K.I.S.S.....

Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. I was thinking about something an old friend said to me many years ago. This gentleman was normally a very jolly, happy go lucky guy that always had a smile on his face, no matter what was going on around him. One day we were standing talking when a group of geese flew overhead and his face got very serious and he said you see those geese. I said yep, and he said, have you ever noticed that when they fly in the wedge, one side is always longer than the other? I said I guess, he asked, you know why? Like I said, not sure I had ever seen a serious look on this mans face before, so I thought about it for a second. Could it be possibly that whether they are flying North or South that it had something to do with where the sun is coming from? Could it be the wind direction and maybe that is how they are most aerodynamic? Could it possibly even be some type of inherited trait as to where each goose lines up or possibly even some type of pecking order and I looked at him and said, I have no idea. Old Leonard giggled and said it is because there are more geese on one side than the other. Yep, an old bird from Kansas got me and sometimes the best answer is the simplest.

The last three or four weeks in the shop have really got me thinking about the simplicity of fly fishing. I can’t tell you how many different experiences I have heard about: best day ever, fishing sucks, only eating size 26, only eating size 12 euro style nymphs, etc etc. Last week the TU fishing tourney was going on and when they were announcing the winners and asked what was working, they all named different flies. And to jump on board, Cat and I have had the same type of experiences, some great, some good and some quite frustrating but what I have tried my hardest to do is keep it simple.

So, what do I mean by keeping it simple? The current Euro craze has taught me something really important, the “drift” is by far the most important concept in fly fishing. A perfect drift with the wrong flies will be far more productive than a crappy drift with the right flies. The river is in full “winter mode” right now so on most days, the pickins is kind of slim for the fish and a perfect natural drift can initiate a response. When I was younger, I was part of an organization that had a bumper sticker that said KISS, keep it simple stupid and so if you get to the river in the next few weeks and are struggling, remember KISS. Get that perfect drift and if they don’t eat, move to the next run and repeat.

Now onto the river, the other day I started noticing Spawning redds showing up. Yep, it’s the time of the year again when the fish make the future of our river better and we, as stewards of the river can help. Please understand that these are not bass, if you see fish on redds they are either preparing or actively spawning and need to be left alone. Also, please be quick and extra careful with quick pics right now, the future depends on you. If you don’t know what a red is or looks like, please stop by the Drift or any flyshop and we will be more than helpful. I will finish the blog with this, if you see me and ask for fishing advice and I tell you to kiss off, its actually a good thing(hehe). As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Leonard Calkins and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…..

           

Fight Club........

           Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly Fishing Adventures. Well if you saw the blog title and are hoping to hear a story about me throwing down on the river, you will be a little disappointed. Many years ago, I realized my mach-turtle speed, two left feet footwork, and lack of being able to handle pain, assured me that I am way more of a lover than a fighter. The movie Fight Club came out in 1999 and I remember everyone telling me how awesome the show was. It didn’t seem like my kind of movie but when it got to DVD I went ahead and watched it. When the movie was over, I’m not sure I had ever been so confused about a movie. Who and what was real? And as far as I could tell, the main idea of the movie was to explain how much the main character enjoyed getting beat up. Yep, like I said, it made no sense to me but many people just loved it. I think today's trip to the river may have helped me understand just a bit.

            Before I get to today's trip to the river, I need to give a little background. Last Saturday, Cat was out of town and I got to work the shop. I got a few calls and had a few customers in that day expressing their concern over the lack of fish they had been seeing in the river over the last week or so. I explained as nicely as possible that with our lower water temps this January, our fish have really begun to slow down and go deep and the river just needs to be attacked with a slightly different frame of mind. Lots of perfect drifts and don’t yank, but check, every time your indicator moves. And mostly, just remember that you are standing in a river in JANUARY, just enjoy it and allow the catching to be a bonus.

            I saw the weather this morning and figured if the fish were looking for a day to eat, this would be it. I wasn’t expecting a lot but once again, I was standing in a river, the only way it could have been better would have been if Cat and Pooh were with me. Anyway, I headed down to the first run and really couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I saw three or four quality fish sitting up in a feeding lane and the one-year-old naturals were going nuts on the surface. I got set up for the big fish and my first cast was perfect. My heart was racing and as my flies drifted past his face, I fully expected an explosion, but nothing, it was like getting punched in the ribs. The next four drifts were perfect and nothing but denials. I tossed to the next fish over and bang, and then you have to be kidding me, he was foul and it felt like a side kick to the head. He took me down river then popped off but now I was looking at the little guys. First drift through and it was on and then off before I could even get excited. I moved back up to the big fish and after hooking and losing a half a dozen fish, I decide to make my way up river. It felt like going a couple of rounds with my arms tied behind my back.

