Guide Reports

This is a sticky for guides to utilize as a means to let you folks know what's going on out on the water. In order to make this an effective thread, please refrain from off topic jibber-jabber. (off-topic jibber-jabber to be determined by the moderator)

Is this the year of the woman or what? In celebration, I decided to bring back my free outings for women fly fishers. I tentatively decided on a �Women�s Wednesday,� but we can always adjust that to a �Friday Free Fly,� for females if that works better for your busy schedules.

Anyway, all you have to do is pick your date, Wednesday or Friday, and contact me. That�s all it takes, and we�re good to go. I can take one or two women on the skiff, and we can go for as long or short a day as you want.

The carp are definitely active and should be about done with their spawn behavior this week - and will have a serious case of the munchies on Lake Ray Roberts. They've already been feeding though, so don't put off contacting me! The coming two weekends on Ray Roberts will be a problem for many of us, as there are two bass tournaments back-to-back on that lake. Time to try a different lake!

Yesterday on Lake Ray Roberts was especially good! It was the first time my client had fly fished for carp (next week will be the second), and he did exceptionally well, with ten carp and three buffs - I've never seen conditions any better than what we have now. Behavior of carp seems to be in a "post-spawn wind down" now. There's still some carp sex going on, but they are back to eating and looking to eat. The huge number of buffs was definitely a bonus, and a huge distraction!




THE DAM WAS OPEN YESTERDAY at Lake Ray Roberts, so you can imagine the habitat you see will soon be high and dry - unless rain gets ahead of the release again, or the Trinity system gets overwhelmed again, and they shut it back down.

I couldn't find your guide prices on your website. Did I miss something??

Jonathan

I believe this falls into the "jibber-jabber" category, which is forbidden.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...s_Indeed#UNREAD

The ups and downs on Lake Ray Roberts seem to be stuck in the up position right now (06-17-16). The flats are as flooded as they ever were, and the carp, buffalo, gar and bass are finding their way back into the shallows. They were skittish at first, but they seem to be calming down some now. I am amazed at how they are not any more spooked by a skiff than a wader, or a kayak. Very interesting.

The heat is something to deal with right now - drink lots of water on the water!

The clarity still leaves something to be desired, so don't be afraid to throw bright flies. The conditions should continue to improve until the water gets just too darn hot in the heat of the day.

Houston bayou report





The past couple of months has been all about rain and flows. Most of the bayous start to get good with flows less than 200cfs. Not than fishing isn't possible with higher flows. It can just be tougher with a lot less shots at Commons and a lot more shots at rising Grass carp. Just avoid flood stage it's not worth your life!
With the higher flows for Common carp and Smallmouth Buffalo go heavier to get the fly down. Instead of bead chain try lead eyes sizes micro to small depending on the current. As for Grass carp look for consistent risers and try dead drifting a dry fly. Watch for the eat!
Also look for bonus species like gar and Koi they've been showing up lately making for some added �trashy� fun!

Houstonflyfishing.com

The creeks and rivers are finally clearing up and the bass fishing is on. Morning and evening bite are really good but if heat doesn't run you off the popper bite is good if not great through out the day. The Spotted bass are super aggressive and so much fun! Forthose who love putting a whopping on sunfish now's a great time with very aggressive topwater bite. They're bedded up and eating all day.

Some of you might know I have "Pay-Per-View" content (because someone once said, nothing good was ever free), and free content. What I am doing here is putting on an excerpt and you can go read the rest of the story free on my site for the next 24 hours if you want to. I am not going to pimp it with links. I am not a saltwater guide, although I always having friends along to catch the fish. This was during July 7-13.

"Even though the tides were against me, I did manage to hit on a few rat reds, just to say I caught a red, and just to feel that drug - the tug. I did see some bigger fish, but since their entire eating pattern was frazzled, so were they. It was pretty darn hard to keep from spooking them, and there just were not enough of them to shake a stick at. Those that did eat, ate a fly I made from what I (think I) know about tying the famous �redfish crack fly.� I took the original pattern from what I know of how to tie the popular Texas Gulf Coast fly, and added an articulated tail section to give it more action (and make it just a little more difficult to tie!).

The reality of flies for redfish on the Texas Coast is that redfish will eat just about anything you throw at them. Hence the huge popularity of redfish! The only catch is; with expanding areas of grass along the inland waterways, fly selection is often based on the ability to keep the fly from snagging grass. I am not a fan of weed guards at all, so casting needs to be deadly accurate. Two three full strips of the line, and the fly is ready to pull, de-weed and cast again. Depending on the sensitivity of the redfish, you could go right back at the same fish with your next cast!"

Let me encourage you who may have thought the season ends when school starts - not true! We've had two epic days of carp on fly on Lake Ray Roberts - back-to-back - this past weekend. Saturday was a numbers day, as I was actually fishing and scouting just after the rains. I managed a PB of 12 common carp and again saw grass carp ranging from 30-60 pounds as best I can tell. And they eat flies, just not that day. I followed up on Sunday, again on the lookout, and riding with a friend on his East Cape, where I managed a 9-pound carp. I am leaving a lot of fish on the table for you guys, just in case you were sitting on the fence, or something else - come out and try a real challenge. There are a few weeks, to about a month left (if history serves) before they shut us down for another year. And trust me when I tell you: The rain clouds may make it hard to see the fish, but they're there and eating well.
Thanks for reading!

Yup, a bit long and rambling, but that's how fly fishing is sometimes, isn't it?

Lake Houston has been fishing really good. With a decent bass popper bite right at sunrise and a really good evening popper bite. Streamer bite is even better and producing a little bit of everything largemouth, spotted bass, channel catfish, Whitebass, crappie and the occasional gar.

Urban bayou are fishing really good with aggressive Grass carp and the occasional common and alligator gar.

Lake Conroe has been staying on for Bowfin and the carp are getting aggressive there to.

Now's a great time to come out for a paddle or wade trip! Fall is in the air and fish are turning on!
Houstonflyfishing.com for trips!

The look of that fish...Hahaha

We have some hybrid action revving up right now. It was quite unexpected for this time of year, but thanks to man, it can happen in January. I am still trying to dial in a pattern; there didn't seem to be one yet, but stay tuned!

The Whitebass run and crappie run has started on Lake Houston. We're catching some big male White's with some occasional female's in the mix. As for crappie and yellow bass when you find em expect to catch them until dark or until you're bored with it!! Bass are also starting to bed with mostly males guarding beds so far. For those Bowfin enthusiast like me they are also starting to bed!

As for the urban scene Grass carp are rising and aggressively taking anything green along with elk hair caddis dead drifted. The Common Carp have already started showing up in full force and are on the concrete flats in some decent 3 to 10 fish pods.

Spring is in the air and fish are biting in across Texas!

Houstonflyfishing.com for trips

I took advantage of this crazy good weather and hit Ray Roberts today. Found a cove densely populated with bass. Looks like we are headed toward spring after all! These weather days seem to last only a day, but if you have a flexible schedule - give me a call!

I think we are beginning to see we can push our calendars, our clocks, ahead in this age of warmer temperatures in North Texas. For example, who would've thought this particular hybrid bite would be on here and now? It's crowded, but it's a good bite. And if you're hungry, it's fairly decent tacos too!

DRONE FOOTAGE ROUGH CUT


Get HOOKED! Play HOOKY WITH A HOOK! - I am doing weekday discounts for any full-time Texas teacher who shows me their ID badge. Sorry, you do need a stinkin' badge! I will take $100 off a weekday outing, to show I support teachers who play hookey on the skiff chasing carp. It is really just that simple. And to see what�s happening as of yesterday, feel free to watch this rough cut of yesterday�s action on Lake Ray Roberts - drone footage by Cason Caraway. - Not as sharp as it should be for 4K -- bad decode at YouTube I guess.

I want to hunt sharks

How nice of you to think about teachers! I'm an old guy who has spent many years stamping out ignorance in a Texas public high school. It's a tough job but I love it. Even on a bad day when my patients is put to the test. I just remind myself that the parents are sending me the best kids they've got!

I come from a family of educators, and my wife is a retired teacher, so I LOVE teachers!

REPORT - According to my calendar, bass should be well into beds in coves on Ray Roberts. I caught a stray crappie way up in a northern Ray Roberts creek last weekend (pictured), but couldn't get a good consistent bite. I am hearing they came and went very fast this season, but somebody could prove me wrong. ALSO - opportunity is knocking below Ray Roberts Dam right now. I had shots at several buffs yesterday, but the sunny day made them fickle. If clouds roll in again this week, and the flow remains as is, that could be a good bite! Carp are doing their thing.

Fish seemed a little bit lost yesterday, after Sunday's wind storm, but they should be settling back in by the time weather gets bad again. I am offering some open half-days this month at a special rate. Contact me for more information via regular e mail if you like - texasflycaster@gmail.com THANKS, and feel free to step up!

Had to get out of that wind today, and dove into a small creek near Denton. The fish seemed to be feeling the weather, but we managed a few beautiful specimens. Not all beautiful fish are Golden!

The pace does quicken a bit these days on the flats! Fish are heading toward full on, but for now we are force-feeding them a bit. There's nothing that compares to seeing a daisy chain of carp coming at you from atop the skiff, and another and another ... Operators are standing by ...

Heck of a day out there on Ray Roberts today! Nothing like a first timer sticking some carp, and living to tell about it!

Amazing to have a sixteen-year-old on board - with no idea how hard this can be - makes it easy!

The gifts that just keep on giving. Ray Roberts was tough today, weather and some traffic, but not too tough for out-of-towner (Colombia, S.A.). I am about poled out, but it was well worth it today too! I'd sure like to see some locals step up as well!

Man! Are those winds relentless, or what? We still managed a few carp, but it was work! Stepped off the skiff, so as not to have to battle the wind yesterday (Sunday 6/11/17).

Took a fellow Reel Recovery friend out on the flats today. Lots of fish, and the weather? Unbelievable. We have some bass marauding the flats, and carp are there churning a second helping of the grassy vegetation into oblivion. Tyler caught this one early, and you probably know it's harder to catch this size than one of the "bigguns." The sun is dropping lower in the sky now, and spotting is a bit more difficult, but we made it through September last year, and I think we'll make it again this year. Then, it's on to BendBow.

I wasn't working, but there are tons of sunfish around the pier at Isle Du Bois Park on Lake Ray Roberts. It was a fun time, and surprising to see a big bass lurking around the pier as well! I went there with the intention of seeing if I could catch some of those little guys, and bending my little TFO glass rod (which I really like), and the only advice I can give is change flies often! These fish are experts at reading the menu, and adjusting their order.

It's a good day when you can get out early, the clouds break, and you can show out-of-town friends to fish on their skiffs. Conway Bowman on the bow of the East Cape on Lake Ray Roberts this morning. Pretty cool.

They're still there. Scattered, and more sensitive these days, but an eat nevertheless.

NORTH TEXAS - Nights are still a bit cold, and that makes water warming more gradual. There's plenty of water in lakes in the northern part of the TPWD Prairies & Lakes central Region, and I bet the Piny Woods Region has a fair share of water too. This fresh rainwater does help warming some. Whether or not the USACE decides to pre-release more water in front of spring rains? We won't know until it happens. And we all know those releases trigger some fun action at the dam releases. Those releases lead to a lot of confusion for lake fish though - as their habitat disappears overnight. When new water is up (>100% conservation pool) in the budding vegetation, it is a BEST CASE SCENARIO.

SO, we are caught in the taint right now; taint time to get serious about my specialty - shallow lake carp, but taint time to hibernate either! Days are getting longer, and nights are getting warmer.

God laughs at fishing predictions too, but the last two years have been the best of the last ten, and I don't see any reason for this year NOT TO FINISH in the TOP THREE of the last ten years.

This season I will be donating $50-dollars of every booking of my guide services to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort, and if you want to support that area of Texas, feel free to contact me, and I will recommend a few guides that could use your support (talk about a win-win deal!). The infrastructure in that area is coming back, and many guides have taken the extra measure of securing comfortable lodging for their paying guests. You can hit me at texasflycaster@gmail.com or call 940-380-0408.

Another one of those so called "slick productions." Feel free to call if you want more information. Send me fish pix if you have the time, and we will run those on the video (watch for details).

For my reporting, a successful report includes not just my report, but other guides as well. And last week (Comes out Fridays) the report had participation from Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast. It was a real help, and I hope these guys will send in their reports regularly in the future. Their information about the fly fishing conditions is in the video. I would hope some would book trips with these guides, as would help them and the local economy. Why not keep it local this year?


Courtesy - Danny Scarborough at www.houstonflyfishing.com

Courtesy - Captain Ken Jones at www.kenjofly.com

Courtesy - Captain Will Townsend at www.lightandfly.com

Here's an informational story on fly fishing for bass in Texas summer heat - https://bit.ly/2KaGf3L . I hope you enjoy it!

These rains the last few days have brought a huge influx of water to Ray Roberts, and it reminds me of those spring flood events. I doubt they will open the dam very much, as there's just too much water already downstream. So forget about those runs of sand bass and hybrids brought on by those dam flows. The flooded flats are full of greenery and plenty of carp - not at spring levels, but a lot. There are also bass feeding in the flats on drowning grasshoppers. The hoppers are everywhere looking to find a high spot. If you do go out, watch out for those floating balls of fire ants!

REPORT 060219

Plenty of carp are on the Ray Roberts flats this summer of 2018! Water clarity is off the charts. We are cutting days short to get in and out of the heat, which usually means we are off the water by 1 at the latest. The phenomenon of drum chasing flies is not letting up either. There seems to be more and more drum all the time, and they are game. I'll be fishing with a guy on one side of the lake and another guy on the other side sends me a phone pic of a drum they just caught - it's that good. make no mistake, the common carp are finally visible and eating. It's about time! Feel free to contact me any time for more information.

We are still catching carp on fly on Lake Ray Roberts, and it looks like it should - FINALLY! Imagine a carp with a tail as wide as a mountain brookie's entire length! You get the picture, right?

It looks like a long fall wind-down will be happening this year. If you are unfamiliar with what that means, it means we still have carp on the flats and they are thinning slowly this year. Many of the old flats are being exposed at current lake levels, and teh clarity is spectacular. Many are called, few are chosen. If you want a real challenge, here it is - the common carp - in all its beauty.

Chain Pickerel on the Fly:

Will it time for Chain Pickerel again, the water temp are in the 50’s and the Chain Pickerel are on the move, been fishing Caddo Lake and have found good number of in the river along the grass lines. We been catching them on our 4# Redington Hydrogen rig with a white 4” Leech we tie up, you want your fly to run 6-12 inch under the water. We also fish Lake Dangerfield State Park for Chain Pickerel.

ON THE FLY

If you like to Fly Fish for Bass, Crappie, Bream and Chain Pickerel we offer all level for beginner or have been fly fishing for years.
Fly Fishing Guide Service here on East Texas Lake: Caddo, Pines, Gilmer.

1.) Bass - Year Round
2.) Bream – seasonal
3.) Crappie – seasonal
4.) Chain Pickerel – seasonal

Photos:

March, is the time here in East Texas to be on the water with your Fly rod in hand, crappie have started to move in for the spawn, they have set up in the 5-8 feet on water getting ready to move in to the 1-3 feet to sapwn.
It March 19th and some have all ready move in.

August has been good for sunfish and bass on Big Cypress Bayou and Lake of The Pine. we use our 1wt fly rods most of the time and or client just love catching bream on them.

We have 6 day open in Oct on Big Cypress Bayou, that part of Caddo Lake.
This is for Bass and Bream.

Something of an October renaissance under way ... the times they are a changin'.

Crappie and Yellow belly bass:
Dec-n-Jan on Caddo Lake
Fly fishing Caddo for Crappie and yellow belly bass in the river from Johnson ranch to the main lake, we use a 3wt or 4wt 9’ fly rod.
We us RIO Sink/Tip Fly line Float/Hover/Intermrdiate/sink-3 designed for fishing 2-4 feet deep with 9ft Fluorocarbon tapered leader with Our weighted crappie flies we tie.
You will be fishing in 9-13 feet of water and try to get your flies down to 6 or 7 feet.
Good luck and have a blessed day.
fishinwdennis

Our friend and guide Danny Scarborough is doing all the good just a bit south of DFW. It all kicks in earlier down south, you know. So if you are in Houston, or ready to hit the road, look Danny up - or contact me!

Maybe this rain will finally give up and move on? Either way, you can count on me to talk on and on about fly fishing anywhere any time!

River flows that were up are down, and those that were down are now up! Our +Conservation Pool lakes are now being drawn down, and that is a super positive turn of events. The only word I keep hearing to describe this year, and I hear it again and agin, is "strange!" Strange days indeed. COMING SOON: Paluxy River Part 1
CO

Thanks to Danny Scarborough for the float! Sure as heck beats going Soggy Bottom Boys, but cooling off is absolutely necessary! Check out the "Know Before You Go" that came out before this as well - BUT it's more of a "podcast" than a video.

