Oh springtime...it won't be long!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Springtime Stripers and Hybrids on the Spey!
Springtime is almost here! I can't wait to start chasing the stripers and hybrids on the Lower Illinois and Arkansas rivers. For now...I can only dream...
Oh springtime...it won't be long!
Oh springtime...it won't be long!
Finally!! Its time to fish again!
Its been a long winter to say the least. I spent most of it shooting ducks with my college buddies out in Western Oklahoma. Duck hunting is the only thing in the world that will keep me from a trout stream for an extended period of time. I love it almost as much as fishing...almost!! We had a very successful season though, lots of birds came south this year for us to shoot. I also introduced a friend of mine into duck hunting and it basically took over his life, completely ate up with it now. Here are a few pictures from this season...
It was a good year for waterfowl but season ended, it was time to put the shotgun away and dig out the fly rod. It had been a few months since I had fished and I was missing being out on the river. I've been fortunate enough to make 2 trips in the last month to chase trout. The 1st trip back to fish with the long rod was on the Lower Illinois and then just last weekend, I made an excursion east to fish for the wild McClouds on Crane Creek.
The weather finally cleared up enough that there was no generation on the Lower Illinois so I made a day trip over to Gore, Oklahoma several weeks ago. It was a cold and wet morning to be out. The wind was coming out of the north and sweeping right down the river...a touch on the miserable side but I didnt care, I was on the water! I pulled into the parking lot at the Watts area around 8 in the morning and geared up for a chilly morning. I walked downstream of the parking lot to the little chute below the tailout of the big hole in front of the parking lot. This is one of my favorite little holes...always has lots of fish. I started out fishing a pink san juan worm below an indicator and started making my way down the run. I picked up a few rainbows pretty quick and had a few LDRs...the morning was looking good and then the fish just shut off. The wind picked up and really started to blow. I called it quits and headed upstream to get some bloodflow going.
I walked up to the head of the run above the parking lot and started fishing my way back downstream. I tried several different flies that are usually deadly on the Lower Illinois but just had a couple of strikes. I was starting to scratch my head and get really frustrated when I noticed some fishing rising in a little back-eddy behind the a gravel bar at the tailout of the run. I hadn't actually ever seen trout eating bugs on the surface down there before, I walked over to the gravel bar and just watched the fish for a minute. Couldn't identify what bug they were eating but I tossed a few different dries with no luck, not even a half-hearted rise. I went back to the fly box once again and started pondering what to do. The light finally went off upstairs and I recalled a trip to Taney over the summer where the fish were doing the exact same thing but wouldnt eat a dry. The fish were midging but I slayed them on soft hackles.
I flipped open my front pack pocket and picked out a soft hackle. It was lights out for the next hour and a half. It was basically stupid fishing, completely stupid. I was getting a strike almost every case, didn't matter how you fished it. I could swing it or strip it back and the fish would just eat it up! I hooked the same fish 3 times before I finally got a solid hookset to actually land him. It was a ton of fun to say the least, a great way to get my fishing bearing back. The action finally stopped when the sun came out...it was literally like a light switch. I packed it up after that and headed home. It was a great morning...
A few weeks later, I loaded up and headed to Missouri to fish Crane Creek for some wild McClouds. I absolutely love this little creek...its such an awesome place to fish. I met Joey at the city park with plans to walk downstream to the dairy farm and then fish our way back upstream. We peaked into the creek at the city park right in front of where we parked and was astonished to see 3 trout all over 16" with one of them being 18" easily. We made a few casts to them but they spooked immediately and ran for the big overhanging bluff. Sooo...downstream we went!
This section of Crane has some really good looking water. It has lots of deep holes...really deep holes especially for such a small creek. We scouted out several holes that had some nice fish and made our way downstream. We were nearing the conservation area boundary and our worst nightmare became a reality...we stumbled upon another fisherman who had just started fishing his way upstream. It was a big let down. After some idle chit-chat with the guy, we walked on downstream to the boundary. We were able to put a little distance and un-touched water between us so we started fishing.
I picked up a few little McClouds in a small hole behind a log jam with a red tungsten san juan worm. As we were passing over the log jam, we peaked through the log jam and was astonished to see LOTS of trout stacked up under the log jam. Big trout too! There was a few fish in the 20" range along with lots of fish in the 12" to 15" range...it was sickening but also good to see that there is a healthy population of nice fish in this creek. I can only imagine what you would find if you were able to throw on the scuba gear and look under all the log jams along this creek. I bet there are some real toads in this creek that nobody has probably ever seen.
We continued our trek upstream, catching a few fish here and there. Joey spotted a nice McCloud tucked up underneath a rootball and bombed his egg pattern above it to get a drift in. The fish inhaled the egg and the fight was on! The fish ran straight at Joey and ducked into a rootball just below him. After a few minutes of trying to knock the fish out with his net, it finally came out and was netted. It was an awesome fish...solid 18" with tons of color. He always catches the big fish...
We kept fishing our way upstream and we finally got into the water that the guy had already fished. It was dead the rest of the way up the creek till we got to the city park. We switched flies, change depth, added more weight...and couldn't buy a strike. You definitely can't fish behind someone in this little creek. It sucked...and we saw several BIG fish too but they were all lockjawed or spooked.
We got back to the city park and made a few casts to the fish we'd seen earlier. We were a little more stealthy this time and got down on our hands and knees for the approach. I bombed a cast up over the biggest fish and got a perfect drift down to him. He sipped the bug up and I set the hook...only to have my tippet break where my weight was pinched on. Big let down to end a sub-par day on Crane...but it still was a lot of fun fishing this little creek.
I'm glad to be back out on the water. Its going to be a great year for fishing if we don't get flooded out with all this rainfall we're supposed to get this spring. I'm looking forward to chasing stripers with the new spey rod, catching smallmouth in Arkansas, chasing carp in western Oklahoma, and, of course, catching trout all summer long!!
