Steve Branson recently caught this 25 inch rainbow trout on his fly-rod on the Lower Mountain Fork River located in Beaver’s Bend State Park.
Check out the latest fishing action at Mountain Fork River, Lake Broken Bow and other lakes throughout Southeast Oklahoma here.
Image courtesy of the Oklahoma Wildlife Department
The Watonga Trout Derby will be held Friday March 2nd, Saturday, March 3rd & Sunday March 4th, 2012 at Roman Nose State Park and is being co-sponsored by Friends of Roman Nose State Park and the Watonga Chamber of Commerce. Pre-registration is available this year as well as online registration.
The three-day event gives fishermen an opportunity to catch tagged trout for prizes. One hundred tagged trout are put in Lake Watonga in conjunction with the normal trout stocking done by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
A drawing from the tags of all registered trout will determine the $300.00 grand prize cash winner. A $100.00 Sr. division and a $50.00 Jr. division prize will be given for the heaviest stringer of trout and will be awarded at the close of the derby. All tagged trout are worth cash or gifts.
This year, one registration will be drawn to win a Deluxe Patio Package valued at over $1,200. This gift package is sponsored by Lowes.
Read the full story here.
The 13th Annual Prairie Trout Club Trout Derby is at Lake Pawhuska on February 19th from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cash and prizes for heaviest fish and heaviest stringer, youth and senior divisions. Pre-registration is $25, $35 day of event.
For more information contact Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce at (918) 287-1208.
The trout come from Crystal Lake Fisheries, 
Plan to attend the Watonga Trout Derby, March 6-8 at Roman Nose State Park.
The event is co-sponsored this year by the Friends of Roman Nose State Park and the Watonga Chamber of Commerce.
Pre-registration is available this year. Contact the Watonga Chamber of Commerce office at (580) 623-5452 for details. On-site registration will begin at 7 a.m. each morning and continue through 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
All fish must be weighed in by 3 p.m. Sunday, which will mark the end of the derby.
The three-day event gives fishermen an opportunity to catch tagged trout for prizes. One hundred tagged trout are put in the lake in conjunction with the normal trout stocking done by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. A drawing from the tags of all registered trout will determine the $300.00 grand prize cash winner. A $100.00 Sr. division and a $50.00 Jr. division prize will be given for the heaviest stringer or trout and will be awarded at the close of the derby. All tagged trout are worth cash or gifts.
An exciting new feature of this year’s Trout Derby is the addition of a guaranteed boat give-away. One registration will be drawn to win a Bass Brat sponsored by Buster Boats of Stillwater, OK., equipped with an aerated live well/ice chest, depth finder and troll motor.
Also, this year’s prizes will once again include an opportunity to win a pickup with a value of at least $20,000.00. You must be 18 years of age with a valid driver’s license & be a registered participant of the 2009 Trout Derby.
The winning numbered tagged trout for the pickup will be randomly selected prior to the start of the derby by the sponsor of the truck. The lucky winner of this truck will be a derby registrant having caught the matching tagged trout during the event. There will only be one tagged trout eligible to determine the winner of the pickup.
If you haven’t made plans yet, it’s not too late to attend the 2009 Blue River President’s Day Trout Derby in Tishomingo on Saturday and Sunday, February 14th & 15th.
$1000 in tagged trout ($100, $50 and $20 tags) will be stocked along with several trout in the 3-6 pound range. Over $1000 in trophies and door prizes will be given away. Each participant will receive a Blue River Derby Cap.
Additional Prizes include:
* Male Heavy Stringer 2-day total wins $100
* Female Heavy Stringer 2-day total wins $100
* Fly Fishing Heavy Stringer 2-day total wins $100
* Youth 15 and under Heavy Stringer 2-day total wins $100
* Heaviest Trout Caught wins $100
Entry Fees = Adult $25.00, Youth 15 & Under $20.00. Printable Entry Form.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: (580) 371-9288 – (580) 371-2175
Note: Due to rising cost of quality trout for the derby as well as the Blue River Association’s donations to save the aquifer, we would welcome any donations to defray these costs. If you would like to make a donation, please include with your registration and you will be listed as a Derby Sponsor on the Sponsorship Board.
Rules:
*Must Be Present to Win Any of the Prizes During the Drawing (Except the Pre-Entry Prize)
*Contest Open To All Ages- Fee Good For Both Days
*Tickets Must Be Purchased Before You Start Fishing
Sponsored by the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce, City of Tishomingo, Oklahoma & the Blue River Association. State Fishing Laws Apply.
