DFW Flyfishing

February

2010-02-06T07:10:00.003-06:00

So now it's that goofy time of waiting in north Texas angling we call February. There's still trout trips to Beavers Bend and the Blue River to be had but schedules are getting tight. And those spots are really only enjoyable (for me) when there's no crowd - that means mid-week and/or fishing in crappy weather. Our last Frostfest to the Blue was a wonderful experiment with wind chill and now I'm just wishing for sunshine and a gentle, WARM south breeze. Today is to be our first day of sun and 50 degree temps in recent memory - of course, it's all getting shut down tomorrow with more clouds and rain and then another Arctic front Monday. JEEZ.

This is the time of year that I start worrying about the level of Ray Roberts. The lake is about 18" high right now with more rain in the forecast. I'm always conflicted about situations like this. We'll be begging for water in five months but I'm probably the only person that is happy when the lake is less than full. The majority of the flats I fish for carp are best when the water level is about 1-2 feet low. If we get our "big shot" of rain in April as we seem to get every 3-4 years, a lake that's already a foot and a half high will be TOAST for carp fishing. The fish will still be there, tailing happily under mesquite thorns and willows but they'll be impossible to fish.

Remember the flood in 2007? Same set up as we're experiencing right now - a wet late winter that lead into an April monsoon. The lake was closed for several weeks as it rose over 7 feet. Several ramps were closed all summer and/or damaged by water level (we did, however, have an EXCELLENT late summer sand bass season that year).

The good news about these water levels is that stream flows will be wonderful for the sand bass spawn in a few weeks. With the next warm-up, they should start migrating to the "staging areas" - transition points were rivers and creeks flow into reservoirs. They'll hold there until some unknown calculus of water temp./flow/moon phase/sunlight/etc. (in my experience, it seems to coincide with the appearance of craneflies and budding redbud trees) tells them to head upstream. Some years it's fantastic - other's it's forgettable.

Keep an eye on your local redbud tree and we'll see.

Blue Day on the Blue!

2010-01-31T11:24:00.002-06:00

Chris Weatherly and I went to the Blue River this past Thursday to hit the catch and release water on a crowdless day. It was a great time for solitary fishing - mid-week, temps in the 30's and falling, a 12-20 mph north wind with gusts to 30 and rain/freezing rain/drizzle/sleet.

After the 30 minute hike in to the C&R area (far north end of the Blue River Wildlife area north of Hwy 7) we started nymphing holes and runs with the usual "Oklahoma rig"; a #14 BH Prince with a #18 pheasant tail dropped off on a foot and a half of 5X. The increasing winds made drag-free drifts difficult. After a few fish on the nymphs and several breaks to get out of the wind and warm up, we switched to streamers and spent the rest of the day catching rainbows deep.

We finally left around 4pm having not seen another soul, catching some NICE (for stockers) fish, and flirting with the symptoms of hypothermia (BTW - I'm a BIG fan of toe warmers!).

YIKES!

2010-01-14T21:14:00.003-06:00

Here's a case where a picture really is worth a thousand words. Yes, that's a real human arm in that South Carolina alligator's mouth. Check out the story here.

I think I'll be a little more observant the next time I'm poaching golf course water hazards for redfish on Kiawah Island!

COLD!

2010-01-10T15:19:00.002-06:00

Near record cold temps this week/weekend left little for the outdoor enthusiast to pursue around north Texas. Sure, you could brave the windchill and break ice to swing a nymph or two up at the Blue or Mountain Fork (which some friends did with little) or even get up at the crack of dawn and go duck hunting like I did. Not a wise decision.

We put on three or four more layers of clothing than usual and still could not get warm in the 2 degree wind chill. When we arrived at our little duck pond by head lamp we discovered something interesting and totally unexpected - the pond was completely frozen over. This is a unique sight to a Texas boy and at 6:30 am through a head lamp beam, groggy head and frozen eyelashes, gives one a moment of pause.

"Well, shit. Where are we going to put the decoys?"

(we decided to break the ice in the lee of the pond and put just four dekes in the open water - it actually worked!)

The two gadwalls I shot that morning did not quite make up for the frozen toes but will be the guests of honor at a great dinner in a day or two.

The thermometer in my study now reads 45 on this sunny Sunday afternoon so I'm about to pull all of the tying gear out on the front porch and be a heliotroph for an hour or so. Think warm thoughts, people. The earth is tilting as we know it and it will be Spring here in north Texas sooner than you think!