So much fishing to do....so little time!!
It was a good year for waterfowl but season ended, it was time to put the shotgun away and dig out the fly rod. It had been a few months since I had fished and I was missing being out on the river. I've been fortunate enough to make 2 trips in the last month to chase trout. The 1st trip back to fish with the long rod was on the Lower Illinois and then just last weekend, I made an excursion east to fish for the wild McClouds on Crane Creek.
The weather finally cleared up enough that there was no generation on the Lower Illinois so I made a day trip over to Gore, Oklahoma several weeks ago. It was a cold and wet morning to be out. The wind was coming out of the north and sweeping right down the river...a touch on the miserable side but I didnt care, I was on the water! I pulled into the parking lot at the Watts area around 8 in the morning and geared up for a chilly morning. I walked downstream of the parking lot to the little chute below the tailout of the big hole in front of the parking lot. This is one of my favorite little holes...always has lots of fish. I started out fishing a pink san juan worm below an indicator and started making my way down the run. I picked up a few rainbows pretty quick and had a few LDRs...the morning was looking good and then the fish just shut off. The wind picked up and really started to blow. I called it quits and headed upstream to get some bloodflow going.
I walked up to the head of the run above the parking lot and started fishing my way back downstream. I tried several different flies that are usually deadly on the Lower Illinois but just had a couple of strikes. I was starting to scratch my head and get really frustrated when I noticed some fishing rising in a little back-eddy behind the a gravel bar at the tailout of the run. I hadn't actually ever seen trout eating bugs on the surface down there before, I walked over to the gravel bar and just watched the fish for a minute. Couldn't identify what bug they were eating but I tossed a few different dries with no luck, not even a half-hearted rise. I went back to the fly box once again and started pondering what to do. The light finally went off upstairs and I recalled a trip to Taney over the summer where the fish were doing the exact same thing but wouldnt eat a dry. The fish were midging but I slayed them on soft hackles.
I flipped open my front pack pocket and picked out a soft hackle. It was lights out for the next hour and a half. It was basically stupid fishing, completely stupid. I was getting a strike almost every case, didn't matter how you fished it. I could swing it or strip it back and the fish would just eat it up! I hooked the same fish 3 times before I finally got a solid hookset to actually land him. It was a ton of fun to say the least, a great way to get my fishing bearing back. The action finally stopped when the sun came out...it was literally like a light switch. I packed it up after that and headed home. It was a great morning...
A few weeks later, I loaded up and headed to Missouri to fish Crane Creek for some wild McClouds. I absolutely love this little creek...its such an awesome place to fish. I met Joey at the city park with plans to walk downstream to the dairy farm and then fish our way back upstream. We peaked into the creek at the city park right in front of where we parked and was astonished to see 3 trout all over 16" with one of them being 18" easily. We made a few casts to them but they spooked immediately and ran for the big overhanging bluff. Sooo...downstream we went!
This section of Crane has some really good looking water. It has lots of deep holes...really deep holes especially for such a small creek. We scouted out several holes that had some nice fish and made our way downstream. We were nearing the conservation area boundary and our worst nightmare became a reality...we stumbled upon another fisherman who had just started fishing his way upstream. It was a big let down. After some idle chit-chat with the guy, we walked on downstream to the boundary. We were able to put a little distance and un-touched water between us so we started fishing.
I picked up a few little McClouds in a small hole behind a log jam with a red tungsten san juan worm. As we were passing over the log jam, we peaked through the log jam and was astonished to see LOTS of trout stacked up under the log jam. Big trout too! There was a few fish in the 20" range along with lots of fish in the 12" to 15" range...it was sickening but also good to see that there is a healthy population of nice fish in this creek. I can only imagine what you would find if you were able to throw on the scuba gear and look under all the log jams along this creek. I bet there are some real toads in this creek that nobody has probably ever seen.
We continued our trek upstream, catching a few fish here and there. Joey spotted a nice McCloud tucked up underneath a rootball and bombed his egg pattern above it to get a drift in. The fish inhaled the egg and the fight was on! The fish ran straight at Joey and ducked into a rootball just below him. After a few minutes of trying to knock the fish out with his net, it finally came out and was netted. It was an awesome fish...solid 18" with tons of color. He always catches the big fish...
We kept fishing our way upstream and we finally got into the water that the guy had already fished. It was dead the rest of the way up the creek till we got to the city park. We switched flies, change depth, added more weight...and couldn't buy a strike. You definitely can't fish behind someone in this little creek. It sucked...and we saw several BIG fish too but they were all lockjawed or spooked.
We got back to the city park and made a few casts to the fish we'd seen earlier. We were a little more stealthy this time and got down on our hands and knees for the approach. I bombed a cast up over the biggest fish and got a perfect drift down to him. He sipped the bug up and I set the hook...only to have my tippet break where my weight was pinched on. Big let down to end a sub-par day on Crane...but it still was a lot of fun fishing this little creek.
I'm glad to be back out on the water. Its going to be a great year for fishing if we don't get flooded out with all this rainfall we're supposed to get this spring. I'm looking forward to chasing stripers with the new spey rod, catching smallmouth in Arkansas, chasing carp in western Oklahoma, and, of course, catching trout all summer long!!
So much fishing to do....so little time!!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Some new fly fishing films...
I've basically become a fly fishing film junkie here recently as I buy just about any "adventure based" film I can find and there is a lot of them out there and more to be released! When you can't fish, a good flick can really pass the time especially with all this crap weather we've been getting lately here in the Ozark area. I've got my hands on 2 new movies in the past month or so with both of them being absolutely amazing...
