Fishing Megathread: Looking For Big Girls Who swallow

[Born to Run 6569]

I've never fished the Narrows, but have heard good things.  I fished Shafer Bend last year and caught several female whites and some largemouth.  It was nice because there weren't any people fishing.
Yesterday, I went out to The Steps on the San Gabriel above Lake Granger.  Didn't catch anything and didn't see any fish caught.  There were some whites running early a couple weeks ago, but I think the two days of cold weather cut off the run.  This weekend should be okay with the increasing temps this week.
I only fly fish and have no problems catching fish if they are there.  I use minnow patterns like shallow water clousers and bc streamers.  For conventional tackle, I would use white, white/blue, white/silver crappie jigs.  I prefer 1/32 oz., but 1/16 should work as well.  Fish the jigs right off of the bottom.  You can also drift the jigs under a bobber, just make sure they are deep enough.
I try to find a concentration point as opposed to open water.  Once I locate the hole, I'll fish it over and over.  Eventually, a school will hit the hole and I can catch several in a row.
Good luck and be sure to give a report - good or bad.

Eta - looking at the aerial, I'm not sure the spawning whites can make it up to Shaffer Bend this year. The Narrow might not work either. The Slab at Kingsland might be a better bet.
 
 

Thank you for this detailed advice, much obliged. I definitely prefer fly myself, but with noobs I'm bringing an ultra light spinning set up with 6lb.

The park at The Narrows is closed indefinitely so I'll look at the San Gabe or upper LBJ. Travis is too low still.

[Born to Run 6569]

Go here if you can.  Not a bad hike.  The hiking dude is where you start/park, sandbar to NE is where to fish. 
 

Appreciate it, I'm going to give that a go.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

11 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

2 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Go here if you can.  Not a bad hike.  The hiking dude is where you start/park, sandbar to NE is where to fish. 
 

Appreciate it, I'm going to give that a go.

Caught on February 1st at that spot by my fishing buddy 

[Born to Run 6569]

Caught on February 1st at that spot by my fishing buddy 

Awesome man, thank you again. I'm pretty sure I have that same reel as a back up 5wt. I really like it just fine. Drag is smooth, only beef is the increments of drag pressure kinda go from free spool to way to much drag with only a few clicks. My kiddo cranked it up a few too many and lost a nice trout on Sat. (my fault for not managing that more with instruction)

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

8 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Caught on February 1st at that spot by my fishing buddy 

Awesome man, thank you again. I'm pretty sure I have that same reel as a back up 5wt. I really like it just fine. Drag is smooth, only beef is the increments of drag pressure kinda go from free spool to way to much drag with only a few clicks. My kiddo cranked it up a few too many and lost a nice trout on Sat. (my fault for not managing that more with instruction)

Other tips, if you leave your ride and hike, don’t leave anything of value or really anything at all in sight in your car.  Look like you’re poor. 

[Born to Run 6569]

Other tips, if you leave your ride and hike, don’t leave anything of value or really anything at all in sight in your car.  Look like you’re poor. 

That's some useful info, I'll come through with my daily driver. I forget what life is like outside of west austin.
And I'll cap my homie in the knee and run if I hear dueling banjos.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

37 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

That's some useful info, I'll come through with my daily driver. I forget what life is like outside of west austin.
And I'll cap my homie in the knee and run if I hear dueling banjos.

😅

[hookemATL 11702]

9 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Look like you’re poor. 

[Born to Run 6569]

Go here if you can.  Not a bad hike.  The hiking dude is where you start/park, sandbar to NE is where to fish. 
 

Fished this section from 645 to 945. One passed out young man in his car at the put in when we arrived. Guessing he did the responsible thing after an overnight shift as a surgeon at the ER saving lives, and took a nap before heading home and is totally not doing Fent. As such, we took all valuables with us; more people showed up later. No issues.

