Back To Black

I knew that I would be going to a Blue River that wasn't sporting her usual clear complexion, but I didn't think she would be so compromised that the fishing would be just darn tough.  We had several rain events the week prior with the most recent one being Thursday.  It was the event on Thursday that had everyone scratching their heads as to how Blue would change.  I figured I was going one way or the other.

 

I still not use to the time change that took place almost a month ago.  Somehow I keep thinking the sun will be up and rising by 7 o'clock, but that simply isn't happening and certainly wouldn't on this day with overcast skies being dominate. With time to kill I decided to fuel up for that burst of energy I was going to need.  I call it rocket fuel.

 

 

By the time I hit the river it was daylight and I proceeded to the south wilderness destination Desperado Springs.  Desperado has been very kind to me this season.

 

Now anyone that knows me or most likely anyone that meets me probably won't take me for someone who likes Amy Winehouse music, but I do.  As I stood on the bank and looked at the brown soup in front of me I was reminded of one of Amy's songs - Rehab, as I murmured the words, "No, no, no" just as Amy sang in the song.  The river was quite compromised... more that I thought it would be, and the toughness of the morning set in deeply. 

 

 

 

 

 

However, I was reminded of another Winehouse song "Back To Black" and I opened the fly box and selected the black patterns.  I've always fished dark patterns in dark water and it usually always works. Brown colors are my favorite colors to use, but sometime we have to go a little darker.

 

 

The three flies that produced trout on this day were not totally black, but certainly predominantly black.  One thing we need to remember is these fish are going to eat no matter what.  When the water is simply off color then we need to think color of our flies.  When the river is really off color and the flow is up significantly we need to think about color and placement of the flies.  When the flow is rolling we need to fish those soft patches and shallow fringes.  Fish will move to the sidelines to keep from fighting the extra volume and flow created by significant rain events.

 

The first fly to go to sea was Chris Adam's Black Bubba Bugger.  The first cast resulted in a missed hook-set, but the second attempt brought him in.  I was fishing the road side of Desperado Springs - that long stretch of flat, basically slow moving water.  I rarely fish this run, but three other anglers had claimed my favored place on the east side of Desperado.

 

 

 

The Bubba would capture five trout before being retired and the Black Molly was employed.  The Molly seemed to be rather popular, but this angler was doing a poor job in setting the hook and missed several opportunities.  However, the Molly would take three before giving way to the Black Gnat.  The Black Gnat would only find two.  Total for the morning would be ten trout and that was good enough for this angler.

 

 

 

There were a total of nine anglers at Desperado Springs on this morning.  I was the lone fly angler and the rest were both bait and spinner anglers.  Seemed like the bait crowd had a slight advantage as far as numbers.  Everyone was catching trout - certainly not every cast, but still stringer limits were going to be realized. 

I started back up the hill on the way to the parking lot around 10 o'clock.  The sun never made an appearance while I was on the water.  I do understand that it did break through around noon.

The trout are still in the river and there were a good number of perch nibbles Saturday.  The bass should be getting quite active in the coming weeks.  It's all good on Blue River.

 

Having rolled cast all morning long, my right shoulder was screaming at me and therefore I decided it was time for a little pain reliever at Scotty's store.

 

 

See you on the Blue. 

 



 



 







Fly Fishing Area 4

After Wednesday's great outing in the south wilderness, my plan was to return to Blue this Friday and fish all day with my good buddy Scott Dittner of Marlow.  I went as far as telling Scott I would meet him there.  However, about mid-morning I suddenly remembered I had told Trina, the young lady that works with me, that she could have Friday off so she could spend time with her daughter.  No way I was going to go back on that.

So, with Friday out and it being horribly slow at work this Thursday I decided to take off at lunch and head to Blue River.  My thinking was I could hit the river by 1 p.m., fish a couple of hours and be back at the bunkhouse before the evening news aired.

I decided to fly fish Area 4.  Area 4 can be a jewel to the fly fisherman or it can be one big challenge.  The lower end of Area 4 is also known as Chris Pool and it can be very accommodating to the fly angler.  This part of the river is fairly shallow and quite wadeable.  Of course, the bottom of this river is quite geographic and slow wading is always a good idea or carrying a wading staff is an even better idea when navigating Chris Pool.  In front of you are pockets - pocket after pocket and the trout are within and awaiting your offerings. 

