Decided to fish Bethany Lakes again today after work. Only had about an hour but it was enough to catch a few Bass and Bluegill from the flooded area of the Horseshoe Pond. Calling it the “flats” since the water is less than a foot deep and the Bass cruise the area in search of a bite like the Redfish do in the Laguna Madre!
All went for a Pink Near Deere. Ran out of them yesterday but luckily the pattern is an easy one. Now have two – one on the fly rod and another in the fly box. Still plan to tie more in preparation for a trip to the Blue River in Oklahoma for Rainbow Trout!
Question from one of our Readers asking how we attach our line to a Tenkara rod’s lillian. We use a loop to loop connection to attach our line. One loop is formed by the lillian; the other loop is from the braided line that we use when fishing with a Tenkara rod. When we use a level line, we attach a 10″-12″ piece of monofilament line to the level line with a nail knot, and then form a loop on the other end of the monofilament using a perfection loop knot. To better illustrate the loop to loop connection, we have posted a video below. Do check it out!
We received a question from a YouTube Viewer asking, “What is the best setup for a beginner who wants to get started in fly fishing?” Expanding on the question, we learned they would be fishing for freshwater fish like Bluegill and Largemouth Bass as well as saltwater fish like Redfish and Speckled Trout. Subsequently… Fishing both freshwater and saltwater threw us a curve. At first thought, we leaned toward two rod/reel combos – one for freshwater and one for saltwater. But, then we put our brainstorming hat on and came up with one rod/reel combo that would work for both situations. When we came up with our one rod/reel combo we biased the outcome with our personal preference in fly rods. That is, we like fast action fly rods that we overweight (also over-line) one line size… not sure why but it seems to work for us! (see more on over-lining a fly rod) Additionally, since it was tough to describe in generic terms a rod and a reel, we provided the actual ro...
Had a request from a Reader asking us about the fly fishing presentations we use. We looked at past videos of trout fishing trips to the Blue River, Lower Mountain Fork, Turner Falls, and Possum Kingdom and collated short clips into the video posted below. The video shows examples of what has worked for us in the past; however, we are prepared to adjust to a given situation as needed to catch fish! Once the Trout Stocking Season starts, will plan to create a follow-up video that better illustrates the fly fishing presentations we use when fishing for Rainbow Trout!
Not sure when we started doing this, but we tend to over-line (go up one line weight) on our 4-Wt and 5-Wt fly rods. I think we did this by accident when we used whatever fly line we had at the time we picked up a new fly reel. So far, have been good with the casting results by going up a weight. That said, was not aware of a debate about this, until I saw an article online by Field and Stream – “ Is Over-Lining Fly Rods Good or Bad? ” For the most part, would agree with Field and Stream that there are no set rules. Would go on to say, “whatever works best for you”!
Question from one of our Readers asking, “How do we clean and cook trout?” In answer to the question, we provide a summary of the different ways we clean and cook trout! Depending on the size of the trout, we clean and cook them as follows: Stocker size trout (9″-13″ in size) : We cut their heads or remove the gills (“gilling”), and then we remove the guts. Not sure why we opt to cut the head off versus “gilling” them; just seems to go one way or the other from trip to trip. When cooking the Stockers, we season them with salt and pepper (sometimes add Season Salt), and then pan fry them in oil for about 5-8 minutes each side. For larger trout in the 14″ – 18″ range: We clean them like the Stockers but will split the fish (butterfly). We then cook them on a cedar plank (see Grilled Plank Trout Recipe ). For trout going 19″+ in size: We gill them and remove the guts, leaving the head in place. Then, we stuff with lemon slices, onions, butter, and sprinkle Rosemary in the body cavity. Nex...
Received two questions from a Reader in response to our post on “How we fish a Super Duper”: “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?” “Do you use a swivel with Super Dupers or Kastmasters?” Below are the answers to the questions and pictures added for ease of reference. Thanks again for your questions! Sincerely, The Field Team For the first question, “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?”, the spinning gear we use are: A 4′-8″ Ugly Stik Ultralight Rod with a Shakespeare 20 Ultralight Spinning Reel (USP225A) 6′-6″ Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod with a Pinnacle Tiny Deadbolt Spinning Reel(DUL20). Lately, when using fluorocarbon, we have switched the reels between the two rods, and mainly been using the Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod and the Shakespeare Spinning Reel. The Pinnacle Spinning Reel tends to uncoil while casting ultralight lures after 5-10 casts. Shakespeare ...
Able to get a round of fishing in this evening. Caught Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish while fly fishing at Bethany Lakes. Went with a Foam Grasshopper to get them today! Hoping the colder temps are done, and we can get back to kayak fishing! Able to wet a line and go #fishing this evening. #bass #bluegill #sunfish went for a green #foamgrasshopper …opted for the 5wt #flyfishing this round! #flytying A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on May 1, 2017 at 7:26pm PDT
Question from the Texas Fishing Forum that we follow... "Now I have some questions on the Blue River in Oklahoma. I am a bit out of that loop. 1) That parking on the E side of the Catch and Release (off 7) - is that just for parking, and there is still a hike up to the high point of the C-n-R? 2) I think the C-n-R is barbless? Kind of silly if you ask me, but my memory banks are full! 3) Are the stockings good in the C-n-R area? Still a mystery easter egg hunt? Anybody been there lately?" Answering the mail, we provide the following: "1) That parking on the E side of the Catch and Release (off 7) - is that just for parking, and there is still a hike up to the high point of the C-n-R?" The parking on the East side off Hwy 7 is just for parking. It is designated as a walk-in area only and no camping. Refer to Blue River Map below. It is a 2+ mile hike to the Catch and Release area from the parking area on the East side of Hwy 7. For a shorter hike - about 1.3 miles, ...
More development on PK, hope it's good news! spacemonkey: Re: Stripers below PK Tpwd was called yesterday by a friend of mine. They told him it was unlikely algae because the water temps are still cool enough, but they were supposed to send out a biologist yesterday to see. They said it could be due to fertilizer runoff as well. Retrieved from http://texasfishingforum.com/forums
Fished Celebration Park East Pond yesterday using bread for bait and the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel. Made a change in how we normally fish bread; instead of forming a bread ball around a J Hook, wrapped the bread in cheese cloth and then secured it to a Circle Hook. Had a number of strikes but no hook ups until we removed the weight we were using and free-lined the bait. Good thing the surf casting rod/reel combo had no issues casting a weightless baited hook! Soon after started getting strikes and hook ups. Unfortunately, it was well past dark, so we were unable to get a video of the action and the cell phone battery was low so no pictures either. One Catfish was a Bruiser; the other Catfish went about 17″ in length. Decided to go back tonight and see if we could get another Catfish before it got too dark for filming. As it turned out, the fish were picky this time… we managed to catch only one. It went about 28″ in length but was smaller t...
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