Duck Medallions with Red Currant Glaze
(this is how I prepare "good" ducks - mallards, gaddies, widgeon, teal and the alike. Check back later for recipes for "crap" ducks like scaup)

2 ducks "breasted out" with skin (FAT!) left intact over the breast
2 cloves garlic
2 cups red wine
tsp. red pepper flakes
tsp. salt
fresh rosemary
black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
sea salt
cracked black pepper
4 tbsp. red currant preserves
olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1) Place ducks in a marinade made from the first 7 ingredients. Marinate for at least 4 hours (over night is better)
2) Remove and dry ducks. Discard marinade
3) Rub duck with olive oil and season with dashes of sea salt and a little cracked pepper.
4) Grill for 4-6 minutes on each breast side (until the skin just starts to sear) and then 6-10 min. on the back to cook through. This varies with the size of the duck. When done, cover with loose foil and move to a warm oven.
5) While duck is grilling, saute green onion in a couple of table spoons of olive oil in a med. sauce pan to caramelized (you could add a seeded serrano pepper for heat if wanted).
6) Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar and allow to reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper.
7) Add preserves and which until blended and reduce heat.
8) Carve 1" thick medallions off the duck breast and arrange on plate. Drizzle red currant sauce over the meat.
9) Serve with a warm spinach, walnut and gorgonzola salad, mashed sweet potato, and a GOOD Argentinian Malbec.

Norm

2009-12-05T14:50:00.004-06:00

The constellation of north Texas fly fishing lost one of its biggest stars this past weekend - Norm Goheen. If you knew Norm, you know that words find a difficult time describing his larger-than-life character. I have one of his business cards which states:

Norm Goheen's Rod Repair & Alchemy

Lies told
Tales spun
Rumors verified

Youth sought

Age achieved

Secrets revealed

Dry flied sunk

Tailing loops made

Rivers waded

Waders filled

"Piscaro itaque dicet mendacium"

Norm did it all in the world of fly fishing; spey casting for Atlantic salmon to building fine rods. I have a little one wt. rod I use for small, alpine streams when backpacking that Norm made for me a few summers ago. Hopefully, Norm will be there with me next summer chasing cutthroats in the Weminuche.

I had the honor of taking him on one of his last fishing trips; stalking carp on the flats of Ray Roberts. Norm had resisted for years - saying that he'd "rather catch a brick in the backyard" or "I'll go - but you'll have to hook, fight, and take the fish off - and clean my rod when you're done!" I was so happy when Norm agreed to go and commented on his choice of rods - an 8 foot 6 wt. bamboo (of course) that he made years ago. His reply was classic Norm . . . "I hate this rod. I was hoping one of the ugly bastards would break it."

So, in fine Celtic tradition, here's an Irish wake poem for Norm:

God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be.

So He put his arms around you and whispered "come to me."

With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away.

Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

Broken Bow Beauty!

2009-11-28T12:42:00.002-06:00

Here's a series of photos shot at Broken Bow and sent last week from Dusty Montgomery. If you have fished much in Oklahoma (or any stocked areas for that matter), you recognize the fish on the top - your typical "right-out-of-the-truck" stocked Rainbow (and even that one has better color than usual). The fish in the bottom two shots, however, is a fish of a different color! A vividly colored male that looks like it came from some well managed stream in Colorado or even the rainbow's native habitat in California. And look what he fell for - a little black midge-type fly. My favorite dropper off the back of a heavy PT or Prince.

GREAT shots, Dusty!

By the way, Dusty's report said that Spillway Creek got pretty crowded as the weekend progressed; to the point where they just packed up and came home after witnessing "4-5 guys in every good hole." Dusty supposed that maybe colder weather would thin the crowds a bit (and - he's right). With zones 2 and 3 unfishable (or "uncatchable"?) until repairs on the dam(n) turbines are finished, everyone up there is crowding onto the only accessible water.

Well, a check of the forecast indicates that winter is arriving TOMORROW . . . low's in the 30's, wind, rain - look's like a good time to hit the Mountain Fork or Blue!

Lower Mtn. Fork (Beaver's Bend) Update

2009-11-08T09:32:00.002-06:00

I made a trip to SE Oklahoma this past Thursday to check the Lower Mountain Fork through Beaver's Bend State Resort. The buzz has been fairly heavy about the area - message boards were filled with dread about the proposed repair to the turbines and the associated flood of water that was to be released through the spillway to moderate the lake level. Evidently "Plan B" - a solution involving repair of the turbines one at a time while allowing flow through the dam directly into the park water - is a happy compromise and will allow angling in Zone 1 for the next few months.

G. Tolle and I left Denton EARLY Thursday morning and were on the water before 9 am. There were only three cars at the lower nature trail bridge parking area when we got there - one was a hiker that headed off through the woods and another was two guys from the Okla. Fish and Game Dept. waiting on the stocking truck. The truck pulled up a few minutes later and we witnessed the transfer of trout to the pickup. It kind of like sausage . . . if you like it, you probably don't want to see it made! The stocking process is much less precise than one would think given the frail nature of trout. The OWD guys said they were adjusting their stocking placement because they could not cross the stream with the water level. So, they were going to put a few more fish upstream. If you have ever waded upstream from Cold Hole to the lower trail bridge, you might have noticed a 10" diameter blue PVC pipe on the right side of the stream. This is a stocking pipe. They back the truckdown to the other end of the pipe, attach a large hose and let'em slide. The trout get what has to be (for them) a terrifying 100' water park slide that ends with a dump into the stream.

