On The River Blue Video Ready To Raise Funds

The video project is finally done and in the next couple of nights all the video jewel boxes will be graced with the DVD front and back covers.

This project started as a pilot project and as that usually goes... we that were involved directly in the project realized there were some problems. However, all in all the completed project turned out quite well.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of this video will go to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife for use at Blue River.

The effort, time involved, and cost of making this video comes about by three members of the Blue River Fly Fishers, their friends, and family. Now, we are seeing more members of the Blue River Fly Fishers coming forth with their monetary support in purchasing the video. It's a good collaboration.

The video entitled "On The River Blue - Six Great Trout Flies", will be available for sale at Scotty's Blue River One Stop for fifteen dollars. Or, you can purchase one through this blog by contacting fishingcowboyblue@yahoo.com Shipping charges will be added however.

The Blue River Fly Fishers hope to raise between $1,000.00 and $1,200.00 for the Wildlife Department.

On The Vise

In the last three to four weeks I've been on the vise more than in the previous six months which seems like a shame to me.

Each year I seem to loose the awareness of what brings me so much pleasure, giving into the demands of the workplace which sucks at times. And that is the shame of it for me.

I got back on the vise as a result of fly angler Kevin Harris and his suggestion for a fly swap. I tied up a dozen or fourteen (I think) scud patterns for that swap.

Then came a deal between myself and Blue River fly fisher Michael Mercurio for some size 18 scuds and finally got that done. Those puppies were trying I tell you.



Seasons back I would try and tie ten to twenty flies a night but these days I go at it at a much slower and more relaxing pace. I'll tie four, five, maybe six flies and when my back begins to nag and my eyes begin to cross, I simply walk away from the vise. A lot of things these days seem to be going slower for me and you know...it's okay - I kinda like it this way.



Currently I'm working on some buggers...yellow split tails to be exact which have been the one bugger pattern that has yet to not produce well each and every time. After the yellow split tails, I'll tie black buggers and for some reason black is always hard for me to tie - something about my eyesight I guess.

The Robust River

Lady Blue had a louder and more robust voice today. She meant to be heard and seen and for me it was an extreme pleasure to see her as vibrant as she was today.

At the end of Area 2, Miss Carol and I stepped out of the prairie schooner with camera in hand and walked to the edge of Blue. There we simply stood for awhile and listened to the rush of the water and admiring the power this sweet lady was showing off today.

I haven't been this excited about the beginning of trout season in a long time. Seeing the river and how she is currently tells me that the flow of Blue this year is going to be rather good. Without looking at any streamflow data or stuff like that I would speculate that Blue's flow was twice it's normal flow for this time of year. When judging this river's vibrancy I go by familiar landmarks and many of those today were simply out of sight.



With the exception of one other visitor who was preparing to leave, Miss Carol and I were the only souls in Area 2 today. Area 2 was wide open and looking ever so inviting. Many of the trees have started the changing of colors and soon will put on a remarkable display of an Autumn stage production.



We stopped next at the crossing and immediately I noticed that the apex of Indicator Rock was barely breaking the surface film of the rushing water which told me not to cross. I guess there was a good chance I could have made it across the crossing but these days I'm not such a brave soul as I once was, especially when I'm sober (which I was today), and particularly when Miss Carol is with me in the schooner. So...we sailed on downstream to Area 1.


At Autumn Rose Falls the Blue was really projecting her voice, emanating all directions from this plunge pool.


A little further downstream was my beloved seventeen and it was thrilling to see seventeen full to the brim with none of the tombstone topography showing as has been in recent years. Whether seventeen will remain like this is for the most part unlikely, but hopefully she will not look like the bone yard of seasons past.

Our trip to Blue today only made me long to be with river even more than I have been for months now. It's going to be a wonderful trout season at Blue.

Getting Ready For The Season Of Rainbows

On the prairie ocean each October there is a flurry of activity in the fly-fishing community as we try and get ready for the approaching season of Rainbows.

