2009/2010 Trout Season - Fishing Day Two
I cleverly devised this plan at the workplace where I will be in Tishomingo each Tuesday and of course I'll only be nine miles away from the river. I figure this new plan of mine is going to add about twenty additional fishing days at Blue this season. Today, I put my plan to work but there were a few hitches. I got hung-up at one of the other stores and got a really late start going to Blue.
I arrived at Blue at about one o'clock and decided to spend some time with beloved 17. I would end up spending one hour with 17 and meeting eleven bows.
I could tell you that today was a totally different story from yesterday and I would be telling you the truth. And, I could tell you today was just like yesterday and still be telling you the truth. Today...was a combination of both.
At the bank at 17 I noticed how much clearer the water here was today, compared to the Flats yesterday, so I decided to tie on an olive-yellow split-tail size 12 bugger and fish it as we normally would fish a bugger.
My first down and across cast with a swing resulted in a strike but no hook-set. My second cast would end up the same, but on the third cast I met my first bow of the day. The down and across presentation with the swing would take six bows but bow number six unraveled my olive-yellow split tail.
Next I tied on a red ass olive bugger same size and on the first cast met another bow. But after bow number seven there was nothing. It was then I decided to try what worked yesterday with that being a straight across cast and mend like crazy. Three presentations this way brought three bows and worked quite well until bow number eleven. Then everything shut down, and I couldn't have bought a bow after that.
Before I left however I decided to tie on a Crackleback trailer with the bugger and the first cast resulted in a strike but no hook-up. I made twenty more casts and it was nada, zilch, nothing. It was time for me to go.
Even though I had only been with Blue for an hour it was a good hour but I had pressing things at home to tend too.
Again today I didn't dare take the camera into the river because I'm still not confident in my wading abilities with the extra flow and still somewhat dim waters. The river should be excellent in the next couple of days.
On my way out I saw Chris Adams fly-fishing at Chris's Pool. I didn't stop and bother him because he looked extremely contented. I left Chris to his water.
Blue River Fly Classic
A One Pattern Fly Event
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
First Bows Of The Season
Since last Thursday, I've went on and come off of vacation three times now. It really sucks I have to tell you. Saturday, Miss Carol and I laid plans to be on Blue River this morning with a great degree of ease. You see Miss Carol knew that Laura Adams would be there and I knew that Chris would also be there. Since the girls only get to see each other several times a year, it was crucial (to Miss Carol) that we make this trip. Besides that, I wanted to fish with Chris since he and I have been fishing together at Blue since the year 2000.
But later yesterday afternoon another problem arose at my workplace and instead of sleeping in a little later I found myself having to get up at the standard time of 4:30 a.m. to go to the workplace. You know what...Miss Carol went with me to lend a hand so we could get done in short order and get to the river. What a girl.
At 10 a.m. I hopped out of the Prairie Schooner at the crossing and sent a message with Miss Carol telling Chris to come to the Flats below the Island. The message was delivered and as the girls started their friendship circle, Chris was gearing up to meet at the Flats.
Now, to the fishing part of this. I was most surprised that the river hadn't cleared more than it had on Monday morning. Don't get me wrong...Blue is trying to clear but still has a ways to go. At the Flats the fringes had a good ten inches or so of visibility, but five or six feet out into the pool the visibility dropped to just a couple of inches.
For my first fly I stuck with my now proven theory that brown patterns work in dingy brown water and I chose a size 12 conehead brown bugger with a slightly lighter brown hackle. On my third cast I had my first strike but no hook-set. I would get three more strikes without hook-sets before I finally would find a bow.
I learned two things quickly about these Monday morning bows. They wanted the color brown and they wouldn't accept anything less than an almost perfect dead drift...even though it was a bugger. On this morning, you could forget the down and across with a swing thing, and you could forget about all the combinations of strips that can be employed. The bows wanted a dead drift period. At first I started with a straight across cast and high-sticked that sucker and that presentation worked until I wore it out. Then it was time to cast across and slightly upstream and mend like crazy. I can't emphasize the mending part of this too much. It was mend, mend, mend, and get the drift where the bugger is going at the same speed of the water. Eleven trout later, I lost that bugger to a rock fish. Going to the fly box I saw I had only one more and decided to save that for another dingy day.
