I suspect that someone, or someones, new have entered into the whole process. The details are where the devil will be found.
Time to start pulling strings, doing some investigating. An entirely different form of fishing!

Mr. Richard Hatcher is the Director of the ODWC.

email address at info@odwc.state.ok.us

Address your email in the text to him.

FYI: you have a good week ahead, to have the opportunity to land a 20+ inch fish. I'd say you only have about a week and a half before they all get yanked out. One of my buddies that lives there was in the cold hole when they Stocked it. He said the same thing, approximately 40 to 50 were released in the cold hole.

So 10 people, using power bait and knowing how to use it, that will equal 60 fish on their limit. 20 to 30 people go through the cold hole every day. Again, it's gonna be a long wait for the next two "net fulls". I have video of the old hatchery releasing fish. They released 4-5 net fulls at every spot with all sizes of fish.

One of my other buddies called the local fly shop asking why they had not stocked on the 31st. They claim somebody was blocking one of the entrances preventing the hatchery stocking people from releasing the fish? So the fly shop told him they would be releasing them the next day at noon ( they showed up at 3:15 pm.. So does that mean all the fish sat in the truck for two days? I don't even know what's going on anymore. But again if you can get up there within the next week you have a very good opportunity of catching a big fish. It is what it is.

Thanks Carey. The Nebraska Hatchery spends the night in Oklahoma City when they come to Beavers Bend. It's a commercial licensing thing concerning mileage driven in one day. Then the next day they drive in to Beavers Bend. The trout are in the truck at least 2 days. When all this "new" deal started I could get information to plan a trip. Someone has put a lid on all of it, unless you are a park worker (ha!).If I had known they were going to stock Friday I would have come up there Monday. I HATE weekends up there. Hit or miss does not work for my buddies and I. Oh well...............

Been awhile since I have logged on....

Cutbows are considered rainbows at most if not all hatcheries. They are not protected by the laws on 'native' fish. So the cutbows brought in by the hatchery are just part of the stocking program. I have caught a few with a very light 'cut' marking. The farther down the evolutionary tree you go, the fainter the marking.

Browns - Carey will confirm, but there are Browns all over the river. They are harder to catch, more secretive, and they do spread out a lot better than stocker rainbows. I caught a nice 15" brown in Spillway on Friday before sunup. Browns by nature like undercut banks, trees, and heavy cover. They have earned their reputation for being harder to fool.

Chatter - I totally agree with you on the stocking program issues. The secrecy is like a government project. When you travel 200+miles to fish, it always nice to catch a few fish or at least have a number of them available. Chasing the trucks isn't fun - it almost seems like poaching. I like to fish the several days after a stocking when fish are evident, but not pushovers. It would certainly be nice to know when the trucks will show and plan trips around that schedule. I do understand the driving and time constraints the NE hatchery has to abide by. I wish we had a manageable hatchery closer to Broken Bow.

Carey - as always, thank you for the reports and the updates. Even if you are the reason BBFS won't put the message board up again The new owner LOVES you! Wish I could have stayed for the weekend and tried out some of the larger fish. The crowds are down, the weather is cooling, the stop logs are coming out soon, and the state lady says a planned release of 'thousands' of fish is set for Z3 in December. That should be fun. Nice pic of your client and that buck rainbow. Maybe I will see you up there Nov 21-24?

On the subject of Zones and regulations: It does need to be marked better. The signage they have now is inadequate and often hidden around bushes. On nearly every trip I find bait guys fishing the hole below Cold Hole and taking the fish home. Either no one understands the maps, or they just say f#*k it and fish anyway. Personally I don't understand this, but I am only one out-of-town flyguy. I will say, some of the people that I mention the regulations to, they are families with kids. Once they are informed of the regs, they pack up and move to a bait and keep area. Lost Creek has several of these because of its easy access and easy fishing. I still find a few jerks and idiots who blow me off, but it works for some people. I actually have fun crowding some of ignorant people. I am 6'2 and 270 lbs so I am hard to ignore Like everyone else, I wish the laws would be adhered to. But since that won't always be the case, you have to live with it I guess. do your best to help the system, but try to have fun anwyay.

My two cents are in...... enjoy!

You called it Carey! I called my buddy Dan yesterday afternoon based on your assessment of the stocking. Golfer Jeff, it has been 4 days since stocking but of no avail to the fish. There were less of them but Dan and I had 77 trout between us and many were 16-20" (measured). There were several large bows that freed themselves from our tiny barbless lures when jumping one or more times. Fantastic! Worth the 460 mile day. I personally spoke with several OWDC personnel and we had a good discussion. The main reason for not posting the stocking schedule is that many people complained when the schedule was not followed. Crystal Lake was like clockwork when they stocked so I assume the complaints must be on the Nebraska Hatchery. The reality of all this is no matter how clandestine the trout stocking is, someone will find out and the word will spread and Zone 1 will be fished out between stockings per usual. Beavers Bend is fished by anglers every day of the year. Even in the harshest of winters with sleet and snow. I speak from experience. Unless my friends and I can know for certain Beavers Bend has been stocked, we'll fish for Texas trout which are squirts but with light tackle, fun to catch.

