Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

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bassman
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Location: Cheyenne OK

Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#1

Post by bassman »

Blue River Oklahoma trout fishing. This is a stream in SE OK and unfortunately I'm in NW OK. This video is interesting all the way through and though I doubt many from CO are going to rush to this stream the video is interesting. I was particularly enjoying the initial 3 minutes. For those who think handling fish a little roughly is so harmful the process of getting these fish to the stream has to leave them a little dizzy. Pay attention to how they get the fish to the transport truck. A watery conveyor belt system. The river has received more pressure than normal this year like most fisheries have but still follow the Blue River FB site and 20-30 fish days are still common and many of those are caught on mops and 2-3" bead head Mega-worms tied from soft baby yarn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEbE0Nt ... t5pN_MyZ88

Edit to add NO WAY am implying rough handling is not detrimental to a fish hooked and played and netted. Just surprised how much they go through getting to the stream for us C&R or C & eat.

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GerardH
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Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#2

Post by GerardH »

I find trout fishing in the south (outside of the the Appalachians) intriguing. As someone who's spent almost his entire life chasing wild trout in WI, MN & the UP, I've recently viewed trout fishing videos set in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, etc....I'm glad to see there are streams down there that can support trout -- at least seasonally -- providing close to home (relatively speaking) angling opportunities vs having to travel hundreds or thousands of miles.

Thanks for sharing.

bassman
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Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#3

Post by bassman »

Gerald, I also spend years fishing trout in MN, WI, and the UP. As much as we'd like to think all the streams are self-supporting wild fish many of those streams are supported by regular stocking and the bulk of the run fish from the Great Lakes into the tributary streams that were so much fun to fish were almost stocked salmon and Kamloops and Skamania steelhead. The bulk of my fishing up north was in the Great Lakes an it's tribs, both below barriers and well above them where native brookies were a lot of fun and yes, good eating.

I loved the fishing up north and you are right in that the winter stocking programs in OK and TX give us a great chance to enjoy some of the fishing we don't get through most of the year. Arkansas and MO stock their tailwaters very heavy with rainbows but not browns. They do hatch wild brown trout eggs in special breeding stations right in the river and these should be as close to native as man can make them. Glad you enjoyed video. Hope others have since I found it interesting since Blue River is high on my hopeful list if health ever lets me get there.

jim royston
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Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#4

Post by jim royston »

I used to fish the Blue in Tishomingo regularly. Our favorite area was the wilderness section north of town. It was a lot of fun at times.

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teter
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Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#5

Post by teter »

It's a beautiful river, and to think it's only 3 1/2 hours straight south of where I grew up. Are the limestone and clear water that are characteristic to the stocked area present in the river's whole 140 miles, or is most of the river the kind of muddy stream that is more characteristic of the Southern Plains?

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flyfishermann1955
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Location: Midwest City, OK

Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#6

Post by flyfishermann1955 »

Lon,

I have only fished the Blue River in the areas that are stocked with trout, so I can't speak to the stream bottom and water clarity along the entire 140-mile length. I agree, it does have a beauty to it, which I think is enhanced in the overhead shots. The water isn't always clear in the area where they put trout, so you need to be careful. It's very difficult to flyfish when the water is not clear. Because of the uneven stream bottom, wading is dangerous when the water is murky. I'm not stretching the truth when I say 1 step can be the difference between knee-deep water and neck-deep water. Many of the places where they put the fish are the deep, still areas below the drop-offs (what the locals call "waterfalls"), so it can seem like you're fishing in a lake. The water where you're standing and the water where you're casting to are the exact same.

The nice part about the Blue is you don't have to deal with water release from a dam, which are factors on the 2 year-round trout steams in Oklahoma: The Lower Illinois River and the Lower Mountain Fork River. I would also describe the Blue River's location as southcentral, not southeast Oklahoma. It's a well-known bass (warmwater) stream that supports trout stocking from Nov - Mar. It's often crowded, especially near the easy-to-access areas. Much less so if you walk a mile or if you make the 1.5 mile hike from the parking area on Hwy 7 to the Catch & Release Area.

I have enjoyed many a 50-degree winter day in the fresh air catching trout and listening to the relaxing sound of the water; however, not once have I ever felt like I was in the mountains of New Mexico or Colorado!

Tight Lines- Ken
Last edited by flyfishermann1955 on 12/27/20 14:15, edited 1 time in total.

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Loogie
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Re: Blue River OK trout stocking and fishing...

#7

Post by Loogie »

Its funny that these streams are stocked with trout, yet they are year round fisheries of the great smallmouth and largemouth fish. It makes for fun fishing and I'm sure the bass are saying, thank goodness we have these dummies to take the pressure off our need to perform! I have often wondered if we focused on creating better eco systems for the fish that naturally live there year round if we would have a better fishery instead of planting fish that cant live in that river year round. Reminds me of fishing a similar stream in western part of VA with a friend, he was fishing his nymph for the little stockies and I was fishing an orange crawdad meat whistle, after I landed my second 3lb largemouth, he switched his nymph and bobber to a streamer similar to mine and was delighted catching some hoss bass. Nothing wrong with pursuing the stocked streams and glad they provide an opportunity for those that need that trout pull, just adding a different perspective...tight lines

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