Fly Classic 2016 Winners

It can easily be said, the real winner as a result of the Blue River Fly Classic, is Blue River herself.  This growing event raised $4071.00 in entry fees, raffle tickets, silent auctions and donations. 

Just five years ago we started this event and had 22 contestants.  This year we had 60, and we fed about 80 people for lunch. 

The mystery fly, a size 14 olive Czech Nymph, performed better than I thought it would.  I really thought it would be a tough fly for many.  However, quite a few fish were caught with this pattern including two 8 point bonus fish - the Redhorse sucker.

When the score cards were tallied here were the winners.

3rd Place - Scott Dittner

 

2nd place - Donovan Clary

 

 

1st place and the winner of the 2016 Blue River Fly Classic is Boone Merhman.

 





Blue River Fly Classic 2016 Announced

Entries for the Blue River Fly Classic are now being accepted.  The event will take place on March 5th, 2016.  Here are the rules, regulations, general info and entry form.

There will once again be a luncheon provided on Blue River for this event.  Vernon Forrester and the Forrester Chuck Wagon crew from Forrestburg, Texas will be cooking for us.

Blue River Fly Classic 2016

General Information

Date Of Event: March 5th, 2016

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: $35.00 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 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 two flies.

*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 15th 2016.

A copy of the general information, rules, and entry form will be available December 15th, 2015. To obtain an entry form contact 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.

Blue River Fly Classic

Entry Form

Date of Event:  March 5th, 2016

Entry Deadline:  February 15th, 2016

Name:_________________________________________________

Mailing Address:_________________________________________

City:____________________  State______________ Zip Code_________

Email:__________________________________________

Cell Phone*_____________________________________

*This is the cell phone you will be carrying the date of the event.  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 $35.00.

____ Yes, I want to buy ____ raffle tickets at $1.00 each for the NFL Bud Light Smoker.

____ 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

I will deliver all entry fees to the Blue River Association where they will be held until the event is completed.  Once the event is completed the Blue River Association will issue payment to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife in support of the Catch & Release area at Blue River.

And The Reel Winner Is

Last year when the Blue River Fly Classic raised $2,495.00 I thought we had probably peaked as far as the amount of money we would ever raised.  At last years event we had two vintage bamboo fly rods along with a beautiful piece of fly fishing artwork that we auctioned off.  Those items accounted for $500.00 by themselves.  This year we were void of such auction items.

So you can imagine my surprise when the Classic this year surpassed last years total.  This years event raised $2,550.00 and therefore the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife is a winner!  The proceeds from this event along with the $1,320.00 raised by Chris Adams and his Bubba Buggers For Blue program will hopefully qualify for federal matching funds, and if so the end result will be around $15,000.00 to the wildlife department.

There were all kind of winners this past Saturday.  The early bird award went to Jon Paul Griffin.  Jon Paul received at $25.00 Bass Pro gift certificate for getting his entry in first.  The winner of the Guess The Mystery Fly game was Brodie Reed.  Brodie will receive Fishpond's Headgate Tippet system. 

Boone Merhman and Chris Adams were both big winners in being awarded the Spirit Of The Blue award for their outstanding efforts in supporting Blue River this year.

Everyone that had the pleasure of eating Vernon Forrester's chuck wagon food was a winner!  The food this year was off the charts!

Ralph Fullenwider is always a winner and on Saturday he was named the Keeper Of The River for 2015.  This award has only been awarded one previous time and the first recipient was Harold Beck.  Harold had the pleasure of announcing Ralph as this years recipient.

Thanks to the generosity of a good number we had a lot of giveaway prizes this year.  The crown jewel of the giveaways was a Cabela's fly rod and reel donated by Dan Ham of Ada, Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas.  That sweet package went to Andrew Weatherford.
Then there were the competitors in the Blue River Fly Classic.  After five hours of hard fishing we had the top three finishers.

Coming in third place was Scott Dittner of Marlow, Oklahoma.  Scott received a $50.00 gift certificate from Backwoods in Oklahoma City.

Coming in second place was Eric Nunn.  Eric received a $100.00 Bass Pro gift certificate.

1st place went to Walker Hairston.  Walker hails south of the Red River and has become one of our favorite fly guys on Blue River.  Walker received an Umpqua Fly Vest for winning the Blue River Fly Classic 2015.  Thanks to Tailwaters of Dallas, Texas for donating the Umpqua vest.

And then there is the reel winner.  The big winner in all of this is Blue River.  How awesome must it be to be loved by so many from so many different places.  The more people that come to this river results in more people getting love bit.  And the more people star struck by this river results in more people wanting to see the Blue always healthy and safe.  Again, how awesome it must be to be so loved.

