Friday - July 3

Gone again for a while there, but back on the river yesterday for a little session with Ron Admire and Howard Hall (Dallas area) as they made a stop here on their way to the Little Red! Never been here before and wanted to get a little taste of the Little Mo'...

While we weren't out for a real long time we did have a reasonable amount of action for the mid-day hours. We took a look at the middle of The Flat, but there was nothing going on in there, as has been the case for some time now - at least in the first half of the days. So down to the stand-by's - the Sycamore Run and Pipeline!

Adventures in "fish-netting" as Howard goes after Ron's first fish in! >>>>>

Ron started at the top of the Sycamore Run and Howard was working fish in the Spectator Hole just below. Both guys had some action with Long Creeks with some takes and a couple of quick releases! The fish were hanging deep under the bright sun of high summer and the peak of the day... Got to be patient when you're prospecting for them. And that's about what it feels like.

But once you find one - all hell breaks loose! These fish are such fighters! You're not going to get a lot of fish on, but you'll certainly remember the ones you do right now!

Before long we gave those first fish a little rest and eased down a little bit. I stopped Ron at one little spot that is usually productive as it has all the right elements needed. A little bottom change, a lot of shade and moving water. I can usually count n a fish being there. I think Ron made maybe two casts when a fish hammered the fly and ran him all over the shallows!

<<<<<   Another one in the bag for Howard at the Pipeline!

In the meantime we spotted two more fish following that one around, as they tend to do, and Ron made a few attempts at them while Howard and I moved on down to the Pipeline. It took Howard about three casts before he got nailed as well! That got Ron moving again...

Several fish showed in the Pipeline and both guys caught a couple of really nice fish, including one probably in the 14" class that Ron battled around the pool for a bit! Ron is big guy - about six foot three or four - so you can adjust the size of that fish in the picture accordingly!

Unfortunately the guys needed to head back so we didn't get to head any further down to the Pasture Pool of Confluence, but I may have to do that later in the day myself just to do some scouting for the weekend fishing. I only hope that they can manage a better trip up at the Little Red than what we squeezed into a couple of hours of serious fishing!

Ron hefts that 14 incher - at the Pipeline as well... >>>>>

Had a fun time visiting with Gordon Shaw, Kitt Thomasson and Phil England as they were all out at Riverside for much of the day! A good time was had by all, as Gordon reported on the Message Board. Kitt and Phil were back out in the evening, enjoying the Prime Time fishing... Gordon - you should have stuck around, buddy! Too many fish running around that place in the evenings!

No generation slated for Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and not until 3 PM on Monday. Which scares me a little considering the current weather - so I did drop an e-mail to the "Powers" last week to see if we could get a cool pulse of water sometime Saturday afternoon and Jeff Williams (AGFC Trout Guy) replied that he would see what he could do.

So if you are out here on Saturday aftrnoon, don't be real surprised if the siren goes off and we get an hour or so of cold water coming. I haven't heard if that will actually happen or not, and I doubt that we'll know anything until it does...

I got out yesterday evening, post generation, and had excellent fishing! The second fish on I had to measure - it was right at 15 inches! All that was on a Smidge although I did throw an A&W for a little bit without the same level of success as the Smidge. Hard to throw anything else in the evening, for me...

If you can get to fish the evenings after generation you really need to try it! That's about all I'm going to say about that...

Ya'll drink lots of water and have a good time this weekend!

 Back Cast

Wednesday - June 24

A little delay in my update... Had to watch LSU win the CWS last night and then crashed! How 'bout them Tigers???

But, I spent the day with Casey and Delores Cryer (Crowley, LA - good to hear that accent again!) Man, it's turned seriously summer - a tad oppresive - even for here. But we found some fish doing what has become their norm for now, at least. They're still not spending much, if any, of the day up in the Flat, but are opting to stay in the deeper water. Although, early on in the morning there were quite a few fish working in the lower part of The Flat and we got some interest from them. Mostly with the Woodie-merger...