The 1st of the two films is "Nervous Waters" by Beattie Outdoor Productions. This film is actually a collection of 4 full-length films and several short films that R.A. Beattie has filmed/produced over the past few years. The feature film is the titled one, "Nervous Water", which showcases several different locations ranging from Colorado to New Zealand to Louisiana. Its a good film but I actually prefer 2 of the other films to it. One of those two is "First Decent" which chronicles Beattie's journey down a un-named tributary in Alaska as they are the 1st ones to ever float this river. Its awesome seeing what they went through to get down this river plus all the fish they catch. Lake trout, big rainbows, salmon, and Arctic char are all caught on the fly.
This film also contains several short films that are absolutely fantastic...with a few of them being incredibly hilarious! Its very cool to see some creative style in fly fishing media today where for the longest time all you could get was the stupidly boring "How-To" vids that everyone just loves! This movie is definitely worth checking out. Just for the sake of a rating...it gets 2 thumbs up! (Sarcasm)
The next movie is "Rise" from Confluence Films. They released the highly popular movie, "Drift", last year and the company has done it again with their new film. "Rise" basically highlights several individuals with their respective locations and why they love fly fishing so much. It ranges from Florida to Patagonia to Idaho and is a cinematic masterpiece. It explores the "why" of fly fishing, with each individual expressing their deepest connections to the sport and the locations that they fish. My personal favorite is the Patagonia and Henry's Fork chapters of the movie.
In an industry where many films are trying to follow in the footsteps of the "Trout Bum Diaries"...Confluence Films breaks the mold and blazes a new path with their films. Their movies are on the top of my list...no doubt about it.
I highly recommend going out and buying these 2 movies, especially going into the winter time. When you can't fish, can't handle tying another size 20 Adams, and you're out of whiskey to wash away your sorrows....these movies will get you through the tough times. Trust me...
The 1st of the two films is "Nervous Waters" by Beattie Outdoor Productions. This film is actually a collection of 4 full-length films and several short films that R.A. Beattie has filmed/produced over the past few years. The feature film is the titled one, "Nervous Water", which showcases several different locations ranging from Colorado to New Zealand to Louisiana. Its a good film but I actually prefer 2 of the other films to it. One of those two is "First Decent" which chronicles Beattie's journey down a un-named tributary in Alaska as they are the 1st ones to ever float this river. Its awesome seeing what they went through to get down this river plus all the fish they catch. Lake trout, big rainbows, salmon, and Arctic char are all caught on the fly.
This film also contains several short films that are absolutely fantastic...with a few of them being incredibly hilarious! Its very cool to see some creative style in fly fishing media today where for the longest time all you could get was the stupidly boring "How-To" vids that everyone just loves! This movie is definitely worth checking out. Just for the sake of a rating...it gets 2 thumbs up! (Sarcasm)
The next movie is "Rise" from Confluence Films. They released the highly popular movie, "Drift", last year and the company has done it again with their new film. "Rise" basically highlights several individuals with their respective locations and why they love fly fishing so much. It ranges from Florida to Patagonia to Idaho and is a cinematic masterpiece. It explores the "why" of fly fishing, with each individual expressing their deepest connections to the sport and the locations that they fish. My personal favorite is the Patagonia and Henry's Fork chapters of the movie.
In an industry where many films are trying to follow in the footsteps of the "Trout Bum Diaries"...Confluence Films breaks the mold and blazes a new path with their films. Their movies are on the top of my list...no doubt about it.
I highly recommend going out and buying these 2 movies, especially going into the winter time. When you can't fish, can't handle tying another size 20 Adams, and you're out of whiskey to wash away your sorrows....these movies will get you through the tough times. Trust me...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The pursuit for more McCloud rainbows...
Sorry for the lack of posts the past several weeks. I've been very busy and lazy....well, mostly lazy but what does it matter? After my 1st trip to Crane Creek about a month ago, I was chomping at the bit to get back to that little creek. Well on sunday, the 9th, I got up early and hit the road for Crane, Missouri. The plan was to meet Joey at the lower access a little after 7:00 and see what we couldn't pull out of the lil' creek.
Took me right at 3 hours to get to Crane, not too bad of a drive actually. Can't beat having wild trout that close to your front door when you live in Oklahoma! Pulled into the parking lot to find Joey already geared up and waiting so I quickly geared up and we headed downstream. We decided to walk all the way downstream and then fish our way back upstream to see if our luck changes versus the last time out on the lower access. We put in just above a big deep hole where the creek widens out and you can't wade it safely.
The 1st hole produced a few small McClouds right off, so things were looking good. We each pulled out a couple trout out of the 1st couple holes/runs. Joey spooked a BIG fish that he said was easily 20+ inches. They're in there...but you have to be sneaky! We caught those 1st few fish early but hit a dry spell again the rest of the way up the river. I'm not sure what to think about this section of Crane, it has some awesome looking water. Its a bit wider and deeper than the upper section so you'd think it would fish good. We ran into another fisherman as we were approaching the last few holes so we skipped past some water to fish a run just below the bridge where we plucked out a few nice McClouds so it turned out OK.
We grabbed some grub at the local choke n' puke in town before we headed to the upper access. We scarfed down some sandwiches and rigged back up. This time we walked downstream since there was a couple vehicles in the parking lot and we were hoping they walked upstream since there is a hiking path right next to the creek. I must say, the downstream section of the upper access is pretty sweet. The creek was quite a bit lower than it was last time so the holes/runs were smaller but the water was crystal clear which was good and bad. It was good because the creek looked amazing but the bad part was that the fish were going to be REALLY skittish. We walked downstream a long ways, scouting out holes and runs along the way. It was kind of amusing because we'd come to a spot where we'd decide to stop...but I just had to see what was around the next bend. Around that next bend...more good looking water! So we kept on hiking downstream!
We finally put in between two nice bend pools where Joey went upstream and I went downstream. I got down and crawled up to the top of the run where I laid out a cast with the san juan worm. It didn't drift a foot before the indicator dove and it was fish on! It was a nice fish, probably 10-12", that put up an awesome fight!
