North Fork of the White River Fishing Report This page was updated 5/17/08
Owned by MO trout fishermen, so be sure
to give them your business!
This report was submitted by DSH of Stilwell on 3/5/08
Date of trip: 2/29 - 3/1/08 Times fished: All Day Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked: Rapala Countdown, Panther Martin #4, Jointed Rapala Floater
My friend and I fished the North Fork from Kelly Access to the Riverside Campground which is approx. 4 miles
downstream from Blair Bridge. We had what I would consider steady action all day long. Most fish caught were
brown trout, probably 15-16 fish, in the 10"-14" range with two of these over 16". We did catch several rainbows
as well with two of these fish in the 17"-17.5" range and another two in the 18"-19" range. I also personally fought
a fish for several minutes that finished the fight by breaking one of the hooks off of the rapala lure I was using! I have
fished this river for nearly 20 years and have never had one on that was as big as this fish felt. Very nice, and very
encouraging. Most of the rainbows were caught closer to the Kelly access or in the first three miles downstream
from it. The brown trout caught, throughout the river, were noticeably thin. They were however extremely aggressive
in their strikes (hungry I guess!). My most successful lure by far was the rainbow trout countdown rapala in various
sizes. We also had luck with a brown trout jointed rapala floater and caught a few fish on #4 panther martins in both
yellow/egg pattern with silver blade and the holographic rainbow models. Overall the water conditions were nearly
perfect. The level was up and it had a nice slightly cloudy look to it with just a hint of green. I will be returning very soon
There is definitely a window in the spring and in the fall when it seems that every brown
wants every fly or lure you throw at 'em. Many thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise of River of Life Farm on 12/23/07
Date of trip: Various Times fished: Various Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Stonefly w/Egg Dropper
After a long hiatus from sending Walt any reports (my bad) thought I would catch you all up on the North
Fork of the White. I have mostly been fishing around River of Life Farm and the islands above Patrick
Bridge. Fishing has been on average better this fall than the last several years, the main reason for that a
GREAT hatch of young of the year rainbows. We have the most newly hatched wild rainbows right now
than the river has seen in over a decade thanks to really good water conditions last winter. Thanks to
these little fish the fishing is as predictable as the North Fork of the White can be...I guess you could say
that the little fish keep you busy in between the better fish. Right now we are catching most of these fish
on a Stone/egg pattern rig dropping the egg off of the stone about 14-16". This has pretty much been
my main rig for a couple of months now and we rarely have to switch flies even fishing all day.
Hopefully we will have good water again this winter for another stellar hatch of rainbows for next year!
By the way, I wanted to send my thanks to Alex Moran who submitted a report below... I found the
flies and thanks a lot man, nice tying!
Even when the North Fork is not predictable, Brian's the guy who can figure them
out. Brian is the head guide for River of Life Farm. Contact
him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Steve Francis of Farmington on 10/26/07
Date of trip: 10/24/07 Times fished: 9:00-11:30am & 2:00-5:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Hopper w/Copper John Dropper
Arrived late afternoon on the 23rd of October at River of Life Farm (ROLF). Fished most of the day on the 24th. This
was my fist time on the North Fork and first time at ROLF.
There are several shoals and a low falls on this stretch of the river. For me it was difficult to wade. The bottom is solid
but very irregular. The current is strong. I started at the downstream part of the property. I was using a 5wt rod with a
foam hopper and a copper john dropper. I drifted my flies around a submerged rock formation, and after quite a few
attempts had a good solid hit. I missed it. I also worked some water that was on the seam between a surge and some
quiet water and a trout bumped my hopper into the air. Once again I missed it. The wind was fierce and it was cold.
After an hour and a half I took a break, had lunch and rested for a while. In the afternoon I went up to the falls. I caught
one small one below the falls along the bank by drifting my flies downstream. I got above the falls and caught three more,
casting across the current and letting the flies drift into the seams along faster water, all on the hopper copper john rig.
I missed at least four or five more. They were little guys (biggest was 6 inches) but my pleasure was in catching a real
wild North Fork Rainbow. What a beautiful fish.
The cold, wind, and current did me in and I called it a day. But I want to return to another part of the river and fish again.
