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by Curt Kuester
Now an exciting time to be on the river
There are few things that can be as enjoyable as spending the afternoon drifting along a river somewhere. Add to this picture a boat, and a fly rod and you will truly have the time of your life.
For some of us who live here, the river is the main reason for our choice of residence. For others, it is an excellent addition to our lifestyle in the valley. For those of us who pursue the sport of flyfishing, it is only a natural extension of the sport to take it on the move.
Standing in the front of a raft that is moving downstream, usually at a decent clip, you watch the procession of good spots pass by. At first, this can be not only overwhelming, but also a little frustrating.
As flyfishermen, we are taught to find the likely water, and fish the whole area well. There was a rule that I grew up having to live by; if a hole didn't deserve at least 20 casts to work properly, then it wasn't worth working. This all changes when you are in a boat.
One of the first things you will notice is that the great spots either pass by you while you are casting, or when you are re-tying your fly. The other is that you will not be able to get to every run, eddy, or pool. The trick is to adjust your planning.
While watching up ahead of the boat, pick a good-looking piece of water, and be ready to get your fly down into it as the boat gets close enough for a good cast.
Once the fly is in the spot, you will have a short period of time in which to keep the fly there. With the time window short for each drift, it is wise to at least have an idea of where you are going next, before you pick up the fly.
After a while, you will learn the trick of glancing up ahead, picking out your next drift, and getting the fly there. Don't worry about the spots you can't either reach or cover completely before moving on.
Our quiet little river is on the verge of seeing the largest single influx of fishermen at any one time. I am not just talking about the caddis hatch, but the world famous Mother's Day caddis hatch.
With this large influx of anglers, also comes the point in time when it can be frustrating to fish.
This problem is most evident between the anglers that wade the river, and those that float fish the most productive sections. This is becoming a game of tolerance that should be exercised on both sides.
By understanding the issues on all sides, then all of our fishing can be more enjoyable.
The Arkansas is running low, as Greg Felt and I witnessed on Sunday. The practice of giving the wading angler as wide a berth as possible became difficult in certain spots.
Even driving the canyon, one can see that there just aren't that many places to get a raft through, in some of the shallower sections, at this water level.
If you fish primarily by wading, it can get frustrating standing in the river, watching several boats pass over the run you were planning to cast to.
When this happens, just remember to relax. If the fish have been put down by the boats, it will only take them a few minutes to get hungry and start actively feeding again.
For the most part, the trout of the Arkansas have become immune to the boats that pass by.
With the amount of river traffic that passes over this river on a yearly basis, those fish that couldn't adjust to it probably starved a long time ago.
Getting out and fishing early in the day, or late in the afternoon will almost assure you of missing almost all of the boating traffic.
Most guided float-fishing trips take place from 9 a.m. until about 5 p.m. Staying away from the more popular stretches during this time should leave you fishing without not only boats, but most of the other fishermen.
Regardless of whether you are wading or floating, this is an exciting time to be on the river. If you have never tried floatfishing, this would be the time of the year to do it.
