Volume 13 • Issue 1 • January 2008

No Fishing Like Tube Fishing

It's a dandy little lake behind the dam. During the cold months, it provides many hours of fly-fishing pleasure. Most of you are familiar with our lease at La Junta–scenic, the closest of our fishing leases, full of energetic rainbows. If it has a flaw, it's the scarcity of places along its shore for fishing from the banks. Wade fishing is virtually non-existent; trees, brush, and steep drop-offs make for tough going unless the expectant angler has a canoe, kayak, small boat, or float tube. All of the above is not meant to be a downer. It's just a listing of truths one faces if he or she starts suiting up at La Junta.

Now, with that setting, the rest of this article will focus on, perhaps, the least seen floating device used on this popular fishing location. That's right. It would be the humble float tube. Furthermore, a good guess would be that the guy in the tube would be the one writing this article. So, first hand, what follows is an account of what it's like to be sitting in the middle of the small lake in a glorified inner tube or reasonable facsimile.

Let's take note of some of the positives of using a float tube, especially in surroundings such as at La Junta. First, a tube is comparatively inexpensive, ranging from about $100 or a bit less for the smallest, cheapest, doughnut type to the $150 to $300 range that are largely U-shaped tubes that afford much easier entry and exit. A pair of flippers to provide for movement through the water is a necessity. The more expensive ones allow a much easier and more practical means for attachment to your wading shoes and are more secure than cheap ones. The bottom line is that for a fairly modest expense, an angler is able to reach a lot of good fishing areas that would otherwise be very difficult if not impossible to fish. Just toss the tube into the back of your pickup, put a little weight on it or tie it down to keep it from flying away, and head for the river.

Once in the water, an angler is able to move along with little disturbance, I believe with greater stealth than other floating craft allow. A side benefit is the healthy exercise the legs get while maneuvering from one spot to another. Of course, anyone with leg problems would be at a distinct, if not prohibitive, disadvantage with a float tube.

Casting is a bit more clumsy from a tube than on land, but no big deal, and often one is able to maneuver the tube into the best angle for getting the fly to a fishy hangout than could be accomplished from the bank or in the limited wading areas.

Now, what are some of the negatives concerning float tubes? One has already been briefly mentioned. With the doughnut shaped tubes, just getting into the thing requires standing on one leg and aiming the other toward the open space between the tube and the cloth seat that takes up much of the space inside the "hole." Further complicating the situation is that this maneuver must be done with a sizeable flipper on the foot. Once one leg is inside the tube, even less space is available to put the other finned foot through the opening. A comedian, perhaps a Harpo Marx or Charley Chaplin type, could work up a hilarious act performing this procedure. Fortunately, there is a simple solution: buy a U-shaped craft. All you have to do with one of these is to back into it; hold on to the side straps, and slide backward into the water.

Another drawback is that from the belly button on down, one's body will be in cold water during our trout season. Good waders paired with some fleece pants over some jeans work tolerably well most of the time, but a shiver once in a while after a lengthy time in the tube may signal the need for a break to warm up a bit before continuing.

Finding a good entry place is sometimes a challenge, but where there's a will, there's a way. Just don't get into the tube and jump off of a ten-foot high bank. It may also be hard to find a good place to get out of the tube. You'll need enough space to stand up and place your rod in a spot where you won't step on it while securing the tube, all the while wearing the duck-like flippers. These things are fine in the water but have a way of coaxing you to stumble, tripped by the flipper on the other foot.

Wind is another factor that sometimes creates a problem. Most of the time, it doesn't amount enough to even give it a second thought; nevertheless, when it decides to act up, the old legs get a real workout. Recent winds have been a definite concern. When paired with cold temperatures, the angler may suffer some physical consequences--catching a cold, leg cramps, stress on pre-existing physical conditions such as with heart or lungs. Just use your imagination and you will see the red flag go up. Good common sense should prevail before you end up in the water and perhaps up a creek without a flipper. If you find you have undertaken more than you anticipated, you might find some relief by getting close to the bank where there the wind may be blocked off enough to offer a chance to get some relief. At La Junta, the little inlet on the north bank would be an example. It is also a spot that is fairly decent to get out of your float tube.

These are some of the things to be considered if you don't have a float craft and can't find productive places along the bank. Realistically, a float tube is about the most inexpensive way to catch those nice trout patrolling the deeper water behind the dam and around the area where the cable crosses the river. You have to have patience with all the tasks called for before you push off for a day of fascinating fishing. There's something fascinating about casually drifting around in your own little vessel almost on the same level as the fish. If you're lucky, you might hook one of those twenty-inchers and let it pull you and your float tube around the lake a bit. It's one of the newest ways to save on gas.

