July 27

Company from Sweden

Hi everyone, it’s been awhile since I have posted any thing on my blog.  We have company from Sweden, Corina and Poe, their daughter, Sara.  Corina is the royal shoe maker for the king and queen of Sweden and that includes the royal court.  She has been visiting my wife’s boot shop and over the weekend there was a convention in Oklahoma City for shoe repair.  Last Friday night we had about 20 people (from the convention) at our house for a party.  Saturday and Sunday we got to meet some neat people at the SSIA convention.  We got to see Hanns from Germany where Lisa gets her leather soles from.  We had first meet him when we went to Wiesbaden, Germany in March.  Poe has gotten to fly an airplane while he has been here, he has his small plane license and was able to get a USA permit to fly while visiting us here in Guthrie.  Sara has been to about a half dozen Wal-Marts and almost all the malls in Oklahoma City.  They will be going back to Stockholm tomorrow and hopefully they will come back soon. 

 

I was able to teach Poe a little fly fishing and he has caught his first bass and bluegill on a fly rod!!  We was hoping to get to fly down to Mammoth and fish the Spring River for rainbow trout, but it didn’t work out this time. 

 

I have been talking to Mark and the Spring River has been fishing great, just get the fly down deep.  I know we say that all the time, but after talking to people, I realize that most people don’t really get their fly down deep.  They think they are, but they are so used to fishing other tail water rivers or mountain streams and don’t understand when we say, “get your fly down deep”.  It means using split shot (size BB) about 6-12” from the fly and casting upstream so the fly has time to get down to the bottom before getting into the “sweet spot”.  This allows the split shot to occasionally bump the bottom of the river, while the “fly” floats up about 2-3” from the bottom.  The casting upstream gives the fly time to get down.  If you only cast a couple of feet past the optimum spot, the current washes your fly past before it gets down.  The tail out is also an important part of your drift.  When your fly is down deep and it gets to the end of your fly line, it will suddenly rise from the bottom to the top (we call this a “tail out”) of the water column.  This looks like a natural hatch take rises from the bottom rocks to the surface.  So, always twitch your rod tip a couple of times before recasting.  You will be surprised at how many trout will be on your fly and you didn’t feel them.  I hope this helps and enjoy fishing the Spring River.

Dale,

PS: E-mail me if you have more questions.

6:58 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

July 14

Hot & Muggy July

Hi everyone! Hope all is well and that you are getting out and enjoying the summer.  It’s hard to believe that the year is half over.  The Spring River has been running low and clear until this past weekend when there was over 3” of rain.  However, the Spring recovers in a couple of days and by this weekend it will be fishable.  That is the great thing about the Spring River not being a “tail water” fishery.  You don’t have to worry about letting out of water to control a lake level.

I have been fishing for blue gills on my pond this past week.  They are spawning again and dropping a hopper with a prince nymph over their nest’s is a blast.  I am unable to fish the Spring like I would like to, so to stay sharp and in fly casting mode, I fly fish my pond almost every day.  This helps me to work on improving my casting and staying alert.  This year I caught my first double blue gill on a fly rod.  A couple of days ago I took my youngest daughter fly fishing with me and we had a ball and then jumped in the lake and went swimming.  Take someone fishing this summer.

Dale

5:10 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

July 07

Post 4th of July

I had a great week preceding the 4th and hope everyone else got to enjoy the 4th also.  Our family took a vacation and went to Beaver Lake and Eureka Springs, AR, which happens to be the spot that Lisa & I went on our honey moon almost 21 years ago.  We stayed at Lisa’s friend, Sarah, cabin on Beaver Lake and we rented a pontoon boat for a half day.  Everyone voted this as the best thing that we did on the trip.  We caught a movie at Rogers and had a cook out at the cabin. 

We then headed over to Mammoth and I got to fish with Mark on Thursday.  That was the first time that we got to fish together this year.  It was fun to be on the Spring River again.  The river traffic was slow and the fishing good.  On Friday I went floating with the girls and again we had a great day.  The girls thought the water was too cold for swimming—compared to Beaver Lake.  Saturday was the Sorrell 14th reunion since 1984.  It was fun to reconnect with family and visit with friends. 

