How Many Monday’s Are There?
#flyfishing texas woodlands fly fishing lake ray roberts guide fly fishing for bass
Lake Ray Roberts fly fishing brings spring flings at substantial largemouth bass.
Welcome to wherever you are this morning! I trust you arrived safely, never on time, but safely.
WEATHER
If you are like me, then you are already long tired of the weather. Yes, it sucks, and yes, it’s still not over. We got hail. We got drought. We got rain, and we got lakes that didn’t budge an inch because of it. Enough said. Let’s move on.
CLEARING
I stormed out to Ray Roberts late last week, to do a little recon for carp in the new habitat settings that are presenting now, and although I saw a grand total of two carp, I also saw, and caught, all the largemouth bass I wanted.
The clearing water at Ray Roberts – clearing everywhere, even on the perennially murky south end – means seeing largemouth bass, seeing their bedding clouds, and catching bass in the three to six pound range at will.
This is the new normal for Lake Ray Roberts, and the bass guys know it. I had two bullet bass boats come zipping, full rooster tail, into the same coves I was in, shut it down, and proceed to pound it HARD. They know.
This clearing has changed all the equations, the “patterns” for Lake Ray Roberts bass on fly in a way that makes it actually easier to catch your best ever bass. My best five (two hours fishing) would have come in just under fifteen pounds last week. My strategy is to catch, and release these guys as quick as possible – to save their energy. I think that is a fair way to fish for bass this time of year.
Chunks like this bring the fight to fly fishers who are willing to engage the battle.
I will be offering half-day outings once the weather straightens out again – easy access, walk-in trips including all the strategy, knowledge, fly selection one needs to catch these bucket mouths wherever you see them.
There’s a good article in local Lone Star Outdoor News about how things have changed this year – “Texas Bass Spawning, Not Spawning on Sam Rayburn,” that echoes the situation on many Northern Texas lakes.
HOUSTON AREA
Go ahead and pull the trigger on going after grass carp in the Houston bayous area! I am receiving lots of photographs of double-digit grassies being caught, and can refer you to a friend who may be able to get you on them if you’re bewildered at seeing these monsters and not catching them. Not only does he have the locations and strategy, he has some killer flies that work.
Fishing in The Woodlands this past Saturday tells me that largemouth bass are on there too, but fly selection needs to be more closely based on available food sources; if you are fishing a neighborhood pond, think more about leaches and crawfish (craw colors). Throwing a Clouser in a pond with no lake-like baitfish can be a losing strategy.
END NOTE – We’re hoping the weather will relent for the remainder of the spring, as we reel from 4K damage to one car, and the need for a new roof. Reports may get unavoidably spotty, but when you see “FISH FLASH” – that’s the cue to put your rod together and GET OUT AND FISH! The best FISH FLASHes come by subscribing to the Texas Fly Caster twitter account @texasflycaster. The only way it gets easier would be if I hooked the fish on your fly while you weren’t looking and threw it out there. Seriously.
Category: Adventure, East Texas, Fishing Reports, North Texas