We continued our trek back upstream, hitting various spots that we'd scouted earlier. The fishing was a little tougher this time out with the low clear water but still managed to pluck several McClounds out of the creek. I really enjoyed fishing the lower section...you could tell nobody had fished it in sometime as we didnt see any footprints and very little trash which is always a good thing. I even tried throwing a Stimulator for a bit to see if I can could get a fish to rise but didn't have any luck so it was back to the san juan worm.
All in all, the afternoon went well on the upper access. We found some new water to fish and caught plenty of wild trout without seeing another fisherman all afternoon, it was great!
Took me right at 3 hours to get to Crane, not too bad of a drive actually. Can't beat having wild trout that close to your front door when you live in Oklahoma! Pulled into the parking lot to find Joey already geared up and waiting so I quickly geared up and we headed downstream. We decided to walk all the way downstream and then fish our way back upstream to see if our luck changes versus the last time out on the lower access. We put in just above a big deep hole where the creek widens out and you can't wade it safely.
The 1st hole produced a few small McClouds right off, so things were looking good. We each pulled out a couple trout out of the 1st couple holes/runs. Joey spooked a BIG fish that he said was easily 20+ inches. They're in there...but you have to be sneaky! We caught those 1st few fish early but hit a dry spell again the rest of the way up the river. I'm not sure what to think about this section of Crane, it has some awesome looking water. Its a bit wider and deeper than the upper section so you'd think it would fish good. We ran into another fisherman as we were approaching the last few holes so we skipped past some water to fish a run just below the bridge where we plucked out a few nice McClouds so it turned out OK.
We grabbed some grub at the local choke n' puke in town before we headed to the upper access. We scarfed down some sandwiches and rigged back up. This time we walked downstream since there was a couple vehicles in the parking lot and we were hoping they walked upstream since there is a hiking path right next to the creek. I must say, the downstream section of the upper access is pretty sweet. The creek was quite a bit lower than it was last time so the holes/runs were smaller but the water was crystal clear which was good and bad. It was good because the creek looked amazing but the bad part was that the fish were going to be REALLY skittish. We walked downstream a long ways, scouting out holes and runs along the way. It was kind of amusing because we'd come to a spot where we'd decide to stop...but I just had to see what was around the next bend. Around that next bend...more good looking water! So we kept on hiking downstream!
We finally put in between two nice bend pools where Joey went upstream and I went downstream. I got down and crawled up to the top of the run where I laid out a cast with the san juan worm. It didn't drift a foot before the indicator dove and it was fish on! It was a nice fish, probably 10-12", that put up an awesome fight!
We continued our trek back upstream, hitting various spots that we'd scouted earlier. The fishing was a little tougher this time out with the low clear water but still managed to pluck several McClounds out of the creek. I really enjoyed fishing the lower section...you could tell nobody had fished it in sometime as we didnt see any footprints and very little trash which is always a good thing. I even tried throwing a Stimulator for a bit to see if I can could get a fish to rise but didn't have any luck so it was back to the san juan worm.
All in all, the afternoon went well on the upper access. We found some new water to fish and caught plenty of wild trout without seeing another fisherman all afternoon, it was great!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
McCloud Rainbows in Missouri!
Well, with all the rain that we've been having the last few weeks...my chances to fish have been few and far between. This past week we really got hammered by rain which left all the tailwaters at full generation, rivers and streams blown out, etc. This scenario doesn't really work out too well for a guy who's on the edge of going crazy if he doesn't get to cast a fly.
Well, I'd been kicking around the idea of going to Missouri all last week if ANY river or stream came down enough to make for fishable conditions. I watched the USGS site all weekend and it wasn't looking promising. I'd pretty much given up hope when I got a message on Facebook from Joey Cloer saying that they were going to hit up Crane Creek on Saturday and Sunday. I checked with Tim and he even said that Crane should be good, if not great by Sunday. That was enough for me! Which this decision was made at about 10:30 at night and I had nothing packed or organized. At midnight, I loaded up the last piece of my small pile of gear into the truck. I was set to head off to Crane after work on Saturday.
I left work and pointed the ol' Dodge for Roaring River State Park. The plan was to setup basecamp there and do some fishing saturday evening if the river was fishable. I arrived at RRSP to find the river up still a bit and just a touch off color. I set up camp and just decided to walk around the river for a while, waiting on Joey to meet me there. Joey got there shortly afterwards and we finished setting up camp, then headed into Cassville for some dinner. It was a cold night for camping, easily down into the 30s. We woke up at 7:00 to frost on our tents, it was a chilly night to say the least.
To give you a rundown on Crane Creek...its a small stream just outside of Crane, Missouri that has 2 conservation area access points that allow you to access the stream to fish for pure strain McCloud rainbows. The fish were originally stocked in the late 1800s and, I believe, the last supplemental stocking was in the early 1920s. So basically these fish have been here for over a 100 years, reproducing naturally in this little stream. They have been through everything...drought, flood, poaching, and still they survive! And are surviving in good numbers from what we found!
We arrived at the lower access on Crane just after 8:00am and geared up. We hiked downstream just a bit and put in a nice hole that had a lot of water running through it from the previous weeks rains. This created several nice seams that we fished out but didn't get any strikes. I came into this trip with an open mind on fishing Crane as I'd heard many stories about how tough this lil' creek is to fish but also how rewarding it can be when you catch one of these beautiful wild fish. We moved down to the next hole and Joey put in just below it, trying to be as stealthy as possible. On the 3rd cast, he got a hook-up with a nice McCloud. We didn't get a good look at the fish for sometime as he kept himself in the main current, down deep! These fish are VERY strong and scrappy fighters, especially on a 3wt! We finally got him to the net and he was definitely an awesome fish! The fish was easily pushing 18 inches...a real toad of a fish for this stream.