A tip for fishing the Spring River during the summer is to avoid the weekends.  It’s not that the fish don’t bite with all the canoes and rafts, because the trout are used to the traffic floating over their heads.  Every time we have a client that insists on fishing on a weekend, they catch fish—it’s just they get tired of all the mouthy floaters after a couple of hours.  Mark is great at getting along with people and having fun and catching trout!!!

Get out and enjoy the Spring River this summer.

Dale

5:26 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 26

Spring River here I come!

I plan to fish the Spring River next week!  We are leaving Oklahoma Sunday morning and driving to Beaver Lake for 3 days.  Beaver Lake was where Lisa & I went on our honeymoon almost 21 years ago.  Lisa’s friend Sarah Wilson has a cabin on the lake that we are staying at (Morgan, our oldest is named after Sarah with a “h” – Morgan Sarah).  Monday is Sarah’s birthday and we plan to take her to Eureka Springs for the day.  I have made a pontoon reservation for Tuesday evening.  We plan to cruise the lake, swim, snorkel and have a picnic.  Then we will drive to Mammoth on Wednesday night and be ready to fish the Spring on Thursday, yeah! yahoo! I plan to try some small mouth bass fishing with a fly rod.  Friday we are going raft the Spring River.  It will be hard not to take my fly rod, but I promised Lisa that I would spend the day with the girls and let them swim and float the river.  Saturday is the Sorrell reunion out at Myrtle, MO.  Then on Sunday we are driving to Neosho, where Lisa’s parents live. Monday we head back to Guthrie, whew—I’ll need a week off just to catch my breath!!!

 

Have a great 4th and celebrate our independence and freedom.  Pray for all our military branches that we can win the war quickly and bring them all back home safely, when the job is done!

Dale Sorrell

7:40 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 17

As promised-Photos from Kesagami

Open up the "View Full Album" to see the comments that I added. It will open up into a Windows explorer window and just click on the slide show.
Please add comments or email me at dale@springriverflyshop.com

 

6:47 PM GMT  |  Read comments(1)

June 13

A Bluegrass Weekend!

This past weekend we hosted the Cole Family Bluegrass Band at our house.  The Cole Family Bluegrass Band The band played Saturday night at the American Legion Building here in Guthrie and then Sunday morning at the Church of God Outreach.  We had a great weekend.  Retha & Lynette Cole are cousins to my wife, Lisa.  They grew up together and have remained close friends.  Their boys brought fly rods and fished my pond.  Madison Cole ties flies for our fly shop, Spring River Fly Shop & Guide Service, and is an excellent fly fisher.  Madison came down with me a couple of falls ago and caught a huge rainbow trout, that photo is on our photo album on our web site.  www.springriverflyshop.com/photos.aspx  This is two great couples that are raising their families to love God and country.  If you ever get a chance to see them play and listen to their music you will be uplifted and blessed.

 

Mark is off to the Smoky Mountains this week.  However, the Spring River is fishing well and the shop will be open.  Beat the heat and fish the cool Spring River.

 

Take Care,

Dale Sorrell

8:25 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

June 03

Back Home Again!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial day weekend.  I was working up at Lake Kesagami in Canada, eh.  Fishing is not business, work or vacation: it’s fishing!  The lady at Canadian customs didn’t like my answer when I told her why I was visiting Canada.  She kept insisting I was there for work, business or vacation and I kept saying “fishing”.  Finally, I asked her if she fished, the next thing I knew I was in the “Immigration” room.  I’m thinking, I don’t want to move to Canada, I’m just here to fish, eh.  Well, that lady, spoke “English” and knew what “fishing” was and I was passed through, eh!  I had a great trip and will upload some pictures when I get a copy of them from Jay, my fishing partner, who went with me.

