Recommendations for trout stockings for a noob

Hello all,

First of all, I am mainly a bass person and never done any trout fishing so am a HUGE NOOB at this.

I have been wanting to try fly fishing for trout this year for the tpwd stockings. However, I have never really trout fished before so i have no idea on what i should throw at them or what to look for in the water.
I have heard to tie/get some brown pellet looking flies since that is all those trout have really seen but would like to have an assortment.

What kind of presentation/action would I give the different flies?(I normally use poppers or streamers when bass fishing) I'm assuming for pellets let them drift along?

What do I look for in the water when I target them? current breaks? cover? what about ponds where there is no current?
I was hoping to go to the Lewisville trail when they stock it(never been there)

I am planning on bringing spinning gear with inline spinners/small spoons/grubs and maybe some live bait with me just in case I get too frustrated with the fly

Any help and recommendations is much appreciated.

Can't help much with the streams as I only fish the ponds, but if the water is clear I have a lot of luck with small (#14) olive beadhead woolly buggers. Just strip it in. Also beadhead zug bugs are good. #12 would probably work too.

If the water is muddy I don't have much luck with anything, people mainly catching on bait in those ponds.

Check out COAF Field Team on Youtube. They're from Allen and he's posted a bunch of videos fishing the stocked ponds in your area. I believe this is him fshng84

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnNeD832-IKXMeGGkSeQQHA

Thanks ifeliciano! fshng84 is my username and COAF Field Team is the YouTube channel I support.

Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area or LLELA can be tough to fish at times. Here is a playlist to give you an idea what the area looks like,
LLELA Playlist

For other suggestions that may help... added the playlists below. Hope they help!
- When starting out fly fishing, start with a quality fly line, then fly rod... reel unless drag is needed, can wait till later. Videos to demo what the concept.
Fly Line Matters

- Videos from 2019 trips fishing for trout to give an idea what is out there for trout fishing opportunity in our area.
2019 Rainbow Trout Fishing

- Videos from 2019 of pond fishing in our area... give an idea of how we fly fish / fish ponds that readily translate to trout fishing.
2019 Pond Fishing

- Videos from past Winter Stockings... may include some in 2019.
Winter Trout Stocking Highlights

- Videos on the Bubble Fly Rig for those instances when we do not have a fly rod but still want to fish flies.
Bubble Fly Rigs

I appreciate all the help! Happy new year all! and tight lines

what type/brand of fly line would you recommend that is decent on the more affordable side. im not looking to spend a ton of money, but still get somewhat some quality.

i have a 9ft 6wt rod combo, i got from cabelas, i normally use for bass fishing. I am still using stock fly line that it came with although haven't fished it as much as i would like to. (heck i havent bass fished as much as i have been wanting to in general)

I use 5x fluoro leader when fishing nymphs for trout. In faster water I start with a Frenchie fished under a strike indicater. In slower water, a Prince under the indicator or a bugger. Don't really fish still waters, but if I did would probably use bugger.

What rod mfr/model are you using... main reason asked is I have a personal preference for a fast action rod and will line it with the indicated line weight or one heavier.

Currently using a 9wt TFO Lefty Kreh Signature Series II fly rod with an 225 grain OPST Commando Skagit Head and coated mono running line. A newer version of this setup has an integrated Skagit Head and running line - OPST Commando Head Smooth.

It's used for one-handed spey casting but it can be overhead cast, too. The heavy weight forward shooting head makes for easier casting especially, roll casts and switch casts.

Else, as a general rule, I look for sales on WF fly lines from RIO, Orvis, and Scientific Angler... not had any issue with any of these. Certain there are others that work just as well. Would defer to others on their suggestions.

Not sure what all they still have in stock in the store or on the website but Orvis has been doing a close out sale on all of their Hydros lines for $29 and Clearwater lines for $19. Those lines were priced at $89 and $59 respectively. I know they have sold through a lot of them but it may be worth calling the Dallas or Plano Orvis stores and seeing what they have.

I think it was a RLS+ fly combo(couldnt tell you much other than that off the top of my head). I have had it a couple yrs but only used it a handful of times.

Unfortunately Orvis is sold out on 6 weight lines that were on sale. However, this is usually a pretty good time of year to find sales on fly lines. Sierra.com has Scientific Anglers Mastery GPX on sale for $29.99. This is a very high quality line, usually selling for $75. Madison River Fishing Company has some Scientific Anglers and Airflo lines on sale for $39.99. These are two companies that I look to whenever I need a new fly line. Sierra usually has some lines at very good prices.

Larry

newbie question here. I looked online "best fly line" and I kept seeing this one on the more recent reviews(2018-2019).

SF Weight Forward Floating Fly Line

is it any good? its super cheap so I'm very doubtful but somewhat interested in the price

I wouldn't say there is a "best" fly line, or fly rod for that matter. As stated, the SA Mastery GPX lines are nice, especially for 29.99. I've casted the GPX series on my rods a few times, and they felt good. But 90% of my lines are Rio. It's just personal preference I think.

As far as the "SF Weight Forward Floating Fly Line ", quality wise, I can't say it would be much better than the line you got with your RLS combo. It would depend on the taper, and the size flies you want to throw.

The SF fly line is from China. This is not to say it is a bad line, but overall I have been markedly underwhelmed by some of the Chinese lines I have cast. When you can get lines like the GPX or Airflo or Rio on sale, always go with them. I did spend $30 on a KastKing fly line and was surprised at how well it cast. At least while dry. After fishing with it for about 15 minutes, the line started sticking to the rod shaft which made it very difficult to shoot line. In fly lines you generally get what you pay for unless you can find a sale. One brand I really like may be the exception to the rule. Barrio fly lines from Scotland are excellent and cost less than $40 for most of the lines. Mike Barrio designs all his line tapers and has one of England's largest line manufacturers produce them for him to his specifications. There is no middleman; all lines are shipped directly from Mike's shop, free shipping worldwide.

Larry

I ended up going to Sierra.com and ordering some Scientific Anglers Mastery GPX line
Now I just need to tie up some small olive buggers and pellet looking flies (if i remember how.... ) and get out

lets hope Im out more this year haha

I agree completely on typically getting what you pay for. I would rather have a more expensive line and cheaper rod/reel combo than the other way around.

Head to waterloo in Denison! Trout hitting good today!