            I headed up river and got into another stretch where the fish were out eating. I caught a couple but by schooled by a few more. As I was heading up to the next run, the Fight Club movie all made sense. I had not been physically beaten but mentally they were beating me bloody, and guest what, I didn’t care and I even wanted more. Run after run, the fish were actually out today and even though I don’t feel like I won the whole match, I certainly landed a few jabs and I can’t wait to get back out.

            The river over the next three weeks or so should see a little of everything. Fish on most days are hugging the bottom but singles are already moving out to eat. Today’s hatches were fantastic and saw lots of fish selectively eating. Everyday the sun is getting a little higher and we are just a few weeks away from some of my favorite fishing of the year. If you are wanting to learn how to sight fish, it’s time to start getting your dates locked in. Trips over the next few weeks may feel like fight club but if you get it figured out now, February will feel like the last two minutes of final round of a Rocky fight. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Edward Norton and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading……

           

That's a Wrap......

Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly fishing adventures. I guess it’s the time of year to look back and do a little reminiscing about the last year and, WOW, what a year! From a fishing stand point, last January we saw warmer than usual temps and the usual Jan-lull was non-existent. Spring saw fantastic fishing and Cat and I had two awesome trips to the Salt. Summer was a little depressing with the high water but I will never complain about farmers getting the water they need; I like to eat. And this fall saw some of the best Blue wing hatches I have ever seen, even I spent a few days tossing dry flies. And best of all and in all honesty, we had some of the most enjoyable and awesome clients I have ever had the chance to fish with.

As for our personal lives, Cat and I had our 15^th anniversary. Winston was doing so much better. We got to spend time with almost all of our out of town family and we got to spend some real quality days with our beautiful granddaughter.                                                                                                                             

Now looking forward to 2020. Water temps have really taken a dip over the last week and fish are beginning to move into their winter lies. Over the next several weeks it is really important to come to the river with a proper attitude. The twenty and thirty fish days are gone(unless they stock), however this is the time of the year when most people catch their biggest fish ever. Takes can be super subtle and with the fish being a little sluggish, 6x fluoro should handle even the super slabs. Once we get through the first week of February, I start licking my chops. The sun gets a little higher and the singles and doubles make their way out of their winter lies and we get some of the techiest and most incredible sight fishing of the year. So, here is your call to action, if you are looking to get a trip booked, January is a great time to work on technique and reading the water and have a shot at the pig of your dreams. If you are looking for some help sight fishing, and this should come with a warning because you will never see the river the same way again, get your day locked in between February 10^th and the end of the month.

Now, about the near future. The Fly Fishing show will be this weekend in Denver, I will be at the Blue Bonefish booth all weekend and Cat will be there with me all day Friday. If you are up there, make sure you drop by and say hello. Now, as for the blog, Cat and I have discussed maybe changing the format from a written blog to a podcast blog. If we move to more of a podcast we will keep the content much the same but it would also give us a chance to do more product reviews and also we would add in some interviews. Let us know what you think and give us your ideas on what you want to see or hear. Pics are just some of my favorite of last year As always, Connell, Cat, Winston and the drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading….

Transition......

        Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly fishing Adventures. I had some running around to do this morning and then I headed to the river. I hooked several fish right off the bat and then the river just seemed to shut down. I headed up river looking for fish and while thinking about the condition of the river, the word transition kept coming to mind. Now here is the funny thing, every time the word transition went through my head, I could feel myself getting annoyed.

            I was wondering why the word was so irritating and then I realized, it’s because I’m a Husker fan. Why you ask, I remember watching the Huskers as far back as the early 70’s and I kind of took them for granted. Year after year they were always top ten. For thirty plus years there wasn’t a more consistently great football team in the country and was topped off by three Natties in the mid-nineties. Our coach retired in 97 and we were warned the Husker program might be transition. The next coach did good but you could see the top end was dropping. The next three coaches were about a different as could be possible, but in constant transition. Two years ago, the prodigal son coach showed up and even though we were warned we need to be patient during the transition, us fans were expecting big changes. Well we are back to being in the transition stage.  Good plays here, good quarters there, good halve now and then and even a few good full games but way too many times I just want to yell at the TV, “can you please get it together”. Yes, my Huskers are in transition, and even though I might get a little more irritated than I should, I’ll continue to watch because I know soon enough, they will be really good again, and I don’t want to miss those few good plays.

