There was nothing spectacular was caught on this trip and overall the fishing was slow, but fish were caught, and they were trout. I did catch this one interesting fish. Should I feel bad for something I just stuck with a hook? I think I did feel for this fish:
I am not sure if a bigger fish got to this one or if he had a stocking accident, but I wish him the best of luck since he is at least eating.
Other than that fish this was really an outing to play with my new toys. I tried out the yellow lenses in my Smiths. Wow is all I can say. I lost track of time and didn’t realize how dark it was getting because everything looked so bright. The vision it gave me into the water was phenomenal given the conditions. The wading jacket worked better than I expected, but I am a sucker for anything with pit zips. I got rained on some and I was dry and warm all day. I think the best aspect of a wading jacket is being able to reach into the water if needed and not worry about getting soaked. I need to practice with my composition, but I did get one ok shot:
I like the reflection aspect of this shot, but I suppose I will get the angles right eventually. I didn’t really fish hard and I didn’t cover much area, but getting out is what is important. It took me a while to find the right fly this time. I went through about 6 before finding the right one, a play on a flashback pheasant tail I tied a few years ago. It was kind odd that it took me so long to find something that worked as I know all of the holes really well in the section and know I was fishing the right depth. I saw a lot of risers that teased me into rigging up a dry fly with an emerger tailing off of it. This is a combination I can’t seem to get right on the Lower Illinois. I am going to actually tie up a few things and see if I can actually land one of the larger browns I have seen hitting the top. Maybe it will yield some better than average fish.
December 27th, 2007
As Christmas day rolls around I always find myself on the Blue River. This is prime time for combat fishing for stringers and while that is not appealing to many, it is appealing to my nostalgic side, especially since it is Christmas. The Blue is where I first tossed a fly line and returning there every year during this time is something that feels really good. This year is a little different and we came back instead of staying a few nights. I am quite depressed about not getting the wife out on the Blue for her very first time, but she knows I need to get out and would probably wake up at 5 to kick my ass out the door else she would have to deal with a moppie prick all day.
Tomorrows elements should be better than my last outing and hopefully the catching will be better. I may sacrifice some comfort for some underwater shots with the new camera. I look forward to seeing if wading jackets are all they are cracked up to be as mine should get it’s first downpour in some brutal cold.
December 25th, 2007
Nature is a bitch. A mean and cruel and harsh bitch.
I suppose after so many trout sessions without getting blanked it was bound to happen, even to a guy like me. I was not skunked, but this is all I have to show for freezing my ass off.
So I got up a little later than I usually do to go trout fishing, but by 7 or so I was heading west towards altus and the North Fork of the Red River. I wish I drove past the exit and towards Colorado, New Mexico, anywhere but where I was heading. When I had read that this fishery “Isn’t the Prettiest Trout Stream” I had some pretty low expectations. Western Oklahoma is primarily flat prairie, but tucked in the southwest are a fair number of these:
When I get there it is starting to spit freezing rain and it is in the high 20s and the wind is kicking, thank god I brought my 6wt. As I arrive I see a few bait guys head out from their truck. When I finished bundling up for the elements and switched my new Smiths to the roseish lenses, I see all of the anglers return saying they had caught their one. I went ahead and bet that my best shot was close the the dam; I was kind of chickening out I suppose, but if it got too windy I wanted to have one trout in the bag because what I was looking at was the most featureless river I had ever seen. Loving the new boots I set stride for the dam.
I will generally start off with nymphing if I can, and today was no exception. I don’t mind fishing with buggers, but I do that all of the time for all sorts of fish. Nymphing is one of my favorite things to do, but I know I can always retreat to a bugger if needed. I realized as I stepped into the water that I soon would be switching to a bugger as there was really no flow whatsoever to the water I was standing in. Not only that but I couldn’t wade out more that 20 or so feet from the shore, and I could only do that in 2 places I had found. “Not the prettiest” is an apt way to describe this river, let alone in reference to a trout stream.
After about 20 casts of my nymph rig, and the indicator seeming to drift up stream due to the wind, I relent and put on a bugger. The river is dead and because of an early fall my gloves are toast and I wonder why didn’t I ask for some glacier gloves for Christmas. After an hour and half of pulling buggers in water that all looked the same, I decide it is time to warm up and see if the things are a little different down stream.
When I get there I see some locals under a bridge fishing a big pool, the whole thing is a damn pool actually, so I figure this might be a good spot. I would put up with the lack of solitude for a trout at this point. As I stand on the dam I cast everywhere above and below the dam and only get the a fore mentioned bluegill. As I am fishing a few more guys fishing power bait show up and actually catch a few fish each. So at least I know there are trout here, but why the hell can’t I catch one on a bugger? As it got colder, I got sick of the constant de-icing of my guides. I would have put up with it if I was catching fish, but it was getting tedious doing this every 5 casts. It was time to change gears. I am a lazy fly tyer and generally only have a handful of patterns I tend to fish and always have one or two new things. I have never fished a San Juan Worm or any egg patterns so I never have had to carry them. I really wish I had something, anything, that wasn’t your standard nymph pattern. I tie on my usual killer fly, an indicator, and some weight, already knowing I was completely defeated and I knowing I would have to return sometime soon to avenge myself with a better arsenal of flies.
Nature, and the stockers, kicked my ass this weekend, but I did get to play with all my new toys on the water. I love my new wading gear.. The new Pentax W30 preformed better than I expected given the low light conditions, but I didn’t get to try the underwater feature. Maybe after I get some new gloves.
December 23rd, 2007
I got some really nice clothing, both fishing and none, new shades, and a new camera tonight. I really cleaned up, but I think my favorite gift has to be a picture from Fish Eye Guy Photography of a Brook trout. The better half really surprised me with that one. It is going to go great in the office above the fly tying desk that will one day sit there.
