Stocker Trout Fishing News

Here is the follow-on catch and cook video to our "Kayak Fishing for Whatever Bites" video! Simple recipe that calls for Garlic Salt and Black Pepper! Do give it a try!

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

Decided to make my own slab lures for white bass. Ordered DO-IT Molds from Barlow’s Tackle in Richardson, Texas. Lucked out, they still had the molds in stock! Quick delivery, able to make a set of slab lures. After a quick paint job, got to try them out at the local lake “surf casting without the surf” with the Okuma Breakaway Surf Rod and Pflueger Reel. Caught a fish or two before a boat went past that put the school down. No worries… good to know making my own slabs works!

Rain and cold has me indoors. No worries, can always talk fishing. Meaning making preps for our next fishing trips. This time it’s about review past videos, current videos, and online scouting. In particular, Senkos for Bass, EmmRod for a commuter fishing rod, and current action on bass and white bass in the area! Of note are playlist mentioned in the video: Senko Fishing EmmRod – Ponds and Commute Heritage Kayak

Back in the day… We would drive by the boat ramp on the Nueces River, and when we saw lots of cars, trucks, and boat trailers, we would put in the jon boat. Then, using a 2hp motor, we trolled upstream a Johnson Minnow. Flat lining the spoon until we got a strike, then we stopped to cast or troll the area either catching more, or moving on if no other takers! We would continue to head upriver, repeating this pattern and as we reached a shallow, sandy area… typically, a bend in the river, we would wade the area and concentrate efforts in hopes of catching a school of spawning white bass. Now a days… We prefer to wait till warmer weather and when the spawn is over and the White Bass are schooling on the lake. More often than not, we kayak fish for them, trolling a slab and jig rig or multiple tandem rigged jigs tied sabiki style. Also, sight casting to breaking schools feeding on shad near the water’s surface. Else, we bank fish and surf cast “without the surface” on win...

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!

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.

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!  

Had lots of fun fishing Saturday putting in the kayak at Avalon Park (Lake Lavon). Decided to give it another go but this time putting in at Clear Lake Park (Lake Lavon). Brought two kayaks and a fishing buddy. I started out focusing on Crappie, and began locating submerged trees and brush with the fish finder. Found a couple of trees, and had several strikes but could not connect. Our fishing buddy caught several nice White Bass while trolling a point. Opting to work the point, began casting and drifting the point instead of trolling. In short order, had caught eleven while I continued to strike out on Crappie. Not wanting to miss out on the action, finally changed from Crappie to White Bass and began connecting as well. We used Slab and Jig Rigs cast and then bounced/jigged on the bottom. Lost count of how many were caught and released after twenty-one. Bite was steady with a good mix of Keepers. Kept one White Bass that went 11″ in length. Remainder we kept were much bigger! Do...

Caught several White Bass today off the point by the Island at Clear Lake Park (Lake Lavon). Others were doing well casting; opted to troll for them in hopes of a underwater shot of a fish striking the lure. Still editing today’s video but we may have gotten the strike this round! Of the White Bass caught this round, only one was a Keeper. No worries… good workout in and still got to go fishing! Here is the video of yesterday action, and below it are pictures from today. Will get a video of today’s action posted as soon as we can… stay tuned!   One keeper, off the point by the island, tan is maintaining! #kayakfishing #lakelavon #whitebass A photo posted by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Jul 21, 2016 at 6:39pm PDT Upper left cntrclockwise. Fish reacting to lure trolled through school. #kayakfishing #waterwolfhd A photo posted by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Jul 21, 2016 at 9:24pm PDT

Had a fun time kayak fishing Clear Lake Park (Lake Lavon) Sunday morning. Only one White Bass but did get some underwater action shots with the Water Wolf Camera. Was good to see what was happening underwater. Did notice the Slab and Jig Rig attracted more fish than a Slab alone. Also, noticed the Slab and Jig was fouled as we paddled past the “Island”. Lots of wind and waves, so opted to keep paddling to a less windy spot before checking the line. Fouled lures may explain the missed hook sets. Also, tried a swim bait that did get one fish to look at it. Swim bait was about 4″ in size, so whatever looked at was at least three times the length of the swim bait.

