Stocker Trout Fishing News

Looks like Catfish and Bluegill like hotdogs. In this round, we took the GoFish CAM to the local pond that has lots of Bluegill and Sunfish and the occasional Bass and Bullhead. The Bluegill acted like Piranhas tearing up the hotdog. But, a Catfish swooped in to take a bite. It was a nice size catfish; it was bigger than my foot!

Bottom bouncing slab and jig rigs set up Sabiki style, managed four fish – a Shad, a Crappie, a Channel Catfish, and a Yellow Bass. Kept the Crappie and Catfish and prepared them for the Catch and Cook by filleting them, seasoning with Garlic Salt, Season Salt, and Black Pepper. After marinating for a couple hours, added a sprinkling of Seasoned Pepper, and then melted butter in oil. Cooked the fillets for 5 to 10 minutes each side, and then served them with Fried Rice and Squash. Tasty!

Fished Lake Lavon this past weekend. Saturday at Brockdale; Sunday at Highland. This is the follow-up video showing the action Sunday. Windy and lots of waves to deal with, luckily the twelve foot jon boat and 2.5 Suzuki Outboard made for an easy run to the Water Treatment Plant for some fun with White Bass. Later, made it back to the Point, found some Shad in the brushy areas with the cast net, and then fished a modified Sabiki Rig… replace the Slab with a weight and the Crappie Jigs with hooks. Caught several keeper size Catfish – largest went 19 inches, and White Bass as well. Also, released several undersized Catfish and White Bass as well as Yellow Bass. Overall, it was a fun trip. Did see the drainage area is flooded by the Water Treatment Plant… but most important learned the Lazy Man Fishing Method! PS: The 2.5 Suzuki Outboard works well as a pillow! Slab and Jig Fishing

Still breaking in the new Suzuki 2.5hp Outboard but finally got to go fishing, too! Started out catch bait – Shad, at the boat ramp. Then, ran to a few submerged trees for a chance at Crappie. No luck on the Crappie, so opted to run the motor a little before deciding to anchor in a spot that was out of the wind and fish for whatever was biting. Was a fun time catching dinner at the local lake! Suzuki Outboard Suggestions

Another YouTube Shorts video… this one shows the two piece micro fly rod handling a nice catfish! See article on how to make one… Modifying an Ultralight Rod for Micro Fishing: https://skyaboveus.com/fishing/MicroFlyRod

YouTube Shorts video on a fun trip fishing for catfish using homemade diy juglines while out in the kayak on the local lake! Caught a big one that I had to land on shore… no net and windy conditions. Better to take it to the boat ramp. Add it to the COAF Shorts playlist – click to see more.

Made it back for more Denison Dam fishing for striped bass. Used our surfcasting gear to fish the Oklahoma Wall and worked the area using a Float and Jig/Fly Rig. Fishing buddy limited out; yours truly did not. Lots of small stripers but did keep enough for dinner. No catch and cook this round but did get lots of underwater footage with the @GoFish Cam …learned there are lots of small stripers along the Oklahoma Wall which we anticipated given past trips. But, also noticed lots of small catfish, too! Longer than normal video… decided to minimize the edits and post more raw footage from the GoFish Cam in case viewers see something we missed. So far, we noticed Striped Bass, Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, a glimpse of Buffalo, and a Bluegill. Do comment if you see others we may have missed!

Fun time juglining and kayak fishing Lake Lavon Saturday. Even caught a personal best Blue Catfish from a kayak… went 30 plus inches! Did catch a bigger one several years ago on Lake Lavon but that was in a jon boat and with a fishing buddy. This one was caught and landed by yours truly! Lots of fun… had to make a run to shore to land it. Lots of winds and waves and no net; did not want to risk losing it trying to land it in the kayak. Longer than normal video… includes details on the kayak jug lines used and setting up the first group of three jug lines. In keeping with the COAF Field Team’s motto… “Learn to fish by our trials and errors”

Here is the follow-on video of yesterday’s kayak fishig trip to Lake Lavon. Bought new kayak fishing sandals from the Columbia Allen Outlet Store to replace the ones that “blew a flat” last year. Had to give them a “test drive” and take them fishing. Decided on putting in at Lavonia South Ramp. Lots of boats and jet skis but did manage to catch a nice Catfish, several Yellow Bass, and a Crappie. All caught bottom bouncing a Slab and Jig Rig by backpaddling the kayak along a drop off near the boat ramp. Fun stuff… do stay tune for more videos and be on the lookout for the new kayak fishing sandals, our footwear of choice in the Summer!

Answering the mail this round from a YouTube Viewer.  Questions on the jug lines we use and other details that may be of interest to listeners interested in Jugline Fishing for Catfish.  PS… do check back on YouTube, hope to have the video version posted in the next few days! See the podcast at iFishNews Fishing Podcast.

Was a tough start Saturday… windy and a little chilly, plus no shad at the boat ramp at Highland Park. Made the quick adjustment, and decided to head to calmer waters… Bratonia Park, and to the Branch Convenience Store for bait. No shad but they did have Nightcrawlers. Enough for us to get started setting out juglines. Luckily, did catch a few shad in the shallows as well. In short order, had our lines deployed. But, took almost two hours before the first bite… a Blue Catfish that went for Shad. After the first one was caught, bite stayed steady with several undersized caught and released; and then, we caught six Catfish – five Blue Catfish and one Channel Catfish, for the stringer for Dinner… Blackened Catfish and Shrimp Etouffee!

Cold front rolled in and temps drop and rain rolled in. Gave it a week and things warmed and rains quit. Made a run to the lake for jug lining fun. Three of us this round, took the Jon Boat and the Kayak. No Shad to catch with the cast net. Bought some at a bait shop, pricey but they do work well for Catfish! Managed three Catfish and a Gar. Did get a few strikes and misses, then things slowed more. Decided to call it a trip… fun times!

Juglining today at Lake Lavon. Learned Bratonia Park is open. Low water but able launch the jon boat. Put out jug lines. Only one Catfish. Released it, made it back home no problem… chilled with some ukulele time… The Weight.

On the commute, did a little pond hopping the past few days. Was a tough go but did manage to catch a fish or two! First pond was Crowley Park Pond in Richardson. Fished the Redington Pursuit 4wt 8ft Fly Rod and the Ross Flystart2 Reel. Lost the Betts Bream Getter but did make one using Waspi’s Foam Spider Tying Kit! Landed a Bluegill and caught but lost a Bass while bringing it to shore. 4lbs tippet broke but luckily did not lose the fishing fly! Second pond was Plano Downtown Center Pond… not sure about the formal name for it, but this one works for ease of reference. Started fishing the Waspi Betts Bream Getter but without luck. Then, noticed a ball of little fish, actually several of them, moving about in the pond. Thought they were minnows. Turned out to be fingerling catfish. Switched to a PMC Emerger…. smallest fishing fly in the fly box. Had a few follow it but none struck. Next, went with a Corq strike indicator and a Near Deere. Able to catch a Bullhead on the fly! Next ...

Was a windy Saturday at Lake Lavon but did manage to catch three Catfish for dinner using jug lines – commercially bought as well as DIY ones. Also, caught and released a Gar. All went for fresh caught Shad caught with a cast net prior to launching. Below are key items this trip. Hope the info proves useful per our Channel’s intent – “Learn to fish by our trials and errors!” Also, added links to a couple of articles on jug lining: Jug Line Fishing: https://hubpages.com/sports/Jug-Line-Fishing Kayak Jug Fishing: https://hubpages.com/sports/KayakJugFishing

Tried for another big Catfish like the one caught last week. Took three quick trips but did get another nice Catfish on the EmmRod Kayak King! First try had a big one but the line broke. Then, sidetracked with a trip to OK for an awesome airshow. Then, back to TX and a second go at a Catfish. Struck out but did see someone else catch a fish… a Bass. Tried the following day and was able to connect. This one was about the same length as the Catfish caught last week but seemed fatter! Fun stuff!

On a whim bought an EmmRod in their Kayak King Spinning Rod model to use for kayak fishing. Put the order in while on a cruise last week. Rod arrived while we were having fun in the sun and ocean. On our return, rigged up an old spinning reel that we managed to get working again… 30+ year old reel, and then mounted it on the EmmRod. Took it to a local pond and free-lined bread “mashed” around a circle hook. After about 15″ caught a nice Catfish! Not bad for the first cast, first fish on the little rod. Cannot wait to try it kayak fishing! EmmRod Kayak King Spinning Rod

Went kayak fishing for catfish using jug lines and shad for bait. Fishing partner along with our newest member of the Field Team – Charlie the Maltese Puppy had a great time, despite said puppy having a dunking this round. No worries… life jacket did well plus we caught five Catfish that made for a tasty dinner. Will plan a catch and cook video to show how we cooked them! For more on the “magenta” jug lines we used, see our article “ Kayak Jug Fishing “.

Fished Lake Lavon at Highland Park on Saturday, June 9. Took the Jon Boat and Kayak and fished with jug lines using the Jon Boat, and rod and reel using the kayak. Windy day with lots of waves, luckily the cove around the point was calm. Caught some shad at the boat ramp before hanging up on a rock. Cleared the snag, and made repairs to the net. But, decided to get started fishing and look for shad later… at least after setting out lines. Bite was steady with a number of Gaspergou caught. Also, had Yellow Bass and one White Bass on the rod and reel. Fished for about two hours and caught four Catfish – three Blue and one Channel Catfish. Headed back to the house afterwards, and cleaned them up for a fish fry later!    

Was a tough round fishing last week. Decided to take the jon boat and put out jug lines with long time Field Team member – Zeke Rutledge. Put in a Highland Park and soon found out the shad were not in the area; knew then that the fishing would be tough. Cast the net at the boat ramp as well as the shallows north and south of the ramp without success. Did bring chicken livers as a backup. After deploy the jug lines, spent the rest of the time searching for shad and checking on the lines. Had a few bites and did manage one Channel Catfish. Was our one and only fish this round; decided to let it go to get bigger. Tough round but still lots of fun fishing! We know the Catfish are there; just got to keep at it… plus always good to recall past trips like the one where we caught a 33″ catfish jug lining (added a snippet of that trip to the video below as a reminder!) PS: Do check back for our next video… fished the Lower Illinois River in Oklahoma for trout this past Sa...