Stocker Trout Fishing News

Practiced with the Switch Rod yesterday at Bethany Lakes. Had three strikes but did not land them. Went back today and was able to get two Bass. Both went for a Pink Near Deere on a steady retrieve. No Bruisers but still put up a good fight. Have a ways to go in learning the Switch Cast but really like the ability to cast one-handed for distance with minimal effort compared to our other fly rods. Fun stuff and a great start to the weekend! Still not certain where we are going tomorrow, but we do plan to go tomorrow at least to a pond with trout in it!  

Well, it’s late into “Hump Day” and the weekend approaches. Cleared the Inbox and then took a break from staring at a computer screen. What better way then to tie some fishing flies to prepare for another fishing trip this weekend. Decided on tying a couple of Pink Near Deere; the one that the Trout were striking but I kept on missing them until one was hooked and landed. Of course, “Murphy’s Law” struck and I soon lost it to a snag. Here are two that are going in the fly box! Pink Chenille, Pink Marabou, and Red Dacron Tying Thread… else, it’s the same material as other Near Deere we tie (Mini-Jig, Gold Ribbing, and Grizzly Hackle).  Hope they do their job this next round!

Had a great time at Sonic Pond this evening again. Caught more Bass, a Sunfish, and more Crappie including a nice size one! All went for a Pink Near Deere and most were caught after dark, too! The big Crappie was easily over 12″ in size, likely closer to 14″+. Not bad for a community pond! Glad to see the Pink Near Deere was producing well after sunset. Slowed the retrieve and payed close attention to any hint of a strike – hesitation in the line, slight twitch and/or tug on the line! Was going to fish a little longer but the little fishing fly really took a beating this round… had lost one to a snag earlier and then the line snapped on the last fish caught. Opted to head for home instead of fumble with tying a knot in the dark. Fun stuff… and some good practice for the Blue River Rainbow Trout; hope to make it there sometime this weekend if work does not get in the way!

Decided to give “Sonic Pond” another go. Glad we did. Caught more Bass, a couple of Bluegill, a Sunfish, and two Crappie. One Crappie was bigger than the one we caught yesterday. The other was slightly smaller that yesterday’s Crappie. Lots of fun, did miss several Bass and another Crappie that came off while landing it. Still was a lot of fun for the short amount of time we had – less than an hour to fish… all went for the Pink Near Deere, hoping the fishing fly does well on the Rainbow Trout to be stocked in the Blue River soon!

Decided to fish Bethany Lakes again today after work. Only had about an hour but it was enough to catch a few Bass and Bluegill from the flooded area of the Horseshoe Pond. Calling it the “flats” since the water is less than a foot deep and the Bass cruise the area in search of a bite like the Redfish do in the Laguna Madre! All went for a Pink Near Deere. Ran out of them yesterday but luckily the pattern is an easy one. Now have two – one on the fly rod and another in the fly box. Still plan to tie more in preparation for a trip to the Blue River in Oklahoma for Rainbow Trout! Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit

Cooler Temps and rain these past few days may have changed the pattern. But, since we have not been able to fish since last Sunday, not sure what the pattern was in the first place! No worries, decided to give Bethany Lakes a try this morning. Started out with a Pink Near Deere and Rainbow Warrior Tandem Rig. Fish were striking on the Near Deere, so removed the Rainbow Warrior and fished the Near Deere. Lost the Pink Near Deere to a tree; tied on an Olive Near Deere and caught more fish. Not sure how many we caught and released but the bite was steady! Was using a Strike Indicator but removed it as the fish were wanting a short pull retrieve with a slight pause in between pull. Fun stuff! Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit

Fished a new place today – Heritage Park in Frisco. Park has two ponds – one with a bridge and another one without a bridge. The one with the bridge looked promising; the other one looked too muddy to fish. Had tied some Pink Near Deere as it was suggested using them when fishing the Lower Mountain Fork River in Oklahoma. Not able to fish the River, opted to give the Pink Near Deere a try using it tandem rigged with a Rainbow Warrior – another suggested fishing fly for the Lower Mountain Fork! After several casts, started getting strikes but kept on missing the hook sets. On the third cast, had one on but it came off soon after. Next cast, had another strikes and it stayed on – a little Catfish. Looked like the pond was stocked with fingerling Catfish. Continued to work the pond and caught a number of little Catfish – easily makes the Micro Fishing List! Fun stuff! Pink Near Deere Catfish that went for a Pink Near Deere!