Casey Cryer gets ready to land one at the Sycamore Run... >>>>>

Delores spent her time throwing a Rooster Tail into the Wall Hole and she did have a couple on. They will indeed still take a spinner for any of you not interested in Fly Casting! Actually they came out Tuesday when they arrived and caught a couple with Rooster Tails while it was storming around here!

That's right! There were storms across the foothills much of the aftrnoon here! I left Shreveport Tuesday about 2 PM and as soon as I got into the flatlands around Benton I could start to see the cloud-tops of these same storms from 120 miles away!

Anyway, after exhausting the interest of the fish that we did have working initially we headed down to the Sycamore where we had relatively decent action. That, of course, is relative to our current conditions.

I'm not going to kid ya'll - if you can get six fish in hand in a few hours of fishing right now, you had a pretty decent day! They are a challenge, but they are a different breed of fish than what you see in January and March! Whole different ball game!

And another nice one at the Pipeline! >>>>>

The first fish that hit Casey in the Sycamore was a bit of a shock and that one broke off - just as the first one did that hit him up in the Park! I think most folks are gong to go through that initially... Then they realize that you just can't set the hook the way you think you can! After that, everyone does pretty well. Casey stuck the majority of fish that hit him after that.

Even with the water at 70° these fish are serious fighters and seem to be holding up quite well. Of course, during the week, they're getting that fresh water respite every afternoon. That cold water coming down the west side of the river gives them something to look forward to. And that cooler water settles into the bottoms of the deeper holes. Kind of lets you know where to look for them during the peak of the day...

We worked our way down to the Pipeline where fish were still showing themselves now and then and Casey had a couple more on and in there! I was surprised that Delores, still throwing her Rooster Tail, didn't turn up any there! I would have thought that was going to be productive for her. But, these fish have been throwing curves, sliders and even knuckle balls at us ever since the end of the high water just a couple of weeks ago!

It's been a strange summer, so far...

<<<<<   Another one of those great Prime Time fish! About 8:30 PM for this one!

But the Prime Times, after the generation each day have been pretty productive. I went out yesterday, after LSU had the three-run homer in the first, for a little bit to take advantage of the falling water. Casey and Delores were back out and he got a couple to take a Light Cahill Parachute that I left with him. I headed further up to the Chute and had quite a bit of action on a Smidge all the way back down to the Park! There were a lot of fish hanging in the expected places and all of them were 13 inchers and chunky, stout fish!

Again, if you've been fishing a 6X tippet all afternoon, back off of that to 5X or even 4X in the evenings. It'll save you the trouble of having to tie on another fly after they hammer you the first time!

And you just never know when you're going to stick that 16 incher!

 Back Cast

Friday - June 19

Catching up again! Yesterday (Thursday) Suzanne Metzger (Dallas, TX) returned on her second trip to the river. She was one of the last ones to get to fish before they started running water back in May! That was her first attempt at fly fishing so she was back for a refresher and further fun!

Suzanne Metzger acknowledges the "Ooohhs and Aaahhhs" from the gallery under the pavilion at the Wall!! >>>>>

She had quite the day, not only improving on her casting skills, but improving her catch rate too! Once again, the fish were conspicuously absent from the shallows of The Flat... All I can figure is that they got so used to having all that water over their heads for so long that they really don't want to be out in the sun! Although, Sandy and I did rather well last weekend all the way up to The Chute....

Maybe when we start to get some more hatch activity going again they'll be a little more brazen and move around more. So far, the bug activity has been remarkably low this month... We still haven't seen the Cinnamon Ant hatch that usually happens the first half of June. At least that's when they've showed up in the past. Maybe we missed them this year!

So, Suzanne and I headed for the deep water of the Wall Hole and found the usual compliment of cruisers coming up to the edges of the drop off. She got busy working a Long Creek around them and produced pa reasonable amount of interest - and several fish on and one more landed than the last time she came!

