Stocker Trout Fishing News

Out and about for a quick trip fly fishing a pond... One-Handed Spey Fly Fishing style! Using a 175grn OPST Commando Head on a 4wt, 8ft fly rod and fishing a Betts Hand Tied Popper. No need to cast far but was good to know a distance cast was at my fingertips! How many fish this round... three! One-Handed Spey Wish List OPST Pure Skagit Commando Head https://amzn.to/2X83dF0 OPST Commando Smooth (Integrated) Skagit Shooting Head https://amzn.to/2YQKM8L OPST Pure Skagit Commando Micro Tips https://amzn.to/3htb2fE OPST Pure Skagit Lazar Line https://amzn.to/3hmH2lG

Originally published January 4, 2015 Cold temps and short on time; no Trout Reports today. Did get a snippet from Fshng84 who went fishing at the Feeder Creek to Bethany. He reported little Bluegill/Sunfish on Soft Hackle and Tiny Midges. Looked like fun especially on a 3 Weight Fly Rod. Did note that the Tiny Midge used was the same one used on the Blue River when a midge hatch starts up and the Trout start slurping them up just before they break the surface. Video of the Bluegill/Sunfish action

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

Looks like Catfish and Bluegill like hotdogs. In this round, we took the GoFish CAM to the local pond that has lots of Bluegill and Sunfish and the occasional Bass and Bullhead. The Bluegill acted like Piranhas tearing up the hotdog. But, a Catfish swooped in to take a bite. It was a nice size catfish; it was bigger than my foot!

Having fun pond fly fishing for Bluegill and Bass with the OPST Commando Head on the Redington 4wt Rod. Caught one fish using a Foam Grasshopper but switched to a larger size Simple Foam Fly. Lost count of the fish caught, did have several throw the fly on us, but overall was a great morning fishing the local pond!

Video of yesterday’s pond fly fishing action on the 4wt Redington Fly Rod and Echo Ion Fly Reel. OPST Commando Head worked well for reaching out mid-pond but most strikes were nearer to shore.

Break in the weekend “honey do’s”… made a run to the local pond fishing the Simple Foam Fly on a 4wt for a Bass or Bluegill or two!

Pond fly fishing for Bluegill at the local pond. Started out fishing with the Bait Finesse Systems rod and reel combo, but the pond was too clobbered with greenery. Switched to an eight foot, four weight fly rod and reel setup and managed to catch a fish or two. Liking the casting ability of the Redington Pursuit Fly Rod, can get some distance with the little eight foot rod. Pairs well with the Ross Flystart2 reel with WF 4wt Floating Line! Fly Fishing Tying Suggestions

Saturday started with rain but by afternoon all had passed, decided to go pond fishing at the local pond with the old Redington Pursuit 4wt Fly Rod with Ross Flystart 2 Reel. Fished a Pat’s Rubber Leg, Near Deere, and Guadalupana without success. Thought Bass would be biting given temps in the high 60 to low 70s. Wind was brutal, else a really nice day to be outdoors fishing! Ended up playing with the little Bluegill lurking by the Waterfall; strikes on a Griffith’s Gnat and Black Midge. No Bruisers but great practice for light striking trout!

Made it to New Braunfels for some fishing fun. Planned to fish the Guadalupe River by Faust Street Bridge, but it was closed. Headed to Landa Park and fished the Comal River. Was a slow bite with only one Bluegill and a Bass caught. Both went for a Guadalupana!

Finally found the pattern for the tight lipped Bluegill at the local pond. Went with a tandem rigged foam spider and scud! Most fish went for the trailing scud and was surprised the little bass were readily striking the scud! Foam Spider was a diy pattern made from Wapsi’s Foam Spider Kit. The Scud was a old pattern learned from a library fly tying video… uses possum or hares ear dubbing tied on a size 16 hook with a dubbing loop. Liking this tandem rig… plan to use it on the commute to work on a couple of ponds! Fun stuff!

Another round of pond fishing at the local pond. Had a Bass take a Foam Grasshopper, then spent most of the time working Bluegill on their nest. Had a few missed strikes while trying a number of fishing flies. Did have several little Bass show interest as well as little Sunfish readily taking a Foam Grasshopper by the Waterfall. That said, cannot catch them all… that’s fishing!

