A note on the water...(via Shoal Creek)

Alright those of you that read my earlier Shoal Creek post will know that this post is largely a follow up. Lots of fish. Plenty of time.

I parked in front of St. Andrews again. A soccer game was well underway but parking was easy enough along Shoal Creek to the south of 34th. If you walk in directly across the school you will reach the trail and the creek bottom which at times is much easier navigating than the trail itself.

In my last post I went downstream (pic below) and I repeated that if only to take a picture of some of the pools you find along the shoal creek watershed. I caught fish downstream just like I did several days ago but it was upstream where I was really interested to fish and the water didn't disappoint.

a downstream hole

One thing you find upstream is the room for a back cast is almost nonexistent. Downstream is great for beginner flyfishermen - plenty of open space behind you and few trees to impede your progress. Upstream (from the 34th st. bridge) the water was a little wider and deeper but the stream took up the entire bed meaning you are dealing with a lot of overhanging branches and trees. Still pocket water fishing and lots of bass is never boring and well worth the few embarrassing snags I dealt with while folks were strolling by on the trail.

Alright before we talk fish I want to highlight the type of water I am fishing just to be clear. 
The two pools above are a perfect example of what I am looking for. Deep, open and a part of the normal stream bed. Still these are, as you can see, SMALL. Would it surprise you to learn I caught 9 out of these pools? Mostly small bass believe it or not. All on poppers. Tons of fun.


A long ear and small bass. Both out of the pool above. Bass took it like a freight train which is always fun.

But look at those pools and you can see the space allowed for casting along the stream bed. Contrast that with this water upstream. (Look beyond the fish below.) Tight spot! That being said the fishing is doable upstream and a spinning rod with a small spinner or mephs would do well in this environment. The stretch between the bridges (34th and 35th) is deceptively long and had the most bass of any of the other stretches I fished. Small poppers and streamers again are the go to. You don't ever want to have more than about 10ft. of line out. Otherwise you will be fighting trees most of the way. There are also a lot of Rio Grande Cichlids in this stretch. Not a native fish but they do fight like hell and typically will take sub surface flies.

Anyway should be fishing later this week. In the mean time tight lines.