If you can do better in June than you did in May, you're doing something really right! If she comes back in July or August we'll see how much better she's gotten by then!

<<<<<   Another nice fish for Suzanne at the Wall Hole...

Actually Suzanne had quite a bit of action and some really strong fish to play with! And you just never know what you're going to get into sometimes. I mentioned that Mike Ingram got a 16 incher last week... Tonight Johnny McJunkins reported that he measured a 16 1/2 incher in The Flat, on the falling water! You've got to be ready for anything!

The conditions the last few days, despite the building heat and wetern skies, have actually been quite nice down on the water. There's been some wonderful breezes very early in the day for a change, blowing just about as nicely at 9 AM as they are at mid-day! Great chop on the water, which helps with the aeration factor. There was a report from the lake that the dissolved oxygen on the lake was virtually non-existent below a depth fifteen feet! That's a result of all the debris and silt coming into the lake during the flood.

However, the river water is beginning to clear a bit - compared to the murky water this time last week! Maybe the lake is finally getting to stabilize and we'll get everything completely back to normal. There certainly hasn't been any rain water flushing in lately! Apart from some not so heavy showers with a couple of storms last week, it's been quite dry for a couple of weeks now.

Today, Tim Quinn (Conway, AR) came down for his first shot at fly fishing and trout for that matter! He started out with some new concepts about casting. That's not unusual for probably about 80% of the people who come out for some casting instruction!

<<<<<   Tim Quinn with his first fish ever on a fly! Nice start for a new victim!

Tim was actually a little stunned, I think, about the differences between what he had been reading and seeing and what really happens! But he got the gist rather quickly as he saw cause and effect and understood it early on! That meant more time to actually fish!

Since we had the Wall Hole to ourselves today that's where we spent the rest of the fishing time! And much as Suzanne did yesterday, we slid a Long Creek around the cruisers on the drop-off... That worked early and often! It wasn't very long before Tim had his first hit and shortly thereafter his first trout and first fish ever on his new fly rod!

A couple more followed after that and he was a goner! "Afflicted" as I always say around here! After realizing just how easy the casting actually is and learning how to work the fly, and the fish, he had quite the successful day! And he was most amazed by the power of these fish!

He had one that was probably a little more than 12 inches that ran him around for several minutes, gave us two dramatic jumps and a couple of long runs that ripped line off of Tim's reel on both ocassions! Tim was talking to himself after that! Too much fun!

Looks like the next week is going to be fairly hot and very dry (the afore mentioned "western skies"). I suspect there will be nice breezes to go along with that as well and the generaton schedule is a nice 2:00 to 6:00 PM n Monday - 3:00 to 7:00 PM on Tuesday and back to 3:00 to 6:00 PM Wednesday through Friday. As usual - none scheduled for the weekends... Enjoy!

 Back Cast

Wednesday - June 17

Back out this morning with Robert Hughes (Alexandria, LA) to see what we could get into! We stepped into the upper Flat and strolled around for some time from the Chute on down, only seeing one fish in the entire stretch - and it was on the move!

I mean, really, does it get much better than that? 13 incher on a three weight and a #18 ADL! >>>>>

The whole stretch was oddly devoid of fish! And we had great conditions... The early morning had been overcast, but the wind was blowing nicely and everything should have been "right"! No such luck... 40 years of fishing this river and they still surprise me sometimes... No explanantion at all why there were no fish to be seen. We gave up shortly and headed down to the Sycamore Run...

That was definitely the better move. We had quite a few to work with there and in the Spectator Hole for the rest of the morning! And they were taking any number of critters that were showing. We saw Sulphurs, Light Cahills and March Browns all hatch out at one point or another, a caddis or two and the perrenial midges.

<<<<<   And Robert's pay-off!

Starting at the top of the run we drifted an ADL Midge through and it was soundly hammered by a 13 incher that made the day right off, particularly after having not done a thing up in the Park! That was followed shortly by a couple of truly hand-sized bluegills and a couple more trout!

