Okieflyfisher53

Flyfisher33, No, there deoesn't seem to be any pattern to the generation. I would think that it would start to drop off a little since Keystone is finally getting lower. I have been checking it daily, since I live so close. You can check the flows here http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=07164500 Steve

Flyfisher33, They certainly have. We had low water again this weekend. I had to work yesterday but I made it down there this morning. There are still a lot of paddlefish, but we also caught stripers, sauger, drum, flathead catfish, and 1 spotted bass. One of the flathead was around 25lbs. The water is still stained, but I tied some flies with rattles in them, and that seemed to make a difference. Steve

I fished the Moonshine Road area on Sunday, Nov 4th. I caught a lot of bows, mostly in the 12-14" range, my biggest being 16". Zebra midges and tan scuds with a copper tungsten bead head worked well. The rainbows are trying to spawn! One of the males that I caught was very dark and squirted milt all over the place when I released it. The ODWC says that there is no documented evidence of spawning trout in the LI, but I have seen redds and other signs of spawning activity. Steve

I use the Wapsi "Sow/Scud" dubbing or Antron dubbing for most of my scuds. The "Sand" colored antron dubbing is what I use most for both scuds and sowbugs. Steve

I have been keeping an eye on it. It hasn't been low enough to wade for weeks. I'm hoping that will change soon. Steve

Zach, One of them was hooked in the bill near the mouth. I don't know if it was trying to eat it or it was just a coincidence. Steve

Zach, I was stripping big Clouser Minnows. Steve

I made it down to Zink Dam this morning, since they finally stopped running water. I didn't get into any stripers or hybrids, but did manage to catch 4 paddlefish and a buffalo. The first spoonbill I landsd was around 50 lbs, but didn't fight as hard as some of the smaller ones that I hooked. The stripers are there, but there are so many spoonbills in the water it's hard to cast without hitting one. Hopefully, we will have low water for a while so I can get down there and try again. Steve

Here's an easy one that works. Try it in tan also. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/f...072505fotw.html Steve

Zach, The old timers in the ODWC didn't want to listen to anyone about that stuff, regardless of age. There are some new younger people in the fisheries dept that seem to want to work with us on improving the area. There are big plans for the old Watts area that should improve the fishing there drastically. Steve

Made it down Sunday morning and fished from around 7:00 till they blew the horn around noon. Started below the cross-vane and picked up about 10-12 fish there, mostly small ones. The hot fly in that section was a blue dun midge with silver rib and bead. Moved upstream and continued to catch fish on the blue dun midge and black and silver zebra midge. Ended up with around 30 fish landed, a few missed strikes and LDRs. I caught one brown around 12"s, so all those little browns the ODWC dumped in are growing. I also saw a couple of redds in the riffle below the plunge pool above the island. Steve

http://abdetox.homeip.net/lakelevels.asp

He is on the morning "Zoo" on KMOD, 97.5 in Tulsa. I think some of the other Clear Channel stations also play his pranks.

Here is the website for Roy D. Mercer, a fictional character that has been a real gold mine for a Tulsa radio DJ. http://www.roydmercer.com/main.htm I have to disagree with Rusty about Roy's funniest phone call. My favorite was the ex marine in Jenks who grows flowers. "Roy" got him very upset. Roy also does faux fishing reports on Friday mornings. They can be pretty entertaining. Steve

I finally made it back down there this morning. We didn't get there as early as we had planned, so all the spots that we had planned on fishing were taken. We ended up going to MarVal and picked up a couple of nice bows there. After a while we decided to move upstream and try the area below the cross-vane. After a couple of the usual flies were only working so-so, I decided to try something different. I had a few "Trout Crack" flies in my box that I had tied with the addition of a copper colored tungsten bead head. Caught a nice rainbow on the first cast, and several more bows and a few browns. They were on it like a hobo on a hot pocket! After about 20 or so fish I decided to experiment a little, and tied on a blue dun "Cadion Midge", and caught several with it, but the bead-head trout crack was definately the hot fly today. Steve

The only difference between a woman with PMS and a Pit-bull dog is lipstick! Steve

It was good the last time that I was able to make it down there, but that was July 4th. I hope to make it down there next weekend. steve

Caddis, You will find directions to the Watts property here http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishregs/troutarea.htm There is also at MarVal trout camp and at River Road access. Steve

It's been about 3 weeks since I've been down there. Caught several bows just below the dam. Went downstream to the old Watts place and caught a few browns and bows and some crappie, bluegills, and a couple of small stripers. That is the first time that I have caught crappie in the Lower Illinois. Maybe they came up from the Arkansas River to escape the high muddy water there. Steve

You could stay at Roaring River if you don't want to buy Arkansas licenses. Eureka Springs is 45 minutes to an hour away. Steve

I would say forget the shipping foam and buy some foam sheets from Hobby Lobby or Michaels. It comes in any color you would need and is very inexpensive. Steve

Here is a picture of "Team Midge" with Faith, for those of you who couldn't be there. It was great getting together for such a worthy cause, and it was nice to put faces to the some of the names. Steve

The 6th Annual Smallmouth Rendezvous will be held May 4th&5th in Talequah Oklahoma. For more information go to http://www.okieflyfishers.org/ Steve

I use the gel type for some applications. It is great for foam, as in Crease Flies or laminating sheet foam. I have found that the thin stuff works better for tying on dumbbell eyes for Clouser Minnows, etc. Steve

It's nice to hear some good news about Crane Creek for a change. Those fish have sure had a tough row to hoe the past few years. Steve