The fish was released un-harmed and dove right back into the run he came from. A few casts later, Joey was hooked up again with another McCloud! This fish was a little smaller but had a lot more color to 'em. Just a beautiful fish. We continued making our way downstream, fishing all the primo water that we found. The lower section looked awesome with tons of little holes and nice runs provide plenty of habitat for these trout. I was really amazed at how pretty this little creek is.
You really second-guess the fact that you're in Missouri, chasing wild trout! Joey made the comment several times that Crane reminded him of chasing brooke trout in Tennessee with how the way Crane is laid out. You get that feeling with the wildness of the place and the solitude you can get with fishing this little creek.
Oddly enough, we didn't catch a single fish after Joey caught those 1st couple fish after we made the trek down the creek to where it widens out, gets very deep, and you reall can't wade anymore. We were really stumped to say the least. We worked all the quality water over with our fly rods like a fine-toothed comb. My thought was that we made the mistake of fishing our way downstream which could of very well spooked the fish before we even got a fly in their face. Who knows. We packed up and headed back to town for some lunch.
After a quick stop at the local choke n' puke for some groceries, we laid a game plan and headed for the upper access of Crane. As we were pulling in, the access road runs right next to a section of the creek and you get a peak at what your in for. The stream is very different in the upper stretches. Lots of skinny water with loads of little holes and pocket water for fish to hang out in along with the odd log-jam that creates a moderately deep hole. We geared up and took the hiking trail upstream just a little ways before we put in just below a couple of nice looking holes. Stealth was going to be a huge factor here, no doubt about it.
Joey took a shot first at a small little run and on the 2nd drift, plucked a little 8 inch McCloud from the water. This fish was amazing in color. Lots of par marks, beautifully red and white tipped fins, and just a very clean fish. Healthy too! I couldn't believe how fat this little fish was...this high water musta really put some bugs in the water for these guys. After a quick release, I moved up to the next hole and crouched down behind a tree to make a cast next to a small undercut bank. On the 1st drift, wam! Pulled a little McCloud out that was basically the same size as Joeys. Same color and just as healthy, a great sign for generations of trout to come.
We moved our way on upstream, picking up trout just about out of every likely looking piece of quality water. The stream just seemed to get better and better the further we went. We found deep runs, pocket water, log jams, etc...and they all held trout. It was really amazing to see after hearing all the stories about how tough this fishery is. In 2 particular runs, we pulled 4 trout out of each run...ranging from 8-12 inches.
We spotted a nice fish that was probably pushing 18" in a deep hole just in front of a log jam. I re-rigged with more split shot and tied on a tungsten bead san juan worm to get the fly down quick to where the fish was because there was no room to make any kind of cast hardly at all. On the 3rd drift, the fish ate and I set the hook but I pulled the fly from the fish. It didn't spook so we waited a few minutes before making another cast. I bombed anothe cast up ahead of him and he ate it again! I set the hook and had him...for about 3 seconds and the tippet broke! My heart sank...it broke just above the split shot so who knows what happened. The fish was definitely spooked so we continued our trek upstream.
Like I said, this stream just seemed to get better and better. I was very impressed with this little creek. We spooked out several fish, a couple more probably in the 18-20" class! This little stream has so much character. We finally hiked up far enough that we figured we were getting pretty close to the conservation area boundary so we started our way back down. We hit a few spots that we'd skipped over and literally caught fish out of potholes that I woulda never dreamed a fish woulda been hiding in.
We ended the day with a nice fish that Joey caught out of a random hole that had just enough depth and cover to hold 1 trout! This fish put up an awesome fight...its amazing how scrappy these lil' wild fish are. I definitely can't wait to get back to Crane. This past sunday was easily a day you could describe as "epic" in my books. It really is a little gem in the middle of the Ozarks of Missouri...
Well, I'd been kicking around the idea of going to Missouri all last week if ANY river or stream came down enough to make for fishable conditions. I watched the USGS site all weekend and it wasn't looking promising. I'd pretty much given up hope when I got a message on Facebook from Joey Cloer saying that they were going to hit up Crane Creek on Saturday and Sunday. I checked with Tim and he even said that Crane should be good, if not great by Sunday. That was enough for me! Which this decision was made at about 10:30 at night and I had nothing packed or organized. At midnight, I loaded up the last piece of my small pile of gear into the truck. I was set to head off to Crane after work on Saturday.
I left work and pointed the ol' Dodge for Roaring River State Park. The plan was to setup basecamp there and do some fishing saturday evening if the river was fishable. I arrived at RRSP to find the river up still a bit and just a touch off color. I set up camp and just decided to walk around the river for a while, waiting on Joey to meet me there. Joey got there shortly afterwards and we finished setting up camp, then headed into Cassville for some dinner. It was a cold night for camping, easily down into the 30s. We woke up at 7:00 to frost on our tents, it was a chilly night to say the least.
To give you a rundown on Crane Creek...its a small stream just outside of Crane, Missouri that has 2 conservation area access points that allow you to access the stream to fish for pure strain McCloud rainbows. The fish were originally stocked in the late 1800s and, I believe, the last supplemental stocking was in the early 1920s. So basically these fish have been here for over a 100 years, reproducing naturally in this little stream. They have been through everything...drought, flood, poaching, and still they survive! And are surviving in good numbers from what we found!
We arrived at the lower access on Crane just after 8:00am and geared up. We hiked downstream just a bit and put in a nice hole that had a lot of water running through it from the previous weeks rains. This created several nice seams that we fished out but didn't get any strikes. I came into this trip with an open mind on fishing Crane as I'd heard many stories about how tough this lil' creek is to fish but also how rewarding it can be when you catch one of these beautiful wild fish. We moved down to the next hole and Joey put in just below it, trying to be as stealthy as possible. On the 3rd cast, he got a hook-up with a nice McCloud. We didn't get a good look at the fish for sometime as he kept himself in the main current, down deep! These fish are VERY strong and scrappy fighters, especially on a 3wt! We finally got him to the net and he was definitely an awesome fish! The fish was easily pushing 18 inches...a real toad of a fish for this stream.