            Yep the river is in transition. The last several weeks have been some of the best early winter conditions that I can remember. Fish were gorging most days and at times, if you could hit the water, you could catch fish. The last few days out, I noticed the water temps have been dropping and the BWO hatches are beginning to slow down. My first hour on the water was pretty much lights out and it felt like watching my Huskers in the third quarter of the Hawkeye game, and then after an hour, it was like watching the Northern Illinois game. Yea, we won, but there wasn’t much to talk smack about. I switched back to my nymph rig and hooked a few piggies, like the Maryland game, before calling it a day.

            So, here is what to expect over the next few weeks. Moments will be good and at times you might want to pull your hair out. But here is the most important thing to understand over the next few weeks. Today is not yesterday, this morning is not this afternoon, and this week is definitely not two weeks ago. And just because yesterday might have been on fire, it doesn't mean today will be the same. Bugs are getting small and even when the fish are eating, make sure your drifts are perfect. And please understand, if you stop by the shop and ask us what flies are working and while answering, you jump in and say you caught three twenty inchers three weeks ago on a size 14 Orange Copper John, it’s not the same river. Anyway, get out and have fun whether you catch two or fifty fish, enjoy.

            A few things to bring up before I finish. This Saturday will be the annual Fishmas Party at the Drift Fly Shop. This year we will be doing it a little different. We will be running the party all day with deals going all day. We will have snacks all day and drawing winners can come in any time. From five to Seven we will have wings and adult beverages. Hope you get out to fish and stop by.

            Next, if you were toying with joining us in Belize, space is running out. We have one room left in the main lodge and two int the new upgraded lodge. Also, on Thursday January 9^th, I will be tying up some of my favorite Salt patterns. There is no cost for this but please let us know ahead of time so we can get the shop set up. You can call the shop or message me to confirm. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Scott Frost and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading….

           

           

Winter Tips !!!!

           Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly fishing Adventures. With Winter coming in so fast and furious this year I wanted to toss out a few winter tips but I need to start with a warning, if you are offended by a little adult content, this post is not for you.

          While standing in the river today I began thinking about an event that happened to me a few years ago. It was mid-December and we were several days into a nasty cold spell. Water temps were still in the low 50’s but outside temps were around 10 degrees and the breeze had me chilled to the bone. Someone with a functioning brain would have been home curled up on the couch but I was out stalking trout. I was half a mile above the NC area and the water had cleared and I was looking for fish and side stepping down river. I caught a little flash down to the right and I began to move, my foot was stopped by a rock but my momentum already had me moving.  I was three quarters the way down when somehow, and I have no idea how, I was able to get upright and probably save my life. I stood there for a second and realized how similar this was to my very first sexual experience. Both physical and emotionally the were the same, my legs were shaking and every muscle in my body was twitching. My emotions went from complete terror from not knowing exactly what was going on, and then complete joy knowing I may never look at life the same way again. And finally, in both experiences, I sat up, took a gulp of air and then looked around and saw I was completely alone.

          All fun aside, I have thought about that day many times over the years. Had I actually ended up in the river that day, I’m not sure I would have made it back to the car. So please on those super cold days, take a friend with you. One, if you do get in trouble you have help and secondly, and like the other experience, it’s so much more enjoyable with someone else.

          The second tip has to do with how to take care of the fish for pics. Now I’m not biologist but my wife is and we don’t believe there is any way pulling a fish out of 55-degree water and holding him out in 10 degree weather can be good for fish. I know when I get out of my hot tub at night and run into the house, I get really cold quickly and my lungs aren’t exposed. So please on the super cold days, take a quick pic and get them back fast.

          Next tip, stop by the shop and get yourself a bucket full of FOD’s. Water temps are dropping fast and the plethora of bugs and hatches we were seeing a few weeks ago have diminished to small midges and BWO’s. The other day I was hooking a few and as soon as I put a FOD on, it just turned on.

          And the last winter tip, is how to deal with perhaps another really long winter. Now I have no idea how this winter plays out but if October is any indication, the season will be awful. The lodge Cat and I go to in Belize has added a few upgraded rooms and April in Belize is a great way enjoy the cold. We still have a few rooms left and right now is the least expensive time to get airfare. If you are interested, please let us know quickly.

          As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…….

Mind Games...

            Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly fishing Adventures. Wow, I was looking back through old blogs and I realized it’s been a long time since I have written two blogs in the same week. I guess I have been letting to many outside circumstances slow my mind wandering while fishing. Today, that was not the case.

