So it's been a year? Wow, we suck...

Well first off, I would like to apologize to what few followers we had for our lack of posts over the past year. Lack of motivation on my part as the "Editor-in-Chief" is who's mostly to blame. I am gonna try to resurrect the blog and keep it up to date to the best of my ability. All this blog reading I have done has provided me with much needed motivation to start posting again.

Lots of things have happened over the past year for the CTD crew. We have had several great trips as well as a few tough ones. We got to check out a few new fisheries this year and revisited some old favorites. The following post is just a summary of how CTDs year went....

First off, I made a very beneficial purchase to open up more options of fishing for us. I bought a drift boat. I had been kicking around buying one for a couple years but never could pull the trigger due to other things taking financial priority. Well, we were finally in a position to do it and I pulled the trigger. I picked up a 2008 Clackacraft Headhunter skiff from Clackacraft for a good price just under a year ago and have never looked back. Absolutely love my boat. Don't know why I waited so long to buy one. It opens up so many new avenues for fishing. No longer do we hope and pray that they don't generate water on the tailwaters so we can fish, now it doesn't matter what they do. We have been able to extend our range on other rivers that we were only able to wade before. Basically...its awesome.

As some of you know, we have a yearly tradition where we travel to the Current River to camp and fish the Blue Ribbon waters below the state park. Last year was our 3rd year which officially made it a "tradition" in our books. The fishing this year wasn't the best we ever experienced but we did stick a couple of good browns and we were able to do some headhunting (dry fly fishing) on Sunday afternoon as caddis started coming off. We had some great camp food as always and caught some fish. Plus it rained on us like always. The trip was a success...

Another place that is a normal haunt for the CTD crew that always keeps us on our toes and our fishing ego in check is Crane Creek. My 2nd favorite place to wade fish in MO behind the Current, hands down. Its a wild place that always presents a challenge to even the most seasoned fisherman. This spring we were able to get some redemption on Crane for Donny and Cole since their first Crane experience wasn't that great. We caught a ton of fish on both trips. I was able to finally break the 18" mark on both trips with two beautiful McClouds. All in all, our year on Crane was amazing.

In the past 2 years, CTD has began to really chase another prized game fish in the Ozarks. Some call it a brownie, bronzeback, or a smallie....whatever you wanna call it, the smallmouth bass has totally consumed the crew from April till September the past couple of years. They are just a bad ass fish to chase on the fly. We have had some great wade and float trips chasing them. We fished Elk River and Indian Creek numerous times this past year and have came to know these fisheries as our "homewaters" for smallies. We also did an overnight float trip on the Kings River in Arkansas in June that was a huge success. We covered 12 miles of some of the most pristine smallmouth water in the state, all the while avoiding snakes, drunks, crazy locals, and tornado like weather. It was awesome. As I'm writing this, we are all going crazy waiting for smallie season to really kick off.

Later in the summer, the CTD crew caught wind of some epic hopper fishing on the White River below Bull Shoals dam in Arkansas. In years past, we never really were able to take advantage of this due to the generation patterns for that time of year which is basically 24/7 heavy generation which means you need a boat. Well, with the addition of the drift boat, we decided to give the hopper bite a shot on the White this year in hopes of catching some big browns on big foam nasties! Needless to say, it was a big learning curve for us as the White River under 15k-20k CFS is a totally different river than at low water which was all we were familiar with. The first trip was sub par at best with just a few fish to hand as well as blistering July temps that made it miserable to fish. We took several trips to the White to chase fish on hoppers and each time we learned more about the river so in turn, the fishing was better. I cant freaking wait for hopper season to start back up....

The rest of the CTD crew also made the pilgrimage to the Current River in the fall which is also about to become a tradition for us. They made it a 3 day trip this year which allowed them to cover more water in the lower stretches of the Blue Ribbon water. Fishing was decent but the time around the campfire was nothing short of epic from what I was told. Some mullet wigs were involved in a few shenanigans along with the normal BS being thrown around the campfire. A good trip indeed...

All in all, the CTD crew had a pretty damn good year as far as fishing goes. We have already taken a few great trips so far this year that I plan to write about in the coming days. We were able to put some big fish in the drift boats, catch some nice wild rainbows in new waters, and have really set the stage to have an epic year of fishing. We will see how it plays out....

