Brave Fish

Hello everyone and thank you for checking in with the O’Grady Flyfishing Blog. This is Cat, I know Sunday is typically when you get to hear a bit of Connell’s humor and fishing tales, but I was inspired today and stole the reins.

As much as I love fishing and our Arkansas River tailwaters, sometimes it isn’t easy hitting the water. I know, those of you who work normal jobs and have kids are currently rolling your eyes at me. I can hear you in my head saying “If I had the chance I would go every day, forever.” And I get it. I was that way too….. for years. But when you get a chance to fish all the time and your job includes fishing all the time you begin to get picky. Knowing how packed the water would be, (no football, warm weather, no wind) and how technical the water has been (colder water, almost gin clear, little bugs) I was tempted to stay on the couch. It was so warm and so relaxing, but then……the river called and it had the voice of William Wallace, well actually the voice of Mel Gibson acting like William Wallace. I am a movie buff and one of my favorite movies of all time is Braveheart. So as Connell and I drove to the river today this is what was scream in my head (with my own words added):

I am Cat O’Grady. And I see a whole army of my fellow Fly Fisherman,
here in defiance of clear, cold water! You have come to fish as hardcore men. And
hardcore men you are! What will you do without flyfishing? Will you fish?"
"Two thousand fisherman on the water?" - the naysayers wined, and then said "No! We will sit on out couch - and not get skunked!"
"Yes!" I shouted back. "Fish and you might get skunked. Stay home and you
will stay warm, at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now,
would you be willing to trade all the Sunday television from this day to that for
one chance, just one chance, to come back here as fisherman and tell the other fisherman that they may take our spots but they will never take our fish"!

          We went. We fished and I prevailed. Today reminded me to be grateful for every chance I get to do this amazing thing we call Fly Fishing. So take a tip from me and Mel and get off that couch and hit the water. The fishing was difficult today, but I was rewarded with this beautiful Bow who measured just over 20”. The fly of the day was a size 22 mercury black beauty.

Thanks for reading Cat, Connell, Winston, and William Wallace.

One more thing……….  I will be doing a presentation for the Cherry Creek Anglers Trout Unlimited in Denver, on Feb. 12^th.  If you are a member of this chapter I would love to see you there. I will presenting:

"Seeing Insects the Trout Way" 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have trout vision? Or perhaps, you have been curious as to how a trout can be so picky about the fly it takes, but will ignore a hook hanging from it? Combining both a scientific prospective and a working knowledge of fly fishing, Cat O’Grady will help those who attend obtain answers to these inquiries and a host of others.This presentation uses trout physiology, their insect recognition tools, and how a trout's environment influences their behavior to bring a higher understanding of how trout think, but it doesn't end there. Next, Cat will teach you how to apply this this knowledge to your fishing tactics. Come prepared with your "I always wondered..." questions and Cat will do her best to put an end to the mystery that is the trout. Can't wait to see you there!

Ramble On....

         Hey all and thanks for checking in at The O’Grady Flyfishing Adventures. This week’s episode is brought to you by Zepplin 2’s “Ramble On”. If you are looking for short and precise fishing report, too bad, I feel the Ramble On rolling off my keyboard and I will hide the fishing report secretly in the text, so there will be no escape but to read it all.

       I like to think of myself as a pretty positive guy, but the last year or so has really put any thought of that to the test. I have even considered changing my ring tone since it seems every time the phone rings it costs me another thousand dollars. Brinnnnggggg and my whole body shudders. As most of our readers know, I don’t really love fishing this time of the year, but luckily for me, this weekend made me realize how incredibly lucky I really am.* Bug Du Jour- SOL and J-Bomb*

