Fly Fishing in a Blast Furnace!

Posted By on June 18, 2011

Mandy and her "carp-from-the-grass"

Mike's 6 pounder - a fine specimen!

Yesterday, I got on the NWS site to check the weather conditions for the day after I got home from a trip to the flats with Mike and Mandy from Fort Worth.  At 1300 hrs, the air temp was 99 with a heat index of 104 and winds were 26S with gusts to 35 mph. YIKES!

A TOUGH day to be fly fishing.  We had to resign ourselves to fishing leeward coves and even then had to really work to make the most of the wind.  Look at the photo of Mike with his fish (a NICE 6 pounder, by the way, that almost got into his backing) and check out the waves behind him.  This was in a “protected” cove!

Mandy’s fish came from the side of a hydrilla bed.  She had to “parachute” a cast over the bed and lay the fly in front of the fish.  It took and we had a 50/50 chance of what would happen next . . . either dive into the hydrilla or run into the clear flat behind.  Guess what the fish chose to do?!?!?

If you have a trip planned to fish the tropics, come with me for a day on the Ray Roberts flats.  It’s full-on “Belize conditions” (just without the doctor flies) that will give you a realistic simulation of the exposure you get anywhere in bonefish country!  Straightening a leader at 40 feet with a 25+ mph crosswind requires a TOTALLY different cast than your 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock textbook fly cast.

Anyway, this wind HAS GOT TO STOP!  It’s amazing that we can have a heat index over 105 and still have a 30 mph wind.  Relief is in the forecast as a front is progged to come through Monday night/Tuesday morning and return us to a more “June” pattern.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Categories: Fishing Report, North Texas
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About the author

Joel Hays has been a professional guide since 1990, and has guided professionally in Colorado and Texas.

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North Texas Fly Fishing Adventures with Joel Hays

Imagine wading through ten inches of clear water,trying to be as quiet as possible. Fifty feet ahead is a pod of large fish "tailing" on the flat. You strip out fly line, make the cast, and pull your fly in front of the lead fish. After agonizing seconds the fish spots the fly, rushes forward for a quick grab, and feels the hook. The silence is broken as the fish accelerates across the flat, quickly exposing backing on your screaming reel. Sounds like a great day on the coast, or even an exotic bonefish flat, right? Actually it's a great description of the usual day my clients have fishing for Carp on the flats of Lake Ray Roberts where many clients are blown away by the water clarity and the actual ability to sight cast along miles of flats. Big spooky fish in shallow water. They fight and tail like Redfish and can sometimes rival Bonefish in nervousness. This is an EXCELLENT WAY to hone your flats fishing skills and test your "eyes" where it's more about stalking the fish than simply stumbling upon them. You will be a better flats angler!