Fishing was slow. Fished nearly to the steps. Lots of the minnow bucket crew out, but also some fly, and artificial guys. I had 3 males on a white wooly bugger with a big bead head, and a nice gaspergoo (lol) swinging through a riffle. Gave me a laugh and adds yet another species I've caught on woolies. They catch everything. Fish were scattered, 1 here, 1 there. Buddy fishing conventional bagged 3 as well. Same deal catch one, pound the hole, heh, relocate, catch one repeat.

The few fish around appeared to be as available from the steps to the bridge. Just very few and scattered.

Thanks for all the tips.

Should turn on any day with the warm weather. Probably tomorrow.

I'd rather fish for trout or moving water, but it's something.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

11 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

Fished this section from 645 to 945. One passed out young man in his car at the put in when we arrived. Guessing he did the responsible thing after an overnight shift as a surgeon at the ER saving lives, and took a nap before heading home and is totally not doing Fent. As such, we took all valuables with us; more people showed up later. No issues.

Fishing was slow. Fished nearly to the steps. Lots of the minnow bucket crew out, but also some fly, and artificial guys. I had 3 males on a white wooly bugger with a big bead head, and a nice gaspergoo (lol) swinging through a riffle. Gave me a laugh and adds yet another species I've caught on woolies. They catch everything. Fish were scattered, 1 here, 1 there. Buddy fishing conventional bagged 3 as well. Same deal catch one, pound the hole, heh, relocate, catch one repeat.

The few fish around appeared to be as available from the steps to the bridge. Just very few and scattered.

Thanks for all the tips.

Should turn on any day with the warm weather. Probably tomorrow.

I'd rather fish for trout or moving water, but it's something.

Good grief.  Sounds like a solid day in Williamson county. Props on recognizing the gaspergoo, I’ve gotten a few of those top breathers there.

[Born to Run 6569]

Good grief.  Sounds like a solid day in Williamson county. Props on recognizing the gaspergoo, I’ve gotten a few of those top breathers there.

My buddy said it was delicious, like a 19" saltwater drum, sweet and tender. Personally, I'll continue feasting on my reserves from Kodiak Island, versus rivers east of 35. But those fish probably boost your immunities.

[Damor 1236]

I was planning to put off learning to tie until retirement, since I still suck at fly fishing, but my wife got me a tying setup and I have no idea where to start.

Any recommended youtube follows or other good resources for starting out?

[Masshole Horn 769]

I was planning to put off learning to tie until retirement, since I still suck at fly fishing, but my wife got me a tying setup and I have no idea where to start.

Any recommended youtube follows or other good resources for starting out?

Learn a clouser, wooly bugger, and dahlberg diver. Practice a lot. Ugly flies catch fish.

As a pretty experienced warmwater flytyer, I still learn a lot from Gunnar Brammer and Kelly Galloup on YouTube.

[wd40 1976]

Living Waters dude does pretty good tying vids; but you're a Salida guy, so I'd start with some simple beadhead thread nymphs, then some crystal flash emergers (black or chocolate, you should have a bunch of black thread, anyway).  then whatever.  as mentioned, clousers are good starters, as are Brushy Creek Streamers (LW fly, beegtime).

 

[Damor 1236]

Damn, I sure wish I was a Salida guy.

I'm actually pretty close to Living Waters (that's my closest shop), but I never thought to check out any videos from them.  I know they often do tying nights, so maybe if I can learn the basics and ever get time I'll try going down there.

In case there are any other neophytes out there, I did find this series which is pretty good so far.  It starts at the level I needed (this pointy thing is called a "bodkin").

[Jerry Callo 8698]

3 hours ago, Damor said:

Damn, I sure wish I was a Salida guy.

I'm actually pretty close to Living Waters (that's my closest shop), but I never thought to check out any videos from them.  I know they often do tying nights, so maybe if I can learn the basics and ever get time I'll try going down there.

In case there are any other neophytes out there, I did find this series which is pretty good so far.  It starts at the level I needed (this pointy thing is called a "bodkin").

Wednesday nights for fly tying at Living Waters.  Beginners to advanced.

[Jerry Callo 8698]

A buddy and I went to Shaffer Bend this morning.   Beautiful day, only saw a couple other people, and the fish were biting.