The fish was released un-harmed and dove right back into the run he came from. A few casts later, Joey was hooked up again with another McCloud! This fish was a little smaller but had a lot more color to 'em. Just a beautiful fish. We continued making our way downstream, fishing all the primo water that we found. The lower section looked awesome with tons of little holes and nice runs provide plenty of habitat for these trout. I was really amazed at how pretty this little creek is.
You really second-guess the fact that you're in Missouri, chasing wild trout! Joey made the comment several times that Crane reminded him of chasing brooke trout in Tennessee with how the way Crane is laid out. You get that feeling with the wildness of the place and the solitude you can get with fishing this little creek.
Oddly enough, we didn't catch a single fish after Joey caught those 1st couple fish after we made the trek down the creek to where it widens out, gets very deep, and you reall can't wade anymore. We were really stumped to say the least. We worked all the quality water over with our fly rods like a fine-toothed comb. My thought was that we made the mistake of fishing our way downstream which could of very well spooked the fish before we even got a fly in their face. Who knows. We packed up and headed back to town for some lunch.
After a quick stop at the local choke n' puke for some groceries, we laid a game plan and headed for the upper access of Crane. As we were pulling in, the access road runs right next to a section of the creek and you get a peak at what your in for. The stream is very different in the upper stretches. Lots of skinny water with loads of little holes and pocket water for fish to hang out in along with the odd log-jam that creates a moderately deep hole. We geared up and took the hiking trail upstream just a little ways before we put in just below a couple of nice looking holes. Stealth was going to be a huge factor here, no doubt about it.
Joey took a shot first at a small little run and on the 2nd drift, plucked a little 8 inch McCloud from the water. This fish was amazing in color. Lots of par marks, beautifully red and white tipped fins, and just a very clean fish. Healthy too! I couldn't believe how fat this little fish was...this high water musta really put some bugs in the water for these guys. After a quick release, I moved up to the next hole and crouched down behind a tree to make a cast next to a small undercut bank. On the 1st drift, wam! Pulled a little McCloud out that was basically the same size as Joeys. Same color and just as healthy, a great sign for generations of trout to come.
We moved our way on upstream, picking up trout just about out of every likely looking piece of quality water. The stream just seemed to get better and better the further we went. We found deep runs, pocket water, log jams, etc...and they all held trout. It was really amazing to see after hearing all the stories about how tough this fishery is. In 2 particular runs, we pulled 4 trout out of each run...ranging from 8-12 inches.
We spotted a nice fish that was probably pushing 18" in a deep hole just in front of a log jam. I re-rigged with more split shot and tied on a tungsten bead san juan worm to get the fly down quick to where the fish was because there was no room to make any kind of cast hardly at all. On the 3rd drift, the fish ate and I set the hook but I pulled the fly from the fish. It didn't spook so we waited a few minutes before making another cast. I bombed anothe cast up ahead of him and he ate it again! I set the hook and had him...for about 3 seconds and the tippet broke! My heart sank...it broke just above the split shot so who knows what happened. The fish was definitely spooked so we continued our trek upstream.
Like I said, this stream just seemed to get better and better. I was very impressed with this little creek. We spooked out several fish, a couple more probably in the 18-20" class! This little stream has so much character. We finally hiked up far enough that we figured we were getting pretty close to the conservation area boundary so we started our way back down. We hit a few spots that we'd skipped over and literally caught fish out of potholes that I woulda never dreamed a fish woulda been hiding in.
We ended the day with a nice fish that Joey caught out of a random hole that had just enough depth and cover to hold 1 trout! This fish put up an awesome fight...its amazing how scrappy these lil' wild fish are. I definitely can't wait to get back to Crane. This past sunday was easily a day you could describe as "epic" in my books. It really is a little gem in the middle of the Ozarks of Missouri...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Gear Review: Albright GPX 3/4 Fly Reel
I was recently on OzarkAnglers, reading a post on suggestions on where to get your first fly rod. All the normal suggestions like Bass Pro, Cabelas, you local fly shop, EBay, etc were all being mentioned but then a member posted something about a company called Albright who always has a HUGE closeout sale in October. He gave the link to the page so I figured it'd be worth a shot to at least check out, never know what kind of deal you might find.
And what a deal I did find. Albright is a fly fishing equipment company based out of New York. They build rods, reels, fly lines, waders, wading boots, and even conventional spinning rods. The core of their company is made up of several individuals who helped start Redington along with having Lou Tabory (renowned saltwater fisherman and outdoor writer) as a rod designer. So I'd like to say that they've got the background to build quality products. The only hitch in the company is that everything is manufactured over-seas in Asia, which makes you wonder but on the flip side of things, that keeps the cost down on their products.
Anyways, I had been hunting around for a reel to either put on my 3wt or put my Ross Vexsis that was on my 4wt on the 3wt while putting the new reel on the 4wt. The GPX large arbor reel caught my eye. It had all the functions of any modern high quality reel and also looked really nice with the polished bar stock aluminum spool with the black frame on the back. Another thing was that it was marked down to $87.50 from $250! Well, I decided I wanted the reel but found out the other hitch in Albrights system. If you don't spend $$$ to get the free freight, you really take a hit on the cost of even UPS Ground!! So I put in a call to some fishing buddies who I knew were needing a pair of waders and a new rod/reel combo. Well we met the $150 minimum for free freight and the gear arrived at my shop in 4 days, not too bad.
Upon initial inspection, I was really impressed with the reel. It looked great and everything felt smooth as far as the drag and the reel action. It looked to be built right with no short-cuts in manufacturing that I could really tell. I also tried on the Albright waders which seemed to be as same quality as other waders in the $150 range (on sale for $70!). The rod/reel combo that my other buddy got looked decent. You can tell the reel is the cheap one, but it looks like it will be fine. The rod itself feels pretty good with just giving it the ol' "wiggle test" but the reel seat is pretty cheap. I imagine it casts good enough for a beginner though.