Next came a size 18 Flashback Pheasant Tail and yes I had to use a damn strike indicator with this little sucker. I'm still resisting strike indicators even though I know the dadgum things work and they worked today taking three more bows.
Meanwhile I noticed Chris changing flies a lot. Come to find out Chris decided to make this a pattern day. If he tied on a pattern and it didn't produce shortly he would change it. If he tied on a pattern and caught one bow...well he change to another pattern. In other words...Chris was having fun and he caught the bows today also.
The wading today was tough with the off-colored water and swifter current. Chris finally broke out his wading staff and I found myself wanting and wishing for one. I settled for a tree branch I found along the fringes. However, I want to point out for reference that once the sun was positioned overhead the visibility improved quite a bit. So, in future cases where the river is off-colored, the time of day and sun position is something we might want to consider.
Long story even shorter is that baring any rain, and none is expected, Lady Blue should be in excellent condition by this weekend for all you casters of fur and feather.
I'm back off vacation for two days it looks like. Hope to go "back on" vacation by Thursday.
But later yesterday afternoon another problem arose at my workplace and instead of sleeping in a little later I found myself having to get up at the standard time of 4:30 a.m. to go to the workplace. You know what...Miss Carol went with me to lend a hand so we could get done in short order and get to the river. What a girl.
At 10 a.m. I hopped out of the Prairie Schooner at the crossing and sent a message with Miss Carol telling Chris to come to the Flats below the Island. The message was delivered and as the girls started their friendship circle, Chris was gearing up to meet at the Flats.
Now, to the fishing part of this. I was most surprised that the river hadn't cleared more than it had on Monday morning. Don't get me wrong...Blue is trying to clear but still has a ways to go. At the Flats the fringes had a good ten inches or so of visibility, but five or six feet out into the pool the visibility dropped to just a couple of inches.
For my first fly I stuck with my now proven theory that brown patterns work in dingy brown water and I chose a size 12 conehead brown bugger with a slightly lighter brown hackle. On my third cast I had my first strike but no hook-set. I would get three more strikes without hook-sets before I finally would find a bow.
I learned two things quickly about these Monday morning bows. They wanted the color brown and they wouldn't accept anything less than an almost perfect dead drift...even though it was a bugger. On this morning, you could forget the down and across with a swing thing, and you could forget about all the combinations of strips that can be employed. The bows wanted a dead drift period. At first I started with a straight across cast and high-sticked that sucker and that presentation worked until I wore it out. Then it was time to cast across and slightly upstream and mend like crazy. I can't emphasize the mending part of this too much. It was mend, mend, mend, and get the drift where the bugger is going at the same speed of the water. Eleven trout later, I lost that bugger to a rock fish. Going to the fly box I saw I had only one more and decided to save that for another dingy day.
Next came a size 18 Flashback Pheasant Tail and yes I had to use a damn strike indicator with this little sucker. I'm still resisting strike indicators even though I know the dadgum things work and they worked today taking three more bows.
Meanwhile I noticed Chris changing flies a lot. Come to find out Chris decided to make this a pattern day. If he tied on a pattern and it didn't produce shortly he would change it. If he tied on a pattern and caught one bow...well he change to another pattern. In other words...Chris was having fun and he caught the bows today also.
The wading today was tough with the off-colored water and swifter current. Chris finally broke out his wading staff and I found myself wanting and wishing for one. I settled for a tree branch I found along the fringes. However, I want to point out for reference that once the sun was positioned overhead the visibility improved quite a bit. So, in future cases where the river is off-colored, the time of day and sun position is something we might want to consider.
Long story even shorter is that baring any rain, and none is expected, Lady Blue should be in excellent condition by this weekend for all you casters of fur and feather.
I'm back off vacation for two days it looks like. Hope to go "back on" vacation by Thursday.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A Watery Affair
The annual get-together of the Blue River Fly Fishers was held this past weekend at beautiful Blue. This get-together has also become know as the Conclave of the Brotherhood of the Big Ass Campfire and was to be held Friday through Sunday. However on Thursday, Mother Nature decided to let it rain...and rain it did. The river came up rather quickly rising from 200 cubic feet per second to over 3,000 cubic feet per second.