–M.A.

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Annual Christmas Dinner a Success

It worked again. Our annual Christmas Dinner attracted a healthy number of friendly faces incorporating a generous sprinkling of wives who grace us with their presence at this special time of the year. That's a real treat.

The December 18th affair began at 6:00 P.M. in the evening with informal visiting going on about the dinner room along with modest sips of appropriate beverages. At 7:00 P.M. our angling friends gathered at nicely dressed tables awaiting the excellent menu combinations that had been selected individually when tickets had been purchased days beforehand.

At this point, President Bill Elgin managed to call attention and in his casual manner greeted all present with a few opening remarks as to how the meeting would proceed. A nice surprise awaited Mike Andrews, editor of our newsletter for the past twelve years. It was a handsomely framed print by local artist Norman Browne of a strikingly detailed rainbow trout. Below the fish in a black border, the words "2007 Man of the Year" were scripted in gold. Mike was, indeed, caught off guard though he expressed his gratitude with a few words on how much he loved the sport of fly-fishing with all of its pleasures, especially the camaraderie with his fellow anglers. He described his contributions to the club as "a labor of love" and thanked the board of directors for presenting him with this much appreciated honor.

The meal and the visiting continued until our president started the process of passing our numbered tickets to all present and calling each person up to select one of the packaged fly-fishing contributions that had been contributed by those attending. All sorts of items cropped up as the packages were opened. Thus, the fifth annual Christmas Dinner closed on an upbeat note and a cheerful outlook toward the incoming year.

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You Choose The Title
– A Fishing Entry In Danny Wheat's Journal of Recent Experiences in Northern Arkansas

I do not know whether to entitle this article "Standing in the Dark in the Cold Water" or "Fishing With a Hookless Attractor." An explanation follows.

Dr. Frank Tull and I drove to Heber Springs to fish with guide John Gulley for spawning brown trout in the Little Red. John had scouted the river the day before our arrival and had chosen Cow Shoals as the best spot because of the ease of access and the prospect for good fishing. Neither Frank nor I were up to a very long walk. The problem was that the spot is very popular with the locals, and we were there on the weekend. John had picked an area that had a deep run next to a large spawning bed, and he wanted us to get there early enough so that we could fish in a spot near that bed. We had to get up at 4:00 A.M. both mornings to be in the chosen spots out in the river beginning at about 5:00 A.M. Daylight was around two hours later; consequently, we found ourselves standing there in the icy water in 40-degree weather until we could see well enough to fish. All of this was taking place so that no one could beat us to our special "hot" spots. Daylight finally came on time as predicted. I counted at least twelve fly fishermen lined up about thirty yards apart casting to the far bank for trout. We did not see many catching more fish than we were and were gratified that John had placed us out early enough to be just as successful as the local anglers.

When the time came when we could see what we were doing, we began casting and very soon were hooking up with nice 14" to 16" brown trout. We were fishing with a #16 Red Ass Nymph, a small brown fly with a peacock tail and a spot of red on its nose and also between the body and tail, hence the name. It was a very effective fly, so much so that we used it for two days. About three feet above the nymph, John tied a salmon colored egg attractor with a small shot about halfway in between. What was unusual was that the salmon egg had no hook. Arkansas fish and game laws limit the fly-fisherman to only one barbless hook on a fly line at Cow Shoals during the spawn. I believe we got quite a few hits on the egg because about 25% of the time the fish would be foul hooked. The strike indicator was about two feet above the egg. It, too, was unusual because it was made by using about two wraps of double-sided white sticky foam tape approximately one inch wide. It worked very well. After two days fishing on the Little Red, we changed locations to fish the North Fork of the White River.

As you may be aware, fishing the North Fork is a challenge because we were downstream of a power generating dam near where the water is released through the gates whenever there is a demand for power. There is no way to tell when this might happen. Both mornings when we woke up, the water was running about four feet above normal in the river since the gates were open. It was about 25 degrees at dawn, later to warm to 50 degrees after lunch. There was very little wind, and weather conditions were perfect. The water began receding about 8:00 A.M. when the gates were closed. We spent the morning waiting for the water to recede to wade levels; consequently, we fished only in the afternoon. We could have fished from a boat with and outboard, but we wanted to wade fish. The fish, however, were not too cooperative, even though we tried every nymph the guide's box. We even tried dry flies during the Blue Wing Olive hatch with some success. There were midges everywhere, but we did not have many very small flies or nymphs. We managed to catch and release about twenty nice rainbows over the two day period using 6X tippet and vary small nymphs, but fishing was spotty and pretty slow at times. According to John, we should have been using 8X tippet, but we would have had to fish with 3-weight tackle, which we did not bring with us. He said that the fish are very tippet shy-- the smaller the better.

