Blue River Fly Classic

Blue River Fly Classic
A One Pattern Fly Event
Showing posts with label dark buggers in dark water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dark buggers in dark water. Show all posts

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Chapter 58 Day 41 - Trout Season

To The Woods And Water

Anytime I can get beyond the concrete, the asphalt, the pavement - I do.  Beyond these man-made things, and the brick and mortar, lies the excitement of the woods and the water. 

Today, was a no fishing day for me.  I couldn't possibly get to the river Blue for having to work at not one mercantile store, but, two. 

In between those two store shifts was a break and taking advantage of that break I escape briefly to the local creek for a little scouting. 

There is a section of the carp creek that Charlie and I so favor that we have yet to explore.  As a kid, I remember it quiet well and explored it often, but, that's been a long time ago. 

Our hopes is this stretch of water will hold carp and give us another avenue to pursue the grand and golden ones this coming spring and summer. 


This stretch of creek has the characteristics of much of the rest of the creek with sandbars or shoals, narrow areas that flow into wide flat pools.  The banks have been cleared at this place on the creek, probably the results of a local telecommunications company property being located here. 


There's an old dam just below this run of water and I remember it well from thirty years ago.  It had come a torrential rain in early October and my son and I decided to build a homemade raft and float the raging creek.  We put in about 300 yards above the dam, but,  our adventure would be short-lived.  When the raft went off the dam, with us on it, our not-so-safe ship sank and we became caught in the violent down flow coming off the dam.  The only thing that saved us that day was an inner tube we had tied on the back of the raft.  I was able to break the rope free and we hung onto the tube until we could get to a bank.

I won't have to worry about such nonsense things anymore though - I simply fly fish for carp in this creek. 

The weather looks really iffy for this coming week and a fly fishing trip for the pretty fish at Blue may be hard to come by.  However, somehow a way to get to the woods and water must be found.  Such trips are salvation. 




Saturday, November 12, 2011

Chapter 58 Day 12 - Trout Season

It was a tough, tough day on the river today.  Not just for me... for everyone.  The river was as muddy today as it was yesterday and looks to be extremely slow in clearing. 

Today was the first day of the trout derby.  Things were so tough, many participants had given up and left the river by noon.  At 12:30 I had to quit fishing because of my nagging back.  I had managed four trout, one perch, and one smallmouth... and I worked hard for all of them. 

The derby organizers put some really large trout in the river and some will go eight or nine pounds.  At the weigh-in today I saw only four trout weighed in that would go three pounds or better.  So... there is going to be a lot of large trout left in the river after this derby weekend. 

As far as fly fishers weighing in there were few that had fish to weigh in.  The young lad I speak so much of, Kody Young, weighed in a stringer one pound more than mine and that puts young Kody in the lead.  Kody is long overdue for this award and I think he has an excellent shot.  Other fly fishers were a pound or better behind my stringer, so tomorrow is really anybodies game.  Hopefully in the morning my body will tell me I can return, but, if it doesn't... then it doesn't. 

Everything I caught today came on buggers.  Use dark color buggers in dark color water.  May not make any sense... but, it works. 

It was good to see an extra fly fishing presence at this year's trout derby.  Jerry Hammon with the Red River Fly Fishers set up an information booth about his group and Jerry also had a fly tying station going on. 


The river, besides being muddy, became severely choked with leaves today.  Rather brisk winds arrived about mid-morn and when they did they dislodged the golden and brown hues of nature's wonderment. 

One notable fly fisher was absent today.  Chris Adams is always a heck of a competitor and he is the one that makes the trout derby competitions always interesting.  And... Chris is my friend. 

Today, I missed my friend.