Celebration Park - February 12, 2008

Stopped by this evening for another try at the Catfish. More wind, more cold, ... Catfish were still there and active. Hits on the Bread Fly but no hook ups with Catfish. Caught one Sunfish about 5" in size.

Sunfish on the Bread Fly

Celebration Park - February 12, 2008

Checked the East Pond at lunch today.  Despite the wind and drop in temperature, Catfish, Sunfish, and Bluegill continued to take bread chum floating on the surface.    Will have to try catching one of the larger Catfish on a Bread Fly this weekend. 

 

Have been experimenting with different material for tying a Bread Fly.  So far, have tried deer hair, rabbit fur, bath sponge, and the inner core of poly rope.  The poly rope seems to work the best, just need to work on the hook size. 

 

More to come later.

 

Celebration Park - February 10, 2008

Fished the East Pond to catch a Catfish using Flyfishing gear. Chummed the pond with bread and started catching Bluegill and Sunfish. Catfish followed with the action remaining steady.

A lot of strikes but few hook-ups with Catfish. Did hook but did not land a nice size Catfish - maybe 2-3Lbs. Kept at it for a couple of hours finally landing one on the Bread Fly.

Sunfish caught on the Bread Fly

Catfish caught on the Bread Fly

Celebration Park - February 9, 2009

Fished the North and East Ponds this afternoon. Caught three small Sunfish on flyfishing gear using a Prince William Nymph in the North Pond. Caught two small Bluegill using a Bread Fly in the East Pond. Bread Fly is a pattern that I use when fish are feeding on bread thrown in the water by park goers to feed ducks and by fishermen chumming for fish. Probably could have caught a lot more Bluegill but I had to leave for home. Will give it a shot tomorrow and post results.

Celebration Park - February 3, 2008

Stopped by the East Pond this afternoon. Caught small Bluegill using flyfishing gear and a Prince William Nymph. Tried a San Juan Worm, Bead Head Nymphs, and Wooly Bugger. No strikes. Seemed to favor the Prince William Nymph. Not certain why.

Shadow Lakes - February 3, 2008

Went back to the "No Name Pond" this morning. Found out it is called Shadow Lakes. It is fed by the creek that runs below North Allen Heights and Dartmouth. As the creek leads downstream, you will see a series of ponds that eventually lead back to North Allen Heights.

Fished the last pond with flyfishing gear and a Brown Wooly Bugger. For reference, I am calling this pond the Lower Pond. Caught a 7" Bluegill and lost another. Fished the Wooly Bugger on a steady retrieve.



7" Bluegill



Dam at the South Pond and back area of Lower Pond



View of Lower Pond looking South



Dam at the Lower Pond

Quick Notes From the Field - February 2, 2008

Quick notes from the field.

Bethany Lakes - Checked out the Back Pond and the Creek that runs into Bethany Lakes. Observed a number of small Bass, Sunfish, and Bluegill in the Creek. Caught small Bluegill in the Back Pond on flyfishing gear and a Bead Head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph fished slowly on the bottom. Only had about twenty minutes to fish due to family commitments but did manage to catch 5. See sample of one Bluegill below.

Bethany Lakes - Back Pond


Small Bluegill





"No-Name Pond" - Stopped by the pond located at the intersection of North Allen Heights and Dartmouth. Walked the trail and noted two ponds. A walking bridge crosses the pond and leads into a neighborhood. Not sure what to call it, but for ease of reference, the pond that is North of the bridge is the Upper Pond and the one that is South of the bridge is the Lower Pond. Did not see any fish but it does look promising.

Upper Pond


Lower Pond




Allen Station Dam - Water remains cloudy but it is flowing well from the rains earlier this week. Did not see fish either, but with the recent warming trend, should see some activity.

Allen Station Dam - Water Flowing




Celebration Park - Fished the North Pond. Also used flyfishing gear and the Bead Head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph. Caught 12 Bluegill/Sunfish in less than an hour. Same tactic as Bethany Lakes, fished slowly on the bottom. Smaller than the ones at Bethany; still fun to catch though.

North Pond




All for now. Good luck and good fishing!

February 2008 eNewsletter

FYI: The February 2008 eNewsletter has been posted. Refer to the Recommended Links in the sidebar or click-on February 2008 eNewsletter. Note: For easier reading, the ads posted on the right frame of the eNewsletter can be closed by clicking on the Tab in the ads section.

