Stocker Trout Fishing News

Reports so far indicate trout fishing is slow with the stockings on hold due to water quality. Keeping an ear out for any changes. For now, best to fish the upcoming stockings on the Blue River as well as Medicine Park.   Also, Pretty Water Lake near Tulsa is reporting Crappie are biting; they have heated docks to help brave the cold temps.  Plus a Trout Derby is planned in November; good to keep in mind when the trout bug strikes!  

Reports and comments indicate the trout stockings are limited to the upper part of the river near the Spillway due to warm temps. Do keep it in mind for the time being.  

Blue River C&R was stocked last Thursday 10/26… tough bite for some but others did well with Mop Flies, Wooley Buggers, and San Juan Worms. Nymphs were slow but did start getting hits on a tandem rig Griffiths Gnat and Zebra Midge or Prince Nymph…. One report indicated Muddler Minnows saved the day! Some Bruisers out there in clear water!  

Fished the Blue today 3 hours without hardly a bite. And then they stocked it around 3 and I had my limit in about an hour. I caught them on spinners and power bait, 5 were on the small size, one decent. Released back in good condition.

" They stock every week November 1-March 31 depending on size 2-3-4 thousand a week nov and December usually more per week because they are smaller. We have a trout derby the 11-12 of November and will stock some 4-8 pounders , a good time to catch them is from the 11th on. Not all of them are caught during the derby"

Headed back to Texas from Oklahoma City, decided to make one more stop at the Blue River Catch and Release area. Caught one, lost a number of others… still had a great time! Plus: Learned the parking area furthest west is best for accessing the C&R.

Made it back for another round of fishing the Catch and Release section of the Blue River in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, struck out with zero fish caught… not even a Bluegill. However, we did see lots of Trout including some nice size ones. Below is a video snippet of some of the trout we saw Saturday. Had several swipe at our fishing fly but none were landed. The DIY wooden trout net is feeling lonesome hanging on our vest clip unused! That said, it was a great day for us fishing addicts… hiking in the woods, wet wading the river and fly fishing for trout (was below freezing Saturday morning but warmed up in the afternoon), losing count of the number of trout that ignored our fishing flies, and not a single fish landed… priceless. LOL!  

Blue River’s catch and release section was stocked recently. Gave it a try, ended up doing a lot of walking and scouting the river. First time fishing the C&R section. Trout are there, next round… plan to take a shorter path and do less walking and more fishing! Was able to fish with the OPST Commando Head on the 9′ 5wt. Does cast well in tight areas… roll casting and switch casting to where the fish were lurking was easily done!  

No fishing this evening. But, doing fishing related things works. This time fly tying midges for the 2017-2018 Trout Stocking Season! Blue River gets stocked soon… best bet is to stock up the fly box! (PS: Added past videos of trips to the Blue below). #flytying #midges this evening. One #fishing trip it was black, another trip it was red, and another time it was #flyfishing with white midges for #trout …better tie all three #fishingflies A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Oct 23, 2017 at 6:43pm PDT

Been itching to try the OPST Skagit Commando Head on our mojo fly rod – Redingtion Classic Trout 9′ 5WT. Put an order in at Red’s Fly Shop, now just waiting for the package to arrive. Concept of spey casting one-handed with a short Skagit head appeals to us. Went with the recommended 200 grain OPST Commando Head, 35lbs Lazar Line, and a 5′ Commando Micro Tip (sinking tip). Going to give it a try as soon as we can but until then, here are couple of videos to remind us why we want to give this concept a try… especially like the thought of casting with “half a 9′ 5 wt fly rod”! (first video has no sound but footage “paints” a great picture on how it casts on a one-handed fly rod) OPST Commando Head:

Fishing Addiction #7 is about fishing secrets. Secrets that fishing addicts keep to themselves. It could be a certain lure, fishing fly, or bait. It could be a fishing technique, method, or other how to…, or most of all, it could be that secret fishing spot that no one knows about, holds huge fish, and has countless numbers of fish that are hungry and ready to strike at anything passing by! For this snippet in the series, we opted to make a “music video” to illustrate Fishing Addiction #7. Hope you enjoy “Fishing Secrets” by the Field Team… written and produced by yours truly.  

Request from one of our Readers on how we tie the Krystal Dub Minnow that we used at Frisco Commons Pond yesterday. Here is a quick video to answer the request. Materials used were: White 6/0 Dacron Tying Thread Bead Chain Eyes Size 8 Streamer Hooks White Saddle Hackles Ice Dub UV Pearl (Krystal Dubbing) The KDM is fished hook eye up and is tied using a dubbing tool. If no dubbing tool is available, hackle pliers can be used to twist the dubbing onto the dubbing loop.  

Fun time yesterday fishing the Switch Rod and “testing” a new pattern – the Krystal Dub Minnow or KDM. Simple pattern made with UV pearl dubbing and saddle hackles; uses a dubbing loop to wrap the dubbing around the hook. Been a while since we used a dubbing loop, but quickly remembered how to use it. KDM cast well with the Switch Rod, and could be seen from a distance in the Frisco Commons Pond. Water was clear, could see a number of Bluegill chase the KDM. Also, had several Bass go for it as well. No Bruisers but did see some bigger then the ones we caught! Fun stuff… even got video of a Bass missing what looked like a butterfly hovering over the water’s surface!

