February 28-March 4, 2007

February 28-March 4, 2007

I flew to St. Louis, MO today and met up with some of my relatives. The next morning we drove en masse down to the Mountain Home, AR area. A dozen of us have been going down there a couple times a year to trout fish in the Norfork River. This river is a just a small tributary of the more famous White River but it holds the Arkansas records for rainbow and brown trout. The trout section below the Norfork Lake dam is only seven miles long and we know all the best fishing spots.

Unfortunately, the area has had considerable precipitation this year and the lake level is the highest we have ever seen. This means that the Army Corps of Engineers is going to generate electricity non-stop making wading in the river impossible. We are forced to rent boats and try to catch fish while we drift quickly by our favorite honey holes. I much prefer wading down this scenic river. The fishing is very slow but I catch enough fish on the second day to reclaim my “trout god” status. The temperature is also cold and windy, so cold on Saturday that I stay out only two hours. Hopefully we will have better luck next time.