For years I fished Chris Pool, but always found myself looking upstream at that long almost totally unwadeable stretch of water that few ever fish.  Even bank access is limited and this always told me that the inventories of trout just keep on building with each passing week.  So, this year I was determined to find a way to get a fly in that stretch of water. 

The place I chose to try and cast my fly is about 100 yards upstream from Chris Pool and I have to tell you it's certainly not a picnic.  I'm talking about down in the trenches, trench warfare, standing in a mud-pit that any self respecting pig worth his weight in bacon would be proud to call his own.  If the mud is not enough then there are numerous tree roots and branches that continually catch your fly line and oh... I forgot to mention the overhead obstacles that contain you to roll casting only.

 

To fish this area you will have to own a solid and fairly strong roll cast.  With the overhead tree branches you will only be able to employ a side arm roll cast to boot.  If there is any south or southwest wind at all, then your job of getting your fly out 30 feet or better is compounded even more.  However... if you can get your fly to where the trout are staged you can have a very good day.

 

I started off with the olive Bubba Bugger yesterday.  It was amazing how quickly the river had cleared.  First cast with the Bubba and a trout was brought to hand.  The Bubba would go on and take 6 trout, but then he was lost at sea. 

 

 

Next, the red ass brown bugger went on and again on his maiden voyage he connected with a trout.  The brown bugger would capture one more trout, but honestly the community I was fishing didn't seem really all that interested in the brown bugger.  Really not for sure if it was his body color or just his red ass. 

 

 

I retired the brown bugger and decided to go tandem using an aqua green Copper John as the lead fly and a size 16 pink Frenchie would be subservient.  The Copper John would capture two trout, but the Frenchie was the real star capturing three times the number of trout the Copper John did.  

 

Yesterday I spent two hours on the river and today I would do the same.  No... I didn't capture 51 trout today like I did yesterday.  Those days are rare and come around every now and then.  I walked away from the river having met 17 trout and pretty much had to work for each one of them... as far as casting. 

 

I guess I could fish seven days a week if I only had the chance.  Here we are living in a world where we are connected by greater and newer technology coming our way almost every day.  These things are meant to connect us, but here we are living more disconnected than ever it seems. 

 

One reason I love to fly fish is the connection I feel with fish.  Fish, for me, have substance.  If you ask me whether I'd rather talk to you on the cell phone or stand next to you in the river, what do you think my answer would be? 

 

See you in the river. 





Finals Words For Classic 2015

The Blue River Fly Classic will be this coming Saturday, March 7th.  The Weather Channel is showing sunny skies with a morning temperature of 33 degrees warming to a balmy 59 with north east winds whispering at 5 to 10.  Sounds like nice fly fishing weather.

Contestants should of course bring their normal gear as if they were on any fly fishing trip to Blue river.  In addition, we ask contestants to bring a chair to sit in during lunch and their choice of drink. 

Here is how the day will unfold.  The contest begins promptly at 7:30 and we ask contestants try and get there by 7:15 if possible.  We will meet in the main parking lot of the campground area by Hughes Crossing. 

Harold Beck will once again serve as our Master of Ceremonies.  At 7:25, Harold will present his opening remarks and go over the rules of the contest along with explaining the score card.  Then, the winner of the "Guess the mystery fly contest" will be announced and the Early Bird gift will be awarded.  Michael Mercurio and Michael Lanning will then announce the pairings and contestants will be given a zip loc bag with their two mystery flies, score card, and ink pen. 

All contestants must return and turn in their score cards no later than 12:30 at the same spot they were given their score card that morning. 

Vernon Forrester and the Forrester cooking team will have our lunch ready between 12:30 and 1 p.m. On the menu is cowboy style chicken fried steak, cowboy potatoes, creamed spinach, an additional side and of course Vernon's wonderful desserts. 

Matt Gamble will be on hand to bring everyone up to date on the trout stocking situation and to answer any questions anyone might have.

