Stocker Trout Fishing News

Tried for another big Catfish like the one caught last week. Took three quick trips but did get another nice Catfish on the EmmRod Kayak King! First try had a big one but the line broke. Then, sidetracked with a trip to OK for an awesome airshow. Then, back to TX and a second go at a Catfish. Struck out but did see someone else catch a fish… a Bass. Tried the following day and was able to connect. This one was about the same length as the Catfish caught last week but seemed fatter! Fun stuff!

On a whim bought an EmmRod in their Kayak King Spinning Rod model to use for kayak fishing. Put the order in while on a cruise last week. Rod arrived while we were having fun in the sun and ocean. On our return, rigged up an old spinning reel that we managed to get working again… 30+ year old reel, and then mounted it on the EmmRod. Took it to a local pond and free-lined bread “mashed” around a circle hook. After about 15″ caught a nice Catfish! Not bad for the first cast, first fish on the little rod. Cannot wait to try it kayak fishing! EmmRod Kayak King Spinning Rod

Did a little fly tying in preps for TRWD Flyfest tomorrow! Then, hit the local pond for some micro fly rod fishing! Fun stuff! Started with a foam damsel fly but fish were not active on the surface. Tied a Pheasant Tail Nymph and caught several Sunfish/Bluegill before calling it a trip. Fun times!

Had only a short amount of time to fish after work today. No problems, able to cruise along on the standup longboard, make it to the local pond, and catch a fish or two with the Micro Fly Rod! Fun times… even got to practice casting the variant of the Perry Poke we like using with the 5wt we normally use! Elk Hair Caddis testing continues as well with about twenty fish caught using the pattern detailed by Tightline which calls for wire or tinsel ribbing to go over the dubbing body but under the hackle.  

Tough time getting out this week but did make a quick trip today to Celebration Park and had fun catching Bluegill and Sunfish using the Telescoping Micro Fly Rod. It’s the one we keep in our backpack that we take to work. We replaced the rod guides with larger size ones; the fly line shoots through them with less friction compared to the original rod guides. Tried various fishing flies before settling on a GRHEN fished with a slow retrieve. Overall, fun time getting out before the next cold front arrives!  

Broke out the telescoping Micro Fly Rod this round. It’s the second version we made several years ago, and the one we keep in our backpack at the ready in case we see “fishy” waters while out and about during the work week! This round it was little Sunfish and Bluegill at Celebration Park’s North Pond. Fun stuff catching them! PS: Shout out to the two onlookers who gave the rod a try; great job!

Follow-up video of the action we saw while scouting a local pond for Catfish. Had a number of Catfish look at our bait and many more Sunfish and Bluegill peck at our bait. Fun time but ended this round without a Catfish. One did bend our hook to get away though!  

 Yesterday morning fished Celebration Park’s North Pond . Used a Water Wolf Camera to get underwater video of the fish lurking in the pond – Bluegill, Sunfish, and a couple of Catfish. Caught several Bluegill and Sunfish using the Micro Fly Rod! Used a size 10 Pink Near Deere that they were readily striking. But, should have went “micro” as the fishing fly was way too big for the scrappy fish. Later in the evening, fishing buddy suggested fishing the East Pond as Celebration Park. No need to twist this fisherman’s arm to go fishing… rigged up a couple of spinning rods and grabbed some bread for bait. Prefer to use bread for bait when fishing local ponds as the Catfish have become “trained” by people feeding the ducks with bread. (Liked this method so much, wrote two articles about it… “ Fishing with Bread ” and “ Fishing with Bread: Fishing Rigs “). The evening round saw lots of strikes and misses – suspect the smaller fish like the Bluegill and Sunfish were having a feeding frenzy...

Decided to do some underwater video scouting at Celebration Park’s North Pond with the Water Wolf Camera. Have not used the camera in a while nor fished the pond recently. But, was able to confirm the Bluegill and Sunfish are still in the pond as well as Catfish!

Quick trip this evening to a local pond. Been tough breaking away to fish during the past week. But, did get to wet a line this evening. Fished with the two piece Micro Fly Rod and a Beetle pattern from Kenduardo’s Lure and Fly. Shortly after arriving, hooked up with a couple of Sunfish, and then lost the fly to something bigger! Switched to an egg pattern and got a couple of Bullheads to take!   #flyfishing quick trip to a local pond. Fished a #beetle pattern from Kenduardo’s Lure and Fly! Caught two #sunfish using the #microflyrod …lost the fly to something big though! A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Apr 8, 2017 at 7:18am PDT

Been a tough go getting out and fishing this past week. Did check out Crowley Park in Richardson and Celebration Park. Also, made it out to Celebration Park today. Struck out at Crowley Park, caught a Golden Shiner at Celebration, and the two more today at Celebration. These quick trips will have to do for now but there is a Trout Derby in Frisco Saturday! Log Book Entry: 2/07/17 Location: Celebration Park – North Pond (Allen) Time: 12:30- 13:00 Weax: Clear, “Short Sleeves”, Breezy Rod: Two Piece Micro Fly Rod 00WT – 4’3″ Reel: Go Fast and Light Micro Fly Reel – Level Fly Line from 5wt running line portion   Comments: Another warm day but windy too! Saw midges hatching and some fish going for them but the wind made it tough to fish dry flies. Switched to the Rainbow Midge and got several light strikes, and then hooked into two Golden Shiners!   Landed: Golden Shiner – 3″ – Rainbow Midge – Sz 16 Golden Shiner – 4″ – Rainbow Midge – Sz 16  

