TulsaFlyFishers.org
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Lower Illinois River, Friday April 11, 2008
TFF members Dr. Jim Nemec, his son, Joseph, "Carpmeister" (age 9), and Jimmy Durham hooked spawning carp
till the world looked level. This frankly is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen and an awful lot of fun with
a 4 weigh fly rod...No trout were present at the time.
Jimmy Durham
Slide Show: Carp Rodeo
TFF members Dr. Jim Nemec, his son, Joseph, "Carpmeister" (age 9), and Jimmy Durham hooked spawning carp
till the world looked level. This frankly is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen and an awful lot of fun with
a 4 weigh fly rod...No trout were present at the time.
Jimmy Durham
Slide Show: Carp Rodeo
Llano River, Junction, Texas April 18-20, 2008
With the recent heavy rains and resulting high water around Oklahoma this spring I decided to look south for a
place to go fishing. I've fished the Llano River around Mason, Texas a couple of times and really enjoyed the early
warm weather in April so I started looking for a place for camping. In Texas, public access is very limited so I
started with a Google search and found Llano River Campground I called to reserve a spot and Kim informed me
a group of fly fishers from Austin, TX were coming for the weekend and they were completely full. So, I checked
the calendar on the Austin Fly Fishers web site and found that Vern Harris was coordinating their outing. I called
Vern and ask if they had room for one more and was welcomed to join them. I booked a flight and rental car,
called a friend in Austin to borrow camping gear and was on my way Friday morning. I arrived around 1:00pm
picked up the rental car and camping gear and was headed to Junction, Texas by 2:30pm. It's a beautiful 3 hour
drive through the Texas Hill Country east of Austin on Hwy 290. I arrived about 5:30pm just in time for happy hour
and plenty of daylight left for setting up my tent. I met Vern Harris and a dozen other Austin Fly Fishers all of
whose names I can't recall. They were all very friendly and easy going and made me feel right at home. We sat
around the campfire told stories and enjoyed the starry night.
Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast of muffins, fruit, orange juice and coffee before heading out on the
water. The Llano River Campground does not provide canoes or kayaks so all the AFFs brought their own crafts.
Since I didn't have a boat, I had planned on renting a craft from SOUTH LLANO RIVER CANOES-(325) 446-2220.
They provided me with a kayak and shuttle service on the South Llano River. The South Llano River is the
headwaters of the Llano River and is spring fed with cool clear water year round. I fished this upper section
while the AFFs fished the main Llano River section. I had a great day floating the South Llano River wet wading
and fishing the good holes. The Llano is generally shallow, runs around 130 cfs and can be wet waded in April.
The sun was shining and fishing was good with temperatures in the upper 80s. I caught lots of nice sized fish
including Bluegills, Longears and Guadalupe Bass on woolly buggers, madam Xs, clousers, and Turks tarantulas.
I returned to the campground and met up with the AFFs around 5:30pm (just in time for happy hour). Vern Harris
was in charge of the food and had prepared for a great cookout. Everyone brought their own meat and Vern
brought extra Filet Mignon for me! Wow, those Texans really know how to do a cookout. We had jalapeno
sausages for an appetizer, corn on the cob, and a host of other foods for dinner. Again, we sat around the
campfire and enjoyed the starry night.
Sunday morning we had another breakfast of muffins, fruit, orange juice and coffee. Some people floated again
others wade fished the river near our campground and most people were packed up and gone by noon. I wade
fished until about 1:00pm then decided to look for more comfortable quarters for the night. I had previously
stayed at a really nice bed and breakfast near Mason, TX which caters to fly fishers Raye Carrington on the Llano
River I called and booked a room for the night then drove there and was fishing again by 3:00pm. This section is
further down river on the main Llano River. The fishing was considerably better here. I caught many of the same
fish but they tended to be a little bigger. I also caught two large catfish on back to back casts with a small jig I had
purchased at Rim Shoals for high water trout fishing conditions! Wow, both fish took me close to my backing. I
turned in and enjoyed a nice comfortable bed for the night.