Friday's Report:

Had my clients in Evening Hole, Bluffs and Lost Creek in the morning. Fourth roll cast one of my guy guys hooked up, but LDR'ed it. Let him be and took the newbie on a training course. After about 10 mins he lands his first fly rod trout. He was on a roll, so I went and checked on his buddy. He had already landed a couple and missed a bunch. Then Newbie hooks the 20+ inch monster that was in the pocket I had him fishing. After 10 mins of battling the hook pulled. But, at the end of the trip we hit one more pocket and newbie lands a solid 18 incher.



I bet this poor miss guided client had a terrible time.


Ended the day with 15-20 in the AM in Red Zone 1, with many many missed bites. After they had their fun I decided to fish spillway creek and goof around. I was drinking some water and all of the sudden a hatch started. And man it was a big hatch. Bugs all over the rocks. So did what anyone would do and "matched the Hatch and I tied on the new S.C. Pink Near Deer and caught 17 bows within a half hour, till a kid and his dad walked up asking what I was using cause nothin had worked for them all day. I cut my S.C. Near Deer off and rigged the kids fly rod up and let them have my spot. I left on his first cast, as he was battling a 18-20 inch bow while his dad was telling him how to land it. Split Cane Near Deer's, rule.

Only tied up one of the New Secret S.C. Near Deers, so I went to the secret pink egg color pattern. Ended up landing 37 in spillway creek power fishing whatever holes didn't require slipping on the slick boulders. The whole creek has some good fish and if I landed a fish in the main stocking holes, I would release it in a rapid or below the stocking holes. Might live a bit longer. Went near the fly shop and hit a shallow area and landed 11 in a 50 yard stretch on the egg things. Decided to head home, but then decided to hit the red zone one more time. I hit one pool and quickly landed two fish. A board member from the Dallas Fly Fishing Association stopped by and said he landed a couple fish. Within the 20 mins of him standing there, I landed 6 fish and jumped a 20 plus inch bow and amazed the DFA board member. He didn't know huge trout like that, will hold over in a small pocket like the one I was in. But remember, these are not wild trout. These are Wild Stockers, and remember to mash down the barbs so they will live a little longer -till a Pink Bubble Gum Power Worm swims by -within the hour.

Don't use anything with sent in red zones. It's bad.

All the fish in the making of this report were hurt. Including the other 40-50. Six of them did not make it and ended up being smoked, including the massive 38 inch Wild Brown Bow below. He dead.

Report:

Fishing has been pretty good. Still a bunch of people there, but the fish are starting to move up the river to spawn. So fish below and above the stocking holes and small pockets with gravel to get your numbers up and keep on the move, or go to Split Cane's spots and use a size 22 midge and you can catch the heck out of 2-3 fish. Fish with Pink Eggs or a Pink Bubble Gum Near Deer ( Sorry Split Cane, I had to rename it and I didn't want to send you royalties.)

Below is what happens when you use a Near Deer:



Sunday we started at the upper end of Spillway Creek and landed 20-25 bows on the secret Pink Egg pattern, Pink (BGND), Purple/Black and Olive Near Deers.

There was a guy fishing the pool above us and was doing just as good as we were. The pool he was in was only 2-3 ft deep and had a small drop to 3 ft at the end of the run. Some guys saw him catching fish and planted themselves around his hole invading his space. So he went to the next pool after he got crowded out. The invaders didn't catch squat. Watched the guy that got invaded start catching on the next pool he went to. Then one of the guys thought all the trout were where we were and headed over to make a cast. I bet he never tries that again after I learned him.




Hit the lower end of spillway and caught some toads. The big fish average 18-24 inches right now. They stocked a bunch of little ones this time and they are readily taking dry flies. BWO's and Grey RS2's are best bet. Midges, I'd use black or red ones if I was to target the smaller fish ( big fish eat small flies too, but the Near Deer and Secret Egg pattern are killing them right now. Black stone flies and BWO's are hatching everyday. On one of the Logs that the water rolls over in Spillway Creek, I hooked a 22-23 inch Rainbow. for about 5 mins out of the 15 I was playing it, the fish sat in one spot and never moved, I couldn't turn it or anything, just sat there. Finally she started to move around. She was just about wore out and headed down to the log/waterfall. I was prepared to chase it down to the next pool and it did something I have never had happen to me. Instead of going over the log/waterfall, the freakin fish went under the log/waterfall into the next pool. snapped me off fast on that one. So if you catch a 22 ish plus fish with a Split Cane Near Deer, I mean Bubble Gum Near Deer, you get a bonus fly and a great looking fish!

After the spillway, we hit Evening Hole area. Caught another 20-30 fish with 10 or so over 20 inches. Most were off the Secret Egg pattern, and the rest off Near Deers.

End of the day, I decided I needed a couple fish to put on the new smoker. Tooke a whole 2 casts to get them.




Don't walk through the spawning beds. they look like a brighter white patch where they are fanning the beds/redds. Fish with egg patterns below the beds. There always feeding trout near them willing to take a fly.

Disclaimer: ( All fish in the making of this report were hurt )

So nice of you to mention me in your posts on an ongoing basis, Carey. It will be good for my split cane rod business.

I, too, was at the Lower Mountain Fork on Sunday morning. Ice forming in the guides, I did manage to catch one or two or ten or, ya know, I just lost count of the fish I caught. Seriously... more big, beautiful rainbows were hammering, as Carey mentioned, egg patterns. They are also taking hare's ear.

Let's not forget to mention soft hackles swung in the current, especially redass soft hackles. Fish them in just about any current, swing them downstream, and just hold on. Fish hit them with reckless abandon.

Yes, the fish are also hitting #22 midges if you have the patience to figure that out. You, too, might catch one or two, just like me.

AWESOME day on Sunday at the LMF! You really don't have to follow the tracks of the stocking truck to catch fish!


JR

Swinging soft hackles in the current is a hell of a lot of fun. You can almost tell the size of the fish from the strike. The 10-14's kinda nibble and shake and you have to set the hook. The bigger fish just take the fly and buzz downstream and hook themselves. A few more days till the logs come out, but the EH bridge was a good place last weekend.

Stream is full of smaller fish eating dries too, for those of you that enjoy tossing small bugs to rising fish. I had a blast Friday catching 8-12" fish in cold hole and below. There are a few Browns in the mix, too.

For trophy hunters - there are several 24+ browns dumped in and they are spawned out from what I could see. Leave the redds and spawners alone and toss eggs as TF and SCR described.

Can't wait to get back up there....... love the cold weather!

There are 18" and larger fish taking midges in the surface film.

Jeff, the vibert boxes were planted by volunteers. No brown trout were stocked. All those brown trout you're seeing are there year-round. Exactly my point in saying to stop worrying about the stocking schedule and go fishing!

Not flaming anyone here. Enough of that already. There are some trophy trout in the waters at LMF. I don't tell everything I know. I'm not in the entertainment business. When people don't catch fish, they go away unhappy. They have to blame someone or something.

Soft hackles is a great pattern at LMF. It represents a lot of different aquatic bug life. They're almost fool- proof. I even caught 'bonus fish' by just hanging the fly while I washed slime out of my net. LOL!! What a surprise that one was!!

JR

Plan to go this weekend, thanks guys for the info, pics videos. So cool the amount of information on this thread.

Looks like fun . I am heading out early sunday morning from Midlothian ( Ft worth) What type fly should I be throwing at EH.? Are they spawning yet. I am a semi newbie to fishing for trout so I am never real sure what to present. Dry or wet for this time of year. I have only fished dry and streamers in the past.

Last couple days have been a bit slow due to the super high air pressure. But the fish r biting. I'd call it steady. U catch a fish out of each hole at least. Then they seem to spook. Go back to the hole 20-30 mins later and you will catch another one or at least get bit again. Don't lay up in one hole all day. You need to move around to find the feeding fish. There was a caddis hatch in spillway, but not EH.

Stop logs came out and the water is lower now, opening up 2-3 more miles of fishable river with lots of wild stockers. For the next couple of weeks I expect to see a bunch of smallmouth caught.




The water has been stained as they have been discharging a bit more water than normal out the spillway dam. The north wind has been bashing against the dam creating a sandy muddy film staining the river as well.

Black and Red midges, RS2's, woolly buggers, eggs, and Near Deers.

Lots of dry fly action in Spillway Creek. They r laying up in the shallows too. So don't over look anything. Drift that fly everywhere.

They put new signs up and boot cleaning stations.





Way better signs!

But, they put them at the opposite sides of the parking lots, where the trails lead to the river. Why they didn't put them at the trail heads, baffles me. If they put one on the Lost Creek bridge, it would save a lot of headache for the red zone. IMO.

Jeff, the vibert boxes were planted by volunteers. No brown trout were stocked. All those brown trout you're seeing are there year-round. Exactly my point in saying to stop worrying about the stocking schedule and go fishing!

I actually fished with a gentleman who reportedly was with the LMF foundation. They had put the boxes in Wednesday or Thursday and he also said that they had put some large Browns in at the same time. Of course, I could have been misinformed, but he seemed like a knowledgeable guy. I am not up there as often as some of you, but I haven't seen 24"+ browns in the EH like I did last weekend. I have caught some big ones on the Dream Stream in Colorado, and these fish rivaled the ones I caught.

Looks like another winter storm is coming in. The Browns should really be getting after it if they haven't already. I hope to make it back to LMF before the year is out - stocking or not. The logs came out, so you can now wade a lot more water.

See y'all on the water!