Granite Shoals night fishing

Last night I went to fish the underwater lights of Lake LBJ in Granite Shoals about one hour west of where I live. I went with a fellow kayak angler and his 12 year old daughter.

Dennis had read some reports about white bass being caught there at night and was anxious to catch some of them. Since I had been there a couple of times before, I decided I would go and provide assistance with information about the area plus gets some night fishing.

I brought along my 4wt since I knew the bluegill sometimes get in a frenzy around the lights and some tend to get pretty big. I also brought my 5wt with a sinking like for any bass.

I was very impressed with Dennis' daughter. She is on her way to being a very experienced kayak angler. This was not her first nighttime fishing expedition. She and her dad have fished Lake Travis before at night and they were prepared with the required 360 degree light on their kayaks along with flashlights.

Once the sun had set and the underwater lights came on, we found only a half dozen lights on. Usually there are twice that many on in the cove we were in. Finally, we found one lone light on the deeper side of the lake that appeared to have some white bass.

We all caught some fish that night and had some good conversation as well. I probably landed 5 white bass and lost just as many. I also landed a nice largemouth that was around two pounds. In addition, I caught a dozen or so bluegill with several of them around 8 and 9 inches.

It was a nice night to be out fishing with friends. The wind was light which was good because this particular cove is not all that protected and can be difficult to fish in windy conditions.

Dennis and I discussed coming back in spring during the staging before the white bass run. We also discussed doing some fishing in Lake Travis since he lives along the lake and has access to several private parks that offer some prime launch spots to avoid too much paddling from where I normally launch. If I can, I may take him up on these offers.

After packing everything up to head out and driving through the neighborhood, we spotted a really fine buck. The neighborhood in Granite Shoals is literally infested with deer. Hopefully, in the spring the underwater lights will be infested with whites, too.