Stocker Trout Fishing

Fished Bethany Lakes this evening. Brought an old Five Weight Rod and Reel that had been gathering dust in the corner. Used a Foam Grasshopper  and caught eleven Bass and a Bluegill! Worked the Grasshopper using short but fast pulls on the fly line. Looked for any wakes that the Bass were making while chasing bait fish (or each other). Lots of fun especially the top water strikes as fishing fly “splashed” along the surface! Foam Rubber Grasshopper  

Headed across the border to Oklahoma for a go at Trout on the Blue River. Was a tough round on the Blue but did manage to get one Rainbow Trout! Started working the area by Hughes Crossing using a five weight fly rod and various fishing flies without success. Also, tried Super Dupers and Power Bait without success either. Water was brown and murky making for some tough fishing. After a while, shifted to Micro Fishing using the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod. Tried small fishing flies but could not hook the little Minnows. Switched to a Prince Nymph and a GRHEN and had several little Bass and Bluegill strike but did no connect. Then, decided to work an Olive Near Deere in the white water areas at Hughes Crossing. Had a couple of taps but no solid hook ups after many casts, and then finally connected with a Rainbow Trout! Tough round on the Blue but still lots of fun!

Fished the pond behind In-N-Out Burger.  Had lots of little taps on the Senko but no hook ups. Decided to try another place. Stopped at Auburn Springs and found out the pond is now a private pond. So, headed to Bethany Creek and fished it briefly but the “green stuff” was already clobbering the pond. Ended up at Bethany Lakes and caught two on Senkos, but, should have brought the fly rod. Evening hatch happened and the Bass started feeding on “flying bugs” landing on the water’s surface. Overall, slow round this time but still caught two!

Quick trip this round ended with three fish…. First fish was a Sunfish that went for a COAF Damsel Fly . Caught it while trying for two Bass in their beds at Shadow Lakes. Next fish was a Bluegill that struck an Elk Hair Caddis. Caught it at Bethany Lakes’ Back Pond. Missed several others that were short striking a Foam Grasshopper that we tie. Last fish was a little Bass that was chasing bait fish in the shallows. Used the Foam Grasshopper on a fast retrieve to simulate fleeing bait fish! Fun stuff!

Stopped by Bethany Lakes this evening. Fished the Back Pond for about 30″.  Had several Bluegill strike a Foam Grasshopper but was not able to hook up. Also, tried fishing a few beds but the water was murky making it tough to see the Bass. Decided to scout one of the feeder creeks in the area. Saw several nice Bass but none wanted to take a fishing fly. Switched to fishing for Bluegill and caught four. Three went for Soft Hackles and one went for a Prince Nymph. Fun stuff!

NucLaroche and Fshng84 closed out the 2014-2015 Trout Season at Prosper’s Frontier Park. Was a tough go in Prosper with NucLaroche spending more time catching little Catfish and Fshng84 squeaking by with a limit of Rainbow Trout. Caught the Trout using a GRHEN with no retrieve. Just let it sink and drift. Was able to get video footage of four of the Trout. Battery died by the time the last one was caught. Till next Season… for now, back to warm water fishing!

The Team has shifted to warm water fishing! Hope to get one more round of Trout fishing in before the end of the month. But, as it gets warmer and other fishing picks up, we tend to “go with the flow”. Lately, it seems the creeks and rivers are flowing as it has been raining. However, this morning the rain stopped enough to get a round of fishing in at Bethany Lakes. Brought the five weight fly rod and more COAF Damsel Flies. This time, added a little white marabou so we can see it a little better in the water. Had a number of Bass ignore the COAF Damsel Fly , had two others consider it but did not strike, and had three that went for it!  Fun stuff!

Fished Bethany this evening. Was going for Bass on their beds. Used a Purple COAF Damsel Fly  and worked several beds in the Back Pond. Caught two Bass, missed two more, and had several ignore the fishing fly completely. Closed out this round, blind casting in the Main Pond and managed one scrappy Bass that took an Olive Damsel Fly. Had lost the other fly to a tree…. Fun Stuff!

Went fishing yesterday at Bethany Lakes. Took the Five Weight Fly Rod and a COAF Damsel Fly hoping to catch the Bass on their beds. Managed on strike but could not keep it on the hook. Had a couple more strikes but did not hook them. Did see several Bass on their beds but they were not caring for a Damsel Fly even when passed through the bed. Switched to a COAF Griffith’s Gnat to see if anything would hit on the surface. After a cast or two, started hooking up with Panfish! Fun stuff!

