited to attend a trip to Branson, Missouri where we’d be fishing at Lilley’s Landing Resort on 18-19 September. We started out on Friday on our way to Branson and I was told it was about a 4-hour trip. This made me a little nervous because this was way out of the norm for me. Soon, though, I was okay even though this is something I would never do on my own. I mean, to be with people that I did not know very well makes me very uncomfortable.
We got to Branson and checked into the motel and it was great! I was treated with a lot of respect on the trip down and was made to feel like part of the group. Then we went down to Lake Taneycomo and Lilley’s Landing and met the other people that were there to help us. After that we went to Shorty Small’s Restaurant and had a great dinner and visit.
The next day was up at 5 AM so we could get to Lilley’s Landing in time for breakfast and getting our guide assigned. One bad thing was that it was rainy and very foggy, but we went out on the boat and fished anyway. They sent me with Travis Dulaney on a Drift Boat with Jeremy Hunt. He was very helpful and a great guide! They put us in at the dam and within the first hour, I had me my first fish I had ever caught, even though it was raining!! What was nice is that I forgot about the rain and kept on fishing. I also forgot about the things that I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis and was really enjoying myself out there on the water. All I could think about is getting that next fish. It was a nice one and Jeremy took my picture with it!! What a great feeling! I caught 7 fish that morning, so it was really a great day for fishing, even though the rain never stopped. The rain got so bad, that we stopped and went to eat lunch at the gazebo at Lilley’s. Since it was still raining so hard, we went back to the motel and did some fly tying with Mark Romero. What a great fly tier!! Later that night, after dinner, we went to this music show called, “#1 Hits of the 60’s!” That was a lot of fun and great music too!
The next day started at the same time and we ate breakfast and got on the river. Fishing was slow but fun, but I didn’t catch much before lunch. I went out with a different guide after lunch and caught 4 rainbow trout. When we came back to the resort at 3, there were news people there, and they wanted me to “fake” fish for the camera and then do some fly tying. I really enjoyed doing that interview and was on the 10 o’clock news. I was thinking about my PTSD & Depression, and decided that it’s time to get back into the world because this program was a great help to me. I would do it all again and if you are having trouble with PTSD or depression, then this is the program for you! Thank you for the opportunity and caring showed to me and this trip really helped me see a better future.
SSG (ret) David CareyUnited States Army National Guard
September 23 2009
Rim Shoals
Layne is a local from Springfield who him and I have been trying to get a date lined out for the last two months. Every time we tried to go, it would rain and the trip would get canceled. I told him on the phone the night before let’s just go because we aren’t going to get a so called “perfect day”. When I got up that morning I saw heavy clouds and thought to my self, streamer day. The only thing I had to do is talk Layne into chunking weight. I didn’t know his skill level, but quickly realized after fishing he could do this. I didn’t bring my streamer rods and only had a sink tip that sunk at 7.0 ips that we could attach to his fly line. After fishing for a few hours catching tons of fish I decided to try it out. I went with the good ole stand by, yellow, which is the color I have the most confidence in any situation. We immediately saw results pulling some nice fish up to the surface. The only thing is we couldn’t get them to commit. The water was real dingy and I’m sure that had a lot to do with why these fish were going bonkers on streamers. No lie, we turned five big browns, but only landed one. It took Layne that many tries before he got the hook set down. Just goes to show you that it’s a whole different ball game when it comes to setting the hook on these fish.
After throwing yellow with a few results we gave it a rest and decided to try some huge dry flies. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Layne was really the one who talked me into trying this in dirty water or I wouldn’t have even tried to attempt this in the water I was seeing. We tied on a sofa pillow and had an explosive hit right off, it was a big fish that broke us off. I then switched over to the big ugly that is a hot pattern for Taneycomo. Well after today, I can say it works on the White to. One thing I learned from this was trout can see better than I thought.