Fished Bethany Lakes Friday morning with the MaxCatch Discount Switch Rod and the Foam Grasshopper. Caught a Bass and lost a Bass. Returned in the evening and caught Bluegill and a Bass using a Damsel Fly as well as a Foam Grasshopper! Opted for the Tenkara Rod for the evening fishing round. Fun Stuff!

Been itching to go fishing with the TenkaraUSA Iwana tenkara rod but sidetracked with the day job. Luckily, there was break in the work schedule… able to fish a couple of ponds. Was a tough go at first… a missed strike at the first pond, else no other bites. And then, a slow start until I figured out the pattern… Foam Grasshoppers! Had quite a few missed strikes but lots of Bluegill and one scrappy little Bass landed. Fish wanted a slow, twitchy retrieve at one end of the pond. Then, a fast retrieve at the other end. Liking the lightweight, cast all day feel of the rod. Plus, the portability from its telescoping function makes it fit in my fishing vest (converted hunting vest) without issue. Do stay tuned for more Tenkara Fishing local ponds!

Started out trying to catch Bass using the No Name Fly. Bass were cruising the shallows like the other day. Went to the Foam Grasshopper tied using a foam cutter that forms a Chernobyl Ant body. Used a Size 4 hook to provide increased hook setting rates. Worked on Bass and Bluegill!

Fished the local pond for Bass in hope of catching a fish or two with a new pattern modified from two variants of the BOB Fly or Bass On Bed Fly. First BOB Fly was tied clouser style on a bent back hook using marabou plumes. Worked but wanted the hook bend to ride higher while on bottom. Second variant od the BOB Fly added marabou plumes to the hook bend like adding a tail. Worked on Bass. Called it the BOBTAIL Fly since it’s a BOB Fly with a tail. The pattern we were testing is tied different and has saddle hackle and lead wire but no dumbell eyes… calling it the No Name Fly for now. How to tie at https://youtu.be/w3Tc_7NxKDQ Test was thrown a curve… bass were cruising the shallows instead of on their beds. Good thing the Foam Grasshopper was in the fly box!

Been fighting a cold but did breakaway for a quick trip to the local lake – Bethany Lakes, on a warm December afternoon. Brought the TFO 6 Wt and 6/7 Wt Echo Ion Reel for a go at the fish. Back pond was clobbered with growth, did see a few bass moving about. Found a clear area and caught a little Bass on an Olive Near Deere. Moved on to the Main pond and after changing flies a few times, caught Bluegill using a Griffith’s Gnat and PMC Emerger. Decided to check out the canal and the waterfall; caught little Bluegill on the PMC Emerger… was more Micro Fishing then Fishing. Still fun, may have to come back with the Kiyotaki 18 Tenkara Rod!

As Trout Stocking Season nears in our area, we decide to fish a pond for Bluegill to work on setting the hook when those scrappy stocker trout are striking lightly on our fishing fly. In this video, we demo the “Twitch”! When we are fishing without a strike indicator, we like to watch our line as it reacts to a fish lightly taking a fishing fly. Method works well on trout, and can be easily practiced fishing for little Bluegill! Do give the “Twitch” a try this Season!

Been enjoying a quick trip on the commute to/from the day job! This round it a stop earlier in the week fishing the 4wt and the size 10 Wapsi Bream Getter variant! Caught a fish or two including a Bass! Cooler temps are coming, so best to get as much fishing in during the week while it’s warm. This trip we fished Duck Creek… a park that has a creek that runs through it. Lots of fun!

Fished Bethany Lakes Saturday morning. Able to get a round in before it rained. Planned to fish with the Tube Popper Fly; gave it about an hour with only three missed strikes to show for it. Then, put the Guadalupana on and caught fish – Bluegill, Sunfish, and Bass. Fished the Back Pond and left them biting. Went to the Lower Pond by the Waterfall and caught a Sunfish, then on to the Canal and fished Bluegill and Sunfish using a short cast – 10′ of line. Fish went for the Guadalupana consistently. But, Murphy’s Law struck; lost the fishing fly to a snag. Tied on the Marilyn Monroe Tenkara Fly; missed a few and hooked a few before losing it. Good thing… one more cast lasted another 30 casts and probably would have kept going if it weren’t for losing the fly. Bummer but did miss the rain storm! PS: Do check back on Monday for the Randomly Selected Winner of our Guadalupana Fishing Fly Give Away!