Closed out today fishing at Bethany this evening. Brought the Four Weight in hopes of catching Bass on dry flies. When the weather warms, there is a hatch that occurs in the evening at Bethany Lakes. Once the hatch starts, Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish start feeding on the “bugs”. Cannot tell what they are but have found the Griffith’s Gnat or better yet our version of it – Griffith’s Gnat on a Caddis Hook , does a god job simulating the bugs. Go with a Size 14 and Size 16. This evening no hatch occurred; will need to check back this next week and look out for the hatch! Since the hatch was not happening, decided to do some Micro Fishing. Using Size 20 and Size 22 Midges, caught a number of Bluegill and Sunfish. All were smaller than the fly reel! No new species to report. Will keep an eye out for other little fish as the Spring nears!

Started the day fishing for Bass using Bait Casting Gear and Senkos in the morning. Switched to fishing for Trout using Fly Fishing Gear and Ultralight Spinning Gear. Only had one Trout go for a Near Deere Fishing Fly. Watched NucLaroche take a limit using PowerBait and the Ultralight, so followed his lead and switched to PowerBait and an Ultralight. Managed to limit out soon after but had to make an adjustment to timing the hook set. Noticed the Trout tended to pickup and mouth the bait, so attempting to set the hook on the initial pickup resulted in pulling the bait out of the Trout mouth. Overall, a great day to be outside fishing!

Headed to the catch and release ponds at Plano East Senior High School. Went with Senkos again and used the new rod from Cabelas. Caught two Bass working the undercut bank. Both went 14″ in size. Then, headed back to the casa but stopped at Bethany Lakes just to “check” things out. Should have gone home. Three fish went for the Senko; missed the hook set three time… three strikes I’m out! Still a fun time!

Rain let up a little later in the afternoon. Decided to go for it and fish Bethany Lakes to “test” the new rod/reel from Cabelas. Looks like it combined with the Senkos was the ticket Caught and released 18 or so Bass. Largest went 14″ in size! Started fishing the Senkos with a stop/go retrieve, and then switched to no retrieve, letting the wind drift the Senko as it sank after the cast. Also, used a high visibility Trilene Line that made it easier to pay attention to any movement in the line that indicated a Bass was picking up the Senko. Funny thing… received a text on the phone soon after casting the Senko. Let the Senko sit for about 30 seconds while answering the text. Sure enough a Bass had picked up the Senko… so, switched to a no retrieve technique and started hooking a few more Bass! Fun stuff!  

Hope to wet a line today or tomorrow. For now, since the Team is preparing to shift to warm water fishing, might as well pick up another fishing rod/reel. This one was on sale at Cabelas and came with a rebate, too. It’s an Abu Garcia combo that we plan to use for fishing Senkos.

Rained all day but as luck wold have it, the rain stopped by the workday’s end. So, made a run to Bethany Lakes. Been itching to fish Senkos to see what Bass are lurking in the ponds. Ran out of Gary Yamamoto Senkos but did have Gander Mountain Senkos in the tackle box. Went with them and fished Bethany Lakes for about an hour. Caught five Bass which were bigger compared to yesterday’s and the day before’s catch. Also, missed a few others as well. Watermelon with Red/Black Flake in the 4″ size worked well. Good to see Senkos are consistent producers each year. Did note that the Bass seemed to want a slower, stop/go retrieve and tended to run with the Senko a short distance. Lots of fun!   Dual BFS Fly Rod Suggestions

Decided to go back to Bethany Lakes to fish the evening bite. Went with the Olive Near Deere and a different Four Weight Rod; caught nine Bass and lost five others. No Bruisers… largest went about 13″-14″ inches. Lots of fun still. Did notice the Bass were further out compared to yesterday. Also, noticed the temperature dropped while there. No worries… fish seemed to be biting at least in one spot we were fishing! Forecast is showing rain tonight and tomorrow. Will play the weather by ear but hope to get out again soon! Overall, it was great to get away from work and think about nothing more than a tug on the end of your line!  