We had about an hour left in the day and went back to streamers. This time I tied on black with nothing even chasing it. I switched over to olive and here we go again. Browns were coming up to it, but this time, hitting it. We lost one that was probably pushing ten pounds. Everyone of these browns we were getting to follow were all coming from the same spot. We gave that area a rest for a brief moment and then went back hooking another brown that got off. This one was smaller, probably in the 20 inch range. Layne was losing everything and I could tell it was making him frustrated. We had a little conversation and then it was on again. This time Layne wasn’t about to loose another one due to bad hook sets. It happened, fish on and this time I could tell by the way he pulled back on the rod that this one wasn’t getting off. I told him if he got the hit to get mad and get it everything you got.. He did alright, right in the corner of the mouth which is a guarantee for keeping these fish on. I was excited for him because to this day, he hadn’t caught a brown of this size in all his eighteen years of fly fishing. I’m glad I could make it happen for him and I guess even waiting out the trip because of bad weather proved to be on the positive side for us this time.
September 22 2009
A weekend I’ll Remember…
Fished Taneycomo & White River
I wish I could say everything that went on the last five days, but to be honest, I can’t remember all of it. I will say I had a great time with Project Healing Waters over the weekend and it was awesome to be a part of. Hosted by Phil Lilley at his resort (Lilley’s Landing) under the pavilion with great breakfast, lunch and dinner then fishing with the great men and woman who serve our country. Hats off to everyone who was a part of it. It was nice meeting everyone. Here’s a link to KY3 who did a story about it.
White River
I’ve been doing alot of trips in Arkansas lately and fishing has been really good. Most of what we’ve been fishing is low water, but you have to hit it right and either stay behind or ahead of the rising water. But then again, fishing it has proven some great results up at the dam. I had a few rookies out the other day. We went to Rim and caught fish after fish. I would say they’re hooked for a lifetime. We spent most of our time fishing the shoal at Jenkins Creek. I found a seem that was holding so many fish that we didn’t leave it. My dad always taught me, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. That’ sometimes the best way to stay in the fish and being productive is what its all about.
Monday and Tuesday, I spent those days fishing at Wildcat Shoals and Bull Shoals Dam. Blue Ribbon had a party of ten and it was a mix of stuff we were doing. They drew out of hat to make it fair for everyone. The two groups I had were great students of the sport and because they listen to the coach, John was rewarded with a fine looking brown. We spent the whole day fishing slack water, with just a few hours in the fast water throwing heavy split shot rigs as well. Fishing was better for us when we would fish the slack water, but fishing was pretty consistent no matter what we did. I keep saying streamer fishing has got hot up at the dam, and it’s still proven to be true. We caught some nice rainbows that would rather refuse nymphing on the bottom. Jim threw some streamers the first day and couldn’t get enough of it. The D.W. was the hot fly. It’s a good looking pattern and has made a believer out of me.
Now the big fish we caught was definitely a guide call. Here’s a great example of not ever being complacent, by doing the same thing and saying, well I got thirty minutes left so let’s keep doing what we’re doing. I decided to go back to finesse fishing instead of heavy split and big split shot, which is what everybody is doing up there. I came up with a deadly combination of light tippet and pinch on fishing in this new area I call the “bucket”. Even in heavy generation we are fishing this way. This is top secret and only clients will have the opportunity to fish it because it’s such a great spot for big fish to hold in. It’s happen time and time again producing some great results. When I told the George and John that we had thirty minutes left in the day and let’s go back to fishing the way we started they were game for that. I kept telling them it could happen, we could catch that fish that I knew was holding there. On the second cast John hooked this brown that jumped four feet in the hair. We clearly saw that we would have a fight on our hands. After instructing John we landed this beautiful brown and decided to end the day on this trout. I’m glad it happen and it couldn’t have happen to a better person. Nobody take this the wrong way, but to see someone in their 70’s to get a fish like this is something I think he will remember for a lifetime. That’s truly what it’s all about.
