Well it was to windy to crappie fish today and i just so happened to have a fly fishing trip for trout in Broken Bow.



This was my view all day. 4 ft 11 tall client. Made it really easy being able to see everything he sees. Also being able to correct him in an instant. 2 of the fish I help set the hook while he was looking at scenery. Lots of "why " questions, but they were actually all about fishing. I quizzed him a little while later to see if he was actually asking for a reason, and amazingly he retained every bit. Grandpa landed a couple dozen off on his own and said he hooked a 20 plus inch brown trout in the evening hole. Took him for a spin for around five minutes and broke him off in one of those deeper ditches. Sad. But he was all smiles telling me about it.



Little guy got 17 for his first ever fly fishing trip. Picked it up very fast.





Ran into a lot of people on the river. Nice to meet y'all!

My Secret Fly caught them all and missed some others.

Nice post Senor. He looks to be one happy kiddo with some good looking fish. What was the water temp like? I assume very cool seeing as how it's coming from the bottom of the lake.

It will numb your feet. Mid day is ok, but still cold.

( Photo by Dan)


I have not thrown a report up in a bit so here's one.

The fishing is the same as always. Its good fishing, period.

Put first timer Corey on 11 Rainbows today. For the first hour he missed a couple dozen trying to set the hook like a bass fisherman. After I got him calmed down, he started to land fish here and there, but still missed a ton of them.



Fish really liked the fly on the swing today or even dragged they were nailing the fly.....

Finished up with Corey and I hit the water for two hours. By then the sun was way up and it was hot outside, but, the water was perfect. No waders needed. Saws bunch of neoprene fisherman. Man, I bet that was not very fun. Been seeing the Neo-Waders for three weeks now.

I had already walked the river with my client in the morning, so I knew where all the big fish were layed up that we missed. Pulled out a few 18-19's and a bunch of dink 12 inchers. Dan was on his way to another hole as , I landed an 18 incher so he got a pic.



I has my eye on three monsters of the day, so for about an hour, I was hopping back and forth drifting a fly to the monsters. Hooked one well over 20, but she pulled off. So after an hour of that, I went to the truck to rehydrate. After that I headed up Spillway Creek. ( video is 8 mins. Nothing really fun. Got bored really quick and all I had on my mind was those big trout and I wanted a 20+ inch trout before I got back on the road, so after this video, I headed right back to them.missed a bunch in the vid. As I was letting it dangle at the end of the run, )



One of the pools had four deformed bows in it.






Very weird to watch them swim. They hobbled over to take my fly it seemed. Their tails were stuck crooked.

Then I finally land my 22 incher. After 50-100 drifts, she finally gave me a fight. Ten mins later we were in the truck coming back to Dallas. Just in time to avoid rush hour.



Totals for the half day:

Corey 11
Dan 27
Me. 37

Air temps are hot this time of year. So is Beavers Bend trout fishing. Inbeween crappie trips I have snuck away to put some peeps on some rainbows.



Saw a kid using a walmart hopper, as I walked by three of us were watching his drift and a monster brown came up and missed. Next drift he got it. 22 inch brown trout. Maybe he will post it up later....?

Fish are best in the early AM and move into the shade and deeper pockets. This makes it a bit more difficult for new anglers due to you have to side cast it under structure and over hanging trees. But when u can get a good drift through the shade, it's usually a bite. I'd recommend fishing red zone Evening Hole Area to Cold Hole. Then about 10 am move to the mid part of Spillway Creek and start fishing in the shady stuff. Some fish are holding in the cracks and shallows. As deep as 6 inches. So don't just cast in the deep pockets, get that fly to drift in every spot before moving on. It's not 100 fish average anymore due to the high water temps, but we are averaging a solid 15-30 fish every half day. Traditional black and red midges, San Juan worms in pink and red, Near Deer's all are working well right now. Lots of 20 inch fish in the upper Evening Hole below the rapids and where Lost Creek dumps back into the river. Bluffs have a few fish, but that area never gets stocked, so the fish have to swim there. Zone two sucked. I walked two miles and never saw a trout. Caught three small mouth bass on the cruise and saw lots of blue gill and one walleye.

So again, I said this last year, fish the shade.

Lower Mountain Fork River Fly Fishing Report:

So yup. Same thing everyday up there. I have been up there once a week or so for the last couple months. Nothing has changed. Crowds have gotten way smaller since school is in now. We saw 4 other anglers on the red zone all day.



