I started this a while ago; I remember where I was when I stopped typing. This blog post was going to be about a fun trip I had just returned from with Jef and Clay. As I typed it out that Saturday morning Alvin’s early phone call stopped me from finishing it mid sentence. This still will be about an awesome fishing trip to and awesome place with awesome friends, Alvin’s phone call that Saturday morning was the news that Clay had died the night before, it will be a little different than the original was going to be. Over the last 2 years (I guess) Clay had been pretty tied down with school. The paramedic program Clay had completed (I speak from experience) ain’t no joke. I very clearly remember being told early on that if you wanted to complete this 5-semester program, put everything on the back burner, friends, fun, hobbies, etc, etc, I did it and so did Clay. Clay had come through the pipeline and had been working as a Medic, we took a fishing trip that we had been talking about for as long as Clay had been in school.

We were trying to figure out a trip to New Mexico when Jef mentioned broken bow. Broken what I asked? Beavers Bend State park is a quick 6-hour drive from Austin. Jef set it all up and a few weeks after first talking about it we were cooking up IH-35 headed towards Oklahoma. There are people that know a lot more about this place than I do but I’m typing this and “they” aren’t. Maybe they would argue this but there was nothing tricky about this stream. For what it is spillway creek is awesome as was the fishing. This is a man made 4-mile stretch of water with every type of water imaginable, Pocket water, Fast water, slow water, undercut banks, and big…really big fish.

I’ll qualify how good the fishing was with this. The fishing was so good we didn’t take a single “grip & grin” we all had cameras we just never got around to pulling them out, we were too busy catching fish. Clay and I were fishing a hole when the fish started rising; I sat on a rock and heckled Clay as he caught one after another for about 30 minutes. Normally we would have fished it together taking turns, being up there for a few days allowed us to relax from our “pound it” mentality. I’m happy I sat on that rock and gave Clay a hard time. We fished together and alone. We fished Streamers, Dries and nymph’d. The fish were where they were supposed to be and it was magnificent. We fished 3 days and 2 nights. It was cold, ice in the guides cold. The days reached the lows 30’s and the nights dropped down into the teens. The cabins we stayed in were awesomely adequate. We ate like kings every night, then would settle in around the fire for cigar or 2 afterwards.

Lemons Clay, May you carry many. JF & WC

Clay was in rare form, or I should say back to his old self. Without the stress of school and now employed he was happier than I’d seen him be in a long time and he kept us laughing the whole time. Take from this what you will, Go check out Broken Bow, Ok. Stay the night and bring a buddy. The fishing was really spectacular and we didn’t really work that hard at it.

You are missed Clay,

Winston

AWG

All Water Guides

A not so "fishy" report from Broken Bow, OK. From a while ago.