Stocker Trout Fishing News

Finally made it out to the local lake for kayak fishing. Opted for jug lines and Catfish fishing. Had to make a few modification to the jug lines per the Texas Fishing Regulations. Also, had to read the new rules for Catfish on Lavon. Different compared to past Season! Do check out the video!

Yesterday, we struck out at Denison Dam but mentioned kayak fishing and juglining as a backup plan. Did well… with Catfish caught. Dinner Shrimp Etouffee over rice and Blackened Catfish! Tasty! Will get a trip video out later this week; do check back!

Able to fish this past weekend at Lake Lavon. Made two trips – Saturday to Brockdale Park and Sunday to Highland Park, and then it rained Monday, so we did not fish but still did fishing related things! Did learn that Brockdale Park Boat Ramp is now closed due to flooding. Highland Park remains open luckily! Do checkout the Team updates, and do check back for our follow-up video of Sunday’s fishing and the “Lazy Man Fishing” technique we used later in the day! 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

Made it to Lavon for a chance at an evening round of kayak fishing the point at Brockdale Park. Another hot day but luckily not too hot to stop us from fishing! Arrived at the boat ramp with only one other boat at the park. Quick launch and was on the lake trolling shortly after. Fished a couple of hours without a strike, then shifted to the back paddling technique where we paddle the kayak backwards, and let the slab and jig rig bounce bottom. Managed to avoid a strikeout by getting one Yellow Bass. No worries… best thing about kayak fishing, can always get a workout in at least! Posted video of the trip, and then added past video from a trip last year that shows more details on the back paddling technique. Do check it out!

Short notice quick trip to Lake Lavon at Highland Park for a chance at catching a fish or two kayaking one of of the points. Windy conditions and some waves to deal with, else no issues other than no fish on our hooks. After fishing a double rig using shad for bait, switched to trolling a slab and jig rig. Neither had a bite, so headed back to the boat ramp. Good thing we were able to catch some Shad else the trip would have been a strikeout! No worries, one of the reasons why we like kayak fishing… if no fish, can at least get workout in!

Had a fun time fishing with jug lines this past Saturday. Posted the video on our YouTube Channel – COAF Field Team. Here is an accompanying iFishNews Fishing Podcast to point out a few lessons learned this round! Key Take Aways: Have a backup plan for bait. Cooler temps and windy conditions, changed the pattern. No Shad at first. Luckily, able to pickup Nightcrawlers at a bait shop / convenience store. Adjust for wind, if too windy… move to calmer waters. In our case, across the cove to a leeward shoreline. Don’t wind the jugline’s line. The up and down motion resuls in a slack in the line, giving the chance for the Catfish to twist off the hook Instead, retrieve the line, keeping a steady strain on the line to keep the fish from throwing the hook. Circle Hooks tended to work better when the Catfish were slowly taking the bait and setting the hooks themselves. J-Hooks tended to work better when the Catfish struck hard on the first bite and then started to run. Best to...

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!

Had a great time kayak fishing Saturday. Brought the Lowrance Hook 3x DSI depth finder to locate bait fish, structure, and changes in depth! Was the key to hooking up with White Bass, Yellow Bass, Crappie, and Catfish. Back Paddling to bounce the slab and jig rig worked as well as casting to passing schools. Sure hope to do more in the upcoming weeks

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

Always happy to answer questions from Readers of our blog and Viewers on our YouTube Channel. We are not fishing experts nor professionals but will readily offer a suggestion for areas we have fished in the past. Most recent is a question from one of our YouTube Viewers that asks about tips on fishing the dam at Lake Lavon. Below is an excerpt of the question from our YouTube Channel – COAF FIELD TEAM. In our reply, we suggested working the pier, rocky bank area, the Railroad Bridge, and then downriver keeping the tips below in mind. For videos fishing the tail race at Lake Lavon, see the videos below. For more videos about fishing Lake Lavon, see the video play list below.

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 “.

First kayak fishing trip this year. Fished the local lake (Lake Lavon) on a windy day. Trolled slab and jig rigs and managed to catch a White Bass and a Yellow Bass. Kept them for a catch and cook video to show how to cook them – split them butterfly style from the back, leave the skin and scales, and marinade for a couple of hours, then pan fry till crispy. Also, did a quick demo of why we like the Zebco Rod/Reel combo we use as a backup rod when kayak fishing… it floats! Zebco Rod and Reel – Slingshot mentioned in the video. “Cool colors. Hot spinning performance. All at a great price. These custom-matched Combos are great for all ages with long-casting Slingshot spinning reels and durable 2-piece Z-Glass rods.” See latest price at Walmart.

Short snippet of a ukulele time to prepare for the upcoming weekend – non-Labor Day Weekend, for those who have the 3-Day weekend off! A salute with a sip of wine, thoughts of kayak fishing, and stand up longboarding! Cannot wait till the weekend starts!  

Been awhile since we fished Clear Lake Park (Lake Lavon). Made it there Saturday; renewed the Annual Pass and fished the morning. Bite was tough but did manage to get video of some of the action. Lots of fun, despite the bite being slow, able to get a great workout in and go fishing, too! Fun stuff! PS: Made it back Sunday, no Bruisers. Less wind, made a long paddle to the “Glass House”. First time there. Do check back for the video.    

Still sidetracked by the day job but luckily Saturday’s are open for now for some fishing. This round more jug line fishing at Lake Lavon. Was there on the Fourth of July and only caught one on rod and reel while kayak fishing. Had video but file was corrupted while transferring to the computer. No worries… this round, able to get the video to transfer and finished editing it! Also, still working on the fishing and side trips last month to the Texas Coast and Hill Country; added a snippet to the end of this video. Do check back periodically; hope to get it posted sooner than later!  

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...

Struck out today but had a great time still. Best thing about kayak fishing is if you don’t catch a fish, you still can get a workout in! Estimate 4.5 mile paddle this round; had to come in a little early due to thunderstorms brewing in the area, but lucked out… just after loading the kayak to leave, the rain started! Kicking off the Summer Season with a TBT revisit of the Port A Beach Song… Fun times!  

Did a quick review of the Pelican Catch 100 Kayak that we bought at Academy Sports not too long ago. So far, liking the kayak, especially: – Stable, can stand up without issue using the strap provided, – Easy to paddle and maneuver, be sure to use long paddles (250cm) is what we used the second trip out – Seat is nice and comfortable, can be set in two positions of which the higher position is our preference – Comes with four rod holders and a Scotty rail to mount accessories, but readily accommodates Railblaza accessories, too – Below deck storage, with locking mechanism to hold items while on the water Do stay tuned for more videos as we go kayak fishing with the Pelican Catch 100 and the Heritage Featherlite kayaks this Summer!