Michael Mercurio will be in charge of adding the score cards.  Michael Lanning will be in charge of the tie breaker log.  Charlie Wright will announce the winners beginning with 3rd place, then 2nd, and finally the winner of the Classic 2015.

Prior to the announcement of the winners, there will be a number of thank you announcements to be made and special awards will also be announced.  Harold Beck will also announce and present the Keeper Of The River 2015 award.  Yours truly and Scott Dittner will announce two special awards for 2015.

There will be a number of give-a-way prizes to be distributed and this will take place after the winners are announced. 

Classic 2015 t shirts will be given to all contestants and we will call it a day.  It's all going to be a lot of fun.

Bamboozling The Bows

Thirty-seven bows came by way
Thirty-seven for a short day
Thirty-seven bows by Frenchie pink
Thirty-seven plucked from the drink

To bamboozle is to trick or deceive or to dupe by sometimes questionable manner.  The fishing on Saturday was off the charts - almost obscene at times.  The weather the creator gave the angler on Saturday was also off the charts - a little cool early, but once the sun topped the tree line a nice warm-up began. 

The tricking of the bows started with the very first cast around 7:30 yesterday morning.  The Frenchie would be sent to sea, the fly lands, a count of ten and then a twitch.  The strike takes place, quickly followed by a hook-set.  Sounds easy doesn't it?  Yesterday it was and the twitch seemed to be the bamboozling.

Shortly after wading into the river I hear a voice and when I turn I'm greeted by Dan Ham.  Dan was hoping to get the same sweet stretch I was fishing. Like me, Dan also knows that this run can be quite a rewarding place.  I almost felt guilty that I had the hole and Dan had crossed a branch of the river to get there.  But, Dan was all good with it as we chatted and I handed him a pink Frenchie pattern.  Later on, Dan would report he caught a few trout with the Frenchie before the fly was lost at sea. 

It was almost a fish on every cast and before the trout would grow pattern weary, twenty-one souls would come my way via the Frenchie.  The Frenchie was once again in competition with the Brown Bugger - the bugger leading, Frenchie following.  Brown Bugger was getting shut out at this point and before the day would be over the score would read Frenchie 37, Brown Bugger 0. 

 

 

Moving on upstream I came to one of the two trout hotels that are below the Cove.  Sometimes there is full occupancy at these boarding places, sometimes there is plenty of room for more.  Nine more souls would come to the hand and all courtesy of the Frenchie. The bugger was still at zilch.

 

Scott Dittner finally makes it to the river and starts fishing the flats above the falls at the Cove.  I had just made about three casts with no results except getting terribly tangled in a tree behind me.  I move across the river to the east side and when I come back over Scott is gone.  Upstream is Dan and he is precariously perched on a boulder in the middle of the river.  How he got out there without drowning I haven't a clue.  Dan has already lost his Frenchie, but still he is catching a lot of trout.  Once he lost the pink Frenchie, he looked in his box for something else pink.  He found it and that was the ticket.

 

Dan starts to walk out and I go downstream with him to look for Scott, but no Scott there.  Then it's back upstream and finally I see Scott.  He had just landed another bow also courtesy of the Frenchie.  It's probably 10 o'clock and a fellow I was suppose to meet today has yet to show.  Telling Scott I'm going downstream to look for Eugene I strike out.  No Eugene at the Cove, or hotel, or Coyote Pass, so it's down to Desperado Springs and still no Eugene.  Back to Coyote Pass I go and begin fishing again. 

 

 

 

 

When trout number 37 came in for the branding I knew I had stayed well past my time.  My aching back had been trying to tell me so for an hour or so already.  The Brown Bugger was crying "calf rope", and the Frenchie was worn out.  It was time to go.

 

Mauled

 

I walked out of the wilderness with two fly anglers from Norman, Oklahoma.  Although they had a great morning on the river, the fish didn't come to their flies much at all.  They had one fly between the two of them.  At the top of the hill I gave them both a Frenchie and invited them to try it on their next visit. 