A boat would probably be helpful. On the evening of the 24th I was sitting on the deck of my cabin and saw the air fill
with small white flying insects. It must have been a hatch. Within about 30 minutes the fish were splashing and jumping
after the insects. It was close to dark by then. That was quite an interesting experience.
Good to hear from you Steve. There is something special about wild fish -- even the
little ones.
This report was submitted by Alex Moran of St. Louis on 10/22/07
Date of trip: 10/20 - 10/22/07 Times fished: All day everyday Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Nothing
Well, I arrived with the girlfriend at ROLF around 8:30 and after checking in hurriedly got ready to hit the
stream. Upon the first step into the river I was blown away both by it's beauty and size. It was very windy the
first day, so casting was pretty difficult. I first tried a chernobyl ant below the falls to try and bring up a bruiser
or two. After no success I switched to a rubber legged stimulator and moved slowly downstream. Every
fisherman I ran into (only two the whole day!!! amazing isnt it??) said it had been slow for them too, and they had
success nymphing. I went further downstream and saw a caddis hatch coming off, so I tied one on. After four misses
I ended out the afternoon. When I got back to the lodge I was introduced to the head guide Brian Wise. Super nice
guy, after hearing about my troubles he was more than happy to share some tips with me. Since I'm sorta new to the
western style streams I don't know if I was able to use them to the best of my advantage. He said to nymph, nymph,
nymph, deep if you can. If you aren't pulling algae off of your fly or getting snags you aren't fishing deep enough.
Later that night after we ate I tried some night fishing. Wow that never gets old. I still havent caught anything yet but its
always a pleasure. I tried swinging mice, frogs, and this wierd foam leech thing that I tied. Nothing worked but oh well.
The second day we decided to float. I only got to fish for ten minutes or so, because the rest of the time I was getting
yelled at by the girlfried, because apparently I suck at paddling canoes -- oh well. Naturally I didn't catch anything again,
so I headed out that night around 10:30 to the same spot as the night before. I stood for a few minutes listening for feeding
and cast to those spots but no luck again. It was a beautiful night though. There was a meteor shower, and to top it off I
had a conversation with an Owl about 1/2 mile away BEAT THAT!
Anyway, it was a great weekend to get away. We saw a few eagles flying around on the property which is always a treat.
If anyone is planning on staying at ROLF I would definitely suggest it. Very hospitable and a great atmosphere. Everybody
that is there to fish knows stream etiquette and is happy to share successful flies. All in all and awesome trip!!
but as usual....my quest for a brown still continues
Thanks again Alex. Again, so everyone knows, ROLF refers to
River of Life Farm. BTW, my coolest owl experience came during a night fishing outing.
A screech owl came off a tree limb across the river and swooped over my head while cutting loose
with a scream that would curdle your blood. It sounded like a pterodactyl was coming to snatch
me up. I won't say it scared me, but I will say it took 3 weeks to air the smell of urine out of
my waders. :-)
This report was submitted by Matt R. of DeSoto on 3/27/07
Date of trip: 3/23 - 3/24/07 Times fished: 7:30am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Stonefly, Gold Copper John
We went down there on Friday the 23rd and stayed in probably the nicest cabin
I've ever seen. Then we started floating and fishing at about 7:30 am. We first
stopped at the falls right in front of our cabin where I picked up three trout. One
was a big male brown that was 18 inches in length that took a size 10 kauffman
stonefly. The others were 14 and 15 inch rainbows. We continued to float and fish
for another 6 hours, and I picked up four more along the way using the stonefly
with a size 18 gold copper john dropper and one of the rainbows measured 17
inches. Not too bad for a wild rainbow. The color and the strength of the fish were
amazing as well as the scenery. The owner Myron is a great host who will do
anything for his guests. This is one of those rivers that you will love even if you
don't catch a thing.
For our readers, we're talking about
River of Life Farm here, and it is a premier destination -- no doubt
about it. I've never stayed at their cabins, but I have floated through
their property and generally catch plenty of fish. North Fork STILL
doesn't get enough attention. Thanks for the report Matt.
This report was submitted by Tony T. of St. Louis on 11/10/06
Date of trip: 11/8/06 Times fished: 4pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked: Scud, Stonefly Nymph, Stimulator
Fished at the ROLF area. Locals have reported below average fishing recently while having some success towards
the end of the day. Fished the falls around 4pm until dark. A large brown hit my indicator on the first cast. Quickly
switched to my trusty 3 wght. rod with a dry dropper (caddis dry with scud dropper). Landed a nice brown on the dry
and a 14 inch rainbow on the scud. Wonderful area to explore.
