Broken Bow in February? Some thought it would be too cold, not as good as in November. While November has traditionally been the month to fish for trout in Oklahoma, this outing was excellent! The weather was mild, not as cold as it could have been. Not as cold even as the week before the outing. And, there weren't as many people fishing in February as in November. We practically had the place all to ourselves - we needed the space. There were over 40 people at this outing!

 The Mullet Mixer at Centennial Lodge

We held the Mullet Mixer at Centennial Lodge, once owned by Jesse and Linda  King of Three Rivers Fly Shop. Jesse gave a brief presentation of the health of the fishery, what to fish with, and where to fish. There seemed to be more water, flowing faster than the last time we were at Broken Bow. Jesse explained that the flooding in Missouri and Arkansas last spring affected the reservoir at Broken Bow. It filled it up and the release had to be increased to accommodate all the water. The increased water release blew some of the existing structures downstream, boulders and such, so now there is less there to inhibit the flow and it moves faster. There is a plan to rebuild structures for the fishery.

Saturday we hit the water. Newer, less experienced fishers were paired up with those who had more experience to learn and practice the drift method of trout fishing. There was some success at catching trout on Saturday, although members who came earlier in the week caught more fish on Thursday and Friday. Most of us used the dropper combination choice of flies - egg pattern attractor with a tiny nymph attached to catch the fish. Some used the good 'ol woolly bugger as a streamer, strip fishing for trout. Both methods were successful for most of the fishers. Around the corner from Lost Creek, in the very cold shade, we were able to experience a full cast with drift and strip for some more fun catching trout.

Saturday evening we all met at the Park Restaurant for dinner, meeting and silent auction. In past years our growing membership had trouble fitting into the side room at Steven's Gap for dinner, but we had plenty of room this year. The restaurant closed early and allowed us to be a private party for the evening, staying open past normal hours for us. The restaurant staff was professional and the service was great. We really enjoyed ourselves. There were many items in this Talent Within auction, all made and donated by our members. We raised quite a bit of money, almost our whole budget for the year, in this one very remarkable auction! In all, I believe we had a very successful outing.