DFW Flyfishing

As Promised - Fishing Board Photo #1

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Ummmm - is that a COW?

Waiting for Fish

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:13:00 +0000

We are in that goofy time of early March; waiting for the sand bass to run, followed by pre-spawn carp and bass, and then the full on-slaught of Spring. I've been checking boards lately (something I try to stay away from) looking for any sand bass info. and came across more than one interesting photo.
So, to pass the time until FISH, stand-by for a few intersting photos from random fish-report boards . . .

New Gear for 2010

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:55:00 +0000

I stopped by Tailwaters this past weekend to check in and see what's new in the realm of flats fly fishing equipment for the season. Here are some interesting tidbits:

1) The new Simms Flats Boot - these are amazing and the greatest advancement in warm water wading since Patagonia first came up with the concept years ago. I've always been a fan of the Marlwalker and have burned through a few pairs in the past decade (no flats boot will stand up the abrasive effects of sand and water for very long when worn almost daily). But, when you put the latest version of the Marlwalker side-by-side with the Simms, there's no comparison. A pair of the Flats Boots came home with me.

2) Awesome new flies - I have to say that Tailwaters is becoming quite the Carp Headquarters. Their selection of carp flies is continuously growing and when you add Hexes, crayfish, and other "cross-over" trout patterns, you could fill several boxes from their racks. Pictured above is one that really drew my attention - Whitlock's Improved Rubber-legged Red Fox Squirrel nymph (I think that's the correct name). It's from Rainy's and has all the great features a carp fly should have - even a weed guard. In the commotion of taking a 7 year old and a 2 year old into a fly shop (thank God for Honey Girl!) I somehow forgot to grab a couple for trials when the carp come up for their pre-spawn feed. Good reason for a return trip!

3) New rods - Along with carrying my favorite carp rod (the TFO TiCr"X" 7'6" 6 wt), there are some other interesting sticks coming to the rod rack at Tailwaters. Scott is releasing an 8 foot rod in 6 and 8 wt. (A3 series) as competitors in the recent "warmwater/bass rod" craze. Bart said he was able to give the 8wt. a work-out and it cast like a rod costing twice as much. The six weight should be VERY INTERESTING. I'm trying to lay my hands on one for a casting session. We'll let you know. Combine these with the Sage Bluegill and you have some great, value-point choices for a combo carp/bass/Texas coast rod.

4) Hip packs (does anyone call them "fannies" anymore?) - William Joseph, FishPond, Simms, Patagonia, etc. - there are packs out there APLENTY. No matter if you want waterproof, breathable mesh hip belts, adjustable water bottle pockets, load suspension adjusters, etc.; there is a hip pack out there for you. Check out the new MAGseries from WJ - VERY cool (hey Bart - order me one!).

The Shag Carp-it!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Over 9 inches of snow last week and an unexpected 5 day weekend gave me some "forced" time-off with nowhere to go and little constructive to do. So, I got to spend some much needed time at the vise and started on the carp fly needs for the upcoming season. Small Clousers, bitters, wooly worms, and Coyote Carps (the hit fly last year) were cranked out between snowball fights and other duties related to being the parent of snow-bound kids.

After a few dozen "essentials" I started messing around at the vise, letting the frozen creative juices flow, and came up with something pretty cool. Like most flies I'm sure it's been "invented" a dozen times by a dozen people but it should do the trick nicely. I was looking for something that would land soft and have lots of action (from the palmered hen hackle), sink at a slow but decent rate (small non-toxic eyes) and not retain too much water when cast (no dubbing or other body material under the hackle).

I have versions in #6 and 8 in tan, orange, and olive. Again, I think we're on to something here - look for reports in a couple of months as to what the carp think!

(btw- you know what you do when Mother Nature gives you 9" of snow? Use it as a light box!)

Cooper's Hawk

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:31:00 +0000

Here are some cool shots my wife took last week of an immature Cooper's hawk that has been hanging around this winter. You can tell it is a Cooper's and not the smaller Sharp-shinned by the slight crest on the back of the head and the more rounded shape of the tail. Immature accipiters like this usually have the white "blotches" on the chest and sometimes back.

This bird has been a neat addition to our usual winter mix and has dabbed at least one dove (that we know of) from one of our feeders.

Carp Flies

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:01:00 +0000

So I'm messing around with Goggle and search "carp flies" and look what pops up. By definition, this carp flies. It's a smaller carp to be sure - osperys have a body length of about 20-24" - and it REALLY does not look to be enjoying the ride.

So Long, Paw paw

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:41:00 +0000

My wife's grandfather, Mr. Jack Moon of Columbia, South Carolina, passed away this morning at the age of 92. He was a southern gentleman to the hilt and will be sorely missed. He was a B-24 navigator in WWII and I have his .38 Colt revolver with a US Army shoulder holster that is just about the coolest thing you've ever seen.

He loved gardening, small engines, tinkering in a workshop, rain, and a properly mixed (with muddled lime, of course) Cuba Libre. I'm enjoying one right now in honor of him!

February

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:10:00 +0000

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!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:24:00 +0000

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!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:14:00 +0000

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!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:19:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:50:00 +0000

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!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:42:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:10:00 +0000

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?

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:28:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:30:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:06:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:29:00 +0000

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!

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:53:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:30:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:12:00 +0000

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

hays98@verizon.net (Joel Hays) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:25:00 +0000

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

(see post below)