Stanton Texas September 2022
Welcome to the edge of the desert where there are obviously no trout!  Well… that’s not totally true.  The 2 acre lake in the south Odessa city park next to I-20 becomes a put and take trout fishery every January.  I’m not sure that really counts.  Other than that, the nearest trout in Texas is about 6 hours away.  New Mexico… maybe an hour and a half closer. Which brings me to the reason I offer the www.deserttrout.com fly fishing website.  Living in Stanton, Texas, (a mesquite, prickly pear, barbed wire gateway to the desert) is certainly a challenge to anyone with a passion for the pursuit of mountain-grown salmoninae .  That would be a trout!  For the smitten among us, those who can relate to an obsession with trailing shucks, rise forms, and hackles are few and far between.  We live in a virtual vacuum of fly fishing culture. As a novice fly fisherman, I still recall how difficult it was to assimilate a working knowledge of all things “fly fishing”… from understanding fly line designations and tippets to tailing loops and roll casts.  Over the last 30 years the internet, fly fishing videos, and many great magazines and books have been my indispensable resources for understanding and growing in the sport.  I look forward to “hooking you up” to some of that information. So, for the budding novice fly fishermen of West Texas (and beyond), deserttrout.com is meant to be a shortcut on the way to fly fishing proficiency.  It is my intent to share information, links, photos, and generally fun stuff with my fellow salmoninae sojourners.  I love all aspects of the sport including fly tying and rod building. To the sage fly fisherman with more experience and knowledge than I can offer, please consider this site a forum where you can educate and inspire others in the land where NO Rivers Run Through It. Note:  I didn’t say there were no rivers… I just said they don’t run. 

Matching the Hatch