Stocker Trout Fishing News

Not able to fish the morning but did fish the afternoon. Opted for Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area this round. Recently stocked with trout; was hoping to hook one or two but it was not so… had two Buffalo go for a KDM Minnow but both got away before we could land them. Front rolled in while on the river; made for a chilly time. No worries… still a great time fishing a river! Even better… a package was waiting for us from Bass Pro Shops. Ordered a shooting head, running line, and backing for the 4 weight fly rod. Hope to fish it “skagit-style” one-handed like the 5 weight!   cold day,had two #fish on but lost them. still a great time #flyfishing at #llela A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Dec 30, 2017 at 1:15pm PST order from #bassproshop came in… 200grn #shootinghead and #gripshooter line from #rio …putting it on the 4wt #flyrod A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Dec 30, 2017 at 3:27pm P...

Made it to Heritage Park in Flower Mound today and in short order struck out. No trout this round! Did see trout, did see other catch them, but yours truly did not. No worries had a great time getting some casting practice with the OPST Skagit Line. Still learning but getting better every trip. Water was clear and you could see the trout react to your bait, lure, or fishing fly. But, for some reason the preferred bait was corn. There was one fisherman who limited out quickly with a “mystery bait”… so the trout are there! Below is a brief snippet of today… all was good despite the strikeout, Brunch made up for it!   Struck out #fishing for stocked #trout today. still had fun, plus had a great #brunch at #lepeep A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Dec 9, 2017 at 6:25pm PST

Another Texas Winter Trout Stocking Season is here. Texas Parks and Wildlife posted the stocking schedule, and as in past years, we like to play around with spreadsheets for easier reference. Taking the Winter Trout Stocking Schedule posted on 11/8/2017, we collated the Stocking Dates, added Total per Stocking and Number of Stockings for a given location, and then 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 of the PDF document. More advanced users have asked for the Excel spreadsheet to make modifications of their own. Until now, we have not been able to successfully share the spreadsheet. Luckily, we found a medium that allows us to post the spreadsheet online for others to download. Since we do this for fun and their is a free pdf version of the the schedule, we left the price to t...

Sidetracked with the day job but did manage to get the video of the fishing trip to Caruth Park in Dallas – specifically, the Highland Park / University Park area. The park has a small pond that was stocked with trout last Wednesday. Managed to catch one, lose one… and catch a Bluegill, too! Others did well on Super Dupers, Power Bait, and Corn!

Tried a new place Saturday for stocked Rainbow Trout. Only caught one; got some video but was a tough go fishing for them with fishing flies. Did land one and lose one. Also, had several chase the fishing fly but only nipped the tail of the Near Deere. Will get a video snippet posted later. Still a fun time fishing a new place – Caruth Park in Dallas!   #flyfishing this morning. caught one #trout on a #neardeere …lost another, that was it. #superdupers #powerbait and corn were the key at #caruthpark today! A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Dec 2, 2017 at 11:37am PST

Decided to check out the action at South Lakes Park in Denton. Recently stocked with trout, South Lakes can be a hit or miss trip based on when the trout were stocked and their willingness to bite. Today, we saw trout out moving about but unfortunately not near our fishing fly. Did catch several Bluegill but struck out on trout. Did see others catching a trout or two! Fun stuff! #flyfishing quick trip to check out the #troutfishing at #southlakespark in denton. caught #bluegill but did see others xatch #rainbowtrout A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Nov 26, 2017 at 6:36pm PST

A quick trip to Bethany Lakes using the OPST Commando Head and a backup 9’wt Fly Rod. Setup cast well and made for easy distance casting either Roll Cast, Switch Cast, and other Spey style casts. No Bruisers but did get four fish to take our fishing fly – a Bluegill, a Sunfish, and two Bass of which one was a fingerling. Still lots of fun!

Tied a few fishing flies this week. Been having to work the day job, so fishing has been delayed temporarily. No worries, can still tie fishing flies in preps for the next trip: Wire Body Stonefly Mop Fly Variant Rainbow Warrior Variant Rubber Legged Stonefly

Saw the post on Facebook that Turner Falls is stocking trout soon! Great place to have fun and catch a trout or two! Depending on where they stock, can be dealing with lots of trees and things to hinder our a back cast when fly fishing or can be free in clear to cast with little chance of fouling the line! Below are videos to give an idea what to anticipate when fishing Turner Falls. Here is a video when the we fished Turner Falls when they stocked above the waterfall. Here is a video when we fished Turner Fall when they stocked below the waterfall.   Here is a video when we fished Turner Falls last year… stocking was above the waterfall.  

Another Texas Winter Trout Stocking Season is almost here. Texas Parks and Wildlife posted the stocking schedule, and as in past years, we like to play around with spreadsheets for easier reference. Last year, we used OpenOffice’s applications to modify the schedule; this year we dusted of the old laptop and modified the schedule using an older version of Microsoft Office. Taking the Winter Trout Stocking Schedule posted on 11/8/2017, we collated the Stocking Dates, added Total per Stocking and Number of Stockings for a given location, and then 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… PDF Link We do hope this helps Readers again as in past years! PS: The Guadalupe River is represented as Canyon Tailrace and the last stocking location highlighted in yellow is suspect; the date ind...

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.

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.  

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 #cabelastlrswitchr...

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 ...