Stocker Trout Fishing News

Setup the surf casting rod and made the run to Brockdale Park (Lavon). Thought the park was closed, planned to walk down from the gate. Arrived and found out it was open. Drove down to the parking area. Lake level is up. Able to get some great surf casting practice in. No fish but did have a few boats come close to the point where we were casting. Was casting well past the wakes they left. Next round… hopefully Denison Dam!

Reader sent in a question related to our recent trip to Galveston. Had a question on the reel we were using on one of our surf casting rods – specifically, the “black and gold one”. We were using a Penn Squall 15 Reel. It was mounted on a Rodsmith 10′ Rod (Triton Series); we normally have it mounted on a 11′ Daiwa Sealine Surfcasting Rod but the piers in Galveston limit rods to a 10′ maximum length. Below are a couple of videos we posted in the past where we practice casting as well as fish with the rod/reel. Really like this setup; so much that we have a matched pair! Penn Squall 15: http://amzn.to/2sVzgnU Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod 11′: http://amzn.to/2sXrSJ4 Tennis Ball Fishing Float  

The Team had a great time in Galveston fishing the two piers – Galveston Fishing Pier and the 61st Street Fishing Pier, over the weekend. Had been to both piers in the past. Originally, planned to fish only one but then we learned the T-Head at the Galveston Fishing Pier opened earlier this year. First night we fished the Galveston Fishing Pier Friday evening from 9PM to 5AM Saturday morning. Bite was mainly Gafftopsail, Hardheads, Croaker, and Whiting for us. Did learn that others were catching Black Drum, Speckle Trout, and small Sharks. Then, we hopped up the road to the 61st Street Fishing Pier and fished from 8:30AM to 3PM Saturday. During that time, we caught more Gafftopsail, Hardheads, Croaker, and Whiting. Saw lots of Mullet schooling and saw the occasional Shark take a bite of one. Others hooked into a Bonnethead Shark and Blacktip Shark, and then we caught a Blacktip Shark, too! Things slowed down afterwards, so we took a break, then headed back to the 61st Street Fishi...

To kickoff the three-day weekend, we start off with fishing Celebration Park’s East Pond. This time we went with Hot Dogs for bait; we used the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel. Was hoping for another Bruiser like the one we caught the other day. As it turned out, had many strikes but missed hookups. Suspect the Turtles had a hand in this… that said, we did get three Catfish (about 14″-15″ in size). Fun stuff!

Planned to fish Denison Dam this morning but with rain in the forecast, decided to fish Lake Lavon this morning. Action was slow but steady with several Catfish caught on Nightcrawlers and more caught using Beef Liver. For some reason, the local grocery stores were out of fresh (never frozen) Chicken Livers. Also, did see others catching Gaspergou (Freshwater Drum), Catfish, White Bass, and Bluegill. All seemed to be liking Nightcrawlers! Fun stuff! PS: Matched pair of Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reels worked well!

Only one White Bass this round at Brockdale Park. Caught it using the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel. It struck a multi-rigged Marabou Fishing Fly that simulated a school of bait fish (at least a school of three that is). Did have some fun sight casting to two schools of White Bass that passed but only had the one hookup. Then, switched to a 2oz lead weight to practice casting. Had fun doing that, and then decided to put the Tennis Ball Fishing Float on the line. Once the Tennis Ball was wet, was able to cast as far (possibly) further than the lead weight! Fun stuff! Multi-Rig Fishing Fly Tennis Ball Fishing Float

Headed to Brockdale Park after work this evening. More casting practice with the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel. No bites for a while and then caught two White Bass using a White Tube Fly. Wind was up, so it was difficult to see rising schools. Mainly blind casted. Next step… spool up the other Penn Squall 15 Reel, mount it on to the other Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod, and then make a run to Denison Dam. Hopefully, this weekend! Point at Brockdale Park at normal lake level!

Been happy with the Penn Squall 15 Reel and the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod. So, ordered another reel to go with the other rod (ordered two rods earlier). Now we have a matched pair of Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rods and Penn Squal 15 Reels. NucLaroche and Fshng84 should have a good old time casting for distance with this setup. We still have our American Rodsmiths Triton and Abu Garcie 6500 C3s, so we have tried and true back up rods to go with the new ones! More reason now to go fishing! Liking this setup… now we have two!

Fished the point at Brockdale Park this evening. Last time we caught one White Bass. This time we doubled our catch and caught two White Bass. Used the same rig as last time – a Float and Jig Rig with a Purple Marabou Crappie Jig for the jig. Casted for a while and then finally started seeing surface activity as a school of White Bass passed by. Good thing the Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod and Penn Squall 15 Reel was able to cast for distance as some schools were past the 100+ yard mark. Was doing good with minimal backlash, and then had three in a row. After a quick check of the reel, noticed the Launcher Float lost its lead weight, explaining the backlashes. Made an adjustment to the magnetic brake; no more backlashes. Overall, was a slow day but had lots of fun sight casting to passing schools even though it lasted about 30″. No worries… still lots of fun! Surf Casting Without the Surf!  

Checked out Brockdale Park (Lake Lavon). Has been closed for a while. With water levels up, hoped it would be open. Turned out the gate is locked. Now there is too much water. Boat ramp is underwater and half the parking lot, too. No problem. Parked the car in the equestrian parking area and walked to where we normally fished – that is, as close to the point as we could. Action was slow but something kept stealing the Nightcrawlers we were using for bait. Really nice evening on the lake; mainly practiced casting with the Penn Squall 15 and Daiwa Sealine Surf Casting Rod. Made some really good casts that went far; even managed to get a White Bass to strike on a Float and Jig Rig. Jig used was a Purple Marabou Jig. Fun stuff!  

Busy day working but did finally break away in the afternoon to go fishing. This round went to Lake Lavon’s Tailrace. With all the rain we had, lake levels were up enough to release water! Heard others did well on White Bass earlier in the week. As it goes, only saw one White Bass caught; however, did see a couple of Gaspergou (Freshwater Drum) were caught by others. Also, saw two Catfish caught on bait. One went for a Shad; other went for cut bait. Of the two, one was a Bruiser. Not sure how much it weighed but did get video of it; even helped land it as no net was available. Fun stuff!