For the first time in a few months I had a fishing buddy with me. The fact that the buddy was my wife had me smiling all day. My wife hasn’t gotten out as much as she wanted in her first 6 months of picking up the fly rod and had never landed a trout successfully until last weekend. After a few hints about how to better play the first few fish she lost, she began to out fish me until early evening.
Everything came together for her really well this weekend, especially her casting, and throughout our adventure I found myself not paying attention to my drift as much as I should have, I seem to have a wandering eye for the wife. Not a lot of big numbers were caught but it was a solid outing for us both. I caught a pristine wild trout that had some great coloring, a far departure from our normal stockers. I wish we had gotten a close up of the fish, but I let it get away a little too fast. It will be interesting to see what the wild fish look like in a few months, and while I am not catching a wild fish every trip to the Lower Illinois, it is becoming a more frequent occurrence.
The obligatory underwater shot:
I tried some of the new Thingamabobber indicators this weekend. I think they would do well with some of the heavier rigs I can envision using, but I really didn’t like the weight on my 4wt setup and it was difficult casting with a stiff wind.
January 14th, 2008
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
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 didn’t end up fishing the Blue very much last year due to various reasons. It was nice to get some quality time on the water, but alas my faithful Canon Digital Elph is finally deciding to quit on me. After several mild wet incidents on the river while riding in my pack, the battery doesn’t seem to hold a good charge. Thursday night I got in a little night fishing as I was late getting to the river after eating a bit too much and taking an unintended snooze. I took out the Canon to get some pictures of some river otters following me down river, but alas the camera wouldn’t turn on.
The river otters seem to be new to the Blue and are quite cute, but I tried to keep my distance. They made a huge splash reminiscent of a beaver that scared the hell out of me on my carp flat, and ever since then I try to avoid large rodents. They seemed quite interested in my fly fishing; every time I would turn around I would see a pair of red eyes bobbing up and down in the light of my head lamp. Friday morning I saw a nice sized catfish dead on a sand bar with a huge gash on its back. I suppose the otters are picky and are taking advantage of the huge amounts of trout in the water. I mentioned this on the Blue River group and heard the ODWC is working to expand the river otters back into their range.
While Thursday night was a bust, Friday and Saturday ended up being pretty good fishing. I really try to avoid fishing within 30ft or 40ft of people I don’t know. I like to give people their space, while I don’t really adhere to the low holing principle on the Blue and will go only 100ft or so downstream of another fly angler. There are a ton of spin/bait fisherman there to catch their stringer and they need their room too. Especially cause I hate arguing with them. I know a lot of folks seem to not like the Blue due to the traffic, but if you’re willing to hit up Area 2 and hike you can always find some water to yourself. After catching a few fish in the high traffic area I moved to Area 2 and had terrible luck. I try not to fish buggers on the Blue because I never have problems catching fish, but as I worked my way back to the trail I couldn’t catch a single fish on an olive bugger. I know some spin anglers upstream did well so maybe the trout just haven’t spread out as much as I am used to.
While Friday was slow, it seemed no one wanted to fish Saturday and Area 1 was pretty clear of anglers fly fishing, so I had a nice area I had never really fished hard all to myself. After fishing some nice riffles and picking up lots of stockers I found some nice areas for sight fishing. The Blue has a very interesting topology of very deep pools encased in jagged rock. I have never seen the Blue quite as low as it was this weekend and this allowed for some great sight fishing opportunities. I played with my indicator depth a lot and worked on controlling my depth with some high stick nymphing. It was nice to get to do this at relatively close range and watch for the strikes instead of focusing on my indicator. I caught a ton of fish and while it wasn’t a huge challenge I got in some good practice for more difficult conditions. I feel a little bad about the time I spent in the area above the Islands, but I know no spin fisherman were going to fish the area, and most of the other fly fisherman I saw and talked to upstream were catching big numbers as well. I waved for gentleman to come down, but he either didn’t see me or thought I was an ass. My arm ended up getting a little sore due to the cold, so I stopped fishing when I saw a nice 18”+ rainbow.
This is the first time I have had the chance to sight fish on the Blue and it was a blast only getting 10 drifts at the same fish for a 2 hour period. After losing the fish for a while I decided it was time to go, but I peered in one of the pools she had favored earlier in our encounters and see her bullying around the tiny stockers. I end up doing a quick back track and make a wide 50ft loop around her back side to get in a good position 20ft or so away. I make good cast upstream, but this pool has a really toothy rock in it that I had gotten snagged on 3 or 4 times earlier and so when my indicator dips and I set the hook it feels like another hang up. I strip in about 3 ft of line while taking a step towards the fish to get a better view and I see her take off. I really wasn’t ready for it and didn’t have good pressure on the fish, so I was loosing from the start. This area of water has some nice pools, but all are surrounded by very shallow water. As quickly as I had realized I had actually caught the big fish I had lost it. I am use to fighting big carp and know what I did wrong, but I think I will switch to 5x the next time I decide to chase one of these stocker pigs in these circumstances. It started to sleet as my expletive rang through Area 1 and I knew it was time to pick up the family and head back home.
