Stocker Trout Fishing News

Foam Grasshopper Variant that uses 2mm closed cell foam cut with a foam cutter to make a caddis body. Calling it the Caddis Foam Grasshopper. Worked well on Bluegill and Bass!

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!

The other day I tied a variant of a Foam Grasshopper Pattern that used a rectangle shaped foam pattern to make a two segment body. It worked well on Bluegill and a Bass, too! Taking it one step simpler, shortened the rectangle so I could tie the pattern with only one body segment. The end result, more Bluegill and Bass! Unfortunately, I lost the fishing fly. No worries though; had a Foam Grasshopper in Size 14 at the ready and was able to keep fishing. Caught a number of Bluegill and Bass including some nice ones! Looks like simple works! Check out the video! Fly Fishing Tying Suggestions

Stopped at Crowley Park in Richardson on the commute. Fished the 2wt Discount Switch Rod and a Foam Grasshopper to catch a Bass or two! Lotta fun… Bass tended to strike when the hopper was sitting still. Slow stop and go was the key! Fum stuff!

Finally got a much needed haircut after two months! Feel much better now, what to do to celebrate… GO FISHING. Since the Tenkara Iwana Rod from Tenkara USA is at the ready in the little pickup truck, hit the closest pond from the barber… Kroger Park. Water was clear and the Bass and Bluegill were there. Caught a few, missed a few, had a great time! Fished a “beat up Foam Grasshopper” where the tail was missing, the Beavertail Variant, and then another variant that uses a different foam cutter… cannot recall the name – stonefly, damsel fly… regardless, fish were biting!

Liking the Foam Grasshopper tied on a size 8 or 10 streamer hook. Mixing things up and tied the pattern on a size 4 hook and used a Beavertail foam cutter to make the body. So far, has worked on Bass and Bluegill at our local pond! Do try tying this simple but effective pattern on Bass in your area!

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!

Short video of a quick trip to the local pond. Not been to this one in awhile but good to see there are bass to be caught and released! A catch and release pond that holds bass and bluegill. Was a fun time; have more video to post but wanted to get this one out…. bass jumped a lot higher than the video shows but can clearly see it came out of the water completely!

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!

Made it to Kroger Park on the commute home. Always good to have a fishing rod handy in the little pickup for times when traffic is slow and yours truly prefers to fish rather than drive in stop and go traffic. This round used the Foam Grasshopper with the TFO 6wt Flyrod coupled with the Echo Ion 6/7wt flyreel. Reel has the OPST Commando Head and the coated monofilament running line. Made for ease of casting and distance when needed. Pond was clobbered with lots of green stuff but did catch a few bluegill and bass. Fun stuff!

Fished Kroger Park in Allen, TX Sunday, March 31, 2019. Struck out but did have a few strike fishing flies; just could not connect. Came back Tuesday, Arpil 2, 2019. Managed to catch a Bass on a Foam Grasshopper; shortly after lost the fishing fly to a snag. After trying different patterns, settled on a Damsel Fly Variant that kinda looks like a Dragonfly. Soon after caught two Bass and a Bluegill before calling it a trip as it got dark. Fun times… liking the 6wt TFO Fly Rod with the Echo Ion Fly Reel and OPST Commando Head!

Was out and about the other day; short on time but not short on fishing fun! Decided to take the 4wt fly rod that had the Rio Trout Max shooting head and Rio GripShooter running line and a conveniently tied Foam Grasshopper already on the leader to Bethany Lakes. Bite was slow but always good for some casting practice. Did get two fish – a Bass and a Bluegill. Fun stuff fishing with the Rio Trout Max!       Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit

While on the way home from the day job, had the fishing bug strike. Luckily we keep a Micro Fly Rod in our backpack at the ready for these instances. This round fished Crowley Park in Richardson; caught a Bass and a Bluegill on a Foam Grasshopper. Had others short strike but not able to hook them. Video shows the Micro Fly Rod variant that we made that collapses and has larger rod guides than the original ones that came from the manufacturer. Micro Fly Rod casts 30′ without an issue; only need to adjust the timing of the forward and backcast and we tend to use a sidecast more often than not. Do give it a try and make one… for ideas on how to make one, see our article COAF Micro Fly Rod The company we ordered the original rod and reel have since gone out of business. However, this one is similar on Amazon: Pen Rod on Amazon PS: Gotta have some Shakey Graves for background music!    

