City Of Allen Fishing

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Night Time Outing To Bethany Lands One Bass....

Late start and limited time this evening to fish. Did make it to Bethany Lakes but well after sunset. Worked the bank around the Main Pond with a Surface Popper with no luck; switched to an Olive Wooley Bugger and hooked a little Bass. Only one but was still good practice flycasting in the dark!

Click-on 2011's COAF Fishing Leader Board to checkout top fish caught this year by our readers. Also, click-on One Fishing Fly Challenge to checkout the Field Team's flyfishing informal contest. Feel free to join; it's simple!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Three Bass and Two Bluegill At Bethany Lakes

Checked out Bethany Lakes this afternoon. WIndy with a cold wind blowing made it tough flycasting. Did manage two catch three little Bass and two Bluegill. Used the Purple Clouser Variant, Hares Ear Nymph, and a BH Nymph! Fun stuff,... had the polarized glasses on and noticed some 2 pound + Bass lurking in the shallows!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Two Bass and Four Bluegill At Bethany This Morning

Fished Bethany Lakes this morning for about an hour. Caught two Bass and four Bluegill using the Purple Clouser Variant with a Flashback Copper Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph as a trailer. Bass struck the Clouser; Bluegill struck the Nymph!

Fun stuff.... Again, used the Tenkara Rod and fished no more than 20' from the bank. Fish are there, just not hitting aggressively. Slow retrieve is the key.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Two Bluegill on a Purple Clouser Variant and the Tenkara Rod

Went to Bethany Lakes in the morning and caught a Bluegill and lost two Bass on a BH Olive Wooley Bugger. Returned this evening to try out a new pattern - Purple Clouser Variant. Used the Tenkara Rod to work the shallows and managed two land two Bluegill. No Bass this round but did notice they were striking on the surface. Going to come back with the Foam Rubber Spider Variant!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Two Little Bass On The Tenkara Rod....!

Went back to Bethany Lakes this evening to try for more Bass as they lurked in the shallows. Little tougher to fish compared to the afternoon; wind had picked up so it was tougher to feel the bite. That said, lost one Bass while bringing it ashore. Finally managed to bring in two little Bass - 8" fingerlings!

Bass Were In The Shallows!

Checked out Bethany Lakes at lunch today. Bass were in the shallows.... Had a couple of misses but did manage to hook and land one. Fun stuff on the Tenkara Rod!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tenkara Fishing on Squidoo

Update: Retract the earlier statement about not being able to go fishing today. Made a quick trip to Bethany Lakes and lucked out with two Bass.... one went 13" and the other went 15" in size! Both hit on a BH Olive Wooley Bugger worked slowly using the Tenkara Rod!

Not able to wet a line today.... got to work and keep our day jobs. However, it can't stop us from publishing. So, if we can't fish, we can at least write about it!

Here is one that the Field Team put together last night. Since we are searching for information on Tenkara Fishing, what better way to collect our findings than publishing a Squidoo Lens - Tenkara Fishing!

Check it out when you get a chance, and then give it a try! Nothing better than fishing with the bare minimum of gear!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Two Bass and a Bluegill Tenkara Fishing at Bethany Lakes.... Liking This Technique!

Checked out Bethany Lakes this evening to try the Tenkara Rod out again. Good thing... caught two Bass and a Bluegill, and then lost another Bass.

Fun stuff... really like the sensitivity of the furled line compared to the level line! Was able to feel the take and immediately set the hook.

The Bass that was lost happened after bringing it ashore... else, really liking this fishing technique.

Minimal Gear...Tenkara Fishing!

Hooked him in the upper jaw!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Limited Out At Towne Lake In McKinney.... Nice Weather, Too!

Fished Towne Lake for another go at the Trout. Trout were biting and easily limited out using Gold Superdupers and Glitter Powerbait. Slow retrieve was the key when fishing the Superduper. For Powerbait, minimize any drag on the bait as any weight felt resulted in dropped or stolen bait!

Observed a number of limits being taken with the Gold Superduper being the lure of choice! However, did catch several on a BH Olive Wooley Bugger; nice to know they are hitting flies, too!

Caddis 12' Tenkara Rod from Fountain Head!

After several field tests trying out our "Concept Tenkara Rod", the Team decided to take the next step and purchase one.

Our "Concept Tenkara Rod" uses three of five sections of a telescoping fiberglass rod purchased while overseas several years back. It measures nine feet and collapses to about 36". The feel is similar to a 5 weight flyrod and can cast a level line with ease. It is not a true Tenkara Rod but it did peak our interest in this ancient fishing technique.

Taking the next step and purchasing a Tenkara Rod was easier said than done. As we are not all millionaires and do have real jobs to make ends meet, a search online pointed us to Tenkara USA, an importer of Japanese Tenkara Rods that cost $139 plus and more. The Rods look really nice and we are certain their quality and "fishability" is as good as advertised. Unfortunately, our pocketbooks said otherwise to our desire to purchase one!

So, we settled on continuing to use our "Concept Tenkara Rod" for now. That is, until our buddy, "NucLaroche", found Fountainhead while surfing the web.

Fountainhead is an importer/seller of Tenkara Rods which range from $45 to $80 in price! Fountainhead's website is Tenkara Fly Fishing; they offer several models with the Caddis Tenkara Rod selling for $45 and $50 depending on the length you choose.

We made the purchase (of the 12' Caddis Tenkara Rod) late Wednesday, the package arrived Saturday, and today (Sunday) we went fishing with it! .... and, it worked much better than our "Concept Tenkara Rod". Things we liked:

The additional length provided more control of the backcast,
Also, it enabled more consistent and accurate placement of the fly,
The spine has a slow bend, allowing some give when setting the hook,
The rod collapses to 20" for ease of carry!

Tenkara Rods are primarily used for fishing small streams with small fish that tend to spook easily. It is also takes a minimalist approach to fishing - a fly, a line, and rod! Tenkara expands on the opportunity to catch a fish! Give it a try when you get a chance. We plan to use this method to work the shallows of our local ponds this Spring!

Good Luck and Good Fishing!
COAF Field Team

For more one Tenkara Fishing, checkout the sites below: