Hello, I�m 61 and relatively new to fly fishing but have fallen in love with it. I don�t want to fish any other way now. So much to learn about it but it�s such a wonderful process. Haven�t salt water fly fished yet but want to very soon. Any secrets or good places to catch or practice fly fishing in or around the Pearland area ?

Welcome to the World of fly fishing. It definitely gets in your blood...in my case since I was 10 years old, LOL.

One of the best places to learn the game is a local neighborhood pond...and they are all over the Houston area. Get permission first and every time you go learn more about fly fishing.

I used to live south of Houston and there were numerous private ponds/lakes to fish in. Lakes of Danbury was one of the best, some really great fishing at one time but not sure in last few years. Other spots Quantum Lakes out of Cold Springs, Ellington Tree Farm out by Ellington between Houston and Clear Lake, Simmons Lake over near Columbus...just a few I've heard of and fished at one time or other.

I wish you the best and many years of enjoyment of our great, great sport.

I picked up fly fishing a little later in life, but it�s about the only kind of fishing I do these days. I live in southern Brazoria county on a private freshwater lake, but fly fish the public saltwater around here quite a bit mainly from a stand up kayak or a friend�s center console. But I will wade the surf at times and have a few spots I�ve shore fished that I will list. Many People still think of fly fishing as mainly about cold water trout, but really any fish that routinely take lures and some that don�t will take a fly, that�s been my experience.

First, you might look at Tom Bass park close to Pearland (Beltway and 288). I never have been there, but know there is a good sized lake and the shoreline looks clear enough to cast, at least from Google Earth. Bass pro has a pond. Virtually every development these days has a pond or two. It might take a little scouting to see which are accessible and candidates for fly casting/fishing. There�s the concrete bayous of Houston. Carping, sight casting, with a fly rod is a big thing there. There�s a number of public parks along Clear creek near Clear Lake. Not sure if any would be great for casting of fishing, but they might be worth a look.

If you want to come all the way to Freeport, the old river area near the police station and high school has some public shoreline and I�ve fly cast and fished off the bank there. There�s monster ribbon fish that like to tear up clousers, plus some good trout in there at times. There�s a pier in the town of Oyster creek on Oyster Creek, Speckled trout and redfish move through there but the pier is often occupied. There�s a little section on Salt Lake in the BNWR that offers shore fishing, same for Bastrop Bayou at the Bridge by Demi John. Shy pond in Lake Jackson has open space. Technically, your are supposed to be fishing with a juvenile to Fish as an adult there. I doubt anyone would tell you not to fish there in the park portion. I hardly ever see anyone fishing there when I drive by. There�s a couple of spots on Oyster Creek in lake Jackson but I wouldn�t call them easy to learn on as the trees are tight.

Any kind of kayak or canoe will open up a lot more water and there�s some lightweight models out there if lugging 70 or 80 pounds of plastic is an issue. I fish with a heavy WS Commander 140, but the Jackson Kilroy LT looks similar and weighs closer to 50 pounds. There might be even lighter models out there if you ever want to go the kayak route.

Wow, thank you so much for all the great information. I really need to just hit the water and get some practicing in. I practice some at Challenger 7 Park. Nice open banks there. Would love to hit some salt water flats one day and try salt water. I�ve got an entry level 5 wt and a 7/8 wt. rod and reel from Cabelas. Nothing fancy but I like the way it feels. As I progress I�d like to upgrade to maybe a smoother system.

As I�m finding out, it�s from the reel to the fish that requires the skill and talent, not so much the reel. It pretty much just holds line. Of corse, I know many have better drag systems and bells and whistles. I�ve always been a �give me the basics and let me go� kinda guy myself.

Listening to you and many others on here is really inspiring. Though I�m a rookie, I feel fly fishing is becoming a lost art. I want to just soak it up like the sun. HopefullyI will find others on here to fish and learn from. There is a member on here, MassAction I believe is his name, has graciously offered to let me tag along one day. I�ve got to clear my schedule so I can get with him.

Damon Seven lakes is not far from you and has a lot of bass and a crappie pond. There is a membership fee but the owner is a fly fishing instructor or maybe president of the Houston Fly fishing assoc.. I heard he had a stroke a few years ago but he used to be out all the time. There are always other fly fishing guys out there. They have a web site check it out. The guys name is Mike Arnold.