Fish on,

Dale Sorrell

1:23 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

May 23

Kesagami Tackle & Gear

Today I am going to talk about the tackle that we use at Kesagami.  But first let me touch on the Spring River.  Mark had to cancel our two trips on Sat & Sun because of the gully washer on Thursday, however the Spring will be cleared up by mid week, just in time for the Memorial weekend.  Keep an eye on Mark’s blog and our Facebook page for river condition updates.

 

Back to the tackle for Kesagami.  This is a trophy lake in northern Ontario below the James & Hudson bays.  It is catch and release for pike & walleye and you are only allowed 2 walleye for the day that you do a shore lunch.  The lodge is only accessible by float plane and open for 3 months during the summer.  I always go on the opening week so the pike have had all winter with no fishing pressure and the flies aren’t out yet.  Since Kesagami is a trophy water the tackle that you are allowed to use is restricted--single barbless hooks and no live bait.  So with that in mind, I have found that buzzbaits, spinner baits and spoons are the main lures.  I remember introducing trailers to the lake when I first went, because when bass fishing you always put plastic trailer on your buzzbait or spinner.  Tom Novak and I discovered one year that pike zoom in on black & blue baits.  Tom had 2 bass pro tornado spinners (black/blue) that year and the pike chewed them up.  Each night we where using pliers trying to straighten and repair them.  The most effective spoons are the Johnson Silver Minnow in gold and silver in 1-1/8 oz.  I discovered a few years ago that a saltwater jig head hook with a blue/white swim bait works well.  Lures like crank baits & jerk baits will get strikes but without the treble hooks, because you have to put on single hooks, you don’t land very many fish.  Pike have a boney mouth and lots of time they are simply holding onto your lure and when along side of the boat they will open their mouth and out pops your lure.  The above lures have enough mass to them that when the pike has the lure in its mouth and you set the hook, normally the hook point will penetrate.  Any lure that swivels or hinges doesn’t provide the leverage to get a good hook penetration.

 

This year is my first year to try fly fishing for pike.  I will report on what works and doesn’t when I get back!!

Remember, slack is evil,

Dale Sorrell

7:01 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

May 15

Kesagami, Ontario Pike Fishing Trip

Today I’m starting to get ready for my bi-annual Canada pike fishing trip.  I fish a lake called Kesagami Lake that is a trophy pike lake.  It is completely catch and release for the pike and the walleye you can only keep a couple a day for shore lunches.  My biggest pike is 51” and I would like to land a pike on a fly over 48” this year.  This will be my first year to take my fly rod, but after catching a 9.2lb bass in Mexico earlier this year, I’m thinking this could be the time!  Jay Dirickson is going with me this year, he was on our Mexico trip and decided to try pike fishing.  He is to come over the house this morning and start going over tackle, gear and clothing.  Because Kesagami is a fly in lodge, the weight limit per guest is 50lb, that includes: rods, tackle, gear and clothing.  Last year I got it down to about 75lbs and this year I want to get in right at 50lbs.  There is a surcharge for every lb over weight, which isn’t much, but over the years I have discovered that I don’t use half of what I bring.  I have been going ever since my youngest daughter was born and she just turned 13 this month.  The first year I went she was born 5 days before I flew out!  The only problem is that this year I will be bringing regular bait casting gear and fly fishing gear, so I will have to narrow it down to just the basics that I know from over the years that work.  Maybe in my next blog I will discuss what tackle that I take. 

 

We have plenty of room in our cabin for a couple of more people if any one is interested in going.  Just contact me at dale@springriverflyshop.com for more information.  Check out their web site at: http://kesagami.com/ .

 

Slack is evil,

Dale Sorrell

7:30 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

May 11

Post Mother’s Day

We had a wonderful Mother’s day this year.  Mark was guiding a couple on the Spring River and they had a great day of fishing.  A big trout broke them off, which is disappointing, but for your first time out is a great introduction to fly fishing 101!  The Spring River has been fishing well for the last couple of weeks.  Most of the heavy rains has went around the Mammoth Spring area.