Thursday was bright and sunny and as long as the sun was directly on the water, fishing was tough. All the fish we hooked before lunch (at 2:00pm) were holding DEEP. The water level was perfect for Spillway Creek - enough water for lots of fish cover but not too deep/fast to make wading difficult. We did not catch many fish in larger pools and, if we did, they were holding in pockets at the tails of the pools. Most trout caught were holding in smaller, deep pockets in sections with boulders or other "hydraulic" producing structure. The area downstream of the upper bridge was especially productive in the afternoon.

An interesting fact is that all of the fish we caught were large - we didn't catch a fish less than 14" and most were around 16. They were pretty beat up stockers with the usual blunt fins and less than magazine quality coloration but some of them fought very well. Glenn caught one just upstream of Cold Hole that jumped several times and took of upstream, leaping the whole way.

All fish were caught on some variation of the usual "Oklahoma rig" - an 8 foot 4X leader with a #14 heavy BH Prince and a #18 little black or olive midge as a dropper on 6X.

On another note, I fished my new 7'9" TFO Finesse 4 wt. and LOVED IT for the type of short range, "weave-through-the-woods" fishing we do at Beavers Bend (and especially on the Blue). It was just long enough to allow a good drift and was SO easy to maneuver through the tight cover along the stream. It had enough backbone to cast the nymph rig and fight the larger trout we caught (my biggest of the day was a 17" that just about "maxed out" the little rod).

Fall Distractions

2009-11-01T13:00:00.002-06:00

Not much to report over the last month except precipitation - LOTS of precipitation. Many locales in north Texas received 10 - 15" of rain in the past month, with most of the Ray Roberts drainage coming in at 12-13". The last round of rain early last week put the lake up to 3 feet over conservation pool (632.5 ft. above sea-level) and, as of today, it has dropped a few inches down to 635.26".
The season on the flats was wrapped up anyway but this has pretty much killed all fishing on the lake unless you want to jig deep structure for sand bass. If you draw a line from the Quail Run camping area at Isle duBois north to Wolf Island, it will cross 3 or 4 good holding spots for sand bass. These could be anywhere from 25 to 40 feet deep. It takes good electronics, patience, and a sensitive rod but it's one of the few ways to catch consistent fish in the cool months.
Water levels will be great for the upcoming waterfowl season. I'm looking forward to touching up the decoys and breaking out the camo. A friend has a new chocolate lab that is ready for her first season and we're going to start her easy on some ponds and sloughs just off the lake. It's my favorite kind of duck hunting; small water, maybe a dozen "dekes", two guns and a dog. Simple. No public boat ramps, trailers/outboards (I've had a bad run of luck with outboards lately), bags of tangled decoys, "sky-busters" ruining you good planning - nothing. A good day is three or four birds, we don't have to get up at 3am and the clean-up's easy.
Finally, if you have not had a chance to check out the new TFO website, give it test drive. Great graphics and two new lines of fly rods to check out. Expect a review of the Fly Rod Chronicle series of trout rods shortly!

Review - TFO Clouser Rods

2009-10-01T17:10:00.007-05:00

TFO Clouser rod at Tailwaters in Dallas

(photo by Shannon Drawe)

The latest addition to the Temple Fork Outfitters stable of rods is the Clouser - designed with input from the man himself, Bob Clouser. The word on these rods is that they were designed to effortlessly load deep into the blank to more efficiently throw large flies and/or sinking lines. They will do that and a WHOLE lot more; in my opinion, this "specialty" rod is the best all-around rod in the TFO line (for 6 wt. and above "applications" - for the little stuff, you can't beat a Finesse)!

While technically part of the very popular TiCrX product line, these rods are really a breed apart. Different lay ups and mandrels produce a rod that is just a little slower than a comparable weight "X" with a thinner butt diameter.

I had the opportunity to cast a six and eight wt. Clouser (both 8'9") and was blown away by the ease of casting at all ranges. This rod has the range of the rest of the "X" family but REALLY shines in close. While putting through it's paces with a standard 9 foot leader, I decided to tack on about 6 feet of tippet and see what would happen. The Clouser straightened the leader perfectly with 3 false casts and laid a practice fly on a nerf football (the target at the time) 32 feet away. And, I love the length! Who ever said fly rods had to be exactly nine feet long?

Speaking of length - there's a little 8 foot 5 wt. in the line-up as well. How cool would that be as a ultralight flats rod or sand bass/canoe bass rod ?!?!?!?

The 6wt. is a carp fishing MACHINE. I was able to fish one for a few hours on the Ray Roberts flats in August and it performed wonderfully. A few quick, LONG shots at bass, some close-in work on carp and buffs, and a nice battle with a 5 pound carp all gave a VERY favorable impression as to what this rod is capable of. If you're looking for an excellent light redfish rod for the Texas coast, look no further than a 6 wt. Clouser.

