Too Lovely To Litter

Last trout season the Blue River Fly Fishers took on a project suggested by Matt Gamble, area manager of Blue River.  The project is called Too Lovely To Litter and it's an anti-littering effort.  If you're new to Blue River and are not familiar with this project here is a short video that explains how it works.  You'll have to excuse the video please and keep in mind I was out of breath after a long hike and also dying for a cold beer.

Trout Season In Review

Trout season at Blue River is slowly winding down.  March 31st is the official end of the season, but the bows will remain for sometime.  It has been one of the better trout seasons in my memory.  With that being said, a look back at the season is in order.

On November 1st, the opening day of trout season, the Blue River Fly Fishers held their annual get-together on Blue.  This seasons crowd was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, annual events we ever had.  Several new faces came to Blue and we were delighted to meet people like Deborah Noble, Michael Underwood, and Steve Wolf.  These new folk added to the wonderful weave and blend of our fly fishing family.  The food was awesome, as the fellowship, and we even got in a little fishing time.

 

On November 1st, we decided to take on the "Too Lovely To Litter" project on Blue River as suggested by Matt Gamble.  We needed six sponsorships to pay for the signs on the litter stations and in less than five minutes we had those six sponsors.  That speaks to the great stewardship that exists in our family on Blue River. Chris Adams volunteered to build the stations and in less than two months the entire project was up and finished.  I believe the message the litter stations send has made a difference in the amount of trash we find on the river.  The south wilderness is amazingly clean and even around Hughes Crossing it's difficult to find trash like we have for so many years.  No, the project is not perfect, but it's a great start in our effort to have a pristine Blue river.

 

 

 

The quality of trout we had this past season was certainly something to write home about.  The wildlife department presented us with some very nice presents in the shape and form of 16 to 24 inch trout mixed in with the regular stockers.  There wasn't any shortage of trout to fish for this season and early in the season we received a bonus stocking, which added to the inventory of trout.

 

 

The Blue River Fly Classic came to fruition on February 22nd.  48 contestants signed up for the event with 44 able to actually compete in the event.  The first one pattern event we had drew 31 contestants, and the second drew 37.  So, we do have growth in this event and we fully expect it to grow over the years.  The Classic was more than a fly fishing competition. We had a grand time, entertainment, fantastic food, and just plain fun.  There were some awesome items that were raffled and when it was all said and done the event raised $2600.00 for the wildlife department.  The funds raised this year could very well go to a project that could add a couple of more stocking points than we have now.  Nothing official, but we'll know next trout season. Scott Dittner took first place in the Classic, Dan Ham finished a close second, and Jamie Reed took third in a tie-breaker situation.

 

From left to right - Walker Hairston, Steve Swenson, Byron Dowd, Chad Yoas

 

Scott Dittner

 

Dan Ham

 

Jamie Reed

 

And lastly, the elite Blue River Redhorse Sucker Club grew by two members... that we know of.  This season we added Chris Adams and Dan Ham to the ranks of the club.  Certainly the membership to the Redhorse Sucker Club will continue to grow and maybe... just maybe, I can catch one of those darn things. 

 

Redhorse Sucker caught by Dan Ham.

 

 

It's been a wonderful trout season.  

 

 

 

 

 







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.