White River Rainbow

Our buddy and founder of @Kayakmonsterusa, Jeff Paisley is taunting us today with pictures of trout he is catching from a kayak on the White River in Arkansas.  All the while, I remain stuck behind a desk.

Gear: San Juan 2014 - Getting Small

A dozen flies with room for more.

Continuing on our theme focusing on gear for the upcoming FlyfishMagazine trip to the San Juan River in New Mexico, much research is being put into fly selection. Jeff Paisley, our staff tail water specialist, advised small flies, but I didn't realize just how small until I got in touch with Greg Sabin of http://www.sanjuanriverflies.com. His website let me know pretty quickly that my size 18-20 definition of small was a bit on the big size.

Greg put together a personalized assortment of nymphs ranging from size 22-28 coupled with a few traditional local flies. This should give me a leg up as long as I can figure out how to get them tied to the end of my leader (note to self get some magnifying lenses). He shipped them quickly and at a very fair price. Just so we are clear on the sizes, the photo above shows a dozen midges on the face of a dime with room for a few more.

Stay tuned for more gear features, including some innovative strike indicator options we will be testing on the river.

Extra points if you picked up on the vague Steve Martin reference.

 

FlyfishMag Redux: Ten Ways to Ruin a Fishing Friendship

Ten Ways to Ruin a Fishing Friendship
By Jeff Paisley

1. Don’t tell your friend that you bought a new boat until he sees you pass him on the river. Be sure to wave.
   
2. Don’t share your flies with him because you know he will just lose them anyway.
   
3. Tell him to meet you at 8:00 am but start fishing at 7:30.
   
4. Don’t let him know what fly they are taking until you have a least a five fish lead.
   
5. When his boat capsizes, don’t help him out of the water until you get plenty of pictures.
   
6. Don’t console your friend when he breaks off the “fish of a lifetime” until you catch it and can give him back his fly.
   
7. Make fun of him on his answering machine when his wife won’t let him go fishing.
   
8. Buy a new truck just so he won’t recognize you on the river.
   
9. Give your buddy the best spot on the river then cast to the trout rising just behind him (catching one at his feet will really make this more effective).
   
10. On the way to the river, buy your buddy breakfast at a nasty fast food restaurant with a porta-jon out front, just so you can get some alone time on the water later while he runs for the bushes. (Mexican restaurants work even better if available.)

Steep trails and peace of mind

This past weekend I had a severe need to get on the water. The work week had been filled with change and future promises of hard decisions to be made. When Paisley emailed me saying that he could visit an area delayed harvest stream for a few hours the next day, I got my "kitchen pass" from the wife and jumped at the chance.

The weather was supposed to be rainy and reports indicated that the river we would be fishing had been heavily poached, so the chance of it holding fish was slim. The rain was a plus and the poached out status of the water was not nearly enough to dissuade me. I needed the focus that fly fishing requires. I was also in no state of mind to wield a camera, so even though we brought one, I decided to leave it back in the car.

Paisley and I met before daylight and after we consolidated our gear into his Suzuki fish wagon, made our way to the river. A first glance into some likely holes revealed no easy to spot fish. Fishing our way up the river proved our theory that the water had indeed been heavily poached. After failing to even see a single fish, much less catch one, we decided that delayed harvest fishing was useless and made a turn up a tiny feeder stream marked with a sign denoting it as wild trout waters. Jeff made the statement that since NC regulations allow anglers to keep four fish per day in the wild waters and since the delayed harvest water was empty, the poachers had probably cleaned out the wild stream as well. We could only hope that the tiny water with tough access had been enough to keep people away and the trout fishing intact.

The tiny stream was strewn with large boulders and worked its way as stair steps up the side of a steep mountain. Recent warm conditions had us watching our step as we both knew that the area is well reported to have a large population of Timber Rattlers and Copperheads. I remarked to Jeff that it was just cold enough for the rattlers not to be able to warn us if we got too close. He said that there way more Copperheads than Rattlers in the area anyway.

The river turned out to be beautiful. We worked our way over house sized boulders and around dead fall timber, fishing tiny pockets of water all the way. Many casts were made while peering out from behind rocks while casting at eye level with the pool above you. Jeff managed to pick up a six inch brookie out of one of the pools but most of the tiny pockets seemed not to hold fish.