Made a quick trip to Celebration Park with the two piece Micro Fly Rod. Used a PMC Emerger Variant to catch a little Sunfish and then a fish we do not know about… calling it the “unknown fish” for now. Lots of fun even though it was only 30″ of fishing! PS: Dark conditions made for hazy video at times but audio remains good. Log Book Entry: 1/30/17 Location: Celebration Park – North Pond (Allen) Time: 18:00 – 18:30 Weax: Clear, “Short Sleeves”, Calm Rod: Two Piece Micro Fly Rod 00WT – 4’3″ Reel: Go Fast and Light Micro Fly Reel – Level Fly Line from 5wt running line portion   Comments: Warm day with temps in the 70s. Short on time, decided to check out Celebration Park to see how the Sunfish and Bluegill were doing. Hatch was going on and could see the little Sunfish and Bluegill feeding on them. Several on the line but only managed two fish. Need to go with smaller than a size 16 fishing fly next time.   Landed...

Another Vlog filmed in the field. This round we decided on a quick trip to Celebration Park to try some Micro Fishing with the two-piece Micro Flyrod. Started out using small fishing flies – Rainbow Warrior and an Olive Midge, but later switched to a Guadalupana . While catching the little Bluegill, we noticed larger fish chasing baitfish in the shallows. Hoping for a chance at hooking one, tied on a Guadalupana. Caught a Bluegill soon after and then had a surprise when a Bruiser Catfish took the fishing fly and ran the reel to the backing. The Micro Flyrod did well and we were able to land the Catfish – estimated about 18″ in length. Fun stuff on ultralight gear! PS: Posted the Catfish on the Fishing Bulletin Board !

Mowed the lawn with lots of daylight to spare! So, went fishing on a quick trip to Celebration Park’s East Pond. Took the 2-Weight Fly Rod and was going to fish a Tenkara Fly. But, on the first cast, hooked my thumb… no worries, “just a flesh wound”. Caught several Sunfish and a Bluegill that went for a Foam Grasshopper! Then, head home to take care of the Tenkara Fly issue. In short order using an online tip on hook removal and with a little help, was able to remove the hook with minimal pain! Today’s Vlog Video: Gink and Gasoline Hook Removal Video Tip

Fished the North Pond at Celebration Park yesterday. Brought the two-piece Micro Fly Rod and the Spinning Rod. Hoped to catch a few scrappy Bluegill and Sunfish while setting out the Water Wolf Camera on the Spinning Rod. Fun stuff!  

Stopped by Celebration Park this evening and fished for Bluegill and Sunfish with the two-piece Micro Flyrod. Caught several Bluegill and Sunfish using a Tenkara Fly. While fishing for the little scrappers, put out the Water Wolf Camera and fished for whatever would bite. Had a number of strikes but no hookups. Still working on the video but did post a short clip of one Catfish stealing our bait! PS: Video was lost in the web migrations; here is another video of a nice size Catfish being caught and released!  

This round of testing resulted in one Catfish caught, another lost while landing it. Did get another one but did not get video of it. All went for bread for bait! Working on one more mod to the camera rigging. We think the next test will show a better angle of the fish taking and/or playing with the bait. Hope to try it later today. So far, am pleased with the footage taken. Even got to see a Bass lurking in the pond. Did not know there were Bass in Celebration Park’s East Pond. Seeing a brief glimpse of one confirmed there is at least one there!

More fun with the Water Wolf Camera and being able to observe the action underwater. Fished Celebration Park this evening and managed to get one nice Catfish using bread for bait. Did have several others take our bait but was not able to land them. Missed hook sets as well as setting too early. No worries, still lots of fun. Murky water but still able to get some video. Also, was interesting to see an underwater current that we suspect was coming from the run off from a rain storm that passed a half-hour before. Current from the surface was not noticeable.

Rain today, so took a break from Trout fishing and went shopping at Cabelas with our Gift Cards. Picked up a 2-Wt Fiberglass Fly Rod and a 2/3 Weight Echo Ion Fly Reel! Rain stopped briefly. so went Micro Fishing at Celebration Park’s North Pond. Caught Sunfish and Bluegill using a GRHEN and a Rainbow Warrior. Lots of fun on the ultralight fly rod. Been some time since we last fished with a fiberglass rod, but “like riding a bicycle” quickly got the feel for the rod, Fun stuff! Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit

Fished Celebration Park’s North Pond this evening for about an hour. Noticed the water level was much lower compared to two months ago. Luckily, the fish were biting. They were little… perfect for the Micro Fly Rod and some Micro Fishing!