Father Daughter Experience the Blue River in Southern Oklahoma

Family friendly fly fishing on the Blue River in South Central Oklahoma.

Introduction – This is a story sent in by a reader who happens to be crazy about fishing as well. His daughter is pretty darn good at it too.

We went up there day after Thanksgiving, just her and me to get some father-daughter time in. Friday was great. We found an awesome camp spot, setup the pop-up camper and she was eager to get on the water so we geared up about 1:30. The great thing about Area 1 is that you can walk to the river and good locations. We were just south of the main ‘big’ hole that everybody fishes, just south of the crossover bridge. There were about three or four seperate riffles we could fish.

We put on an olive wooly with a thingamabobber and did some drifting through the riffles. Within 15 minutes, she had her first catch, but miss, and she was excited. She then went on to catch 8 that afternoon. She was able to cast, drift and hook. I would have to help her get the hook out of the trout’s mouth, but then it was up to her to keep the fish healthy, while trying to pose for a picture – so she learned the proper way to catch-and-release.

At first, she was having difficulty holding the squirming fidgeting fish, but after the three our four, she was able to cradle and show, then get back in the water quickly. She was stoked.

There was a teenage boy behind her on the riffles north to us, she was in a sort of competition with him. They would both see what the other was doing. It was cute.

We played chess, checkers and cards that evening after picking up a burger at Scotty’s and starting a roaring camp fire (burn ban is off) and found out our furnace would not be usable due to a leaky hose on the front of the camper. It wasn’t too cold, so we managed.

Saturday however was a different story. A cold front blew through. Fishing was tough. we did more exploring than fishing and the only fish I caught were the 2 I snagged when she got frustrated and said there weren’t any fish in that hole. I didn’t carry a rod or fish, except when she didn’t think fish were in there. So I tried to show her they were there, and there were.

We went to HWY 7 with plans to ride our bikes to C&R. However, the northern winds had a different plan for us. We fished the front area a bit, then wind whipped, packed it up, and back to camp.

I decided to go to town and try and find a propane hose, we’d need it that night. Tishomoingo has nothing to offer in that respect, so we ended up at a diner for a good lunch and to catch the end of the OU game, which all the locals were out to see.

Drove 15 minutes to Madill to an Atwoods/Walmart in search of a SAFE space heater. We found one that runs on a green propane bottle. Came back to camp, somehow started another camp fire. Later, I walked out to stoke the fire, and I’ll be damned, there’s a ringtail out there coming towards camp. How coincidental is that?

Space heater was ok. We had enough blankets to keep us warm, but our faces/heads were cold if left exposed. woke up in the morning frigid. Camping neighbors said when they walked down to the river that morning, he spooked a huge bobcat near our campsite. That was exciting. We didn’t see it or hear it, but the thought of one near camp was thrilling.

Too cold to fish, and we needed to head back.

Went to ardmore, grabbed late breakfast at IHOP. Izzy was worried about the hunter orange OSU shirt we had purchased since we were in OU country. We got that one because it’s the same hunter orange color, but not as lame as hunting clothing. It boasted a college, and one that has a great veterinarian school. She covered it up with a sweater. There were a few OU fans in there, and they wouldn’t have given her any crap, but she thought that was funny, the rivalry.

All in all, one of my best trips with her. Good one on one time, good conversation, good teaching and learning times. She really picked up stream fishing and can’t wait to go back.

Tags: blue river fly fishing, blue river oklahoma, oklahoma fly fishing, youth fly fishing

Category: Fishing Reports, Life Observed, Oklahoma Report