 

I really didn't want to leave the river, but my body sometimes limits my duration on the water.  Blue was really pretty today.  The rain had little effect on the river and she is fishing great right now. 

 



 



 

Good Juju Bugs - Bad Juju Bugs

Today was a day I have been looking forward to for the better part of a week.  Michael Mercurio was traveling north from Texas, Scott Dittner was traveling east and south.  Later on I would find out that Boone Merhman was also traveling north from Texas, and Mike Littrel sailing south.  Everyone was on their way to fly fish on Blue River.

Boone and Mike planned on hitting the catch and release area early, and then catching up with Michael, Scott, and me later on in the south wilderness.  Michael, Scott, and yours truly had agreed to meet at 9 o'clock and head straight for the south wilderness, and this is exactly what took place.

Before heading out this morning, I hit the mercantile store and built a Christmas gift basket for Miss Gloria at Scotty's.  For the last three or four years I have taken her a gift basket and I knew if I didn't get it delivered today I might not get it there at all due to a tightening work schedule and more ill weather headed this way.

 

Right after dropping the basket off at Scotty's, I look down the road and there comes Scott Dittner.  We chat a while and then decide to head to the meeting spot with Mercurio... figuring he was dragging ass.  However, Mercurio was already in place waiting on our asses that seemed to be dragging. We shoved off and hit the wilderness.  

Mercurio is probably the best nymph fly fisherman I've ever met.  Most times I fish with him he smokes my butt in good fashion.  Scott has become one of those guys who has twenty, thirty, or more fish days.  However, there are times that capturing trout are a hard fought battle and unfortunately this would be one of those days... at least while I was there.  Mercurio and I would have to cut out mid-afternoon, but Scott would end up staying to fish with Mike and Boone. 

It's happened to me many times... more times than I would like to tell.  It's almost like you have flies with good Juju, or flies with bad Juju.  Today, I seemed to have a couple of patterns with the good Juju.

One of the good Juju flies was the Copper John.  Fishing it at the lower end of the south wilderness, this pattern would take the first half dozen trout.  I would have left it on, but after tying several flies of a pattern I had never fish before I wanted to give that pattern a chance.  The pattern was the Frenchie... a good Juju pattern also.

The Frenchie is a fairly easy fly pattern to tie.  If you have enough material prepped and ready to go, then an easy ten flies can be finished in an hour or so.  This pattern was created by Lance Egan, and his creation has a huge following.  The guys at flytying123.com have created an excellent video showing the materials and process in creating this pattern.




I tied three different colors of Frenchie's last night - one in pink, one in chartreuse, and one in purple.  Starting out with the pink, the trout was quite interested.  After several fish, the pink Frenchie was lost to the sea.  Then the chartreuse went on.

The chartreuse picked up where the pink left off and more trout were showing interest.  After exploring this downstream pool, it was time to go upstream.

Working our way upstream we come to Coyote Pass.  Scotty and Merc go further upstream while I stay at the Pass.  There are three other anglers here so I bide my time and let them fish.  One angler moves upstream and I take that water, but only one fish comes to hand.

Further upstream I fish the trout hotel and it seems there is full occupancy at this stretch.  The chartreuse is doing quite well until a tree limb takes his life. The purple Frenchie goes on, but meets with great failure.  Then the Lightning Bug goes on and also meets with great failure... and Scott and Merc experienced the same with the Lightning Bug - zero eats. Where's that Copper John?

The John goes back on and one more fish would be taken bringing my daily total to 17.  This would be the end of my capturing fish this day. 

Making our way to the Cove, the bad Juju still lingers on the flies of Merc and Scott and by now we are all scratching our heads as to why - they're damn good flies fished by damn good fly fishers.  Merc tells me it's almost 1 o'clock and I swear it doesn't seem like we've been on the river for an hour.  My time, and Merc's time is short, but we plow on hoping for more fish. 

At about this time, Mike and Boone along with Boone's wonderful furred friend Josie arrives.  I so regret not getting a picture of Josie who is a magnificent specimen of a bloodhound and so well mannered.  Mike and Boone had a good outing in the catch and release and now they were exploring the south wilderness. 

