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!