howdy new here

[kayl]

I have had a fly rod or years but I just got into fly fishing more seriously after a trip to Colorado.   I purchased an OK fishing license and plan to fish BB and the Blue this year to help up my game for next years backpacking/fly fishing trip to the backcountry in CO.    Have been reading through the threads and appreciate the knowledge.  I'm headed to BB this weekend, setting up a tent fri night so I can be up and at it early Sat. morning. I hear it gets busy.   I'm planning on fishing Spillway creek.   Any tips are welcome but am mostly posting to introduce myself.

btw    Does anybody know about dispersed camping in the Natl. Forest around BB?   Am thinking that on future trips I might see if I can save a few dollars by camping out there for free vs the state park.     It looks like there might be some possibilities off the forest rds  50200 and others branching from it?


Am looking forward to scouting out the creek and learning more about trout fishing. I'm not the type to get a guide, nothing against it but I usually do ok by researching, internet scouting, and making friends on the river.  Sharing a beer or two with folks on the river/parking lot and asking questions has brought lots of good juju to me on my trout adventures.  Tight lines.

[golferjeff]

Dispersed camping in OK not quite like CO. Can be sketchy. Lots of chemical and recreational farms nearby. You have it just about right - fish the sunrise and the sunset - the masses take over midday. Scout the entire trout water from the dam down past the swim beach bridge. you like to explore? hit spillway one day and then sunday fish the evening hole all the way to powerhouse wherever you can wet a line. Lots of the area is still deep water until (if) the stop logs come out next month. LMF is more like Colorado than any other OK water. Enjoy. post a report.

[kayl]

Thank you. I do like to explore. I like you're suggestion. Will post a report for sure.

[gui]

Welcome to the board!

I've been learning to fly-fish on the LMFR for the past 9 years or so and still impatiently await for the next trip. Spillway is a wonderful stretch of water to explore. Taking your time to fish every nook and cranny, making rig/depth adjustments and changes to cover the same run (for ex dry-dropper, then double nymph, then streamer) can pay off. I'm still learning but my experience has been that if you learn to fish Spillway half decently, you should do pretty well in Colorado :-).

I'm also a DIY learner in general, but as many have said, hiring a guide at some point in your fly-fishing journey is really worth it. In my case, a day spent with Peter allowed me to instantly widen my set of skills and go over a plateau that I felt I had reached.

Our families live out-of-state and abroad and so usually we travel during the holidays, but this year we're staying in town so I'm hoping to make several trips starting November. I usually camp in the park if I'm coming solo or with a fishing buddy. Always enjoy sharing a beer and fishing stories. Maybe we'll run into each other.

Have fun and tight lines!

Gui

[kayl]

Well I got up early sat morning and hiked up to 10 ft falls in the dark. I caught a few of these little fish which I cannot identify. No clue what they are, they are all small up to 5 inches, have a silver to gold color, and were pretty aggressive. ( edit I think they are baby carp)        Before I knew it people were everywhere. I mean everywhere LOL       I knew beavers bend was popular but OMG I hadn't mentally prepared for the masses of hikers and other fishermen. I hiked towards the spillway, even more people I fished for a few hours and could not catch a trout. I decided to fish my way back to the friends trail trailhead but there seemed to be someone if every single hole.  Not complaining, I was just not expecting the masses. I returned to camp for a little bit and then went back to spillway creek. There were way less people in the afternoon, but still did not catch a fish. I slept in Sunday and almost threw in the towel and started to drive home, but decided to go back and check out the river again. There were fishermen in the main river of course so I went back to the friends trailhead to fish spillway creek again. It really is a nice stretch of water. I slowed down and took my time as I fished the runs and pocket water within a 1/4 mile of the access. Fishing nymphs under an indicator I foul hooked 2 small bows and caught a bunch more of those little fish. I spent 4 hours on the creek and had an enjoyable time although I still wasn't catching trout. I'm glad I went back Sunday because it motivated me to go back this next weekend and try it again. I have a campsite down by the river in grapevine loop. At least this way I can get my butt out of bed and be on the river first thing. I'll go in knowing to expect crowds and focus on fishing first thing in the am and going back in the afternoon when everybody is back at camp making dinner.

Here's what I fished; pats rubber legs, a size 16 or 18 pheasant tail, and size 20 red midge.


I have a few questions. Why were the only trout I caught foul hooked? Does that mean I missed a hookset and snagged them after it was too late?


Are there decent trout in spillway creek or do I need to focus on the river? I really like the terrain up there in the creek, it reminds me of what I am hoping to see more of when I go to Co.

Since I am camped near the hotspots I plan on fishing from the hickory campground area up towards the bluffs. And advice?

It it worth scouting/fishing downriver from the park? 

If anybody is out there I am super easy to recognize. I'll be wet wading in shorts and most importantly I will have a chesapeake bay retriever with me in the water. He got lots of attention last weekend from the lady hikers,, I'm married but he would be a major chick magnet if I was in the market. haha!


Gui^^^ I am always down for a beer. Keep an eye out for me my cooler is well stocked.

[breeden3]

Honestly the best advice would be to just keep fishing. There are a lot of techniques to catch them, and a ton of patterns as well. Literally hundreds of patterns tied to imitate the exact same micro-invertabrate. A pats rubber legs/pheasant tail combo is a very good rig for the LMF.

Reading techniques on the forum and then putting them into practice is completely different. I get people out all the time who read forums or have watched YouTube channels and then they actually hit the river and struggle.

Since you are DIY, hit the river and pound it out until you find what is working for you. The whole river up from Grapevine campground to the Spillway dam is loaded with good trout, rainbow and browns. The long term wild/holdover rainbows and browns are among the most educated fish in the country. They will test your skills more than almost any stream out west. Now the stockers are dumb as a box of rocks and will eat anything you throw at them so you may stumble upon some of them.

The LMF overall is a tough, technical fishery and more people than not leave humbled.

Tight Lines,
Peter

[golferjeff]

The tiny fish are creek chubs. Millions of them in spillway creek. If you are throwing nymphs, you can't help but catch them. The masses are out year round, almost every day. It will lighten up in the winter, and the fishing does get better, especially if they pull the logs from the bridges. The flies you were using can be effective, but don't be afraid to try a bunch of stuff. RS2's are a mainstay. Zebra midges. Bright Worms if the water colors up a bit. Spillway Creek IS the river, just the upper 1.35 miles of it. SC has more fish and many more wild fish for sure. The best browns are usually up there as well. If you get frustrated, just try to catch a few stockers or moderate holdovers. Small egg patterns and midge imitations will work. Like Peter said, the wild fish and long term holdovers are the most educated fish west of the Mississippi. That's how much pressure they see in our 3-5 miles of fishable water.

And yes, dogs are a major lady draw.... I'll bring Magick up and we'll fish/meet women. I'm single but 50, fat, bald, and I like my dog waaay more than any woman! Peter will second that

Give me a shout.... I need to get up there and fish once December hits!