Monday morning I had a great breakfast fixed just for me as I was the lone resident for Sunday night. I wade
fished about a mile of river right in front of the B&B and had the best day of all. It was very warm and overcast all
day and I did not see another person on the river. It was nice to get away from the 10,000 cfs they've been
running on the Lower Illinois River!
Fred Kirk
Slide Show: Llano River, Texas
With the recent heavy rains and resulting high water around Oklahoma this spring I decided to look south for a
place to go fishing. I've fished the Llano River around Mason, Texas a couple of times and really enjoyed the early
warm weather in April so I started looking for a place for camping. In Texas, public access is very limited so I
started with a Google search and found Llano River Campground I called to reserve a spot and Kim informed me
a group of fly fishers from Austin, TX were coming for the weekend and they were completely full. So, I checked
the calendar on the Austin Fly Fishers web site and found that Vern Harris was coordinating their outing. I called
Vern and ask if they had room for one more and was welcomed to join them. I booked a flight and rental car,
called a friend in Austin to borrow camping gear and was on my way Friday morning. I arrived around 1:00pm
picked up the rental car and camping gear and was headed to Junction, Texas by 2:30pm. It's a beautiful 3 hour
drive through the Texas Hill Country east of Austin on Hwy 290. I arrived about 5:30pm just in time for happy hour
and plenty of daylight left for setting up my tent. I met Vern Harris and a dozen other Austin Fly Fishers all of
whose names I can't recall. They were all very friendly and easy going and made me feel right at home. We sat
around the campfire told stories and enjoyed the starry night.
Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast of muffins, fruit, orange juice and coffee before heading out on the
water. The Llano River Campground does not provide canoes or kayaks so all the AFFs brought their own crafts.
Since I didn't have a boat, I had planned on renting a craft from SOUTH LLANO RIVER CANOES-(325) 446-2220.
They provided me with a kayak and shuttle service on the South Llano River. The South Llano River is the
headwaters of the Llano River and is spring fed with cool clear water year round. I fished this upper section
while the AFFs fished the main Llano River section. I had a great day floating the South Llano River wet wading
and fishing the good holes. The Llano is generally shallow, runs around 130 cfs and can be wet waded in April.
The sun was shining and fishing was good with temperatures in the upper 80s. I caught lots of nice sized fish
including Bluegills, Longears and Guadalupe Bass on woolly buggers, madam Xs, clousers, and Turks tarantulas.
I returned to the campground and met up with the AFFs around 5:30pm (just in time for happy hour). Vern Harris
was in charge of the food and had prepared for a great cookout. Everyone brought their own meat and Vern
brought extra Filet Mignon for me! Wow, those Texans really know how to do a cookout. We had jalapeno
sausages for an appetizer, corn on the cob, and a host of other foods for dinner. Again, we sat around the
campfire and enjoyed the starry night.
Sunday morning we had another breakfast of muffins, fruit, orange juice and coffee. Some people floated again
others wade fished the river near our campground and most people were packed up and gone by noon. I wade
fished until about 1:00pm then decided to look for more comfortable quarters for the night. I had previously
stayed at a really nice bed and breakfast near Mason, TX which caters to fly fishers Raye Carrington on the Llano
River I called and booked a room for the night then drove there and was fishing again by 3:00pm. This section is
further down river on the main Llano River. The fishing was considerably better here. I caught many of the same
fish but they tended to be a little bigger. I also caught two large catfish on back to back casts with a small jig I had
purchased at Rim Shoals for high water trout fishing conditions! Wow, both fish took me close to my backing. I
turned in and enjoyed a nice comfortable bed for the night.
Monday morning I had a great breakfast fixed just for me as I was the lone resident for Sunday night. I wade
fished about a mile of river right in front of the B&B and had the best day of all. It was very warm and overcast all
day and I did not see another person on the river. It was nice to get away from the 10,000 cfs they've been
running on the Lower Illinois River!