Holding vigil at our designated meeting area were Ralph and Charlotte Fullenwider hunkered down in their beautiful "Ruff Diamond". Ralph was up most of the night getting a visual on the rising river and checking his Blackberry for email updates from those of us checking streamflow.
Ralph and Charlotte made it okay through the night but the morning sun revealed a swollen and mostly muddy river. The fly fishing for the weekend had pretty much been decided by nature.
However, we were greeted with a picture book pretty day with temperatures in the sixties and the foilage and trees putting on quite a show of changing colors.
Group members started to file in one by one at different times. On Friday night the king of Texas bullshitters, Ralph James, held court once again around the campfire and the stuff got pretty deep by 11 p.m. when we decided to call it a night. Temperatures Friday night got pretty cool for those of us who were tent camping.
David Dillow, pictured center above, couldn't make our weekend meeting but drove all the way up to deliver us a load of firewood like he has done for the last several years. Thank you Dr. Dillow, you are a trooper sir.
Jeff Joseph camped in a tent over the weekend but Jeff came better prepared than some of us and used a tent heater to take the edge of the cool night air.
The guy on the right is that king of Texas bullshitters I was telling you about and with him is veteran fly-fisher James Webster who has been wading Blue River for a long long time.
The highlight of our weekend would be our feast prepared from Dutch Ovens and over open flames. My gosh...did the gang do this right! We had some of the best campfire food that I personally have ever enjoyed.
Blue River Area Manager Matt Gamble broke bread with us on Saturday along with Matt Mauck of the south-central fisheries division. After lunch, Matt Gamble addressed the group about current issues in the wildlife community and then opened things up and fielded questions from the group. The wonderful thing about Matt as the area manager is that he is extremely pro-active and willing to listen and consider all ideas and suggestions.
Donny and Linda Carter showed up Saturday morning and brought Donny's little brother Gary and his family along which was a special delight. And, I want to say thank you to Linda for being such a great help. I had my hands full with too many pots going and Linda was extremely helpful in handling the detailed stuff. Thanks Linda.
Now talking about troopers Vernon Forrester is certainly a dandy one. Vernon couldn't make it for the weekend but drove from Texas just to cook his (what should be considered famous) Cowboy Potatoes and oh my gosh were they ever so good. So, a big thank you to Vernon and his family.
A number of issues were discussed with the Wildlife Department on Saturday including possible repair of the wooden Blue River sign on highway 377 with the Blue River Fly Fishers being involved in that project. Ralph Fullenwider brought this idea to the attention of the group.
Lane Kregel had an excellent suggestion that involves returning war veterans who have been disabled by the current wars. Lane told us of a collaboration between a fishing group known as Tailwaters and the Wounded Warriors Association. These two together try to make "special" fishing events possible for these veterans in question. Lane suggested such a program at the Catch and Release area of Blue River and it sounded like the Wildlife Department would be quite open for such a program to happen.
Hopefully, it will. I can't think of many better projects to pursue.
Holding vigil at our designated meeting area were Ralph and Charlotte Fullenwider hunkered down in their beautiful "Ruff Diamond". Ralph was up most of the night getting a visual on the rising river and checking his Blackberry for email updates from those of us checking streamflow.
Ralph and Charlotte made it okay through the night but the morning sun revealed a swollen and mostly muddy river. The fly fishing for the weekend had pretty much been decided by nature.
However, we were greeted with a picture book pretty day with temperatures in the sixties and the foilage and trees putting on quite a show of changing colors.
Group members started to file in one by one at different times. On Friday night the king of Texas bullshitters, Ralph James, held court once again around the campfire and the stuff got pretty deep by 11 p.m. when we decided to call it a night. Temperatures Friday night got pretty cool for those of us who were tent camping.
David Dillow, pictured center above, couldn't make our weekend meeting but drove all the way up to deliver us a load of firewood like he has done for the last several years. Thank you Dr. Dillow, you are a trooper sir.
Jeff Joseph camped in a tent over the weekend but Jeff came better prepared than some of us and used a tent heater to take the edge of the cool night air.
