Stocker Trout Fishing News

Late start Saturday for Nuclaroche and I. We planned to fish Frisco Commons for Rainbow Trout that morning but I was sidetracked by work and then some early "Spring" cleaning of the office. By the time all was done, it was late afternoon. Around 4PM, we made it to Frisco and fished till after sunset. Nuclaroche hooked up with one Rainbow Trout using PowerBait. I stuck with different dry flies trying to hook the Trout that were rising on the surface, and then eventually switched to the Micro Fly Rod . A quick check to match the hatch did not help either. I had caught one of the bugs flying around, and then tried several fishing flies that looked like it. No luck! Still had fun catching little Bluegill on the Micro Fly Rod!

After limiting out on Trout, decided to have another go with the Micro Fly Rod. Changed the fly line by using less backing line and more fly line. No knot to hang up on the rod guides, so I was able to get more distance on the cast. Caught two little Bluegill and one Bass on a Soft Hackle at Frisco Commons Pond. Then, took a break to get hydrated again. Sun came out in force today; even think the temps hit above 70 degrees. Much different than last years freezing conditions at this time. Later in the afternoon, fished the Feeder Creek at Bethany Lakes, Soft hackle had a few strikes but no hook ups. Switched to a Red Midge in Size 22 and hooked several soon after. Then, noticed  fish feeding on something on the surface. So, switched to a Size 22 BWO and ended up catching several more. So far, have been pleasantly surprised with the casting capability of the little rod. The cast is different compared to standard size fly rods; the back cast straightens quickly, so the fo...

Long week but was finally able to go fishing Saturday. Started out "testing" Micro Fly Rod II by doing some Micro Fishing at the Davis Library Pond. Rod worked well! I was able to catch little Bass and Bluegill as well as several larger Bluegill. I do plan to make adjustments to the fly line by using less backing and more fly line. The knot I tend to hang up as it passed through the rod guides. With the adjustment, should be able to see if the little rod can take on some of the Stocker Trout in the area! Afterwards, headed up the road to fish Frisco Commons Pond. The city hosted its Annual Trick-A-Trout Derby that morning, so Trout were freshly stocked in the pond! Windy day, so no chance to try the Micro Fly Rod without the fly line modification. But, was able to limit out with five Trout. Trout went for an Olive and White Near Deere, and then a BH GRHEN fished on a Tandem Rig in conjunction with the Near Deere.

Here is a HubPages article - " COAF Micro Fly Rod "  that details modifications that I made to a Pen Fishing Rod. The end result is a Micro Fly Rod that may be of interest to fishermen who would like to take up Micro Fishing! Do give it a try when you get a chance! Moreover, judging from the sturdiness of the rod, it looks like it can handle larger fish as well!

While surfing the Internet the other day, I found several sites and videos about Micro Fly Rods. The rods were either Pen Fishing Rods with little fly reels or expensive ones that looked really nice. Even more, it looked like both would catch fish. Not wanting to spend a lot of money to "test" this concept, I planned to purchase a Pen Fishing Rod and Fly Reel. I had the Spincasting model but no fly reel. A check of their website indicated orders were not being taken until March. No rush... I could wait until March. Besides the Kiyotaki 18 was working really well for little fish and Stocker Trout which made waiting for March a non-issue. However, while at Academy yesterday, I noticed several Crappie Jigging Reels that looked like miniature Fly Reels. So, I bought one! With a few modifications to the Pen Fishing Rod, fly line, and a leader, I had a prototype to "test"! Below is a video of the field "test" conducted today and pictures of  Mic...

Went back out to try the Kiyotaki 18 Rod again. Smaller sized fishing fly made a difference. Caught and released a number of little fish this time. But, I still think smaller hooks are needed to get the smallest fish that struck at the fly. Also, for the fishing fly, used a Red Midge with Antron Wing instead of a Tenkara Fly. The fish were lurking below the undercut bank and waited until the fishing fly was near the bottom. The Red Midge seemed to sink faster than the Tenkara Fly. Fun stuff... posted a picture of one of the little Bluegill and a video clip of the action.