Fred Kirk
Slide Show: Llano River, Texas
Smallmouth Rendezvous, Tahlequah, OK, May 2-3, 2008
The Green Country Flyfishers, Northeastern Oklahoma Fly Fishers and the Native American Women Fly Fishers did
a great job this year with the SMR. There were lots of tiers and the goal to raise money for the Mitch Fram
Memorial Scholarship was successful. Even though the water was running around 1760 cfs on the upper Illinois
River it was clear and looked really good. I waded the area around Sparrow Hawk Mountain for a couple of hours
after the SMR ended on Saturday and caught a few bluegills and a very nice smallmouth bass. I was fishing
Whitlock's Red Fox Squirrel Nymph. Check out the pictures.
Fred Kirk
Slide Show: Smallmouth Bass on the Upper Illinois River
Slide Show: Smallmouth Rendezvous
The Green Country Flyfishers, Northeastern Oklahoma Fly Fishers and the Native American Women Fly Fishers did
a great job this year with the SMR. There were lots of tiers and the goal to raise money for the Mitch Fram
Memorial Scholarship was successful. Even though the water was running around 1760 cfs on the upper Illinois
River it was clear and looked really good. I waded the area around Sparrow Hawk Mountain for a couple of hours
after the SMR ended on Saturday and caught a few bluegills and a very nice smallmouth bass. I was fishing
Whitlock's Red Fox Squirrel Nymph. Check out the pictures.
Fred Kirk
Slide Show: Smallmouth Bass on the Upper Illinois River
Slide Show: Smallmouth Rendezvous
Good Eats from Lake Pawhuska, Saturday May 10, 2008
Steve Crosby and Jimmy Durham caught some nice bluegills from Lake Pawhuska on Saturday. From the looks
of things, I believe dinner was very tasty! Check out the pictures.
Slide Show: Steve and Jimmy's Lake Pawhuska Catch
Steve Crosby and Jimmy Durham caught some nice bluegills from Lake Pawhuska on Saturday. From the looks
of things, I believe dinner was very tasty! Check out the pictures.
Slide Show: Steve and Jimmy's Lake Pawhuska Catch
ONE MEMORABLE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2008!
I can't say that fishing on the lower Illinois River has never been better, because I didn't fish there 20 years ago...
but Memorial Day Weekend was, for me, one of the best I've ever had in terms of quantity of fish and quality. I
think that a few of the other TFF members that I saw there on Saturday, May 24th would agree. Attached to this
are pictures taken with John Johnson, by Scott Hood. One showing John with what was one of the most beautiful
Rainbow's I have ever seen... a "Tattle-Tail"... or Golden Trout... almost 14 inches in length, solid gold back, not
like a gold fish, but like a gold coin in color and a beautiful red "bow" on its side. Also pictured is one of John's
18+ inch fish. I'd estimate he caught over 10 of them one up to almost 22 inches. My picture, taken by John is with
a fish that was also over 18 inches. I caught about 5 of this size. Watch the release schedules on the lower
Illinois River and if you can get there... get there! Don't be fooled by the "chocolate brown" appearance of the
water... the water is "clear" to about 3 feet and the fish are seeing white and dark colored nymphs just fine.
Scott Hood
Slide Show: Memorial Day Weekend 2008
Slide show from Steve Crosby's catch
I can't say that fishing on the lower Illinois River has never been better, because I didn't fish there 20 years ago...
but Memorial Day Weekend was, for me, one of the best I've ever had in terms of quantity of fish and quality. I
think that a few of the other TFF members that I saw there on Saturday, May 24th would agree. Attached to this
are pictures taken with John Johnson, by Scott Hood. One showing John with what was one of the most beautiful
Rainbow's I have ever seen... a "Tattle-Tail"... or Golden Trout... almost 14 inches in length, solid gold back, not
like a gold fish, but like a gold coin in color and a beautiful red "bow" on its side. Also pictured is one of John's
18+ inch fish. I'd estimate he caught over 10 of them one up to almost 22 inches. My picture, taken by John is with
a fish that was also over 18 inches. I caught about 5 of this size. Watch the release schedules on the lower
Illinois River and if you can get there... get there! Don't be fooled by the "chocolate brown" appearance of the
water... the water is "clear" to about 3 feet and the fish are seeing white and dark colored nymphs just fine.