Quick Updates - January 28, 2008

Quick updates from the Team! In the City Of Allen: Bethany Lakes: Switch gears and fish for the Sunfish in the Lower Pond. As Spring nears be ready for a chance at Bass. Recommended flies are the Black Wooly Bugger, Black and Red Zonker Streamer, and Foam Rubber Spider. Celebration Park: Starting to see more activity in the East Pond with catches of Catfish, Bluegill, and Sunfish. Action is slow but strikes and hook-ups can be had. Catfish are ranging from 6" to 18" in size. Bluegill and Sunfish are small - 3" in size. As the weather warms, things will pick-up. Allen Station Dam: Creek is murky from the recent rain. Have not observed Sunfish and Bluegill as of yet. The trio of Catfish in the silting basin are gone as well. Will continue to keep an eye out for the Sunfish and Bluegill. Out of the City Of Allen: Denison Dam: Striper action is consistent with the generator schedule. Wait till the generators are running, then hit them with Rattle-Traps and other lures that imitate Shad. Should get some strikes and hook-ups. Also, if you plan to wade the river, make sure you have an Oklahoma Fishing License, else risk a fine. Oklahoma owns the river, so a non-resident Oklahoma License is required. FYI - Generation Schedule: Since fishing success at the tailrace is largely dependent on waterflow, below are links to the Generation Schedule and the Real Time Hydropower Release at Denison Dam. The Generation Schedule is not always accurate and changes based on power demands from Utilities. Use it for checking the generation pattern but keep in mind that it can be modified without notice. Generation Schedule: http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/power/hydropower.html The Real Time Hydropower Release provides ready updates on the status of waterflow at Denison Dam. Use it to confirm water is or is not flowing at the tailrace. Real Time Hydropower Release: http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/ops_hydropower/hydromainpage.html If you plan to wade the river, make sure you have an Oklahoma Fishing License, else risk a fine. Oklahoma owns the river, so a non-resident Oklahoma License is required. All for now. Good luck and good fishing! PS: Audio Fishing Report for today was posted; refer to the sidebar.

Celebration Park: January 27, 2008

Fished Celebration Park's East Pond around 10AM till Noon today. Caught three Catfish, a small Bluegill, and a small Sunfish. Also, lost one Catfish that looked about 16" in size.

Used Corn for chum and bait. Catfish went 14" to 16" in size. The Bluegill and the Sunfish were about 3" in size. Posted pictures of the Catfish and Bluegill below.

FYI - Used the Zebco Deliar to weigh the 16" Catfish. They weighed 1/2 lbs.

Catfish 1 - 14"


Catfish 2 - 16"


Catfish 3 - 16"


Bluegill - 3"

Celebration Park: January 26, 2008

Fished Celebration Park's North Pond this morning. Caught one small Sunfish on Corn. A lot of nibbles; most likely more small Sunfish.

Fished the East Pond in the afternoon. Caught two Sunfish and two Catfish on Corn. Sunfish were slightly larger than the one caught in the North Pond earlier. Catfish went 9" and 5" in size.

FYI - Stopped by Bethany at Noon. Looks like fishing for Trout at Bethany will have to wait until next season.

Sunfish caught in the North Pond:

Sunfish caught in the East Pond:

9" Catfish caught in the East Pond:

Celebration Park - January 20, 2008

Fished Celebration Park again to see how the cold weather is affecting the Catfish fishing. Other than being cold, the Catfish are biting. The bites are not as frequent but it still is consistent.

Used Flyfishing gear this time but baited a hook with Corn in lieu of fishing flies. Decided to put the Fish Pen in my fishing vest as a back-up rig.

It was cold this morning but not windy like yesterday.

East Pond with ice forming:

Also, this morning's catch was a 14" Catfish. Had three other strikes but too slow in my hook set to catch them.

14" Catfish:

Celebration Park: January 19, 2008

Checked out Celebration Park this morning. Used the Fish Pen again to try it out on a bigger fish. Too cold and windy. Did catch another little Catfish on Corn, and then headed back home to thaw my hands out.

Little Catfish and the Fish Pen:

Celebration Park: January 18, 2008

Fished with the "amazing" Fish Pen at Celebration Park and caught a small Catfish. The Fish Pen can handle small fish; may give it a go again later this weekend on some larger fish. Else, I would consider the Fish Pen more a novelty than a serious fishing outfit. Still like the concept. It slips into my shirt pocket, and the reel fits in my hoodie jacket pocket.

Fish Pen:





Chummed with Corn again and caught him on a hook and slip sinker setup. Catfish went about 10".

Catfish:

Quick Note - January 17, 2008

Overall, fishing activity has slowed down here in Allen. With the change in weather, the fish may be waiting for another warming trend.