Nice weather and more daylight to fish after work. So, best thing to do is go fishing. Headed to Bethany Lakes with the Four Weight Fly Rod and an Olive Near Deere. Fished for about an hour. Was able to catch 10 Bass or so. May have missed the count +/- 1 but did not miscount the lost fish. Had two throw the hook, and a nice one that broke off. Still a great time; even better knowing the Olive Near Deere – same one that we used in Prosper for Rainbow Trout, works for Bass too!

Been busy with things… so, might as well add another one to the “to do” list. How about an online magazine. This one is still in the works but here is a start… first go at a magazine cover. Have not decided on the articles yet. The ones on the cover are some that may be of interest to some Readers. Will keep brainstorming this one but… Do stay tuned! First Draft…

Rainy day but it did stop by early evening (or at least it was misty only). Took the opportunity to make a quick trip to Bethany Lakes to fish with the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod. Checked out several places before settling by the Waterfall. Caught Bluegill and Sunfish using an Olive Near Deere and a Tenkara Midge. No new fish species this round but still was lots of fun! Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod and a Sunfish!

Re-published an article originally posted as a Squidoo Lens. We have since updated it and posted it online at HubPages – “Guadalupe River Rainbow Trout Fishing” . Do check it out when you get a chance!

Headed to Towne Lake  in Mckinney after doing some garden work. The weather was really nice, so better to spend it fishing! Planned to fish when the Trout Derby was over, but Towne Lake was still too crowded to fly fish when we arrived. Also, they did not stock the little pond to the left of the bridge so there were less places to fish. No worries though… went up the road to Prosper. The Trout Derby was over when we arrived at Frontier Park in Prosper. Luckily, the bite was not. NucLaroche limited out using PowerBait. Fshng84 took them on the fly with an Olive/Brown Near Deere and an Olive Near Deere. Fun stuff on a really nice day… Even hooked a nice looking Crappie… to bad it came off the hook!      

Took a break yesterday to cast the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod. Did not go fishing but did get a feel for the “cast-ability” of the rod. It cast well; able to take it to the backing. Next step… go fishing! So today, went fishing after work. Decided on Bethany Lakes to try catching a Bass or Bluegill with an Olive Near Deere. Still cold with snow still lingering in areas. Did not expect much and only had about a half-hour to fish… pleasant surprise, caught a Rainbow Trout in the Canal! Fun stuff!  

Another cold front arrived in the area. Rain, freezing rain, and some snow later tonight. So, took the opportunity to finish the Micro Fly Rod I have been tinkering with… calling it the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod since the handle is made from old wine corks. Other things used: 1 Line Rod Guide 2 Single Foot Fly Rod Guides 1 Fly Rod Tip Guide Hook Keeper Reel Seat 31″ Solid Graphite Ice Fishing Rod Blank After the rod guide thread wraps dried, mounted the Crappie Jig Reel that we used for the Micro Fly Rod Concept Rod on to the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod and did some test casts indoors…. very promising, casts well and with larger rod guides the fly line moved smoothly on the cast! Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod PS: Was good to use the homemade Rod Wrapping Guide for something other than repairing broken rod guides! Homemade Rod Wrapping Guide Short Video Clip of the Wine Cork Micro Fly Rod

Cold weather delayed Mckinney’s Trout Derby this past weekend. As a result, two Trout Derbies are scheduled for Saturday, March 7. One is in Mckinney; the other is in Prosper. For more info do check out the Cities’ websites at the links below: Mckinney Trout Derby at Towne Lake Prosper Trout Derby at Frontier Park For more on Texas Trout Derbies, do check out the suggested Pinterest Links below: Follow COAF Field Team’s board Texas Trout Derbies on Pinterest.

Worked on the Micro Fly Rod for a little, and then headed to Murphy City Hall Pond when it looked like the rain was slowing down. Rod handle now has the reel seat and the hook keeper is in place. Next step is to wrap the rod guides. Was going to do work on them today as well but when the rain slowed, decided to throw on rain gear and head for Murphy City Hall Pond. Slower bite this round compared to other days. Tried an Olive Near Deere, Tandem Rig with a Soft Hackle, Tandem Rig with a GRHEN, and with a Strike Indicator. No luck with them. Went back to the Olive/Brown Near Deere, used a 10-12 count before beginning the retrieve, then used long pulls with a 4-6 count wait between pulls. Limited out with five but had one break off, lost two others to missed hook sets, and caught two Bluegill… Fun stuff! Reel Seat and Hook Keeper in place!