Then we switched to a Long Creek and got to the back of the pool where one more was found. In the meantime a couple of fish had been rising consitently down in the Spectator Hole so we made our way down to those.

By now, on his second day, Robert had developed both the roll and overhead into more than functional casts and he was nailing the rolls particularly well. Which is critical at the Spectator Hole as you really have very little choice if you want to get the fly where it needs to be!

And another "chunk" in the Spectator Hole... >>>>>

His rolls paid off with two more really nice, chunky fish there. Again, the summer fish are so strong and hearty, it's almost scary sometimes. When the first fish hit him you would have sworn that it was more like a 16 incher in that first few seconds! (Mike "Hen" Ingram, by the way, did get a 16 incher at Riverside the other day!) Even the fish that were stocked last are getting their full compliment of fins with only the tails not quite fully developed. But when you stick one of the now "resident" fish, you know there's something there - or leaving on that first run!

Robert finished out a with really nice morning of fishing - landed at least five with none less than 11 inches... Not bad for a summer day. If you get that many in in a couple or three hours of fishing here at this time of year, you've actually done reasonably well! He mentioned he'd be coming back...

In the evening, Tim Boettger (Hot Springs, AR) came out for his first taste of evening fishing on the river. Not to mention the falling water as they shut down at 6 PM and we were making our way up the flooded bank to the Chute by 6:15 or so. We actually got started a little quicker than perfect level, but after just a few casts the Smidge we were throwing got slammed! That one surprised the heck out of Tim, I think, and the reaction was a tad strong! No hook-up there, but Tim settled down after that and we really got into a bunch of fish the rest of the evening!

Big Tim Boettger enjoys another 13 incher in the late evening, falling water at The Chute! >>>>>

They were collected in all the usual suspected places - everywhere they weren't in the morning! The water felt great and the air was quite comfortable around us! It was turning into a classic summer evening!

We worked the Smidge successfully for about an hour picking up strikes somewhat steadily. There were also a few Sulphurs and Cahills popping out as well and fish were rising all over the Flat by then! As the water got all the way down the fish started to get a little persnikity again, but we managed fish on both the Woodie-merger and a Light cahill Parachute! Got to leave those things out there floating! We had one fish take in the Triangle after the fly had been sitting probably for close to five minutes!

We worked our way down to the Trough as the fog got thicker and the light faded. By then it was back to the Smidge for Prime Time and some of the takes were ferocious! Keep in mind, come Prime Time, to back that 6X tippet off and go back to the 5 or 4X or you'll be breaking fish off onthe takes!

Most all of Tim's fish this evening were 12-13 inches. A couple were relatively new fish,b ut for the most part they were heavy, wide-bodied, and deep colored. He got one Eagle Lake that was pretty spectacular, but they always look better in the twilight. I think it makes the colors more vibrant, actually!

With the exception of the early part of the day with no fish to be had, it turned onto some pretty nice fishing - for the longest days of the year! Tim and I stayed in the water until about 9:15 or so! Once we get past the summer solstice this Sunday, those days will start getting shorter already, and the climate here and the "feel" on the river changes... Oh, those breezy summer afternoons! I hate the heat, but I like the fishing in July! Challenging, but worth it!

 Back Cast

Tuesday - June 16

Little catching up to do! My lovely "Bride To Be" came up for some fishing over the weekend and we had quite a bit of action in the upper Flat for the most part! The water was pretty warm on Saturday afternoon - surprisingly - up in the mid 70's!

Sandy gets the run-around from a nice one way up in the shallows! >>>>>

We had fish working the shallows pretty consistently, but they were being pretty particular. After trying several things we had the best luck with the ole ADL Midge that's ADL for "All Day Long"... However, yo really had to see what the fish were doing around the fly and if they picked it up and took a little taste! Definitely had to keep your eye on them!