The guy on the right is that king of Texas bullshitters I was telling you about and with him is veteran fly-fisher James Webster who has been wading Blue River for a long long time.
The highlight of our weekend would be our feast prepared from Dutch Ovens and over open flames. My gosh...did the gang do this right! We had some of the best campfire food that I personally have ever enjoyed.
Blue River Area Manager Matt Gamble broke bread with us on Saturday along with Matt Mauck of the south-central fisheries division. After lunch, Matt Gamble addressed the group about current issues in the wildlife community and then opened things up and fielded questions from the group. The wonderful thing about Matt as the area manager is that he is extremely pro-active and willing to listen and consider all ideas and suggestions.
Donny and Linda Carter showed up Saturday morning and brought Donny's little brother Gary and his family along which was a special delight. And, I want to say thank you to Linda for being such a great help. I had my hands full with too many pots going and Linda was extremely helpful in handling the detailed stuff. Thanks Linda.
Now talking about troopers Vernon Forrester is certainly a dandy one. Vernon couldn't make it for the weekend but drove from Texas just to cook his (what should be considered famous) Cowboy Potatoes and oh my gosh were they ever so good. So, a big thank you to Vernon and his family.
A number of issues were discussed with the Wildlife Department on Saturday including possible repair of the wooden Blue River sign on highway 377 with the Blue River Fly Fishers being involved in that project. Ralph Fullenwider brought this idea to the attention of the group.
Lane Kregel had an excellent suggestion that involves returning war veterans who have been disabled by the current wars. Lane told us of a collaboration between a fishing group known as Tailwaters and the Wounded Warriors Association. These two together try to make "special" fishing events possible for these veterans in question. Lane suggested such a program at the Catch and Release area of Blue River and it sounded like the Wildlife Department would be quite open for such a program to happen.
Hopefully, it will. I can't think of many better projects to pursue.
Monday, October 26, 2009
On The River Blue Video Ready To Raise Funds
The video project is finally done and in the next couple of nights all the video jewel boxes will be graced with the DVD front and back covers.
This project started as a pilot project and as that usually goes... we that were involved directly in the project realized there were some problems. However, all in all the completed project turned out quite well.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of this video will go to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife for use at Blue River.
The effort, time involved, and cost of making this video comes about by three members of the Blue River Fly Fishers, their friends, and family. Now, we are seeing more members of the Blue River Fly Fishers coming forth with their monetary support in purchasing the video. It's a good collaboration.
The video entitled "On The River Blue - Six Great Trout Flies", will be available for sale at Scotty's Blue River One Stop for fifteen dollars. Or, you can purchase one through this blog by contacting fishingcowboyblue@yahoo.com Shipping charges will be added however.
The Blue River Fly Fishers hope to raise between $1,000.00 and $1,200.00 for the Wildlife Department.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
On The Vise
In the last three to four weeks I've been on the vise more than in the previous six months which seems like a shame to me.
Each year I seem to loose the awareness of what brings me so much pleasure, giving into the demands of the workplace which sucks at times. And that is the shame of it for me.
I got back on the vise as a result of fly angler Kevin Harris and his suggestion for a fly swap. I tied up a dozen or fourteen (I think) scud patterns for that swap.
Then came a deal between myself and Blue River fly fisher Michael Mercurio for some size 18 scuds and finally got that done. Those puppies were trying I tell you.
Seasons back I would try and tie ten to twenty flies a night but these days I go at it at a much slower and more relaxing pace. I'll tie four, five, maybe six flies and when my back begins to nag and my eyes begin to cross, I simply walk away from the vise. A lot of things these days seem to be going slower for me and you know...it's okay - I kinda like it this way.
Currently I'm working on some buggers...yellow split tails to be exact which have been the one bugger pattern that has yet to not produce well each and every time. After the yellow split tails, I'll tie black buggers and for some reason black is always hard for me to tie - something about my eyesight I guess.
Each year I seem to loose the awareness of what brings me so much pleasure, giving into the demands of the workplace which sucks at times. And that is the shame of it for me.
I got back on the vise as a result of fly angler Kevin Harris and his suggestion for a fly swap. I tied up a dozen or fourteen (I think) scud patterns for that swap.
