Hi all, new here to the forum, been fishing all my life, love bass fishing the most. Recently gotten more into it again. I bought a Brooklyn Kayak Company tandem that my wife and I like to take out. I've taken it out on a couple small lakes and gotten used to it, and I hooked up a Garmin fishfinder to it.

I'm wanting to plan some excursions to a couple of larger lakes with hopefully some better fishing.

I'm thinking Lake Conroe and Livingston for some spring trips.

Wondering about where would be good to launch and fish on those lakes. Also wondering what other lakes are in the North Houston area that are good for bass that I should target for a day trip in the kayak.

Glad to be here, thanks for any advice.

James

Luce Bayou might tickle your fancy. There are some huge bass in Raven Lake (Huntsville State Park), and the north end of Conroe has some big bass and a lot of submerged timber. Good luck!

Yes, I'm a pilot and fly over Lake Conroe constantly, I've been eyeing that north end for a long time... any idea where to launch the kayak up there?

I'll also put Luce Bayou and Raven Lake on my list, appreciate the suggestions

James

Sent you a PM

Right. The north end of Lake Conroe is called Stubblefield and there is ample parking and a ramp near a bridge you can easily find maps to. I was planning a trip last weekend but didn't have time to drive up (I'm in Galveston) so I fished down here.

Lake Conroe is fed by the west branch of the San Jacinto river and it looks pretty nice, videos seem to suggest several species of fish there.

So, one fun target would be to bring some gear and tackle for white bass as they'll soon be moving up into the river to spawn. If you can find them on your fish finder, you'll have a ton of fun.

Raven Lake has always been tough for me but I have fished it a few times. A nice small lake that once was quite a fishery until they killed the vegetation in it several years ago to give bank anglers/campers better access to the water. Brad

I'm in a similar situation - love bass fishing and have been away from it for years. Now I'm semi-retired, bought a good fishing kayak and gear, and will be looking for opportunities around the Houston area for trips to get me off the bank.

My kayak can be motorized (55lb transom mount trolling motor), so I'm looking for places that a "motorized" boat can launch, with good fishing reasonably close by. Also happy to launch at non motorized ramps and paddle for the day if the fishing is within reach.

I've had a little bit of fun at Buffalo Run Park (Missouri City area) which allows motorized boats, and the Bates Allen Park launch into the San Bernard River, which doesn't allow motorized boats.

Keeping an eye on this thread for ideas. Maybe some of us will be able to connect and fish sometime.

For Conroe, Stubblefield is a good place and Stow Away Marina has a kayak launch area. In fact, Stow Away is a great place for wind protection. I know you mentioned North Houston, but do not overlook Sheldon Lake but you will share the lake with some big gators. Just give them the respect they deserve and you'll be fine.

Thanks for the info on Stow Away Marina. I am going to look at it, too.

Sheldon Reservoir would be a lot of fun, notwithstanding sharing water with gators, but I saw a warning that I think was recent related to car/truck windows being broken and thefts. I don't carry anything of value in my truck but I don't want someone busting out windows just to find nothing they can pawn off for a quick fix.

Brad

This is turning out to be a good thread. I'd be happy to join forces with some of you guys for a kayak fishing day when it warms up a bit

It just so happens I went out and flew my plane over the north part of Lake Conroe today, and took some pics and vids of the spot I've been eyeing... lo and behold it looks like this is Stubblefield

Thats a pic from the air, and a map, the Stubblefield seems to be at the north end of this shot (farther) and there looks to be another area, Cagle Recreation area, thats closer to those island over the bridge

Count me in for any group fishing in the general Houston area.

I'd really like to try Stubblefield. I believe when I looked up how to get there, it is off Exit 103, New Waverly off to the west a few miles. So, the very north end of Lake Conroe and not too far south of Raven Lake.

I still think running up there in a few weeks for the white bass spawn would make for a good outing. Of course, black bass and panfish, etc. could be targeted for anyone preferring different targets.

Brad

The white bass fishing can be epic on the Trinity River tributatries around Huntsville and Riverside. Bedias, Nelson, and Harmon Creek will typically have a white bass spawing run if there's enough water flow. Throw a road runner or other spinner lure in that chocolate brown water and they will find it. Works on San Jacinto river too.

So when do the White Bass spawn? Is it happening now? Wondering when I should plan an expedition.

Someone will usually make a TFF post when they start catching lots of white bass in the creeks or rivers above a reservoir. When the water temps get around 60DegF the spawn is usually on. If you don't like crowds and combat fishing around a hot spot, then go now. Fish the deeper pools in the creeks to find the schools . The white bass move up into the creeks sometimes weeks in advance of the actual spawn. There can also be bonus bass, crappie, and catfish caught when fishing for white bass. Everything will bite an 1/8 oz jig.

You can google search Stubblefield Recreation area for directions. There are no fees for the boat ramp or parking. Monday evening (Feb 28) I caught my first limit of White Bass this season, in about 2 hours. I returned Tuesday morning with my kayak buddy, we both limited out in about 3 hours. There were about 8 of us on the water, mix of kayaks, flat bottoms, and bank fisherman, everyone was catching White Bass. I returned Thursday morning (March 3rd) to only catch 2. The place was the busiest I've seen it. At 7:30 AM there were 24 vehicles average of 2 people per vehicle) and more coming all morning. I pulled out at noon. I didn't see anyone with more than10 fish, with the exception of the couple targeting Crappie, they were killing it. What a difference 48 hours made. It's amusing everyone has their own theory: water temp, length of daylight, time of day, solar tables, Red Bud bloom, rain fall, etc., etc. (Maybe I should have worn the same shirt on Thursday?) In my humble opinion, I don't think the spawn has happened yet. The majority of the fish we caught Monday and Tuesday were fertile males. The few females in the catch still had eggs. It's a great place to be on the water in a yak. You can explore for miles above or below the bridge.

FYI we were catching big females in the San Jac below SH242 a couple of weeks ago.! A branch caught my half weight and two weight rods in the bed of my truck and snapped both; I haven’t been back since. The water temp was 70 that day; higher than I had expected.