 

Please remember all the families that lost their homes and businesses here in Oklahoma.  As most of you know, I live in Guthrie, OK and the storms went all around us yesterday evening.  We are blessed.  Also, the folks in the Nashville and surrounding area there, that was hit with heavy flooding.  Lisa and I had just drove thru Nashville on I-40 from DC the weekend before the flooding.  We have a lot to be thankful for and should never take for granted the blessings of God.

Take care

Dale

5:24 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

May 03

Take Someone New Fishing

This past Saturday I took my father-in-law fishing on my pond.  We never really have anything in common, but he was up for the weekend.  I asked him if he wanted to ride in my two man boat while I fished.  He said he just wanted to watch, but that he wasn’t a fisherman and never really liked to fish and never caught anything when he did.  I said that was fine, as long as you aren’t bored watching me catch fish.  So, he went along for the ride.  It was an overcast morning with a few sprinkles, a perfect morning.  He said that he wanted to see me catch a big bass—fine with me!  I started out fishing a diving frog and caught several 1-2 lb bass, about 2/3rds around the pond I picked up a 1 lb bass and just as I got the bass close to the boat a big 5-6lb bass started chasing it.  I left it in the water, but it didn’t happen, but at least Donnie got to see a BIG bass.  So then I switched over to a small popper with a dropper fly and started catching bluegill and crappie.  After awhile I asked Donnie to hold my fly rod because I wanted to try a new fly with a different rod.  I knew that with that setup, with him just sitting there holding the rod that he would catch a fish.  After a few misses, he finally landed his first bluegill.  After a bit I pointed out some better spots to just flip the popper in and let it sit.  The bluegills have made nests in the shallow water.  He caught several bluegill, a crappie, a bass and lost a 2lb bass.  By the time we were done, he said, “Hey, I’m starting to get the hang of it!”  He may never get into fishing like I am, but at least we had a good time being together and the best part was that I got extra brownie points with my wife!!!! :-)  Today he texted her and said he enjoyed the weekend.

Take someone new fishing this summer!!!

 

Tight lines,

Dale Sorrell

5:59 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 29

A brown from New Zealand

Because of Lisa’s occupation of custom boot making, it has allowed me to travel all over the world to fish.  I get to tag along as the “key grip”.  In March I got to fish in Stockholm, Sweden because Lisa was teaching boot making techniques at Carina’s shoe shop in Stockholm.  I have gotten to fish in Denver, Jackson Hole, Cody, Mexico, Canada and several other places.  This story is about a couple that we met in DC during the Smithsonian show last week.  A couple came into Lisa’s booth during the pre opening party on Wednesday night.  They both ordered boots and then we got talking and discovered that Craig was a fellow fly angler.  I gave him my fly shop business card and showed him the 8lb rainbow that I had caught and released on the Spring River.  Craig admired my picture and then said he would send my a picture of his own with a brown caught in New Zealand.  Below is the e-mail that came with the picture.  This is what the trout on the Spring River want to be when they grow up!!

As promised here is an example of a New Zealand brownie – taken on a hopper with a 5 wt.

The rainbows also run this large – all sight fishing with very low fish density – perhaps only 50 fish per mile.

But what they lack in quantity, they more than make up in quality.

The width of the river is what you see in the photo – big fish in very small water.

Enjoyed talking with you and Lisa in Washington DC – and Barbara and I are looking forward to the cowboy boots.

 

4:48 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 26

OK to DC

We drove through WV.  Lisa took me to Canaan Valley, which has a nice ski resort and the Blackwater Falls.  We stopped at several places inquiring about fly fishing and looked for a fly shop. No such luck.  One person knew of a man about 5 years ago that fly fished but he was dead now.  We stopped at a sporting goods store and they used to carry fly fishing gear but too many people would ask for tips and info and then go buy at a “box store” in the big city.  I told the owner that he was preaching to the choir.  I know his frustrations all to well.  As we have that happen to us all the time.  Towards mid after noon we saw an old concrete bridge where the old road bed was with a beautiful little stream.  We turned around and went back and I went exploring.  The stream wasn’t over knee deep in most places.  I found a run with some huge boulders at the end that opened into a deeper pool.  So I slowly worked my way along the bank and sure enough there were two trout holding just behind the boulder.  So I am happy to report that there are two trout in WV.