After casting both I have to say that I think flats fishing Nirvana will lie in between - I've got my sights on a 7wt. (and I'm thinking here of my South Carolina redfishing as much as a heavy carp rod and/or popper chunker!).

Cosmetics are nice with the "X" blue blank and a few composite cork rings in the handle and the fighting butt to add longevity and looks.

Who's That Masked Man?

2009-09-28T23:44:00.002-05:00

That's Youngki Min - recent carp convert and theology student from Dallas; keeping it under cover and well-hydrated while stalking carp in the Ray Roberts backcountry.

Season's End

2009-09-21T22:28:00.003-05:00

Fall seems to be coming early to north Texas this year; we've had over six inches of rain in mid-September (and it's currently raining again as I write this - thunderstorms pushed ahead of another early "cold" front), cedar elms are already changing colors, and there are migratory species of birds showing up that usually aren't around until after UT/OU weekend.

The fishing is taking its cue from all this and beginning the slow slide into the winter doldrums. Sand bass action that is usually fantastic in September (especially the evening surface bite) has become spotty at best as the random weather scatters shad all over the lake. I hear reports of "we caught an ice chest full on top-waters yesterday" followed by "they're all deep on structure" the next day.

Carp are still carp -cruising along, feeding on the slim opportunities offered at this time of year. All the bugs that we can easily imitate with flies (think damsels, Hexes, and dragonfly nymphs)have long since hatched, crawled away, or otherwise thinned out. Now they're left with the odd snail, mussel, grasshopper, and lots of grass. They'll be around for the next month or so and willing to take a fly ("the Dude abides") if you wade CAREFULLY, spot well in the lower light, and feed them right. I caught the fish pictured - and a few of his amigos - with a SnapDragon in knee-deep water yesterday.

(Please excuse the previous drought of posts - this last month was a whirlwind of activity with the beginning of semester at both the high school and university. Upcoming posts include an update on the hog population/damage at Ray Roberts and a review of the new TFO Clouser rod.)

Weminuche snapshots

2009-08-11T16:30:00.003-05:00

For the third summer in a row I had the opportunity to spend a week backpacking the Weminuche Wilderness (WW) of southern Colorado. This we focused on the Pine (Los Pinos) River headwaters and had a BALL - great weather (well, except for one day spent cowering in our tents as hail and lightning lashed our campsite just below treeline), good fellowship, and LOTS of cutthroat.

We started our trip at the Poison Park trailhead above Williams Creek Res. and headed north into the WW with our first campsite on the edge of Iona park on the bank of Hossick Creek. Hossick proved to be full of brookies and I great a great afternoon with the 1 wt. and a handful of stimulators. The second day camp was at the trail crossing of the east fork of Weminuche creek. This was the best campsite I've seen in sometime - someone had even made a "couch" out of a large section of downed pine bark. It's the little things that are appreciated out there; like something with a "back" to sit on.

Our third camp was on the Pine River itself, just below Granite Lake. From here, we spent two days moving up and down river to fish on day trips. Moose and bear tracks everywhere, coyote serenades every night, and plenty of nice cuts that would rise to caddis almost all day!

July and Grassies

2009-08-11T16:06:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the long dry spell of posts but July was kind of a blur. If I wasn't guiding I was in Colorado backpacking and chasing trout from the Weminuche Wilderness to Crested Butte. The carp fishing in July was fantasic with several memorable outings.

I guided Wilson Jaeggli and his friend, Frosty early in July and enjoyed a grand appearance from the grass carp. Usually, these MONSTERS give us just a passing shot and a Melville-esque glimpse at a large, silver-scaled fish in a foot or two of water. Wilson had done some research and came armed with milkfish tackle and tactics for just such an encounter. Around lunchtime, we saw a grassie tail at the edge of an old road bed. While moving into position, two more tails popped up (each tail easily 12-14 inches across). AND they stayed there - tailing and moving around the area for a good 10 minutes. Wilson made several presentations with a grass fly but no takers. Someday. Someday.

The photo shows Frosty with a nice common carp. Wilson is holding the rods in the background - one of which is a 9wt Sage rigged for grassies. The other is one of the coolest little rods I've ever seen. It's a little Scott 6 wt. from their Concepts line (I think) a few years ago. It's only 7 feet long and was designed by Chico Fernandez as a light snook and redfish rod for fishing the mangroves out of a canoe. NEAT!

Willow slurpers

2009-07-04T10:29:00.002-05:00

I fished with Darren McDonald last Wednesday and we had another interesting day on the flats. The Hex hatch was beginning to wind down but a few adults were clinging to willows around the edge of the lake. Bass were still up shallow but moving around with much more urgency than before - as if they knew the easy food was thinning out and they wanted to make as much of the remaining calories as possible.

Darren was treated to another day of glaring sun (at the beginning) and wind that made spotting and casting conditions rough. As the wind finally let up after noon, the atmosphere "popped" and storms bubbled up from the broth of heat and humidity. You can see the storms percolating in the background of the photo. The one big storm in the area sat right on top of us as we left and pounded the area with rain and wind.

