Any fly-fisherman knows there is no better way to forget about a long workday than casting a small stream — I just didn’t know it was possible in suburban Plano.
After a brief description from some friends at the Orvis Plano store, I thought I’d spend my Sunday evening as an intrepid explorer, venturing into the wild unknown of White Rock Creek, just off of Parker Boulevard.
A “stream” in North Texas is also known as a creek, and generally you’ll find a fair amount of discarded shopping carts, trash bags and other undesirable obstacles blocking your path. This creek was no different, at first. Nonetheless, I managed to “haul” in some 4-inch sunfish almost immediately. Despite the lack of size, it was pure entertainment watching schools of tiny panfish fight over my fly at every cast — definitely not for the trophy fisherman, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
The real hidden gem is north. I trudged through some brush along the creek (taking extra care not to trespass on private property), and found some perfect spots that almost made me forget where I was actually fishing. The creek snaked around wooded glens and rippled quietly. Believe it or not, it was quite lovely.
After fishing for about an hour and a half, I caught around 20 panfish, as well as enjoyed some peace and quiet in the middle of a bustling suburb. It’s definitely worth a return trip, especially since I saw some 2- to 4-pound largemouth bass chasing the same panfish I was catching — I failed to entice them with my flies.
Today’s lesson? Go out and explore your area, there may be some surprisingly beautiful spots to cast a fly or whatever type of fishing you prefer. You may even have some luck; these fish don’t see anglers that often.
Do you have any favorite urban fishing spots in your area? We’d love to hear about them! Post them to our Facebook page.