I spooled my reel up with Cortland 444 Lazer Line and decided to put in on my 8' 4wt Scott while putting the Vexis on my 3wt. It was a good match as everything still felt very balanced and light even with the GPX reel being a touch wider and heavier than the Vexsis. I tested it out this weekend on Crane Creek in Missouri. The drag worked very well on the scrappy lil' McCloud rainbows, lots of adjustment to be had which was nice when you really wanted to tune the drag in. The reeling action was smooth and it really picked up the line quickly with the large arbor design.
I'm very happy with the reel and would recommend Albrights products to anyone, especially when they're having their October sale. Tons of good deals to be had!
And what a deal I did find. Albright is a fly fishing equipment company based out of New York. They build rods, reels, fly lines, waders, wading boots, and even conventional spinning rods. The core of their company is made up of several individuals who helped start Redington along with having Lou Tabory (renowned saltwater fisherman and outdoor writer) as a rod designer. So I'd like to say that they've got the background to build quality products. The only hitch in the company is that everything is manufactured over-seas in Asia, which makes you wonder but on the flip side of things, that keeps the cost down on their products.
Anyways, I had been hunting around for a reel to either put on my 3wt or put my Ross Vexsis that was on my 4wt on the 3wt while putting the new reel on the 4wt. The GPX large arbor reel caught my eye. It had all the functions of any modern high quality reel and also looked really nice with the polished bar stock aluminum spool with the black frame on the back. Another thing was that it was marked down to $87.50 from $250! Well, I decided I wanted the reel but found out the other hitch in Albrights system. If you don't spend $$$ to get the free freight, you really take a hit on the cost of even UPS Ground!! So I put in a call to some fishing buddies who I knew were needing a pair of waders and a new rod/reel combo. Well we met the $150 minimum for free freight and the gear arrived at my shop in 4 days, not too bad.
Upon initial inspection, I was really impressed with the reel. It looked great and everything felt smooth as far as the drag and the reel action. It looked to be built right with no short-cuts in manufacturing that I could really tell. I also tried on the Albright waders which seemed to be as same quality as other waders in the $150 range (on sale for $70!). The rod/reel combo that my other buddy got looked decent. You can tell the reel is the cheap one, but it looks like it will be fine. The rod itself feels pretty good with just giving it the ol' "wiggle test" but the reel seat is pretty cheap. I imagine it casts good enough for a beginner though.
I spooled my reel up with Cortland 444 Lazer Line and decided to put in on my 8' 4wt Scott while putting the Vexis on my 3wt. It was a good match as everything still felt very balanced and light even with the GPX reel being a touch wider and heavier than the Vexsis. I tested it out this weekend on Crane Creek in Missouri. The drag worked very well on the scrappy lil' McCloud rainbows, lots of adjustment to be had which was nice when you really wanted to tune the drag in. The reeling action was smooth and it really picked up the line quickly with the large arbor design.
I'm very happy with the reel and would recommend Albrights products to anyone, especially when they're having their October sale. Tons of good deals to be had!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cast n' Blast!
A couple weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go on a Cast n' Blast trip to Missouri with my ol' college buddies, Derek and Joey. The plan was to head to Branson and meet some Missouri friends of ours, Chris and Nathan, for a goose hunt on Table Rock Lake and then some trout fishing on Lake Taneycomo. We left Tulsa friday afternoon from my work and headed for Springfield to make a pit-stop at Bass Pro Shops for licenses, shotgun shells, and anything else we felt we "needed".
After the stop at Bass Pro, we headed south to Branson. We meet Nathan at the hotel in town, unloaded our gear into our rooms, and discussed the plan for in the morning. We left shortly afterwards and hit up the Lonestar steakhouse for some dinner after the long drive. We made our way back to the hotel and hit the sack early to be ready for the next morning. The alarm went off at 4:45 and it was the normal grumpy and groggy routine of getting a shower, making coffee, sorting gear, and trying to squeeze into neoprene waders you havent worn for almost a year. Always a fun time! We met up with everyone at the boat ramp at Table Rock Lake State Park. The plan was to hunt from Chris's blind boat with decoys on an island across the lake where the birds had been coming in to feed in the morning. We loaded up and headed for the island.
It was a fantastic morning as far as the weather goes. It was clear and mild so we didn't even need any jackets or anything, even going across the lake in the open boat. Chris and Nathan had already set up the decoys earlier in the morning so we just settled in for the mornings hunt.
The morning went pretty slow as the birds seemed to be working and feeding on the island to the south of us about a 1/4 mile as we could hear them honking all morning. We seen a ton of wood ducks and teal which was really cool, especially the woodys. After a few hours, we sent Nathan in his boat over to the other island to get the birds on the move. That also proved useless as the birds wouldn't swing around to our side of the island, instead the headed away from us. So we moved the blind-boat around to the other side of the island and just as we were coming around, several birds came flying by. Nathan and his other buddy were able to get some shots off and bring some birds down. A few of the them were banded so we were content with that. Shortly afterwards, we loaded up the gear and headed for the marina to try our luck on Taneycomo below the dam.
We put in the boat at the landing and headed up the river towards the dam. The plan was to setup and hopefully catch some birds moving upstream or downstream, depending on the boat-traffic. We setup on a spot against the bank and waited. Luckily, we had a couple small groups of birds come downstream and we were able to bring them down. Got 4 birds that were banded so we were excited about that. None of us Oklahoma boys had ever got a banded bird, just don't get them in Oklahoma, ducks or geese. We headed back shortly after because it was getting late and Chris had spun a prop on his boat.