I am am heading to “Not the Prettiest Trout Stream” tomorrow and hope to have some pics of it. I am not sure what to expect, but it has been a few weeks since I have gotten on the water so I can’t wait. Oh yeah, I need to tie up some flies.
December 21st, 2007
I found a nice deal on some new boots and went ahead and got them. I asked around, and it seems the new Simms boots aren’t coming out until February, and I would like to get my wife into some better boots (my old L2s) since I hope she will get out on the water a few times over the upcoming break.
Since I was in the mood to spend some money, I went ahead and did my usual Google pounding to see if I could find a deal on some waders. I have seen lots of great deals on waders for the last month, and stock is dwindling so it was time to buy. Once again I came down to deciding if I wanted to go down the Cloudveil route or not. Due to the upcoming model changes, you can get some killer Cloudveils for as little as two hundred bucks. I have heard mixed things about them, but some guides swear by them and will go on and on about how durable they are. However, I like to roll down the tops on my waders for a lot of the water I fish, and I think the bulk of the pocket and accoutrements would just get in the way.
My decision came down to the L2 or the 2007 Guide model. I think the light weight of the L2s would be nice, but during the summer I tend to wet wade, so having really light waders isn’t all that big of a concern. I ended up getting the Guides as I think the extra durability will pay off with the beating I plan to put on these waders over the next few years. I am thankful to finally be getting waders with built in gravel guards. The options at the big box store before my last trip were the Simms velcro ones I keep losing, the over priced guide models, or some cheap Hodgmans that velcro (and I would lose). I learned on my last trip that guards are helpful and all for keeping crap out of your boots, but more importantly they act as a guard against your fly line. Never again will I fish without gravel guards.
Once again I escaped from paying retail. I suppose the hunt for bargains is half of the fun, but with as much gear as I have been buying every little bit I save will mean I can spend more. I will be saving close to $120.00 on the waders, but they go for more than what I am paying on eBay. Perhaps I will come out with a little feed of deals I come across when looking for my own gear. Forums and Google trump eBay any day when I am searching for a deal.
December 15th, 2007
The Lower Illinois is definitely the ugly stepchild of Oklahoma’s year-round trout waters. For some reason it doesn’t get as much traffic as the Lower Mountain Fork, and people really only get excited about the striper fishing on the Lower Illinois. In fact the bait chuckers will catch a limit of stockers and use them as bait down river as the stripers love them. I should be grateful the Lower Illinois can always provide fishing with solitude. Don’t get me wrong, I hate the generation schedule, especially during the summer, but for all its faults it has a lot to offer for being so close to Oklahoma City.
I drove up on my usual starting point at 7:45am to find another car, damn, at least it’s in the mid 40s and I am not freezing my ass off like I expected. The other anglers that beat me to the spot were heading down stream so I started in at the hole I always hit when leaving the water. This is my “one more fish hole” and it never disappoints. On the 4th drift I lay into something big, not Long Nose Gar big, but for sure not your average trout for these waters. After a little tangling I finally see the fish’s back. It’s a huge - well, biggest I have seen in these waters - brown. Seeing as how my last trip I had a knack for losing big fish, I compose my self and start working the fish making sure to do all the right things and not something stupid. It takes a while but finally I bring the fish to my net and stare down at this big, beautiful, hook-jawed male. I fish more than your average angler, not as much as I would like of course, and I fish for trout a third or more of that time. I have caught a lot of trout, but I don’t think I have ever caught a trout this big, and if even I had none of them had such brilliant colors as this one.
A brown trout is a special thing in Oklahoma, since only two of our rivers have them. I have heard anglers complain about how hard they are to catch (they are stocked in far less numbers), but I have never seemed to have a problem and will get a least one on every trip. I decided to forgo making some new friends on the Blue so I could catch a big brown, and I am so glad I won’t regret my decision. I do regret not having a camera with me, but that issue will be solved in a few weeks, or so I hear.
The rest of the day was filled with mostly average fish for the Lower Illinois, but it really wouldn’t have mattered at that point. I could have packed up and headed home and I would have had the same smile no matter how many more fish I had caught. I got to do some exploring and see a lot of potential for night fishing in a few places and can’t wait to try it.
December 8th, 2007
I have been trying to decide where to lay it down this weekend since my children will be away with their grandparents. I had thought about going to the Blue because there will be lots of people from the forum I could meet, but I think I will be less gregarious and go to the Lower Illinois to find some browns. I will probably hit my normal spot in the Watt’s area in the morning and then work my way down to Marvel’s by the afternoon.
I wish I had someone to go with, but being able to fish hard and fast will hopefully yield some better than average fish for the Lower Illinois. I suppose I will need to tie some flies this evening and make a run to the big box store for some sink putty and 5x. I just wish they had super hair so I could tie up some of those swanky midges I have seen that use knot sense, but their selection of non-generic tying items blows.
It’s going to be cold here in OK tomorrow, but having a whole day to fish with no interruptions will be a nice break after a busy week.
December 7th, 2007
There has been a lot of talk about tippet rings over the last few years as the European influence and styles have infiltrated our shores. Tippet Rings made MidCurrent’s Christmas list and I might just have to pick some up after researching them a little more. Many times when having moderate success with a rig I won’t change it up because I just don’t want to take the time, but maybe the tippet rings will make that process a little quicker. Even if they don’t save me time, the fact that I won’t have to worry about changing my leader during the day because I chopped it up is a good thing. Also, not having to worry about tying disparate tippet and leader sizes together is a nice bonus and may lead to some interesting rigs.
December 4th, 2007