Here are some pictures from this weekends event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Fly Classic Score Card Revised

In past one pattern fly events, the score card has been a little confusing, so this year I have revised it.  Also, there once again be bonus fish including the smallmouth and Redhorse sucker.

Blue River Fly Classic 2015

Blue River Fly Classic 2015

 

General Information

 

Date Of Event: March 7th, 2015

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: $35.00 Per Contestant (Includes 2 Mystery Flies)

 

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 other donations 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 two flies of the same pattern for this event. Organizers believe that part of the difficulty of this contest along with a strategy in this event is the management of the flies.  (Example:  Checking your overhead and behind you before casting.  Reading the water as well as you can for structure that may snag your flies.)  

 

*All contestants will receive the same pattern and the pattern will remain a mystery until the start of the event. When a contestant loses their flies then that contestant is out. If the contestant loses their 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.

*Split shot of any form may be used as a weighting technique.  Bead heads slipped on a tippet will be allowed as long as the bead head does not touch the eye of the fly and is at least placed six inches above the fly.

 

*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 15th 2015.

 

A copy of the general information, rules, and entry form will be available December 1^st, 2014. To obtain an entry form contact fishingcowboyblue@yahoo.com  or prairieoceanflyfisher@gmail.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.

Squeezing Time Out Of March

Here we are in the final month of official trout season at Blue River, and many of us are trying to get every minute of fly fishing in that we can. 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Ham and Michael Mercurio on the river around mid-morning.  Chris Adams was to follow later that afternoon. 

The river is so clear it's almost indescribable.  It's not uncommon for the river to grow clear in the winter season, but clear like this I've never seen before.  When fishing water with such clarity, we no longer can take certain things for granted - such as our movement, the shadow of our rod and line, and particularly the size of flies we select.

Starting out above the crossing Dan and Merc worked the east side while I made a quick trip to Scotty's for a cup of coffee.  For about thirty minutes before Merc and Dan arrived I stood on the bank having a nice conversation with Matt Gamble.  As we talked the wind kept channeling down the river and it didn't take long for my hands to start feeling the effects and therefore the need for a cup of coffee.

When I caught up with Dan and Merc they had worked up to First Falls.  Merc rigged heavy for the current at First Falls and started plucking some bows.  Dan was out of sight so I don't know exactly where he was fishing. 

I started drifting the seams and picked up about four bows, but it was slow if anything.  Before I knew it I couldn't see my buddies and figured they had worked up to Area 6.  When I got to a special little pool at 6, there was Dan with a bend in his rod.  The fishing had been so tough that Merc pulled a trick out of the hat and both he and Dan has rigged with a worm - a red San Juan... and it was working.

On the way up to 6 there are two pools of trout that could be called frustration trout.  Some of these fellows are good size and there is a good number of them.  It's the kind of situation that makes a fellow literally manducate - chewing the options that are available. Getting them to eat is another thing.  Merc begin what he is better at than anyone I know - drifting and high-sticking in a fashion that he can only do. 

After watching for a while, Dan went downstream and begin making upstream casts.  I think it was on his second cast he landed a bow.  Further casts upstream resulted in more trout trying to eat the worm and a missed hook-set landed the worm high in a tree. 

Before leaving Area 6, we met a new face to Blue.  Bill Lewis is from Alaska where he guides for Grayling and Kings.  He had been to Blue before, but doesn't know the river that well.  We talked for fifteen minutes or so about the fishing in Alaska and some of the problems those grand fisheries are seeing and then we left Bill to his day. 

Around noon we headed for Ted's Pool to await the arrival of Chris Adams.  Unfortunately, our meeting with Chris would never take place.  Merc was expecting a text from Chris, but his phone ran out of juice.  We know Chris made it because his truck was in the parking lot, but where he went fishing was anyone's guess. 

At Ted's Pool, Dan got out on the ledge and soon landed a bow, but the fishing was really slow.  I tied on my juju fly - the pink Frenchie.  I had tied some Frenchies with ice dubbing, which the original pattern calls for, but to tell you the truth I don't think these will fish as good as the rabbit fur I use - at least they didn't yesterday.  The rabbit fur Frenchie started producing right off the bat and before I was through, seven bows had come in the branding.

 

After Mercurio took a rather nasty and darn cold plunge at Ted's Pool we went to Horseshoe Falls to strip some buggers.  I tied on Chris's Bubba Bugger.  The Bubba Bugger is a wonderful creation and at Horseshoe Falls it was getting a lot of love bumps.  The Bubba Bugger managed a couple of trout and our time on the river was nearing an end.  Lots of midge or emerger activity on the river today and that's a hard situation to figure out. 

