Wilderness Area @ Blue River (25 Jan)
Jan 27, 2018 8:06:42 GMT -6
mirvc17, turfdawg, and 1 more like this
Post by flyfishermann1955 on Jan 27, 2018 8:06:42 GMT -6
I fished at the Blue River on Thursday (25 Jan). Drove past the Catch & Release Area at 0715; there was a white jeep and a pickup truck there and 2 guys were just leaving the truck to start their walk in to fish. I figured that is at least 3 people up there and not a lot of water that is easy to fish with a fly rod, so I continued downstream. Drove past the low-water crossing toward Campground #2 and then up the steep hill to the parking lot. There were 3 pickup trucks in the lot, but there is more water than at the C & R Area if you're willing to walk. I hadn't fished this section in 2 years and wanted to see the changes from the high water events last year.
Walked through the gate and down the hill. When the path branched, I stayed to the right and went to the large, lake-like area that is popular with spin fishermen. There were 3 guys there, sitting in their chairs, along the near bank. Just upstream, I crossed over the shallow water that flows into the lake-like pool. The old sand bar was gone, but I could still wade out a bit and have room to cast. Started at 0830 with a black jig and an olive micro leech. Caught my 1st fish (on the leech) before I made a half dozen casts. Two guys with fly rods were standing up on the drop-off ledge on the far side of this section. One guy caught a few, but the other guy was hooking fish non-stop. He easily caught 20 in a 1-hour period using a big black woolley bugger. The area where I was standing was still in the shade and the waist-deep water was 40 degrees. I got up on the drop-off ledge to warm up. Switched out the black jig for a soft hackle streamer to add some extra weight; landed 2 more, both on the leech.
Decided to walk upstream to check out the upper area. Passed 2 more guys along the way before reaching the large drop-off where the dirt road circles back on itself. Two guys with spinning rods were in their chairs along the near bank. After talking with them, I walked out on the ledge to fish the far side. About half-way across, you can get down off the ledge on a sand bar and fish the deep pool.
This area has changed a lot from 2 years ago. The water also seemed very low; there isn't much water flowing over the drop-off and the smaller side channel is dry. Landed 10 more here, lost a few, and missed another 4-5 strikes. The fish were hugging the bottom and the takes were pretty gently compared to when I fished a black leech back in Dec. I was disappointed no fish took the yellow-green soft hackle streamer, as this was my 1st time fishing it. At least this section was in the sun, so I felt warmer.
Walked back to the pool where I started and fished from the ledge on the far side. Hooked a rock or some submerged obstacle and lost both my flies. Those were the only flies I had of each of those patterns, so I expected to be punished for breaking that rule! Tied on an olive jig and stripped that back just like the leech, but no success. It was now 1415 and I had seen a few fish splash, so I added a red size 16 caddis larva to the hook bend of the jig. This fly has a black tungsten bead and red wire inside clear hollow tubing. Cast out and let the 2 flies hang under an indicator. Immediate feedback was the fish liked the caddis. Caught 2 nice fish (13-14 inches with big bellies) and lost a 3rd fish when it re-shaped my hook! Never got it up enough to see, but it was easily the fish of the day!
Started back to the car at 1500, ate a very late lunch and pulled out of the parking lot at 1530 for the 2-hour drive back to Midwest City. There were 8 vehicles in the parking lot. It surprised me that only 3 had TX license plates!
Tight Lines- Ken
Walked through the gate and down the hill. When the path branched, I stayed to the right and went to the large, lake-like area that is popular with spin fishermen. There were 3 guys there, sitting in their chairs, along the near bank. Just upstream, I crossed over the shallow water that flows into the lake-like pool. The old sand bar was gone, but I could still wade out a bit and have room to cast. Started at 0830 with a black jig and an olive micro leech. Caught my 1st fish (on the leech) before I made a half dozen casts. Two guys with fly rods were standing up on the drop-off ledge on the far side of this section. One guy caught a few, but the other guy was hooking fish non-stop. He easily caught 20 in a 1-hour period using a big black woolley bugger. The area where I was standing was still in the shade and the waist-deep water was 40 degrees. I got up on the drop-off ledge to warm up. Switched out the black jig for a soft hackle streamer to add some extra weight; landed 2 more, both on the leech.
Decided to walk upstream to check out the upper area. Passed 2 more guys along the way before reaching the large drop-off where the dirt road circles back on itself. Two guys with spinning rods were in their chairs along the near bank. After talking with them, I walked out on the ledge to fish the far side. About half-way across, you can get down off the ledge on a sand bar and fish the deep pool.
This area has changed a lot from 2 years ago. The water also seemed very low; there isn't much water flowing over the drop-off and the smaller side channel is dry. Landed 10 more here, lost a few, and missed another 4-5 strikes. The fish were hugging the bottom and the takes were pretty gently compared to when I fished a black leech back in Dec. I was disappointed no fish took the yellow-green soft hackle streamer, as this was my 1st time fishing it. At least this section was in the sun, so I felt warmer.
Walked back to the pool where I started and fished from the ledge on the far side. Hooked a rock or some submerged obstacle and lost both my flies. Those were the only flies I had of each of those patterns, so I expected to be punished for breaking that rule! Tied on an olive jig and stripped that back just like the leech, but no success. It was now 1415 and I had seen a few fish splash, so I added a red size 16 caddis larva to the hook bend of the jig. This fly has a black tungsten bead and red wire inside clear hollow tubing. Cast out and let the 2 flies hang under an indicator. Immediate feedback was the fish liked the caddis. Caught 2 nice fish (13-14 inches with big bellies) and lost a 3rd fish when it re-shaped my hook! Never got it up enough to see, but it was easily the fish of the day!
Started back to the car at 1500, ate a very late lunch and pulled out of the parking lot at 1530 for the 2-hour drive back to Midwest City. There were 8 vehicles in the parking lot. It surprised me that only 3 had TX license plates!
Tight Lines- Ken
