Kids and trout fishing, always a happy combo
Gray skies and wind couldn't dampen the success of Broken Arrow's new trout pond
Last Friday and this Saturday had one relatively miserable thing in common, and one really good thing.
Both those days I stepped out of my truck at Broken Arrow’s Events Park and thought the same danged thing.
“This has to be the windiest place in town.”
On Friday the 10th a group of us with the Tulsa area Trout Unlimited Chapter 420 stood around and gabbed with our two-day guest instructor and speaker Kelly Galloup (sounds like gallop). He is an author, television host, and legendary fly fisherman by any measure. He is best known for his decades of streamer fishing innovations and the Slide Inn Lodge and professional guide service on Montana’s famed Madison River.
We had announced a chance to get some casting instructions with the master, so felt compelled to show up with him even if we doubted anyone else would. We were right in our prediction, so, naturally, we all stood around for an hour shooting the breeze in near-freezing temperatures, braced against a stiff wind—in the parking lot.
The dude is a Michigan native and fishes icy streams in Montana. He learned about trout behaviors free-diving for hundreds of hours in mountain streams and that windy and miserable afternoon at the park—you know, the one off the Creek Turnpike across from Northeastern State University where people are always flying those giant kites—that was cold enough to leave him happy in the parking lot.
Many of the same Trout Unlimited faces arrived at the same place at 2 p.m. Saturday for a kids’ fishing derby sponsored by Broken Arrow Parks and Recreation. We were just in time for the day to complete its transition from sunny and pleasant to a gray and miserable mid-40 degrees.
Some dutifully rigged TU “loaner” fly rods lay near the derby check-in station, ready for use, just in case anyone wanted some instruction.
You just never know.
Now, let’s be clear, fly-fishing on windy days is not that hard after you do it a few times and learn the ropes. But for first-time instruction for a child on a day that most would rather wear insulated gloves and find shelter on the lee side of an SUV in the parking lot? Well, not so much.
Still, for a crowd of about three dozen who literally set up to face into the wind Saturday with balls of Power Bait, corn, bobbers, folding chairs, and kids ready to win prizes—the game was on.
Fewer than six hit the spot at Anderson Pond I would have tried. I would have tucked myself in low on the lee side of the dam with the wind at my back.
These wind-busting folks, I figured, must just know where the fish liked to hang out. They were undeterred! Heck, one kid even showed up wearing shorts. He pulled on some sweatpants after a short while, but he managed to get his line in the water first.
Kid had his priorities straight.
But I was dead wrong about people knowing the best spots and facing the wind regardless. Several were first-timers at the pond. As one reminded me—because both my children left home years ago—there is something to be said for setting up close to the parking lot when you have chairs, fishing gear, and kids in tow.
Solid strategy.
Stocking trout in the Broken Arrow pond was a first for this season and a great success in the estimation of the hardy souls I spoke with Saturday.
With the addition of stockings at Events Park, Tulsa-area anglers now have four neighborhood winter trout fisheries, including Pretty Water Lake, stocked by Sapulpa Parks and Recreation, Veterans Park Pond at Jenks, which is a Department of Wildlife Conservation Close-to-Home Program pond, and The Gardens Pond at LaFortune Park stocked thanks to Trout Unlimited, NatureWorks and private donations.
All of them should have at least a few trout remaining in the waters well into March, and the pond at LaFortune is a kids-only spot this holiday weekend, so, get the kids out there Monday if you can.
In the 14 years that I’ve carried a camera to one of these ponds, I’ve never failed to find smiling kids no matter how many fish were caught—if any.
Ryker Kennedy, went at it with gusto Saturday. He landed the pure energy award. The 3-year-old with the 2 ½-foot rod whipped that pole around with a grin and expectation of results! He even kept at it when the bobber and line were wrapped and tangled all around that rod, and into his mother’s line as she tried to reel in a trout.
A fly fisherman in the making, no doubt.
His big brother, Gaylord III—he goes by Bubba—helped him out when needed.
Bubba also managed to log a trout for the Derby, and for the family dinner stringer.
The 14-year-old said the bait used was, “a little flat, tan fake leach.” The fight was fun and brought home some memories.
“I caught trout a couple times when I was younger,” he said. “I haven’t caught one in a while.”
Will West and his boys, Steven, 11, and David, 7, hit a peninsula-like point that separates a smaller lobe from the larger pond. With early hook-ups on a pair of trout early in the derby, they felt like they finally had the place figured out. A kernel of corn and a small ball of chartreuse Power Bait suspended about two feet below their bobbers, fit the bill.
They said they’ve loved fishing at the pond this winter.
“We live close by and have been out several times and love it,” Will West said. “We’ve been trying worms, shrimp, spinners, and everything and haven’t caught any until today. I guess corn is the thing.”
Branson Phillips trailed two boys to the pond Saturday, his son Braden and pal Brody—huntin’ and fishin’ buddies.
“These kids love to hunt and fish,” he said.
The boys have fished for trout at Jenks and on Arkansas streams, but Phillips, a captain with the Broken Arrow Fire Department, said he was among folks who lobbied for trout in the pond the past few years.
“I always thought this pond would be perfect for it,” he said. “Jenks has a lot of brush around the edges, and it’s more of a drive for me, but here it’s wide-open.”
The pond is indeed a wide-open spot, two fountains keep the water aerated, and the grounds are groomed right up to the shoreline all the way around. It is indeed a pleasant spot to set a folding chair and cast a line—and on a calm day would be prime for some fly-fishing instruction.
Phillips said he has seen the pond lined with people almost all the way around at times this season. The weather Saturday was just a tad beyond the enjoyment threshold for most folks.
“It’s been great,” he said. “We’ve been out here several times and haven’t been lucky enough to catch a fish, but my neighbor brought his boy out and caught his first-ever trout here, which is worth it to me for just that alone.”
No doubt it is worth it, miserable weather or not, fly lines or weights and bobbers, it’s a spot for kids and fishing, and that’s always a good thing.