Dan wasn't just thinking about fishing yesterday... he was also thinking about the Blue River Fly Classic 2015 and has donated the first raffle item for the next event.  Dan delivered a dandy Cabela's fly rod and reel to go in the raffle bag.  I'll be bidding on that sucker.

As I left the river I put a note underneath Chris's windshield wipers telling him that we were sorry for missing connections once again.  Knowing Chris however, he was off plucking legions of bows from their watery home. 

At the end of the day the official Trout O' Meter showed the slowness of the day... but it was a good day to be on the river with friends.





Discovery

Discovery can often be interesting and rewarding unless the discovery you make is that your waders have sprung a good-size leak.  Such was the case for me on my last outing to Blue River.  Within seconds after entering the river I felt my right leg becoming quite soaked.  However, the leak wasn't enough to stop me from fishing even though the way the afternoon turned out it may have been better if I had stopped.

At Desperado Springs, I fished along with seven other anglers.  All of them were using bait from what I could see.  Four of the anglers were on the east side where I was at and the other three was across the way in plain sight.  In the two hours I was there I never saw a fish brought in and I would only manage three myself.  And, those three came within the first twenty minutes - after that it was nothing.

However, I kept looking upstream at a fair sized pool that I've never seen anyone fish.  I knew there had to be trout in that water, but getting to the pool was what I couldn't figure out.  I left my perch at Desperado and went to look for a trail, which I found.  The trail led me to the pool I had questions about, but when I got to where I wanted to be, the water looked deep and I could only wade out a few feet.  There is fish at this pool and I caught a bow on the first cast.  After that initial bow, the wind came up and my roll cast simply wouldn't cut throw the hardy breeze.

 

 

This new discovery warrants further investigation and I hope to take fellow anglers, who are much taller than I, and maybe they can figure out a way to navigate this pool.  I stayed on the river about another hour and picked up three more bows, but that would be my day.  The new fish counting fish-o-meter, courtesy of Scott Dittner and Michael Mercurio tells the story.

 

 

Before leaving the area I stopped by and asked Scotty to deposit the funds from the Fly Classic and in turn write the check to the wildlife department.  Speaking of discovery, the Fly Classic showed us that there are a lot of good and fine people that attend and pitch in to help make the event a success.

 





 

Awesome Blue River Fly Classic

It was awesome.  Awesome weather, awesome company, awesome food, and more awesome.

Twenty-two teams struck out early on Saturday morning to pursue the rainbow trout of Blue River using a size 16 Rainbow Warrior pattern.  In the end, three fly fishing anglers would endure the hardships of extremely clear water, gusting winds, and some very savvy trout, to go on and take the top three places in the competition. 

The awesomeness of the whole event began the evening before.  On Friday night, a group of two dozen or more gathered around the campfire.  On the menu was some darn good burgers grilled over mesquite by Michael Mercurio.  There was also baked beans, chips, picante sauce, smoked sausages, cheese, and some rather good mustard sauces prepared by Dan Ham.  Of course the beer was flowing and I'm pretty sure I lost my beer about twenty-six times during the evening.

Then... there was the entertainment.  Byron Dowd, Chad Yoas, Walker Hairston, and Steve Swenson broke out the stringed boxes and put on an acoustical concert for all present.  I loved every minute of their performance and wanted more and more.  A young chap from the camp next door heard the music, and he would join in on the strumming. 

How long the festivities lasted I can not tell you because I turned in around nine or so.  Just before I hit the sack Vernon Forrester pulled in with his cooking wagon and at that point I knew we were good to go for the next day. 

Vernon, along with his brothers Mark and Michael began cooking early.  They had about 55 people to feed and that takes a lot of work. 

A few contestants came in early due to no luck, the wind, or losing their flies, which is something that can happen quite often on Blue River.  Several teams were out of the competition within the first 30 minutes due to losing their flies on a rock and this is something we're going to address at future events as Chad Yoas suggested we do so.  I think the changes will make for a better tournament.

Around noon a steady flow of contestants were turning in their cards and as Merucurio added the score we sit down to break bread together. 

The score cards revealed that there were about eight anglers that caught trout in the double digit category.  A lot of score cards showed three, four, maybe five fish and some score cards showed less.  It was tough fishing for sure. 

When the score cards were finished the results were announced.  Third place went to Jamie Reed of Ardmore, Oklahoma. 

Second place went to last year's winner Dan Ham of Ada, Oklahoma. 

The winner of the Blue River Fly Classic 2014 would be Scott Dittner of Marlow, Oklahoma.