Interesting side note . . . the willow trees have "seeded" and the carp were up sipping the fluffy seeds. They look much like Cottonwood seeds and form floating masses of fluff in back eddies and coves. At one point we could hear a large carp slurping the seeds off the surface; it sounded like someone dropping pebbles in a fountain. We looked around and saw a huge pair of orange lips working on a "seedline". Darren did his best Blue Heron impersonation and after an agonizing several minutes (the carp kept moving every 5-10 seconds), put the fly right in the fish's mouth. After a good fight, the carp pictured above was brought to hand.

(BTW - notice the Hex adult on Darren's elbow!)

Hexes!

2009-06-27T14:53:00.002-05:00

The annual Hexegenia hatch is on at Ray Roberts. Everything that swims in that lake (with the possible exception of sand bass) is up cruising the shorelines for an easy meal. Every willow within 30 feet of shore will have dozens, if not hundreds, of the large mayflies on it. Shake a branch and they'll flush, scattering in the breeze. If any land in the water, a nearby bluegill or bass will gladly take the offering.

Bart Larmouth (from Tailwaters Flyfishing in Dallas) was at the lake yesterday and shot some video of the hexes. Check it out here.

The carp will feed on top as well. If you can find one that looks like it's surface-feeding, it probably is. Put a #8 Hex dry right in front of it on a long 3-4X leader and see what happens!

(photo by Bart Larmouth)

Fishing Update - 6/23

2009-06-23T08:30:00.005-05:00

Great fishing at Ray Roberts this past weekend. The lake is only about 2" high now and still dropping (100+ temps this week will help) and clarity is near optimal. The weather difference between Sat. and Sun. created two completely different angling experiences.

I fished with Roger Crandall (top photo) Saturday and he ended up with 6 carp and a catfish. It was a typical June day on the flats - windy, partly cloudy, and warm. The fish were on the move and beginning to chase Hex nymphs that were moving in the flats. This includes the cats which were tailing large carp just like jacks on a ray. Roger put a fly right on the money in front of one BIG carp and a 2 pound catfish raced forward and nailed it before it sank 4 inches. Impressive.

Sunday was a different story. The high pressure system that was centered over central Louisiana had moved to north Texas bringing with it the first day of bright sunshine in three weeks. The fish were spooky and wanted everything "just right." I fished with Eric Burnett that day and we had to WORK for every fish. Eric has a great little Scott Warmwater 6 wt. that could straighten a leader at close range and still throw a couple of "Hail Mary's" to bass at the edges. We also saw 4 HUGE grass carp trailing across one of the flats. It's a little unnerving to see well over 100 pounds of fish swimming in two feet of water. Alas, no takers yet on the grassies!

Bass Attack

2009-06-16T08:12:00.002-05:00

I had a great trip with Mark Levock yesterday on the flats of Ray Roberts. The weather was less than cooperative with 10-15 mph sustained winds (that kept changing direction just enough to be annoying) and high cloud cover that did not burn off until after noon. We made the most of the conditions and searched for tails, "muds", and bubbles in shallow water just off the edge of the grass.

One thing that stood out was the number of bass that were in shallow - and I mean SHALLOW. I believe these fish are up chasing Hex nymphs that are beginning to hatch. Mark caught two nice bass (both around 2 - 2.5 lbs.) that hit Snap Dragons without a moment's hesitation. The second bass he caught was in a gang of 6 bass that were scouring some flooded grass in about 8 inches of water. When he made the cast, there was actually a large piece of grass on his fly - clearly visible as it landed and he began to strip it in front of the small school. It didn't matter as the first fish accelerated and nabbed it. I've never seen that many "large" bass so close together in such shallow water!

Carp were up feeding aggressively as well; as a matter of fact, the first carp that Mark caught was about as "active" a take as you can get from a carp. This fish turned and nailed a fly 10-12" away after coming out of a small mud it was creating. The carp then proceeded to burn all the fly line off Mark's reel as it headed across the flat.

G's Bluegill

2009-06-11T07:25:00.001-05:00

First fly-rod caught fish ON A FLY HE TIED HIMSELF!

(see post below)

A Day of Firsts

2009-06-10T21:09:00.004-05:00

June 9th will live as a day of firsts in the Hays household.

It all started quite innocently yesterday afternoon as I sat down to work on some holes in my fly box. The Snap dragon has been the hot fly over the past two weeks and I was down to three in my possession (a recipe and photo for this fly will be the subject of a later post). Anyway, I was about 10 minutes into it when my seven year-old walked into the garage and asked what I was doing.

"I'm tying some flies that I've been meaning to tie."

"I want to tie a fly."

Now, I've always been one for not pushing our hobbies onto our kids. Luckily, my son loves to fish and is quite skillful at the use of his small spinning rod. When it comes to anything "fly" he's been mildly interested but would much rather catch fish with a rod he can cast himself (he DOES like to fish with a fly behind a casting bubble most of the time). But this was genuine excitement and interest - a "teach-able" moment had arrived and I wasn't going to let it pass.