Oh, the day before Jim caught his 20 inch brown in the bucket as well. I think the bucket will be something you hear quite often. You know why, because it will always hold a big fish, guarantee !
Taneycomo - low water 700.6 2 hours of generation (1 unit) 3-5pm
Started the day out fishing with three of my good friends. Micah, Darren and I hit the water around 9am. We went back to the major spot that I saw browns holding the other day. To my surprise we only saw a few today so we didn’t stick around too long.
Today our agenda was to fish other sections that we could fish at night that we saw browns holding in. I saw two that were in the 5-6 pound range and tried to fish for one, but the second cast he bailed out and went downstream. It made me think tippet was a factor. I could have sworn I saw him come over and then look at line then move out. I was using Orvis fluorocarbon in 5x. Larry let me use it in Arkansas over the weekend. That’s all I had on me in 5x.
Now some of you know that I’m a big fan of Rio 5x flourocarbon, but I notice when I was using Orvis the bites were few and far between. So I thought maybe it was just the day. I got stuck in a rut only fishing 5x when nymphing on the bottom in low water and never going lower in X’s because of breaking off more often. It’s probably been over five years since I have in most cases. Today was a different story. I went down to Rio in 6x and started hooking up immediately. With saying that, who knows if it really boils down from different manufactures in flourocarbon tippet. I would say yes, but can’t say for sure, just the experience I had today. Or maybe I should start using 6x tippet again instead of only believing in 5x. I'll keep you posted..
We made it up top and spent the majority of the time there. I switched over to midge patterns and had the best results fishing them in the mild rain showers. I would say this was the most effective way for catching numbers verses all the other methods we tried today. Darren (read his report) was running sculpins on the bottom for most of the day only catching a few and Micah stuck to what I was doing. We fished until 6:30 before going back to his house forhis famous ribs.
I plan on night fishing tonight so I’ll let you know how it goes. I have trips all weekend so the next time I get a report out will be in a couple of days. This weekend I’ll be taking groups out from the Project Healing Waters staying at Lilley’s Landing Resort. It should be fun times and I’m looking forward to it.
Since the 9th I’ve either went fishing by myself or had trips, but I have fished both the White and Taneycomo and can tell you what I think about them both right now.
I had trips in Arkansas over the weekend, but decided to go early and fish at the dam on my own, just to see what the bite was like since a week ago. I haven’t noticed much difference since last week, maybe a few more fish moving up, but not like it was before they started that project. I’m sure it will take awhile so we’ll see what happens as the months continue. It won’t be long before it’s closed for three months and will re-open on the first of February.
When I did go fishing I got to the water around noon. I brought my streamer rods and was excited to see if this new structure would make for some more holding spots for trout that like to ambush streamers. I threw behind every new bolder or tree I could find with good results. It was nice because for the most part I was the only boat up there. I fished for five hours and spent the whole time throwing streamers. The water I was fishing was somewhere between 2-4 units and it made for some great water throwing 275 grain line on a 8wt. I would say the majority of the water column I was fishing was three feet below the surface, which put my fly about a foot up from the bottom, perfect for staying where I needed. That was crucial for getting more strikes. The fish where going crazy for streamers. I haven’t got to experience it quite this good, so it was worth figuring out. I didn’t hook any browns, although I did see one holding behind a rock that was pushing 25 inches, and it was behind a new rock structure the corp. put in, which was cool to see. The rainbows were all real pretty and you could tell a big difference in the color verses ones that hit flies under an indicator bouncing the bottom. I didn’t take any pictures because I was by myself, but I can tell you first hand, they like streamers. I wrapped up the day around five so I could get ready for a two day trip with a four group party that Larry and I were taking out.
Wildcat Shoals on Saturday
Friday night I checked the predicted schedule for the weekend and couldn’t believe we were going to have low water both days. It’s always a bonus when you get to guide on the White in low water. They were going to run in the afternoon so we decided to fish Wildcat the first day. Fishing was great, but stealth was a must for hooking more fish throughout the day.
