Post by mirvc17 on Nov 6, 2014 19:38:27 GMT -6
Blue River, OK – 3 Nov 14 Trip Report
I awake before the alarm goes off. It’s 3:38am. Clothes on and coffee in hand, I hit the road. The 3 hr drive is uneventful. The plan is to fish the C&R area north of highway 7. Only one truck is in the western lot. The driver is missing, but in the bed lies a deer…Deer Hair Emergers, anyone?
I bike in the ~2 miles and find a nice hole. As I’m rigging up I’m watching for activity on the water. The air temp is around 47F and the water temp in 6 inches of water is 55 degrees. I see five or six rises in different spots, but no consistent sipping. I can’t determine what the fish are taking, but I presume they are midges. After contemplating using a size 16 or 18 Griffith’s Gnat, I decide to try one of my newly tied Wyatt’s Deer Hair Emerger (DHE) patterns, size 16. I cast 30 feet and get several good drifts. A good sized chunky rainbow jumps out of the water near my fly. I cast again, see a rise and my fly goes under. I set the hook but miss. Another jump near my fly…and another. It’s getting a little frustrating. I pick up the line, one false cast and back to the rings on the surface. Slam! I set the hook, strip in some line and once again the fish is off.
I take a quick break and the surface activity slows considerably, except further down the pool where a very large fish keeps jumping and swirling around near the surface. I’m not in a position to reach him, so I decide to rig up a duo of nymphs. There was no indication that I had spooked the previous fish (or if there were multiple), despite my misses. The top fly is a sort of a Frenchy variant tied on a size 14 competition jig hook with a size 22 Top Secret Midge eighteen inches below. I’m using a wool New Zealand Strike indicator. It works awesome and touches the water softly. Finally, the indicator disappears and after a brief battle, I bring a 15” female rainbow to the net. She took the Top Secret Midge.
I take another break. With coffee brewing in progress, a snack and some water are in order. I decide to check out another pool. This one is not quite as deep and has more bed structure visible. Not much activity going on, but I do catch a sunfish. Moving on, I cross one of the tiny little “water falls” and spot four or five nice fish. I sneak around a small island on the other side and begin fishing. A bass slams the Frenchy jig. I then decide to try my version of Chris’ Bubba Bugger. I change out my furled leader for a 9’ 3X knotless tapered leader. I fling the bugger over about 15 feet and a fit 12” ‘bow absolutely slams the fly. It takes a while to bring the fish to net—its long and slender. Three more take the bugger before it’s ineffective. I change to a size 14 DHE with a pink McFly Foam egg pattern. This time I move back to where the spill over is on the rocks and bow and arrow cast from behind the fish. Several more fish take the egg pattern. Another sunfish takes the DHE.
After exploring a little more, I decide to go back to the first pool. I don’t have a lot of time if I want to make it to Scotty’s One Stop, set up my camp, get a fire going, and fish some more before dark. A few minutes in I hook up with a large 18” male that took the DHE. The battle took five or 6 minutes—he’s a little beat up, and missing his left pectoral fin. After some minutes, he revives and swims around a little then disappears back into the pool.
I didn’t see or hear a single person all day. What a great way to end my first trip into the C&R. Or so I thought. Just shy of half way, my back tire goes flat. I break out the pump and give it the ol’ college try. Fifty feet later it’s flat as a pancake…again. I push it out with some speed, knowing I’ve got to make it to Scotty’s for some cold beer and fire wood.
After getting back from Scotty’s, with camp set up and a couple of beers under my wader belt, I get right back on the water. I fish until I can barely see enough to wade out safely. Three more fish are brought to hand—two on the egg pattern and one on the DHE.
The rest of the evening is spent staring at my prehistoric TV, smoking my pipe and drinking some cold ones. 14 fish were brought to hand with many more lost. While the T.S. Midge and the DHE brought the two biggest fish, the top fly was the pink egg. The award for the most violent takes was no doubt the bugger.
