They’re Back!

Posted By on March 21, 2009

The Spring bite is ON! My son and I took a little hike around the lake yesterday and saw dozens of carp – all cruising in inches of water and feeding. This is a limited time thing as they are gorging on the first “real” food (craneflies, dragonflies, tree seeds, etc.) before they begin the spawn. Once the spawn starts in a couple of weeks, they lose interest in food and muddy the water with their randy antics. They can still be caught but it gets tough. A good side note is that gar will join them in the shallow spawning fest and they WILL eat. Catching a 10 pound gar in a fooot of water makes for an excellent April diversion while we wait for the carp to go on their “summer” pattern (usually the first of May).

Anyway, I caught four fish in quick succession yesterday. The low level and clear water made for long, tough presentations but they ate – and two where 6+ pounds! (and how about those photos . . . not bad for a 6 year old!) Give me a call if you want to get in on it – (940)391-9480.

Obviously, as you can tell by the photos, the lake is very LOW (just over 3 feet to be exact). Some flats have disappeared and others are emerging. If you fished with me last season, you might remember the “hog pen” from the above photo. It’s now 20 yards from the shoreline. We need RAIN! The precipitation we recieved last week just soaked right in with very little run-off. The lake went up a whopping 1.5 INCHES after two straight days of rain. We also need more flow to kick off our sand bass/hybrid run. It was a BLAST last year and we could all use some bent stick this time of year!

Categories: Carp, Fly Fishing
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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!