White River Trip: Step 1

Above:
1. Start of the fly tying, a long way to go.
2.The Razorback Rod
3. One foot of thread.

I am ready for a long weekend of fly fishing. A great chance to catch a lot of fish and get the skunk off some new rods. Arkansas here we come!

My brother and I are heading to the Bull Shoals Lake tail waters, the White River, in a couple of weeks and I have been busy preparing. Not having fished a tail water before, I am very excited about the new challenge. The area is filled with anglers, both bait and fly. To keep a pretentious fly angler like myself from cutting stringers, even on stocked fish, is going to be a challenge in itself. My goal is to, of course, have a great time and to complete a White River Grand Slam. On my first trip it might be a little aggressive, but it would be a great achievement in my book. Tim and I talk almost everyday about new patterns or tactics that we have dug up and I cannot think of a time that we have been more excited about a trip. I know that it is not Jackson Hole, but I am ready to go!
As far as preparation goes it has been a great deal of work. I built the “Razorback" rod and it did not go well. During the curing process for the decorative wrap I stuck my arm across the rod on the drier and it touched the tacky finish. Being a fleece shirt, the lint found its way on to the rod for good. You can hardly tell, but I will always know. The rod now is a little like the White River: a great trout fishing destination but a little rough around the edges. It is an 8 foot, five weight fast action rod with chrome snake guides and a larger stripping guide for some longer distance casting on the wider White River. I like to stay back from pools and runs as far as possible. The wrap is to mimic the Arkansas Razorbacks' colors. It is a little much but I like the very obvious custom look of the rod. The black hardware is to match the HC1 Bass Pro Shop White River Reel. I think it will commemorate the trip well and should function very well.
With the rod finished I began the task I dread the most. Tying flies and de-barbing hooks. I have a boat load of flies for Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa that I had left the barb on for some unknown reason when I tied them. The amount of scuds and sow bugs that my brother and I would burn up in three days of heavy fishing was going to take some time. I am working on trying to have 20 a day ready. There are plenty of fly shops in the area to fill in any gaps; I would like to get some variation in my sow bug selection. Also I would like to pick up some streamers and shad patterns that match the bait fish in that fishery. It is with anticipation that I await our voyage.