As Merc and I was beginning our walk out of the wilderness, I kind of made a bet with the remaining three.  I bet them that if they went all the way to the top of the south wilderness - a place called Dividing Line Falls, they would really get into the fish.  I hope I was right... I hope I win that bet...  and not because I like to win bets.  I do like people really getting into the fish though. 

Good Juju, bad Juju... it happens and that's not what is important.  Spending time with folk you really like is what's important.  The problem is... these opportunities don't come around often enough.

Landlocked And Fly Tying

This past week the prairie ocean took the polar plunge.  The north Texas area got slammed and most of Oklahoma didn't fare any better.  Making a fly fishing trip to Blue River was out of the question at least over the next several days.  It didn't take long for those cabin fever doldrums to set in.

However, as any good sea faring chap should do, I used the down time for much needed fly fishing maintenance and part of that included tying up a small amount of two different patterns.  After that initial try I continued to tie until I had a good dozen or so of each.

The two patterns that were on my mind in the warmth of the fly tying room was the Copper John and the Lightning Bug. Now, the Lightning Bug was a fairly easy tie for me, but the Copper John pattern gives me a little trouble.  This is one pattern, for me, that if the proportions are not exactly right then the finished product looks a bit... off.

 

The under body taper on this pattern is particularly important as the length of the copper body and then there is the abdomen, which also has to be well proportioned.  Out of a dozen or so finished Copper John's, I may have had five that I was absolutely delighted with.  The others will have to do as scrubs I think.

 

My first mate Drift was intently at my side over a three or four day period while I leaned into the vise tying more and more flies.  He is a dedicated friend for sure and I guess if he could have tied a few flies for me he would.

 

 

For sure I am not the most organized fly tier.  I tend to cram a lot of different materials on my desk at once because my mind wanders from pattern to pattern.  With everything that is needed to tie different patterns at my disposal I can quickly switch gears and dive into a new pattern with ease.  No, I never become confused having to deal with 38 different materials in front of me. 

 

 

For the most part I concentrated on the two patterns I mentioned.  After finishing the lot of Copper John's, I tackled the Lightning Bugs. Actually, there would be two different variations of Lightning Bugs.

 

One variation calls for pheasant tail to be used as the legging material.  The other calls for that fine product CDC.  Which will fish better remains to be seen, but I leaning toward the one dressed with CDC.  Sunday will prove to be a fine testing day for these creations.

 

 

 





 



 

 



Blue River News

Keep A Weather Eye

As of this writing, area manager Matt Gamble is advising travelers to Blue River give due consideration to making a trip at this time because of road conditions.  The roads in the Blue River Public Fishing and Hunting Area are still iced over and extremely difficult to navigate.

The cold trend looks to continue through next week with things possibly improving around Thursday of this coming week. 

February Trout Derby

Organizers have announced the dates of the Presidents Day Weekend Trout Derby and those dates are the 15th and 16th of February, 2014. 

Chris Adams of Denison, Texas has donated a combination gas/charcoal grill.  This grill has three main burners, a side burner, and charcoal pit.  Value of this grill is approximately $270.00.  Scotty's Blue River One Stop is offering chances to win this grill at $2.00 each, or 3 for $5.00.  Anyone who purchases $20.00 worth of chances will be listed as a derby sponsor.

The sale of chances on this grill help offset the cost of putting on the trout derby.  The cost of special order trout has sky-rocketed over the last couple of events and the Blue River Association could use help in covering the expenses of these special events so many have come to enjoy.

 

Too Lovely To Litter

 

Everything needed to launch the "Too Lovely To Litter" project on Blue River is in place and in the hands of wildlife department personnel at Blue River.

 

The goal of this project is to prevent litter and trash on Blue River.  Another goal is to encourage everyone with each visit to carry out more trash than they carry in.  If all of us carry out just a little with each visit we make to Blue River, then we all will have a much cleaner and healthier river.

 

There will be six stations constructed on Blue River and visitors will find them in the main campground area, the south wilderness, the north wilderness, and the catch and release area.  We hope everyone will take advantage of this free litter bag offering. 

