Stocker Trout Fishing News

Great time on the Blue River today. Opted for the Switch Rod knowing I would have a clobbered backcast fishing the spot I was targeting today.

More fun fishing Denison Dam last Saturday for Striped Bass! Bite was slower than the weekend before but was able to catch a few; ended up keeping three Striped Bass for the Catch and Cook. Brought the Cabelas TLR 6wt Switch Rod with the Echo Ion 6/7 Wt Fly Reel again. And correcting from our last video, the fly line was a Rio InTouch Chucker with integrated running line. Stripers were hitting mainly striking on the Bennet’s Lunch and Craft Fur Clouser Minnows this round. Did catch a couple of White Bass as well, and found an anchor! Overall was a fun time! For ease of reference, here are key places to skip to in the video: Catch Section – 2:41 Cook Section – 9:17 Cleaning – 9:17 Seasoning – 12:52 Cooking – 15:37 Simple Recipe: Clean, scale, and remove head and fins Season liberally with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Paprika Pan fry on high heat for 5-10 minutes each side Do give it a try! Gear Used Echo Ion 6/7wt Fly Reel: https://amzn.to/2WxKnm1 ...

Lotta fun fishing Denison Dam Saturday for Striped Bass! Brought the Cabelas TLR 6wt Switch Rod with the Echo Ion 6/7 Wt Fly Reel and the OPST Skagit Head. Bite was good on small stripers hitting on the Denison Dam Dawber, Bennet’s Lunch, Bucktail and Craft Fur Clouser Minnows. Fast retrieves using short pulls and fast pulls worked, then they wanted a 10 count delay, later a 5 count delay, and then later no delay in the start of the retrieve. Also, did get better hook up rates by dipping the rod tip in the water while retrieving. And then… later had a high stick, sweep the rod style retrieve that seemed to work well. All of this before the started generating power. After they started generating, then it was cast upriver, let the fly drift downriver and swing the fly, and then twitch the fly as you retrieved in back upriver at an angle. Learned lots while there… bottomline: vary your retrieve, change fishing flies, and adjust to the fish as the pattern changes!

Decided to get the switch rod out in preparation for next Saturday’s TRWD Flyfest. Tend to use the switch rod while fishing for trout as longer cast are needed at times and like the ease of less and/or no false casting. Stopped at Towne Lake in McKinney and got a round of practice casts in. No trout but still good to bend the rod. Then, headed to City Complex Pond in Murphy and got lots of practice in… and even limited out on trout! Tandem-rigged Near Deere with a trailing nymph be it a GRHEN or Pheasant Tail Nymph worked this round. Fun times… hope to do a repeat next Saturday at TRWD Flyfest!

Made the run up the road on Hwy 75 to Denison to fish Waterloo Park Pond for Rainbow Trout. Restocked last weekend, plan was to limit out, and then run further up the road to Denison Dam tailrace to fish for Striped Bass. Cold temps that stayed in the 30s all day put a slowdown on the bite. Ended up striking out at both Waterloo and Denison Dam. No worries… had a great time at “casting practice” with the new TFO 6wt Fly Rod and the Cabelas TLR 6wt Switch Rod.

Last weekend we made the run across the border from Texas to Oklahoma. Friday we hung out in Norman and had dinner at Torchy’s Tacos for tasty tacos and margaritas. Later, we stopped at the Guitar Center Store to checkout the ukuleles – big sale going on until 31 October on guitars and ukuleles. Always had a weakness for stringed “things” like fishing rods and reels, guitars and ukuleles, etc! Ended Friday, “chillin” on the sofa while watching several seasons of “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” in preparation for a round of fishing on the Lower Illinois River the next day. Saturday morning we headed west from Oklahoma City to Gore, Oklahoma to fish the Lower Illinois River – specifically, the tail race section below Lake Tenkiller. It was a nice day with temps in the 50s to 60s; because we prefer to stay dry when the temps are below the 70s, we opted for waders instead wet wading like we do in the summer. Overall, it was a nice day fis...

Had a fun time on the Lower Illinois River Saturday! Still working on the video of the trip; will post soon as able. For now, here is a snippet of our Fishing Partner catching the First and Last Trout of the day….! Also, here is the link to the article that details the Bubble Fly Rigs we use including the Ajusta Bubble one used by our Fishing Partner this trip… How To Set Up Bubble Fly Rigs.     View this post on Instagram   #video snippet of the action yesterday #fishing the #lowerillinoisriver …fun times! yes, #mylifeisgood❤️ still!! A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Oct 21, 2018 at 1:45pm PDT

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!

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...

More practice with the Switch Rod. This time went to Plano East Senior High School to fish the catch and release ponds. Ongoing construction has limited access to one of the ponds but still managed to catch a fish or two! One was a Bass went for a Tube Popper Fishing Fly, another was a Bluegill went for a Near Deere, and then snagged a bobber that was floating in the pond… had a little Catfish attached to the hook and line.  

Made it to the Blue River today to check things out. Great day to go… only one little Bass this round but did get lots of casting practice in with the Switch Rod – 6 Weight Cabelas TLR combined with the Liquid Lamson 4 and the Rio Switch Chucker line is balancing well. Getting great casts and distance with the two-handed Switch Cast now. Plus… always good to be able to fall back to the cast we use when shoulder is hurting from a past injury. For want of a name for it, calling it the “hurt shoulder cast”. Here is a video snippet of some of the casts used today.

