Stocker Trout Fishing News

Monday made the run late in the day to Bethany Lakes. Was trying the Bennett’s Lunch fishing fly we picked up in Gruene a few weeks ago. Late start because the temps were hot that day… in the 100s, opted to wait till just before dark. No takers on the Bennett’s Lunch, will have to keep trying as we know it is a great pattern for Stripers and Bass. Did catch a couple of Bluegill on the Foam Spider using the Discount Switch Rod – Maxcatch Fly Rod, Orvis Fly Reel, and Rio Trout Max. MaxCatch 2wt Fly Rod: https://amzn.to/2UfM8FG Orvis Hydros Sl1 Fly Reel: https://amzn.to/2UiRCPS Rio Trout Max (200 grain): https://amzn.to/2HiT2Bs Rio SlickShooter Running Line (35lbs): https://amzn.to/2GGIVsZ

Another stop on the commute this morning. Back to Duck Creek with the Foam Grasshopper Beavertail variant. Saw several Bass but no takers. Luckily, the Sunfish were active! One was a nice sized one that put a bend in the Discount Switch Rod!

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!

Fished a new pond that was recently stocked with rainbow trout. Located in Sherman, Tx is Pebblebrook Community Park Pond. Last weekend a Trout Derby was held at Pebblebrook; we were not able to make it but we anticipated lots of trout would be on the prowl Saturday morning. They were… water was murky but the Rubber Legged Near Deere had them striking. Add the Rio Trout Max One-Handed Spey line on an Orvis Hyrdos SL1 reel and 10′ MaxCatch Fly Rod in a 2wt – what we call the “Discount Switch Rod” made for easy casting and catching! Setting the hook in the time was another story though! No worries… was able to limit out. The Rubber Legged Near Deere and the Discount Switch Rod are fast becoming the Team’s favorite combo for trout fishing ponds! Why…? Ease of casting for distance with minimal false casting if any. Plus the 10′ Length provided added line control of the 200 grain shooting head Trout seem to strike the rubber legged variant more readily t...

Was not sure if we would make it to Frisco to fish the Commons Pond for stocked trout. Luckily, there was a break in the weekend events. Made the short run Saturday from Allen to Frisco and fished Frisco Commons Pond for rainbow trout. Recently stocked as well as the annual Trick-A-Trout Derby was held that morning, the pond was crowded. Luckily, the bite was on! Able to limit out fishing an Olive Near Deere set 3′ under a strike indicator. No need to retrieve the fishing fly after casting. Instead, let the wind and waves move the strike indicator and let your rig drift with the wind. Watch for the strike, and set the hook! Anticipating the crowd, swapped the Hydros Fly Reel with the Echo Ion Reel that was lined with the Rio Trout Max Skagit Head. Made for ease of casting for distance despite the wind and a shortened backcast due to people all around! Video shows the action on Saturday, and then summarizes Sunday’s action… was able to fish Sunday morning before it started r...

Live update while we were at Frisco Commons trout fishing Saturday, February 8, 2020. Able to limit out and do some catch and release. Really nice weather but warm temps. Will get a follow up video of the action. Key Items this round: Olive Near Deere fished 3′ under a strike indicator Let the wind and waves work the fishing fly, Need only to drift and take up slack in preps for the strike MaxCatch 10′ 2WT Fly Rod worked well with the Echo Ion Reel Rio Trout Max One Handed Spey Skagit line made easy work of the wind and no worreis on a backcast

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

Fished the pond by Allen Cinemark Theater… officially called Cottonwood Creek Trail Pond, but Allen Theater Pond sounds better! Fished Tuesday using a 7-1/2′ 4wt fly rod and 4wt fly line and a Foam Grasshopper and caught Bass and Bluegill. Traditional fly line required false casting to get the fishing fly past the vegetation that clobbered the shallows along the bank. Action was steady but had to leave them biting and call the trip short. Interested in how the Rio Trout Max shooting head and one-handed spey casting would do, came back Saturday and enjoyed more fishing on the fly for Bluegill and Sunfish. No Bass but still lots of fun, especially spending less time casting/false casting and more time fishing and catching!

