It was a busy Saturday on the famous White River of Arkansas.  You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day.  The cold river flowing from below the Bull Shoals Dam created a thin layer of fog.  The temperature began comfortably cool. As you would expect, everyone from anglers to sightseers to kayakers wanted their piece of the action.

Myself and my fellow Master Fly Fishing Teammates knew the deal.  Rather than stress at the possibility of combat fishing we hung together tight and when fish came to us we took advantage.  When there were a lot of fish but with a lot of anglers, we stayed back and relaxed.  The day turned into the true celebration of our success in last year’s World Championships.

We caught our share of fish.  The rainbows cooperated by eating small dries in the riffles and when we found pods of happy feeding browns along a bank we capitalized.  But overall, today was a day to relax, recall some stories from the rivers in Italy and tip an icy cold brew under what eventually became 87° heat.

At lunch Jerry provided a special treat.  Rather than return to White River Trout Club to make our own sandwiches, he took us to the famous Gaston’s Restaurant right on the river.  Gaston’s opened in 1958 and has an old feel and charm that needs to be experienced.

At Gaston’s we indulged on delicious appetizers while overlooking the river.  Following that deliciousness, we all crushed shrimp burritos.  After our feast, we hit the river again.  Bret and I fished with Mike till early evening.  While Bret boated one huge brown trout, the fish were focused on something tiny hatching and were near impossible to catch.  It could have been that we were so full from lunch!

Jerry wanted us back to the docks no later than 7:30. He had another indulgence for us – one of his favorite southern barbeque restaurants.  There was no time for a shower.  We all hopped in Jerry’s car and went to KT’s Smokehouse in Flippin.  None of us thought we were hungry until we got our first sniff.  The place lingered with unbelievable smells.  I devoured a plate of pork with KT’s own spicey hot sauce.  I was about to rollover like an overfed goldfish when the peanut butter pie came out.  That was delicious also!

We’re back to the lodge.  This rockstar-weekend is pretty much over now that the food comas are taking effect.  This was a great one we’ll all remember for a longtime.  But this won’t be our last fishing trip together as a group this year.  Jerry has entered us in the 2023 World Masters Fly Fishing Championships in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada in September.  Dream of the repeat!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing