Blue River Anglers Winter Lodgings Deal in Sulphur OK

An offer for discount lodgings near the Blue (for those of you who want to spend a few days in comfort).

Blue River Fly Fishers,
I'm a new participant, I've monitored and enjoyed your communique for several years. I'm impressed with the knowledge and fellowship of your group. I've fished the Blue for many years and, like you, appreciate her beauty and innocence. Most recently I've focused on the new catch and release area and I am excited about it's potential. But, I fear for the Blue's future as the flow dwindles with each new year.

Still, I want to extend to all of you a welcome and a warm place to stay when fishing the Blue. I have a small Inn in Sulphur, http://www.sulphurspringsinn.com, just 25 minutes from the Blue. Winter is a down period, so I'm extending to all of you a place to stay for all fly fishers at the reduced rate of $60 per night from November through February. We'll provide a warm bed, breakfast, good conversation and tying vise if desired.

Tight lines,
Charlie Wright
580-622-5930

Powder Painting Bead Chain

Buddy Price came up with a great process for coloring bead chain eyes! With no further adieu, the video:

You Always Tip The Pilot Well

I confess that I've been lazy lately. posting more video than rumination. But you will enjoy these I think, and think twice about the tip for the bush pilot if you ever go a-fishing in sunny Alaska (or anywhere that requires a fly-in)

Tying the Partridge and Orange Soft Hackle

Dale Wilkinson recommended this video. Orange and Partridge looks like a potential producer this season.

Dallas Fly Fishers Present Bob Clouser

First they had Lefty Kreh. Now his pal Bob Clouser. These are huge names in my pantheon of fly anglers. They had Tom Nixon some years back as well and I'll always remember that event.

Charlie Ducote posted the details here on Texas Fly Report

The Addison Conference Center is here

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Here's Bob tying his Deep Minnow
PART I

PART II

Keeping Up With FlyFishVideo - Everett's Bluegill Fly

Buddy Price has been steadily building a wonderful YouTube channel FlyFishVideo over the past few. I tend to stray off and then return to find more delights. This latest is a favorite of mine, beginner simple.

Everett's Bluegill Fly

Caddo On The Fly

A few weeks ago a post came up on a local fishing board asking for a fly fisher who might be interested in a guided trip on Caddo Lake in order film a local outdoors TV show on the subject. This piqued my interest and I emailed Dennis North saying words to the effect of "I'm your man!"

Not too many days later I was advised that I was indeed "the man for the job" and started making arrangements to head out to Caddo.

A brief history of Caddo first. It was the only natural lake in the state of Texas up until the early 1900s when oil was discovered and it was subsequently dammed.

an old abandoned oil well in the middle of the main lake

The lake was formed, according to Caddo Indian legend, by the great New Madrid earthquake of 1811. The alternate theory is that it was formed from the effects of the Great Raft, a 100 mile long log jam on the Red River. 
However it was formed its one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, much less fished.



There are several fishing camps on the lake and likely the remnants of many others long ago abandoned. Being the only lake in the region, Caddo was the destination for many anglers back in the 1800s and early 1900s, much on the order of the more publicized camps in the Northeast.  The rest of Texas' lakes were built, in the main, by the Corp of Engineers starting in the mid-fifties. These newer lakes don't have the patina of age and elegance that Caddo does, never mind the sheer primal beauty.




So, I took off to Uncertain TX to meet my guide Dennis as well as  Dearil Jackson and Bill McBroom who are Ark-La-Tex Sportsman.  We ate a catfish dinner at Big Pine Lodge that was, without doubt, the best I have ever chowed down on. In Mexican restaurants you are brought a basket of chips and some salsa. Here we were brought large bowls of home made cole slaw and baskets of home made hushpuppies to feat on while we looked out on the Big Cypress River and waited on catfish.

Homemad coleslaw and jalapeño hushpuppies at Big Pine Lodge

We settled on a 7:00 AM meet at the Fyffe Grocery. So it was try to get to sleep while visions of angling danced through my head. My roomie was Doug Rochelle who drove one of the camera boats. He's a veteran of the bass tournament circuit and we spent a good while sharing information with each other. Seems everyone has a fly rod hiding in the closet and Doug was no different. I gained some valuable fish spotting techniques from Doug and showed him ways to rig a fly line and rod.

The next morning we launched our boat and the two camera boats and headed out to the Big Cypress to fish. once I got dialed in I started catching bream, as the saying goes, hand over fist.

We made a run up the government ditch to Bradley's Canal where we looked for bigger bass but to no avail. The day ended on a good note as we had a rib eye dinner and planned out the next day.

An interesting side note, Bill McBroom the cameraman and producer/director was the only other one in the group who had any really extensive fly angling experience. Bill had learned to fly fish from an Indian fellow he workked for back in the 1940's. He told me about how different it was then, about catching a five pound bass on his fly rod. Interesting history, there is a deep-rooted and relatively unknown southern warm water fly angling tradition that runs way on back. Most folks left fly fishing in the '40's and '50's when spinning tackle arrived and bait casting gear became more accessible financially. But old Tom Nixon and others carried it forward.

Day Two

in which I try to land a big bass and fail. But I did set the up to that point unfilled fly rod record for largemouth on the fly as well as broke the bluegill record!  We started off in a big slot that ran the length of the lake. I was casting a big deer hair popper on my eight weight but could only manage one little bass. The fish to csat ratio and the fun coefficient were way low so I returned to my successful action of the three weight and blue-tailed damselfly nymph

frustration mounted as the line kept snarling unmanageably! That is Bill McBroom manning the camera in the boat behind me.

We traveled on over to the main body of Caddo to a section called Big Green where we continued the big bass hunt. I did manage the lake fly rod record in Big Green. but at 11¾ inches I am submitting it as more of a challenge to others to go to Caddo and break it!

My biggest bass of the trip

I encourage anyone with the inclination to head to Caddo and enjoy this  internationally protected treasure!

Casting Clinic Update Al Crise Casting Clinic in Glen Rose

Al Crise, Ol' Al as we all know him, will be hosting another casting clinic. The original date of 13 September was a bit blown out of the water so to speak by Ike's arrival. But it's back on! If you are at all interested in gaining more skill as a caster this might be the best $100 you ever spent. Plus the fellowship of other fly casters and a chance to fish the Brazos and/or Paluxy Rivers quite nearby Al's place.

Al's website is Hawkridge Tackle

I've taken the liberty of pasting Al's updated schedule below. Hope you can all make it!

November 1, 2008 Saturday General Clinic from just starting to advanced casting.
November 2, 2008 Sunday Special for CCI Candidates


The Clinics is held at Hawk Ridge Flyfishing School near Glen Rose. TX. 50 miles southwest of Ft. Worth (Ol' Al's place)
Here is the 'plan of the day' for clinics. We will make some small changes as needed.
This time I hope to have some special casting with the Spey Rods.
The problem is it would be nice to have some water. Pray for rain. We missed all that Ike dropped.
**************************************
Saturday 7:00 AM
Coffee and sweets.
Introductions of Instructors and Students.
Why and how this Clinic is set up
What you should get out of this training
7:30 Evaluations of the students
8:00 Bill's essentials. /Bruce Richard’s 6 steps
9:00 Casting
10:00 Terms of the fly Caster [new changes.]
11:00 Casting
12:00 Lunch Chicken BBQ
1:00 Different flies and how they are fished.
2:00 Spey casting demo
3:00 Casting
4:00 Loops & control slack line casting / Casting in the wind
5:00 Distance & Saltwater Casting
6:30 Dutch treat at Loco Coyote restaurant. Caravan over there.



Sunday
7:00 AM
Coffee and sweets
7:30 What is a CCI
8:30 Casting
9:30 FF ethics
10:30 Casting
12:00 Lunch Burgers
1:00 Cast required for the Test
3:00 Tips on teaching.
4:00 Open casting if you have any questions now is the time

The charge for this clinic is $100.00 for students 16 and over, Free if under.
8+ hours of Casting and Class.
Certified Casting Instructors (CCI) has to give a one-hour classroom talk on some part of casting. Outline required before the clinic, so I can set up a schedule. They should be on-hand to help with the casting class. No charge for them if they do.
The idea is to help the CCIs to become better instructors by learning from other instructors. The 'CCI Candidates' will have Sunday for Teaching tips. We will cover much that is on the CCI test. The charge for this is $50.00
Glen Rose has many Motels, State Park nearby If you are on a "Casting Junkie budget" Camp on the Ranch for free.
Contact Allen Crise MCI flysoup@itexas.net, Ranch 254-897-2045 or Cell 254-396-1574

"Ah Wont Thayut"

In Napoleon Dynamite uncle Rico pulled out the model sailing ship which the lady of the house could not resist.

I had a similar feeling when I saw this little gem of a knife


Marble's Cutlery FLy Fisherman's Knife

In Praise of Tying Small Flies

A fellow fly angler asked me to review a pattern that he could no longer find. So I had it mailed to me, I shot a few photos to document and then tried my hand.