I ended up with 7 whites, 1 Guadalupe, 1 largemouth, 1 sunfish, and a channel cat.  All but one on an olive and white BC Streamer.  All but one of the whites were really large.

 

[Jerry Callo 8698]

Ready for tomorrow. 

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

On 2/23/2024 at 4:09 PM, Damor said:

I was planning to put off learning to tie until retirement, since I still suck at fly fishing, but my wife got me a tying setup and I have no idea where to start.

Any recommended youtube follows or other good resources for starting out?

You’ll love fly tying and it’s a great way to de-stress.  You’re also lucky that this is literally the golden age of fly tying as there are so many high quality resources on YouTube.  Since you’re in Austin, definitely hit up Living Waters tying night.  For a fly pattern to start with, it is tough to beat a Clouser Minnow.  Here’s Bob Clouser, the creator or the pattern:

You’ll definitely want a whole assortment of nymphs.  I lesser known pattern that I love is the Poundmeister by New Mexico fly tier Taylor Streit.  I’ve caught all types of trout on this pattern, and it is a fantastic crappie fly when fished under an indicator:

For dry flies - before you run out and spend a fortune on hackle, try tying some Sparkle Duns for mayfly imitations.  You’ll need specific deer hair for this fly - Blue Ribbon Flies, Galloups SlideInn, Charlie’s Fly Box, and some other places have very high quality ‘short fine deer hair’ for this pattern.  I fish this pattern almost exclusively during a mayfly hatch - tied by Craig Mathews who created the pattern:

As others have mentioned, Kelly Galloup is great to follow.  He’ll go deeply into the ‘why’ of techniques.  Although most of his videos are long, you’ll end up learning more from his about technique and the history of patterns.  Great source.  Charlie’s Fly Box, Dette Flies, Umpqua Feather Merchants, tightlinevideo, and Fly Fish Food are excellent YouTube channels to follow.

[Masshole Horn 769]

I'm living close to Reimer's now, but have never had much luck there for white bass. Can they even make it up that far with the current water levels?

 

 

[Masshole Horn 769]

On 2/24/2024 at 12:29 PM, Jerry Callo said:

A buddy and I went to Shaffer Bend this morning.   Beautiful day, only saw a couple other people, and the fish were biting.

I ended up with 7 whites, 1 Guadalupe, 1 largemouth, 1 sunfish, and a channel cat.  All but one on an olive and white BC Streamer.  All but one of the whites were really large.

Sinking Line?

[Jerry Callo 8698]

6 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Sinking Line?

Sink tip, although full sink would probably work better.  For whites I like to fish minnow imitations as deep as possible.  I don't like weighted flies because they bounce up and down on the strip which minnows don't.  The BC streamers don't have much weight and my white bass clousers are tied with bead chain eyes as opposed to dumbbells. 

[troph 24781]

yeah I heard full sink is best for white bass runs. i'm going to miss another year of the white bass. one fuckers is going to have to show me next year. doesn't seem like it's worth a guided trip. i have 3 fishing kayaks btw.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

Punxsutawney Phil wasn’t kidding this year.  Slipped out today ahead of the front.  Crappie were right on the bank and willing.

 

Nice bluegill too.

All caught on nymphs under a Dorsey-style indicator.  I’ve never seen a Spring this early and even saw first redbud in bloom today.

[Kennythetiger 9375]

Want to feel like a kid again?  Catch a bluegill. 

[Born to Run 6569]

yeah I heard full sink is best for white bass runs. i'm going to miss another year of the white bass. one fuckers is going to have to show me next year. doesn't seem like it's worth a guided trip. i have 3 fishing kayaks btw.

Depends on the depth of water fishing and what they are doing. I've smoked them on floating lines. At other times I've wished for at least a sink tip or had to stack split shot with a long leader and be patient. *That was back in the day more in East Texas.

Oddly, sometimes they like the shot tight to fly, so it works like a jig, othertimes they want it more like a natural minnow. With white bass, my experience is they want it in their face. The conventional fellas do fine with jigs that do not swim like minnows. It's more timing and location and getting flies to the depth the fish are at.

[Born to Run 6569]

Fished the Guad yesterday. Great fishing, crowds have abated - finally. Hopefully they are catching white bass instead of harvesting stocked fish. Only saw one guide, most of the rest were serious fly anglers

Fish were back in faster water, which I vastly prefer. No hatch and they were super picky and hard to get eat. Preferred smaller nymphs. I'm running a 18 pheasant tail with a 20 dropper I'm varying, they almost always took the PT. Also ate midges, wd40s, and scud bugs.

They were stacked in 3'-18" of water in one section and hard to get to eat nymphs but I got two on a big streamer and then two again on a black wholly bugger including the biggest fish in the pool that ran down a 12" fish to steal my fly on the way back through to the truck. Biggest was maybe 20, I'll take it.

Great practice for more serious waters. I'm still losing fish and learning a lot each trip. Still doing stupid shit.

[wd40 1976]

On 2/27/2024 at 7:50 PM, Kennythetiger said:

Want to feel like a kid again?  Catch a bluegill. 

hell yeah.  had a blast last spring at Brushy after picking up a TFO 3wt.  so much fun with these little shit-asses

 

Spoiler

yes, I know...

 

[Damor 1236]

Stupid, aggressive sunfish on the fiberglass 3wt is the cure for a shitty day at work.

Finally got some time to tie my first one, which will test the premise of "ugly flies catch fish."



Here we go down the rabbithole.  Already have a Youtube watchlist a mile long, and shopping for a Renzetti.

Any overall favorite sites for fly patterns?  I followed several Youtube channels, but the problem with that is I get distracted and wander off from my intended purpose...

[wd40 1976]

I think I started out with that same vise (Cabela's?)  I eventually got a Regal, and it's night and day.  but even then, I struggled with the ROI.  a Renzetti, for me?  no way.   a magnifying desk lamp was way more bang for the buck.

when I said Salida guy, I meant a wanna-be, like me.  I have an old binder with color printouts of midge patterns and whatnot from charliesflybox and some sites that don't exist anymore.  but I found them by looking for specific patterns that worked for me in NM and CO.  

everyone absorbs info differently.  seems like everyone wants youtubes, now.  but I would start with the flies you plan to use to find the voice that speaks to you most effectively.

the other thing is there's a lot of patterns out there that catch way more fishermen than fish.  simple flies actually work, and it's easier to knock out a bunch ahead of a trip.  you might find out you like tying as an end in itself.  I find tying relaxing, but the goal for me is to fish them.

[troph 24781]

Seems a little like modeling back in the day, but a lot more romantic.

[Damor 1236]

@wd40 Yes, it's the basic intro kit from Cabela's/Bass Pro.  I can see that it's good enough to get started, but like my other hobbies, I'll soon go stupid with it.  At least I'm under no pretense that I'm trying to save money by tying.  And it looks like Regals are as much or more than the Renzetti Travelers these days.  I think I'd get a lot of use out of the rotary function on the Traveler, but man, the Regals are just beautiful.

@troph, as a dorky kid who had half-dried Testor's bottles scattered about his room, the same thought occurred to me.  We're just big kids, after all.  It's a little early for me to enter my "puttering" phase, but why not?  My younger son suggested I'll need a tying station with a pipe rest before long.

My older one is off at school in Colorado, so I wrote him a little note and slipped that first ugly fly in the envelope for him to fish when it thaws out.  That was a pretty cool misty-eyed dad moment.

I'll bet it'll look great stuck in a tree.

[Kennythetiger 9375]

16 hours ago, troph said:

Seems a little like modeling back in the day, but a lot more romantic.

And you still have the skin on your fingertips when you’re done. 

[wd40 1976]

1 hour ago, Damor said:

@wd40 Yes, it's the basic intro kit from Cabela's/Bass Pro.  I can see that it's good enough to get started, but like my other hobbies, I'll soon go stupid with it.  At least I'm under no pretense that I'm trying to save money by tying.  And it looks like Regals are as much or more than the Renzetti Travelers these days.  I think I'd get a lot of use out of the rotary function on the Traveler, but man, the Regals are just beautiful.

@troph, as a dorky kid who had half-dried Testor's bottles scattered about his room, the same thought occurred to me.  We're just big kids, after all.  It's a little early for me to enter my "puttering" phase, but why not?  My younger son suggested I'll need a tying station with a pipe rest before long.

My older one is off at school in Colorado, so I wrote him a little note and slipped that first ugly fly in the envelope for him to fish when it thaws out.  That was a pretty cool misty-eyed dad moment.

I'll bet it'll look great stuck in a tree.

the Regal I got is the Travel one, with SS jaws, on close-out at LW for like $180 (reg $273).  iirc, she gave me a deal on it below the markdown price of $191.  it's rotary function is good enough for me, but what I really like is the big lever for clamping the jaws.

[Damor 1236]

Well, I'll be damned.

...and 10m later it was eaten by a lily pad.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

4 hours ago, Damor said:

Well, I'll be damned.

...and 10m later it was eaten by a lily pad.

It’s over.  You’re in deep now.  

[Zwylde 812]

First Spring wade for the year and a couple of big ladies were hungry.  Caught many more rats up in the shallows but the pigs were a little deeper.  Bye bye old man Winter.

 

[4th and 5 4914]

Best 6 of around 14 keepers

[BearSchlong 8083]

First cast of the year. Again, daughter from Chicago insisted we go fishing.

[Deej 76755]

On 2/27/2024 at 7:50 PM, Kennythetiger said:

Want to feel like a kid again?  Catch a bluegill. 

Then use that bluegill to catch a catfish.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

What are y’all catching your redfish on? I’m down in south alabama now and had some luck today with live mud minnows and shrimp. But every time I toss artificials it is skunk city. 

Edited March 10 by Johnny Chimpo

[Kennythetiger 9375]

58 minutes ago, Deej said:

Then use that bluegill to catch a catfish.

We used to go to a farm pond and catch bluegill the size of my hand to use as flathead catfish bait. If the flatheads weren’t so damn good I would have just pan fried the bait. 

[4th and 5 4914]

2 hours ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

What are y’all catching your redfish on? I’m down in south alabama now and had some luck today with live mud minnows and shrimp. But every time I toss artificials it is skunk city. 

Topwater or Marker 212 rig w/plastic

https://pstacklergv.com/product/marker-212-rig-bone/

 

[BearSchlong 8083]

What are y’all catching your redfish on? I’m down in south alabama now and had some luck today with live mud minnows and shrimp. But every time I toss artificials it is skunk city. 

Live shrimp with a small split shot weight and a 18-inch fluorocarbon leader, red steel hook. I love light tackle.

[Braff Zacklin 13552]

1 hour ago, BearSchlong said:

Live shrimp with a small split shot weight and a 18-inch fluorocarbon leader, red steel hook. I love light tackle.

Why fluoro--for the faster sink/superior "invisibility"?

[Zwylde 812]

Live shrimp as well for me.  My bro just  caught another two the same size as the big girls I caught on Friday in the same spot.  Big girls for 3 foot of water.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Live shrimp definitely work. I have a lot of plastics to throw and I want to figure out how to get them to work. lol. 

[BearSchlong 8083]

Why fluoro--for the faster sink/superior "invisibility"?

And for the relative lack of stretch compared to mono in light tackle uses (yes I know that under load it's more stretch than mono.)

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20390]

I've been fishing for 50+ years. Today I learned I've been doing it all wrong.


https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2zvCQKArnK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

 

[troph 24781]

On 3/17/2024 at 11:25 PM, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

I've been fishing for 50+ years. Today I learned I've been doing it all wrong.


https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2zvCQKArnK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

 

Holy puck, that could not be any farther from what I think of when I think of going fishing. There’s still some art to it I guess.