COAF Field Team Vlog #6 - "Denison Dam"

-

One Keeper....
One Keeper….

This round we went back to Denison Dam Saturday morning for another go at Striped Bass. The generation schedule showed no planned generations until around 12:45PM. So, by the time we started fishing, we had at least three solid hours to fish the pools and runs!

InTouch Switch Chucker

Last week we picked up a Lamson Waterworks Liquid 4 reel from Cabelas. After a little research on which fly line to use, we went with Rio’s InTouch Switch Chucker line in a 5wt per Rio’s line selection app! Had to order online and wait about a week.

While we waited for the fly line to arrive, we fished the 8wt Switch Rod on local ponds to practice casting. Even better, we caught a few fish while practicing… then, Friday the new fly line arrived, and in no time, we had it spooled on to the fly reel.

The bite was steady but the Striped Bass were little. Also, we did catch a few Longear when we changed from a Clouser Minnow to a Near Deere. We had caught one little Striped Bass with a Bead Chain Clouser Minnow, and then kept getting light strikes but no no hook ups.

Liquid 4 Reel
Liquid 4 Reel

Then, we switched to an Olive Near Deere and started catching more little Striped Bass. The same held true with a Red, White, Blue Near Deere – more little Striped Bass. Was able to catch and release a number of fish for most of the morning, but around 11:30 AM, decided to start fishing for larger Striped Bass.

Working one run that had lots of Shad being washed downriver, we were able to hook and land one Keeper Striper before calling it a day. The Striped Bass fought well and the 6wt Swtich Rod handled it nicely. Will likely use this setup as our “go to” Striped Bass rig when fly fishing Denison Dam:

  • Cabelas TLR Switch Rod – 11 ft / 6wt
  • Lamson Waterworks Liquid 4 Fly Reel
  • Rio InTouch Switch Chucker fly line – 5wt
  • 5′ Floating Tip – made from the “thin” section of an old 5wt fly line
  • Two section Leader/Tippet – 30lbs Stren mono and 17lbs Stren mono

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Enter a keyword to search for archived posts.

Popular posts from this blog

TRDW Flyfest...

-
Image
Had a great time at TRWD Flyfest yesterday. Checked out some of the fly tying demos, and joined the fishing contest on a whim. Had brought fly fishing gear out of habit but left the chest waders. Had put the waders away since the Trout Stocking Season was winding down. While walking around, stopped by the fishing contest booth and learned that an opening was available for the next heat. Decided to sign up when I remembered the hip waders were in the pick up. Kept them there as a backup set of waders, and forgot to put them away. Good thing… ended up using them for the contest. The contest worked in two-man Teams – one fisherman fished for 10″ while the other fisherman waited, then they would switch when a horn sounded. We ended up getting three on the line – one was almost landed but the other two were on the line briefly before throwing the hook or breaking off the line. For the one that was almost landed, had forgot to bring the landing net (it was put it away in the garage already).
Read more

How Do We Clean and Cook Trout?

-
Image
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
Read more

Blue River for Switch Rod Casting Practice...! #switchrod #flyfishing

-
Image
Made it to the Blue River today to check things out. Great day to go… only one little Bass this round but did get lots of casting practice in with the Switch Rod – 6 Weight Cabelas TLR combined with the Liquid Lamson 4 and the Rio Switch Chucker line is balancing well. Getting great casts and distance with the two-handed Switch Cast now. Plus… always good to be able to fall back to the cast we use when shoulder is hurting from a past injury. For want of a name for it, calling it the “hurt shoulder cast”. Here is a video snippet of some of the casts used today.
Read more

What is the Best Setup for a Beginner.... #flyfishing

-
Image
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 rod and reel we use. Since each
Read more

Ukulele and Q&A and Near Deere Give Away!

-
Image
Starting an impromptu live stream for some ukulele fun and fishing Q&A! Plus a Near Deere Give Away with a twist… This round we are giving away two White Near Deere tied on 1/80oz fly jigs and one Marilyn Monroe Tenkara Fly. The extra weight of the 1/80 oz fly jigs helps fishing deeper spots when the trout are lurking deep. And, the white color is what we had the local trout interested in last Saturday when the temps were well below freezing! To win this round… we wrote down a number from 1 to 100 on our whiteboard. First to guess the number and post in the comments either on this video or on our Facebook Page wins the number we wrote down wins! Addendum: One modification to the rules, One entry per day to guess the number. We are located in the US Central timezone. We will provide comments indicating a Win, else will give a hint to the answer at least once a day. That is first to guess the number with a US address wins! Good Luck!
Read more

First Trout Caught at End of the Garden Creek!

-
Image
From Steve in Australia who is enjoying the good life fishing at a nearby creek – near as in his backyard, pictures of the first trout caught since moving to the new homestead, the creek at the end of the garden, and some cool looking plant life! Thanks for the pictures. We look forward to more updates from Oz! Living the Good Life!
Read more

Denison Dam Tonight

-
Always good to  get reports from the Lake Lavon Fishing Team!   They now seem to be on a regular schedule of turning on the water at 12:40 pm and turning it off at 5:00 pm on weekdays. The stripers are beginning to school some beginning around noon, but they really turn on when the siren blows signalling the start of generating. They will stay up busting the top for 20-30 minutes and you can have a lot of fun fishing from shore on the Texas side during that time period because they are schooling right next to the shore. Sometimes they will also feed on top right after they turn the water off. They will hit topwater pencil poppers with abandon while they are schooling! I think the siren causes a vibration in the water which causes the shad to start moving and the stripers are ready and waiting for them. Get up there and have some fun, guys!!   Regards, The Lake Lavon Fishing Team.   Retrieved from http://forum.lakelavonfishing.com    
Read more

Lake Lavon This Morning

-
Image
Planned to fish Denison Dam this morning but with rain in the forecast, decided to fish Lake Lavon this morning. Action was slow but steady with several Catfish caught on Nightcrawlers and more caught using Beef Liver. For some reason, the local grocery stores were out of fresh (never frozen) Chicken Livers. Also, did see others catching Gaspergou (Freshwater Drum), Catfish, White Bass, and Bluegill. All seemed to be liking Nightcrawlers! Fun stuff! PS: Matched pair of Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reels worked well!
Read more

COAF Field Team Vlog #1... Sonic Pond This Round

-
Image
Playing around with the camera and green screen. Put together Vlog #1 that shows the action at Sonic Pond using the Traditional III Fly Rod from Cabelas and a Foam Grasshopper! Had started out with a Near Deere but after took hook ups with Bass that threw the hook, decided to switch to the Foam Grasshopper! Lost count of how any Bass were caught. No Bruisers but would say it was in the double digits! Do stay tuned for more Vlogs; hope to mix things up some more once we get the hang of the camera/green screen!
Read more