Scott Hood
Slide Show: Memorial Day Weekend 2008
Slide show from Steve Crosby's catch
Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers, June 2008
I'm using my American Airlines frequent flier miles to fish some places which are a little too far from Tulsa for a
driving trip. The upper Sacramento and McCloud rivers fit the bill as they are located in northern California near
the city of Dunsmuir (1,960 miles from Tulsa). I flew to Sacramento and drove 200 miles on Monday, fished
Tues-Fri and returned on Saturday. The weather was great, sunny with highs in the upper 80s with generally light
winds. Interstate 5 runs right next to the upper Sac with about 35 miles of fishing access before it flows into
Lake Shasta. A railroad runs along the other side and provides access all along the river. This sounds easier
than it really is because most of the access requires a very steep descent down an often heavily forested bank
with lots of poison ivy to get to the "good water". Once you get there the water is beautifully clear at 55 degrees
and the fish are completely hidden. You never see one until it comes up to get your dry fly or dropper. Fishing the
upper Sac or McCloud rivers is for those in good shape who enjoy long hikes. Wading can be treacherous
especially on the McCloud. A wading staff will help keep you dry and alive. I bought a cheap wooden one at Ted
Fay's Fly Shop and left it on the bank for someone else on my last day. Ted Fay's is good place to get river
conditions and fishing reports as well as last minute supplies. I picked up a detailed river map which showed all
the access points and received reliable information on which spots were best at the present time. The fishing
was great though I did not catch a lot of fish. A good day was less than 20 fish and every one was hard earned. I
caught the biggest fish in the deep pools using a wooly bugger. My daily routine was to eat breakfast at the
"Brown Trout Diner" in Dunsmuir and head for a different section of water each day usually fishing by 9:30AM.
No lunch break, just water. I usually fished until about 6:00PM. This gave me ample time to shower and arrive at
the local pub for refreshments and dinner around 7:30PM. The McCloud river is about 2 hours beautiful drive
from Dunsmuir, CA, the last 7 miles on a very rough dirt road. Fortunately had no problems in my rented Ford
Focus but I did get a little concerned out there all alone. I finally arrived at the Nature Conservancy Preserve and
was relieved to see several cars in the wilderness parking lot. It's about a 3/4 mile hike on a nice trail to the
preserve where you pick-up your access pass. These are limited to 10 per day but it rarely fills up especially
during the week. There were several passes available when I got there around 11:00AM. The McCloud was
beautiful with very large boulders, heavy current and clear 47 degree water. Fishing is mainly nymphing with
indicator (not my favorite). There's also a few spots where you can get into position to try a streamer but you
have to be very careful in this stream. Click the links below to take a look at the pictures.
Fred Kirk
Slide show: Sacramento and McCloud Rivers
I'm using my American Airlines frequent flier miles to fish some places which are a little too far from Tulsa for a
driving trip. The upper Sacramento and McCloud rivers fit the bill as they are located in northern California near
the city of Dunsmuir (1,960 miles from Tulsa). I flew to Sacramento and drove 200 miles on Monday, fished
Tues-Fri and returned on Saturday. The weather was great, sunny with highs in the upper 80s with generally light
winds. Interstate 5 runs right next to the upper Sac with about 35 miles of fishing access before it flows into
Lake Shasta. A railroad runs along the other side and provides access all along the river. This sounds easier
than it really is because most of the access requires a very steep descent down an often heavily forested bank
with lots of poison ivy to get to the "good water". Once you get there the water is beautifully clear at 55 degrees
and the fish are completely hidden. You never see one until it comes up to get your dry fly or dropper. Fishing the
upper Sac or McCloud rivers is for those in good shape who enjoy long hikes. Wading can be treacherous
especially on the McCloud. A wading staff will help keep you dry and alive. I bought a cheap wooden one at Ted
Fay's Fly Shop and left it on the bank for someone else on my last day. Ted Fay's is good place to get river
conditions and fishing reports as well as last minute supplies. I picked up a detailed river map which showed all
the access points and received reliable information on which spots were best at the present time. The fishing
was great though I did not catch a lot of fish. A good day was less than 20 fish and every one was hard earned. I
caught the biggest fish in the deep pools using a wooly bugger. My daily routine was to eat breakfast at the
"Brown Trout Diner" in Dunsmuir and head for a different section of water each day usually fishing by 9:30AM.
