Stocker Trout Fishing News

Liking the live pier camera that the 61st Street Fishing Pier post on their website! Really would prefer to fish there again this weekend for more saltwater fishing as well as the chance at another Shark! powered by Ivideon

Stopped by the Back Pond at Bethany Lakes this morning for a quick trip. Had about 20″ to fish before it was time to head to the “Salt Mines”. Regardless, caught a number of Bluegill using the Micro Fly Rod and an Elk Hair Caddis. Really liking the concept of an ultralight, collapsible fly rod that casts well and catches fish!

Alrighty, having had the fun time fishing the coast this past weekend, we returned back home to North Texas. Given we caught a keeper Blacktip Shark, we made every effort to clean and fillet it properly so as not to ruin the meat. Having taken the extra steps to prepare the fillets, Nuclaroche went with his double secret recipe for Shark. We have tried it on Atlantic Sharpnose previously but not on Blacktip. As it turned out, his recipe worked for Blacktip also! Now, going to have to keep needling him to give up his recipe. Will see what comes about in the next few days (possibly weeks if he does not opt to share the recipe with us). Tasty Blacktip Shark Fillets….  

The Team had a great time in Galveston fishing the two piers – Galveston Fishing Pier and the 61st Street Fishing Pier, over the weekend. Had been to both piers in the past. Originally, planned to fish only one but then we learned the T-Head at the Galveston Fishing Pier opened earlier this year. First night we fished the Galveston Fishing Pier Friday evening from 9PM to 5AM Saturday morning. Bite was mainly Gafftopsail, Hardheads, Croaker, and Whiting for us. Did learn that others were catching Black Drum, Speckle Trout, and small Sharks. Then, we hopped up the road to the 61st Street Fishing Pier and fished from 8:30AM to 3PM Saturday. During that time, we caught more Gafftopsail, Hardheads, Croaker, and Whiting. Saw lots of Mullet schooling and saw the occasional Shark take a bite of one. Others hooked into a Bonnethead Shark and Blacktip Shark, and then we caught a Blacktip Shark, too! Things slowed down afterwards, so we took a break, then headed back to the 61st Street Fishing Pi

The other day the Team went juglining at our local lake. Caught several Catfish to include a 20 pound Bruiser ! That said, once we cleaned our catch the next step was to cook it. Looking for a change of pace from the normal frying in oil, we tried the recipe from 30 Miles Out – Blackened Redfish.  We followed the video’s instruction and made the recommended adjustment to use 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper instead of a 1 tsp. Really like the baking in the oven for 30″ at 350 degrees too. Have tried the blackened style cooking before but tended to overcook (more like burn) the fish. This extra step of baking in the oven makes a difference! Also, do try the Simple Rice Pilaf recipe. Went well with the fish and asparagus!     Blackened Catfish     Simple Rice Pilaf Add Asparagus!

Made it to the Beach this past weekend. Had a lot of fun fishing for saltwater fish! Even got a round of Micro Fishing in! Caught a number of little Gafftopsail using bits of shrimp, squid, as well as the Sabiki Rig we were using to catch bait fish! More pictures and videos to come but to start things, here is a Gafftopsail that went for a bit of shrimp. PS: Here is a link to the post from the weekend’s fishing fun!

Let’s go to the beach this round. Plan to try our luck on the coast this weekend. Tied a few Sabiki Rigs to catch some little fish so we can get bigger fish! More to come! Sabiki Rig!

Been a while since we fished Bratonia Park. Low water levels kept it closed for several years. This morning we put in the Jon Boat and set Jug Lines. We baited the lines with Shad caught with our cast net. And, in a short while we had our first bite. Turned out to be a Bruiser that went just over 33″ in length! Slow but steady bite that ended with five Catfish – four Blues and one Channel. Fun stuff, Team’s biggest Catfish caught to date!

Micro Fly Rod Fishing at Kroger Pond this evening. Bite was good on little Bass and Bluegill. Foam Grasshopper in Size 16 worked well, but ended up losing the fishing fly to a “Tree Fish”! Switched to a Tenkara Fly and was able to continue to hook up with the little Bass and Bluegill. Fun stuff! Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit

Found the break in the week that we were looking for and made a run to Lake Lavon’s Brockdale Park. Gate remains closed but walk-in access is still available. Was able to use the kayak cart and make an easier portage from the parking area to the boat ramp. While on the way, noticed a Park Ranger was examining the boat ramp and taking notes. Talked briefly with the Park Ranger; he noted the boat ramp is looking good but the pavement area may need fixing. As for when the boat ramp will be opened, still remains uncertain. Good thing we made the kayak cart! After making a few tweaks here and there in how best to secure it to the kayak, the cart worked as designed! In short order, was able to put in at the boat ramp, paddle out a few yards, and then casted a line and started trolling. Caught a number of White Bass and Largemouth Bass (all small) and a few Yellow Bass! Most went for a Chartreuse/White Crappie Jig; several went for a Red/White Tube Fishing Fly! Will need to make another trip