Night and day compared to the last couple months. In two weeks it will be a ghost town and no group of kids everywhere. All the canoes going downstream all day long, was ruining a lot of my holes and the fish were super spooky. But now, they are starting to come out and feed again. Caught a lot of fish that have been in the river for awhile.



Super pretty colors. Lost Creek and Evening Hole was stocked full of fish. A few good fish have made their way to the bluffs again. So fishing the whole river has started to get better. But, here comes the heat again......




lol, Fish will always be there though. Just have to throw what they want to eat. Spillway Creek fished pretty good. You really need to focus on the shady spots when the sun is up. They will stack up on top of each other and there will be 20-30 fish balled up in a shady pocket the sized of a large trash can lid. When you go into lost creek, watch what they are doing since they are easy to see there. Then take the pattern you have just learned from them and hike up Spillway Creek. Lots of fun but mending and high sticking is very important. Side casting is too. Some casts need to be thrown up under a over hang to get the fly to drift in some hidden pockets. Don't just drift the obvious spots. Drift the fly in every spot you can everywhere.




The browns have been hiding under the small grassy overhangs along the shore lines. Very tough to get out. Most of them are caught before dark and on WB's at night.









Cant wait till Nov/Dec when it gets cold. No pressure from anglers, so they stock 4200 fish 0n top of the last stocking that barley got a dent in it. Great winter fishing up there and views. The cabins are super nice too.

Mike Landed 32 rainbows
Chris landed 15-20
I landed 75 and quit and went home while they were still biting.

Fly of choice: Near Deer's 1/100th oz- matching the same colors and size as the crawdads, that are under every rock in the river.

Carey-

Thanks for the report! I wanted to go back to LMF but the summer crowds have kept me away. Its good to know that the pressure is off, and the fish have come alive.

Please keep posting your reports. Waiting for October/November.

Bill

During the week will be almost void of people. Weekends won't be as bad. But ya, October will be good, but November - February will be best.

Thanks for the great update! I love to fish but I am new to this whole Trout thing. I am already hooked ! We have booked a cabin on LMF just below Hwy 70. We will be there from 9/23-9/28. I have reserved a guide named Jesse as a guide for a 1/2 day trip. Hope it cools off a little by then. Anyway, thanks again for the pics, Ive REALLY got the fever now !

Bill

Should have reserved me as a guide. You would have caught more fish. IMO.

Tarponfly> I will know better next time . I have already gave Jesse a deposit. You know how us newbies are, we just call the first quide in the book. ha . Im sure I will be going back up this fall.

Gone-Fishin: You will have a fantastic time on the LMFR and as for booking Jesse as your guide, you should be more than happy with your choice! If you are being guided by the Jesse I know, (Jesse King of Three Rivers Fly Shop) then you will have a blast! Jesse and Linda King are both quality individuals and run a very nice shop in Hochatown! They do a great job of giving back to the river and do a wonderful job of keeping local fly fishers outfitted! I stop in to say hello every time I pass through. The Kings and another guide friend of mine, Rob Woodruff, do more for the LMFR than I can tell! Enjoy your trip and have a blast catching fish!

TarponFly: You post some great pics on here and do a great job of keeping people in the know on how the LMFR is fishing. I am sure many on this forum have benefited from your knowledge and passion for the sport. However, to say that someone should have booked you as a guide because they "would have caught more fish" is very self serving and in my professional opinion VERY inappropriate. I am a full time guide and fly shop owner and I greatly respect people who make their living in the wonderful sport of fly fishing. The point of whether a person will or will not catch more fish with a certain guide is irrelevant -- what matters is, that they will be shown a beautiful river with wonderful fish by an individual that knows it well! Comments like the one you posted above are just flat out unnecessary and really do not reflect the true heart behind fly fishing. I wish you well in all of your guiding endeavors and I hope that your business multiplies exponentially for your benefit and the greater good of the sport. I would ask that you please not grow your business at the expense of others reputations - especially your fly fishing brethren! Take care and God Bless!

Tight Lines,

Chris Johnson
Living Waters Fly Fishing

Thanks for posting the pictures, been warm water fishing lately, but after seeing those I'm wanting to go back to LMF.

T Fly, what length is your fly rod?

kinda personal question ain't it ?