Alrighty, I was able to try the new rod out - Kiyotaki 18. Set it up with 6' fly line, 6' leader, and a Tenkara Fishing Fly. Fished Celebration Park's North Pond briefly but the cold and wind drove me away. Moved on to the feeder creek at Bethany Lakes and was able to catch a little Bass and a little Bluegill. Rod worked out well; next time may try straight monofilament instead of a fly line. Also, may need to go with a smaller hook; had a number of little fish strike but the size 20 hook was too big! Liking the Micro Fishing concept of catching the littlest fish and then taking pictures of different ones. Here is a video clip of this morning's action and two pictures of the little fish caught this round!

A package arrived from TenkaraBum today! It's was the Kiyotaki 18 Rod I ordered. Only two days to deliver; like the fast shipping! Now, gotta try it out! Now I am ready to give Micro Fishing a try; if I could only break away from the "salt mines"! Jump to August 2015... fishing video of the Kiyotaki 18:

Weekend is approaching. No solid plans but I am sure the Team is game for another round of fishing. On another note, I received a tracking number from TenkaraBum for the Micro Fishing Rod I ordered. It looks like it may arrive this weekend! Also, I found a cool tip from TenkaraBum's website for taking pictures of little fish - a Micro Fishing Photo Tank. It comes from the Container Store and is used for storing cotton swabs.... Cool stuff! Micro Fishing Photo Tank

Burning the midnight oil this evening, the day job is quickly becoming the all day and night job. Regardless, I am done and have shifted over to more important things... FISHING! And, what better way to shift focus from work to fishing then to mindlessly surf the web for fishing information. Normally, I check out the Texas Fishing Forum, several fishing blogs, and YouTube fishing videos. This time, not sure how but I landed on a website called Micro Fishing. It's a website that is all about catching small minnow-sized fish using "micro-gear". Sounds interesting, so, on a whim, I decided to give it a try. First step, or more an excuse to get another fishing rod, I ordered a Micro Fishing Rod from TenkaraBum's web store. The model I ordered was a Kiyotaki 18. I was not sure about the details of the rod other than it is 6 feet long and can be fished Tenkara style in some instances. Below is a linked picture of the Kiyotaki 18 from TenkaraBum's website.... Ordered, re...

Fished the local pond using the Two Piece Micro Fly Rod to catch Sunfish and Bluegill for live bait. Plan was to rig up our GoPro and GoFish Cameras for some underwater action shots of fish lurking in the area. In short order, managed to catch (as well as miss) a fish or two using a simple Midge pattern. Later, switched to a Tenkara fly when I lost the Midge. Fun stuff, fly fishing with the Micro Fly Rod… was hoping for more fun with the underwater cameras. Ended up only using the GoFish Cam. Did not land a fish but did see what was in the pond lurking as well as got a glimpse of the one that got away… a nice Bass that looked like the 20″ one caught last week!

Got a request for a demo of the two piece micro fly rod we like to use for quick trips to our local ponds. This video shows the rod – it’s two piece function, casting ability, and even catching a fish or two! Fun stuff! Do give it a try an make one… see related article: https://skyaboveus.com/fishing/MicroFlyRod #microfishing #microflyfishing #microflyrod

Out and about yesterday trying for Bass using the Cedar Plank Lure. Temps still too cool for a consistent top water bite. But, all was well BFS fishing a Rapala Husky Jerk for little bass! Key retrieve was to use a jerky action and pause waiting for strikes on the pause or shortly after resuming the retrieve again!

First trip using the DIY Dual BFS and Micro Fly Rod as a micro flyrod, fishing for Bluegill at a local pond. After a slow start was able to catch a few fish using a Near Deere. Used a strike indicator at first, and then removed it once I noticed the fish were chasing the fishing fly. The Echo Ion 2/3wt fly reel with 2wt WF fly line worked well. Able to cast for distance as needed and maintain control. Do have to wait on the backcast as the rod has a slow action. Also, had to use the left hand to increase line speed much like I do with other micro fly rods. Overall, liking the DIY Dual BFS and Micro Fly Rod. Plan to keep the Kastking Zephyr BFS Reel and the Echo Ion 2/3wt in my fishing jacket for these local ponds. Can switch from BFS to Micro Fly Fishing and back again in short order! PS: Slowed the video at several points to demo how I watch the line to set the hook when not using a strike indicator.