Then came a deal between myself and Blue River fly fisher Michael Mercurio for some size 18 scuds and finally got that done. Those puppies were trying I tell you.
Seasons back I would try and tie ten to twenty flies a night but these days I go at it at a much slower and more relaxing pace. I'll tie four, five, maybe six flies and when my back begins to nag and my eyes begin to cross, I simply walk away from the vise. A lot of things these days seem to be going slower for me and you know...it's okay - I kinda like it this way.
Currently I'm working on some buggers...yellow split tails to be exact which have been the one bugger pattern that has yet to not produce well each and every time. After the yellow split tails, I'll tie black buggers and for some reason black is always hard for me to tie - something about my eyesight I guess.
The Robust River
Lady Blue had a louder and more robust voice today. She meant to be heard and seen and for me it was an extreme pleasure to see her as vibrant as she was today.
At the end of Area 2, Miss Carol and I stepped out of the prairie schooner with camera in hand and walked to the edge of Blue. There we simply stood for awhile and listened to the rush of the water and admiring the power this sweet lady was showing off today.
I haven't been this excited about the beginning of trout season in a long time. Seeing the river and how she is currently tells me that the flow of Blue this year is going to be rather good. Without looking at any streamflow data or stuff like that I would speculate that Blue's flow was twice it's normal flow for this time of year. When judging this river's vibrancy I go by familiar landmarks and many of those today were simply out of sight.
With the exception of one other visitor who was preparing to leave, Miss Carol and I were the only souls in Area 2 today. Area 2 was wide open and looking ever so inviting. Many of the trees have started the changing of colors and soon will put on a remarkable display of an Autumn stage production.
We stopped next at the crossing and immediately I noticed that the apex of Indicator Rock was barely breaking the surface film of the rushing water which told me not to cross. I guess there was a good chance I could have made it across the crossing but these days I'm not such a brave soul as I once was, especially when I'm sober (which I was today), and particularly when Miss Carol is with me in the schooner. So...we sailed on downstream to Area 1.
At Autumn Rose Falls the Blue was really projecting her voice, emanating all directions from this plunge pool.
A little further downstream was my beloved seventeen and it was thrilling to see seventeen full to the brim with none of the tombstone topography showing as has been in recent years. Whether seventeen will remain like this is for the most part unlikely, but hopefully she will not look like the bone yard of seasons past.
Our trip to Blue today only made me long to be with river even more than I have been for months now. It's going to be a wonderful trout season at Blue.
At the end of Area 2, Miss Carol and I stepped out of the prairie schooner with camera in hand and walked to the edge of Blue. There we simply stood for awhile and listened to the rush of the water and admiring the power this sweet lady was showing off today.
I haven't been this excited about the beginning of trout season in a long time. Seeing the river and how she is currently tells me that the flow of Blue this year is going to be rather good. Without looking at any streamflow data or stuff like that I would speculate that Blue's flow was twice it's normal flow for this time of year. When judging this river's vibrancy I go by familiar landmarks and many of those today were simply out of sight.
With the exception of one other visitor who was preparing to leave, Miss Carol and I were the only souls in Area 2 today. Area 2 was wide open and looking ever so inviting. Many of the trees have started the changing of colors and soon will put on a remarkable display of an Autumn stage production.
We stopped next at the crossing and immediately I noticed that the apex of Indicator Rock was barely breaking the surface film of the rushing water which told me not to cross. I guess there was a good chance I could have made it across the crossing but these days I'm not such a brave soul as I once was, especially when I'm sober (which I was today), and particularly when Miss Carol is with me in the schooner. So...we sailed on downstream to Area 1.
At Autumn Rose Falls the Blue was really projecting her voice, emanating all directions from this plunge pool.
A little further downstream was my beloved seventeen and it was thrilling to see seventeen full to the brim with none of the tombstone topography showing as has been in recent years. Whether seventeen will remain like this is for the most part unlikely, but hopefully she will not look like the bone yard of seasons past.
Our trip to Blue today only made me long to be with river even more than I have been for months now. It's going to be a wonderful trout season at Blue.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Getting Ready For The Season Of Rainbows
On the prairie ocean each October there is a flurry of activity in the fly-fishing community as we try and get ready for the approaching season of Rainbows.