Been revisiting different ponds we have fished previously but cannot recall when we last fished them lately. This afternoon decided to check out Anglers Cove the catch and release pond by Top Golf in Allen. Lots of construction has things clobbered and the water seems lifeless… did see some “fishy” activity but looked like bait fish and small Sunfish and Bluegill. Was able to take advantage of the Switch Rod to cast for distance when needed as the banks were extremely brushy, Also, past hot spots we fished were overgrown. Was able to position in spots that were cleared and fish. Fished the pond without a bite, then surveyed the area to see what adjustments were needed to fish it. Finally, made a last stand and cast a Foam Grasshopper and caught a Bluegill. While bringing it in something big struck, it spit the Bluegill out… cast out again, and waited about 10″ when something bigger struck. Lost it too and left them biting… had other non-fishing commitments. Bummer!  

Decided to fish the pond by the Cinemark Theater in Allen this morning. Looks like it is called Cottonwood Trail… been a while since we fished it last. Was not sure what would be biting. As it turned out, it was Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish. Scrappy fighters that put up a great fight on the 5wt! Near Deere worked well but lots of vegetation made it tough to fish, plus kept fouling the back cast. Switched to a Foam Grasshopper and had some strikes but the Size 10 hook was too large for the little Bluegill. Tied on the Foam Damsel Fly Variant and caught a couple of fish but broke the tail after snagging a tree. Settled on the Red Damsel Fly and worked holes in the vegetation, dropping the fly in the hole and letting it sink slowly. Had one nice Bass take but it threw the hook. Else, it was little Bass and Bluegill and Sunfish. Still a fun time! PS: Great meeting another fisherman at the pond this morning. Looked like he caught a few fish, too!    

More casting practice with the Switch Rod!  Liking the Cabelas TLR 8wt Switch Rod combined with the Echo Ion 8/10 Fly Reel. Fished Sonic Pond with a Foam Grasshopper at first but only had a couple of missed strikes. Switched to a Pink Near Deere and started catching fish! Fun stuff!

Another video snippet in our Fishing Addiction series. This one is when a fishing addict forgets his rod and reel while on a fishing trip. Said fishing addict will make do with what is available… “we don’t need no stinking rod and reels round here” to go fishing!  

Banner day today! Finished the DIY Wooden Trout Net well before the Winter Trout Stocking Season! Will be shifting to fly tying in preparation for the the trout stockings on the Blue River in Oklahoma in November! Also, new Echo Ion Reel arrived in 10/12 weight, balances well with the Cabelas TLR Switch Rod in 8 weight! Fished it with Lee Wullf’s Triangle Taper Ambush fly line in 350 grain… can get some great casts with minimal effort with it. Still have the two 6 weights at the ready for trout; will hope to target Stripers with the 8 weight… hopefully, at Denison Dam’s tailrace! Here is a video describing the DIY Wooden Trout Net. It’s not perfect but was cheap to make, can hold at least 10 pounds with no issue, and no longer have to deal with fumbling around with the release since this one is magnetic versus a clip like our old one!       it came in from #fishusa …new #flyreel #echoionreel in 10/12 wt to go with the #cabelastlrswitchrod in 8wt …add #leewulff triangle taper fly line 3

Fishing Addiction #5 happens when Fishing Addicts hooked themselves but not bad enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room. Moreover, if their ability to cast a line is not impeded by the hook’s location, they continue to fish knowing full well the YouTube video they saw the other day showing how to remove a hook painlessly will take care of the issue… besides, “it’s just a flesh wound”!

Net is coming along nicely. All that is left is the netting. Should be done well before the Trout Stocking Season! Recapping past posts are pics and video below…   almost there with the #diy #woodentroutnet …#paracord handle and lanyard done, magnetic release in place, glass of #wine #yellowtailwine to while working the netting! #flyfishing#fishing A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Oct 3, 2017 at 4:28pm PDT #diy #woodentroutnet is coming along! liking the #paracord handle weave! still working on the netting, butt cap, and magnetic release… till next round! #flyfishing A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Oct 2, 2017 at 8:55pm PDT Forming frame around minnow trap…

Having done well at Stoney Hollow Park Pond in Plano, decided to fish another pond that we have not fished since last trout stocking season – Murphy City Complex Park Pond in Murphy… just down the road from South Fork where the filmed the show Dallas way back when. Have caught some nice Catfish and Bass but always on bait – especially live Bluegill in the 3″ size. Was hoping the Purple Damsel Fly would get a Bass or two but as it turned out, it was a Bluegill. Switched to a number of fishing flies as well but mojo was off and kept missing strikes or hooking “tree fish”! Did break the streak when a Bluegill went for a Near Deere, and then started “river fishing” for Bluegill by the water fountain; water current being generated did a pretty good job of simulating the current in some rivers we have fished! Afterwards, fished the pier and caught more Bluegill. Was getting ready to call it a trip but decided to tie on the Damsel Fly Variant we use to mimic a dragon fly. As luck would have i