Post by Smallfry on Feb 12, 2024 21:31:17 GMT -6
This past lazy Saturday I started getting a little cabin fever and after doing a few chores decided it would be best to head to the river. I was sort of lost on where I wanted to start but eventually I rolled into the power house parking lot, it was empty. The rain was falling rather listlessly and it was warmer than I had anticipated so the place ended up feeling muggy. An eagle was gliding along the river as I made my way down, trying not to slip on wet leaves. I started with large bright Goddard caddis, mostly because it was very floaty, with a smallish RFSHN (always a fav) and a midge maybe. I didn't see a single fish, maybe I wasn't looking well enough or for the right shape, I dunno. They weren't taking my bugs either at that point so who knows, maybe that eagle ate them all. The horns sounded about 15 minutes into my adventure, so I headed out before being swept away to the muddy waters of the Red River, where there was surely a gator or legendary sized catfish waiting for me.
I traveled farther upstream, upon seeing that EH was unoccupied and as it has been a while since I'd fished there decided to see if there were any changes. There were subtle differences in a few spots and I wondered how a few of the larger rocks had been moved. There was a new team of flies tied on, a bright green cdc fuzz and zebra midge. They weren't very interested in the cdc poof but the midge was a hit. I did lose a few at first though. Someone had told me a couple of weeks back that zebra's didn't work anymore but I had already tied up a batch and as a firm believer in "how" I went with my zebras. Trust, I did have a list of backup plans if they were to fail. Tourists showed up at one point so I scampered away to below the bridge just to hide a few minutes. I wasn't in the mood to give directions or make small talk. That didn't work. A very nice man found me but he was also going to be fly fishing so his questions were more welcomed. I made it back up stream got dragged around by a few chunky deformed stockers. It was fun. That nice man came down to make a few casts before dinner, I gave him some flies and tied some on since it was his first time to the LMFR. He hooked into and lost a couple of trout while we chatted. It was dark and I was soggy by then so off to the house I went, dodging deer and getting tailgated by big trucks along the way.
Sunday was rather miserable, I figured I needed to fish some more and we had no plans at home anyway. At SW creek the weather was a bit cooler than Saturday. I tied on some larger flies and went knocking on doors. Well at the first stop I saw one trout come up waaay away from me and thought it was a good sign. Caddis were everywhere on rocks and sticks, midges were clinging to riverside vegetation but the air was clear. Seems like the weather and wind weren't going to cooperate as much today. I managed to find and lose a few rainbows with one nice little brown in the mix. I think they were in all the spots I didn't have much faith in so my sets weren't ready and weak like an overcooked noodle. I landed a couple finally, then went back to losing. The water was kinda high compared to what I'm used to in the winter. Obviously some of it was the rain but there were plenty of spots that it seemed out of the ordinary high for winter, or perhaps I am shrinking... Well, In case anyone is wondering, winter release is lower than warm weather, something like 100-140cfs? I'm not 100% on that, here's another link to the place with numbers in case y'all don't have it starred or saved: www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/webdata/gagedata/BKDO2.20240212.html
Anyway, it was tougher than the day before but I managed a handful of fish and had the place to myself, win win for all.
I traveled farther upstream, upon seeing that EH was unoccupied and as it has been a while since I'd fished there decided to see if there were any changes. There were subtle differences in a few spots and I wondered how a few of the larger rocks had been moved. There was a new team of flies tied on, a bright green cdc fuzz and zebra midge. They weren't very interested in the cdc poof but the midge was a hit. I did lose a few at first though. Someone had told me a couple of weeks back that zebra's didn't work anymore but I had already tied up a batch and as a firm believer in "how" I went with my zebras. Trust, I did have a list of backup plans if they were to fail. Tourists showed up at one point so I scampered away to below the bridge just to hide a few minutes. I wasn't in the mood to give directions or make small talk. That didn't work. A very nice man found me but he was also going to be fly fishing so his questions were more welcomed. I made it back up stream got dragged around by a few chunky deformed stockers. It was fun. That nice man came down to make a few casts before dinner, I gave him some flies and tied some on since it was his first time to the LMFR. He hooked into and lost a couple of trout while we chatted. It was dark and I was soggy by then so off to the house I went, dodging deer and getting tailgated by big trucks along the way.
Sunday was rather miserable, I figured I needed to fish some more and we had no plans at home anyway. At SW creek the weather was a bit cooler than Saturday. I tied on some larger flies and went knocking on doors. Well at the first stop I saw one trout come up waaay away from me and thought it was a good sign. Caddis were everywhere on rocks and sticks, midges were clinging to riverside vegetation but the air was clear. Seems like the weather and wind weren't going to cooperate as much today. I managed to find and lose a few rainbows with one nice little brown in the mix. I think they were in all the spots I didn't have much faith in so my sets weren't ready and weak like an overcooked noodle. I landed a couple finally, then went back to losing. The water was kinda high compared to what I'm used to in the winter. Obviously some of it was the rain but there were plenty of spots that it seemed out of the ordinary high for winter, or perhaps I am shrinking... Well, In case anyone is wondering, winter release is lower than warm weather, something like 100-140cfs? I'm not 100% on that, here's another link to the place with numbers in case y'all don't have it starred or saved: www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/webdata/gagedata/BKDO2.20240212.html
Anyway, it was tougher than the day before but I managed a handful of fish and had the place to myself, win win for all.