Cool temps has us itching for trout fishing. Not able to go, but did get a round of casting practice with the switch rod. Even managed to catch a bass. Went with different casts including the modified switch cast where we tuck the rod butt under in our armpit and don’t lift our shoulder to cast. Enables casting even when pain from an old shoulder injury decides to flare up.

Mid-week hump day has us at Bethany Lakes for more Switch Rod casting practice. Started with a Clouser for the fishing fly, but switched to a Green Foam Grasshopper after seeing surface activity as we walked the Main Pond. Missed a couple before hooking one. Brought it to the bank and it managed to throw the hook. Got video of the “release”, so counting this one in today’s total – 5 Bass this round and a Sunfish. Did lose the Green Foam Grasshopper to a snag. Had one more in the fly box in the Yellow, so was able to keep getting strikes!

Here is the follow-up video from yesterday’s trip to the Lower Illinois River. No action shots of the hook set as it was a tough go catching them on a fly rod. Fishing buddy did well with Ultralight Spinning Gear and Power Bait Trout Worms to get a limit! Did take the opportunity to talk briefly about the switch rod we used as a one-handed fly rod. Cold temps that day but did learn others were able to wet wade the day prior… even better, they were able to catch a number of them on the fly! Classic “they were biting yesterday” syndrome!

Had a blast at TRWD Flyfest 2017.  Not able to fish the trout contest but was able to fish and limit out at the open fishing area! Lots of lost and missed fish but did manage to get bit enough times to take five! Fishing was rough for some in the first heat of the Big Trout Fishing Contest; did see at least three contestants hook and land trout. Largest went 21″ but there were larger ones lurking in the area. Hope the event happens again next year! Will make an effort to keep the calendar open! PS: Only one landed with the San Juan Worm Ball and Prince Nymph Tandem Rig. But, had a strike on every cast before running out of the fishing flies! SaLog Book Entry: 3/11/17 Location: Trinity River – River Park Trailhead (Fort Worth) Time: 12:30 – 14:30 Weax: Clear, “Short Sleeve”, Slight Breeze Rod: Cabelas TLR Switch Rod 6wt – 11′ Reel: Lamson Liquid 4 – RIO Switch Chucker with Versitip (F)   Comments: Trout contest in the first heat has several trout caught...

Been out of pocket this week; last round of fishing was the day after the Satruday’s Trout Derby in Mckinney. Fished Towne Lake with Cabelas TLR Switch Rod and Guadalupanas! Limited out with five as well as did some catch and release fishing, too! Was hoping to make it back out there this week, but as our day jobs conflicted it was not a go. This Saturday there may be a slim chance to hit on of the three ponds hosting derbies – Prosper, Denison, or Murphy… gotta hit one at least! Log Book Entry: 2/19/17 Location: Towne Lake (Mckinney) Time: 07:30 – 10:00 Weax: Overcast, “Long Sleeves”, Calm Rod: Cabelas TLR Switch Rod 6wt – 11′ Reel: Lamson Liquid 4 – Rio Switch Chucker with Versitip Leader (F)   Comments: Busy on arrival with lots of fishermen catching trout on various baits and lures. Of note, were corn and trout worms! The Game Warden was checking licenses; checked mine with no issues. Even asked for website URL. Gladly provided by taking a pi...

Checked out the Trout Derby at Towne Lake in Mckinney Saturday! Lots of fun …trophies were presented, prizes were won, and trout were caught. 6,000 trout were released in the sectioned off area, so the chance at catching a trout were high after the derby. Managed to get a limit plus some catch and release fishing with the Switch Rod! Went back this morning, and limited out again. Will get a video posted at a later date. For now, do check out Saturday’s action at Towne Lake! PS: Howdy to Fred; was great meeting one of our Readers while out in the field! Log Book Entry: 2/18/17 Location: Towne Lake (Mckinney) Time: 12:00 – 16:00 Weax: Clear, short sleeve, breezy Rod: Cabelas TLR Switch Rod 6wt – 11′ Reel: Lamson Liquid 4 – Rio Switch Chucker (#5 – 370gr) with Versitip Leader (Floating) Comments: Checked the trout derby out but did not fish; opted to wait till later once the crowd cleared to allow room for casting the switch rod. Previous years, trout te...

Quick trip to Bethany this evening. Short on time but was able to connect with Bass and Bluegill using a Foam Grasshopper and the Damsel Fly variant we like to tie in purple marabou!  Fish were active, and we are still liking the 6WT Switch! Hope to use it on trout in the near future. Maybe at Turner Falls sooner than later – see email reply to our question on this Season’s Trout Stocking at the park!

Stayed local this morning and fished Bethany Lakes with the new 6-WT Switch Rod. Brought a White Near Deere and a Mardis Gras Near Deere and caught several Bluegill and Bass. No Bruisers but still lots of fun! Colder temps but the fish remained active. Bluegill were chasing our fishing flies in the shallows. Bass were feeding on fingerling Bluegill with several nice looking ones sighted as we fished. PS: Was able to snag a Frisbee Golf Disc that someone lost in one of the ponds.