Here's a video I shot... www.f16man.com/videos/BlueRiverOK.mp4
Cheers,
-JP
I awake before the alarm goes off. It’s 3:38am. Clothes on and coffee in hand, I hit the road. The 3 hr drive is uneventful. The plan is to fish the C&R area north of highway 7. Only one truck is in the western lot. The driver is missing, but in the bed lies a deer…Deer Hair Emergers, anyone?
I bike in the ~2 miles and find a nice hole. As I’m rigging up I’m watching for activity on the water. The air temp is around 47F and the water temp in 6 inches of water is 55 degrees. I see five or six rises in different spots, but no consistent sipping. I can’t determine what the fish are taking, but I presume they are midges. After contemplating using a size 16 or 18 Griffith’s Gnat, I decide to try one of my newly tied Wyatt’s Deer Hair Emerger (DHE) patterns, size 16. I cast 30 feet and get several good drifts. A good sized chunky rainbow jumps out of the water near my fly. I cast again, see a rise and my fly goes under. I set the hook but miss. Another jump near my fly…and another. It’s getting a little frustrating. I pick up the line, one false cast and back to the rings on the surface. Slam! I set the hook, strip in some line and once again the fish is off.
I take a quick break and the surface activity slows considerably, except further down the pool where a very large fish keeps jumping and swirling around near the surface. I’m not in a position to reach him, so I decide to rig up a duo of nymphs. There was no indication that I had spooked the previous fish (or if there were multiple), despite my misses. The top fly is a sort of a Frenchy variant tied on a size 14 competition jig hook with a size 22 Top Secret Midge eighteen inches below. I’m using a wool New Zealand Strike indicator. It works awesome and touches the water softly. Finally, the indicator disappears and after a brief battle, I bring a 15” female rainbow to the net. She took the Top Secret Midge.
I take another break. With coffee brewing in progress, a snack and some water are in order. I decide to check out another pool. This one is not quite as deep and has more bed structure visible. Not much activity going on, but I do catch a sunfish. Moving on, I cross one of the tiny little “water falls” and spot four or five nice fish. I sneak around a small island on the other side and begin fishing. A bass slams the Frenchy jig. I then decide to try my version of Chris’ Bubba Bugger. I change out my furled leader for a 9’ 3X knotless tapered leader. I fling the bugger over about 15 feet and a fit 12” ‘bow absolutely slams the fly. It takes a while to bring the fish to net—its long and slender. Three more take the bugger before it’s ineffective. I change to a size 14 DHE with a pink McFly Foam egg pattern. This time I move back to where the spill over is on the rocks and bow and arrow cast from behind the fish. Several more fish take the egg pattern. Another sunfish takes the DHE.
After exploring a little more, I decide to go back to the first pool. I don’t have a lot of time if I want to make it to Scotty’s One Stop, set up my camp, get a fire going, and fish some more before dark. A few minutes in I hook up with a large 18” male that took the DHE. The battle took five or 6 minutes—he’s a little beat up, and missing his left pectoral fin. After some minutes, he revives and swims around a little then disappears back into the pool.
I didn’t see or hear a single person all day. What a great way to end my first trip into the C&R. Or so I thought. Just shy of half way, my back tire goes flat. I break out the pump and give it the ol’ college try. Fifty feet later it’s flat as a pancake…again. I push it out with some speed, knowing I’ve got to make it to Scotty’s for some cold beer and fire wood.
After getting back from Scotty’s, with camp set up and a couple of beers under my wader belt, I get right back on the water. I fish until I can barely see enough to wade out safely. Three more fish are brought to hand—two on the egg pattern and one on the DHE.
The rest of the evening is spent staring at my prehistoric TV, smoking my pipe and drinking some cold ones. 14 fish were brought to hand with many more lost. While the T.S. Midge and the DHE brought the two biggest fish, the top fly was the pink egg. The award for the most violent takes was no doubt the bugger.
Here's a video I shot... www.f16man.com/videos/BlueRiverOK.mp4
Cheers,
-JP