Looks like the Trout action was good for Steve in Australia despite having to work around the rain showers. Excerpt from Steve’s report: “It was still raining on the way up and never really stopped in the few hours I was there. I took the fly gear but only used a spin outfit to cast a CrystalCast float and fly.  In a couple of hours fishing I caught and released around 15 stocked rainbow trout. Used a sunk small Muddler Minnow which worked for a while, then a bead head Pheasant Tail Nymph which got no takes at all, then switched to an OZ Dragonfly Nymph. This last fly was created and tied by my friend in the US. It has squirrel hair, rubber legs and bead eyes. It is a great mudeye fly. Mudeye is our name for dragon fly nymph. With this last fly, I found that a very slow steady retrieve worked the best .” Below are Steve’s pictures! Spin outfit, CrystalCast Float, Muddler Minnow and small stocker rainbow. Caught today Monday July 13.   Artificial waterfall at Marysville Lake. The rainbo

Decided to make the run across the border and fish Denison Dam. The road to the Tailrace from Texas is still closed due to the damage from the water running over the Spillway. Arrived shortly before sunrise. We fished weighted Pencil Poppers, Bucktail/Fluke Jigs, Rat-L-Traps,… etc without a strike. Did have a Cormorant go for a Pencil Popper and ended up getting foul hooked. Luckily, with the help of another fisherman to hold the bird’s head down, was able to remove the hook! They do have sharp looking beaks that could leave a mark! Mainly fished the Texas side but as things turned out, should have fished the Oklahoma side as the Stripers seemed to be cooperating with the fishermen… observed several Stripers caught using Bucktail/Fluke Jigs as well as live Shad freelined into the current. Also, saw a nice Bruiser… no pictures or video – SD Card ran out of memory. That said, the video we did take is posted below. Do note the number of boats passing through the area. Fun stuff?

Just in from one of our Readers. Two nice looking Trout sent from Steve in Australia! Steve noted, “The first one is the wild brown trout and the second photo is a stocked rainbow trout from a small lake about 30 minutes drive NE of where I live. The fly is a rubber legged bee fly that was tied and sent to me by good a friend in the US. I think it is a bluegill fly but the trout here like it.” Thanks for submitting the picture Steve! Wild Brown Trout Stocked Rainbow Trout

Kicked off the weekend with a round of fishing at Kroger Pond. Had not fished it for some time; good to see the water is clear at least in the Feeder Creek. Did see lots of “green stuff” clobbering the pond area. Regardless, fish were going for a Size 16 Foam Grasshopper . No Bruisers other than a nice sized Sunfish; no worries though, they all put up a good fight on the Micro Fly Rod ! Cannot recall how many fish were caught and released but over 20 would be a good “guestimate”… next question, where to fish tomorrow? Going to play it by ear for now!

Been a tough week to go fishing but made a quick trip after working out this morning. Used the Micro Fly Rod and a Foam Grasshopper in Size 14 to catch little Sunfish and Bluegill at Celebration Park’s North Pond. Most were small (micro size) but did get several bigger ones in the mix. Overall had a fun time, sure beats working! Really liking the Micro Fly Rod concept, too!

Decided to give Murphy City Hall Pond another go this morning. Had several hook ups but missed setting the hook. And then, had something bite and run with the line. Took out drag and could not turn it. Ended up wrapping the line around the fountain. Oh well, can’t get them all!    

Happy Fourth of July… started out catching little fish, ended up hooking into to two nice ones… a Catfish and a Bass! Fished Murphy City Hall Pond this morning. Used a Tandem Rigged Near Deere and GRHEN to catch a number of Sunfish and Bluegill. Bite was good; even caught two at the same time on the Tandem Rig. Kept at it and started noticing some nice size Bass were chasing the hooked fish while being reeled in. Twice a Bass took a hooked fish, and twice we fought it before the Bass let go of the Sunfish before it could be landed. Kept on fishing until a nice size Catfish took the Nymph. After a good fight on the four weight rod, was able to land it. While unhooking it, noticed it had a Khale Hook in the side of its mouth. Looked like someone hooked it but it got away when the line broke. Taking advantage of the situation, quickly caught a Sunfish on the GRHEN, tied on the Khale Hook, and baited up with the Sunfish. In a short while, a Bass took it and put up a nice fight… went about

To kickoff the three-day weekend, we start off with fishing Celebration Park’s East Pond. This time we went with Hot Dogs for bait; we used the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel. Was hoping for another Bruiser like the one we caught the other day. As it turned out, had many strikes but missed hookups. Suspect the Turtles had a hand in this… that said, we did get three Catfish (about 14″-15″ in size). Fun stuff!