7lb 20z rainbow Bull Shoals Dam
FROM the choppy garbled message the Journal got on ourvoicemail last night, it had to be a good rainbow. Davy Wotton doesn’t call me, even through the crackle sounding as excited as a teenager after a first kiss, to tell me about fish.
After a bit more phone tag I got the story _ but I’ll let Davy tell it in his own words _ suffice to say we aren’t telling porkies about the fish size this year on the White. Their condition is fantastic, and the big rainbows seem to be returning. As Davy says the pics don’t do the belly and girth of this fish justice. You just need to come fish it yourselves and find out.
Going back. Will you catch her next?
Guided today at BSD, after which took a nap at the house. While at the dam got to check out some real good looking Bows, ok, l says to Tbird lets go fish for a few hours this evening, boy where they running the water compared to the way lower flow early on in the day.
OK, got to live with that. Rigged up with my new Greys 5wt and a new Hardy Swift reel coupled with a 5wt line, set up with my usual deepwater rig coupled to 5x and a size 14 Hot head midge, made a few runs and noticed a big swirl at the surface, a quick change to one of my shad fly patterns, first cast and wham the Bow nailed me, she then took off way upstream with at least 40 yards of line out on me, some 10 mins later she was netted some 400 yards further down stream.
Fish was 25 1/4 ins and when weighed 7lb 2oz. The picture does not do justice to the size of the trout’s body.
Best Bow l have seen at the dam this year, at least hooked and landed.
DW
[...] WHITE RIVER: The White has been fishing very very well on the moderate morning flows. All our guides have been reporting some great fishing. The fish are in tremendous nick, how can you argue with a 6.5lb rainbow caught by Davy Wotton on Monday night at the Dam. [...]