No lunch break, just water. I usually fished until about 6:00PM. This gave me ample time to shower and arrive at
the local pub for refreshments and dinner around 7:30PM. The McCloud river is about 2 hours beautiful drive
from Dunsmuir, CA, the last 7 miles on a very rough dirt road. Fortunately had no problems in my rented Ford
Focus but I did get a little concerned out there all alone. I finally arrived at the Nature Conservancy Preserve and
was relieved to see several cars in the wilderness parking lot. It's about a 3/4 mile hike on a nice trail to the
preserve where you pick-up your access pass. These are limited to 10 per day but it rarely fills up especially
during the week. There were several passes available when I got there around 11:00AM. The McCloud was
beautiful with very large boulders, heavy current and clear 47 degree water. Fishing is mainly nymphing with
indicator (not my favorite). There's also a few spots where you can get into position to try a streamer but you
have to be very careful in this stream. Click the links below to take a look at the pictures.
Fred Kirk
Slide show: Sacramento and McCloud Rivers
Roaring River, Missouri, June 23/24, 2008
My good friend Ian Slattery and myself made the trek up to Roaring River and fished Monday and Tuesday. The
fishing was outstanding up there as usual. We spent the majority of our time in the catch and release area, and
16-18 inch fish were not uncommon. We caught rainbows well into the triple digits over the two days. Not
much dry fly action, but they readily took anything we dead drifted at them. We caught fish on pheasant tails,
ants, scuds, flashback caddis, and san juan worms to name a few. Probably the most productive combo was a
beadhead flashback caddis fished below a san juan worm. The weather was great and I think we only saw
three other fisherman in the catch and release are over the two days. Can't wait for the White River in Sept.
Tight Lines! -Jason Porter
Slide Show: Roaring River
My good friend Ian Slattery and myself made the trek up to Roaring River and fished Monday and Tuesday. The
fishing was outstanding up there as usual. We spent the majority of our time in the catch and release area, and
16-18 inch fish were not uncommon. We caught rainbows well into the triple digits over the two days. Not
much dry fly action, but they readily took anything we dead drifted at them. We caught fish on pheasant tails,
ants, scuds, flashback caddis, and san juan worms to name a few. Probably the most productive combo was a
beadhead flashback caddis fished below a san juan worm. The weather was great and I think we only saw
three other fisherman in the catch and release are over the two days. Can't wait for the White River in Sept.
Tight Lines! -Jason Porter
Slide Show: Roaring River
Lower Illinois River 6 / 28 & 29
If it's variety you are after, then fishing the Lower Illinois River right now is the place to go. I know that crappie,
skip-jack, catfish, carp, drum, rainbow and brown trout were all caught this weekend on this remarkable
fishery. On Saturday, in the rain and low light conditions a green woolly bugger with a little flash was the
answer for me. (fished slow and near the bottom) On Sunday in the bright sun, it was the same with no flash. I
guess that Fox Statler was correct on the "flash" issue, at least that was the case for me. The water is still
stained brown from early spring flooding on the upper Illinois River. (You can still see your boot laces in three
feet of water, but it looks very murkie from a distance.) And you should know that the Corp. is running close to
their published release schedules... I say close because they released an hour early on Sunday and 30 minutes
before schedule on Saturday.
Scott Hood
If it's variety you are after, then fishing the Lower Illinois River right now is the place to go. I know that crappie,
skip-jack, catfish, carp, drum, rainbow and brown trout were all caught this weekend on this remarkable
fishery. On Saturday, in the rain and low light conditions a green woolly bugger with a little flash was the
answer for me. (fished slow and near the bottom) On Sunday in the bright sun, it was the same with no flash. I
guess that Fox Statler was correct on the "flash" issue, at least that was the case for me. The water is still
stained brown from early spring flooding on the upper Illinois River. (You can still see your boot laces in three
feet of water, but it looks very murkie from a distance.) And you should know that the Corp. is running close to
their published release schedules... I say close because they released an hour early on Sunday and 30 minutes
before schedule on Saturday.
Scott Hood