Trout season officially opens at Blue River on November 1st.
Yours truly has been busy on the vise trying to tie up some scuds for Merc in a trade deal we made. Merc is bringing me some special mayfly emerger patterns for the size 18 scud patterns I'm tying for him. Damn...I never realized size 18 scud hooks are as small as they are and I've had a heck of a time getting five different materials tied on that small hook. To get a dozen I'm going to have to tie twenty because some simply will not pass.
Last weekend I realized there were a number of things I needed for this trout season so Miss Carol and I hopped in the prairie schooner and drove to the closest fly shop which is Bass Pro in Oklahoma City.
Now a lot of people in the fly-fishing world may not like White River Fly Shops but for this simpleton they have the basics of what I need.
I'll have to say the customer service was great at the fly shop this time around. A young man approached me and asked what I needed. I simply said "GPX WF5 floating." This guy immediately turned around and grabbed exactly what I asked for.
I grabbed a few other things including some tying hooks, split shot, and tying thread. That was about all I gathered up but still didn't get out of Bass Pro less than two-hundred dollars. You see Miss Carol has her own likings.
Bass Pro was extremely crowded this particular weekend and if a fellar didn't know better he would of thought it was Christmas time. I don't know what the deal was but people were shopping everywhere which is good news for Bass Pro I guess.
Miss Carol and I watched them feed the fish in the aquarium and then we made our exit.
Soon as I got home I realized I forgot to get the dadgum bead heads I had on my list. Oh well...that means we'll have to plan another trip to Bass Pro. Dog-gone the luck.
Trout season officially opens at Blue River on November 1st.
Yours truly has been busy on the vise trying to tie up some scuds for Merc in a trade deal we made. Merc is bringing me some special mayfly emerger patterns for the size 18 scud patterns I'm tying for him. Damn...I never realized size 18 scud hooks are as small as they are and I've had a heck of a time getting five different materials tied on that small hook. To get a dozen I'm going to have to tie twenty because some simply will not pass.
Last weekend I realized there were a number of things I needed for this trout season so Miss Carol and I hopped in the prairie schooner and drove to the closest fly shop which is Bass Pro in Oklahoma City.
Now a lot of people in the fly-fishing world may not like White River Fly Shops but for this simpleton they have the basics of what I need.
I'll have to say the customer service was great at the fly shop this time around. A young man approached me and asked what I needed. I simply said "GPX WF5 floating." This guy immediately turned around and grabbed exactly what I asked for.
I grabbed a few other things including some tying hooks, split shot, and tying thread. That was about all I gathered up but still didn't get out of Bass Pro less than two-hundred dollars. You see Miss Carol has her own likings.
Bass Pro was extremely crowded this particular weekend and if a fellar didn't know better he would of thought it was Christmas time. I don't know what the deal was but people were shopping everywhere which is good news for Bass Pro I guess.
Miss Carol and I watched them feed the fish in the aquarium and then we made our exit.
Soon as I got home I realized I forgot to get the dadgum bead heads I had on my list. Oh well...that means we'll have to plan another trip to Bass Pro. Dog-gone the luck.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Scuds For The Fly Swap
With the reunion of the Conclave of the Big Ass Campfire Brotherhood on Blue River coming up on October 31st and November 1st, Ada fly-fisher Kevin Harris suggested a fly-swap. Upon reading Kevin's suggestion I knew I was in. In trying to decide what pattern to tie I realized that standard patterns of buggers, pheasant tails, and hare's ears were commonplace. So the scud pattern was selected as an offering.
Scuds, fresh water shrimp, or whatever you want to call them are prevalent in rivers and rich lake waters. The way I have it figured...scuds are a delicacy for fish so with me it only stands to reason this pattern will produce.
Pictured above is my dozen scud patterns that will be swapped at the Conclave. Hope they produce for the fly-fisher that gets them.
Scuds, fresh water shrimp, or whatever you want to call them are prevalent in rivers and rich lake waters. The way I have it figured...scuds are a delicacy for fish so with me it only stands to reason this pattern will produce.
Pictured above is my dozen scud patterns that will be swapped at the Conclave. Hope they produce for the fly-fisher that gets them.
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