Hello all and thanks for checking in
at The O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. Now I have heard the stories many times
over the years, but I’m not sure I have ever actually asked the question, are
we there yet? Growing up, almost every year we would take a cross country
vacation. California three times, NY City once, Arkansas and Table Rock Lake a
few times, what memories. Now if you have ever seen Chevy Chase’s Vacation,
that was the vehicle we drove. Now my dad figured out real early how to keep
himself sane during the vacations. The first fuel stop every trip, he would let
us all go in and pick one little game to keep us busy. My sister would always
get a book of puzzles, my brother would get jax or some dice game and for some
reason, my dad would always pick out my game. He would get me a whiffle ball
and bat. I figured out real quick that the bat was not for me at all, you see,
even in the very back of the station wagon( we didn’t use seat belts in those
days), my dad could, at 70 mph, reach around and use the bat to smack us if we
got to loud. So you might think I was an abused child, not even close, I loved
those vacations and we never asked if we were there yet. So why am I writing
about the “are we there yet” question?
We, the shop family, have had this question asked to us so many times
over the last month that I was thinking about bringing a whiffle ball bat into
the shop. Jkjk I will do my best to answer a few of those questions with the
Good, the Bad, and the Bugly.
First the good; the colder over night
temps from last weekend seemed to finally finish the turn over process on the reservoir.
Sunday and Monday the clarity was really, really good. The flows have dropped
down into the winter storage numbers and the last few days we have really been
able to see the changes that the high flows have caused. Don’t look at the
changes as a liability; look at them as a new river experience. Next I wanted
to say that our fish are in fantastic shape. One bow that was landed today was
as fat as any fish I have seen around here in awhile.
Now for the bad; with the clearing
water, I was really expecting to see more fish moving into feeding lanes. Do I
think that the fish are all gone? Absolutely not, the river does have a little
of a January feel to it, and you know how well I love January fishing. Now my
best guess is just this, with the high flows all summer and fall and the water
taking so long to clear, I think the fish had so much to eat that they just
haven’t quite gotten back to their normal feeding patterns.
Now for the Bugly; No typo there, the
Blue Wings are here! On the sunny days, the hatch has been starting around noon
and they pop from about half an hour to all afternoon. We are still seeing a
few caddis and midges off and on all day long as well.
Next, I want to talk a little about
the guide trip I had today. My clients were two first timers, an 11 and a 13
year old, to protect the innocent we shall call them D1 and D2 (hehe). Now to
start, I didn’t think today was easy at all. The crowds are beginning to fill
in and even during the hatch the fish didn’t seem to go batty. So since these
two were first timers, we spent the first hour or so working on casting and
proper drifts. When the bugs were worked out on technique I set the boys up
into a fresh run. After a few moments, D1’s indicator shot up river and he
lifted to set the hook. The fish came out of the water twice and I couldn’t believe
it, it was the biggest bow I have seen all fall. The blood-red side silhouetted
the green backdrop twice as the fish sailed skyward and D1’s eyes lit up. Then
the inevitable happened. A quick head shake and the flies were hurled back at
us. I explained that nature played a dirty trick on him today; most people get
to fight a smaller fish or two before they get totally schooled. Anyways, D1
got his next fish in and is completely hooked. D2 started out slow and then
just caught fire. He got several in and at one point I looked up and by the
look of his rod, he was either on a big ole rock or fighting a pig. Regardless,
I ran to his side and luckily I did, for this was no rock. It took a few
minutes and almost every bit of muscle in his young arms, but he battled the
fish of the day to the net, an absolute “pot bellied” 18 incher. A few more
were landed before the day was over and I think D1 will have one of those
evening that all long time fly fishermen have had, as he closes his eyes
tonight, the vision of the bow coming out of the water will shake him awake.
Welcome to fly fishing boys.
I’m beginning to think that maybe I’m
a better guide than actual fly fisherman. When Cat and I were driving home
yesterday, I was definitely a little frustrated. Driving back to the shop
today, D1 was telling me that he now wants a fly rod for Christmas and my love
for the sport came back two fold. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, My Dad, and
the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…..
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