Trout season officially opens at Blue River on November 1st.

Yours truly has been busy on the vise trying to tie up some scuds for Merc in a trade deal we made. Merc is bringing me some special mayfly emerger patterns for the size 18 scud patterns I'm tying for him. Damn...I never realized size 18 scud hooks are as small as they are and I've had a heck of a time getting five different materials tied on that small hook. To get a dozen I'm going to have to tie twenty because some simply will not pass.



Last weekend I realized there were a number of things I needed for this trout season so Miss Carol and I hopped in the prairie schooner and drove to the closest fly shop which is Bass Pro in Oklahoma City.

Now a lot of people in the fly-fishing world may not like White River Fly Shops but for this simpleton they have the basics of what I need.

I'll have to say the customer service was great at the fly shop this time around. A young man approached me and asked what I needed. I simply said "GPX WF5 floating." This guy immediately turned around and grabbed exactly what I asked for.


I grabbed a few other things including some tying hooks, split shot, and tying thread. That was about all I gathered up but still didn't get out of Bass Pro less than two-hundred dollars. You see Miss Carol has her own likings.


Bass Pro was extremely crowded this particular weekend and if a fellar didn't know better he would of thought it was Christmas time. I don't know what the deal was but people were shopping everywhere which is good news for Bass Pro I guess.


Miss Carol and I watched them feed the fish in the aquarium and then we made our exit.

Soon as I got home I realized I forgot to get the dadgum bead heads I had on my list. Oh well...that means we'll have to plan another trip to Bass Pro. Dog-gone the luck.

Scuds For The Fly Swap

With the reunion of the Conclave of the Big Ass Campfire Brotherhood on Blue River coming up on October 31st and November 1st, Ada fly-fisher Kevin Harris suggested a fly-swap. Upon reading Kevin's suggestion I knew I was in. In trying to decide what pattern to tie I realized that standard patterns of buggers, pheasant tails, and hare's ears were commonplace. So the scud pattern was selected as an offering.



Scuds, fresh water shrimp, or whatever you want to call them are prevalent in rivers and rich lake waters. The way I have it figured...scuds are a delicacy for fish so with me it only stands to reason this pattern will produce.


Pictured above is my dozen scud patterns that will be swapped at the Conclave. Hope they produce for the fly-fisher that gets them.

Bittersweet

I was hoping that today I could start my smallmouth expedition on Blue River but the fact is I simply chose a bad day. To begin with my time today was short and secondly the wind was still quite brutal. Now the wind today was nothing compared to yesterday with reported gusts of seventy miles-per-hour across the prairie ocean. But still, the wind was enough to make one uncomfortable and casting difficult.

Knowing all these facts full well I still decided to go and give it a shot because today would be my only chance this week of searching for the community of bass in Blue.

Actually it could have been a very nice day today with the sun shining brightly. The Dogwoods and Redbuds were in full blossom so I guess I can't bitch too much.



I entered the river with smallmouth on my mind and even had the proper fly tied on to find them and in this case it was a white streamer tied with cactus chenille. I must have made fifty casts or so without even so much of a bite and the long story short is I did not find a single smallmouth or any other species of bass today. I did see one nice bass circling my legs while standing in Glory Hole. For the most part the bass seemed uninterested and mainly annoyed at my presence. I must have invaded his lie and he wanted me gone. So...I moved downstream.


Downstream I made a single cast and something attacked it. I was sure I had connected with a nice bass and then the fish showed itself from a distance and I was still sure it was a nice bass. But then I noticed how unremarkable the fight was for a fish this size hooked downstream and being fought against the current. The fish seemed letarghic in the fight and this led me to believe it was a Rainbow that had started to feel the effects of the warming water. The water was indeed warm today and I know this because I fell in.

Indeed it was bow and it was a nice one. I brought the fish to hand and immediately found myself torn as to what to do with the fish. I knew very well it was much too late in the season to let the fish go. I also knew that a Rainbow this size simply doesn't have the flavor as a smaller bow, in my opinion, and I don't care to partake in them.