Video of the action Thursday (June 9, 2016) at Brockdale Park is posted below. Bite was on with the White Bass going for the Sabiki and Slab Rig. Caught over 30+ but only five were Keepers. Did have a sixth Keeper but lost it while putting it on the stringer. Decided to make a better stringer for future use – see Kayak Fishing Stringer Prototype posted in an earlier video. Was hoping to test it this weekend while kayak fishing but injured wrist. Luckily, NucLaroche was down from Oklahoma, and we were able to take the jon boat out and do some jug lining for Catfish Saturday. The Stringer worked well, just gotta keep a steady hold on it as the Weed Eater Trimmer Line is slippery! Will get a video of Saturday’s action posted later.

Fished Bethany Creek Park pond yesterday and caught a number of Bluegill using a Foam Grasshopper, and then later using an Orange/White Tenkara Fly. Went with the Four Weight and had a blast catching them. Today, went kayak fishing at Brockdale Park (Lake Lavon). Windy with waves to deal with but the action was fast paced initially when the White Bass were feeding on shad in the shallows. Lost count of how many were caught but did get five Keepers. Would have been six but lost one while putting it on the stringer. Got lots of video to edit but below is a short clip that gives an idea about today’s action! Fun stuff!

Late start of the three day weekend. Had to tie up some loose ends before starting the Labor Day Weekend. Did make it to Brockdale this round. Used a Switch Rod and a Crappie Jig and caught nothing after an hour. Then as is got dark,had a little White Bass strike. Fun stuff…! Only one just as it got dark!

Decided to give it another try at Little Ridge this morning. More rough conditions but things calmed down later. Bite was slower compared to yesterday but then found them (White Bass) lurking in a cove. Calm water, out of the wind, and lots of feeding fish… multiple hook ups on the Sabiki Rig for White Bass ! Although undersized, the action was good with lots of fish chasing those that were already hooked! Did this for most of the morning, and then headed to the Power Plant and started working the area. No anchoring this time; instead, paddle to the boundary, cast the rig, then back paddle to remain out of the restricted area, and then set the hook when they strike. Caught more undersized White Bass this way. However, we did get one Keeper and a Catfish that went for the Slab! Fun stuff and a great workout, too! More White Bass on the Sabiki Rig!

Put in at Brockdale Park Saturday afternoon and went kayak fishing. Was a late start but almost immediately after launching noticed lots of fish activity on the surface. Used Sabiki Rigged Tube Fishing Flies and a Slab initially; had no takers, so removed the Slab and switched to Tube Fishing Flies and Crappie Jigs. Soon after, hooked up with a fish! As it was a hot day, decided to take a water break. While doing so, set the rod down and let the lures bob up and down in the water as we drifted. Have done this often in the past. And, on occasion will get a fish to bite. Turned out, one did this time. So, just in case, tried it again and got another strike. Did this several more times with similar results – basically we were vertically jigging! Switched back to trolling and caught more undersized fish. Also, did some sight casting to boils that were happening frequently as well as more vertical jigging. Lost count of the number of fish caught and released. Did have one breakoff that felt...

Found the break in the week that we were looking for and made a run to Lake Lavon’s Brockdale Park. Gate remains closed but walk-in access is still available. Was able to use the kayak cart and make an easier portage from the parking area to the boat ramp. While on the way, noticed a Park Ranger was examining the boat ramp and taking notes. Talked briefly with the Park Ranger; he noted the boat ramp is looking good but the pavement area may need fixing. As for when the boat ramp will be opened, still remains uncertain. Good thing we made the kayak cart! After making a few tweaks here and there in how best to secure it to the kayak, the cart worked as designed! In short order, was able to put in at the boat ramp, paddle out a few yards, and then casted a line and started trolling. Caught a number of White Bass and Largemouth Bass (all small) and a few Yellow Bass! Most went for a Chartreuse/White Crappie Jig; several went for a Red/White Tube Fishing Fly! Will need to make another trip ...

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!