Boy, Autumn fishing has been tough this year. It seems most rivers will give up a few fish here and
there, we're all having to work for them. Thanks for the report, Tony.
This report was submitted by Leroy Johnson of St. Louis on 7/22/06
Date of trip: 7/16/06 Times fished: Mid-Morning Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked: Trout Slayer (small plastic craw)
On the way from Branson to Eminence, my dad and I decided to fish below Patrick Bridge on NFWR. I knew that the fishing
probably wouldn't be that great, but knowing that, I knew there wouldn't be that many people down there, that way I could get
what I really look for when I go fishing, solitude. I took my spinning rod this time and went downstream, my dad was throwing
a black rooster tail and fished various plastic stuff. I had what look like a small brown follow a plastic worm i was dragging upstream,
never hooked him though. As we headed downstream, we found an "aged" deer carcass that didn't smell too great, kind of hurried
past that spot. After fishing past the first set of good riffles below the bridge, we decided to go up. We went up the trail along the
branch of the spring there (I forgot the name) and fished below the concrete spillway below the spring hole. I didn't expect the catch
anything there, but to my surprise, I caught a 13" brown on a trout slayer immediatly below the spillway.
Catching a brown in July is cetainly worth bragging about. Once the water temperature climbs above 68
degrees or so, the browns essentially go dormant. Once the water temperature cools back into the 60's,
we'll start to see them migrate upstream on their annual spawning run -- not that Missouri browns know
how to spawn, but at least they're trying. I imagine the flow from the spillway must have kept the water
temperature cool enough to give that brown the energy to chase down your lure. How cool is that? Thanks
again for all the help, Leroy.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 6/21/05
It's that time of year again....
Fishing is good early in the morning and later in the evening. The early morning bite being the better of the two has been producing
some good numbers of fish all over the river. Golden Stones, Cracklebacks, and Soft Hackles have been the best producers with
Micro-Mays, Copper Johns, Princes, and Hare's ears doing well too. The evening bite has been good on Wooly Buggers,
Cracklebacks, Stones, and Hare's Ears. The Trico hatches haven't gotten into full swing yet but it will be right around the
corner. The best fly I have found for these hatches is a light colored Soft Hackle (size 16 or smaller), unfortunately we just don't get
the risers to the Trico's like other rivers but trust me they are still eating them....just before they get to the surface.
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide for River of Life Farm. Contact
him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 5/26/05
Summertime tactis for the North Fork of the White
With warm weather soon upon us (or upon us now) tactics are going to have to change a little. The biggest
change is fishing times, with high floating traffic during the weekends it is best to fish during the week. There may
be a few boats on the river but not the numbers we see during the weekends. If fishing during the week is not possible
get on the river EARLY, daylight or a little before is usually great and plan on getting off the river around 2:00,
(depending on where you float or wade) and then heading back to the river around 4-5:00 p.m.
Second tactic, although it's not really a change from the "regular" fishing tactics on the North Fork is fish deep!
If you are nymphing and don't lose any flies during the day you just didn't fish deep enough. A 9' leader usually 5x will
work just fine but all in all if I am nymphing I will have a dropper on making my whole set-up around 13' long....the water
gets crystal clear during the summer and 13' is a minimum.
Another good thing about Summer time is night fishing. Night
fishing is honestly usually "hero or zero" kind of fishing. 3X leaders with big nasty sculpin patters, Woolies, or anything that
will push a little water, combined with a sink tip can be a deadly combo. Fish that are measured in pounds instead of inches
are what you are looking for during night fishing. Fish the pools and tailouts below a riffle for the big boys. Finally during the hot
summer days the bigger fish tend to hold in the shadows of over hanging trees which a lot of the time means less than 3 feet of
water, perfect to do some great sight casting to those fish. Don't get me wrong, there is a reason they are holding there....it's
cool. They may not be in the mood to take every fly thrown at them (are you usually in the mood to eat something when it's
100 degrees out :P ) but if you can pester them enough sometimes you can get a reaction out of them. I usually throw
crawfish patterns at the fish that hold in these spots. This is the time of year when the bigger fish are seen day after day holding
in the same spot so they are fairly predictable.