             As most of you know, I have a life long curse of being a Husker fan. So today my mind started going through some of the great moments in Husker history and I was surprised as to where my mind wandered. I was trying to think about the 70 and 71 National Championships and even the three undefeated teams in the 90’S but my mind kept drifting back to 82 heartbreaking loss to PSU, where they caught a ball three yards out of bounds and the refs gave them the catch. In 83, it was a failed 2 pointer that left us a point behind. In 93 it was a missed field goal as the time ran out.  And even now that I know my Huskers aren’t very good, it’s the BYU Hail Mary, and the shanked kick against CU is where my mind drifts. I was questioning myself and was wondering, am I just that negative of a person that all I seem to remember in sports is the negative. Then I thought about golf and how exactly opposite I am. I will never forget Tiger making the put on the 72^nd hole to tie up Rocco. And Tiger walking up the fairway at last years tour championship will be etched in my mind forever. So, on my trip to the river today I was hoping to see it through my golf fan eyes but my Husker eyes won out.

            When I got to the river today, I started in one of my favorite runs and landed a fish on my first drift. I hooked a few more and began to move up river. I hooked a fish or two in each run but had a really difficult time getting fish landed. I stepped into one run and put through what I thought was a perfect drift. I was just getting ready to lift and the indicator exploded across the river. As I set the hook, I immediately felt the incredible power of this fish and my attention was thoroughly aroused. I ran to the bank and chased him about thirty feet down river. I began moving him back across toward me and he gave me a huge head thrash and then headed further downstream. Now I normally fight fish very quickly, but this guy felt different. I wondered if I might possible be hooked up to a big carp or more likely a massive brown. The fish settled across the river and after a quick scan I realized this fish had no place else to run and the “real battle” was going to happen here and now. I started reeling and got him to about thirty feet and he stopped dead in his tracks. I gave him just a second to catch his breath and tried lifting him toward the surface. A light shadow turned into a giant golden silhouette and my eyes and heart nearly jumped out of my head. I hate being that guy, but conservatively he was in the mid-twenties. I started working him my way and the dreaded pop as my flies flew back my way. The fish sat at the surface, as if to mock me, for just a second and then flipped his tail and disappeared. I have no idea how many fish I have caught so far this year but like the shanked field goal attempt, that is the fish I will be thinking about when I close my eyes until at least my next big lost fish.

            The action on the river is hot right now so get here and fish. Ninjas were the hot fly today. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, Turner Gill and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…..

What a River!!!!!!

           Hello friends and thanks for checking in at the O’Grady Fly fishing Adventures. Tis the season, nope it’s not Christmas yet, but for the phone to be in the ever-ringing mode. With the rest of Colorado beginning to cool off, anglers start looking for conditions here in P-Town. Hopefully, this write-up will help.

            If you have not been lucky enough to spend a day here during September, I just want to say sorry. The river fished really good most days and technically good the rest. What does that mean, with the right flies and the right drift, the fishing was en fuego. Clarity has been pretty poor but that didn’t seem to bother the fish.

            Now on to what is coming up. One of the trickiest parts of Fall on the river is that there is so much going on. Tricos, PMD’s, Caddis and midges hatching and tons of juvenile crayfish and minnows give fish lots of options to choose from. On days when the bugs are a little more sporadic the key is to catch a fish or two and then move on. On the few “big hatch” days, you can pick out several fish per run. The flies I will be using for the near future are the Winston Caddis, the A&W or Beaded Soft Hackle, and the Ninja. If you don’t know how to tie a few of those, stop by the shop and we can help. I am guessing the clarity ought to be all over the place the next few weeks but by the middle of October, I expect turnover to start and any clarity will be lost. I’m guessing turnover this year will unfortunately last into December. If you have been thinking about a guide trip, Tuesday and Wednesday this week look to have a few clouds and could be really great days, after that, most days in October should be technically pretty good. Get your trips booked now.

            Now a few things coming up, Saturday October 5^th we will be part of several local groups putting on the Friends of the Ark Fly Fishing Rendezvous. The reason we are putting this event on is to connect fly fishermen in the area. If you don’t have lots of people to fish with, tie, learn about conservation, and just to swap stories with, this is the event for you. We will also have a ton of Sage fly rods available for free demo, bring your flies and a driver’s license and take one for a spin.

            The next thing I want to bring up is our next years trip to Belize. We are getting close to full but I think we still need a single to share a room and boat and we may have another spot for two, get with us quickly. Hope that helps a little with the phone but I’m guessing it will still be ringing off the hook. October and early should be technically good and a great place to fish. As always, Connell, Cat, Winston, and the Drift Fly Shop want to thank you for reading…….

Jordans Client!!!

My brother Brian...