Monday Morning Sidewalk – Texas Fly Fishing Report
texas fly fishing #flyfishing report saltwater fly fishing texas trout fly fishing #saltwaterflyfishing
READY OR NOT HERE IT COMES
Ready or not, it’s fall! The time has changed, and all around Texas the weather has also followed suit. Not only is change here, it’s still changing! Here in North Texas we are looking at a major rain event Tuesday, election day, and maybe even Wednesday. What we call a “major” rain event used to be a heavy rain shower, but in the new order of things people talk about building arks if three inches are in the forecast. High winds will be continuing, probably to the point of lake wind warnings the next few days.
Even while we were in San Angelo last week, old people talked about old people (now that IS old) saying, “It always rains.” That would logically cover the last century when I do the math on the “old people.” And we all know the twentieth century was the wettest on record. That was then.
THIS IS NOW
If you hear grinding that’s the gears shifting in North Texas fly fishing. We always get some warmer days thrown in the mix, and I will be jumping on those days to see what we can do about smallmouth bass on Texoma as well as testing a theory I have on smallmouth bass on Lake Ray Roberts. We know they’re there (on Ray Roberts), we’re just trying to figure out where there is. Somebody went to a lot of effort to stock their own little spot with Texoma smallmouth on Ray Roberts, and they deserve to be found.
COLD WEATHER COLD WATER
If you are ready for coldwater species, such as Guadalupe River rainbow trout, then you could attend the Fort Worth Fly Fishers (FWFF) monthly meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, this Tuesday. The guest speaker will be Chris Johnson, who I have mentioned many times over the years as the owner of Living Waters Fly Fishing fly shop in Round Rock, Texas. I highly recommend you attend this event to gain some information about fly fishing Chris’ portion of Texas.
I’m involved with the FWFF organization, and we are still planning to record guest speakers for archiving on YouTube, but I will not make that meeting as I continue my stint out in the Middle. Be sure to check out the FWFF website, as that is one I am voluntarily working on – to bring to life – in the personal interest of seeing just how good a club website can be, and how attractive it can be for a younger crowd of fly fishers.
We were in San Angelo, Texas, last weekend to peddle Cimarrona products at the Chicken Farm Arts Center monthly First Saturday show, as special guests of the show. You may have missed my story on San Angelo last year, and there was no time to fish the Concho again this year, but here is the link to last year’s story –
The month of November contains a special day that kind of found its way into the fly fishing history books of Texas Fly Caster, and that’s Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving. This year, it’ll be a saltwater Black Friday – either doing the flounder run (if that is happening), or chasing reds somewhere somehow. Temperatures also have a lot to do with the behavior of flounder along the Texas Gulf Coast this time of year, and last year (not on Black Friday) the run never aligned with us being there.
November also signifies the full-on stocking of trout in Oklahoma, with the nearest site being the Blue River outside Tishomingo, Oklahoma. A couple of Oklahoma locations are stocked year around, while there is nowhere in Texas that TPWD stocks year-around with trout. While Oklahoma has wised up, and stopped announcing specific dates trout are stocked, Texas widely publicizes their stocking dates for a different set of reasons.
Texas stocks trout mainly for kids to have a chance to easily catch fish in their local ponds – in an effort to get children hooked on fishing. The only exception to that is the Guadalupe River, which is not only stocked by TPWD, but also by Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited which actually invests in larger trout in their (cold months) stockings.
Oklahoma has become a little more “game” in their stocking efforts as of late, and by not announcing dates they can throw the Home Depot bucket brigade off their stride. A side bonus for Oklahoma is they don’t have to deal with a rash of calls about poachers every time they stock – if the usual suspects don’t know when those fish dumps are going to happen. According to what I’ve read, Oklahoma stockers are dropped off hungry and drugged (sounds like a teenager!), and are easily caught at first. I don’t know about the first, but I do know they are stupid easy to catch – fresh out of that tube, or off that truck they come flying out of!
As soon as I am out of the Middle, I will be taking you on a trip to Beaver’s Bend to check out the lay of the land, and see how the fish are biting. I have heard rumors of Blue River stocking already starting, so we will do that soon as well.
As for Texas stocking rainbow trout, I always run that schedule on this website, and will do so again — for the benefit of those with children they want to take fishing with a great chance of CATCHING some of those thousands of rainbow trout scattered across Texas.
WHAT I DIDN’T SAY ON THIS VIDEO –
Consistently colder weather means the Texas Gulf Coastal flats will be clearing off as game fish find it too cold for their liking and just make brief appearances before dropping back into deeper more mild temperature waters. So it won’t be long before you’ll be looking for fish in those guts and potholes where temperatures moderate a bit.
BE SURE TO VISIT:
- Roger Allen Clay Starkeeper Gallery in San Angelo, Texas – watch the end of the video to see Roger’s work!
- Chicken Farm Art Center San Angelo, Texas
- More about San Angelo Texas and fly fishing
Category: Culture on the Skids