Thanks for the tips, Brian. The same advice holds true for the Meramec River,
as well. Brian is the head guide for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 5/23/05
After super high water (10,000 CFS) the river is on it's way back own. The good thing about flood stage
water is it really cleans a river and stirs up food for a while for the fish to go CRAZY on. Water levels are still
running around 1000 cfs which is a little tough wading in some places but good fishing. Fished Friday (May 19th)
with a group from Feather Craft fly shop in St. Louis....slayed the fish. Between 5 of us we caught well over 60 fish,
no huge size to any of them but a good average size of maybe 12-13" with several 16-17" fish thrown in the mix. A
lot of different flies were working and will work for a while or until the water clears up again. Flash-Back Pheasant
Tails were without a doubt the #1 fly, but everything from Czech Nymphs to Mohair leeches was catching fish. Fishing
will be good for a while!!
Brian is the head guide for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a
great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 4/27/05
Temperatures early this week were record setting with highs in the 90's.....this is APRIL! Needless to say fishing
was touch and go during those super hot days. The fish were holding deep and were not willing to move far to take anything, we
really had to work for fish. During those warm days the few fish we did manage to land were on some real small flies, #16 Copper
John (red and green) #16 Hares Ear, #14 Pheasant tail. Sluggish fish = small flies. Later in the week brought a touch of rain and
some cloudy days after a cold front came through about mid-week, cooler temperatures as well. This was just what the doctor
ordered with some great days of fishing. There was really no single "go-to" fly during these days, if the fly was presented right
it was taken. Flies that caught fish on the overcast days were: Golden Stones, Black Stones, Brown Stones, Princes, Hare's Ears,
Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Cracklebacks, and even a few Adams and Stimulators.Recently a friend of mine brought a Brown
that she had found dead on a float trip. The fish was 24" long and weighed in at 7lbs 7 oz....Big Fish.
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 2/17/05
Outlook for Spring fishing on the North Fork.
Hopefully, like most Springs, we'll have some rain move through the area. Like I have
said for a while now the water levels are holding up really well for us having very
little rain for several months, the water column is high....for now. As temperatures
start to rise and hold fairly well, the hatches will start to really develop. BWO's,
Caddis, and Mayflies will hatch really well at times. My #1 dry fly is a #14-18
Parachute Adams but an Elk Hair caddis, and Stimulators need to be in every fly box
on the river. The #1 fishing method on the river is undoubtably nymphing. The North
Fork probably has the biggest Stoneflies in the mid-west (I have seen some in the
river that were close to 3 inches long) so they are a staple in all fly boxes on
the river. The Prince Nymph is very possibly the #1 all around fly on the river a
great all purpose nymph that will catch fish anywhere there is water. Copper Johns
are quickly becoming a go-to for me, I didn't believe the hype for a long time but
now I need to give credit where credit is due, this fly saved the day several times
last year. I mostly use red and green, but I need to try the all black for the
stones. Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs are another great fly for the river. I have
literally used these great little flies for everything from Nymphing to Streamers,
they swing great too. Of course the good 'ol Hare's Ears and Pheasant Tails (also
both patterns in a "flash back" model) are great flies for the river. Wet flies
are some other good Springtime patterns. Soft Hackle models in Partidge and Orange,
Caddis green, Red Ass, and some purples can work real well when the fish just will
not rise to a hatch. Believe it or not but this can almost be as fun as throwing the
dries themselves. Don't forget Cracklebacks, the best Wet\Dry pattern of all time.
Here's to Spring.....BRING IT ON!
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 1/6/05
With another crazy-weathered winter on us (temps in the 60's one day 40's the next) the fishing is up and
down....not as up and down as the temps but still up and down. Still haven't quite figured out a pattern to
see if the better fishing is on the warmer days or cooler days, it has just been pretty decent most days.