"OK, bud, let's tie you a fly!"

I showed him different hooks and what they were for as well as thread and tools. We picked a good #8 all-round hook and stuck it in the vise. Next we learned the intricate art of the bobbin and thread tension. I laid out an assortment of fur, feathers, hair, chenille, yarn, etc. and he chose materials and color. First, a gold bead because even a seven year old has noticed that the vast majority of nymphs out there are bead-heads these days. Then a pinch of olive rabbit for a tail (it obviously took a few "trys" but he eventually got it wrapped down). Peacock-colored flash chenille for a body was wrapped up to the bead. I was about to whip finish it for him when he said, "What about a feather? A fly needs a feather."

So I tied in a olive barred saddle hackle and he spun a little "collar" and tied it off. I told him it was a great addition and would look like bug legs to a fish. A drop of head cement and his first fly was done - the Gman Bluegill Fly!

It was quickly decided that it must be tried IMMEDIATELY. We jumped in the truck and were off to a local pond that has a pretty good bluegill population (as well as a few nice bass). I always keep an old four weight and some tackle in the truck just for emergencies and we were soon rigged with the new fly at the edge of the pond. The only problem was that the wind was blowing a steady 20 mph - no time for one's first casting lesson. So, I cast the little rod as far as I could into the breeze, dropped the rod tip, made a few strips and handed him the rod. It only took a few casts and he had the idea. Keep the rod low, line through the right finger against the cork, strip with the left hand.

On the fourth cast I noticed the flyline jerk and yelled for him to lift the rod.

"I got a fish!", he yelled; grinning ear to ear. In came a respectable bluegill and out came the camera. With the great sense of compassion that he has he wanted the fish released quickly (Dad was busy snapping photos and hoop-ing it up). Amazingly, he looked up and said, "I want you to catch one now." I managed an eight inch bass and told him to get ready to catch another one. Several casts later the rod almost jerked out of his hand. The old rod bent right down to the handle as he stripped in what turned out to be a GOOD, hand-sized bluegill. More photos and a quick release

The wind continued to increase and we had to call it quits. In the space of an hour my son had tied his first fly and caught his first fly rod-caught fish (OK, I cast it for him but who cares!). Pretty impressive! To add to the firsts, an hour later at the grocery store he announced that he wanted steak for dinner. This from a kid who's usual meat consumption is chicken breasts, burger or maybe a hot dog (and fried sand bass!).

"Really buddy? You've never had steak before."

"Nope. But I want to try it now, Daddy."

He loved it (medium - with a side of ketchup).

Wind and Sun

2009-06-07T21:22:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure of guiding Scott Posavitz today and we had a great day on the flats. The forecasted wind of 10 mph with gusts of 20 was more like 15-20 with gusts to 30 out at Ray Roberts. Even in a secluded cove, the wind made for tough spotting and tricky casting (Scott mastered the wind-assisted "long dapple").

Scott made the most out of the situation and ended up with five carp, a gar, and a nice bass. The bass was actually tailing in about 10" of water like a carp. At first all I could see was the tail and couldn't for the life of me identify the fish. Scott made a quick cast and dropped a snap dragon right in front of the fish. Just one strip and the fish accelerated, identifying itself when that bucket mouth opened to suck in the fly. A couple of jumps and we had a nice 2.5-3 lb. bass in hand.

The lake is right at 6" high and still dropping. The wind yesterday and today has not helped the clarity but that has still improved over the last 3 weeks. We found some amazingly clear water on a few flats today and were able to spot and cast to fish 40-50 feet away (most, however, were MUCH closer).

Another interesting note . . . I spotted a VERY recently hatched hexagenia dun today. If these large mayflies get cranked up in the next several days - IT'S ON! Everything in that lake (with the possible exception of sand bass) eats hexes. A hex emerger or even just a large, unweighted, soft hackled pheasant tail will draw strikes from bass, bluegills, carp, gar - even catfish! Just look for a willow or other small tree close to the water. If it's branches are covered with large mayflies, hammer the water all around. If you want to REALLY have fun, tie on one of the hex adult patterns (or a #10 Adams) and try to get a carp to take on top. It takes some work, and a fish that's looking up, but it's a ball!

Great White Buffalo

2009-05-31T07:35:00.003-05:00

Strange events on yesterday's trip to the flats.

First of all, the lake is recovering nicely from the May rains. At this writing it is 9" high (@ 633.23' above sea level - normal pool is 632.5) and the Corps has maintained a steady release of 373 cfs from the dam since May 21st. Water clarity is improving daily and is now back to where it should be for this time of year.

The carp are finishing their post-spawn feeding frenzy and settling into a "normal" summer routine. We're wading the outside edges of shoreline vegetation to target fish tailing in calf-to-knee deep water. Large numbers of smaller carp can be seen along the flooded shorelines but they are impossible to cast to without hanging up. We probably saw 200 fish yesterday and had shots at about 50 (that we actually eating and not cruising). The "deep" version of the CoyoteCarp was the fly of the day - it could get down quickly in the 18" or so of water but still not land with too much SPLAT.

