Hello and welcome to the Woodard Fly Fishing Blog Post December 2021. This is gonna be real great.
If you haven’t noticed, it’s weird outside. Climate Change has been pretty extreme this past year and this Ozark winter is no exception. Multiple record warm 70 degree days followed by various cold fronts, serious wind, tornadoes, carrying hopes of rain we desperately need… it feels like Spring outside.. and some of the Fishing so far this month has resembled Spring Fishing techniques in the low water a warm day provides.
However, This looks like it may be ending come this weekend when lows dip into the 20’s.
Some of you may hate cold weather but around here it’s more than welcome. Big water right now means big fish feeding aggressively as we move further into the winter months. This week they are grabbing streamers at the boat, last week we were having browns eat dries and emerger patterns, the week before size 18 & 20’s in dead low flows walking a drift boat down roundhouse, tomorrow who knows? It’s a constantly changing scene on the White River, keeping anglers on their toes and making guides sometimes pull hairs… we wouldn’t trade it for the world.. One thing is for sure, you don’t want to miss out on winter fly fishing on the White.
Here’s a few points from Jacob’s rower seat;
Hey this is Jacob Commer, Woodard Fly Fishing’s Head Guide. I want to start off by talking about drifting bugs - a subject near and quite dear to my heart. The strike indicator or hopper/dropper dead drift technique is the workhorse of our fishing, especially in low water (more on that in the previous newsletter.) While it’s not as flashy (or tiring) as retrieving a streamer all day, drifting bugs is a user-friendly technique with a lot of upside. A minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Here’s a few tips to up your game:
Mend big and mend early. Your bug is not dead drifting if your bobber moves every time you mend - it rises, then falls in the water column. If there’s little flow there needs to be little movement. This is an effective technique, but not a dead drift. Maintain a small “bubble” of slack line in your drift, so that you are able to mend without moving your indicator.
Good is the enemy of great. The “cast, mend, drift 10ft, mend again, repeat…” cadence can work against you, especially in the varying currents of shoals on low water. Observe your fly line, and react in turn. Don’t get caught sleeping! Thats when they eat it!
KEEP IT SIMPLE. A good drift in “meh” water is better than a bad drift, 75 feet from the boat.
I could talk about this stuff all day, and I do…
Flies Working. Fulling Mill Frenchie Jig Red, Umpqua CDC Sowbug, Danny Ward’s Double D’s.
On to current events.
The generation pattern has shifted slightly as more significant cold fronts have traveled through in the past weeks. We are experiencing increased flows on cold midweek days, usually for periods of 4 to 6 hours. This presents a unique opportunity to fish multiple approaches in the same day - follow the high water, find the drop, throwing a streamer, evade high flows in favor of easy catching on bobbers, or even both which makes for a great day. These are the days to book. Mid Week, cold, high water, big eats for the streamer fisherman, aggressive bobber Fishing for the beginner, low water in the afternoon, puts fish in the boat all day.
- Long casts catch big fish in the winter.. practice before you come, not just on my boat any guides boat. Quicker you can get to work at 50-60ft the quicker we’ll catch one of them there brown Trout.
As we enter the coldest part of the year, it’s important to be prepared. It’s hard to have a good time if you’re focused on not freezing. To combat finding yourself in this situation on a crisp, perhaps breezy, January day, consider these thoughts…
Nobody in the boat can control the fish or weather in winter. We put ourselves in the best position we can to catch trout, with the conditions we are given in this season. We carry hand warmers and De-Ice our boats in the morning. Bring what clothes you need to be comfortable, and be ready to have a good time fishing.
I carry a dry washcloth in a jacket pocket, to dry my hands during breaks from fishing. Wet hands get cold, and stay cold. Nobody’s being punished! It’s just fishing. Take breaks and get yourself right.
Closing thoughts
Holy cow am I fired up to see the amount of generation increasing. If you’re not gearing up for winter high water already, go ahead and start!! We are booking for January- March 2022, It’s sure to be a great season. Now - I, personally, am excited for those midweek, empty river pushes of high water, fooling brown trout on hook & feather as we go. In the meantime periods of low flow, I’ll be zigzagging the river in the drift boat, picking apart shoals. You ought to come try it. Every day on the water is an opportunity to see something new, and to learn. Tight lines, y’all.
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