Thank God For The Spring!

Thanks to the Spring River Fly Shop in Mammoth Springs, Arkansas for giving me the sticker you see above. You guys are great! This bumper sticker was inspiration for this post. For those of you novice tribesmen unfamiliar with tailwater protocol, when the powerhouse starts releasing water from the dam, they blow a siren to alert the poor, hapless wade tribesmen below to make a quick exit or risk being washed down the river...
Frustration Central: The Flash Mart in Marion, Arkansas
A typical tribesman trek from Gulfport, Mississippi to Arkansas involves precise planning. I will check the SWPA (Southwest Power Association) website several times during the week to get a feel for what they are doing with the water. I also subscribe to Scott Branyon's Ozark Fly Flinger website.http://www.flyflinger.com/. Scott is one of the most knowledgeable people around regarding the upper White River system and even gives video river reports and predictions for the upcoming week on his site. He is also the resident expert on White River entomology. Another valuable, but sometimes unrelieable resource are the two generation "hotlines." ((870)-431-5311 is the White/Norfork number) These are recorded messages from Greers Ferry Lake in Heber Springs, which controls generation on the Little Red River and the Bull Shoals/Norfork Lakes in Bull Shoals and Norfork respectively. Bull Shoals controls the generation on the White River and Norfork on the Norfork River. As I make the ten hour trip, I'll make several calls along the way to determine which direction I'll take. Since all roads lead through Memphis, the geographical point of impasse is the Flash Mart in Marion, Arkansas (a.k.a. "Frustration Central"),where Interstate 55 and Highway 64 intersect. Highway 64 takes you to Heber Springs and the Little Red River. Continuing north on 55 will take you to Highway 63 and the other trout rivers. After a pit stop for gas and beer, I make one more call to each of the hotlines and determine where they are running the most water. A voice on the line says: “Generation Schedules are subject to change and the following should not be used to predict safe water conditions…” Usually the news is not good...

Many tribesmen out there have made those calls, trying in vain to get on the White, Norfork, or Little Red Rivers. Over the last couple of years the continuous 24/7 generation schedules set by the USACE on Bull Shoals, Norfork, and Greers Ferry have made that an increasingly tall order. Oh sure, there have been times when the moon is in the Seventh House, Jupiter aligns with Mars, peace guides the planets, and love steers the stars. On these rare occasions you make your ten hour drive to a AFGA public access on your favorite River, slip on your waders and go fishing. However, these days are about as rare as a beer store in Jonesboro,and sadly, are getting increasingly rarer.
The Conundrum: Incessant Generation
We are told that flood control and power generation needs are the reason for this unceasing generation. I understand fully that the fine people of Arkansas have had a rough go of it for the past couple years with weather extremes. If you don’t believe it, go back to the flooding and tornadoes of 2007. I saw the destruction in Gassville, the flooding in Norfork, the ice storms of 2008 which made the landscape look like a nuclear holocaust. I KNOW the people in my beloved home away from home have been hammered by Mother Nature. I am also a realist. I understand that there would be no trout in Arkansas if it weren’t for the Corps. Without the cold water created by the damming of the White, Norfork , and Little Red Rivers, there would be no suitable habitat. I also know that the USACE has a job to do. Flood control and power generation. All I’m asking, as are all other members of the tribe, is that the Corps work with us periodically. Surely the Corps understands that there are thousands of tribesmen out there that would love to fish, but can’t, because week after week, month after month, and now year after year, we are locked out of our precious rivers! The economic impact is another story for another time...
Gone are the good old days when on any given weekend, you could drive to the beautiful state of Arkansas because you knew that you would have a least a few hours daily to fish. You knew generation was going to occur, but there were usually equal periods of NON-GENERATION! After years of frustration, high gas prices, and hotel bills, we all know the inevitable end result—locked out again… I am, unlike many of my fellow water-chasing tribesmen, an eternal optimist. I long for those good old days am confident that one day they will return. But I fear, that barring a drought, that those days, for whatever reason are not going to return soon…
Okay, enough of the diatribe (music please).
Enter the Spring River! This little river has been a life saver for us tribesmen for years. It is not subject to the whims of the Corps. It is, in a word, dependable water… In future blogs I will share details of my latest trip to the Spring, the people I met and the fish I caught…