The Stonefly bite seems to have leveled off after a few weeks of them being the go-to. They are still picking
up fish but not quite like they were. The hot droppers off of the stones have been Princes, Hot-Wired
Princes (tweaked a little), egg patterns, and Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs, all pretty small. With the stoneflies
still catching fish I can't totally go to the droppers only, I'm still throwing a stone as the lead fly and one of the
flies listed as the dropper. Dry fly action has been very little to none. We are catching more and more
rainbows in the lower Blue Ribbon Section especially just above Patrick Bridge, the upper B.R. section is
still FULL of rainbows and it's very common to get into a brown up there too.
For the fisherman around St. Louis I will be at Queeny Park doing a seminar on the North Fork of the
White for the St. Louis Parks and Rec's "Gone Fishin'" Program January 16th, seminar starts at 7:30 p.m.
at the building with the ice rink.
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 12/12/05
With water levels now stable from heavy rains a few weeks ago fishing is good! The water levels are
a bit higher than they have been for a while, opening up more of the little eddies and "nooks and crannies" to fish.
The newest hatch of rainbows are in "growing mode" and are feeding fairly predictably in the Blue Ribbon
section. More browns are being caught upstream as well as they go through the spawning motions.
The Stonefly bite is building back up and they are catching good numbers of fish now (it's about time).
Egg patterns, Copper Johns, Micro-May's, Hare's Ears, bead-head Cracklebacks, and Red Fox
Squirrel Nymphs are all doing very well. Fish are still hanging around in the smoother water JUST after
the tail-out of a good riffle. I would still fish all the way from the head waters of a riffle until a few yards
into the totally smooth water (if there is enough structure to fish it.)
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 11/22/05
Here is another report after the high water.
North Fork of the White River.
With heavy rains coming to the ozarks last week, rivers rose! The North Fork of the White rose to 9000 CFS,
it was running around 200 cfs before the rain. We needed some high water to clean out the river a little, but ideally
we need a little more. The water is coming down now (running 519 cfs) and the fishing should be really good
around this weekend. 400 cfs is the magic number on the North Fork of the White it seems like everytime the water
gets up when it hits that 400 cfs it fishes really good for a long time after that. We had just switched sizes of most
of the flies we were using before the high water, we started going real small. After the high water bump those sizes
up a little. I would go 10-14's for Hare's Ears, Princes, Pheasant Tails, and Copper Johns. The Stonefly bite should
pick up anytime, and the high water could totally turn that bite on. Egg patterns are flat out going to pick up fish
this time of year. All in all it is good to see the river rolling with some high water again, because we know that after
high water comes good fishing.
Thanks again, Brian. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 11/14/05
With water levels 100 CFS lower than the average for this time of year fishing is up and down. The
Blue Ribbon water is fishing fairly well in the mornings with good numbers coming on nymphs. The
VERY end of the tailout of deeper riffles are holding a lot more fish than usual right now...my suggestion,
fish down the riffle until you run out of fast moving water, then fish a little more. The key flies right now
in the Blue Ribbon area are, Hare's Ears 12-18, Prince 14-18, micro-eggs (white and peach), and occasionally
small stoneflies. The Red Ribbon water has not been fishing very well lately. The numbers are there but it is a
pretty tough bite, especially for fall. The flies that are picking off a few fish are, Micro-eggs, Hare's Ears,
Olive Woolies, and some Stimulators.
Our thanks to Brian for keeping us updated on the North Fork. Brian is the head guide
for River of Life Farm. Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 10/6/05
With temps and water levels going up and down, the North Fork of the
White is fishing good and really good, depending on what the weather
decides to do. The river is running a whole lot better than a few weeks
ago with the rains we have been getting. White Caddis have been coming
off sporadically almost all day and we are catching some fish on #12-#16
light colored Elk Hair Caddis. Stimulators are doing fairly well in the
mornings and evenings. Stonefly Nymphs, Princes, Hare's Ears, Copper Johns,
even Micro-Mays are doing very well as far as nymphs go. Every riffle is
producing with drop-offs, with mid to low riffle producing the best numbers.
The bigger fish are on the move and they are BIG, we are seeing 22-26"
fish every trip.....it's just a matter of time!
