Lower Mountain Fork River in OK??
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I recently moved back to Dallas TX (limited fly fishing opportunities) from north west South Carolina (tons of great trout fishing water), and I am really getting the hankering to go fishing this coming weekend (I have to get some practice in before Ian_Crabtree completely shows me up when I fly up to North Carolina in a few weeks!).
I have heard some things around these parts about the Lower Mountain Fork River in southeastern Oklahoma, and I am going to head up there this weekend and do some exploring. Has anyone ever fished this water??? I have done a little bit of research, but I would love any insight you guys have (i.e. which zone to concentrate on, any applicable midge patterns to tie, etc.).
Feild
Field,
Im pretty sure because we are so good looking, these trout are just going to jump into our hands!www.mattjonesphotography.com
I am from Oklahoma City and went to the LMF a few weeks ago for the first time. I really had a good time even though the fishing in zone 2 was a little rough. In zone 1 lots of fish can be had and the sight casting is great. One nice thing about the LMF is while it is a tailwater they generate after zone 1. So even when they are releasing water you can always fish. If you need more info feel free to contact me. You can get more info at Three River Fly Shop Forum (http://www.threeriversflyshop.com/cgi%2Dbin/phpbb/ ) or The Beavers Bend FlyShop Forum (http://www.beaversbendflyshop.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi). There are lot of Texans on the Beavers Bend Board.
-LH
Thanks for the info. LH, those boards are proving to be helpful. Matt, I wonder if that side stream could have been Lick or Copper Creek? Both seem to dump into the main river by the looks of the river map I have been checking out. After I do some exploring this Saturday, I will report back on what I caught, as well as post some pics.
Feild
I think it was called Outlaw Creek or Spillway Creek. It is an overflow tailwater. It drops like 130′ over the mile of stream but does have fish in it.
Zone 1 and Zone 2 provide much different experiences (I haven’t fished Zone 3). Once you get into Zone II things open up a lot more and you need to fish a lot smarter, but it does have a lot less traffic because it is the C&R area. The other boards provide some fishing reports, but my friend sticks to one fly almost religiously and it is a weighted Zebra Midge. I could go on for a while about how I like the diverse fishing experiences, but I will let you see for yourself.
Report 1/27/07:
I left Dallas at around 5:30am and arrived in Broken Bow Oklahoma at around 9am. I ventured into the Three Rivers Fly shop on Hwy 259 before you enter Beavers Bend State Park. The nice woman working there told me that the generators were running, and that I would basically be limited to fishing Zone 1. She said that my best bet was to fish the newly created ‘Evening Hole area,’ and ‘Spillway Creek.’ My plan was to try Spillway Creek first, but when I pulled into the pull off access area, I quickly changed my mind. Ten to fifteen trucks were crammed in the tiny designated parking area, and men, women, and children in full camo regalia were piling out of the trucks with two to three spinning rods in each hand. I have nothing against hardware fishing. I regularly fish for bass with a bait caster and a heavy jug, but I am usually not really up for fighting crowds the likes of those I saw in this parking lot when out trout fishing. As I was debating where to head next, and how to get there, five guys came hooting and hollering up the trail each toting a stringer full of the daily limit (six rainbows). Each bow was about 10-12 inches…lol.
After leaving Spillway Creek, I ventured down to Evening Hole and started to explore. I started to fish upstream, but the crowds, at least 20+ people, really started to wear on me. I switched tactics and hiked about .5 mile downstream and started to fish back up. After noticing that my nymph rig (size 18 blood midge with a size 22 zebra midge dropper on 6X) was not eliciting any action, I reverted to my tried and true method for catching Alaska rainbows. I am sure some of you may disagree with bead fishing, and many may have even read Richard Chiappone’s ‘Rant’ column in the November/December 2006 American Angler, but I am of that mindset that if you are using a fly rod and it catches fish, I will probably try it. Anyhow, I rigged up a bead rig, and on my first high stick drift through a fast riffle I hooked up a nice 14 inch bow. I proceeded to land another 10 stocker size bows out of that one riffle. The rest of the day was more of the same. I would hook up or miss a strike on a stocker bow on pretty much every drift. It was borderline ridiculous. Just for experimentation, I rigged up with an egg pattern of the same color as the successful bead I had been using, and I had no problem catching just as many fish. In total, I caught and released well over 60 fish. The biggest going was in the 18-20 inch range caught in a small pool right below Lost Creek.
At around 3pm it started to rain a bit. I decided that this would thin the crowds a bit, and that it would be a good time to explore Spillway Creek. As you said Matt, it was a very interesting small stream. I pulled out tons of stocker size bows on the bead rig.
I am heading back to the river this coming weekend with fellow board member Matt_Jones. Since I didn’t get to explore or fish Zone 2&3, I am really hoping that they won’t be generating. Even if they are, I still plan on swinging some heavily weighted streamers through the deep water just for the hell of it. I mean you can only catch so many stockers.
-Feild
it is a fun fishery…i used to depend on the spillway creek the most, saw quite a few karge fish come out of there.
Glad to hear you had a great time. There is a lot of water to explore and I know I could spend a few weeks doing it if given the chance. I think you found the main problem with Zone I in that the crowds would gravitate there. Right below the spillway if you willing to hike a little ways down you can find good water, but that area as well as the area around cardiac hill seem to draw in the fly fisherman and you may have to wait for a spot. Hopefully when you go back the generators will be off and you can get some zone 2 fishing in. We will have to fish together some time.
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