We got into a few fish, but didn't want to push them too hard in the "warm" water. These fish are acclimating to the conditions though. Even with the temperature that high they were still powerful and ran us around quite a bit! Sandy got one that was just about 14" in great shape!

<<<<<   Sandy shows off the nice 14 incher!

Early Sunday we had more storms push through the area and we kept the cloud cover through the first half of the day. By mid-day the water was still just 65° and the fish were just that much more active. We had our share of fish on - mostly with the ADL and mini A & W's again. They would take them both wet and dry! Good fishing again!

Sunday night I went back for Prime Time to see what was happening. Had very nice action until dark with a Smidge and enjoyed fishing along side Johnny McJunkins out for one of his evening fishes. We both had several fish in and some decent chunks in great shape! "Doc" Powell had been fishing up above us and he was having his share of action as well.

Yesterday I was out for some casting lessons in the morning with the "Boro Girls", some of my Chamber of Commerce cohorts, Suze King, Terry George and Diane Props from here in town! They wanted to see what some of this fly fishing thing was all about. The fish, unfortunately, weren't very agreeable for the first timers, producing just a few looks and a couple of actual strikes.

Casting lessons for three! Roll, roll, roll... >>>>>

But afterwards, I did some fishing myself for a while before they opened the gates at 2 PM. They were still being ornery and I didn't bring in but a couple. Tough day...

Today though, Robert Hughes (Alexandria, LA) made it here for his first taste of fly fishing and the river. Fish were quite active through the mid-day with a nice breeze and Robert had on, and in, his first trout on a fly within just a few minutes of starting to actually fish! Thought it was a great sign.

<<<<<   Robert Hughes gets his first trout, literally, in hand!

It was just a cruel hoax though! They got really tough after that, even in the Wall Hole! Robert did produce a lot of looks and follows, more with a Long Creek than anything else, but not very many hook-ups! It was quite a while before he managed to get another fish in hand! It was quite frustrating, particularly since he was starting to make some nice deliveries, but not getting much reward for doing so!

We're getting back out in the morning to see what we can do! I've got some different plans for them tomorrow... They were moving around a lot more after last night's generation and, sure enough, as we got closer to 2 PM today the activity picked up a bit. Amazing how they can settle into those patterns so quickly!

We'll see how they act after another day!

 Back Cast

Friday - June 12

Well, we did do just a little fishing during the week - I was just too lazy to write it up...

But on Wednesday Ole Jack Simmons (Hot Springs Village, AR) came over for his bi-weekly fish that's been missed for the last month! It was a rather un-eventful morning this time for him... Lots of looks, but not a lot of hook-ups. The fish were just about equally interested in the Smidge and the "mini" A & W we threw, although that interest seemed to be limited to brief episodes and then they'd move on.

After Jack headed home I stuck around until they opened the gates at 2 PM. In that last hour and a half the fish were very active. Of course by the then the afternoon breezes had kicked in and that makes the fish of The Flat very happy!

<<<<<   Jackie Rains battles with the fish of the day at the Sycamore Run!

I worked my way up to The Chute and started my way back down to the Park. I think I probably landed four and had several more on (Smidge again) and they were all serious fish. Two fat powerful fish cleared about three feet of water on some awesome jumps!

To answer John Davis' question on the Message Board about when to fish, to me mid-day has always been quite productive. More so than the early mornings, but maybe not quite as good as Prime Time... Prime Time does make for some great, all be it brief, fishing though!

That turned out to be the case today as Dewayne Hooten (Waskom, TX) and Jackie Rains (Shreveport, LA) made their first trip to the river. Dewayne was starting from scratch so we had a little casting first thing in the morning. After that we tried some of the small A & W's and had some reasonable interest for a bit. It was mostly slick water and thick skies with thunder off in the mountains, and even some rain drops on us, but only enough to get a shirt damp...

<<<<<   And successfully lands this beautiful 12 1/2 incher!