Ha, I know right where that is. I'll be there in Oktober.

Was in the Port O'Connor system last week, and the area was inundated with 20-inches of rain prior to my arrival a week ago. It showed! Lots of fresh water shook up the bay system, and the dead mangroves (from the freeze) stretched on for as far as the eye can see. No tailing reds, no pods and the only two I caught were prospecting conventionally. Tough TOUGH tough. Did make a reare catch on fly though - a MULLET!

Nice mullet and red. I have caught a few monster mullet on light tackle around fish cleaning stations on small chunks of fish guts and a small hook. Never heard of one on a fly. Gotta be some king of record for fly fishing.

Funny thing is there are TPWD records for mullet on fly! And that one (I think) would have been a State record!?

It's been awhile, but maybe someone will get something from this while holed up this weekend due to North Texas weather! As always, feel free to fast forward! Lots of different topics in this one.

In about 6 weeks it will be time to get ready again to go after crappie your fly rod.
If you like to try your luck on crappie on the fly give us a PM.
Dennis

I had never been on the stretch of the Brazos below and near Granbury. Man, I have been missing something! I went out with guide Greg Welander on his Hog Island Skiff last week, as we were prospecting for a guide trip he had coming up later in the week. We found few sand bass, but a few of these FAT Striper. They were kind of hit-or-miss cruising around some of the more large and open pools. They hit my infamous black/black Clouser (we tried a lot of flies and a lot of colors).THese guys were twins at 20-inches and five pounds apiece. https://www.upstreamonthefly.com/

This was recorded a couple weeks ago, but it was good clean fun!

We are also looking at some of the best carp in years - on Lake Ray Roberts - right now!
Be sure to check out my website for details, and if you subscribe to my Patreon Channel at https://patreon.com/flyfishing - you will get a lot of detailed and mapped information that has never been presented elsewhere in public, and it never will either!

Plenty of reporting on the fly scene here in North Texas and down to the Texas Gulf Coast. There is some gear stuff thrown in - FastForward if that's not your thing is all I can say.

13th Annual World Championship Bass on the Fly.
May 07,2022
Top water was good all day.
We fish the stump in 3 to 5 feet all day, we had to fish in the wind to find the fish.
If offer trips on Caddo, Pines and Gilmer Lake.

The bass fishing has pick up in Sept and Oct on caddo lake and lake o the pine, top water has been good all day. Bream has been good also.

Ray Roberts today, looks as good as I have ever seen it. The lake level is good, and it is giving the carp, gar and bass a whole lot of room to roam and forage. With a little luck in the weather department? We may just have one great year. Caught this one unaware today -

Looks like image files are disappearing?

The whole Ray Roberts thing is bonkers! We have great conditions and the fish are cooperating this coming week (coming off spawn). This is not easy, but it is certainly easier than chasing carp through the submerged woods and in rivers with flow and heat.

Awesome thread!

Just got this Colorado report from a customer there:

We've been fishing the eagle river daily with a really good bite on streamers. It spiked last night because of some heavy rain though. The green has been decent but they are bumping it to 8600 below flaming gorge starting tomorrow. When that comes back down next week it will be on fire 🔥. We've been seeing mormon crickets and cicadas already up there 2 weekends ago. The upper Colorado salmonfly bite is on and same at the north platte. So all in all there are options which is good for this time of year. I hope the fishing in Texas is good too! I haven't been down there in a couple of years.

Time to switch gears! Weather has brought us a new season, and put the wind-down on the old one. Amazing just how long the carp bite lasts - in North Texas - compared to a generation ago, isn't it?

I am on the lookout for a Spanish-speaking fly fisher who wants to be in front of the camera, and help me bring more hispanics into this sport! If you are HIM or HER (or a couple) - and like to be in front of the camera? Let's get it going! This season is lining up to be a very good one.
¡Estoy buscando un pescador con mosca de habla hispana que quiera estar frente a la cámara y ayudarme a atraer más hispanos a este deporte! ¿Si eres ÉL o ELLA (o una pareja) y te gusta estar frente a la cámara? ¡Pongámoslo en marcha! Esta temporada se perfila como muy buena.