Dry Run Creek in Arkansas is simply an amazing fishery.  It is about a 1/4 mile long stream that is fed by the Norfork Federal Fish Hatchery outflows and it flows into the Norfork River near Mountain Home, Arkansas.  It is a stream that has several restrictions in place, including that the fishermen must be under the age of 16 or physically disabled in order to catch and release single hook barbless flies in the river.  It is without a doubt one of the hidden treasures in the Ozarks.

This trip was in the works for several weeks, when my 6 year old daughter interupted me tying a few flies to ask when I would take her on one of my overnight fishing trips.  She actually wanted to go that minute, but the weather wasn’t right and I didn’t want it to rain the entire trip if she went.  So a deal was struck that we would head out the weekend of September 20 if the weather was right.

The week leading up to the trip, we worked on casting in the front yard.  We tried casting with a 9ft fly rod, but it was too heavy and long for her to comfortably cast.  We moved to a very slow 7ft 3wt rod, but I thougt the rod wouldn’t provide enough backbone for someone new to fighting fish and for some of the bigger fish that Dry Run Creek holds.  So, I did what any father with a kid that wants to go fly fishing would do…..I bought her, her first fly rod (a Cabela’s Traditonal II 7ft 6″ 4wt w/ reel, line, backing, case for $80).  It was the first time I have gotten to buy either of my kids a fly rod, and I was extremely happy.  With her new rod, she worked on casting in the front yard throughout the week, trying to hit little pieces of glo-bug yarn that i threw in the grass.  She was on a mission, and by the end of the week she was doing pretty good if I do say so myself.

Friday rolled around and we were loaded in the car with our Kung Fu Panda Cheezits and ready to go.  We rolled into the Quarry Park campground at about 11pm, to find one empty campsite with a trailer that had several halogen lights burning bright outside and right into our Durango.  The light combined with the humidity and lack of airflow (even with all the doors / windows open on the Durango) resulted in a very restless sleep for the both of us.  So at 1am, after Hannah making a comment that she can’t sleep, I made the executive decision and we ran into Mountain Home to grab a hotel room and hopefully 5hrs of sleep before we were to tackle Dry Run Creek.  It was definitely a smart move, as we were both well rested and headed towards Dry Run Creek.

On the drive down, I called Brian Wise for some directions (the GPS had me taking a new route) and told him we were fishing Dry Run Creek in the morning and invited him down.  I got a text later that night saying he would meet us there around 7am.

The resulting photos are some of the photos from the trip.  There were several firsts on this trip, including my first fishing trip with one of my daughters, her first fish caught by herself, and the first time I have been asked by one of my kids when I will take them to Arkansas again.  It was very cool to say the least.
Photo # 1
Six year old Hannah Tucker sporting her new fishing gear.  A TFO hat, Flying Fisherman Eyewear, and an UnderArmour shirt.  She was very excited.

Photo # 2
A fly fisherwoman is born……..hopefully……

Photo # 3
Brian Wise is seen here passing the torch to his son, before our trip to Dry Run Creek.

Photo # 4
Parker Wise at 5 years old, has his sights set on the Youth Fly Fishing Team USA; and a pizza at The Antler in Gainesville, MO.

Photo # 5
Hannah showing off just how much “crap” dad can bring on a fishing trip.

Photo # 6
Fish On!  Parker Wise hooked up on Dry Run Creek.

Photo # 7
Parker Wise putting “the hurt” on a Dry Run Creek rainbow.

Photo # 8
The Release.  Brian Wise releasing a nice Dry Run Creek rainbow.

Photo # 9
Hannah getting some 1 on 1 coaching from Dad.

Photo # 10
Hannah and Dad spotting fish on Dry Run Creek.

Photo # 11
I think Parker likes this fly fishing stuff.

Photo # 12
Hannah Tucker (6) sporting the shades and the chipped tooth look streamside.

Photo # 13
Brian and Parker Wise with another Dry Run Creek rainbow trout.

Photo # 14
After about an hour and a half of fishing, the kids were growing restless fishing with their dad’s, so we swapped kids.  Here is Hannah Tucker now fishing with Brian Wise.  Secretly I think she was just eyeing up where her “net dad” was.

Photo # 15
After a look of “get the net” from Brian Wise, I crossed the stream and netted a nice brown trout for my daughter Hannah.

Photo # 16
Hannah’s first fish she caught all by herself.  She casted the fly, set the hook, and fought the fish without Brian or I laying a hand on the rod.  The fish measured right at 18″ and was a fairly fat fish.

Photo # 16
The victory shot.  I think they had fun, and with any luck we will get them on the water again very soon.

After we were done fishing (we only fished for about 3hrs) we headed over to the Norfork Federal Fish Hatchery to let the kids see the various stages of trout (they actualy had fry there that were still feeding off of the egg sack) including some HUGE trout as well.  The Friends of the Norfork Fish Hatchery had a visitors day at the hatchery that day and Mr. Davy Wotton and friends were on site to promote the hatchery and help generate positive funds for the facility.  They had various fly rods to cast, a fish tank for kids to fish in, a very well thought out visitors center with a short film, and local businesses with tents showing off their wares.  A little environmental / ecological education to end the time on the water.  The kids were amazed at how small the trout start out and what they grow in to.