Looking on the Texas Fly Report Fishing Forum - http://www.texasflyreport.com/, it was noted that Sunfish were biting earlier this week in the lower pond at Bethany Lakes. This is the pond closest to Joe Farmer Recreation Center.

This is promising given the Trout situation - still no reports on anyone catching Trout recently. Best suggestion is to seek other locations or plan a trip based on the next TPWD Trout Stocking. See the link in the sidebar of this Web Log.All for now. Good luck and good fishing!

PS: Saw an ad on TV for the amazing Fish Pen. Opted not to buy it using the Toll Free Number, and then changed my mind when I saw it on Amazon.Com! Package is supposed to arrive today. Will give a product review later in the week/weekend. I know it looks kinda hokie but I liked the concept and wanted to try it out.

Celebration Park: January 13, 2008

Decided to check on the Catfish at Celebration Park having struck out at Lake Lavon earlier in the morning.

Chummed with Corn and then baited a hook on my flyfishing outfit. Caught two 18" Catfish a few minutes after chumming. Both released to fight another day. Still fun on a 5 WT even if I did not use a fly.

See pictures below:

Catfish #1

Catfish #2

Lake Lavon - Dam Tailrace: January 13, 2008

Fished Lake Lavon Dam by the tailrace early morning. No waterflow and minimal surface activity. Observed several fishermen fishing live minnows under a float. One Gaspergou (Freshwater Drum) was caught that went about a pound, else no other action. Checked out the creek that feeds into the main channel. No hook ups and no surface activity. May need to wait later in the month.

Quick Updates

Quick updates from the Team! In the City Of Allen: Bethany Lakes: Slow to no action on Trout. If you do go, use bait in lieu of lures or flies. Celebration Park: Both ponds are quiet. Bluegill and Sunfish have gone deep. For some light action for Catfish, go to the East Pond - the one that does not have fountains. Use catfish dip bait on a treble hook and sponge setup. Should have some fun with catching them. Mainly running about 10" or smaller; however, a 12"-14" Channel Catfish is possible. Allen Station Dam: Creek is murky from run-off but is starting to clear. Did not see the usual Sunfish and Bluegill. Will look for the trio of Catfish that tend to the dam's silting basin. Have not seen them recently; may have gone downstream from the last rainstorm. Out of the City Of Allen: LLELA - Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area: Trout limits observed from fishermen using bait - Corn and Salmon Eggs. Lures have been producing but not as consistent as bait. Work the river bends and the deep pools for Trout. Be ready though, you may hook into an occasional Carp. For Crappie, Catfish, and Hybrids fish the tailrace. Some nice Hybrids were taken this past weekend. FYI: The river was stocked with Trout; some are fairly large running 16"+. Denison Dam: Striper action remains consistent with the generator schedule. That is, when the generators are running; fishing action picks-up. However, action can still be had when the water is not flowing by working the deeper pools and/or baiting up for Carp or Catfish. Waterloo Park Pond: Trout were restocked this past Sunday. Trout Derby was held and a number of limits were taken. May be the best bet for stocker-sized Trout. All for now. Will continue to keep the updates forthcoming. Good luck and good fishing!

FYI - Directions to LLELA

FYI - Directions to Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area (LLELA) are provided below. Proceed to the city of Lewisville using I-35E, once on I-35E the directions guide you either from the South or North. From the South:

• Drive north on I-35E through Lewisville
• Exit Valley Ridge (east) to the stoplight at Mill Street
• Turn left (north) on Mill Street and drive to Jones Street
• Turn right (east) on Jones Street and proceed east until Jones dead-ends at the LLELA front gate, at the junction of Jones Street and N. Kealy Avenue

From the North:

• Drive south on I-35E through Lewisville toward Dallas
• Exit Valley Ridge (east) to the stoplight at Mill Street
• Turn left (north) on Mill Street and drive to Jones Street
• Turn right (east) on Jones Street and proceed east until Jones dead-ends at the LLELA front gate, at the junction of Jones Street and N. Kealy Avenue

There is a $3 day use fee and Winter hours are 7AM-5PM, Friday-Sunday.

Good luck and good fishing!

LLELA: January 6, 2008

Fished Lake Lewisville Ecological Learning Area this morning. Caught and released small Crappie, and then hooked but lost several Hybrid along the tailrace's rocks. Observed several nice Hybrid taken by fishermen fishing the generator's outflow. Estimate 6+ pounds. Also, two fishermen were catching Catfish in the calm area using liver for bait. Consistent action for about an hour, then it tapered off around 11AM. Did not fish for Trout but noted limits taken by fishermen leaving the area. Looks like Corn is the consistent producer for the Trout.