DaddyO

Saturday morning I took My Dad to fish Roaring River. We wanted to get there for the Winter C&R before it closed. It was not crowded and we enjoyed a very good day of fishing. Tim, thanks for letting us into your shop before opening hours. We were going to fish Crane Creek on Sunday but Tim told us it was going to be worked on. So we went to Taney and had a blast with no generation. Here is a pic of the nice 4.5 lb Rainbow that Dad caught. (He had a good weekend)

Dad and I fished Taney on Sunday morning. Walked in at Outlet #2 and walked straight across to the other side. I tossed in a Black Zebra Midge and immediately got into a nice fish. You know how a fish splashes in the water and the pitch is kinda high if it's a small fish and has more of a bass sound for a big fish? Well, this was a nice fish with a deep bass splash and a big tail. I could see him in the water but I tried to horse him in and broke off on him. Pretty much all of our fish were caught on Midges, black or red. Here are a couple of fish that Dad caught. (He was schooling me at Taney and at Roaring River the day before.) I'll post the pic of the 4.5 lb fish he caught at Roaring River in that section.

What does Leonards hibinator look like?

Easter Bunny?

Dang it!! I wish I was going. I've been down there the last 3 or 4 weekends and I think I have a few things to get done around the house this weekend. You guys be sure to post a report on how the fishing was. I've noticed that the Corp has been doing some minimal generation this week which should help the fishing down there. The weather is definitely supposed to be warmer than it has been the last few days. Have fun!

John, I've never fished a shad kill. What flies do you recommend for this and what is the best way to fish them?

There is a shareware program called Photo Elf that is very easy to use. Google it and download the trial for free. I've found that it's best to have an arsenal of tools. I have Photoshop, Paintshop, and Photo Elf. (Listed in Hardest to Easiest order)

Nope. I had a Black hoodie Jacket thing on Sunday, but I left at noon.

Mikey, As you are going towards the Dam from Gore, turn right onto E0990 rd. It is a black top road. Drive all the way to the end of the road and it will end in a parking lot by the river. Get out and walk down river and you will find an access point that allows you down to the river without having to climb like a goat. You can use Google Maps with the Satellite turned on and labels turned on to see the road if you look for Gore, OK and zoom in.

Spent the weekend at Marval and just fished that area on Saturday and a couple of hours Sunday. Being new to this fly tying thing, I wanted to try a couple of flies that I tied. I tied some pink marabou on a 1/80th jig head as one fly/jig and I tied a Bead Head Pheasant tail with a Fire Orange thread thorax (Hot Spot) instead of the Peacock Herl. Caught a half dozen on the Pink Marabou and an even dozen on the Hot spot PT before calling it quits on Saturday. Went back out Sunday for a couple of hours and caught another half dozen on the Hot spot PT and then left for home.

It's on the main drag as you go through Gore next to the bait shop. It's a little white building with lots of cars parked around it during the lunch hour. I think the high school mascot is the Pirate so the restaraunt is the Jolly Roger.

Phil, Thanks for the video. It was very informative. I've only drifted a soft hackle under an indicator. I caught fish but I think it was just blind luck. I'm anxious to tie some soft hackles and try your methods. Thanks again!!

If that is where I think it is then they have black-topped the road heading back there. I was there over the weekend. I saw a bunch of big rocks piled up. I was wondering what those were for. As far as I could tell, they haven't started placing those big rocks in the river, yet. It was pretty crowded but I saw several people catching fish. I caught a few there and then we left to go get some lunch. I love those Jolly Roger Cheese Burgers. If you fish the deep pools there, throw something with pink in it. I had an old beat-up micro jig with a few strands of pink marabou. Pulled a fish on the first cast. We fished Marval after lunch and caught fish on black zebra midges, prince nymphs and even on a fly that I tied called an Eggy Worm Kenobi. I gave it to my Dad to try and the first one he threw was hit by a good sized fish that broke his line. I gave him another one and he pulled a couple fish out before we left. I'm new to fly tying and that was the first time one of my flies has caught fish. It was pretty exciting.

Actually, they are the same fly. Hopper's pictures were taken using a flash and without a solid color background. I had my wife take this picture without using a flash and I put a background behind it which may have obscured the finer threads from the dubbing that give it that buggish look. I watched Hopper pull his fly from the flybox and I can assure you, I couldn't tell the difference between his and mine.

Here's another Pic.

Hopper won the Biggest Fish at 15 1/2 inches. Some other guy won first fish and most fish at 20. I'll try to post a picture of Zach's fly unless he beats me to it.

Zach, Thanks for posting the info for the One Fly event. It was good to see you again and meet your Mom and Girlfriend. I also met Hopper (Greg). He was the guy that won the Biggest Fish award. It took me a little while to figure out how to best present the One Fly. When I finally figured it out and found the fish I was able to catch 10 within a couple of hours. All in all, it was a good day. Thanks for the sample flies, also.

I'm glad to see that somebody offered to post photo's of the flies. I was going to ask that they be posted. Being a newbie at the art of fly tying, I'm very curious to see what you'all put together.

Thanks for the report Dan-O. Zach, does everybody use the same fly pattern or do you choos which one you want to use?

"Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." And thus did my plans go awry also. I'll have to try for another time. Maybe next weekend for the OneFly if I can get away. Zach, what are the rules for the OneFly? You told me it's a $5 entry fee, but, then what? Is it like the name implies, you only fish with 1 fly?

Wow, guys. Thanks for all of the advice. I'm like a sponge soaking it all in. I live in the Tulsa, OK area and we are Fly Shop poor. I may have to go it alone, using all the info that you guys have shared. I'll hit those websites and books that you guys have recommended. Thanks, Again!

I'm thinking about going Saturday Morning. I'll call you if I do.

Terry, You crack me up. Believe it or not, my wife actually called me at work and told me that either I was going to get the fly tying stuff or she was going to do it for me. Her advice was for me to do it instead of her. I said, "Oh...Baby. Twist my arm a little harder." You gotta love a woman like that. Now, I've been up almost every night researching all of the stuff!!! I'm feeling somewhat sleep deprived! I've watched so many youtube videos on fly tying that I'm having dreams about it now. I even understood instructions from Zach Bearden on one of his Flies. I haven't even tied my first fly and I'm already thinking, "I need some of that and that and that and oooh look at that shiny stuff. I got to have some of that too!!"

Cool! One of these days, when I grow up, I'll be able to participate in these things. I will be tying my first fly soon. I can't wait!!!!! I'm like a kid in a candy store.

Good advice from both of you Gents. Thanks!!