The fish weren't all that excited through the mid-morning period, but both guys got their first taste of what I had tried to warn them about! Just how strong these fish are and what they're going to do to you! After a couple of quick break-offs, they got the idea! Trying to make the most of the morning we headed down to the Sycamore Run where, however, it looks like the fish which were there last weekend have vacated, or been poached out, one or the other! We found one fish, but what a serious fish that was!

Jackie was working the back half of the pool with a Long Creek in the deeper water while Dewayne started at the top. Jackie let out a little whoop of sorts and we looked down to see his rod in a deep bend! And that fish made two hard runs all the way to the top of the pool! Jackie had to get his fly out of the way on one!

Dewayne gains control of his first trout on a fly! >>>>>

The fish was stuck perfectly in the upper jaw and held nicely! It was "only" 12 1/2" (it even fooled me - I'd guessed 13"), but you would have thought it was 18" the way it dogged Jackie around that pool!

We headed back up to the Park to fish the two hours before high water and that was a good move! We stepped into the Trough and found fish on the move already and some nice chop coming up. Jackie proceeded to have a nice afternoon with several fish on and at least a couple more landed, maybe three. Dewayne was getting cold-shouldered though...

There were fish all around us, moving about in packs of a dozen or more for the most part, or in two's and three's! Dewayne was getting looks and occasionaly hit, but just one of those days where they weren't sticking. Could have been any number of reasons, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Actually, it was Jackie's fault because he kept sticking fish and skewing the "One-Out-Of-Four-Out-Of-Four" ratio his way!

But the closer we got to 2:00 the busier the fish got! They've already learned that early afternoon means the water is going to move! Plus we had nice breezes and decent chop. There was more action in that last hour than all morning!

<<<<<   A smiling Dewayne leans in on his catch! He worked really hard for this one!!!

And, Dewayne finally did tag his one fish well and get him in hand before all was said and done! That was as the high water was heading towards us! Talk about waiting till the last minute! And he did have on another one as the water started to push us out!

Just like a good entertainer, the river left them wanting more! But it was time for lunch...

Be prepared at this time of year for some challenges - these fish that have made it to this point don't play nice! In fact they can be really rude a lot of the time, but are they ever worth it!

However, we are scheduled for one more load of fresh stockers this month. I just have no idea when they're coming. They could have gone to River Ridge today for all I know. There didn't seem to be any sign of them there on Wednesday. In fact, I think last year they didn't bring that load here until the first of July!

Dewayne and Jackie cetainly weren't spoiled by the river today, but they sure got an idea of what can happen!

 Back Cast

Saturday - June 6

MAN!!! Those were some nice fish!!!

River regular, Mark Emery (Flint, TX), returned to see what was going on. And the trip paid off within about five minutes! As I sat at the intersection of HWY 19 and the road to Low Water something said to check out the shoals at the bridge... So, straight we went and after maybe six or eight drifts into the white water mark stuck one of the best fish of the day! About fourteen inches and as stout as she could be!

<<<<<   Mark Emery with the first fish of the afternoon - 14 inches and we hadn't barely got our feet wet!

Great fins, great colors and a big fight - right off the bat! I think we started with a Smidge, but we fished several things off and on and now I can't remember for certain... Nope, now I recall, it was an un-weighted Long Creek! The water was much quieter after no generation since 7:00 last night. But it was also a very nice 66° at mid-day and the fish were still enjoying the nice water!

Shortly thereafter, he was into something a little different, not big, just different. I was wondering if it wasn't one of the Browns, but then I saw the jaw and it was one of our "Brownies" as folks still sometimes call a Smallmouth! Then the discussion turned to the possibility of a Little Mo' Super Slam! A Rainbow, Brown, Smallmouth and Largemouth (or Kentucky - we'll accept either) all in one day! Didn't happen, but Mark did get a look from a Largemouth later at the Sycamore...

He tagged another there before we headed down to the bottom of the shoals where we found a few more fish! All very healthy - all quite powerful! Just as we getting ready to head elsewhere, one more fish showed itself and Mark got just the right drift and had it on for a moment as it took off straight away from us. We didn't give up though.