Smallmouth buffalo are all over the outer edges of the flats and we had several good opportunities. The more I target these fish, the more they live up to the analogy of the permit of the freshwater flats. They're SPOOKY, tough to hook, and when (or if) they eat is totally up to them. If the carp has a strike zone the size of a volleyball, then the buff has one the size of a golf ball! That fly has to be RIGHT in front of their face (actually a little under their face given the shape of their Hoover mouth). The fish pictured went just over 13.5 lbs.

Now for the "strangeness." The picture of the scale on my dear, old, trusty boga is the last image of it in my possession. I knew this was a LARGE fish - worthy of some kind of state or maybe IGFA record so I dug out the boga, weighed and measured the fish, and had a few pics snapped. At one point I had the boga in one hand (attached to fish) and held the fish with my other hand under its belly. One big FLOP and all those 13.5 pounds went on the lanyard which was around my wrist. The jaws must have pierced the skin because when the fish hit the water, he was still attached to the boga but the boga was not attached to ME! By the time I realized what had happened, the buff was swimming off the flat. I noticed that he stopped and tailed (as if rubbing something off his face). We searched for some time with no luck and clouded the water so I'm going back soon to search again. If you happen to catch a large buff with a 15# boga grip hanging off its head, please send it back - I'll reward your efforts with a box of flies!

July is almost booked but I still have several days open in June - call or email to reserve a date (940)391-9480

Things are Looking UP!

2009-05-21T21:04:00.004-05:00

I went up to Ray Roberts late this afternoon to get more of a handle on the current conditions. The lake is (at this writing) about 11 inches over normal conservation pool. Water is still up into the vegetation that was 20 yards from the shoreline a few weeks ago - and the fish are up there as well. Actually, they're all over the place.

The carp are all but finished with the spawn and on their post-sex feed. You can actually see a slight discoloration to the water a few yards out from the vegetation line; this is from the large numbers of carp (and buffalo) that are rooting in the bottom for food. The fish in the weeds/grass are nearly impossible to hook without hang-ups but fish further out will eat with abandon! You just have to find clearer water in which to spot fish and cast before wading up on top of them. I caught 8 or 9 in the two hours I was out and they all took the flies (both coyote carps and damsels) readily. The water clarity should improve in the next two weeks as the fish spread out into their summer pattern.

Gar are still spawning and I saw several pairs and groups thrashing around in the grass this afternoon. That should last another one or two weeks depending on rainfall. I caught two this afternoon. It's kind of cool - like fishing for dinosaurs - until you have to touch one of the things. I usually carry a glove just for that purpose (boga grips are kind of tricky with gar) and grab them just behind the head in a death-grip while I get the fly out with LONGnose pliers.

No glove. No pliers. Hmmmm.

I have to admit I actually thought about cracking the big one in the head a couple of times with the boga-grip but thought that might ruin my fish-kharma for the rest of the afternoon. So I just grabbed her and hoped for the best with the very small and VERY short pair of foreceps I had. fun. I've had a shower and washed my hands a few times since and can still smell that fish (did I mention they STINK?). But, they are a ball when hooked, cart-wheeling and jumping while changing direction every two seconds.

I caught two buffalo as well and am beginning to think this fish COULD be dialed in at some point. They're still the permit of the flats - it's totally up to them whether or not they'll eat. If carp have a "strike zone" the size of a volleyball, a buff's is more like a tennis ball. It has to be RIGHT THERE, below the level of the their eyes (I've never seen one come up even an inch for a fly) but not hidden in the bottom. VERY tough. But very rewarding when you hook into a 14.2 pound monster that tears into your backing and thoroughly christens the new Lamson Konic 2 reel.

It''s just tough to take a picture of a big fish by yourself. You can go for the "lay it on the shore next to the rod" shot, BUT there's not much of a shoreline these days at Roberts. All I could do was wade into shallow water, hold the fish out with the boga, and shoot for the best with the camera in my phone. That's my TiCr"X" and new Konic just behind the fish for a size comparison (with the rod in a bush). It was a great fight - he took me all over the little cove and into the backing twice.

On another note, more rain is forecast for this weekend (at least they're not using terms like "Heavy Rain"). If we can dodge another precip bullet, and the lake level keeps dropping as it has the last few days, I believe that June is going to be PHENOMENAL! July is booking up quickly but I still have several days (both weekend and weekday) open in June. Call me and get in on some great sight-fishing!

(940)391-9480

Changes

2009-05-10T12:00:00.007-05:00

(or "Reason to Hire a Guide #137)

The flats of Ray Roberts are dynamic spots. Two weeks ago the lake was three feet low and crystal clear; carp were on their pre-spawn feed, happily eating craneflies and seeds after a long winter of minimal food. All folks could talk about was the drought and "when will it rain."

