Stocker Trout Fishing News

On a whim, tied a Muddler Minnow and headed to the local pond with the Vintage Bamboo Fly Rod. After figuring our the pattern - short pauses between short pulls of the line, caught a Bluegill and several Bass! Lots of fun knowing that a fly rod that is older than myself can still be used. I am a little careful when landing fish. But, I do think the rod will land a good size Bass or other similar fish. Let's see if that happens sooner than later! Try tying one, else purchase them from Amazon!

Happy Sunday Readers! It was a lot of fun fishing the Blue yesterday. Today, I had to work the early morning. Luckily, I was able to break away afterwards for a quick trip to Bethany Lakes. Cold and windy conditions put a chill in the air... decided to go with a light weight jacket to stay comfortable. Glad that I did not need the layered clothing like yesterday morning! Using the same Near Deere under a Strike Indicator setup from yesterday, managed to catch five Bass. No Bruisers but was good practice (or more an excuse to go fishing). The Bass were holding in a deeper hole in the Main Pond and were just barely striking the Near Deere. It was almost like they were bumping it instead of striking the fishing fly. Also, every so often would twitch the rod to add a little action, else letting the wind/waves "bob" the Near Deere up and down was enough to trigger a strike. Short trip but lots of fun!

When rain approaches, I decide to go fishing. After a ling dry spell of no rain, I go for a quick trip with the ultralight baitcaster for bait finesse fishing. In short order, it starts pouring. No worries, the bass were biting!

Plan was to fish the local pond using Bait Finesse Gear and ultralight lures. Switched to a Fly Fishing when my inline spinner kept fouling on the algae. Started out with a Damsel Fly and had several strikes but no hook ups. Went to a Guadalupana in a smaller size hook compared to the Damsel Fly. Did better! Worked mainly the areas near the bank as the water level in the pond was high from recent rains. Did work a more open area in the back pond to see what was cruising the area. Caught most of the fish on a fast, short pull retrieve. Did get one Bass to take the Damsel Fly worked in its bed but as luck would have it, camera battery ran out. Fun times fly fishing with nine Bluegill and four Bass caught and released! Now if only the wind would calm down and we could get back to kayak fishing! Good luck and good fishing!

BFS fishing the local pond. Started with a popper but switched to a Rooster Tail and had fun catching Bass. Shimano Scorpion 17 BFS-XG reel still rocks with the Bass Pro Shops Microlite Fiberglass rod!

Checked out TRWD Flyfest. Was a fun time. Lots of video footage of the trout contest.Live stream Is posted except for heat 4. Still working on a high lights video of the contest. More to come. For now here is a quick tie and catch video to kick off the warm water fishing season!

Originally posted 12-27-2014. Latest update from the Field Team.... action Bethany Lakes remains steady for some. Key notes this round: Black Super Duper started out strong but tapered off in the evening Bread under a Bobber were getting bit with a limit taken using it Other were getting strikes using PowerWorm under a Bobber as well Video clip below shows two Trout taken on a Black Super Duper:

Originally published 12-26-2014. Another report from Bethany Lakes. This one included a video and an onsite Podcast. Zeke, who brought his dog but no fishing pole tagged along and stretched his legs while watching the action. Here are key notes from today: Game Warden checked fishing licenses this morning, be sure your license is up to date Black Super Duper was the go to lure; tried gold, silver, and copper... one hit on the silver Bubble Fly Rigs with a Black Nymph were getting strikes PowerWorms under a Bobber were getting strikes as well Video clip shows action on the Black Super Duper: Onsite Podcast from iFishRadio:

Another quick trip opportunity for Bait Finesse Systems fishing at the local pond. Got a Bass with a Senko! Awesome! Trip Report Date: 2/14/22 Time: 1705-1805 Location: Bethany Lakes, Allen, TX Key Take Aways: Warm day with temps in the high 60s, cooling quickly after sunset. No action by the “East Spot” of the Main Pond. No action in the Back Pond’s “North Culvert” or “Drain” Slow presentation of Senko in deeper areas was best chance at Bass “Line Watching” works, slight movement detected. One Bass caught and released at the Main Pond “Culvert” Gear Rod – Bass Pro Shops Graphite Series 3ft Rod Reel – KastKing Zephyr BFS Reel with Reel Clicker Line – 6lbs Stren BFS Lure Data BFS Lure Data Senkos, Gary Yamamoto Black/Red Flake 4″ Size Fish Data One Bass 13″ Length Senko Slow Retrieve with Stop and Go Lessons Learned 4″ Senko continues to produce at Bethany Blk/Red Flake in Watermelon see...

Originally posted 12-25-2014 Early evening bite at Bethany looked good for some! Despite windy conditions, fishermen were getting bites and some were limiting out. Key notes from the evening were: PowerWorms and PowerBait under a Bobber were getting strikes COAF Griffith's Gnat was working on rising trout Several fishermen using Corn reported no nibbles... striking out without a trout Video below shows action using the COAF Griffith's Gnat.

Originally published 12-25-2014. The Field Team and StockerTroutFishing.com would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We appreciate your support for our website and weblog, and we look forward to continuing to provide useful fishing information to our Readers as 2014 closes and 2015 begins. Sincerely, COAF Field Team

Originally posted 12-23-2014 Overall, the action had been hit or miss at our local pond.  Trout were actively rising on the surface throughout the day, but fishermen were having trouble consistently hooking up. There were a few fisherman who did get a limit, and as the afternoon progressed, one area of the pond seemed to have a flurry of activity that resulted in a limit being taken in less than 30" by one fisherman.  Key notes from today were: Super Dupers worked early in the day but the bite turned off Bubble Fly Rigs with a Prince Nymph were getting strikes but hook ups were spotty Black Midge Dry Fly were also getting strikes but missed hook sets seemed to be the norm Bubble Fly Rigs with a PowerWorm seemed to be the go to rig/lure today COAF Griffith's Gnat (variant of the Griffith's Gnat) worked well for rising trout For more on the COAF Griffith's Gnat, do see the article, " Griffith's Gnat on a Caddis Hook ". Video clip showing snippets of risers ...

Originally published 12-22-2014. Bethany Lakes Fishing Report We received another report from Bethany Lakes from Glenn who noted the bite was mixed. Some fishermen were doing well catching their limit, while others were striking out. What worked this round: Silver Super Dupers worked well today Gold Super Dupers were also getting struck Sight casting to boils as well as a steady retrieve of the Super Duper helped get strikes As the bite slowed, switching to fishing flies helped A Bubble Fly Rig also helped in getting the distance needed to reach active fish feeding on the surface Below is a short video showing one fisherman bringing in a Trout using a Bubble Fly Rig! Bubble Fly Rigs For more on how to rig a Bubble Fly Rig, do checkout our article posted at SkyAboveUs - "How to setup Bubble Fly Rigs"

Originally posted 2014/12/21 The Team confirmed one of our own graduated with an Engineering Degree from Texas A&M University! Now, it's back to fishing again! Bethany Lakes in Allen Reports from the Team indicated the action Saturday morning was steady for some while slow for others. In the Team's case, one Rainbow Trout fell for an Olive Wooley Bugger at Bethany Lakes in Allen.  Key notes from the morning round were: Slow retrieve and/or stop and go retrieve seemed to work Casting spoons like Super Dupers in Gold and Silver and Mini-Jigs were getting strikes Bubble Fly Rig cast to fish feeding near the surface were getting strikes Fish were also taking PowerBait and PowerWorms Action was steady initially but tapered off with the exception of the Bubble Fly Rig. Action remained steady for the rig (see the section titled Bubble Fly Rig in the article "Texas Rainbow Trout Fishing - Community Lakes" ) Waterloo Park Pond in Denison Saturday afternoon the action picke...

[Originally Posted 12-14-2014] It's the day before the annual rainbow trout stocking at Bethany Lakes in Allen. The Team is anxious to wet a line and hook a little Stocker Trout! However,  this year the Team will miss tomorrow's fun as they will be attending a graduation ceremony back at Aggieland. The Team will  be in full force in College Station to be sure it is no hoax but one of own is graduating! That said, for those able to make it tomorrow, the Team suggested posting the video from last year's opening day at Bethany. The video is posted below; do check it out.  Key items from that day were: PowerBait worked initially but the action slowed but remained steady Gold Super Duper on a steady retrieve did not work Gold Super Duper on a stop and go retrieve worked Trout tended to strike as the lure fluttered down while stopped Also, last year the weather was sunny and cool; this year it looks like rain and overcast conditions are expected. Not sure how it will affect the...

Fished the local pond with the Kastking Zephyr BFS reel on a Shakespeare Microcast Rod and 1/16oz Roostertail. Switched the 10lbs braided line that had a 2lbs mono equivalent diameter for 4lbs mono… no more line slipping under the spool! Caught two bass and found a lure someone lost… not bad, left with more lures than I had at the start. Not the norm for yours truly! PS. Shimano BFS reel delivers today… check back for an unboxing post!

Decided to run down the road to the local pond (Bethany Lakes) and see what was biting. Brought the KastKing Zephyr BFS Reel and Ultralight Lures and left the fly rod at home. Plan was to fish Roostertails but switched to a Mepps Inline Spinner since the Trout seemed to be interested in them – specifically, a copper bladed Mepps Inline Spinner. Trout were following the spinner but not striking which was promising given they ignored gold, silver, and black. For fun and games, fished only the copper bladed Mepps Inline Spinner to see how many fish I could catch. Worked the banks of two of the four ponds at Bethany Lakes… “Main Pond” and “Back Pond”. Caught a number of fish – Bass and Bluegill. Check out the video, and do guess how many I caught…? bfsfishing #kastkingzephyr #pondfishing

Fished Bethany Lakes Friday morning for a chance at the trout. Trout were there actively feeding. Bait seemed to be catching them fished under a float. The winner hands down was a homemade dough bait that one fisherman was using. Yours truly caught three trout fly fishing, caught three Bass as well but his mojo was off losing a lot more trout that stuck the fishing fly. Did notice the trout wanted movement. Did get strikes using a Black Midge, Rainbow Warrior, and a Griffith’s Gnat. As the morning progressed, noticed it was best to recast if no strike after counting to 10 when fishing dry flies. There were a number of Bass near the pier with three caught using a White Producer – fishing fly we bought at Scotty’s One Stop on a trip to the Blue River in Oklahoma. Fun stuff! See our suggested fishing flies at our COAF Field Team Shop .

Pond Fly Fishing fun with the foam grasshopper coupled with the One Handed Spey combo – Classic Trout Redington 9′ 5wt, Echo Ion 4/5wt reel, and the OPST Commando Head with Lazar Line running line. Caught Bluegill at first, then the Bass started biting using a fast retrieve! Fun stuff!

Question came up about how I fish the Simpler Foam Fly. Made a video to demonstrate. That said, I think it applies to other fishing flies when fishing pond! Do check it out as we keep to our Channel’s intent, “Learn to fish by our trials and errors!” And in this case, fly fishing a pond for Bluegill and Bass! Fly Fishing Tying Suggestions