 

Lisa had a good show at the Smithsonian National Building Museum.  We parked my trunk in the underground hotel garage and walked everywhere we went until we loaded back up and left.  With in 4 blocks there was everything we needed.  FedEx Office supplies, movie theater, restaurants,  pubs, delis, Metro Subway and our hotel.  We are taking the southern route back home and just entered Tennessee.  Below is a picture of the bridge that we saw and Blackwater Falls.

 

9:47 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 19

Spring River is Fishing Good

The fishing on Spring River is doing well.  Stone flies are coming out and black woolies are very productive right now.  The water level is down to 440 cfs and 56.6 F making wading easier then last week.  Just be sure and get your fly down deep in front of the trout.

 

Lisa and I are in Charleston, WV on our way the Washington DC for her Smithsonian Museum show.  We left yesterday morning at 3:45 am and drove 1047 miles.  Today we plan to go through Elkins, WV were she grew up as a teenager, we are trying to find some trout waters, if we have enough time.  We have to be in DC by 3:00 pm on Tuesday to set up the booth.

 

Tight Lines

Dale Sorrell

5:18 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 12

Fishing is Good—Get Out and Enjoy

  The Spring River has been fishing very well this past week.  You can check our weekly report on our web site Fishing Report  or on our face book fan page and see what flies have been working and the river conditions.

 

The following is a tip that I learned last year for bass fishing.  However, I suspect that it would work just as well on the Spring River for small mouth bass.  I know when I went to El Salto, Mexico this February I caught several bass using this method.

 

Caught this 4 lb bass this evening from my pond using a new technique that I learned. Take a diving frog made from deer hair and fishing it with a sinking tip. Normally the frog will only dive about 6-10" below the surface and rise back to the top. With the sinking tip you can get the frog down about 2-3' and let the frog slowly rise a few inches and then strip it forward again. This technique allows you fish the fly like a crank bait. The bass just tear it up. It caught this nice bass and about a dozen more that were between 1 and 2 lbs.

Tight lines,

Dale Sorrell

 

4:59 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 09

Fish Close to Home

I know we can’t all fish the Spring River every day, which is a good thing!! :-)  However, you can fish close to where ever you live.  Almost any pond or lake will have bluegill, sunfish, crappie and bass that you can practice fly fishing skills.  Before I came down last week to Mammoth and fished the Spring River, I hadn’t trout fished since last fall when Mark & I got to float the river.  But since that time I have taken my fly rod with me and fished for other species, by doing that it will improve your casting skills and keep your senses sharp, so when you do get back to the Spring you aren’t missing trout because you are rusty and out of touch.  Yesterday was a prime example, I got home from work around 5:30 and the wind had died down some and I had to get out on my lake and fish for about an 1 1/2 hours.  I was using my 3 wt with a small fly that I had tied for bluegill and crappie.  I caught about 20 fish during that time.  Several bluegill and some sunfish, 2 crappie that were about 15” and lots of small bass, with a couple going about 1 1/2 lbs all with a 3 wt.  I noticed that this year my casting was more accurate, I was able to roll cast better and the wind didn’t bother me as bad.  Point being, fly fish as often as you can even if it isn’t the Spring River and you will become a better angler.

Tight lines and remember slack is evil.

Dale Sorrell

4:54 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 05

Back to Work!

