Stocker Trout Fishing News

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!

Normally we troll Slab and Jig Rigs when kayak fishing. Works well for fish holding in the upper water column. But, when fish are holding deep, near bottom… what to do, what to do. We try the Back Paddling Technique! This round in keeping with our motto, “Learn to Fish by our Trial and Errors”…. Watch how we use a technique that we discovered by accident. And, do stay till end for the Bonus! Back Paddling allows the bounce and twitch of the slab and jig rig we are using It’s fished near bottom where the fish are holding… will cast and try jigging once it hits bottom. Then… back paddle, keeping sight of the rod. When done right… rod twitches. When snagged or bit… rod bends hard. If snagged, paddle toward it and will come loose. If bit, reel the fish in! Do see the full length video of Sunday’s Trip! Lot’s of “learn to fish by our trials and errors” action to watch. Plus, watch how we change our fishing tactics as conditions change!

Windy day but managed to catch three fish this round – a White Bass, a Carp, and a Crappie. Fun stuff, plus got a great workout in! Started out at Clear Lake Park on Lake Lavon, then tried Avalon but it was closed. Stopped by the Lavonia South Ramp but decided to go on to Lavonia North Ramp. Wind was brutal with no strikes. Did see some structure with the fish finder but could not put the lures in the money zone due to the windy conditions. Did get some video that showed the fish caught today, the windy conditions, and how we set up the fish finder in the kayak. Do check it out, and do be careful out there!  

Been fighting a cold and have been indoors these past few days. However, just could not let the day pass without wetting a line. Decided to check out South Lakes Park Pond in Denton this afternoon in hopes of Rainbow Trout. The pond was recently stocked on Wednesday. Not sure how the trip would go; been some time since we last fished the pond. Brought a 5WT flyrod and fished a Near Deere as well as a Tandem Rigged Near Deere and GRHEN. Had one strike while walking the bank, so stayed there and ended up catching two little Crappie and a Bluegill. Continued to work the pond and had several strikes fishing the Tandem Rig under a strike indicator but failed to set the hook in time. Kept at it for another hour and managed to catch one more undersized Crappie. Overall, had a fun time getting out on a chilly but nice day.    

Had a great time at Sonic Pond this evening again. Caught more Bass, a Sunfish, and more Crappie including a nice size one! All went for a Pink Near Deere and most were caught after dark, too! The big Crappie was easily over 12″ in size, likely closer to 14″+. Not bad for a community pond! Glad to see the Pink Near Deere was producing well after sunset. Slowed the retrieve and payed close attention to any hint of a strike – hesitation in the line, slight twitch and/or tug on the line! Was going to fish a little longer but the little fishing fly really took a beating this round… had lost one to a snag earlier and then the line snapped on the last fish caught. Opted to head for home instead of fumble with tying a knot in the dark. Fun stuff… and some good practice for the Blue River Rainbow Trout; hope to make it there sometime this weekend if work does not get in the way!

Decided to give “Sonic Pond” another go. Glad we did. Caught more Bass, a couple of Bluegill, a Sunfish, and two Crappie. One Crappie was bigger than the one we caught yesterday. The other was slightly smaller that yesterday’s Crappie. Lots of fun, did miss several Bass and another Crappie that came off while landing it. Still was a lot of fun for the short amount of time we had – less than an hour to fish… all went for the Pink Near Deere, hoping the fishing fly does well on the Rainbow Trout to be stocked in the Blue River soon!

Decided to give the pond by Sonic (aka Sonic Pond) a try this evening. Short on time with about an hour to fish, was hoping to hook maybe one or two fish. As it turned out, the bite was good with the Pink Near Deere doing well. Glad to see the fishing fly keeps working! Caught Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish using a fast retrieve. Noticed the fish were chasing baitfish in the shallows, so “matching the hatch” went with casts paralleling the shoreline and simulated a frantic baitfish running away. Lots of fun, even saw a nice size Koi that ignored us and also caught and released a nice size Crappie – easily over 10″ in size!     Bream Getter Cabela's Fiberglass CGR Fly Rod Rooster Tail Inline Spinners Mepps Trout Kit