One of the highlights of the trip was the beautiful 14" brook trout that Frank landed. John said it was very rare to catch one this big, that it must have been upstream to spawn also. Frank hooked it on a size 28 midge attractor. He really did a nice job fighting this beauty. My friend also hooked something that we really never got a good look at because Frank was unable to get close enough to see. He was fishing with 7X tippet. The big one always gets away.

Another very beneficial activity on this trip was the fly casting lessons that John gave us each morning in the front yard of the lodge while we waited for the water to go down. He is a champion fly caster, able to roll cast 78' and cast a regular overhead cast beyond 120'. We were not interested in learning to cast those distances, so he taught us how to roll cast properly and how to maintain a tight loop on our back casts. There were other beneficial techniques he shared, too numerous to mention. After taking lessons in the morning and then fishing all afternoon, my old arm was pretty tired at the end of the day.

We stayed in a very nice, brand new fishing lodge in Norfork named The River Ridge Inn. It is right on the banks of the North Fork. Another visitor caught some very nice trout off the bank right at the inn using a tan egg pattern during the afternoon. Eating out is a problem in Norfork because there is only one small café that has a very limited menu, so we ended up driving the fourteen miles to Mountain Home to eat at Chili's in the evenings. Mountain Home has the largest Wal-Mart in Arkansas and more millionaires per capita, according to John, our guide. It is a beautiful town of about 12,000 in population.

 

From FFF ClubWire. . .

New Year's Resolutions

As the New Year begins, it's a good time to look back and see how many things you managed to complete on your personal fly-fishing checklist. Some of these might be simple goals, some might be lifetime dreams. If you have let another year slip by without acting on these thoughts, strive for the coming year to be different. It will make you a better angler, a better club member, and therefore, a better person. One for each month!

1. Become more involved in your club. Find a speaker for a meeting program; serve as an officer; serve on a committee; help with the stream clean-up, something like that.

2. Take a child fishing. If you don't have a child, then take somebody else's. The future of our sport depends on the next generation taking over from us.

3. Write an article, fact or fiction, for the newsletter. Everybody knows something about fly-fishing, or you wouldn't be in the club. If you take a trip somewhere, write about it. If you learned a new pattern that just ripped the fish, write about it. Worried about your grammar? Don't be. Your humble editor will gladly polish your publication.

4. Build a Rod. There is nothing like catching a fish on a rod of your own hand. The sense of satisfaction you get is unequaled.

5. Broaden your fishing horizons. Don't be a snob (or "specialist" as we call him). Don't just fish for trout. Check out the fantastic bluegill, bass and crappie fishing. And don't forget the white bass, wipers, catfish, and walleye.

6. Improve your casting technique. Learn to double haul, curve cast, offhand cast, parachute cat, pile cast, pendulum mend, aerial mend, add some distance, gain some accuracy, etc. We have certified FFF casting instructors in our club, so use their expertise. A few others of us can do some of these techniques reasonably well. Just ask for help.

7. Come along on a club trip. If you haven't yet joined us on a trip, you are missing out. The fishing is often good, the company is always good, and the food is great. You will catch some fish and likely will learn a few things as well.

8. Learn to tie flies. Like catching a fish on a rod you built, catching fish on flies you tied is greatly rewarding. We have some very fine tiers in the club, all of whom are glad to help.

9. Recruit a new club member. More members means a greater range of knowledge. More collective knowledge means more information exchange among members.

10. Fish your dream location. Whether it be Alaska, Christmas Island, the Bahamas or?

11. Write a letter. Conservation issues are often highlighted in this newlsetter. These issues are not considered important by decision makers since they hear only one side. Anglers are often quiet about their cause, so politicians think no one cares. Set them straight. Let hem know anglers care about the resources, and, that we vote!

12. Fish more. This one's a no brainer. Did anyone out there fish TOO MUCH in 2007? I didn't think so. No anglers I know, other than guides, get to fish more than a couple of days a month. Take the time. Make the time. Nothing is more important than good mental health, and fly-fishing is the best "mental floss" of which I know. Besides, as the old proverb says, Allah does not deduct from man's allotted time on earth, those hours spent fishing.

[From articles by Craig Phillips of the Flint Hills Fly Fishing Club in Manhattan, Kansas and John Fairchild of the Dallas, Texas Flyfishers.]