      This last week started off like most of last year, I spent hours and hours on hold trying to get my new cash register system up and running. When I finally got it up and running smoothly it was time to head to Denver to help set up The Drift’s booth at the ISE show. The drive was mostly nice and relaxing until I hit the Denver traffic, nuff said. I made it there just in time to watch Cat and Cody do their final touches on our booth and to take some credit for helping, then we headed out for a planning dinner. On the way back to my mom’s house, we were staying with her while in Denver, after dinner I encountered my first “road rage” incident in I can’t even tell you how long, and it nearly ended up in my second argument with my wife in the ten years we have been married. Well, we got through it with no ill feelings and made it to the show early Thursday morning. Traffic at the show on Thursday was a little slow, but the highlight was we got to meet a few of our blog Friends. We had our videos and a few new videos running all day and it was awesome to watch people gaze in awe, and yes everyone wanted Winston’s autograph. Alex put together an electrifying presentation Thursday afternoon and the ride home was quiet with no road rage incidents whatsoever.* New Zealand or no indicators*

          Saturday I had a full day trip out, I was excited because after explaining about our Good Times, Bad Times, conditions he was still excited. Doug is a big Ravens fan and had an extra day of frustration that needed calming.Doug landed a beautiful 18 and a half incher an hour in and he told me that he was already satisfied for the day. Exactly what every guide wants to hear. The river really filled up so we began to make our way back to the car for lunch. We stopped in a run and after spotting a few feeding fish we jumped in. A few casts and another great fish, Doug got a crash course on the smarts of our fish, and after going around and around the rocks and he finally got a beautiful 17 and a half to the net. We offered those fish No Quarter and he hooked two more. Several small fish after lunch finished off a great day.* search for feeding fish*

 Cat was stuck in the shop today, so I headed out by myself. As our readers know, last week’s day of fishing left me a little Dazed and Confused so today was all about payback. When I first got to the water I spotted several fish ready to eat, first cast and bang. He popped off, but my smile was returned to my face. I couldn’t get any more interested so I began to work my way down river. I got into a run that I had been eyeballing last week and after a few casts I hooked, fought, and landed a fish I shall name Moby Dick, okay he was only 21 but man it was awesome. I sat in that run for an hour and landed a 19 & a half, an 18, and several smaller fish. *Send Connell all your money*

         Okay if you have choked your way through the entire blog and did not figure out the fishing report than you can send the O’Grady’s 1000 dollars and I can send you an O’Grady fly fishing super decoder ring. Please write checks to Winston, he is in a much better tax bracket. But seriously people, everyone should make their way to our river next week. Fishing may not be incredible, but you won’t be in Denver traffic, you won’t watch the Broncos play in the Pro Bowl, and most of all your phone magically doesn’t ring. Oh crap, my phone is ringing. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Robert Plant, and The Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading……..

Call Me Kitty Cat !!!!!!

 Hey all and thanks for checking in at The O’Grady Flyfishing Adventures. Well it is another depressing end to a football season.  I have developed this plan where anytime I think my Huskers or Broncos are going to struggle, I try and go fishing, I cannot take the chance off a heart attack or a broken big screen.  Cat and I went today and the day felt a little like the game most of you watched this afternoon. As our readers know, January is not my favorite time of the year to fish but even with that being said I almost always feel like I should catch more fish than everyone around me, much like the Broncos.

  Now Cat and I wanted to try a little experiment today, we fished mostly the same flies today but with the slow, super clear water, Cat used the New Zealand indicators and also the new camo weights. The first hour or so didn’t make much of a difference, I had two very light takes and Cat was feeling the skunk. We continued to move down river and finally we moved into a pocket of stockers. I know for the most part stockers should not be that smart, but fishing the exact same runs, I got one fair fish to the net and Cat had at least a dozen. Every time we switched runs Cat would hook two more, I expected a "Wedding Crashers" chant, "Call me Kitty Cat".  Even my fair weathered dog moved away from me and threw looks of disgust my way. The kicker was the end of the day when after making our way back toward the car, Cat landed the fish of the day, a beautiful hook jawed 16inch bow. I don’t get outfished much and don’t ever remember getting shelled like I did today so congrats Cat, this just might be your year. Maybe I need a little “Luck”.<--too soon?