Quick trip after the day job to a feeder creek for some micro fishing with the two piece micro flyrod. Went with a Griffith’s Gnat fished dry as well as wet. Had few misses at first… smaller hook for these little fish would have been better. But, did catch a few once I found my mojo! Fun stuff! microfishing microflyrod #microflyfishing

Was out this morning and had saw a chance to fish the feeder creek at the local pond. Good thing I keep the Micro Fly Rod handy… this one is the two piece micro fly rod made from a broken 8wt fly rod. Saw a nice bass in the culvert that runs from the feeder creek to the pond. Also, saw several smaller bass but none wanted to bite. Did lose a couple of Bluegill and land one Bluegill that went for the Guadalupana. Did call it quits… too cold, but just in time to miss the snow that came in shortly after!

For a change of pace, decided to checkout the Waterfall Pool at the local pond. Normally catch little Sunfish, Bluegill, and the occasional Bass. Brought the two-piece Micro Fly Rod and started fishing a Near Deere with the Corq Strike Indicator, but switched back to the Line Strike Indicator… fish seemed to be distracted from the fishing fly and wanting to strike the Corq. Also, tied a Scud on as the Near Deere was just too big for the little fish in the pool. Fun time catching and releasing the scrappy fish… but of course, had trouble with determining which cast would be the last cast for this trip… aka “one more cast” for your’s truly!

Here is the follow up video we mentioned on one of our earlier iFishNews Fishing Podcast and YouTube video about Micro Fly Rods. This video shows five micro flyrods – three are ones we made and have a micro flyreel mounted on them, and two are practice fly rods from Redington and Orvis with a flyreel zip tied to the handle. We marked 25 feet as a reference, and then cast the rods to show the 25 feet distance is readily attained. There was a strong crosswind and one of the rods had less than 25 feet of line but overall all rods could easily cast 25 feet. That said, based on time fishing with them, there are several that can cast well past 25 feet. Fun stuff! Also, here are links to Amazon showing the practice fly rods we converted to micro fly rods: Redington Form: https://amzn.to/3esIjV2 Orvis Practicaster: https://amzn.to/2YkqMbD Pen Rod / Reel: https://amzn.to/2BwaELD

This rounds iFishNews Fishing Podcast we talk about micro fly rods that we use for micro fly fishing on our local ponds. Several DIY rods we have made by converting Pen Rods, repurposing a broken fly rod, and building one with an ice fishing blank and wine corks for the rod handle. Recently, courtesy of a Viewer’s tip to use practice fly rods from Orvis and Redington, we have started mounting 2wt and 4wt fly reels to make a micro fly rod. Simple zip ties to hold the reels to the rods makes for a quick conversion to fly fishing rod instead of practice rods! Below is a link that shows how we converted a Pen Rod to a Micro Fly Rod: https://skyaboveus.com/fishing/MicroFlyRod Additionally, here is a past video where we caught a nice catfish using the re-purposed broken fly rod: https://youtu.be/I16KkjXkbcI Also, here are links to Amazon showing the practice fly rods we converted to micro fly rods: Redington Form: https://amzn.to/3esIjV2 Orvis Practicaster: https://amzn.to/2YkqMbD

A tip from a YouTube Viewer on using the Orvis Practicaster Fly Rod as a Micro Fly Rod! Ordered it and Redington’s version of one… the Orvis one is still in the mail but Redington’s arrived. Liking the Rio Fly Line that came with it. Really thick line… planned to use a Micro Fly Reel but needed a larger reel. Put an old Martin Fly Reel on the rod. Works awesome. Here is a demo… hope to try it out fishing later this week! Do check back! Orvis Practicaster… https://amzn.to/2YFKvBR Redington Practice Fly Rod… https://amzn.to/3fvoKLB