Another awesome day on the White River! I spent the morning fly fishing with my good friend and trout fishing guide Paul Bobby! The picture above sums it up! What a beautiful 20" rainbow trout caught on my very first experience with a fly fishing rod. Bucket list item for me right there!
A beautiful house overlooking the river
I arrived at the dock a bit early and was amazed at how calm the water was. There were fishermen launching for the morning. Above us a beautiful house overlooking the river below.
Paul picked me up at the State Park campground boat launch and we headed up river towards the Bull Shoals Dam. I could not believe how quiet the river was. For a Saturday I thought it would be wall to wall boats, but it was not.
Paul was such a great instructor. Very patient with the rookie fly fisherman from Iowa! He taught me the lingo and showed me the finesse involved with using a fly fishing rod. I gave it my best shot and we hauled in some trout!! He video'd some of the catches but they were too large to post here. When I get to better Internet connectivity I may try to convert some to You Tube and post a link.
We again released all the fish we caught back to the river. Paul adjusted the "indicator", the "leader", the weight and the "tippet". He attached different flies and we gave them a try. We caught some fish and learned a lot, but most importantly we had some great conversation and had a great time! Folks, it is not all about the fish.
Later in the day Doreen and I drove into Mountain Home AR and met up with another great friend and Air Guard comrade Chuck Leonard and his spouse Sherri. Chuck and I served together for many years in the Iowa Air National Guard. We have enjoyed visiting Chuck and Sherri each year we have visited Bull Shoals including 2016, 2022 and now 2024. Chuck continued to serve the Veterans of the area as a Veteran Service Officer. They assist veterans in filing service-connected disability claims with the VA . They also assist veterans in obtaining benefits relative to vocational rehabilitation, VA Home Loans, education, insurance, burial benefits and non-service connected pension benefits.
We met at the Rapp's Barren Brewing Company and enjoyed drinks and dinner there.
We then headed down the block to Stories Whiskey Bar. It is an upstairs facility in a building that has suffered fire damage in the past
They offer a great selection of bourbons and other libations.
We had a great time with Chuck and Sherri and posed for a picture before we headed back towards the campground for the evening.
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