Sand Bass while Fly Fishing the Brazos River
This Spring has been fast and furious starting in March through April. Both the Fishing and the Weather. This spring we had just a little bit of rain out “West of the Plex” (Dallas & Fort Worth). Not enough rain, however this kept the mighty Brazos River running clear. Great for the Fly Fisherman here in North Texas! Short term that is, we do need the rain for long term conditions. The air temps bounced around, with jackets still in order into the early April afternoons. Somehow in the month of May the Spring air temperatures came to an end abruptly and we are pushing the century mark. Yes near record 100 degree days in May! Spring has gone and Summer arrived? Well it’s Texas, so just about anything is possible when it comes to our weather. What about the April showers? We will see if a few late spring rains make it “West of the Plex” before Summer really sets in. Oh forgot to mention the wind. We had one of the windiest Aprils on record. I read where the average wind speed was 15 mph, sustained that is. Gusts were all the way up to 30-40 mph on given days. And there were allot of those high wind days. Although Fly Fishing the Brazos River does provide some shelter from the wind. Another reason why I have stayed off of the area lakes was due to the extremely windy spring. I do have plans to start spending more time on the lakes, especially since the winds are hopefully getting back to normal.
Enough about the weather, there were plenty of Sand Bass available to us Fly Fisherman this year. Having a Jet Engine propelled Hog Island Skiff opens up more river miles then time. A box of Clouser Minnows representing Threadfin Shad, a Sink Tip Fly Line and a trusty 5wt Fly Rod were the tools needed to turn Fishing into Catching! And don’t forget that leaders on a sinking line needs to be short. Three foot max in length. I normally tie my own with 10-12 # Frog Hair Fluorocarbon tippet! Tie a perfection loop in the end and you are good to go. For those not familiar with the term Sand Bass, up in North Texas that is the name given to the White Bass. Another tip for when looking for Sand Bass on the Brazos River, go find their spawning grounds. Not all of the river is created equal when looking for the prolific Sand Bass. However, they do swim through most of the river system on their way upstream!
that coming up. Our Winter started later than in most years and appears to not be in a hurry to let Spring arrive. It won’t be long, next week’s forecasts are the temperatures we need. We have had a few days of warm up in early March, which have the Sand Bass in North Texas headed into the various tributaries. Currently only the male fish are up in the tributaries. The female Sandies are waiting for water temperatures to hit mid to upper 50’s. Also, with next week having a full moon cycle, that will also be a positive to get the fish moving. More on that in a future report. 