 

 

 



Missing The Roar

It seems like each year I miss more and more things about Blue River.  A good example is a channel that once had water and fish in it.  Now... it's dry.  Sometimes it's a small falls where not so long ago the river gushed, but these days there is only a trickle.  I miss the flow of this river so much it saddens me often.  Lady Blue today, is nowhere near as vibrant and she was back in 1981 when I first came here. 

The thing I am missing the most about this river is her voice.  It wasn't that many years ago that anytime we parked at the south wilderness entrance we could hear the roar of the river once we stepped out of our vehicles.  Now, the river has been hushed and even if we intently try to hear her voice... it is only a whisper.

The roar I use to hear, while standing high on the hill at the parking area, came from Desperado Springs and the upstream waters known as the Scatters.  The river braids, forks, and basically scatters in this area and one of the tallest falls on the river is located within.  At this place on Blue River, the river resonated in an outdoor cathedral with natures voice as the chorus.

As to why the Blue River is suffering these days is up to speculation I guess, but I have my own opinion and I blame all the mining going on west and north of the river area.  Mines are basically giant bore holes in the earth and once they puncture the aquifer, the water comes flowing up.  For the miners to continue to dig, they then de-water the pits and there goes precious lifeblood downstream - completely away from this area.

It's sad.  I want to hear the roar again.

On my last outing I chose the south wilderness as my fishing destination.  Arriving late in the day I knew there wouldn't be much time to waste so I didn't venture far into the wilderness, but did venture far enough to be rewarded handsomely by the trout.

The bugger brown is a sad chap these days.  On the last several outings he has been relegated to the role of front man.  The bugger brown leads, while a smaller pattern such as a nymph or midge gets all the attention. 

On this particular outing the bugger brown once again led the way for a standard Copper John.  It wouldn't take long for the Copper John to find the first fish of the afternoon.  There would be many more to come.

The river was in excellent shape with good clarity.  The water I was fishing was a fairly wide pool, and with alders behind me the roll cast was the only cast to be made.  Trout after trout would come to hand and they were all on the Copper John.

The Copper John would take a dozen and half that more bows, and poor bugger brown hadn't had any success.  I then decided to give the Copper John a rest and tie on a slightly different size and different colored cousin of his - the red Copper John.  I was simply curious if this fly would do as well.

The red Copper John picked up where cousin standard left off and bows continued to come to hand.  In a short hour two dozen bows found there way to my hand and the bugger brown was still skunk. 

About seventy-five or more feet out I saw evidence of more trout activity so I worked my way over to this place.  Here there was a sandbar to wade out on and therefore I waded until the river was at the seat of the waders.

I had taken a spare pair of waders on this outing because I couldn't remember why there were spare.  It didn't take long before I felt the river trickle down both my legs and suddenly I remembered what I couldn't remember about the spare waders. 

After catching three more bows I could tell I was totally wet so out of the river I waded.  Before making the hike up the steep hill, I sit down on a rock and thought about the wonderful afternoon I had just had and called it... good. 









A Brief Report On Blue River

Fishing Thanksgiving Afternoon

In deciding to pass up many things associated with Thanksgiving such as Macy's parade, football, and extreme early shopping, afforded a perfect opportunity to hit Blue River.

Van went out ahead of me and by the time I found him he had ten fish under his belt.  The first hour for me was a struggle only catching three fish, but I believe that fortunes can change and later downstream they did.  In a twenty minutes period fourteen bows came to hand one after the other.

Here's a brief rundown of how the fishing was.

Conditions:  Sunny day with temperatures hovering around fifty degrees.  The wind direction was variable as was the speeds.  Water clarity was excellent and the pressure on the river was light. Water temperature was not taken, but it didn't take long for numbness to occur in the lower extremities.

Flies Used:  The majority of the first ten fish Van landed were taken on the bugger brown.  Later, he would trail a size 16 Pheasant Tail and the rest of fish was taken by that pattern.  He would end his day with close to 30 fish to hand.

The first three fish for me came on the bugger olive, with the other two taken on a Brassie.  Downstream I tied a size 14 Copper John on beneath the bugger brown and the Copper John would take the next 14 fish.  The bugger brown did not attract a single fish.