Until next time...keep chasing the dream...

Work is seriously effecting my fishing...

So I'm stuck in Dallas for the next two weeks to do some training for work. Can you tell where my mind is at? Here are my notes for today's class...




Crik

Epic...

It doesnt happen very often but sometimes, just sometimes, everything in the cosmos align for fisherman where you have one of those days that just makes you shake your head and say "Wow...that was stupid awesome fishing." Epic days mean a lot of different things to a lot of different fisherman, just depending on the situation. We had one of those epic days a couple weeks ago on the Lower Illinois tailwater, which is what we like to call our home water. Now the LIR is not a "tough" or "technical" fishery by no means and its not the level of tailwater that you find on Taneycomo or the White. The fish are generally easy to find and catch, in good numbers too. Size of these fish are your everyday run of the mill stocker rainbows, not too many big fish in the river. All things considered though, the LIR exceeded our normal expectations and really shined that day for us...

The day started off as normal as could be, I meet the boys at Wal-Mart for normal pickup and deployment to our local trout water. We decided to start at T&M in hopes of finding a little solitude and maybe some bigger fish. We geared up and started the hike downstream to some of our favorite stretches of the river. We each stopped at our normal spots to begin the day. I made my way down to the upper part of the Car Body Hole where I started the day by stripping streamers just for a change of pace. Upstream of me was DonnyB who had started with an indicator rig with the ever faithful pheasant tail. It didnt take long for DonnyB to start hooking up with fish after fish after fish. I was also having good luck on my streamer bite as the fish were thumping it hard! The day was looking promising...




The day was turning out to be awesome as we worked our way down the Car Body Hole, picking up fish along the way with DonnyB slayin' them on the pheasant tail and the streamers still whackin' some fish for me. Upstream from us, I could see Cole also had a bend in his rod just about everytime I looked up to his location. It was about mid-morning when I noticed that lots of fish were rising up and down the river, hmmm, this could be interesting! After I stopped fishing to observe a pod of fish rising on a shoal at the bottom of Car Body, my worst fears revealed themselves as the fish were sipping midges in the surface film. Perfect. I nipped off my 2X tippet, went to 7X, and began sifting through my fly box for a suitable imitation.

On a side note, during the morning, DonnyB had picked up a couple of small browns. All of them being 4-6", very pale in color with faint red spots which made me guess them to be some recent fingerling stockers the state had put into the river. Hopefully these little guys take off and we start to develop a decent brown trout fishery on the LIR.




As the fish continued to rise, I started picking through my box, throwing various midge patterns and griffiths gnats in sizes 18-22 with hit and miss success. I'd get a couple of rises and hookups, then nothing for several casts. DonnyB fished his way past me and headed to another deep hole below me where he continued to whack fish on the ol' pheasant tail. Along this time, Cole and Crik made their way downstream where we all posted up on run with several pods of rising fish. I was standing there mumbling something about wishing I had a tiny indicator so I could throw some midge emerger patterns in the film when Cole said "Dude, why dont you just tie on a larger dry and use it as an indicator?" Eureka!! Why this idea had slipped my mind, I dont know but I was sure glad Cole was standing there. We all rigged up this way with each of us using different dropper patterns and you could say the day had been saved. The rest of the morning spent picking up fish about 50/50 on the dry and the dropper, with Cole really rippin' some trout lips on the pheasant tail. He finished out the run with this sweet rainbow that put up an awesome fight. Best trout for Cole to date...





We finished up the morning with plenty of trout to our nets and headed into town to the local choke and puke to get our normal lunch time meal of Chesters Chicken Snack Meal! Best broaster chicken and potato wedges ever. Top it off with some kind of "all-natural" sweet tea and we were all miserable, ready for a nap.

We decided to end the day by going way downstream to do a little exploring for some new water, both for trout and striper. We split up with DonnyB and I heading upstream while Cole and Crik went downstream. We didnt have much luck in the trout department but we did find some striper water to try out once the fabled "Oklahoma Chrome" begins their epic run up the LIR. That is one event that I cant wait for...