I had two guys from Oklahoma that were brand new to the sport. Ron and Dennis were real troopers and both did very well. The casting distance part was a challenge for them and I’m sure they are both believers in distance casting because that was what it took from fishing out of the boat. We could’ve got out and waded but spotting bigger fish from higher up was on our attention, maybe it was all those big browns we saw. We gave it everything we had to try for one, but they weren’t having it. All in all we had a good day and were looking forward to the next day. This day was more about teaching, the next day was all about “the good ole buddy” contest.
Rim Shoals on Sunday
Because of what happened on the first day we decided to go downstream a little further so the high water wouldn’t reach us at all. The first day it got there right at 4pm and we still had one more hour left so we made up for that starting at 7am and fishing until 4pm. Larry and I traded clients and I had Mike and Ken. Ken was an avid fly fisher and Mike was new, but had one day in so the casting part wasn’t that crucial since he got it down Saturday.
This was the first time I fished Rim Shoals in awhile, but was glad I got to, and again, we didn’t see too many boats. I’m sure that had everything to do with the weather. It started raining around 9am and didn’t stop until 1pm. It made for some great fishing though. I would say by lunch we were at 50 fish and still had four hours to go. The rain played a huge roll on creating the feeding frenzy. We didn’t have to cast far from the boat today. That made it a lot easier on them and they could see what this whole “hype" thing was about fishing the White. One thing we noticed was the size difference. Wildcat had a lot more browns, that were spooky, and the rainbows were all small (9-13 inches) for the most part. Rim Shoals average was 13-17 inches and a lot of the bigger ones came from the lower end of the catch and release. The only rub is you have to pull the boat over a shoal, but it’s worth it if you ask me.
One more thing, we did chunk some streamers in the morning, but the browns weren’t playing with us today, only the rainbows. But if you ask me if the White is worth fishing right now, you bet ya!
September 9 2009
It was raining, but it made for some great fishing
I got up not even knowing we had rain expected for the day. So to make a long story short I had a cancellation for the White River today. I wanted to fish, but fishing all day long in the rain can wear you out so we planned for another day. I decided to go ahead and go fishing by myself anyways. I got to Traney around 8 am and to my surprise there was only two cars in the main parking lot up at chute 2. That got me anxious because I knew I could fish some hot spots that I knew would be holding the bigger fish and also no pressure on the river today. Two key things you need to be working on your side when hunting browns.
When I arrived it was misting, but it didn’t take long for the down pour to start happening. I was probably out there an hour when it hit. I was glad it did because that’s when the brown hit and the fishing picked up big time. I spent the majority of the time fishing the rebar hole down to the big hole. This stretch seemed to be on fire for me today. Faster moving water was key for hooking numbers. When I would fish the calmer water the bite slowed down. I finished up the day around 10 am. with only one brown and a bunch of rainbows that all looked healthy.
The rest of the day I spent designing this new fly I was thinking of the other day. Once I get the kinks out I’ll post it. It’s another night fly that I think will add some excitement to the fishes life, once they see it of course.
September 8 2009
Fishing, Tying, and more Tying.........
Let me start this report by saying that I hope everyone had as great of a Labor Day weekend as I did. Although I had to work, did I say work? Well that may be a strong definition for what I do since I live vicariously through my clients and have a great time in the process.
I spent both days with my clients on the White, the first in the john boat and the second in the drift boat. Having the option of fishing from either boat offers my clients two unique types of fishing experiences. I’m glad I have both, but if I had my choice it would be the drift boat only. One thing that worked in our advantage was low water, somewhere in the two unit range pumping between 2,000-3,500 cfs. Although SWPA predicted 25 mega watts, ultimately it was more like 30-60. Either way, we were still able to catch many rainbows. We had a few shots at some browns running streamers, but they were able to slip the hook. Certainly a story any angler can relate to.
