As I type this the river is slowly coming down from a GREAT rise and I am getting ready to pound the banks with Justin Spencer from Sunburst.....the Winter is looking very promising.

Here you go guys, Fall 2011....a video for the ages (ok, not really)

Click here to view the embedded video.

So with that said, here is a video of some of the best video clips of 2010 for us at River of Life Farm and here at the Fly Fishing The Ozarks Blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

View away!

http://www.outdoorchanneloutfitters.com/Outfitter.aspx?id=238

With the addition of another drift boat the fleet of ROLF guide boats has just become even more awesome! 

With a LOT of the canoe traffic slowing down, the nights cooling off, and already some leaves changing color it is time to look at the outlook for fall fishing.  Besides, when you see temps in the high 40's in late August--you can't help but to look forward to fall fishing.

Usually when we think of fall fishing we think about water levels being low and crystal clear, not so much this year.  We had a great summer with water levels staying as close to the 60 year average as we have seen in a while so the low and clear water we usually have this time of year really isn't there.  With an above average prediction for rainfall in September we are looking (and hoping) for water levels to do very well.

With the water levels being higher than they typically are this time of year we are taking full advantage of it, we are still fishing bigger flies, and above that we are still getting away with heavier tippet.  You see, the peak of the colors changing is pretty close to the peak of the brown trout movement as they get started in their spawn....which makes using 4x tippet to any given nymph and 3x + on streamers incredibly helpful and landing any "pig" you happen to hook--we like that

Finding the fish is usually pretty easy in the Fall.  The deeper tailouts and deeper riffles are the go-to without a doubt.  I have said it a thousand times but it demands to be said again, if you see a drop-off fish it HARD, especially in a faster running tailout.  While nymphing, nymph DEEP (another thing I can't stress enough) lose flies!  If you are a fan of stripping streamers jump all over ANY chance you get this fall...basically any low-light situation be it early morning, late evening, cloudy, rainy--all of this equals good stuff for streamers.  Be aggressive with it, if I am personally stripping streamers for fishing I am not going to mess around--give me big and nasty and I'll strip it back like my life depends on it, unless the fish tell me otherwise.

The most beautiful time of year equals awesome fishing....even if the fishing is tough.

Brian Wise
Head Guide
River of Life Farm
www.riveroflifefarm.com

It turns out the river was clearing nicely and after a little bit of talking we decided to take a float the next day.  The turkey hunting was completely uneventful as not turkey's were bagged but they did find som morels and did a cooking segment that night.  We set up a little and tied a couple  of flies, a mohair and a Rubber Legs for the camera that night as well.  It was a little crazy getting used to the camera right IN YOUR FACE but I ended up with a really cool cameraman in the boat the next day and with him behind the lens it made getting used to the camera a ton easier and we were uber comfortable by the end of the day as we started doing fake commercials for Loomis and Clackacraft.

From here on out I really can't say too much since it hasn't aired yet but I can say that fishing was better than I ever expected it to be on a rough 1500 cfs on the North Fork of the White and yes, fish were caught....I even got to be chauffered over the falls in my own boat with a first-time rower at the oars!

Look for the show to air on the Outdoor Channel on Outdoor Channel Outfitters sometime this fall or winter...I'll keep you posted.

 The trout parks have "Opening Morning" we have White Bass and as a fly fisherman I CAN'T WAIT until this time of year, not only for some of the coolest fighting fish that are in CRAZY numbers but some of the looks that a fly fisherman gets as he starts waving that long rod around.  Inevitably there are several people that will tell a fly fisherman "Hey, you know they ain't not trout in this here water" (spoken in a rough hick accent as I embrace and reflect on my own hick accent) a simple nod is all they need. 

But the greatest thing about this is the White's tend to bite a fly quicker than a lot of stuff that they will be throwing, minus live bait (usually) so when a fly fisherman comes along and starts to out-fish them they have 2 choices;

1. Accept the fly fisherman even though he looks like an idiot waving that lawng (read that as long, again with a hick accent) rod around and strike up conversation.

2. Start whispering to his buddy and rumiging through his tackle box trying to find that perfect lure that will either start catching fish or one that he could throw at said fly fisherman.

More times than not it is #1 that is chosen and they start to ask questions.  "How long did it take you to learn how to do that" and saying "I didn't know you could catch anything but trout on them fly rods."  Needless to say it is an amusing time with a BUNCH of really good people.

Oh yeah, the fish are kind of fun to catch too.

I forgot how much I hate wading with a stringer....

Anyway...

Before starting a crazy month of guiding coming up in March I had the opportunity to fish with a buddy.  Fly Fishing the Ozarks Contributor and Ozark Chronicles Czar Matt Tucker came down from St. Louis after I sent him several emails about the incredibly nice water that we have now.  It had also been a while since either one of us really had the opportunity to shoot some on-stream photos besides regular fish photos.

We started the day by putting the drift boat in at the dirt (read MUD) "ramp" at Kelly Ford which is always a fun experience in itself and I'm pretty sure I have donated several pairs of wading boots to the mud....never to be found again.  But as soon as the boat hit the water it started snowing...big snowflakes. Turns out that was probably the warmest part of the day as the wind really blew later in the afternoon and it was a "too the bone" kind of wind.

Water levels were around 740 cfs which usually equals crazy-good water for drifting. We rowed up to Lamb and nothing happening so we drifted through to Kelly--made 3 drifts at Kelly and landed as many fish.  We hit another stack of fish below McKee Bridge and caught several, several fish in one spot.

Ok, so pretty much every stop and pretty much all riffles produced fish the rest of the day so lets get on to the photos.

Even caught a nice......sucker.....yeah, that is a look of pure unbridled excitement on my face.  There is nothing like setting the hook and seeing that golden brown flashing from the depths to find out it's a sucker instead of a big brown.  It was painful.

Had a great time.  And for a little more info on the river, it does look like the really sexy water we have now will be holding on for a little while.  The fall-out is really slow and with some rain coming later this week hopefully it will hold on that much longer.  Don't be shy about fishing 700cfs and under, it can be some of the best water levels to fish the river.  It doesn't make wading an already sketchy wading river any easier so watch your step and remember....most of the time you won't have to make a very long cast to catch these fish at higher levels so wading out real far and casting into the SUPER fast water really isn't necessary (you wouldn't stand in it so why would a fish hang out in it for very long) hit the seam.

For the rest of the photos shot during this outing click here