Hi to everyone.  What a busy last few weeks.  By now, you know that I got to travel to Germany & Sweden with my wife for her business.  What a great trip and I posted several photo albums on face book if you would like to view them.  Lisa got her gold medal in Wiesbaden for her boots in the international shoe competition and made new friends and contacts.  I was able to ice fish while in Stockholm, not the same as fly fishing, but it was fishing.  We flew back on Monday, March 29th, and on Wednesday, 31st, I drove down to Mammoth Spring to help Mark with the shop.  What a pleasure to run the shop for a couple of days at the new location.  I was able to help Mark do some rearranging at the shop and it even looks better now than before.  Mark had 3 days straight of guiding with clients and the fishing was really good the first two days and a little tough on Friday, the last day.  Friday night was got some rain, but it didn’t affect the Spring River.  Saturday morning I got to fish for a hour before we opened the shop and caught several trout on Grandma’s Brownie and Y2K.  I left around 11:00am and drove back to OKC and met my family at Texas Roadhouse for my daughter’s 16th birthday dinner.  Now I’m ready to go back to work at my “real job” so I can get some rest!! :-)

 

Tight lines

Dale Sorrell

5:19 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

April 01

In The Shop Today!

I made it to Mammoth yesterday around 2:45 pm.  That’s about 7 hours, with a couple of short stops.  I was able to do the shuttle run and pick Mark and the clients up at the take out point near Saddler Falls.  Bill & John from Memphis. They caught a 17” brown and dozens of rainbows.  The Grandma Brownie is still producing along with a large Coachman and Y2K.  This morning Mark was tying Y2K’s as they were going out the door.  We have a father & son team today.  Allen & Colten Hunter from IL, Allen has been on the Spring River before, but today is his son’s first time.  They came in last night and got licensed up and went out for a little bit and caught a couple.  The weather is perfect and the forecast is good.  Come and fish the Spring River and have fun!

 

Dale

9:05 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

March 28

Fly Back Home Monday

What a wonderful trip.  But I’m ready to be home.  Last night Europe had their Daylight Saving Time change and we lost another hour.  Lisa said no one should have to do that twice in one month and I agree.  So, now we are 7 hours ahead of CST. 

 

I have been reading the great fishing reports about Spring River.  I also have been keeping up with Spring River Fly Shop Face Book page.  It is great to see all the posts and pictures that are on it.  Please keep up the chatter.  I have been posting photos on my personal Face Book page from Stockholm, Sweden and Germany, if you would like to check it out.

 

I plan to drive down to Mammoth on Wednesday and be at the shop for a couple of days before I have to get back to my real job.  I need a week of vacation to catch up on sleep, but I’m looking forward to getting to fish the Spring River while I’m in the area.  We are in Frankfurt, Germany tonight and fly to Dallas, TX tomorrow and then on to OKC tomorrow night.  The girls are missing us and I’m missing them.

 

Tight Lines

Dale Sorrell

 

12:36 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

March 24

Ice Fishing in Stockholm, Sweden

On Tuesday I went ice fishing for northern pike with Hans.  I have never iced fish, so it was a new experience.  I was offered a great price because my host knew a friend of his.  The normal price for a day of ice fishing was 4,000 SEK and I only paid 2,500 SEK ($352.00).  We bored 10 holes in the ice a set up 5 short rod & reels and 5 hand reels.  Each hole has a flag and bell that the line is attached to and when you get a bit the flag pops up and the bell makes a noise.  The holes are about 25 yards apart, so the line of rods can stretch for 250 yards from end to end.  You may get a bit on one end and while taking care of it, another bite on the other end.  So, you get plenty of exercise if the fish are biting.  Once the flag pops up, you run over to the hole, the first thing you do is wait and see if the fish is taking line out.  Normally, pike will be taking line off the reels, you wait for 10-15 seconds before setting the hook.  If the line is still, you pull some slack off the reel and wait for 20-30 seconds, watch the slack line and see if it gets tight.  This means, normally, a walleye and they will “spit” the bait out if they feel any resistance on the line. 

 

I’m glad I got to experience a new and different style of fishing, but I must say ice fishing isn’t my cup of tea.  I can’t wait to get back to my “Spring River”.  If I am not too tired from jetlag, I plan to come down and be at the shop for a couple of days at the end of the month.  I haven’t been able to visit the shop since Mark, Lisa & I moved the shop in January.  I have some friends from OKC that has booked a trip for Friday, while I plan to be in Mammoth.

 

Tight Lines,

Dale Sorrell 

1:28 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)