Stocker Trout Fishing News

Been under the weather lately but others are making a dent in the Trout stockings in Oklahoma and Texas. Hope to get out there sooner than later. That said, have received several reports from our friend Steve in Australia. Below are snippets from our Instagram clips… for more, do check out them out in the Fishing Bulletin Board’s – Pictures from OZ (Australia) section! Friend in Oz sends #flyfishing pics from #australia. First report showed this #trout A photo posted by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Nov 30, 2016 at 8:52pm PST Second #flyfishing report from friend in Oz… #trout and a parrot! #australia A photo posted by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Nov 30, 2016 at 8:54pm PST

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...

While online checking out various forums, noted a question posed on one forum that asked about starting a blog. Decided to answer the question with a few suggestions. At the end of this post is a picture of the suggestions offered. In particular are the points noted in the recap.  Have listed the points below for Readers who may be interested in starting their own blog: Start with Blogger; it’s free and simple to use. Link Social Media to your Blog; use your Blog to provide more details/info to your Readers Be sure to set your posts so a URL is created for each post; you can use it to create links elsewhere online When the free option no longer supports your blogging requirements, upgrade to a hosted Blog and purchase your own domain Be sure to archive your original blog and make it available to Readers after upgrading PS: The online name will represent your blog for its entire “life”, pick a good one!

Cold and windy but did have fun practicing casting the switch rod. Even had a few little Bass and Bluegill jump on the line! Made a run over the Plano East Senior High School and fished their catch and release ponds. Had a number of light strikes using a Near Deere under a strike indicator. But, it was the short, quick pulls or the steady retrieve that had the fish striking… at lease the little Bluegill and Bass! Fun time getting out and bending a rod; great way to close out the long holiday weekend!

First report from the boards! Looks like stocker trout were hungry for anything!     Fishwfly: Re: 2016-2017 Trout Stocking Schedule I caught many today! Used multiple spinners, ultralight cranks, even trout worms. Caught them on all. Using the G-rods Pro Trout 69XUL with 4lbs test. The rod is the most fun stocker trout rod I have used to date! It has an awesome light tip! Even cast a weighted fly! LOL. Not far, but far enough to catch fish with it. Great time today. Caught at least 10.     Retrieved from http://texasfishingforum.com/forums

Been fighting a cold and have been indoors these past few days. However, just could not let the day pass without wetting a line. Decided to check out South Lakes Park Pond in Denton this afternoon in hopes of Rainbow Trout. The pond was recently stocked on Wednesday. Not sure how the trip would go; been some time since we last fished the pond. Brought a 5WT flyrod and fished a Near Deere as well as a Tandem Rigged Near Deere and GRHEN. Had one strike while walking the bank, so stayed there and ended up catching two little Crappie and a Bluegill. Continued to work the pond and had several strikes fishing the Tandem Rig under a strike indicator but failed to set the hook in time. Kept at it for another hour and managed to catch one more undersized Crappie. Overall, had a fun time getting out on a chilly but nice day.    

The Field Team would like to wish our Readers a Happy Thanksgiving! Although we have not fished since this past weekend, we are enjoying the time off from work. We even found time to learn a few things with OpenOffice Base and Calc – the open source equivalent to Microsoft Office Access and Excel. Last year, we used Microsoft’s applications to modify the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Winter Trout Stocking Schedule. This year, we used OpenOffice’s applications. We purchased a new computer and opted not to purchase Office 365. Taking the Winter Trout Stocking Schedule posted on 11/21/2016, we collated the Stocking Dates, added a Total per Stocking, and added a Number of Stockings for a given location, and then we sorted the dates in ascending order. By doing so, it gives us a better idea of the next planned trout stocking.  Although the dates change as the season progresses, some Readers have taken screen shots, printed them, and then made pen and ink updates… P...

        KungFuJimmy: Re: Lavon Lake and Dam 2016 today take shot fishing before raining ,south wind 16-17 mph,the sand bass was big 12-15 inch,too bad is they took 2-3 spinner and broke half line,because they fright very strong,force me to go home hope after thanksgiving they still come to bank and let you guys take the final day before off season,happy thanksgiving for everybody!!!!!!!       Retrieved from http://texasfishingforum.com/forums  

Struck out Saturday on the Blue River. Went back Sunday and almost struck out again. Luckily, caught one Rainbow Trout using Power Bait… whew! Regardless, had a fun time fishing the river. Saw lots of trout, some were interested in fishing flies but Power Bait, Salmon Eggs, and in one instance Frog Lures! Met one fisherman who makes a lure called the Frog Lure that is patterned after a soft plastic used for Bass. These are scaled down, have garlic in them, and are fished on a jig head using spinning gear. Having brought only fly fishing gear, was able to make do casting them with the Switch Rod. Did have several trout chase the lure, even had three on the hook briefly but was not able to close the deal and land them. No worries… two days on the Blue River sure beats work!

Saturday trip to the Blue River. Only had one trout take a fishing fly but lost it soon after. Had lots more turn and look away without striking. Did see some nice ones; even got a couple on video passing through a pool we were fishing. PS: Shout out to the group of fishermen who I met! Thanks for checking out our videos! Looks like ya’ll did well with some nice looking trout!

Quick trip to Bethany this evening. Short on time but was able to connect with Bass and Bluegill using a Foam Grasshopper and the Damsel Fly variant we like to tie in purple marabou!  Fish were active, and we are still liking the 6WT Switch! Hope to use it on trout in the near future. Maybe at Turner Falls sooner than later – see email reply to our question on this Season’s Trout Stocking at the park!

Stayed local this morning and fished Bethany Lakes with the new 6-WT Switch Rod. Brought a White Near Deere and a Mardis Gras Near Deere and caught several Bluegill and Bass. No Bruisers but still lots of fun! Colder temps but the fish remained active. Bluegill were chasing our fishing flies in the shallows. Bass were feeding on fingerling Bluegill with several nice looking ones sighted as we fished. PS: Was able to snag a Frisbee Golf Disc that someone lost in one of the ponds.    

Wanted 100% wool fingerless gloves for fly fishing this winter. But, did not want to pay too much for them. Since the week is stuck indoors and not fishing… work schedule has us fishing the weekend for now, decided to knit my own gloves! After one do over, was able to get this one done. Works well with the 6-Wt Switch Rod! Now gotta go fishing with them!

Kicked off the 2016-2017 Trout Stocking Season early last week when we fished the Lower Illinois River. This round, we fished the Blue River; the weekly trout stockings have started… Hooray! Given the nice weather and an opening in the work schedule, made a short notice trip to fish the Blue River on Saturday. Although it was a tough round of fishing, did limit out after finding a pattern that worked! Changed fishing flies multiple times before settling on a Tandem Rig – Olive Near Deere and Griffith’s Gnat set 4′ under a strike indicator. Had hits on both fishing flies with a number of missed hook sets. Of the ones landed, four went for the Oliver Near Deere. Later, the trout wanted movement in the fishing fly. Ended up removing the indicator and fished a a Mardi Gras Near Deere and later a Pink Near Deere. Overall, had another great time on the Blue River. The 6-WT Switch Rod and the Rio Switch Chucker Line were key today in getting the needed distance where the fish were lurking usi...

Blue River in Oklahoma is stocked. Next weekend is the Trout Derby, so be prepared for some Bruiser Trout to be stocked! Did make it to the Blue yesterday – Saturday, 4 November. Bite was on for some; others had to work at it to limit out!   What worked… Power Bait with the Garlic scent, Midges and small Black Midge Dry Flies, and Inline Spinners and Super Dupers!