I am pleasantly pleased that I can turn out this quality of work at this hook size and may tie up a batch for self to use in pursuit of the wily Collin County bream.

How Small is Small?

This is a fly that I am currently researching, a Blue River Fly Fisher asked me to review it for a possible tie.

Here is the first image I took of the fly


And here is a second, set upon a dime

Little Men

Yesterday after work I drove over to my little neighborhood creek for some decompression and angling.

As I stood in the door of my truck stringing up the one weight I saw them headed my way. Seven and five years old and dressed in standard issue little boy summer attire...shorts, that is all.

"Are you going fishing?!"

"Yep, sure am"

"Have you fished before?"

"I've fished a few times"

"Do you know how to put that all together?"

"Yes, I believe that I do"

"Do you have the dealy-thing? If you don't you can borrow mine"

"That is very kind of you to offer; I think I'll be OK"

"There is a big old snake down there!!"

"There aren't any fish down there. (pointing to the stretch of weedlined bank below). There is a big fish down there!"

"I saw a gold fish! it was BIG!!" (resident koi)

"Guys, I am going to be casting this thing down there so please be sure to stay back. I sure would feel bad if I were to hook one of you"

"OK, we'll just go jump in the water a while"

"Oh please don't do that. It'll ruin the fishing for me"

"OK"

Then they were off to score Popsicles from apparently grandpa or a neighbor who dotes on them. I last heard them discussing the relative merits of sharing candy.

What I had initially knee-jerked as a big ding in my angling time turned out to be a refreshing break in my initial refreshing break.

Look Out, It's Raining Bowling Balls!

Scott Bridgess videoed some striper action on Texoma

Stretch Magic Midge

Texas Fly Fishing

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sight Fishing Video in Sian Ka'an

So often one sees videos made by some unknown person of unknown quality from a far away place. Visions of corporate accounts and fares, writing (videoing) for a huge publication.

So with great refreshment I present a video shot and produced by a fellow who fishes for the sheer love of fishing, just like us regular folk. I give you Long Haired Dave's Fly fishing in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere

Blue, It's the New Red

Gray pinged me last minute inviting me to meet him at the tailrace below Texoma for some Sunday morning stripering. That fishery is by far my worst luck spot ever, I have caught three fish tops in my dozen or more trips. But hope springs eternal and who I am to say no to a fishing trip? So I set my alarm and headed out not-so-bright and oh so early.

After breakfast at Braum's I arrived at the power plant parking lot to gave upon my day to come. The water was still and dark. Rock islands rose up from the river bottom in the still of the slack current. I always think of Mordor when I look down on the slack river.

I made a few half-hearted casts, watched the gathered anglers on the Oklahoma side as they angled in vain. Gray arrived in a bit. We chose to wet wade, went on in and started fishing away. Soon we were visited by a shoal of rude buffalo and carp who made rude fin gestures as they snubbed our flies. It only took a small more quantity of time before I mentioned to Gray that the Blue River was only a bit over fifty miles more north. After brief consultation with his wife Gray and I were off to the Blue!

A stop in Caddo OK for fuel and a bit of food at the DQ where a young man in the employ of Dairy Queen roamed the dining room with a fly swatter. not the sort of thing you see in the greater Dallas area. But DQ food continues to rock and, when in Rome....

We pulled up to the Blue River Public Hunting and Fishing Area. I still find the placement of hunting before fishing as interesting. Deer hunting with a shotgun is permitted in season. I suppose other hunting is as well. Thank goodness it's shotguns with pellets only. Rifles in those woods is ballistically creepy.

We started in below the low water crossing, testing the wading, which was a bit OK. Gray got into a chubby spotted bass and sighted two very large bass that didn't stay to play.

This is an image of what the pool below Hughes Crossing looks like. Although I don't know who that is in the photo.


After a bit we pulled off of the pool and started working our way upstream from the crossing. We found no bite and I was starting to labor against a desire to bug out. I run into that wall every so often and have to fight it. Although I maintain that it was right to ditch the Red, especially in hindsight.

Gray took off in another direction and I carried on with fishing where I was. Not too awful long afterward he came back with whisper to follow. We pushed and whacked our way through bloodweed and undergrowth along with overgrowth and assorted dense foliage. Finally we came out upon a new section of river we'd not seen. We fished our way upstream with no real success. There were a good number of follow fish, the ones that follow your fly all the way back but in the end veer off with no commit to the sport.