We packed it in and pointed the truck for home shortly before dark with a great day of fishing behind us. It was by far the best day we have had as a group on the Lower Illinois tailwater. Cant beat having epic days of fishing on the water, especially when its on your home waters...

Until next time, keep chasing the dream...

Some new fly fishing media...

Thanks to fellow addict Crik, who came across the following film while "working" at the USDA office, I've been fortunate to add another great fishing flick to my growing collection recently. Its called "The Waters of Greenstone", which features 2 life-long friends who put everything you would call a "normal life" on hold, to pursue a dream of chasing big wild brown trout in New Zealand. Now, there have been a few films about New Zealand like "Trout Bums 2: Kiwi Camo" and "Once Upon a Blue Moon", but this film really showcases what adventure fly fishing is all about.

The movie is absolutely amazing to say the least. The stars of the film are just your every day run of the mill fishing addicts like ourselves, who decided to risk it all to the chase the dream. The cinematography is nothing short of spectacular, especially since they did all the camera work themselves. The commentary and non-fishing scenes are hilarious, you can definitely tell they are a couple of hillbillies from Tennessee (nothing wrong with it either). It also goes without saying that the fishing footage is freaking sweet...

Here is the trailer



Go buy it now...

Crane

There are few places left in the Ozarks that stir a fisherman's soul and make him feel like he is truly in a wild place. One of those places is Crane Creek. Its not a place for the faint of heart. Its skinny water, brushy, tight casting quarters, and the fish are as skittish as a whore in church. I love it...

The trout here are pure strain McCloud rainbows and they are absolutely beautiful fish. From the eager lil' 4 inchers to the almost ghost-like 20"+ toads, these fish would rival any other wild rainbow in the world in my opinion. To catch these fish, being stealthy is just the beginning. It doesnt take long before you understand what everyone was talking about when they say they had to utilize the "Crane Creek Creep". Again...I love it...

Joey and I visited this place a few weeks ago...













I love it...

Until next time, keep chasing the dream...

New water...

The chance to fish new water for an angler is always an exciting thought. There isnt too many places left in Arkansas and Missouri for myself to fish in all reality, a few wild trout streams and 1 tailwater. This past Sunday, DonnyB and myself ventured over to the White River below Beaver Lake to fish some new water that Joey explored a few weeks ago. Now I have fished the "trophy area" below Beaver Dam a couple of times and didnt care for the fishery very much, I'd rather go fish several other places anyday. Well, this year all of the lakes are SUPER low which has allowed for lots of wading opportunities for us but it also made other areas more accessible that werent for wading anglers.

So DonnyB and I left at 5:00am with Rogers, Arkansas as our destination where we would meet up with Joey at his house. After arriving at Joey's, we grabbed our gear, threw it in the "Sub", and headed for for the river. We made our way down to the HWY 62 bridge, paid the $3.00 parking fee, and pulled into an empty parking lot. Brilliant! We geared up and started making our way downstream to an area that Joey had fished with his dad a few weeks prior and said it had fished awesome since both the tailwater and Table Rock Lake were very low. It had created a nice channel below a shoal with some big boulders along the way. Well, to our disappointment, the prior rain earlier in the week had brought the lake up and the area was completely full of water, no river channel. We chucked some streamers against the bank and along the boulders with only a couple of fish coming to the net. We packed up and headed back up river to fish closer to the bridge below another shoal.




We fished our way back up to the 1st shoal below the bride. We picked up several fish along the way, all of them super healthy, had all their fins, and very pretty. Must be all holdover fish from previous years stockings that have got in touch with their wild side. About this time, we ran into our good buddy, Corey Dodson, who had decided to meet us on the water. We continued our way to the top of the shoal and then made our way to the parking lot for some coffee and what was left of the chocolate muffins from breakfast.

After a quick fill up, we decided to hike upstream to explore the river as Joey didn't go upstream on his previous outing. We made our way to the old railroad bridge and tried our luck in the deep run above and below the bridge pillar. We managed a couple of hook ups but overall the fishing was pretty slow. Frustration was beginning to set in with everyone when DonnyB, Joey, and I hiked on upstream to where the river channel narrowed up and we actually stumbled upon a pretty sweet looking run. It was deep, slow movin at the bottom and then turned into a fairly swift run coming off a gravel bar at the top. I hiked up to the top of the run and crouched down on the gravel bar just above where the water dropped off into the main run. I began high stickin' the top of that run througly, picking up a handful of fish as the other guys worked their way up to meet me, picking up a few fish along the way as well. The day had made an upswing for us and spirits were back up on the river.




