Home waters

Sometimes fishing is a little more than just fishing. Last fall my dad was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. This spring he is cancer free after surgery and round after round of chemo therapy.

He looks pretty damn good standing there on the Lower Illinois River in Gore, Oklahoma. His brand new Simms waders and White River flyrod got their first test today.

After a long winter of surgery, chemo, recovery, talking and reading about flyfishing, we were on the river. Finally. It was good to spend my first day on the river trout fishing with my dad.

After a casting session Friday night at the pond behind our home in Tulsa, he fished well on Saturday and managed to induce a few good strikes from a finicky bunch of trout. Yesterday saw temperatures in the mid-80s and then the temperature dropped today.  The water level goes up and down throughout the day according to Tenkiller Dam's generation schedule.  After today he's now got the background he needs to make the full conversion from bass pro to trout triumphant.

We were very fortunate to connect with Scott Hood, Oklahoma's Trout Unlimited leader. Scott is a talented fisherman and a very thoughtful, passionate advocate for trout fisheries. Tulsa TU is promoting the sport, supporting members and working urgently to preserve and conserve Oklahoma's precious trout fisheries. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, where we almost take for granted that there is political and community support for the sport, I was inspired by Tulsa TU's efforts.  They recently worked to enter the Guiness Book of World Records for having the most flyfisherman at the same time flycasting.  Tornados got in the way but they managed to create awareness. They did this from a little trout pond the chapter supports as a means of getting kids, parents and grantparents to fish together. The Tulsa community should get behind this merry band of fishermen who are working to teach outdoor ethics and conservation in inner city schools while also keeping a watchful eye on the trout fisheries.

In the photo below I am unhooking a 14-in rainbow as my dad casts into a nice pool on the Lower Illinois. I used a rising hare's ear emerger with no indicator to catch a very healthy and aggressive hatchery rainbow.

The water was cold and clear today. This is not the fish I caught (at least I don't think), but with polarized sunglasses you could see big carp, trout, bass and shad in the river. The guy fishing to my left was catching some nice sand (or white) bass.

In the pond behind our house I fished Friday and Saturday night. I used a surface popper to land this magnificent bluegill which fought as hard as any of the trout or bass. I was impressed.

I landed 4-5 black bass on the same fly -- twitchy retrieve creating a moderate little ripple in the water as it advanced.

Back to the Lower Illinois for a moment. I grew up in Oklahoma and never understood that trout fishing was an important part of the allure and economy for a region of Oklahoma so close to Tulsa and to Tahlequah where I went to college and worked for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Gore and Webbers Falls depend on the trout trade. When cold water flows from Lake Tenkiller are low, the economy suffers. As these signs indicate, trout fishing has been a tradition in these parts for over 50 years.