Pictures of some of the pretties landed Thanksgiving afternoon.

 

Blue River Fly Classic Is Set

The date of the Blue River Fly Classic, formerly known as the Blue River One Fly, has been set for February 22nd, 2014.

This is the third year the Blue River Fly Fishers have held this event.  As in the past, 100% of all proceeds will be donated to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The Fly Classic is a single pattern, single fly event with each contestant getting the same exact fly.  All contestants have the opportunity to buy a mulligan fly. 

Points are awarded on length of fish and species of fish.  The top three finishers will receive prizes and certificates.

Here are the general rules and entry form.

Blue River Fly Classic 2014

General Information

Date Of Event: February 22nd, 2014

Place: Blue River Public Fishing And Hunting Area

Time Of Event: 7:30 a.m. till 12:30 p.m.

Starting Point: Main Parking Lot Campground Area Blue River

Blind Pairings Will Be Prior To Start Of Event

Entry Fee: $25.00 Per Contestant

Purpose:

The purpose of the Blue River Fly Classic is two-fold. First, the mission of this event is create a day of greater fellowship among the fly fishing community on Blue River. Secondly, this event is designed as a fund raising event with the totality of monies raised by entries fees and mulligan flies going directly to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife in support of the Catch and Release section at Blue River. Funds will be monitored by and through the Blue River Association a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Rules:

*A single and same pattern will only be used. . NOTE: Contestants will be given one fly and will also be afforded the opportunity to purchase a mulligan fly. The mulligan fly is by no means mandatory and is of the choice of the contestant as a strategy or avenue to further support fund raising. The cost of the mulligan fly will be $10.00 and this fee will also go directly to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife.

*All contestants will receive the same pattern and the pattern will remain a mystery until the start of the event. When a contestant loses the fly (or flies) then that contestant is out. If the contestant loses the fly (or flies) and wishes to continue fishing for the sake of fishing then that contestant must turn their score card over to the person they are paired with.

*Contestants will be allowed to retie their fly, but must notify their partner they are doing so.

*Dry flies as strike indicators will not be allowed.

*Scored fish are fish brought to hand. Each contestant must alert their partner when a fish is brought to hand.

*Each contestant is responsible for keeping their own score card.

*Each contestant should devise a way for measuring fish that are caught. Length of each fish scores additional points. 

*This entire event is based on the honor system.

 *Deadline for entering is February 1st 2014.

A copy of the general information, rules, and entry form will be available November 1st, 2013. To obtain an entry form contact prairieoceanflyfisher@gmail.com or blueriverok@hotmail.com or fishingcowboyblue@yahoo.com  An entry form will be sent to you as an attachment. Print the entry form, fill it out, include payment and mail both in. You will receive a confirmation email once your entry is received.

Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers.  Prizes will be announced at a later date.

There will be a number of give-away prizes also in a random drawing.

The organizers are trying to acquire tee shirts for this years event, but that has not been confirmed as of yet. 

Blue River Fly Classic

Entry Form

Date of Event:  February 22^nd, 2014

Entry Deadline:  February 1^st, 2014

Name:_________________________________________________

Mailing Address:_________________________________________

City:____________________  State______________ Zip Code_________

Email:__________________________________________

Cell Phone*_____________________________________

*This is the cell phone you will be carrying the date of the event.  This is for contact reasons only.

Check appropriate boxes:

____Entry Fee enclosed (Please check or money order only) IMPORTANT:  Please make check or money order payable to the Blue River Association.  Entry fee is $25.00.

____ Yes, I want a mulligan fly on the date of the event for $10.00.

____ Indicate tee shirt size:*  M  L  XL  XXL Other________

* We are hopeful of acquiring tee shirts for this event.  If we are successful in doing so we would like to know the size you would wear.

____ Sorry, I can’t make the event but would like to make a contribution.

Total enclosed:___________________

PLEASE NOTE:  Make check or money order payable to Blue River Association.  However, mail completed entry form along with fees to the following address.

Barry C. Shrader

Blue River Fly Classic

700 E. Wynnewood

Sulphur, OK 73086