I harvested this bow and since she's too big for the dinner table and honestly not big enough for the wall I figure she's still on her way to Texas and Rusty Ponder's taxidermy shop. Rusty will do a good job with her.

I didn't want this bow, and giving her life for my enjoyment, to go unnoticed. I'll spend two-hundred dollars to have her mounted and during my remaining days I'll showcase her and hope that her life will be a testimony to the rewards of angling. After I'm gone perhaps my children or grandchildren can take charge of this bow and they too can showcase the rewards that angling can bring.

I hope this bow today will be the last I catch this season.

It was a bittersweet moment.

In Search Of The Smallmouth - Part 1

This April, May, and June I fully intend to start an extensive and hopefully successful search for the smallmouth that reside in Blue River. I'd planned on beginning this weekend but the wind Gods decided otherwise blowing their steely breath at thrity to forty miles per hour. So, I stayed home and chose part of my arsenal that I will use in my smallmouth expeditions.



Ralph James gave me this fly just this week while we were attending the Wildlife Department's annual get-together at Blue River. Ralph hasn't given it a name as far as I know so for the time being I'm going to call it the Green Sunfish Fry because that is what it reminds me of. Although my photograph doesn't do it justice this is a nicely tied fly and to me it looks like it's going to produce many moments of fishing excitement.



For the larger smallmouth I have high hopes for this fly I call the Bass Buster. It's a beauty of a fly and I can see someone using this fly for stripers in Lake Texoma but I'll be fishing it at Blue.



Ahh the Clouser, one of the world's most famous flies and one that has produced for me in the past. Most certainly I'll be tying this on each outing.



It only makes sense to have a pattern designed after the smallmouth's favorite delicacy which in Blue is the crawdad or crayfish as some would say. This is a heavy metal fly tied so the hook point is up while drifting through the current. It's proved to be a killer fly in the past. This fly is tied mainly with Pheasant Tail fibers along with a little antron for dubbing and gold ribbing. Very simple tie it is.



Poppers are my favorite tool to use in my search for smallmouth and that probably goes back to the days when I was a kid. As a kid I was absolutely fascinated with poppers and collected them like other kids collected baseball cards. To this day I still hold my childhood fancy for the popper.

I plan on starting my smallmouth expedition at the extreme end of Area 1 and work my way upstream hopefully to the end of the Catch and Release area. I'll be covering six and a half miles of river as far as the crow flies. However, if I fish each braid, fork, run, pool, and pocket I most likely will cover twice as many miles.

I hope to start my search this coming weekend...if the weather permits.

The Mini-Museum Grows

Over the years the spare bedroom in my prairie home has become a mini-museum dedicated to the fly-fishing world. This past week another friend of mine named Melissa brought me yet another addition to my museum. Her gift came in the form of a tin of Cortland 333 fly-line cleaner. I sent out some feelers to see if other fly-fishers could help me date this piece and I did find out that Cortland started selling their 333 fly-line in 1953. Anyhow I'm posting the following picture in hopes that others can add more input in answering the question on my mind about this latest museum piece.



In my prairie home museum I have more than I know what to do with. On the wall is a dollar bill in a zip-loc bag. It was a dollar bill I found floating in Rock Creek while fly-fishing for smallmouth. Over at the fly-tying tool bench there is a set of Rainbow trout coasters. Leaning up against the north wall is an Eagle Claw Trailmaster ZLII 600 Travel Pack Rod that has never been out of it's case. Over on the old television that is of no use these days are sets of flies given to me by friends such as Michael Mercurio, Ralph James, Chris Adams, and Chuck Kaminski.

I guess it would be safe to say that someone that didn't fly-fish would say that my museum is just a "junk" room. But to me...it's priceless treasure.

Maybe someday I can have a building built to display all my treasure for the rest of the world to enjoy.

Barry