Then we saw a cut that went back into the weeds and trees. There was an ever-so- slight flow, a trickle really. Across the cut was a huge old pine tree that had fallen recently enough that there were still needles growing. I don't know if fallen pines can last over several seasons or not. Going over appeared to be a hassle and Gray elected to take the under-route joking about when the treewa sdue to collapse. I pondered both routes before choosing to go over the top. Oncce across we had a short walk to the other end of the cut through what was an island in the river. We came out on a pool immediately above the falls nearest the low water crossing. And here it began....

Gray put on a yellow Turck's Tarantula Shortly he was pulling in chubby little spotted bass right and left. Their buddies were chasing their hooked bretheren all the way to the angler's hand. Crystal clear water, beautiful and brightly colored river bank. What a day this suddenly became! I tied on a chartreuse foam spider and soon was into it as well. A feisty bluegill who was big enough to run with the basses. Then several rock bass. Fighters that made me think "bass" all the way to the hand.

Then Gray let out a whoop and began his battle in earnest. He'd lost his Tarantula and had tied on a big black nymph pattern. The fish fought ferociously and when he got her to hand was almost speechless. I know I was! This was the first smallmouth I'd ever seen in the wild and per Gray, the most exciting fish he'd ever caught, tarpon included.


Lest any question the photograph as "staged" please notice Gray's quite proportional hand holding the fish's lip.

We caught a few more, moved on and then it got too hot and too late so we wimped, caved and headed for home instead of setting up an impromptu riverside camp and waiting til dawn to go again.

Aside from the obvious thrill of the fast and furious fishing there were several other moments that set in my mind as memorable. At one point I had to tie on a new fly. Standing there with my reel seat under my arm, I dropped the fly in the water and prepared to pick up and start fishing again. About that time a tiny spotted bass, around the length of less than my hand, boldly and savagely dashed up and tried to eat that fly as it sat in the water not five inches from my leg. Now that was an LOL.

My casting pleased me. Very much so. I was laying out casts that put the spider right up on the bank where it got hammered. That was a vast improvement over past attempts at fly placement. That in and of itself was a worthwhile and satisfying experience. I need to thank and acknowledge all those who have either inspired or coached me over the years. Al Crise and Steve Hollensed - Al has been at many area events and given innumerable presentations on casting, all of which were eye-openers. Steve has been the co-speaker and casting demonstrator at some recent Red River Fly Fishers events at Eisenhower State Park. It's been one epiphany after another.

Don Davis - Don has been my fishing buddy and a source of casting advice that has honed my sense of a good cast to higher levels. He has a sense of what makes a rodo a good rod and, oftentimes, how to turn a bad rod into a good one by simple tweaks or line changes. That finer sense has brought me to higher levels of competence.

Long-Haired Dave and Christian Cabal have shown by example that we just need to get out there and fish, and not be too huffy about tackle because it's the sport that it's all about.

I recommend a trip to to the Blue. That river, if you have never been there outside trout season, is worth the trip just to look. Remember that you'll need an annual OK license. A three day won't cut it as you'd then have to buy the annual Blue River passport as well. Might as well spring for the whole loaf I say.

See you on the Blue!

OkieRoyal's Slide Show

I had to share this with you all

OkieRoyal's Slide Show

A Couple of Patterns

These are two quite successful patterns:

Mike Verduin tying the Cap Spider


Joe Cornwall tying Terry and Roxanne Wilsons' "Bully's BLuegill Spider"


Personally, I like the more weedless hookpoint up orientation of the cap spider. But you must tie both and see for yourself.

Hoping for many updates and after-action reports on these!

Trout Season Is Over, It's Warm Water Time!

Trout are done for the year, stocking of that is. Now it's time for spotted bass, smallmouth, bream, all the wonderful warm water species that are a ton of fun as well.

Anyone been hitting the Blue lately?

Controlled Burn Has Been Scheduled

This came in "over the wire" so to speak


The ODWC will be conducting controlled burns on the Blue River PFHA on
Wednesday Feb. 27 if weather permits. All of the Carl R. and Ruth
Walker walk in area will be closed. Area 2 will be closed. Also the
plaster walk in area north of HWY 7 will be closed. Sorry for the
inconvenience. Any questions regarding the burn? call Matt Gamble at
580-920-5773.

McKinney Kids' Trout Derby

While it's not fly fishing per se, there will be tying demos and casting lessons. We invite all anglers of the fly to attend.


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Davy Knot

Google up the Davy Knot or look here at this video tutorial
Peche Truite has a photo tutorial as well.
I believe that it might be a workable knot for some folks. The thing I like about it is how fast and simple it is and how much tippet it saves!

Symphony Leech

Here's a fly that ought to work alongside the woolly bugger in that niche.

Sister Carol Ann Corley tying, video shot by Buddy Price