The next step up the mountainside revealed an unusually large pool flanked by giant rocks on either side and with a fallen tree in its dead center. I waited below as Jeff crept into position to make what amounted to a blind cast around the boulder. Jeff made several casts with no reaction so I crept up the side of the rock to the right of the pocket and eased my head up over the rim so as to allow a sight line in the pool. Immediately I spied two 14-15 inch brook trout cruising the pool shoulder to shoulder. Keep in mind that a 15 inch brookie in a NC wild trout stream is about the same as a thirty inch Alaskan rainbow only much more rare. I flipped my nymph into the pool only to have the trout rise and eat my indicator (yes, I was fishing a strike indicator - this was supposed to be an easy stock trout trip). On my second cast the other trout in the pair did the same thing this time coming out of the water to try to swallow the tiny rubber indicator whole. I looked at Jeff just in time to see him get a strike and break his tippet on the set. You normally only get one or two shots at the same native trout so, having missed ours, we moved on up the river. We paused at the head of the pool and Jeff managed to pick up another trout from the whitewater. We climbed higher with some resolve to come back and visit the dead tree pool on our way back to the vehicle.

The tiny gorge was spectacular and both Jeff and I regretted the decision to leave the cameras behind. It seemed that every time we climbed up to another level, the river became more clear and the boulders more massive. However, we both agreed that even guys with fishing websites deserve some time "off the grid". We managed to fish our way up as high as we dared without the aid of ropes. On our way back down to the car I switched to a small dry fly and after getting the rust off of my hook set, managed to catch one of those gem like brook trout. Jeff was able to pick up another fish or two as well.

We left the stream and stopped off for lunch before heading our separate ways. As I drove the hour and a half back home, the thoughts of work and work issues slowly crept back into my head as if only to remind me of why fly fishing is such good therapy.

BRFFA: Original Gangsta Fly Fishers

From the early days of the net, some of the old school fly anglers of the Blue Ridge Fly Fishing Association.

Right to left - Jeff Paisley, Brad Hincher, Me -sans goatee and rocking the trucker hat, Russel Ashburn, Dad, and Mitch who's last name escapes me but who I recall is a heck of a guy.

More photos reside here. The pictures were small and the scanner was expensive.

White River Monsters?

FlyFishMagazine.com's Leftentant of Tail Water Fisheries, Jeff Paisley found an interesting note in yesterday's Baxter Bulletin about a side effect of the recent flooding on the White River's North fork. It seems all manner of large warm water predators have found their way into the trout fishery. Officials are taking steps to put them back where they belong.

A sample of fish taken from the North Fork of the White River below Norfork Dam last week confirmed river biologists' concerns that many warm-water predator fish and at least three "monsters" spilled into the North Fork tailwaters during April floods.

White bass were the most numerous at about 70. Some 30 walleye also were taken in the sample gathered between 8:30 p.m. and midnight last Tuesday, Schroeder said. One striped bass weighing more than 20 pounds was the biggest of that predator species, he said. A total of six striped bass were taken from the river. Six blue channel catfish, including three that weighed in excess of 30 pounds each, also were captured and relocated, Schroeder said.

Break out the eight weights boys and girls.

photo: Jay Moore

Maybe we made the right decision...

When we decided to skip Arkansas this week. Paisley writes us with news of the generation schedule.

----- Original Message -----
From: Paisley, Jeffrey
To: zugbug, Garwood ; Lee Murdock
Sent: Thu Apr 10 09:24:17 2008
Subject: News Paper Article

Update: All Norfork floodgates to open 2 feet

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will open all the Norfork Dam floodgates 2 feet each at 7:30 a.m. today, said Corps lake manager Jon Hiser.

The floodgates first opened at 4 a.m. and opened one foot each at 6 a.m., the Corps reported.

The 12 floodgates will release water at 30,000 cubic feet per second, Hiser said. With the generators running, the amount of water released will be equivalent to 11 to 12 generators, he said.

At 5 a.m., Norfork Lake was at 580.83 feet and Bull Shoals Lake was at 688.76 feet, according to Corps information

Thanks,

Jeff Paisley C.P.M., A.P.P.

Avant Moi Le Deluge: White River Flooding

My last trip to fish Arkansas' White River ended with a bout of gastric distress and having to flee our tents just ahead of hurricane Katrina. FlyfishMagazine.com tailwater chief of staff, Jeff Paisley, contacted me today to advise that this year the floods have preceeded our early April visit to the area.

Via the Baxter Bulletin:

Thirty feet of River View Road on the North Fork of the White River has been washed away, blocking the evacuation route for an undetermined number of residents living in homes up the river, Hall said. Residents in the area also reported River View Drive was washed out and River Ridge Road was flooded.

Among the roads closed were: Baxter County Road 510 and 10 near Midway, County Road 806 in the Gamaliel area, County Road 63, County Road 65 in the Jordan area, County Road 72 at Plum Tree Lane and County Road 7 and County Road 1 in the Cotter area, said Baxter County Road & Bridge Superintendent Vernis Miller. County Road 39 was passable late Tuesday afternoon, but the water was deep and the road may close, he said.

