A Short Afternoon Of Sailing The Prairie Ocean

I took the carp leader off my favorite rod yesterday and replaced it with a lighter leader more suited for the Rainbow trout that will be in season soon. 

A little over three weeks ago the high temperature here was 100 degrees.  Less than ten days ago the high temperature was in the mid-forties.  Today, the temperature was 77 degrees.  Confusing to the angler, confusing to the fish. 

This afternoon in a span of three hours I fished two different currents on this prairie ocean, sailing forty miles to fish both,  and had a multi-species day.  Fish caught today included the spotted bass, small mouth bass, bream, drum, and then... just one more carp.  Somehow, I just couldn't stay away from the carp even though that season is best over. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The baby bream and baby smallmouth came from Pennington Creek - a pristine creek that is the little sister of Blue River in south central Oklahoma.  Pennington is quite low right now and clear as gin.  Hopefully, the October rain will soon arrive.

 

The drum and carp came from Rock Creek and this creek is also, once again, lowering. 

 

My afternoon was a flurry of sailing and fly fishing.  Quite enjoyable I must say.     

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 58 Day 6 - Trout Season

This morning it was back to work for a couple of hours.  Tomorrow I am officially back to work, but, have more vacation days scheduled - hopefully I will be able to take them.

Decided to go back to the river since the weather was so nice.  It was an almost balmy morning with temperatures being in the low sixties. 

Having yet to travel into the wilderness area it only made sense that this would be my designation this morning.  At the beginning of the trail I could tell something was different.  Usually as we begin the trek down the steep road we can hear the loud voice of the river.  Today though it was loudly quite - a hush to Blue's voice - a testament of the low flow due to this summer's exceptional drought.

I hiked under an completely overcast sky and there wasn't a hint of wind.  Not getting to the river until almost 9 a.m. there were already a good number of anglers that had made the trip in. 

The experience was great this morning, but, the catching was not.  Staying for a little over an hour I would only find one trout.  During the entire time I fished near a spinner fisherman and he too would only find one trout.  And, Chris Adams was fishing and Chris only found one trout. 

I guess the lack of willing trout is due to only one stocking and heavy, heavy pressure on this area.  More and more people are choosing the wilderness areas because of it is such a beautiful open area. 

On the way back to my prairie home I decided to stop and take a look at Blue's little sister Pennington Creek.  Pennington is faring good like Blue, but, not her usual self and again it is due to the drought this past year. 

The weather is fixing to change.  Forecasters are calling for heavy rain Monday and Tuesday and the river's complexion may change. 

Another Big Hole - Fewer Drops Of Water

There are enough big holes being currently dug in the southern part of the prairie ocean wide... and now, it looks like there may be another. 

This past week, Arbuckle Aggregates LLC along with representatives from the Oklahoma Department of Mines held an informal meeting in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.  Arbuckle Aggregates has applied for a permit to mine 575 acres near Mill Creek, Oklahoma. 

At the meeting, and according to local news sources, one lady that opposed the permit stood up and spoke up.  In regards to the mining permit being approved she declared that the establishment of another rock mining facility in the Mill Creek area would be "a premeditated crime against the environment." 

I have to agree.

Last weekend, on the trail to the river Blue, I couldn't help but notice the activity that was going on at the present mining operations atop the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer.  The sand, gravel, rock and boulders are piled so high they have formed mesas.  Unnatural mesas because they don't belong along this landscape - unnatural mesas because they are desecrating the natural landscape.

Their giant claws dig deeper and deeper, scalping the top of the well springs, flooding their own pits, then those pits have to be de-watered. De-watered is synonymous with waste.

Of course at this meeting that was held, the mining company was well represented with their legal staff, ducks in a row, i's dotted, t's crossed. And, the Department of Mines was represented, metaphorically holding up a sign that read "Don't shoot the messenger."  Of course the Department of Mines live by a mandated existence full of proper procedures.

Let's just shoot the messenger... and the mining company too, but not with bullets, but rather a good dose of a passage of a new law that says enough drilling has been done, and there will be no more near this sole source aquifer.

If we fail, then this lush south sea of the prairie ocean great... may very well become a desert.   At high risk are Mill Creek, Pennington Creek, and the river Blue.