Struck out the other day fishing the pond behind In-N-Out Burger. Decided to give it another try Monday. Things started slow but did pick up with Bluegill. No Bass but the Near Deere fished 2.5 feet under a strike indicator were the key! Did have make a few mistakes as well left them biting because we had to get back home to feed the dog. Fun stuff!  

Rain in the forecast today. Decided to fish Bethany Creek Pond before the rain clouds moved in. Pond was clear; could see the bottom as well as see a few Bass moving about. Polarized glasses were key at times, save for the Feeder Creek and Canal area where you could clearly see the Bass. Able to catch two Bass, no Bruisers but still fun… plus, did get some video of a couple of nice Bass in the Canal area.

Video that shows the fly rod/reels we used, and what led us to using a Switch Rod and a Trout Rod for most of our fly fishing trips now. We learned about spey lines and Switch Rods after injuring a shoulder. Normal overhead and side casts was painful. We were doomed to waiting for the shoulder to heal. Then, we tried a Switch Rod and discovered several casting techniques that allowed the rod hand to stay below the shoulder and felt no pain when casting. Later, we saw a video of a fly fisherman using the OPST Commando Head with only 1/2 of a 9′ 5wt Fly Rod. In the video, he was getting incredible casts with only a “four and a half” foot rod! With that we decided to try the OPST Commando Head on our favorite fly rod… a 9′ 5wt Redington Classic Trout fly rod. This combination provided the same benefits as the Switch Rod but in a more compact package! Subsequently, we primarily use the 6wt Switch Rod and the 5wt Fly Rod for our fly fishing trips. Do check out t...

Still working on the video editing from this past weekend’s action. Planned to work on it after work but with the time change and gaining more daylight after work, opted to go fishing instead! Fished Bethany Lakes with the 4wt flyrod that was lined with the Rio Trout Max shooting head. Caught a Bass that went for an Olive Near Deere… same fishing fly that the trout caught yesterday went for! Fun stuff!  

Had planned to fish Towne Lake in Mckinney but the stocking was postponed due to weather. Things cleared up and made the run to Frisco Commons and fished for trout. Like in years past, something was hatching. Managed to land four and miss several others using a Griffith’s Gnat and a PMC Emerger. See how to tie one at  PMC Emerger  

Been able to fish with the Rio Trout Max Shooting Head one several trips to local ponds as well as the Blue River in Oklahoma. So far, really liking the one-handed spey casting concept. Started with several traditional Switch Rods, fishing them both one and two-handed. And then tried OPST’s Commando Shooting Head for one-handed casting on a 9′ 5wt fly rod. Now, tried the Rio Trout Max Shooting Head on an 8′ 4wt fly rod. Really fun having a compact rod that does not require room for a back cast and no false casting to get the needed distance when required. Been using a Switch Cast, Roll Cast, and the traditional Overhead Cast with great results. However, starting to settle on a variant of the “Perry Poke Cast” one-handed style for most instances. Here is a short video demo of the Rio Trout Max below… Shooting Head – Rio Trout Max #2 in 200 grain Running Line – Rio SlickShooter 35lbs test

Was able to limit out yesterday at Waterloo in Denison. Caught them on Ultralight Gear and Corn. Did get some underwater video using the Water Wolf Camera as well as practice with the 4wt 8′ fly rod using Rio’s Trout Max single spey shooting head. Still working on the underwater video. For now, below is a snippet of the action and a short clip on the Trout Max! Really liking the distance it provides!   went #fishing yesterday, have some video to edit of uw shots. here is a snippet of one #trout that went for corn at #waterloopark #denison A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Jan 15, 2018 at 7:20am PST