Quickly tied a foam grasshopper and headed to the local pond. Caught a Bass on the foam grasshopper, then lost it to a tree fish. Put a Red Damsel Fly on, and caught another Bass. Kept fishing and had another Bass take but threw the fly. Kept fishing for one more cast… caught one more Bass that went for the Red Damsel Fly, too! Fun stuff!  

Been raining for some time now but the afternoon looked promising. Rain stopped and sun came out; hope to get a round of trout fishing in tomorrow. For today, tied a few more sample Olive Near Deere and then recapped fly tying items picked up recently – specifically, Metz Saddle Hackle that made for some really nice palmer wrapped hackles on the Near Deere Stonefly/Hopper Foam Body Cutter to make more consistent Grasshopper foam bodies Dusted off the Damsel Fly Foam Body Cutter purchased previously and made some Foam Damsel Flies   alrighty, #flytying today. quick summary of recent items picked up… #riverroadcreations #foamcutters for a #foamgrasshopper …while at it tied #foamdamselfly and then #neardeere using #metzsaddlehackle …liking the hackle, makes for tight palmer wrapped hackles! #fishingflies A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Feb 24, 2018 at 4:58pm PST

Picked up a Stonefly/Hopper foam cutter from River Road Creations via Feather Craft. Used their Damsel Fly Cutter and Beavertail Cutter and liked them. Plan was to reverse the Stonefly/Hopper pattern to tie a Foam Grasshopper. Liked the results, much more consistent pattern then cutting them using scissors and a template. Did a review of the cutters and added two quick tie demos of Foam Grasshopper and Foam Damsel Fly being tied to the tune of Shakey Graves! Fun stuff!  

Did a quick tie demo of the Olive Near Deere. Was fun to do; decided to make a demo of the Foam Grasshopper variant that is much simpler than the original pattern. This one uses a size 12 Streamer and no Chenille. Works well on Bluegill and Bass on local ponds. And, they are quick to make especially using the UV Glue that dries quickly with the LED curing light!

Hosted the fly tying demo at Bethany Lakes yesterday. Was concerned about the rain but luckily it stayed dry. Just in case, we setup at one of the covered picnic areas overlooking one of the ponds. Had two enthusiasts join the demo, and in short order, we had tied a size 10 and size 14 Foam Grasshopper. For good measure, “tested” the size 14 Foam Grasshopper and caught a Bluegill and a little fingerling bass fishing with the Micro Fly Rod! Fun stuff, will have to plan another event in the future… hopefully, at a location that can weather a rain shower!

Took only one fishing fly – a Foam Grasshopper, Sunday morning and headed to Bethany Lakes. May need to downsize to a size 12 or 14 pattern as the little Bluegill and Bass were having a fun time nipping the fly but not getting hooked. Did manage three Bass; no Bruisers but still lots of fun! Here is a short video of Sunday’s quick trip with one fishing fly. Also, put a plug in for the Fly Tying Demo we are hosting Thursday, August 24 at 6:30 PM. If you are in the area – Bethany Lakes, do stop by. It’s an impromptu event with no set agenda other than we will demo tying the Foam Grasshopper like we used Sunday morning!

Quick trip to Kroger Park this evening. Tied a Green Foam Grasshopper, grabbed the 5wt Fly Rod, and headed to the pond for a go at the fish. Number of hits from Bluegill, some Bass as well. Did lose a number to short strikes and thrown hooks. No worries… caught a number of them. Lost count after 15.   #flyfishing a #foamgrasshopper this evening. still works on #bluegill and #bass at kroger park… A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Jun 23, 2017 at 8:05pm PDT