The dry fly fishing on both the White River and Norfork River can be very productive and more predictable during the spring. These spring-time hatches begin further down river and migrate up river with the warming temperatures. To allow for more days of productive dry fly fishing, it is more effective to fish the lower end of the river in early spring and follow the migration up river throughout spring-time. This time of year, there are fantastic caddis and mayfly hatches. Depending on the weather, the caddis hatch begins as early as March and last into May, while the mayfly hatch can start as early as late April and can last into July. There are a number of flies that work well during these hatches and I have listed a few on my recommended flies page.
The dry fly hatches are constantly changing and improving every decade. Due to the fact that these cold water fisheries were created only fifty years ago, the dry fly hatches haven't yet had enough time to fully adapt or totally establish themselves in these young rivers. Over time, this will change! For example; one of the most popular spring-time hatches is a caddis in sizes 12 to 14 with white wings and olive body. At times, this hatch gets so thick that its hard to tell which fly is tied to your line. But fifteen years ago, it would've been hard to find more than a handful of these flies.
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