Matt Tucker of Ozarkchronicles.com and I will be holding a Free Fly Fishing
Clinic at Springvalley Trout Ranch in Thornfield, Mo. All proceeds will be
going to Hurricane Relief. Some of the companies who are sponsoring\donating
gear as door prizes are, Temple Fork Fly Rods www.templeforkflyrods.com,
Loon Outdoors www.loonoutdoors.com, Mid-America Outdoors Magazine www.mwbt.com,
TroutCamp Bamboo Fly Rods www.troutcamprods.com, Reel Pure www.reelpure.com,
and more coming. The clinic is for anyone who wants to learn how to fly fish
or who wants to take their fly fishing to the next level. For more information
contact Brian Wise at bnwise@lycos.com or (417)679-3159. We are really looking
forward to helping this cause.
Thanks again for all you help, Brian. Brian guides fly-fishing trips for
River of Life Farm. Contact him for
a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 9/8/05
Fall Outlook for the North Fork of the White River
Suprisingly the North Fork of the White has held up well for the very little
rain we have gotten this summer. Although water levels in the river are
pretty low for this time of year the springs are still running very strong
which is helping things quite a bit. For fall I am looking for the water
levels to steady out and rise quite a bit (hopefully.) The moss in the river
is breaking off so it is on it's way out. Fishing will pick up quite a bit
in the next month to month and a half and it will be a lot less frustrating
when the moss is gone. Look for hatches to pick up, BWO's, some Caddis,
and the Trico's will still be rolling as well.
North Fork of the White....Report
As the usual for this time of year fish early and fish late. Early mornings
are having almost daily Trico hatches and soft hackles are doing fairly well
during these hatches. Prince nymphs, Red Fox Squirrel nymphs, and Hare's
Ears have been doing well on the dead drift. Again, the bigger fish are
the most predictable this time of year and easier to get a fly to. In
the middle of the day look for shade hanging over the river and there WILL
be bigger fish in there. Stripping crawfish patterns and anything that
can trigger a reaction strike out of those monsters.
Our thanks to Brian for continuing to keep us posted on the North Fork.
Brian guides fly-fishing trips for River of Life Farm. Contact him for
a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 8/8/05
****See River of Life Farm on the Today Show August 18th****
Recently the NBC Today Show came to film at ROLF (River of Life Farm.) They shot a lot of footage on
the cabins and quite a bit of us fishing. Fishing for the camera went really well until the camera man decided
to walk through the water I was fishing and proceed to scare a nice rainbow out of my run. A really cool experience though!
The North Fork has actually been fishing really well in the mornings, much like it has almost all summer (to my suprise).
From daylight until around 10:30 is the time to be on the water. While nymphing concentrate in between the vast
amounts of moss where you can see river bottom. They are hanging in the riffles real close to the bottom and
where there are spots in the riffle with little to no moss. It actually makes breaking down where to fish this river
a little easier...even though the moss can drive you crazy.
The hot flies lately have been #12-14 Bead-head Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs, #12-16 Teal Prince Nymphs, #8-10 Stonefly Nymphs, and Soft Hackles.
Thanks for keeping us up to date, Brian.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 7/7/05
With water levels continuing to drop, fishing during low-light periods has been the way to go.
Early in the morning swinging soft hackles and Cracklebacks along with drifting Prince Nymphs
(#14) and Fox Squirrel Nymphs (#12-14) through the riffles is producing some good numbers of
smaller fish. The evenings have had some sporadic hatches with a little of everything coming off
but no “real” hatches to really key the fish in. Still we are picking up some fish on some Adams,
and BWO patterns. Drifting Stoneflies and Cracklebacks or Fox Squirrel Nymphs is doing well
in the riffles in the evening, as well. Night fishing has picked up in the last few weeks. No huge
fish to report but several 18” fish are being caught on Black Wooly Buggers and some Sculpin
patterns. Look for a short still-water hole below a good riffle and Hang On!
Thanks, Brian. Brian guides fly-fishing trips for River of Life Farm.
Contact him for a great trip.
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 6/9/05
With little to no rain in quite some time water levels on the North Fork of the White are
pretty low for this time of year. Longer leaders and a smaller tippet has been the “have to”
recently. The fish are holding well in the deeper riffles and especially in the drop-offs in and
below the riffles. Black Stoneflies from the “Falls” down river have been doing really well
along with Princes, Red Fox Squirrel Nymphs, Cracklebacks, and Pheasant Tails. Above
the “Falls” Cracklebacks, Soft Hackles, and Princes have been doing the best with some
pretty good numbers of fish being caught. Lets hope for some rain!!