Halfway to a Super Slam... Little Smallmouth in hand! >>>>>

After a little while he got the fly in the same general area and sure enough - the trout came back for more! This time he held on and a few minutes later he had a beautiful 13 inch Eagle Lake female in hand! Seriously nice fish. And they've all been eating well and getting in shape under that cool, high water!

Up at the Sycamore Run we got into several decent fish as well! Nothing quite so large as those first couple, but nice 11's and 12's none the less! Here we drifted a small A & W down over the drop-off where it was taken several times - both wet and dry! From there we kept working our way downstream to the Pipeline, picking up a little action on the way.

At the Pipeline, though, we found quite a few fish working from the over-hanging trees all the way down to the shallow tail-out of the pool! And some nice heavy boils, too! As we crept down into the action one particular fish continued to rise in almost the exact same spot repeatedly! He wasn't really cruising this flat like everyone else...

<<<<<   And a nicely colored-up 13 incher!

Mark dropped the Smidge (which, now, we were throwing) into the zone and after moving a bit he had on a real hog! This fish was bent on leaving the pool with the fly and maybe Mark too, but after one good run the hook pulled loose! Ouchhh!

I'd say every bit of 16 inches of serious mean! And that fish was thick too! Not your average stocker anymore! Sure would have like to have seen that one up close!

Things were a little anticlimactic after that, but we got a couple more, smaller fish, in and started heading for the ark and Prime Time. When we stepped into the river I realized that the water was up about two inches and rising. But that's all they did - must have been one of those "condensing" events when they run a generator up to speed and then shut it down.

The little extra water did create one extraordinay occurrence though. Floating gravel! Apparently everything got a chance to dry out nicely in today's dry sun and the gravel at water's edge kind of adhered itself together. Once the water started to creep up it lifted whole little sections of "coagulated" gravel! And these little collections were drifting about the river! Once you ruffled the water around them, though, they broke apart and the gravel sank to the bottom like a, uh... a rock! Pretty cool though...

Yep! That's exactly what it appears to be... Floating rocks!!! >>>>>

Unfortunately, the little extra flow didn't seem to have any effect on the fish and we didn't see anything moving or rising. It was a Saturday in the summer aftr all and I don't know how busy the Park had been throughout the day... How many folks had been out playing in the water, throwing rocks, splashing with dogs, etc... It had also been a very bright sky all day with just a few clouds sliding high up.

The Park probably wasn't the best place to be...

So, I was curious about Hind's Bluff and we headed down there to finish out the day. There were a few fish showing here and there and Mark got a few looks a half-hearted bumps. Water temp was now 74° there after coming off of the Hind's Bluff Hole and Butt Buster Shoal - in the sun all day. Not too much action, but at least there are still a few fish hanging around there! We were hungry - it was time for supper and we headed in...

All in all, it was a pretty decent day for early summer! Relatively good amount of action and some really nice fish on and in! I'll be curious to see how some of the other locations are fishing in the days to come!

 Back Cast

Thursday - June 4

We're BACK!!!

After three weeks of blowing big time water off of the lake - through all three generators at capacity and both Bunger Valves - we finally got some low water yesterday afternoon!

Whooo Hoooooo!

Of course, I got back here this afternoon to see the updated SWEPCO schedule showing that they cranked up again today at 3 PM... But they did shut down at 7 PM tonight and I got out there about 8:00 to see fish sloshing about throughout the Riverside Flat!

Man - Was that ever nice to see!

As you would expect, I had to throw at them a little bit and landed one fish - a beautiful, very fat, very healthy Brown right at 11 inches! And there were some pretty big sloshes spread out all over the place.

Interesting that the last fish I landed before all this started, and now the first fish today, were both Browns!

<<<<<   The first fish of June! Nice little Brown and yes, it was about 8:25 according to my watch!