  Anyway after just one day I can’t help but think the New Zealand indicators might have something to them. Cat was picking fish up on black midges and a few on eggs. My one and only dink of the day took the J-bomb. Fish can very much be had, you just gotta bring your “A” game. After walking the river today I spotted some really nice fish and plan on acquainting myself with them soon.  I wanted to remind everyone that the Drift will have a booth at the Sportsman’s expo this weekend in Denver. We have hugely discounted tickets at the shop(6.00$), but the supply is limited. The schedule looks like Cat and I will be there on Thursday, Travis will be there on Sat and Sun and Alex and Cody will be there the whole weekend. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, the Bronco offseason, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…….

Not A Poet ......

Hello all and thanks for checking in at The O’Grady Flyfishing Adventures. As most of our reads know, I’m not much of a writer, and my trip to the water yesterday gave me the chance to work on another skill that I am equally as poor at. I know this might be a little terrifying for a few of you but fishing was so intense yesterday that I actually had time write a poem in my head.

 As Santa makes his way back to the Pole, I long for the days when Big Red played in a real bowl.

 Another season that felt like a waste, On to something real in a serious haste.

To the river I go to erase the pain of the game, for the love of the fish and not the fortune and fame.

Lucky for me I have an incredible wife, we fish when we want with no bitterness or strife.

The water is cold and the fish move real slow, just like my Huskers that for now just b***.

It takes patience and precision to land these big winter fish,

Not like the stockers that need merely nothing but a wish.

If you land a pig now, you need to take a big bow, you have done something special and that deserves a big wow.

If you’re having a rough time and the river makes you want to scream, just count your blessings that the Huskers are not your team. Enjoy.

 

 

 Now on to the fishing. As most of our readers have been able to figure out by now, this is NOT my favorite time of the year to fish. Fish can absolutely be taken, it’s just not my favorite. Fishing yesterday was very spotty. We would go half an hour without a take and then the fish would nibble for ten minutes. Takes right now are super subtle so make sure you lightly set every time the indicator even slows down. My world famous brother-in-law Jimbo was in town fishing with me yesterday. The first hour he hooked several and got a few dinks to the hand but then the day really slowed. He is fishing on his own today so I’m expecting to hear that he has taken everything I have taught him over the years, put it into practice and landed a 25 inch pig that no one was around to confirm with a pic.jkjk Love ya Jim. Cody had a trip out yesterday and found conditions very similar to what we saw. They stayed late and persistence paid off, just before dark they landed an Arkansas 18in fatty. Congrats Ryan and Caleb, now you are hooked and that fish was no easy task.

 A little side note, The Drift will be hosting a booth at the Sportsmans expo in Denver this year. The dates are the 15-18^th. Alex is supposed to have discounted tickets in the shop next week, call the shop for details. Our schedule as of now has Cat and I at the show on Thursday, Travis on Saturday and Sunday, and Alex and Cody there the whole time. If you have not met us, we would love to meet you at the show, just please have all your newly written poety directed at my lovely wife, oh and if Tony is reading, I’m not a hugger. Hope to see you there.

I hope that I have not frightened too many would be anglers away from out incredible winter fishery. I know that Alex absolutely loves this time of year and thinks that it can really show off the expertise of the angler. I don’t necessarily agree but nothing quite beats a day on the water, especially if the alternative is watching my Huskers. Take it all in, the Bald Eagles, the sound of the river, the snow and maybe even write yourself a poem. Flies du’jour have been the Bling, J-bomb, Ninja, and actually had a few take the true blood. If you really want to check your skill set, watch for the afternoon midge hatch and see if you can trick one of the beauties sipping in the tailouts on a dry, but bring you’re “A” game.

On a happy note Winston made his first trip back on the water. He feels great and seems to have healed completely from the pinched nerve in his back…… Though he is sad that the vet put him on a diet, so he requests any treats brought to him on the water be snuck in so Daddy and Mommy can’t see.

As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Robert Frost, and The Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading.