Todays report: Dink fest as usual. Landed 4 keepers out of the tons I caught. Pretty fun on the fly rod though....













Then there was a fire out break about 500 yards long and burned for 4 hours or so. It was in the swamp part so the fire dept couldnt get to most of it. Came almost all the way up to Miller rd from the north end of Hubbard.

Cool photos man,

I just recieved my first fly outfit from santa and while it is not from Orvis or anything, it looks to be a great first combo.

I live in Garland about 5 miles from Rowlett creek and the gun range spot.

I have usually had fun and success with a 2 pound ultra light spinning reel. Mainly sandies and a few crappie on minnows and yellow or white plain jigs.

While at Bass Pro this afternoon returning said outfit, (taking the reel release apart is a BAD idea BTW), and thanking santa for buying the extended warranty , they just gave me a whole new set, box and all, I bought two flies that were in the 99 cent bin and they kinda look like a clouser.

They are for saltwater (at least that is what the sign said), but since I have floating line I think that the extra weight (.6 grams) will work out ok.

Any suggestions for a newbie (I can cast pretty well, just a bit rusty) for Rowlett creek?

Last time I was at the Gun Range spot there was so much construction debris down there that it was hard to get to some of my old spots.

I have lived and played in alot of Garland creeks growing up and was also wondering if there is anything in Duck Creek?

thanks
KYLE

Right now I am throwing 1/80th oz jigs in black/chart and white/chart w/ pink heads that I powder paint. 6 lb flourocarbon tippit. There is to much debris and snags in the creek (Rowlett Creek) so I use an indicator to keep it right at the depth the fish are that day. usually 3-4 ft, but that might change after the flooding and temps dropping. Put your fly right next to the debris piles, trees, or logs and you can basically just wait till you get a hit w/o any movement. Otherwise, after about 10 secs w/o a bite, I'll give the fly a little twitch and wake it u a bit. The 1/80th's sink slowwwww. It takes about 4 -8 sec's for them to get 4 ft so when you cast, cast the fly past the target and have your indicator land next to the target and let the fly swing back under the indicator, that way you wont miss a bite while it is sinking. The crappie are hitting like blue gills and not really pounding it and running off, so if that indicator does something you didnt make it do, set the hook. Roll casting is a must there and bring lots of flies due to the trees will eat you up if you miss a strike and it flies in the trees. I don't think they will be thick behind the gun range yet, maybe one more flood and they will be there, other than that they have made it to Firewheel Bridge.

Thanks for the advice Carey!

That is good info to know since I do plan on losing a bunch at first.

I just bought a guys fly collection (it was SO cheap I had to do it) so i have about 200 flies of all sorts.

I had planned on going with the good old fashioned yellow jigs like you described above.

I just need to get some smaller ones

I have one more question if you don't mind.

Since I am on a budget and leaders are like 5 bucks each for just a few feet, would it be ok to just use 2 or 4 lbs test mono as a leader?

I can tie the mono onto the fly line (nail knot) and it seems to work well with the Yellow jigs just fine, at least in the front yard.

I know the sandies hit em fine on spinning gear like this and since I KNOW I will lose leaders fast down there, I thought I might save some money using line that I already had.

Thanks
Kyle

The nail knot idea might not be the best, you'll have to tie a new leader on several times. I know almost everyone here uses mono 100% of the time as leaders. I'd say go with 4 or 6lb mono with a perfection loop at the end. Make a loop in the end of your fly line, hold it and tie 2 nail knots on it to keep the loop closed and tight, then apply some kind of glue(I like the UV cure products) and connect to your leader with a loop to loop connection. That way changing leaders is so much easier.

Hey K MC

you can definately throw mono all day

if you're a newbie we'll tell you your accuracy will suffer
after you've been at it a while, fly fishing, we won't have to tell you this.

Also instead of mono tie on straight fluorocarbon line if you can find a few yards of something light weight as your fly will sink down, oh, 1/100 of 1% faster

Agreed. In the creeks I use mainly mono as tippit, you dont need tapered leader because the flies are heavier than a trout fly.....

I used to use this knot for connecting my fly line to leader. It allows for quick leader changes, is easy to tie, and has never pulled out on me. It's about perfect for what you're talking about doing.


The red line would be your leader with a perfection loop tied in it. The green line is your fly line with an overhand knot tied in the end. Run the fly line up through the loop, wrap it around underneath, then tuck it under the fly line that's over the loop. Pull tight and go fishing. The overhand knot keeps the fly line from slipping out of the loop.

AWESOME ADVICE guys!

My Dad suggested glue as well and I thought that he was joking around. This validates that idea.
Rigging right now for a trip to the creek tomorrow.

THANKS!!

Kyle

Brother you can hook up with the local group of fly fishers. FFF.org can help locate a club. Gulf Coast Chapter of FFF has groups all over TX and LA and there are links to everyone. Flyfishing is way more fun that chucking meat or cast-n-crank, cast-n-crank...cast-n-crank...cast-n-crank...cast-n-crank...

http://fedflyfishers.org/
I'm not a member, but fff.org brings you somewhere else.

thanks for the updated URL
FFF.org takes you to some site about nonstick coating.
Being an avid reader I poked around a bit until my eyes glazed over with boredom. You are not missing ANYTHING by not going there.

As an avid fisherman since I was little (only 35 now) I have always eshewed going for "Record Breakers" and have concentrated solely on ultra-ultra light.

Crappie and sandies on 2 lb is more fun to me than a 10 lbs Bass on 40 lbs super-braid and a 10:1 ratio baitcaster. In fact I find it EASIER to use a fly rod than a bait caster!

I'll take ANY spinning reel or Zebco 808 over a baitcaster any day.

I caught 4 sunfish out of a little public pond over in mesquite yesterday. Total weight of well under a pound but fun as hell on a fly rod! I didn't even break a leader....prob because the fish were all so small. I used a tiny fly (sorry i don't know what kind) that had tiny feather wings and a little yellow and black.

I was only there for about an hour (I hate daylight savings time) and had a blast.

Of course there were no trees to get in the way and the pond was only a few feet deep but it was a good first outing all in all.

thanks for all the advice fellas,
kyle

Congrats on the crappie Tarponfly.

Kyle, why not check into getting a furled leader? That is what I use exclusively now. You can use one for a few months to a year, before it needs changing. I mostly use mono for tippet.

how many 10 lb bass you caught ?



















thats what I thought

lol