I feel like this is some strange, bizarre movie that I’d normally just not watch. But you can’t get away from it. Every turn, there is something new, something bizarre about how our lives are changing, especially related to covering Razorback sports.
I do not know if anyone can predict anything over one hour from now.
Someone tell me this is not happening, the shutdown of our country because of the coronavirus. No doubt, it’s smart. I must trust the professionals to do what’s best. But I want to wake up tomorrow and it be over. Except I know that won’t happen.
I feel like about the only safe place is to put on my waders and stand in a river and fish for trout. You can’t get the virus from a trout, right? My mind needs that solitude of fishing now.
I had hoped to meet with my fly fishing friends Friday night at the Trout Unlimited banquet in Fayetteville. That had to be postponed today. Events with crowds are all going away for now.
Casting a fly in a river all by myself would be healthy, in more ways than one. I could even handle not catching a trout. Well, that would get old, but I do enjoy the delivery of the fly and the artistry of the line in the air, then rolling out on the river.
Alas, there is no low water in my neck of the woods, Baxter County. There is no place to wade. Rivers are still too high because the lakes are still being evacuated.
I did boat fish one day this week with Louis Campbell and landed two big browns, one of them a thick and strong 23 inches. So the blanking I took four weeks ago is now ancient history. The fishing is good if you can go with a guide and boat fish.
I’m glad to report that I did well on this trip so people know that my drought is over. I know bragging about a good fish could lead to bad karma on the next trip. But I think if you write about a bad day, you can brag about a good one.
Louis and I were fishing from his boat on the White River fishing white jigs about 12 feet deep when I caught the biggest brown. It was in flows around 20,000 cubic feet per second. That makes it interesting when you have a big fish in deep water that’s moving fast.
The “coach” as I call him did a nice job of jumping off the oars – yes, he was rowing me in that flow – to run the motor and chase the fish until I could get it under control. He measured it and won’t tell a fib, so the 23-inch mark is legit. We celebrated when Louis made the scoop with the net and swung the big fish into the boat.
There was one other fish over 20 inches and lots of smaller rainbows. When I say smaller, they were 16 to 18 inches and fat. They just weren’t what we call “big browns.” Right now our fishery has lots of bigger rainbows, the result of some new regulations to turn back all but one trophy catch.
This would seem to be good news for the guides, a healthy fishery about to explode with the spring caddis hatch.
However, I’ve been told by fly fishing guides that this is literally their worst nightmare. First, the high water levels have discouraged everyone from fishing all winter. Now, with the caddis hatch just around the corner and potential low water since the lakes have been lowered, the folks who were booked for airplane travel from all over the country have now begun to cancel their spring trips.
So for the guides, a slow winter is going to be closely followed by a slow spring. Those who are within driving distances are probably still coming. And, if your favorite guide was booked when you called a few weeks ago, try again. They probably have lots of good dates available now.
It would seem there will be plenty of time to fish in the coming weeks, especially if spring football is canceled or postponed. That would seem likely with everything else that’s come to a screeching halt in the last 24 hours.
Hopefully, no one puts a lock on the boat ramps on the White River. Man, I hate that I even suggested that with everything else that’s being shut down. Could they do that?
Yes, "surreal" is the correct word, a bad dream that keeps getting worse.