Stocker Trout Fishing News

First kayak fishing trip this year. Fished the local lake (Lake Lavon) on a windy day. Trolled slab and jig rigs and managed to catch a White Bass and a Yellow Bass. Kept them for a catch and cook video to show how to cook them – split them butterfly style from the back, leave the skin and scales, and marinade for a couple of hours, then pan fry till crispy. Also, did a quick demo of why we like the Zebco Rod/Reel combo we use as a backup rod when kayak fishing… it floats! Zebco Rod and Reel – Slingshot mentioned in the video. “Cool colors. Hot spinning performance. All at a great price. These custom-matched Combos are great for all ages with long-casting Slingshot spinning reels and durable 2-piece Z-Glass rods.” See latest price at Walmart.

Made a stop on the way home from work Monday. Rain was in the forecast but was able to catch a Bass and Bluegill or two or more before the rain arrived. Use the TFO 6wt Fly Rod; Echo Ion 6/7/ Wt Reel, and OPST Commando to cast Damsel Flies, a variant of one, and Tube Fly Poppers. The Damsel Fly Variant did well catching them… even had fun catch a nice Bluegill that bent the rod well!

Quick trips to two ponds this past Easter Sunday – Sonic Pond and the Lower Pond at Bethany Lakes. Caught a couple of Bass using the Guadalupana and the PMOT – Purple Marabou Orange Thing. Did have a nice one on the line briefly but lost it. Overall, great time fishing on a real nice day!

Fly fishing for bass at a local pond using the Guadalupana. Did well last round; same held true this round! Bass were in their beds or cruising the shallows. Also, caught several Bluegill. Did try a popper but the Bass were not interested. Also, Bass on their beds were selective or better yet “picky” when it came to striking even when the Guadalupana was worked across their beds! Fun times on a really nice day; even better to be fishing and catching them on the fly!

Here is a quick tie demo of how we tie the Guadalupana. Uses minimal material, and is simple to tie. Works on trout, bass, and bluegill. Do give it a try, and do keep guessing on our Fishing Fly Give Away of two Guadalupana fishing flies. One tied with a Palmer Hackle. Other with a Dry Fly Hackle. Both on size 8 streamer hooks. See more and comment in our video posted on our channel! PS: Do see more details on how to tie the pattern at COAF Guadalupana Fishing Fly.

Finally got the video edited… it’s the DIY Tube Popper Fly that we used the other day at Stoney Hollow Pond. The version we used at the pond was painted yellow. These are painted white. (This one is a variant of an earlier one we tied… Tube Popper Fly). Also, used the Mini-Balsa Wood Lathe we made several years ago along with a tube tying attachment on an old vise we keep just for making tube flies. Lathe is not required, can be shaped by had using hand tools and sand paper. Do check it out and give it a try fishing them on your local ponds this Season! Material List for reference: 1/4″ square balsa wood Paint – Red, White, Yellow UV Glue Pen Super Glue Sandpaper Xacto Saw / Mitre Box Mini-Lathe for Balsa Wood Dacron Tying Thread Marabou Plumes Grizzly Hackle Tubing Tube Fly Tying Attachment Treble Hooks

Was trying to catch fish at Kroger park, specifically, Bass using the Tube Popper Fly that worked well at Stoney Hollow Pond. Switched to a Damsel Fly Variant when it did not work, then switched back to the Tube Popper Fly. No luck there, so went with a Guadalupana… it worked. Do check out the video for tips and an idea on the retrieve we used when working the Guadalupana. Liked the fishing fly but did lose two Bass that threw the hook out after the initial hook set. Decided to tie Guadalupanas to replace the one lost this trip. Then, decided to give away two of them instead of the Near Deere Give Away for this month! This Give Away… We picked a number between 1 and 200! First to guess the number, and with a US mailing address… WINS! This Give Away are two Guadalupana… in Size 8. Size 8 to better hook Bass instead of the size 10 we used. One Guadalupana has its hackle tied Palmer style. The other Guadalupana has hackles tied Dry Fly style. One guess per day… just post in the comments o...

Mixing it up this round with two of our passions – #ukuleletime and #flytying …watched the move – “The Mule” directed and starring Clint Eastwood! Liked the song by Toby Keith – “Don’t Let the Old Man In”. Decided to add it to a quick tie video of the Damsel Fly Variant we used the other day to catch bass at a local pond! https://youtu.be/a1vivsehHus

Finished the day job and kicked off the weekend with some pond fishing for bass on the fly. Not sure where we were going to fish; plan was to stop at a pond on the commute home. Several options on the way; ended up fishing Stoney Hollow Pond in Plano. Went with the trusty 6wt TFO Rod, Echo Ion Reel, and OPST Commando Head that we keep handy. Started out fishing the Damsel Fly Variant that worked at Kroger Park the other day. Later, switched to other flies before settling on a Tube Fly… a Tube Popper Fly that we tied several years back. Managed to catch two bass with it then lost the fly to a nice bass that broke off. Thought we lost the fly but was able to recover it, unfortunately, did not have any more treble hooks. Only had fishing flies with the largest hook size being a size 8. After a miss with a small size 12 egg pattern to replace the treble hook, switched to a KDM minnow in size 8. Managed to land one more bass before it got too dark. Kept at it well after dark and guessed we ...

Fished Kroger Park in Allen, TX Sunday, March 31, 2019. Struck out but did have a few strike fishing flies; just could not connect. Came back Tuesday, Arpil 2, 2019. Managed to catch a Bass on a Foam Grasshopper; shortly after lost the fishing fly to a snag. After trying different patterns, settled on a Damsel Fly Variant that kinda looks like a Dragonfly. Soon after caught two Bass and a Bluegill before calling it a trip as it got dark. Fun times… liking the 6wt TFO Fly Rod with the Echo Ion Fly Reel and OPST Commando Head!