HERB JOINS THE JRFFA TEAM FOR THE FALL 2012 SEASON!
Ryan Herbert, “Herb”, is down from Steamboat Springs, Colorado helping out Jamie Rouse and his crew for the fall season. Herb has been putting people on big fish for the past ten years all over America. He is very motivated to catch fish and to have a lot of fun in the process. Herb will be with us now through the end of December. Guaranteed good times with Herb!!
GOOD TIMES!
Last week, a good client of ours, Mark Saviers, brought a crew down for a good ol’ fashioned Ozark experience. The first afternoon I worked the trip with Tony. We took Mark and a few of his buddies on a walk/wade trip into Fat Possum Hollow. The fishing was nothing short of stellar. The boys landed several great browns as well as loads of rainbows. It was a super pleasant afternoon and the river was empty. The following day, the trip was the Whole JRFFA team, which is always a blast. The men decided to bring their wives. The wind was blowing about 900 miles and hour up river, but we all dug our heels in and caught some of the great fish the upper river has to offer-including a 17 inch brookie and several nice browns. Although the fishing on day two was more challenging, the highlight was for sure the shore lunch. Kati did the prep work at home for her famous hoppin’ john soup. We found a sweet island then set up chairs, built a fire, played bluegrass on the ipod, and finished by serving a hot lunch! Certainly, it is a trip the group will never forget! –Matt
THE BIG PULL
There are some incredibly solid hybrids being taken on the lake. If you think you have it in you, you should come give it a shot! –Jamie
FALL IS IN THE AIR
Had a great trip with Barry Jones and fam. Ended up finding some really solid beautiful rainbows. We were in the midst of amazing fall weather while fishing. Beautiful colors. Man, I love this time of year! –Jamie
STILL GOIN’ ON!
Great fish are still piling into Dry Run Creek. You need to grab a kid and take him or her fishing at this magical place. It is guaranteed to be a blast! –Jamie
WHAT’S UP?! HYBRIDS!!!
Monday morning I went out with a good friend and client, Paul Chandler to look for some early season rising hybrids. Reports weren’t great, but conditions were perfect. We hadn’t seen a single boil or blitz as of 10:29 am, but at 10:30 the surface exploded! Wow! This is definitely one of the coolest things to do with a fly rod! Fishing was so good, I had Matt meet us and jump in our boat so that he could bow up on a few! What a killer day! –Jamie
BACK TO BLOGGIN’
I have been away from the Guide Shack for awhile, but we have been doing some cool stuff. Last week, I had Greg Usdan. We decided to fish the White with hoppers. First thing that morning we committed to the surface bite. Wow, did that pay off! We absolutely clobbered fish on big foam nasties. –Jamie
HOPPER TIME!
Summer time heat isn’t all bad. Some amazing fishing can be had on hoppers this time of year. Surface fishing is about as exciting as it can get. Watching a fish come up and do a back flip for a little floating foam and rubber leg creature will certainly make your heart race! Here are just a few tips to remember when trying to get in on the action:
Keep your leader short and made of mono. You want the fly to float high and make a big slap when it hits the water.
Stay close to the bank, especially grassy banks with shallow water next to them. Once your fly hits on the bank, give it a few twitches. If nothing happens, make a new cast. Color can be an important factor in fishing hoppers as it can with streamer fishing. Pick a color and fish it for a ten minutes. If nothing happens, change to a contrasting color. When picking your tippet, don’t be afraid to go stout. Four and 5x should not even be an option because they will do nothing but spin and twist. I usually go 3x mono. The mono floats higher and keeps your drift drag free longer. These are just a few quick tips to help you get started! Dig your heels in and have some fun!
HEAT WAVE!
Well, in case you haven’t noticed, you will not be needing your jacket on the river these days. Through this drought and heat wave, fishing has remained very strong. We are putting together some amazing days. Our better fishing is focused around the morning bite, and we are catching some really solid fish. Check out this one that Jon Ernst caught! –Jamie
BEATING THE HEAT!
The other morning Tony and I took a group out on a Beat the Heat trip. The river was empty most of the morning. The flow was nice, and the temp didn’t get brutal until around 11. The fishing was pretty amazing. This beautiful rainbow that Ray Hall caught was certainly the highlight of the morning for me! –Matt
TONY TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM
Part of being a fishing guide is catching a hook every once in awhile, and we have all done our fair share of river side hook removal. A hook to the lip is never fun, and Tony got a holy grail caught in his lower lip the other morning. Thanks Tony for letting us capture a photo! Way to take one for the team!
(Photo by Matt, hook set and hook removal by client)
Come see us this summer! Right now we have our Beat the Heat Special: 6 am until noon. $340 for 2 anglers, $315 for one angler. Half days are also popular: $275 for 2 anglers, $250 for one angler.
DON’T MISS OUT, SUCKA!
They’re back delivering their beautiful little yellow caviar. Nice browns and rainbows are standing in line to eat it! Check out some of these cool fish taken behind spawning suckers! –Jamie
This past Saturday, Lowell and I had the opportunity to conduct a Fly Fishing class for Boy Scout Troop 55 of Memphis, TN. We meet the group of 13 scouts at their campground atop the mountain overlooking the Norfork Dam. After the scouts finished cleaning up from the morning breakfast, Lowell and I had a chance to introduce ourselves and go over the game plan for the day. From there we moved the entire troop down to Dry Run Creek.
We just got back from Montana where we won the prestigious Orvis Endorsed Guide Service of the Year. We continue to work making Arkansas the center of the universe. Congrats to the whole crew: Kati, Matt, and Tony. For your viewing pleasure check out a cool slideshow of last year’s “cool pics”. 2011 Fly Fishing Arkansas
Thanks for your support! –Jamie
New video for your viewing pleasure:JRFFA Highlights 2011
SPRING BREAKIN’ AT DRY RUN
Just finished up some fun spring break action with Logan, Tiffany, and part of their crew. We had a blast! Dry Run Creek is just full of big fish right now. Hope you enjoy the pics!
MARCH MADNESS ON THE LITTLE RED
The fish are really starting to key in on March Brown Emergers. Check out these two a few days ago with Tommy and Brian. –Jamie
UNBELIEVABLE FISHING!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have had moderate generation - just enough to keep most of the crowds at bay. Yet the fishing has been stellar, especially the streamer bite. Take a look at some pics over the last couple of weeks.
This spring is lining up to be unbelievable. The streamer bite has been out of this world. Already seeing march browns. The lake is at pool. If you are not already on our book, you need to be. –Jamie
BIG BROWN TRUCKS AND POODLE MADNESS
Today I had Michael and Tom Morgan. Tom is the owner of Apalach Outfitters. Our goal was to rip streamers for the brown variety. We succeeded. To quote Tom: “Best day of trout fishing I ever had.” And I must say, I had a blast myself. Check out some of these cool photos from the day:
ST. LOUIS BOYS ARE BACK
Spoon, McCarty, Davis, and the rest of the crew were here again chunking big stuff looking for the browns. But, as normal for this group, two days before their arrival, we get a major rain event. You guessed it–we were blessed with high muddy water. We had a blast with these guys regardless. We ended up catching some REALLY nice fish. Ryan had the opportunity at the fish of a lifetime.