Nov 09 2011
To the Company of Anglers
Sunset On The White River
It took planes, trains, and automobiles to make it to the White River in time for an annual trout fishing event this November 2011.
Unlike countless trips over the years before, this pilgrimage included only 2 Amigo’s (best friends) for time-out on the river. This time one comrade was excluded that had the awesome experience of being present when his first granddaughter was being born in California.
The lucky one that experienced all the modes of transportation lives in Dallas but had taken a week off for a quiet get-a-way to Milan, Italy the week before heading back for this Ozarks trip.
The freak snow storm in New York last week (October 31st) sent one of the patriot’s from Milan, Italy to Madrid, Spain, then from Madrid to Mexico City, from Mexico City to Dallas-Wow. Then as he continued on for this mission toward the White River he had another small detour to Fayetteville and fetch his partner in crime in his favorite automobile a 1985 Ford Mustang…that decided to have a breakdown in Oklahoma. When they called to let me know it would be late in the night before arriving and would call in the morning after catching up on a little rest.
As a White River Fishing Guide, my decision about where to go cannot be made until after the morning call to Bull Shoals Dam control center. On this day there was plenty to calculate along with the traditional information offered via the Corps of Engineers……like 30 mph winds for starters and a dip into the low 20’s temperature. My thoughts now are on what these guys are prepared to take on, since it is not what we had the day before with summer conditions near 80 degrees.
We finally made it to the river when the winds died down (some) in the morning and immediately headed upstream to start our decent. Luckily, most the hard core die-hards had already thrown down the rods and gotten off the river. It was about perfect conditions with a heavy overcast, a chop on the water and muddy color river from the rain that came through earlier. Perfect for the allusive brown trout, and guess what the first fish of the day was? Yes, Mr. Brown Trout. I could not have ordered a better start to the trip.
Day two began with heavy generation, so we headed off to one of my favorite destinations downstream. My intention was to get in on the fall before the water fell completely and wait for the push to come in toward the middle of the day. Luckily, we made it in time to get warmed up for the explosion of feeding frenzy that happened just as predicted.
Last but not least, the last day was perfect with only two generators running below Bull. Since we covered so much property yesterday, I wanted to see what we would get if these two parcel gens were backed off during the day. The call was good because they (the Corps…. God) adjusted down all day until it was completely off before the end of our day. Could not have made a better choice even with the boat traffic on the stretch of the river we hung-on and caught fish all day long.
Thank you for another fantastic series of days adding memories and stored pictures on the camera of my mind. Great guys, great fishing and fantastic time-again.
See you soon Amigo’s. And as promised, there are no photo’s or names considering the witness protection program and all…….HAHAHA!
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