We will be keeping a close eye on the situation and are keeping the residents of the area in our thoughts.

Dam photo by Jay Moore.

Jeff Paisley Stalks Big Trout After Dark

In his latest FlyFishMagazine.com article, Jeff Paisley, takes a look at the risks and rewards for fly anglers looking to catch large tailwater trout in the dark of night.

"We tried nymphing with no luck so I tied on a streamer and the river came alive. Bite after bite, fish after fish for the next four and a half hours. I would make long casts and use short but emphatic jerks on the retrieve. 17 casts in a row produced fish, with the biggest being landed right after the horn blew on the dam. I had fly fished for the last 20 years and had some great days on some fantastic rivers, but I had never been so satisfied from a fishing experience as on that night."

From the excerpt it sounds like things went well. We always love articles that require a disclaimer tacked onto the end. Click here to read the entire article.

Teardrop Campers

Tail water Editor, Jeff Paisley shot a a couple of new pictures of his teardrop camper build. This time he has dressed up the front end with a diamond plate tool box. We are still pulling for a brown trout paint job.

Send us photos of your fly fishing / outdoorsy DIY projects

# 2 But They Try Harder....

Mountain Home, Arkansas has been named the second best fishing town in America by Field and Stream.

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the United States premier outdoor publications, Field and Stream, ranks Mountain Home, Arkansas, as the second-best fishing town in the country in its February 2008 issue. The magazine created its list based on each town's year-round fishing opportunities, cost of living, fishing culture, outdoor-related economy and overall quality of life. To qualify, each town had to have a resident population of less than 100,000.

Mountain Home, Arkansas is also the home of this year's FlyFishMagazine spring conclave hosted by tail water Editor, Jeff Paisley. We await the press release from the first best fishing town in American because based on our experiences in Arkansas it must be a heck of a river.

Dynasty!

Appalachian State University takes their third consecutive NCAA Division I National Championship with a 49-21 win over Delaware.

For the official record it is pronounced "App-a-Latch-an." ASU alums Jeff Paisley and my own trophy wife have earned bragging rights for yet another year.

Congratulations Mountaineers!

2007 Gift Guide Part II: Paisley's Picks

We continue our coverage of FlyFishMagazine.com's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide with today's picks from our tail water editor and Fly Fishing DIY Project guru, Jeff Paisley.

Jeff must be feeling the chill at his home in the Carolina mountains as two of his picks from this year have to do directly with staying warm while fishing his favorite tailraces. Like all good fly anglers he finishes his list big with a shiny new Tibor fly reel. Click here to see what gear caught Jeff's eye for this Christmas season.

Stay tuned through out the week for more gear guides from the staff of FlyFishMagazine.com.

In case you missed it here is a link to Jay Moore's picks.

Just for kicks here's what the gang picked in 2006.

Jeff Paisley on the good kind of teardrops.

Many of you have followed Jeff Paisley's teardrop camper project on this blog. Jeff sends us this article that he wrote about the process:

TEARDROPS – THE ULTIMATE OUTDOOR RETREAT

I started discussing building a teardrop camper a couple of years ago with my old friend from flyfishmagazine. He liked to make jokes about "those little campers", but I had a feeling, teardrops would be the perfect camping machine for us fish crazy people. After researching a number of designs I was set to start building my first Teardrop.

The design I longed to build was the vintage 1937, 4’ x 8’ Teardrop. First I had to find a set of plans. Next, I reviewed them and customized the plans to fit my needs. Then I started out on the scavenger hunt of a lifetime. Once completed, I had all the needed materials to build my Teardrop. After three and a half months of working on the weekends and missing a few fishing trips, the Teardrop was ready for it’s first voyage. My wife and I loaded the little camper and headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway where we spent a couple of wonderful nights.

We setup camp in about five minutes. We just backed the Teardrop in and popped the hatch. Wow! How easy is that? As we set around the campfire, we discussed how effortlessly camping had become with the Teardrop. By now it was time to turn in for the night. The next morning was met with great enthusiasm. My wife loved the camper. It was warm, comfortable and relaxing. Making our trip most enjoyable. The amount of room in the Teardrop was amazing to. There was enough room to move in the cabin without disturbing each other.

The next night the temperature dropped to 35 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20 mph. It was very chilly so we turned in early. Once we entered the Teardrop and closed the door, it was like sitting in your living room. The howling wind couldn't penetrate the walls, leaving the Teardrop warm and relaxing. In minutes we were fast asleep in the comfort of our new little camper. The next morning when I woke up I knew the Teardrop was the ultimate fishing retreat because of all the advantages it brings to the table.