Well, it's rained. And RAINED. As of this writing, the lake is half a foot over conservation pool which means it's come up almost four feet in a week. Spots where I caught fish on a month ago are now waist deep and the fish (and shoreline) are up in the grass. And that's not all that's "up."

The top photo shows one of the hazards that can befall a careless wader when the water's up. Fire ants "ball up" when their mounds flood - usually on a piece of floating debris and create a mass of ants that drifts through the shallows. Hopefully, they make it to dry land and do their "ant thing" again. If not, they take shelter on a young willow or cattail. These are not happy ants (if you could imagine a fire ant in a bad mood) and if you accidently touch or brush against the ball, they will attack in mass. It's not pleasant. REALLY. It's nice to have someone with you (like a guide!) that knows what these things look like and can help you avoid them while you concentrate on fish.

Gar are just beginning to spawn now and will be a great fly rod target for the next three weeks or so. The middle photo actually shows four fish - three males harrassing a larger female. Despite the conventional wisedom, you CAN hook these fish with a regular fly (if it's tied correctly) and get them in. It just takes a little finesse. And they are a BALL on the fly - if you've ever hook a barracuda, they fight much they same way . . . cart-wheeling across the surface and changing direction every other second. The fish in the lower photo is a spotted gar that went about three pounds. FUN!

BTW - July is booking up fast but there are still several days open in June (which is usually the best month). Give me a call at (940)391-9480 to book a trip.

Precipitation

2009-04-30T22:19:00.005-05:00

Be careful what you wish for.

An age-old saw at best but very appropriate here. About a month ago I jotted down a post in which I stated that we could use more rain. I said that the lake was at a place in elevation were it would be great a foot lower or a foot higher.

Now we know which way we're going. Thanks, Lord, for the rain (did we have to get a month's worth in 12 hours?). Ray Roberts has gone up over three feet in just over 48 hours. Thunderstorms "trained" over Roberts and its drainage for the better part of 24 hours straight. This gives us a good news/bad news set-up.

Good news - the carp are going bananas right now; spawning at the edges of the flooded flats. You can hear them from 200 yards away as a half dozen males chase a female around in inches of water . . . it makes quite a racket! The ones that aren't actively spawning ARE feeding. Just like bones or reds on a rising tide, they're pushing into flooded grass after everything from ants to seeds. SD and I stopped by the the lake Friday afternoon and the carp were like pigs in slop; all caution thrown to the wind as they spawned or foraged. As I mentioned earlier, they're difficult to hook this time of year; spawners aren't interested in food, and the activity clouds the water so much that feeding fish can't see a fly (combine this with clouds and it's really tough). The trick is to forget all the commotion and focus on the edges of the flat where you'll find clearer water and maybe a large female or two on the feed. This was the case yesterday - I found a LARGE female tailing about 20 yards out from the shoreline (in about 2 feet of water). After a long battle I was finally able to land her; just under 10 pounds on Shannon's boga. Check out video of the spawning fish and the battle with the she-beast at Shannon's site, Texas Flycaster.

The lake is still below normal "pool" elevation (at this writing) and the fishing will be great as long as it doesn't get too high. The magic number is 632.5 (elevation in feet above sea level).

Bad news - with fully saturated soils, any additional precipitation will run-off straight into the lake. This is the same situation we had in 2007. Rain and then RAIN. That year we got over 4 inches in a day (on top of a previous rain that soaked everything) and Roberts went up 6 feet, effectively destroying the flats fishing. The fish were still there, tailing and feeding as always; but, who wants to catch them (or pay to catch them) bushwacking through flooded mesquite, honey locust, and floating balls of fire ants?

Needless to say, I'm watching the weather VERY closely but it doesn't look good - large storms are pushing south out of OK right now on the edge of a cool front. Hopefully they'll cross the Red to the east of the Roberts drainage!

Cross your fingers, folks!

Choices

2009-04-25T09:05:00.002-05:00

Well, springtime is in full swing here in north Texas - doves are nesting, the wind's blowing 30 mph, and clouds are soaking up the gulf moisture. Thunderstorms and "heavy rain" seem to be on tap for the foreseeable future (at least according to the National Weather Service). This is not good sight-casting weather which is OK becuase the carp have started spawning anyway. They're still "catch-able" during their reproductive antics (and we usually catch some LARGE females this time of year), but the weather and turbid water make things even more challenging than usual.

So, what do you do with yourself over the next few weeks until optimal stalking conditions arrive? Chase bass for starters; this is prime bass-time on area lakes and ponds. Cover a lot of shallow cover with flashy streamers or large buggers and you'll find something (or SOMETHING as in the case of SD with his potential water body record fish). Ditto for sunfish that are gorging now in preparation for their randiness in May.

If you need any angling paraphernalia or just a good excuse to go hang out in a fly shop, there's free beer at Tailwaters today.

For non-angling pursuits, this is Arts and Jazz fest weekend in Denton (downtown in Quakertown park). Good times and GREAT music for all!