Having both boats offers my multi-trip clients the option of switching things up between days. The first day we concentrated on only productive water that holds fish while the following day allowed us to drift a longer section of river and allows us to fish several different spots that may normally be difficult to access by john boat. My clients and I began the first day in the trophy areas up at the dam. Upon arrival I immediately noticed that the numbers of fish were just not there. I have to think that this had everything to do with the project they did last week. There was literally army trucks driving around in the water so that couldn’t have been good. I was curious to see the placement of this new structure and more importantly how it was tied down. (I took a few pictures to show you in detail how they went about doing this.) Regardless of the immediate impact, I think in the long run it will be beneficial to the fish. Meanwhile, those care free drifts are no longer. The layout of these habitats are in a "zig-zag" format which makes it impossible to stay on a drift and dangerous at that. I was able to spot fish already acclimating to these new structure piles as holding zones. The rock structures seem to hold fish nicely on the fore and aft and appear to enjoy snuggling up to their new surroundings. Conversely, I didn’t see too many holding around the log jams. It was fun getting used to all of it and I’m glad it was low water so I could get a good visual of everything. Most of the construction by the COE appears to be concentrated on the Marion county side so be sure you remember that and exercise extreme caution when fishing from or piloting a boat. The biggest advantage I see is for the wade fishermen that can focus on making subtle presentations to the fish without spooking them. This should also be advantageous for streamer fishing as well but there is an obvious increase in hanging up. Time will tell but I think the fishing will be better as a result.
The second day (Sunday) we launched the drift boat at White Hole and drifted to Cotter. Once again we had great water levels making for a prime drift boat experience. Now these next few lines can be a little harsh to some, but I’m only speaking from my experience. Two things that made it rough for catching big browns; skinny water with tons of motors flying up and down the river and disrespectful (or ignorant) boaters that constantly low holed us all day. As soon as we prepared to cast to spots that I know hold big fish a boat would pull right in, throw anchor, and cast down stream which pretty much equates to taking over the entire section. It was rough, but we managed. We caught fish on the bottom and threw a few emergers. The only area we managed to land a few browns was at the Narrows on the Marion county banks during the first hour of the day. Unfortunately these bait fisherman have no respect for drift boats and I’m sure they don’t plan on changing anytime soon. I can’t say that about everyone but on this day it sure felt like it. In all my years of fishing the White river, this was the busiest I've ever seen it. It’s all good because I’ll be back another day.
What’s Going On?
Tying flies has prevented me from updating the site lately. I took a short break to crank out over 2,000 flies for Phil Lilley and Blue Ribbon fly shop. Now that the orders are filled I have a week long break to work on new patterns and fill orders for guestbook clients. Such is the tough life of being a trout bum, but in the end I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. I wake up daily thanking God for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with my beautiful family. Speaking of family, I got to take Summer fishing for the first time in over a year. I didn’t even fish, I just watched her have a good time. What impressed me the most is the fact that she hasn’t lost her touch on anything. Her casting was exceptional to watch. We fished Taneycomo and spent most our time on the magic mountain fishing the cream delight and below chute two when the water came on in the afternoon. I did see some browns moving up, but they were all in the 16-19 inch range. I’m sure that will be fun at night so plan on some night reports here real soon.
I hope everyone enjoyed the recent how-to step patterns from Michael and I. This should be an ongoing deal, but we really won’t have time to do any more tying until the brown run is over sometime in middle of November. I might have a few chances to upload some on my own, but getting to Springfield isn’t going to happen until then. I’m booked every weekend the rest of this month and only have the last two in October open. So I’m booking up for the brown run and a lot of night fishing trips are already booked. The deal I’m offering for night fishing is working out great and I personally think it’s a great deal. That’s my way of saying thanks for checking out my site and I'd really like to see everyone try to hook that monster at night so I’m going to do my best to make that happen. If you want to try at one this year let me know. We will only focus on the prime hours and spots that hold these big fish. We will also fish hard and cover lots of water since that’s what it’s going to take.
Tying Class
There will be no tying class this month due to conflicts of scheduling.