The winner of guessing the mystery fly game was Jason Williams.  In three years, Jason has correctly guessed the identity of the mystery fly used in our competitions.  Either he is psysic or Mensa... I don't know.

A new award was presented for the first time at the Classic.  The new award established this year is an award for stewardship, dedication, and devotion to Blue River.  Everyone in the Blue River fly fishing family is deserving of this award and over the years many will be awarded this distinction. However, this was the inaugural awarding and the recipient could be only one person - Mr. Harold Beck.  Harold has been with Blue River for 38 years now, introducing many anglers to the river, and teaching fly fishing and tying in college classrooms.  Congratulations to Harold.

There were a number of items to be auctioned off with the proceeds being added to the pot for the wildlife department.  The bamboo rods would go to Jeff Joseph and Michael Mercurio. A wonderful piece of craftsmanship by Jerry and Jeremy Sellers and an artist friend of theirs would raise $275.00.  The creation was certainly one of a kind fly tying material station and the artwork on it was amazing. 

When all was said and done around $2500.00 was raised for the wildlife department in support of the trout fishing program at Blue River.

That's some more awesome. 

 











What The Mystery Fly Can Do For You

Today was a mixed bag of eventful and uneventful experiences.  Here is a synopsis.

Early on - couldn't buy a fish. 

Conditions - the wind was insane. 

Company - fantastic, Roger Allred is one of the most interesting men you'll ever hope to meet. 

After no fish for Roger or yours truly from the sandbar we traveled upstream above the crossing.  I switched to a red midge larva and took the first fish of the day. 

Other patterns that would catch trout would be the Frenchie.

Decided to test drive the mystery fly and here is what the mystery fly can do for you.

 

Most memorable moment - My dumb butt didn't have a net so Roger volunteered to net this fish.  Roger took the full pledged baptism in the Blue River.  Not just once did he go under, but three times and he came up smiling saying, "We're netting this fish". 

 

What an awesome guy. 

 

There are some C&R quality type fish in all of the other parts of the river. 

 

Believe in the mystery fly all you Blue River Fly Classic contestants. 

Slow Going

It had been almost four weeks since I last had the pleasure of seeing the beautiful little Blue.  It doesn't take rust long to settle in on some of us.  I'm not talking just about rust in our casting or hook-set, but also in the preparation and ritual of going that some of may have established over the years.  Such became quite apparent to me yesterday.

I was almost half way to the river when I realized that the ol' fly rod was still back at the bunkhouse.  No, I didn't cuss or throw a fit.  I simply laughed at myself and did a U-turn in the middle of the highway.  The only things I had lost was a little time and petro. 

When I got to the river there wasn't that many folks fishing.  I drove across Hughes Crossing headed for Ted's Pool.  I encountered a few slick spots going up some hills, but for the most part the roads are quite passable. 

As I was walking down to Ted's Pool, I saw a familiar face in the form and fashion of Ted Meador.  Ted and I chatted a bit and he told me he had only caught one bow at Ted's Pool, which wasn't encouraging because Ted is an excellent angler.

It was slow going.  I had the pink Frenchie under a bugger once again and after two hours I had only brought five trout to hand.  There were three or four other strikes, but that was it for the most part.  Not once did I see any surface activity and the river is the clearest I've ever seen her.  Although I didn't probe the river, the water feels very cold. 

The size 14 pink Frenchie took all five fish, but now looking back I wish I would have went down in size to a 16 or 18.  One other note is that I fished the Frenchie deeper than normal and that seemed to be the only way I would find any fish yesterday. 

 

When I arrived back at the bunkhouse, the bamboo rods Roger Allgood shipped were on the front porch.  I took them out of their packaging and took some pictures to share.

 

Here is what I know about the rods.  Roger has had these rods in his possession for 25 to 30 years... he was a little foggy on the exact year.  He purchased both rods while working on a job while in England.  One is an Issak Walton.  The Issak Walton looks to be in excellent shape with beautiful wraps and two tips.  The reel seat is removable and if one chooses the reel seat can be reversed.  The length of the sections are 36 7/8. 

 

The second rod has no inscription.  The man that Roger purchased this rod from had it custom built.  It also looks to be in excellent shape, but does having some pitting in the cork.  It also has two tips and the lengths of the sections measure 32 5/8.

 

Of the two, the Issak Walton is certainly the heaviest.  If I was given my personal choice I would have to go with the smaller rod because these days I don't do well with heavy rods.  However, with that being said, I believe the Issak Walton is the real gem. 

 

These two rods will be up for auction at the Blue River Fly Classic.  Bids have already come in on the Issak Walton.  When I told Roger about the interest in the rods he sounded like a proud papa. 

 

Here's some pictures... not good pictures, but still they're pictures.