Come this Friday, November 1st, the trout will be stocked in Blue River near Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Blue River has become one of the top fall and winter season trout fisheries in Oklahoma. The river and the trout have a huge following from across Oklahoma, Texas, and many other states.
Stockings will take place weekly, although there will not be a published announcement of the exact dates. During the season that begins in November and lasts through March, 60,000 trout will be stocked in the river.
During trout season there are a number of events that take place and here are the dates of those occasions.
The Veterans Day Weekend Trout Derby will take place November 9th and 10th. Over $1,000.00 in cash, prizes, and awards will be up for grabs during the derby. Spinner bait anglers, bait anglers, and fly anglers all have a chance to compete in this event that many have been attending for decades.
In February, the President's Day Weekend trout derby will take place and the dates are February 16th and 17th. Same awards, prizes, and categories are open just like the derby in November.
One week after the February derby is the Blue River Fly Fishers event called The Blue River Fly Classic. This event has been formerly called the Blue River One Fly, but since a one fly event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming has been ongoing for many years, the name One Fly is trademarked and therefore the Blue
River Fly Fishers changed the name of their event.
This event will take place February 22nd. All contestants will receive one single fly of the exact same pattern. Contestants can purchase one mulligan fly for a fee. 100% of the proceeds raised by this event are donated to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife in support of the trout fishing program at Blue River.
Fly fishing prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers and usually there are a number of give-away prizes at this event. Chuckwagon cook Vernon Forrester of Texas puts on a grand feed for the event and sometimes the food is the best part of all the festivities.
Just yesterday I commented to a friend how the Blue River has a way of bringing people together. How the river does that I haven't a clue... I just know she does. The Blue is ours to keep or ours to lose. Since the river can't speak for herself, then it is our place to always speak for her.
One project anglers and visitors might look for this trout season are stations that house free trash bags. The message that will go along with these stations is for visitors, anglers, hikers, and hunters to help themselves to a free trash bag and carry out more trash or litter than they carried in. It's one way to help eliminate trash on a beautiful little river.
Blue River - too lovely to litter.
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