Red River Fly Fishers Meeting Provides Wealth of Broken Bow Knowledge

Lower Mountain Fork File Photo – Dusty Montgomery

The round tripper to Sherman, at 120 miles, was well worth the drive last week, as Jim Kelly unloaded a cascade of information on fly fishing Broken Bow, Oklahoma, on those who attended the meeting at Gander Mountain in Sherman.

Jim went over a lot of the rigs he uses to fly fish the Lower Mountain Fork – Beavers Bend – Broken Bow (call it what you want), as well as maps, and other references he uses, like Rob Woodruff’s Orvis report.

*KNOW BEFORE YOU GO*

I really liked *Jim’s philosophy, the idea that you should know what’s going on before you go – weather conditions, lake level and generation schedule for the location. His insights into how to get that information are very good, and the amount of information he was forthcoming with … well, I am still digging my way out!

READ MORE ABOUT FLY FISHING THE LOWER MOUNTAIN FORK –

My “issues” with Beaver’s Bend have not been well camouflaged. You probably remember my knock on them as a place for colorless stockers, and the kind of damage you can do with a simple woolly bugger. However, listening to Jim got me to thinking about Beaver’s Bend again, and considering the nuances of (stocker trout) fly fishing in a more discerning manner. I haven’t been back since the floods (redesign), so once we get to fall patterns a detailed trip and post is in order.

One of my other “issues” is the improbable presence of fish in Zone 3. The best I could get from Jim was a “true, but not true.” The generation of water below the rereg dam keeps fish there, but the temperatures warm so quickly that they really don’t reach far down that zone. I believe that. The possibility of exploring Zone 3 is also highly limited due to the fact there are no paths that reach very far down, or up as the case from the parking lot at Presbyterian Falls may be. As lovely as Zone 3 is, it is a dangerous and less productive path to fish in Broken Bow.

Remember the *temperature at which little trout brains boil? Always take the temperature of water at Lower Mountain Fork, and don’t waste time with water that’s too hot. Reading between my lines; don’t bother to go down below (right at) the rereg. dam. And if you believe otherwise, you’ll have to prove it to us – with video or photographs from now, not fifteen years ago.
From what I am reading online right now, even Zone II is feeling some heat.

ON THE FLIP SIDE

There’s also the aspect of being grounded by a trip to Broken Bow, getting back to the origins of fly fishing as a trout thing. Sure, we can catch monster carp, huge bass, speckled saltwater trout, redfish … whoops, back to the rainbows … but, there’s a reason to visit to go back to someplace like Broken Bow and fish every once-in-awhile. It certainly slows your pace, and makes you think at a fishery like Broken Bow … there’s plenty of time to think.

BACKTRACKING

Based on the volume of contacts coming in that are interested in fly fishing Broken Bow, I can say that North Texas fly fishers do still find some enchantment with Broken Bow. Amazingly, if you drew a circle, from Dallas, with a line reaching Broken Bow, it would hit the Guadalupe on the downswing wouldn’t it? The fact is, the vast majority of fly fishermen I encounter in this area are enchanted by “Romances With Trout,” and the Bow is their closest mistress. Maybe one of you will take it upon yourself to reintroduce me to the “New Broken Bow” (remember I haven’t been since the redesign!), and be a part of my detailed posts on fly fishing in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, this fall?

Those of you who have said the Bow is a two hour drive from Dallas … yes, in a Cessna. See the part of Jim’s lecture *know before you go. I have scanned the fronts of some of Jim’s maps, and they are the best maps I have seen of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, so far – up to date and very good quality.

SEARCH Texas Fly Caster using the search box at top, if you want to read all the posts from the distant past. Use terms like “Broken Bow,” “Beaver’s Bend” and “fly fishing oklahoma” to see what pops up.

INFORMATION ON FLY FISHING BROKEN BOW OKLAHOMA – Know Before You Go

Jim Kelly
214-384-6810
[email protected]
Lower Mountain Fork River Foundation
www.lmfrfoundation.org
Three Rivers Fly Shop
Jesse & Linda King (Wow Still Rocking!)
www.threeriversflyshop.com
Beavers Bend Fly Shop
Eddie Brister
www.beaversbendflyshop.com
Southwest Power Authority
– generation schedules –
www.swpa.gov
ORVIS
www.orvis.com
Woodruff Guide Service
www.flyfishingfork.com
OKlahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
www.wildlifedepartment.com
Oklahoma Resort parks / Beavers Bend State Park
www.pine-net.com/beaversbend
McCurtain County Chamber of Commerce
www.mccurtaincountygetaways.com

Official Map. Great size and detail.

Good map. Copyrighted, so only a portion displayed here.

A copy of the hatch chart for Beaver’s Bend Lower Mountain Fork is available upon request. Please let me know if you would like a copy of that. There are also hatch charts floating around the internet nowadays.

Tags: beaver's bend, broken bow, fly fishing, oklahoma, oklahoma fly fishing, oklahoma rainbow trout

Category: Fishing Reports, Oklahoma Report