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White River Fly Shop – 870-321-3890    Norfork Fly Shop – 870-706-4907

Quick Reports - Jeremy Hunt

September 14, 2023

Flys and Guides

We decided to take advantage of low water again on the Norfork. I thought for sure we would have the same water we did the day before, but it actually turned out better than I expected. We had the siphon running today so that was a positive, but we also had a negative. After we started fishing, we could tell the fish size was down due to how clear the water was. Usually on a bright sunny day with gin clear water, can sometimes throw off the bite for bigger fish. It would have been nice to have some wind chop when this happens, but we didn’t have much of that either. Yesterday, that water was super dingy, and the rainbow trout weren’t giving it up that day as far as the sizable ones. 

dave & terry norfork rainbow
terry & dave norfork rainbow
terry's rainbow
terry norfork rainbow
We caught plenty of fish, don’t get me wrong, but those kickers sure make the day better, especially when you are playing the numbers game. That’s why they call it fishing and not catching. Every day is different, so that’s just how it goes sometimes. When we were fishing, we noticed a few redds already, which is a little early for these browns to be doing their thing, but they are so make sure you pay attention to these and don’t fish or disturb them. These brown trout can naturally reproduce so be mindful of these redds please. Usually, the browns start making their way up the river at the end of September and most of October. This tailwater is the same as Taneycomo as far as when the browns start spawning. The White River is from December through most of January when the fish start doing their courtship on the redds. 
I’ve got two more days with the Dave and Terry, and the plan today is fishing the White River throwing dries most of the day, but I’ll also fish shad patterns when they bump the water up.
close up redds norfork
norfork tailwater caddis eggs

If you notice the bottom picture on the right, those little gel sacks you see with the little dots inside, those are all caddis eggs, and they will lay dormant until the end of April and then hatch. That goes to show you just what and abundance of caddis we have in both rivers. 

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