Teardrops are great little campers with many purposes but I would suggest them for the avid fisherman like myself. It only took one trip for me to understand how great these little campers are. There is little set up time involved, allowing more time on the water. The comfort is unparalleled by any tent, air mattress and sleeping bag. You wake up refreshed and ready to go fight those big fish again. Another advantage of this style of camper is it can be towed by small cars with little effort. Because the camper only weighs 700 pounds, it also doesn't impact gas mileage very much, if any? Maybe one of the greatest advantages is you can park it almost anywhere. The numerous advantages of the Teardrop sure outweigh the small size of these units. I’ll be a Teardrop owner for many years to come. Hope to see you out on the Teardrop trail one day. If you have questions about Teardrops please let me know and I’ll try to help if possible.

Here is a link to all of our coverage of Jeff's build. Remember if you are a fly fisher who is into DIY let us know about your project.

Paisley's Teardrop Project Update

Our long time fishing pal and FlyFishMagazine.com Contributing Editor, Jeff Paisley has finished his teardrop camper project. All it needs now is an appropriate paint job.

Be sure to send us pics of your best DIY projects.

Pimp my Trailer: Part II

FlyfishMagazine.com contributor Jeff Paisley emailed us an update on the status of his ultimate fly fishing teardrop camper project. He tells that he is putting the finishing touches on it this week. Once completed the camper will be put to immediate use on the banks of Arkansas' White River during his annual trip.

Paisley is already planning another teardrop. Since he is an alum of Appalachian State University and still reveling in the upset of the century, he said he intends on panting the next one black and gold.

Here is a link to our original post about Paisley's pimped out trailer.

Have a fly fishing or outdoor related DIY project under your belt? Drop us a note with your photos so we can share them with our readers.

Pimp My Trailer

FlyFishMagazine.com contributing editor Jeff Paisley sent us a visual progress update on his latest project, a pimped out - hand built - teardrop - fly fishing camper. When finished the camper will sleep two, have a full galley, built in fly tying desk, as well as an integrated fly rod storage system. Our contribution will be a FlyFishMagazine.com "Never Fish Vacant Water" license tag frame.

New Hurricane Season Gear Deals

We spent this weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where we had planned to check out the inshore fishing with contributing Editor, Jeff Paisley. Tropical storm Barry decided that Saturday would be a wash out so instead of fishing we enjoyed a few good meals together and carried the bags for our wives as they hit the outlet malls. While I did end up with a couple of new pairs of Rockports as a result of the trip, I had to put off the purchase of any fishing gear until I got back home this evening. It's a good thing I did since Sierra Trading Post has deposited a new coupon in my e-mail box. I would be remiss if I did not share it with you. Free shipping on orders of $75 or more!


And just to help out - here is a link to all of STP's high quality Lamson fly reels at great prices in one handy location, namely our product showcase! Just be sure to come back here and use the coupon banner to take advantage of the free shipping.

North Fork in Trouble

The next time you visit Mountain Home Arkansas and fish the North Fork River stop off and say hello to the good folks at Overlook Estates. According to KAIT channel 18 and others, they are responsible for that layer of silt covering the rocks in this (for the moment) world class fishery.

Massive erosion from a north Arkansas developer's building site that threatens the prized North Fork River continues as state environmental regulators try to put together the funds to contain the problem.

Flyfishmagazine.com Contributing Editor, Jeff Paisley will be visiting the area at the end of March to check it out and report on it for us first hand. Last year Jeff told us he didn't see much of an impact (other than the closing of McClellan's Trout Dock) but judging from this post on the Ozark Angler message board it seems to be getting worse.

Looks like the state and this guy will fight it out as the river dies a slow death. I just can't believe that there is nothing that can be done to stop this problem right now. This is a disgrace to the entire state of Arkansas. I was fishing last weekend in the Moccassin Creek C&R area on the White and watched as the nasty Norfork water made its way down and muddied the river up and shut down the fish. This guy is not only destroying the Norfork but also putting the White below the confluence in serious danger

FFM Gift Guide - Part Deux

We are currently in day two of our 2006 gift guide madness and have added new items to the guide. Follow the links below to check out all of our contributing Editor's picks for 2006.

Jeff Paisley - Tail Water Editor
Jay Moore - Middle Tennessee Editor
Zugbug - Nomadic Fly Fisherman
Larissa - The Editor's Wife.

Coming Monday - My own (the Editor's) gift guide picks

With all this talk of gifts and fishing gear we would be out of line if we didn't mention to you that our affiliate, Sierra Trading Post has once again sweetened the pot to help you extend your Christmas gift dollars by offering free shipping on all web orders of $100 or more. Hurry though the deadline for ordering for Christmas shipping is December, 20th! Use the coupon below to take advantage of this offer.