Fishing on the White has been incredible through July and August.  I only encountered one tough morning in the C&R area with only 14 fish in the A.M. It was a trip Davy Wotton helped me out on and it was tough for the both of us that morning but the afternoon picked up as generation geared up.  I’ve been fishing the upper end of the river so much lately I that I’ve been doing my trips and fishing from wildcat to rim shoals.  Numbers of fish have been up there in the over 50 range each day.

This is from a father and son Bruce and Derek who spent a day with me. “My son, Derek, and I fished with Jim and landed well over 70 trout with Jim. Although we have fly fished before, we never tried to fly fish for trout. With Jim’s instructions, we were on trout all day, and had a terrific time on the water. Jim even pulled over to assist 2 different fishermen in distress. We are very fortunate to have fished with Jim and look forward to fishing with him again.  If your searching the internet to find a guide for your trip to the White River, look no further.  Jim is the real deal and will put you on fish. Went fishing with him last week and caught 70+ trout.  Enough said……”

Thanks for your kind words Derek.  Looking forward to fishing with you and your father again.  I think you got addicted to trout!

I’ve been fishing in the mornings with sulpher type emerger flies or soft hackles.  Then switching to a new fly Ron Yarbouough and I developed over the last few months.  We call it the BR-549-2.  It is an off shoot of the BR-549 midge but smaller and with a hot colored bead.  Hey it’s a guide fly so we don’t plan to release it till next year as we have to complete the R&D.

As of late, the afternoons have been spent in the rim shoals C&R area and Davy Wottons Pearl and Black fly has been the ticket.  Those of course are available at the fly shop.  It is a killer fly.  We are carrying many of Davy’s flies in the shop and when he gets back from vacation I’m sure we’ll be seeing some more of his creations as he too is working on flies with the Hot Colored beads.  Some of course are guide flies and won’t be released until next year.  Gotta do the full R&D to make sure they work ya know…. My thanks to those folks who have fished with me this past 6 weeks.  It’s the best July this guide has ever had.  The weather cooperated and it stayed cool for most of the month which makes fishing much more pleasant when one is not cooking under a hot sun.

LOW WATER IS COMING……….. More News:  This coming monday look for some no generation time between 6:00 am and noon for the next few weeks as Game and Fish will begin the habitat program at the dam.  For those of you who have fished with me in the past you know where I will be.  In the MAGIC SPOT hooking and taking pics of big brown trout.

NEEDED:  Fisherman who can cast 45 feet upstream with a long leader and small flies willing to hook and land BIG fish.  Some sight fishing involved. No crowds & Very Secluded and we won’t be bothered by other fly guides ’cause ya need a boat to get to this spot and there aren’t any who know how to navigate this stretch other than this guide.  We also have some lodging available for the remainder of the month of August and the first two weeks of September which is about the length of time the water should be shut off. This trip is best done with one or two folks but can be done with three but it involves taking turns in the MAGIC SPOT.  This is an area that the last time we had low water (two years ago) it produced brown trout on every occasion except for twice.  I fished it at least 40 times so it’s pretty consistent but does involve plowing through some rainbows.    Give me a call and set up a trip and give it a try.  It is of course strictly a catch and release trip on the brown trout and we’ll need to be on the water no later than 7:15 am.  We’ll have to fiddle around for a bit and wait for the water to drop out but it’s no big deal and we’ll get to fish it till 1:00 or 2:00 pm as the corps will more than likely begin generating at noon each day.  This trip is also best done on a sunday through a thursday.  Call 870-404-8906 and ask about the magic spot trip. FLY SHOP NEWS:  The new hot colored tungsten beads are getting very popular and many folks around this area are getting quite creative with them.  Two of the shops local tiers ~Randy Sublette~ and Richard Ramsey have been working with me on some new patterns using these new beads.  I’ve been experimenting with them and 6 new patterns have emerged.  Of course the BR-549 series is a proven winner and is currently a guide fly; more about how the BR-549 name got attached to these flies later.  Randy of course has been tying for Dale Fulton when he owned the fly shop for 17 years.  Randy’s flies stay together ’cause he knows how to tie them for the abuse of lots of fish.  Richard likes to tie small stuff like midges, emergers and dries.  Another line of flies we’ve began carrying are the Dr. Gonzo Signature Flies for low water.  Perhaps you’ve met Dr. G on the river?  You’ll generally see him up by the dam on the Marion County side.  He’s the one that will be out fishing the Carp out of everyone so stop by the shop and load up.  He ties them down to size 22 so get some 7X fluro while your in the shop as well.  We have Rio, Umpqua, Segaur, and the Orvis brand as well.  Two of these flies have  a Hot Colored bead on them and come in sizes 18,20 and 22.  They are of course tied by Dr. G himself.  They are priced at $1.85 each and he’ll only tie them on the best hook which is a TMC.  Of course we also have Davy Wotton flies tied by T-Bird (oh she has the best teacher in the world.) and these flies are also priced at a very reasonable $1.85 as well.  So stop by the shop if you are in need of Tungsten beads, Flies, Tying materials, terminal tackle, fly line, shot, tying tools, hooks, indicators, sunglasses and fly boxes.  We are adding new merchandise every month.  We are a tier and fly fisher friendly shop.  You’ll like our pricing and we can’t be beat on price of tungsten beads because we import them directly.  We are not a “boutique” fly shop.  You can often catch me in the shop at 5 or 6 am.  We don’t have Latte’s but the coffee is free. So is the information we provide.  It’s only myself and my wife Debbie who will be at the shop when I’m out guiding so please excuse the woodchips on the floor as she is a wood carver and often has folks in the shop carving.  She dosn’t know a heck of a lot about fly fishing but neither does the local “boutique” type fly shop , however I will always answer her phone calls if you have a question.  If we don’t have what you are looking for we do work well with Mountain River Fly shop in gassville and would be more than happy to give them a call and see if they have what you are looking for.  I’ll even stop by and pick it up for you if they do have it.  You can’t beat that now can ya??? The shop is located at 627 hwy 178 in bull shoals.  We are in a blue building next door to the only C-Store in town.  Hours are eight or nine till four or five but you will often find me in the shop with a guide buddy or two till 8 pm.  If the closed sign is turned around and I’m there we are open. Shop Phone:  870-445-3848 Good fishing.

OH YEAH!  I almost forgot.  The BR-549 fly and how it got it’s name.  My friend and fellow guide Ron Yarbrough see whiteriverflyguide.com have been fishing with this fly for about 2 months now.  We do a lot of group trips together and and I pulled up to him one day and asked what he was catching the fish on.  He gave me this odd look and said BR-549 and the name stuck.  If you all are familiar with the old Hee Haw show the term BR-549 will ring a bell with you.