We followed Brian and Parker back to Gainesville, MO to have lunch at the annual Hootin’ & Hollerin’ Festival where we dined on 2ft long Corn Dogs and Ribbon Fries and listened to some gospel music for a bit before taking the 4hr drive back to St. Louis.  I can’t think of a better weekend.

–Matt Tucker

So this past weekend my wife and I traveled to the wonderful metropolis of Milwaukee to visit a friend doing her medical rotation and to see John Mellencamp in concert.  My intent was to pack a fly rod, but it was left at home and we spent a solid 9am to 12:30am people watching at an event in Milwaukee called “SummerFest”. 

About all I can really say about Milwaukee, is WOW.  I guess with all those aging Harley riders in attendance, I was in for a treat.  But the real treat came when a Bon Jovi tribute band took one of the stages.  Holy cow did these guys suck; but hey, he looked the part.  SummerFest is a pretty long music festival held in a pretty good sized park on the Lake Michigan shoreline.  The park is set up with close to 10 different stages, all of them playing music from noon to midnight.  We were able to see a local guy with his guitar that I really dug — Dave Rodriguez, as well as a reggae / funk bankd called Roster McCabe, but for the most part the music styles present were not anything that I was in to.  Mellencamp played on Saturday evening and was an absolute blast.  The guy can’t dance, but he can still sing and sounds as good live as he does on his CD’s, and was someone that I wanted to cross of my list for some time now.  If you ever get the chance to see him, definitely do…….but if you ever decide to visit Milwaukee…..think twice.  They don’t even serve Budwieser.  — Matt Tucker

There was a post on the OzarkChronicles.com forum about cheap fly rods and while I tend to spread the wealth around several different vendors I seem to always go back to the same 2 rods when fishing.

So it wasn’t until I gave this some thought that I had an epiphany.  Sure it could have been the fact that it happened yesterday while dining on lunch at an establishment by the name of “Beavers” (they are selling franchises by the way) regarding this concept of a “cheap rod”.

Truth be told, fly rods are a lot like strippers.  While the expensive ones are often fun to look at, and serve a purpose, they don’t always offer any more functionality.  In regards to strippers, I have always found that the cheaper ones try harder, and that really ought to count for something.  I don’t know……but it kind of makes you think about your next fly rod purchase.

–Matt Tucker

I guess it has been all this talk about “change” in the media, or it could have been the fact that Tim Russert died, or hell it could be that I despise weather over 80 degrees and have no real desire to fish in such heat.  But anyway, I have brought a little change in the design to the OC and have attempted to try and tidy some things up and add some new stuff as well.  I guess the difference between the OC and the candidates is that well….um we changed before we talked about it…..

I have always longed for big fish, there is something about the power and smarts they show when a big fish realizes it has something in its mouth that isn’t natural and then the fight is on.  After my trip to Wisconsin last year, where I was with Tim Biesendorfer when he caught and landed a 10lb brown trout on the Root River (an obvious Lake Run Brown Trout), I knew that I would be back.  The potential opportunity of a 30″ fish in excess of 20lbs was the target of this now 2nd annual pilgrimage to the Wisconsin tributaries of Lake Michigan.

This trip was planned for months in advance and it was something that we were all looking forward to.  So on Wednesday morning (10/03/07), Brent McClane, Todd Butzlaff, and Tim Biesendorfer headed north to Wisconsin.  Craig Peterson, Brent Hinds, and myself were scheduled to head up later in the week on Friday (10/05/07) after work.  The trip finally arrived, but with less suspense than anyone going on said trip had hoped for.

 The weather was unseasonably warm, with bluebird skies and temps in the mid to low 90’s and there of course were water levels to deal with (which were low, but the area did recieve some rain earlier in the week).  The loss of suspense on this trip was when the 3 anglers that headed up earlier decided to do a little homework on these species and visited with local fly shops and guides in the area to find out exactly the best flies and methods to catch these fish.  To be rather blunt about it, these sources indicated that most fish in the river system are caught by lining flies in the mouth and not by the fish actively feeding on the flies (with the exception of the occassional buck salmon crushing eggs).

We rolled in to Kenosha, WI around 9:30pm on Friday night to meet up with the guys already up there, and we traded stories about the trip up and the past days fishing.  We made plans for tomorrows fishing, and decided we were going to tackle the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee.  After getting everything situated the night before, we rolled up the parking area (along a busy city street) and walked down to the river to find a group of about 15 anglers from the Belleville area (including Brad Eirling).  In the first, and only, two hours of fishing on the Milwaukee River I ended up with 3 hookups (2 with decent runs and jumps) and zero fish landed.  The crowds, the skank fish, and the heat had everyone in the group ready to get the hell off of the water.  As we crested the hill back up near the Durango, there are several homeless people across the street from where we parked.  It was definitely an urban fishing scene that I was not ready for.

The highlight of the fishing trip came from fishing Kenosha Harbor for big crusing browns and salmon, catching little salmon smolts off of the pier with fly rods while the bait fisherman got annoyed, watching two kids cast treble hooks into the harbor without any abandon for what was behind them at the time they wanted to cast, and the hoards of non-english speaking fisherman.  The highlight of the non-fishing time was when I got the chance to buy 3 cubs fans some Budwieser in the bottom of the 8th inning as the Cubs went on to lose.

With regards to continuing the annual trip to Wisconsin, I think it is safe to assume that we are looking for another destination for the upcoming October trip.