There were also still some March Browns hovering over the water in the fading light! And it's just about time for the Cinnamon Ant hatch too!

The weather was spectacular, coolish, fish were out, bugs were flying - all's right with the world again! Time to fish!!!

The lake is down to 547.78'. The last time is was below the 548 flood pool was May 2nd! We are now back to a normal summertime pattern. They will likely try to hold the lake at that level well into the summer and run a seasonal generation schedule such as what we'll see this next week - 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM Monday through Friday with none on the weekend!

 Back Cast

Thursday - May 14

A little bit of history today!

Only the second time ever for Lake Greeson to top the dam!

About 2:00 this afternoon water started to trickle bit by bit over the spillway. Apparently the "published" elevation of the spillway - 563' - isn't quite what it takes for some water to make it over! The "official" level at 2:00 PM was 562.78' and when I got there at 2:15 or so, there were trickles coming down the spillway face.

<<<<<   Folks from the Corps watch the lake reach the top of the spillway this afternoon!

I went up to the lake just to see the water even with the spillway - interesting sight! By the time I got back down to the river there was an obvious difference in the amount of water coming over. Let's just say the lake was on the rise even still!

A Pike County deputy told me that there was an estimated 5,000 cubic feet per second coming into the lake. Lake Greeson Project Manager, Ned Hollenbach, reminded me that three generators at normal output percentage (about 80%) is right at 3,200 CFS!

The first trickles of water coming down the face of the spillway! Remember - that's a 163 foot drop! >>>>>

Running all three at 110%, which apparently is possible - don't ask me how - gets up to 3,800 CFS. I was thinking that the normal output was 3,800 CFS.

But the point is that, even if they opened up all the way right now, they'd still be running behind what's coming in! That's a tad scary after all... Ned also mentioned that if six inches was coming over the top of the spillway that equates to about 500 CFS.

In the meantime, not since May 18th, 1968 has the spillway been topped! The level at 9:00 tonight was 563.04'. Of course now we're talking tenths of inches making a substantial difference as to what's coming over! Most the time we're talking if the lake was "about" 546' or 547' - now we're worried about the difference between 563.00' and 563.04'!

<<<<<   And just about 15-20 minutes later most of the spillway face is wet...

Yesterday we passed the second highest level on the lake - that was December, 1982 at 561.63'! Last year's high water in April is now the fifth highest at 559.26' - April, 1973 was 559.29' - not much of a difference...

Sometime today they opened up the #3 generator. If we have no rain - and there's very little chance until Saturday evening and then virtually none for the next ten days - I think we'll see all three and the Bunger Valves go sometime in the next two or three days! Just have to wonder how high the lake will go in the meantime. It looks like it's stabilizing though.

So! If ya'll want to view a little bit of history, scurry on over here tomorrow and check it out! Quite a few folks have been doing that throughout the day! We may not see this again in most of our lifetimes! Or we could see it again in June - who knows!

And cascades of water coming over about 7:00 PM tonight! Be interesting to see what's there in the monring! >>>>>

But you know what? After this is all done and the lake is back under control - in June - ther's going to be a lot of hearty healthy fish still hanging around this river! I'm going to be putting some trips and flies on eBay with some "format" changes for ya'll - like trips for two people any time - not just weekdays in other words...

Support you local fly fishing guide and get those trips for June and July now! If we can get through the next three or four weeks, I suspect there's going to be some awesome fishing to be had!

<<<<<   A steady stream of folks taking a look from the bridge! "Keep it moving people - Nothing to see here!"

By the way, I hear the campgrounds on the lake are going to be closed for Memorial Day weekend at this point! That's going to hurt the local economy just a tad! I won't be the only one in a bind! On the other hand, the local paper reported that 25 total carats worth of diamonds were found in the last week at the State Park! Including a 5.7 carat!!!!

Stay tuned - I'll keep ya'll apprised of lake and river developments...

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Always On The Water - Jeff