We headed back to the hotel, changed clothes, and grabbed our fishing gear. After a quick spot at Anglers n' Archery, we arrived at the dam parking lot. They had a few generators going, probably a light 2 generators. The flow was low enough that you could fish the edges pretty easily around the outlets and in-between, still being able to cover a lot of water. Joey had never fly fished before so I got him rigged up with one of rods and sent him on this way. Fishing was pretty slow. We fished the edges between outlet #1 and #2, getting a few strikes here and there. I was able to bring a couple fish to hand on a zebra midge and then a soft hackle. Joey got his 1st trout ever just below outlet #1. He was pretty excited and it was cool to see another guy get bit by the fly fishing bug.
The next morning we slept in a little bit and took our time loading up all our gear. After getting loaded up, we headed back down to the dam to do some fishing before we headed for Oklahoma. We put in between outlet #3 and #2, just fishing the edges in the seams where the fish were working up and down the river. Derek landed a nice rainbow early on a scud that put up an awesome fight. I got the assist on that one with the net, which took a few tries to get the fish. It was somewhat of an adventure landing that fish in waist-deep water with a small net.
We moved up closer to outlet #2 throughout the morning and started picking up more fish. I caught several fish on a Y2K bug, soft hackle, and a grey scud while Derek picked up a few fish on a tan scud. Lots of nice fish in the river. The big browns are making their way upriver. Seen a few nice fish working their way back and forth between the outlets, they were in the 5-8lb range. They had no interest in anything we threw at them when they actually would hold in 1 spot. We also got Joey into a couple more rainbows, including a nice fat 16" fish with nice colors. He was pretty excited.
All in all, it was a good weekend. Got into some birds and trout, not much else a man could ask for! Also had some good times with old friends that I don't get to see very often which is always a good thing. The trip got me really excited and anxious about duck season here in Oklahoma which is still a few weeks away. Can't wait to get out in the blind with my buddies with a hot cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of whistling wings!
After the stop at Bass Pro, we headed south to Branson. We meet Nathan at the hotel in town, unloaded our gear into our rooms, and discussed the plan for in the morning. We left shortly afterwards and hit up the Lonestar steakhouse for some dinner after the long drive. We made our way back to the hotel and hit the sack early to be ready for the next morning. The alarm went off at 4:45 and it was the normal grumpy and groggy routine of getting a shower, making coffee, sorting gear, and trying to squeeze into neoprene waders you havent worn for almost a year. Always a fun time! We met up with everyone at the boat ramp at Table Rock Lake State Park. The plan was to hunt from Chris's blind boat with decoys on an island across the lake where the birds had been coming in to feed in the morning. We loaded up and headed for the island.
It was a fantastic morning as far as the weather goes. It was clear and mild so we didn't even need any jackets or anything, even going across the lake in the open boat. Chris and Nathan had already set up the decoys earlier in the morning so we just settled in for the mornings hunt.
The morning went pretty slow as the birds seemed to be working and feeding on the island to the south of us about a 1/4 mile as we could hear them honking all morning. We seen a ton of wood ducks and teal which was really cool, especially the woodys. After a few hours, we sent Nathan in his boat over to the other island to get the birds on the move. That also proved useless as the birds wouldn't swing around to our side of the island, instead the headed away from us. So we moved the blind-boat around to the other side of the island and just as we were coming around, several birds came flying by. Nathan and his other buddy were able to get some shots off and bring some birds down. A few of the them were banded so we were content with that. Shortly afterwards, we loaded up the gear and headed for the marina to try our luck on Taneycomo below the dam.
We put in the boat at the landing and headed up the river towards the dam. The plan was to setup and hopefully catch some birds moving upstream or downstream, depending on the boat-traffic. We setup on a spot against the bank and waited. Luckily, we had a couple small groups of birds come downstream and we were able to bring them down. Got 4 birds that were banded so we were excited about that. None of us Oklahoma boys had ever got a banded bird, just don't get them in Oklahoma, ducks or geese. We headed back shortly after because it was getting late and Chris had spun a prop on his boat.
We headed back to the hotel, changed clothes, and grabbed our fishing gear. After a quick spot at Anglers n' Archery, we arrived at the dam parking lot. They had a few generators going, probably a light 2 generators. The flow was low enough that you could fish the edges pretty easily around the outlets and in-between, still being able to cover a lot of water. Joey had never fly fished before so I got him rigged up with one of rods and sent him on this way. Fishing was pretty slow. We fished the edges between outlet #1 and #2, getting a few strikes here and there. I was able to bring a couple fish to hand on a zebra midge and then a soft hackle. Joey got his 1st trout ever just below outlet #1. He was pretty excited and it was cool to see another guy get bit by the fly fishing bug.
The next morning we slept in a little bit and took our time loading up all our gear. After getting loaded up, we headed back down to the dam to do some fishing before we headed for Oklahoma. We put in between outlet #3 and #2, just fishing the edges in the seams where the fish were working up and down the river. Derek landed a nice rainbow early on a scud that put up an awesome fight. I got the assist on that one with the net, which took a few tries to get the fish. It was somewhat of an adventure landing that fish in waist-deep water with a small net.
We moved up closer to outlet #2 throughout the morning and started picking up more fish. I caught several fish on a Y2K bug, soft hackle, and a grey scud while Derek picked up a few fish on a tan scud. Lots of nice fish in the river. The big browns are making their way upriver. Seen a few nice fish working their way back and forth between the outlets, they were in the 5-8lb range. They had no interest in anything we threw at them when they actually would hold in 1 spot. We also got Joey into a couple more rainbows, including a nice fat 16" fish with nice colors. He was pretty excited.
All in all, it was a good weekend. Got into some birds and trout, not much else a man could ask for! Also had some good times with old friends that I don't get to see very often which is always a good thing. The trip got me really excited and anxious about duck season here in Oklahoma which is still a few weeks away. Can't wait to get out in the blind with my buddies with a hot cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of whistling wings!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)