Nolan River 3/18/2011

I went with a friend to the Nolan River today. The water was down due to a lack of rain in the area. The water was clear and cool probably in the high fifties or low sixties. We had high pressure, but wind and the air temperature was in the eighties or maybe the low nineties. By the afternoon, wet wading would have been comfortable. The drive takes about an hour from south Fort Worth.

I hooked a large bass on a olive beadhead wooly bugger, but did not land the fish before the 3X tippet broke. He was larger enough to put on the reel. I caught a bluegill of respectable size with a new pattern that is based on a wooly bugger, but with a shell back. I fished mostly subsurface flies. I have a list of flies that I need to tie before the next trip. I got no pictures.

Along the river, there is a formation contact between limestone and an unconsolidated sand with large clasts. I will need to look at some surface geology maps before the next trip. Saw a number of Ammonite fragments while walking on the limestone ledges. Really a beautiful river and a nice day all around.

This was the last trip in the 2004 Xterra. Paul will get the old car soon as I bought a new truck.

PK Tailrace 2-13-2011

I went out to the Brazos River below PK this morning. I normally don't fish mornings this time of year, but I was invited to fish with a group of guys who already had the outing planned. I got skunked. Only one of the group caught any fish. He used a Whitlock squirreltail nymph in black. The water was very cold.

I tried the following flies to no avail:

General nymph - black and olive

Egg-laying Caddis with Zebra Midge dropper

Egg-laying Caddis w/o dripper

BH dove tail nymph

This was the third outing of the year. I went to the Brazos River below DeCordova the first weekend of January and struck out. I also went to Bear Creek the weekend after and could not park by the bridge and therefore could not walk up to the holes that I know hold fish. The creek is still fishable, but I will need to take the canoe.

Due to the poor weather - snow for several days - I have been tying flies. I have pictures of some of my flies that I will post later. I have also started to spin deer hair flies. A couple look fishable.

Fly Fishing Jigs

These are some fly fishing jigs that I have tied to catch bluegill and crappie. Start with a some flash for the tail. Palmer some flashy chenille for the body. Then tie in some rubber legs.