Due to the area I live in, every time I get to trout fish I can’t bemoan the fact I am catching stockers and need to try and make the most of my opportunity. Fishing the Blue is always fun and I hope the new catch and release area due to open this January provides some interesting opportunities. As my wife always likes to say, “It’s the water, stupid.” No matter what kind of fishing you’re doing, relishing the opportunity is far more important than what or how you are catching them. I wasn’t a good fly tyer this trip, but the Bird’s Nest is quickly becoming the fly I tie on before I put on my waders. I am not sure how true to form I tying it, but it works well and it has been coming through in a big way. 18” rainbows agree that it’s a killer pattern. I will get to return to the Blue around Christmas, and my wife will for sure come through for Christmas and a shiny new Pentax Optio W30 will be under the tree. When I am wading alone I hate carrying the DSLR with me. I really admire some of the work my friends do, but the amount of staging needed as well as the bulk of carrying a tripod is just too much since I fish by myself and am not looking to be published. I really want to capture some and great images and wish my wife was up to fishing this weekend, but I am sad to say her neck was giving her some grief. I hope to get a friend new to the sport out for the first time fly fishing on the next stop on the Oklahoma Trout Extravaganza, Quartz Mountain. Quartz Mountain is described as not the prettiest Trout Stream, but it’s the water, stupid. We will see if that holds true.
November 26th, 2007
This summer was a pretty good one for me as I was able to get out more than ever and work on my casting accuracy as well as my presentation from 30 feet and beyond. I still have a long way to go, but setting a few goals at the beginning of the summer has brought me to the point where I am always fishing with an agenda. I don’t mean to sound like fishing isn’t fun or that I am trying to prove something, but every time I pick up a rod now I have firm goals that I want to accomplish.
Last Friday I decided it was the time for trout with my kids leaving for the night to stay with in-laws. I begged the wife to come, but alas she wanted to get some sleep after a long week. So I called my mother and told her I was heading to her cabin in the morning and to be ready to go at 7AM. I am lucky to have parents that have a place within spitting distance of one of our two year round trout streams in Oklahoma. Even if I am not going to stay the night I will drive for 2 hours and pick up my mom as I love fishing with her and love help putting her on fish.
Mom catching a trout on a fly was first on the agenda. She has caught some fish on a fly, even a Fresh Water Drum, but for some reason the trout had escaped her olive bugger. The outing previous to this one she had some bites, but was really getting the feel for nymphing and wasn’t able to put it all together. This weekend she did great. She got her drifts just right and while she can’t cast to the runs from 40 feet away like I tend to do she can work her way up to a good run and fish it pretty well now. The result was several missed fish, a few that got off, and finally her first trout on a fly:
I can’t wait until I make it out there in a few weeks. I think she might start to catch as many fish as I do on the Lower Illinois. I love the section of river we were fishing and it is easy for my mom to get around on without much fuss or difficult wading. The one thing that she doesn’t like is the immense amount of these beasts in the water:
You have to watch where you step in this section of the river or you might find yourself slipping on a 40”+ long nose gar. Unfortunately fishing for the gar hasn’t been the agenda as the biggest stick I have is a 6wt. That and I really want to have a waterproof Optio so I get some of those swanky underwater shots all the cool kids post these days. I plan to target the gar very soon and will report back with the results, but until then I need to decide if I can going to go with rope flies or not. On each of my last two trips I have hooked a gar with a nymph. My precious 4wt bends hard and the line starts to zip out giving my trigger finger a bit of line burn. The first time I got about a one minute fight out of the fish and I saw its huge spotted tail break surface a few times. It was a pretty big fish, but I am not an IGFA guy so landing a long nose gar that weighed 10+ pounds on 6x tippet isn’t really a skill I have down. This last outing I got the familiar short fight, but this time the gar was nice enough to give me back my fly. Of course I didn’t check my rig at all before casting again and I promptly broke off what must have been the largest rainbow I had hooked on the Lower Illinois.
Since I had gotten my most important agenda item off the list, getting my mom on a trout, I was able to really focus in on my personal goals for the trip. I recently read Active Nymphing by Rich Ostoff and have been trying to take a few things from the book to the water every time I fish (thanks to The Tennesee Valley Angler for mentioning this great book). While I am not employing Ostoff’s techniques on every cast I am branching out from my standard flies and dead drifting techniques. I have a go-to nymph I have been using this past year that has been a great producer on our Oklahoma tailwaters, but I went ahead tied up some of Ostoff’s Soft Hackle Woolly Worms and rigged it up per Osthoff’s suggestions. I began fishing spots a little bit differently trying to move the fly around rocks and objects both upstream and downstream. I still have a lot to learn about actually executing well on the water, but what I really got from the book more than anything is a different way of looking at the water and fishing it more effectively. Next time I go out I will be trying an even more Ostoff approach by going out on my own and really trying to cover 3+ miles of water in a day throwing a woolly worm in lots of interesting lies looking for big fish. I know there are some nice browns in the Lower Illinois and hopefully the hack and slash mentality Ostoff brings to fishing will serve me well.
Last on my agenda was to capture a picture of a wild rainbow in the Lower Illinois. I have never read anything about spawning in the Lower Illinois, but on the trip before this last one I am sure I caught a wild rainbow trout that was around 5” long. There is no hatchery on the river so we don’t have fish escaping and I have heard no fish with parr marks are released. It’s not unheard of for there to be spawning rainbows in Oklahoma, the wild trout in the Lower Mountain Fork are well known and I have lots of great pictures showing off their stunning colors. I wasn’t able to hook up with any young ones this trip to the Lower Illinois, but hopefully on my next trip I will find one hiding behind the same rock as I did a few weeks ago.
Fishing with an agenda isn’t about catching numbers of fish or even large fish. Going to the river with a plan in mind and trying to accomplish a few things such as improving your tuck cast, catching fish on a few different flies, or fishing some lies you wouldn’t normally try, and imparting a little action on the flies are great ways to improve your skills. This last summer I was able to set some concrete goals and while it will be some time before I reach my goals, I think I have become a much better fisherman. In the past I was always concerned about catching fish and I never really contemplated my attack on the water. It would have been a crappy day had I been skunked, but being able to go out, put my mom on a fish, and further my fishing abilities made this trip really rewarding.
October 8th, 2007