Editor’s Note: I’m definitely in! See you there!! If you need a place to stay, check out Alberta Creek Resort & Marina, south of the Blue River on Lake Texoma.
Each year, the Lower Mountain Fork River (LMFR) is stocked bi-weekly with rainbow trout, but the southeast Oklahoma fishery will receive six “bonus” stockings this spring that will provide more than 14,000 additional
fish.
The first two supplemental trout stockings took place Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, and the remaining four are scheduled for Feb 26, March 12 & 26 and April 9. Each stocking includes over 2,400 fish that are nearly a foot in length.
“These trout are going to be placed in remote areas of the stream that aren’t usually stocked,” said Jay Barfield, streams management technician for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “And at 11 inches they will be a bit larger than usual and ready to put up a fun challenge. Angling should be great in these areas during the coming weeks.”
The additional rainbow trout are being provided to the Wildlife Department by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help offset the impacts caused by Broken Bow Dam on the LMFR. The trout will be obtained from the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery in Arkansas and then released into the LMFR trout fishery between the State Park Dam and the US Route 70 bridge.
The LMFR is one of eight Oklahoma trout fisheries and one of two year-round trout fishing hotspots in the state. Other trout hotspots include; Altus Lugert/Quartz Mountain, Lake Watonga, Lake Carl Etling, Blue River, Illinois River, Robbers Cave, Dolese Youth Park Pond (OKC), Lake Pawhuska, and Clayton Lake State Park.
To view the regular, bi-weekly trout stocking schedule and specific regulations for all the state’s trout waters, including the LMFR, log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com. The Web site also includes tips on how to catch trout as well as a wealth of information about the state’s streams management program, which works to provide healthy streams and better stream fishing in Oklahoma.
Pete W. sends us this report from the Blue River:
Caught this 5lb. 14oz. rainbow trout fly fishing with a hand tied jig on Saturday, November 22nd.
Editor’s Note: Wow Pete! What a great fish!!! To bad you didn’t get him during the Trout Derby last weekend.
Last Saturday and Sunday, the Blue River Association hosted their annual Veteran’s Day Fall Trout Derby.
Through the contributions of the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, individuals and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, tagged trout where released at secret spots up and down the river. There were $100, $50 and $20 tags totaling $1000 swimming in the river.
In addition, Scotty McCarthick, owner of Scotty’s Blue River One Stop, and other volunteers not only coordinated and managed the event, they had additional door prizes on hand for young and old alike. All paid contestants received a commemorative Blue River Trout Derby Hat and all the kids under 12 received a goody bag full of fresh fruit.
There were plaques awarded each day for the men’s, women’s and youth categories and for the derby overall; heaviest stringer, biggest fish and more. There was also a raffle for daily door prizes including cash, coolers, picnic tables and more. Contestants could also become part of the Put Er Back Club where their tagged fish earnings would go back into the pot to help sponsor the next derby.
Although the weather was downright rugged on Saturday (40 degrees with a 40mph wind ripping down the river) approximately 200 were on hand happily trying their tried-and-true techniques along with some improvisation. I certainly had to improvise with the wind. Long casts with the fly rod were not very accurate, so I had to use a barrel roll technique to get the fly right where I wanted it.
While roaming up and down the river, I stopped by the weigh-in station while a youngster was there with two very nice sized trout; one was 4.4 lbs. and the other was 4.6 lbs. I asked him, “Where did you catch them?” and he said, “In the water.” OK, I thought. Then I asked him, “What did you catch them on?” and he said, “A lure.” OK, I thought, we’ve got a little weizenheimer here. Come to find out later, this little fella is Cody Young, well known up and down the river for his trout fishing skills and there wasn’t a chance this savvy young fisherman was about to give up any of his secrets. Needless to say, he won the youth division – across the board. Apparently he did the same thing last year. Cody is pictured here with Scotty (bottom picture – click picture to enlarge).
Above Cody’s trophy presentation picture is Fred Fenton, who also caught his limit including one nice sized trout. All in all, weather aside, it was a great time on the river. Everyone was very, very friendly and quite happy to be there and to make new friends. I’ve already heard from a number of folks I met there, including some I gave Maniac Gizzy Bug samples to who said they had success using them.
OklahomaFishingGuides.com would like to give a great big thanks to Scotty, his volunteers, the sponsors and other contributors for organizing and running such a fine event. I for one, look forward to sponsoring and fishing at the next one.