Thanks again for the help, Brian. Brian Wise is head flyfishing guide for River of
Life Farm on the North Fork. His contact information is:
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Wes Carillo on 5/24/05
I decided it was time for me to get some new water in my fishing portfolio. A friend had been asking
me to go float the North Fork of the White with him and I agreed to go with him and another one of
his friends. We loaded the pontoons and headed to Kelly Access for a short evening float. I’d only
used my toon once in the two years I’ve owned it so it took a little getting used to (putting it together
was a chore as well) and we got in the water around 5:30 p.m. I immediately saw fish rising and tied
on a dry, with no luck. We floated and Jon caught several fish as did Caleb, but I was skunked.
After a few failed attempts at walking with flippers on and falling HARD, I decided to actually do some
fishing. I cast a big stonefly nymph with no luck, so I decided to try a hopper pattern as we had seen
a few hoppers on the way down. I tied on a parachute Red Maddam X and my first cast I caught a
small rainbow. That was all of the luck I had for the rest of the float. Jon managed to land a few more
bows on a wooly bugger, one was about 16” long and gorgeous. We pulled out at the River of Life Farm.
Thanks for the report, Wes. There are a few sets of riffles above
and below River of Life Farm that are usually very productive. Sorry to
hear you didn't have enough time to fish those areas much.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 5/1/05
Fished Friday afternoon (April 29th) at the islands above Patrick Bridge. Not long after arriving
at the first island a good hatch of well.....everything was coming off! I rose 3 fish in the very short
time they actually rose on a #16 parachute BWO. After that hatch I decided to swing Cracklebacks
while waiting on another hatch and I picked off 2 or 3. I then went toward the second island and
about half way up I ran into another hatch, this time with fish rising everywhere! On the same dry
as above I rose at least 25 fish in about 2 hours, all browns. On average they were about 13” and
fat. I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever seen as many browns in the river as there is right
now between Blair and James bridge.
Our thanks go out to Brian for keeping us updated on how things are going
on the North Fork. More of you should be fishing the North Fork. People
come from around the world to fish it, and yet most Missouri trout fishermen
have never been there. Brian Wise is head flyfishing guide for River of
Life Farm on the North Fork. His contact information is:
Brian Wise
Head Guide, River of Life Farm
(417)261-7777 River of Life
(417)683-0516 Brian's Cell Click Here for Brian's website.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 4/25/05
After a pretty big rain late last week the river is running a touch high and a good green color. The day
after the “storm” (22nd) was a rough day on the water with very little of anything really going on including
catching fish from Kelley Ford to the Falls. Saturday (23rd) we started at River of Life Farm, first stop
being “Cave Riffle.” Fishing on River Right side was no good but a quick change of sides and we were
in to a few fish. 3 or 4 small and spunky rainbows came swinging Cracklebacks after the drift. “Old
House Riffle” was the next stop. Fish came from both sides of the island at “Old House” with two 16”+
browns and a 20”+ rainbow taking a teal prince dropped off a stonefly. Two riffles up from Blair bridge
produced better sized fish than it has in a while. An 18” brown took a Crackleback on the drift, and
that riffle also produced a few rainbows in the mix as well on Stoneflies. Blue Ribbon is fishing best
with Princes and Cracklebacks. The closer to the Red Ribbon area the better the Stonefly bit gets.
Also seeing more Golden Stones in the river than in the past few years.
This report was submitted by Brian Wise on 3/14/05
March 5, 2005
56 degrees, Mostly Sunny, High Pressure
The North Fork of the White, although pretty high, has been fishing very well the last couple of weeks. Today was no exception with 2 to 5 fish per riffle.
Floated from River of Life Farm to Blair Bridge using mostly #6-#8 Kauffman Stoneflies with a Teal Prince as a dropper. Most fish caught were on the
Stone with the occasional fish taking the Prince. The fish are deep, concentrating on drop-offs in the riffle was the ticket today. There were Mayflies,
BWO’s, and Caddis coming off all day but no “real” hatch.
Thanks for the report, Brian. Big black patterns like the Kauffman always seem to work well on the North Fork.
Remember, if you visit the North Fork of the White
River for a bit of fishing, please be sure to send us a report
about how you did.
Click here if you would like more information on the North Fork.
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