Ode To JD !!!!

            Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. When your favorite college football team is sitting at 4 up and 6 down and the team just got routed by Golden Gophers then you probably don’t have a lot to be positive about. As a Husker fan, I can’t say enough about one of the smallest and toughest guys on the team, J.D. Spielman. I remember when J.D. first committed to the Huskers and all I heard was how underrated he was and that he should be a 4 star recruit. During his first practice season he was the talk of camp and his name kept coming up as the freshman to keep an eye on. Well an injury squashed his first year and he ended up red shirting and before this season his name was in the spotlight again. It didn’t take long for fans to see that he was special, his first touch against the “mighty” Arkansas State, went 99 nine yards for a touchdown. The games that I got a chance to watch he was clearly the best player wearing red. He blocks, he makes both the tough and the easy catch and is definitely the bright spot of the Huskers. Now there are some other fun to watch players, not saying any names but number 15 and 8, they seem to make a great play but then follow it up with a dropped TD catch. I have heard that one of his nick names is mighty mouse and I can see how that fits so well.

            I got a chance to fish today and on the way to the river I began thinking about this blog, I was planning to talk about the WKRP Thanksgiving episode but after fishing my first run, JD was on my mind. I covered a lot of water today but on my first drift and in the spirit of JD, my indicator shot up river. He was quick and powerful and spit the hook almost immediately. I fished that run for twenty minutes and hooked probably a dozen fish, none were big but they sure were fun to play. I moved up and it seemed that every riffle had a take or two. As a professional fly fishing guide, I like to think that I should be able to land all of the smaller fish but I had my tail handed to me more than my share today the JD sized fish were the best players in the river today. I made my way into a really technical run and landed an 18-inch bow, and shortly after a 20inch Brownie. I hooked another big fish but was handed a beat down. I headed back down and continued to catch the smaller fish all afternoon, I got into one run and after playing with several JD sized fish, I hooked one that felt very different. He tried taking me back into the rocks but even as flashy and awesome as he should be(maybe like numbers 15 or 8) I worked him to the net and it was another beautiful 20 inch Brown. I continued to hook the smaller fish all the way back to the car and it sure was an awesome day, JD all day long.

            The flows dropped yesterday but that was my day to mind the shop so today was the day to check it out. The smaller fish were eating all day but the toads way more techie. A lot of the smaller fish were caught on an egg and the bigger fish were taken on a purple Juju Baetis and a Fod. If you don’t mind the wind, I have an opening for tomorrow but you will need to call me on my cell phone. 719-568-4927 . Next week will be very crowded on the tailwater so my hope is that we can keep a courteous river. Please fish a run and move on. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, JD Spielman and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading and always remember to “Throw The Bones” !!!!

***There are several pics of the big browns and bow and also a few of the JD fish.

First Brown

Second Brown

The Bow and a few of the JD's

Good Times...

            Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. Now that we are nearing the end of 2017 I wanted to share some good news for the year. As our readers know, this has been a very trying year for the O’Grady household. Now sure, there were plenty of good times but it was one of those years where every time I turned around, life felt like it was giving me a swift kick to the jewels. Now several months back while I was throwing the ball to Winston he dropped and had a hard time putting any weight on his front legs. He would rest for a few days and just as I thought he was fine, he would go back to a severe limp. Now in most cases, a limp for a dog is not a bad thing but for my first Golden, he began to limp and we found out it was bone cancer and the fear of cancer seemed like an appropriate end to the year. Over the last month I noticed that he had made a turn for the worse and he even lost interest when he watched me put my fishing gear in my car. I wanted to take him to the vet but was too afraid of what it might be. I finally made it to the vet last Friday and after a thorough exam and x-rays, it is only arthritis. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to hear, arthritis can be managed, heck from a personal level I know that.

                Winston will be put on a monthly anti-inflammatory injection along with a Hemp and glucosamine supplement and should be back on the river in no time. Now I will have to say with the Hemp oil, next time you see him he may be wearing a flat brimmed hat and barking out, “Sup Brah”.

                Now that I knew Winston was okay, I made a trip to the river. The first hour was quite a struggle but when the Bwos began to hatch, the river began to turn on. I landed a few 15inchers and hooked a few smaller fish and then as I was walking up, I saw a bright red stripe come out of the water and looked as if he took a fly that was still in the air. 
           I hurried over and began to drift my flies where he was and after several drifts, the indicator shot up river. I set the hook and the fish freight trained across the river, I was a little confused because the air born fish only looked to be about 16 or 17 but this was a tank. He worked himself into a lower pool and I got a few looks at him as he would surface. I know he was over 20 and just a complete fatty because every head shake I could feel up my arm. I had him in the perfect place and as I was going in for the win, he had a huge head shake and he popped loose.
          In the old days, a rather colorful expletive may have echoed through the valley, Steve could attest to that, but today I just had to laugh. Now I’m sure the fish is telling his friends how he kicked Connell’s tail, but to my friends, I’m calling it a draw.

                I jumped back into the run and hooked a few more fish and got a chunky 18" to the net. The hatch was a little short lived today but it was fun while it lasted. The bigger fish of the day were landed on a Grey Darth Baetis and the smaller fish were keying in on purple.

                The 15^th is just around the corner and when the flows drop, the crowds will follow. We have another 9 days of a rather quiet river so if you are thinking of getting in a quiet guide trip, now is the time. Tomorrow is calling for rain and snow and might be incredible. If interested call me on my cell, 719-568-4927 or call the shop. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston Cheech Marin and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…….