Joey and I hiked upstream to check out the water above the island but found nothing worth fishing so we headed back downstream to the bottom end of the shoal to start fishing our way back to the truck. We met back up with DonnyB and Corey where we spent some time fishing and taking some photographs of the river.







We began the hike back downstream towards the truck, leap-frogging from spot to spot, covering the better looking water as we went. We each picked up a few fish along the way but still, no big fish had came to the net. We were almost to the bottom of the narrow channel when Corey hooked up with what we thought was a "better fish". The better fish turned out to be a toad of a brown trout. Even crazier, the fish took a #20 zebra midge somehow. The fish fought kinda lazily, no big runs or anything...just kinda swam around, which we thought was odd. Corey finally got the fish turned and was able to pull it close enough to allow Joey to net it. It was an awesome fish, at first we thought its jaw was all tore up till we got the fish turned around to find a 6" sculpin hanging out of its mouth, half digested! No wonder it wasn't fighting very hard. The brown was easily 20-22" and FAT! Beautiful fish...





We decided to call it quits shortly after releasing that fish and head back to the car. There was some weather moving in and we wanted to get on the road before the weather got too bad.

The lower part of Beaver was a nice change of pace for a day-trip, plus its always a treat to fish new water. So far, 2011 has been a great year for fishing. Plans are being worked out as we speak for this weekends fishing adventure, where that will be is unknown. I think that might be half the fun...

Until next time, keep chasing the dream...

Let's Roll...

The first big fishing trip of the year is always a major event...kinda like opening day for MLB, the Super Bowl, or, if you are from Oklahoma, Bedlam football. You try to pick a place thats not the normal haunt...some place new where you can test your skills, chase some big fish, and just basically fish your ass off for a few days!

So this year, we decided to go for broke by going to fish probably the best trout water in the Ozarks and one of the best tailwaters in the nation...the White River below Bull Shoals. This fabled tailwater is nothing short of amazing. It contains all 4 major species of trout, all of which grow to large size and, in the case of its brown trout, world record size.

The crew and I packed our gear into the truck last friday afternoon, then set a course for Mountain Home, Arkansas where we would make base camp at the River Rock Inn. We made the usual rounds in town to get our licenses, some food/drinks, and any other last minute items before settling in at the motel for the night to sort and prep our gear for the next days quest. On a side note, with this crew, there is never a dull moment when we arent on the water as that evening was filled with some adult beverages that came from a mini-keg, night-time casting with new rods, and dialing in Cole's mohawk.

Between 5 guys, we had 16 fly rods in the truck

Our provisions for the weekend...

Friday night festivities!

After a sleepless night for most of us, we got up, grabbed our gear, and some breakfast...then heading for Bull Shoals Dam to start the day at the Catch and Release area. This area had been closed for the brown trout spawn for the past few months so we thought this would be the best place to get the skunk off. We pulled into the parking lot to find only a handful of vehicles already there so things were looking up. We all anxiously geared up and did the normal process of elimination on which fly to start the day off. We made our decisions and then hit the river.

We spent the first part of the morning working the area below the dam extensively but fishing was a little slow for us. Some of us got the skunk off right off the bat and was able to bring some fish to the net. Mostly just small stocker rainbows but it was good to hook up with some fish. We caught just a handful of fish overall after working our way down through the Catch and Release area. Not sure what the deal was. Weather? Fly Choice? We suck? Whatever it was, the area started to fill up with anglers so we decided to load up and head down stream to Wildcat Shoals in hopes of finding better, less crowded water. After a few wrong turns thanks to Joey, we arrived at the parking lot and made the hike downstream to Wildcat Shoals. This is a sweet area on the White. Lots of pocket water with little chutes and runs all over the shoals, along with fish EVERYWHERE. We all picked a line and started fishing our way down the shoals. We picked up just a handful of fish once again, just stocker rainbows on various different flies. We worked our way down the shoal to where the river creates a couple of larger runs that dumps into the main river channel. This is where we had our first "incident" of the trip. DonnyB had a small tangle on the end of his Albright 5wt so he held the rod about halfway and reached for the tip where the fly line was tangled. As he grabbed the fly line and was about to start unwrapping...SNAP! The rod broke right above the next to last guide, clean break. Mr. Bradford wasnt too happy with the ol' Albright and after a little persuasion from Crik and myself, he decided we would make a pitstop at the fly shop and look at rods. Shortly after that, we decided to make the hike back down to the truck, eat some lunch, go make a stop at the fly shop, and then head to Rim Shoals.







After lunch and a pitstop at the fly shop, we pointed the truck toward Rim Shoals to finish the day off. Rim Shoals is a very popular area on the White River...and for good reason, it has some amazing water. The shoal itself is massive with tons of pocket water, runs, riffles, and lil' chutes...packed full of trout! It is some truly awesome water. Its my favorite place on the White River by far, just from what little I have got to fish it. We all picked our spots and started working our way down the river, fishing all the prime spots. We were hoping for some bugs to come off in the afternoon, like what we had been hearing, but with the weather...nothing was coming off. So we stuck to nymph patterns and swinging buggers to bring some trout to the net. Again, nothing large...more cookie cutter stockers but they were full of fight and really pretty fish for some hatchery freaks. As darkness was approaching, we decided to pack it in and go get some dinner so we could refuel before heading back to the dam to do some night fishing for some big browns.







After some grub, adult beverages, and some ridiculous banter with the waitresses from the local Chilis, we grabbed our big sticks and big flies and headed back to the dam. Joey, Corey, and myself were the only ones with any night fishing experience so the other guys were a little anxious to see what all the hype was about. Night fishing on the White River means that at any point, that thump you feel, could be a fish of a lifetime. Browns over 30" are not uncommon on this river, especially at night where you can throw big nasty streamers. We all spent the night in complete darkness, doing the normal routine of chucking and ducking some big nasties. We caught several small stocker rainbows along with 2 browns coming to hand, an 18" football for DonnyB and a 16" chunk for myself. We packed up at 11 pm and headed back to the motel to get some much needed sleep.



The next morning we packed up all our gear, checked outta the motel, and grabbed some coffee from the local choke and puke before making our way back down to Rim Shoals for the final day of fishing. We arrived at the parking lot to only 1 other vehicle so we geared up quickly and hit the water. Most of the crew started at the top of the shoal while DonnyB, Joey, and myself took the big walk downstream to the end of the island at the bottom of the shoal. We fished out a deep run picking up some fish here and there but nothing very consistent. I worked my way up to the next run above us and started high-sticking the water when I looked downstream to see Joey making another big walk downstream. I didnt think much of it because all I could see was a big, wide, slow flat...more suited for a drift boat and streamers than our conventional trout gear. I continued to fish out the hole when I noticed DonnyB beginning to make the big walk as well. I looked upstream and took a guess why they were heading downstream as Rim Shoals was starting to get a little crowded. I followed in suit and headed downstream to see what Joey had discovered.

As I kept walking downstream, the river started to make a slow bend, I started hearing running water, and could see that the river split around an island which created another shoal. There was some seriously sweet water down there, it was well worth the walk too. We had the whole section to ourselves with just a few guys a few hundred yards downstream of us. We worked that area over really well, picking up a bunch of rainbows on zebra midges, scuds, and egg patterns. Nothing big, a couple of 14" or 15" fish here and there but it was a good time. The weather had finally cleared up as well, the wind had died down some, and the sun was out...the fish were really on the eat. Joey, DonnyB, and I finished up the day up on that awesome piece of water. Around noon we decided to pack it in and head for the truck.








All in all, it was a great trip. No big browns were caught but there is always next time. The white is an awesome place, I cant wait to get back and give it another shot. I think the crew and I kicked the year off right and there is nothing but more great fishing stories to come. I cant wait for a Current River trip in just under 2 months. Thoughts of massive caddis hatches, rising trout, and great camp food are already filling my head...man, I cant wait!

Until then, chase the dream...