Blue River Fly Classic

Blue River Fly Classic
A One Pattern Fly Event

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Ole Gray And Fluro Bugger


It was 9 o'clock at the workplace this morning and looking outside I could see it was developing into a beautiful day. So under my breath I said, "I'm out of here", and I was.

I arrived at Blue and was on the water by 10:30. On the way down I had a fly on my mind. It was a fly I tied about three years ago and have never used it. It's a bugger but kind of an unusual bugger. When it is wet it looks more like a soft hackle pattern. It has a beadhead but not a metal beadhead but rather a plastic fluro colored head. And, the fly is brown. Perhaps these are the reasons I haven't ever tried it.

I start my day at Chuck's Ledge with a purple sparkle bugger and capture one bow. Then I decide to tie on the fluro head and land five more bows. Like Chuck reported recently, the bows want the fly at a crawl and this part of the river has stained quite significantly.

James Webster was fishing off the crossing and he decides to go downstream to the island. So, I decide to follow him and take the flats.

At the flats I still have fluro head tied on so I start high-sticking it through the runs and capture two more bows. But then I start seeing a few risers, not many, but still a few.

In my fly box is another fly that has been on my mind. It is my attempt at Ralph Jame's Ole Gray pattern; one he showed me a couple of months ago.

I can't resist and I tie old gray on. I miss the first three takers and am in shock at this point that I had three takers. Then I capture four bows in a row with the last cast being made all the way to the other side of the river which I didn't think I could pull off. That last bow was the most fun. I had a blast using ole gray today. After that fourth fish I decide I better take ole gray off and put him up before I lose him, so in the box he goes.

I waddled back upstream to the ledge and tie on a regular brown bugger and take one bow. Then on the next cast a rock captures that fly and it's gone. Now comes a crawdad pattern and that same damn rock, evidently, takes that fly. Looks like it is time to go downstream.

I want to fish Glory Hole but it is covered up with fishermen so it's to Seventeen. Seventeen didn't produce anything for me today and to tell the truth Seventeen is not the pool it once was. Ten years ago, Seventeen was one of the best spots on the river.

I go upstream to the boulder using fluro head and capture four more bows. By now it is 1:30 in the afternoon so I call it a day.

Out of the seventeen bows landed today, fluro head took eleven and Ole Gray took four. Two wonderful flies that had never been used until today.

1 comment:

David said...

Ok...I made my first trip to the Blue today. Got one lousy foul hook and one MONSTER about 24"+. The problem is that I don't know how to tell others where I caught the big fish.

Now the reason for my post:

Where the @#$%#$ is:
Chuck's Ledge
The Crossing
The flats
Glory Hole and finally,
Seventeen.

I was fishing the upper Yellow section, above SH7 and was about 1.5 miles above the East Parking lot. Does this sound familiar?

Thanks.
David