I've talked to Les (keebranch), Mike (OKMike), and Kurt (Catmanjack) and also to our good friend Charlie. At present we are leaning toward having our spring clave at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area just outside of Sulphur, OK. We have camped there once or twice before and enjoyed it. The camp sites are pretty nice. There are three small creeks in the area that offer good fishing. There is a small lake in the park (Veterans Lake), and also a large lake (Lake of the Arbuckles). Also our friend Charlie has a bed & breakfast called Sulphur Springs Inn just outside one of the entrances to the park for those who don't look forward to sleeping in a tent. Another advantage to doing it in Sulphur is that Charlie can join in the festivities. He made it to one of the claves on the Brazos a few years ago, but as he runs a one man operation at the inn, he has trouble getting away for an out of town experience. The creeks are just the right size for wade fishing and Veterans Lake is a good one for kayak or canoe fishing. Les is looking at his class calendar for the Flyfishing 101 series put on by the Fort Worth Flyfishers. We do need to set a date for this shindig, and I would recommend a weekend in late April if possible.

Larry

Hey Mike,
I'll need to check my calendar at work, but I think either weekend would work for me. The smallies should be biting by then; in the past I've done pretty well in early April. The main reason I'm suggesting late April is so we can avoid all the campers flowing in after school is out for the summer, and because the fish should be biting pretty good by then. I'm still waiting for Les to let me know how his schedule is set up. I also need to get in touch with Carl. I have a couple more buddies that I've fished with recently that would like to join us.

Larry

Les and Larry

Sounds good

Mike

Les,

I still have your rod from our last gathering

Sounds good

I was finally able to get a look at our office time off calendar today. Our time off calendar is in a network folder that I don't yet have access to. Isn't the modern computer age wonderful? My facility manager has difficulty believing that sometimes paper documents are more convenient and efficient than computer files. Anyway, the whole month of April is open to me. Therefore I suggest we toss Les to the wolves and have this shindig sometime other than April 28 .

Naw, I guess we couldn't do that to Les. Mike says he can make it on the 28th, and Kurt and I can do that. Not sure about Carl yet. Is there anybody can't make it on the weekend of April 28-30?

p.s. - Two days after I first wrote this post, I went back to check the dates and noticed I had indeed left Les out in the cold, by putting down the weekend of 21-23. My bad. Thank God for editing capability.

We seem to be pretty much in agreement on the weekend of April 28-30. I will probably go in and set up camp a day or two in advance. That will also give me a chance to go hassle all the fish before the rest of you get there . In the past we have used the Rock Creek campground, but there are only two camp sites there with electricity, the camp host site and another site just behind the camp host. When I went by there the other day both sites were empty, but that could easily be changed by late April. If those are taken when the time rolls around, I may have to look at one of the other campgrounds around the park. I'm already trying to get ready for this outing; I have bought three rods in the last few weeks. One is a Tenkara, as I have been curious about using one. In the last week or so, I got a Sierra Classic 7' 3 weight. This rod was built over 25 years ago in California for use on small streams in the Sierras. Kurt and I cast it and decided this is definitely a parabolic action. Very nice rod. Also picked up a 4 weight McFarland built out by Chris Barclay. When I received it the spigot ferrule in the butt section was loose and would fall down into the butt. This is a used rod, but looks new. With Chris' helpful advice, I was able to repair the spigot. Looking forward to April.

Larry

Mike,
Don't just try to get them built, DO IT. I want to play with them.

Larry

There for just a second Les, I thought you were going to say you had picked up Aurelio's Steffen 6' 2/3 weight. That would not have been safe to have around me. I've lusted after that rod ever since Aurelio let me try it out. However, who knows, I just might switch my lust to the Scott. I'm just so easy.

Larry

I've got on my calendar for the 28th also. Looking forward to it.

I saw Charlie today; he just got back from Mexico yesterday. He's looking forward to seeing you guys again.

Larry

i'm in - I'll bring some camo just in case

Les

Cool, I am excited about that.

I'm fishing the classic this year, maybe I'll roll by rock creek sometime that weekend.

Mike,
I can show you some pretty good places on Pennington Creek.

Larry