Originally from the Caribbean and recently moved to Austin. Miss fishing and looking to start catching some fish. I know little about fishing here since I was brought up strictly a saltwater fisherman (tarpon, snapper, grouper, snook etc). Never really used lures mostly live baits and cut baits of different types. I'm close to the Colorado River near Webberville and I've tried fishing from the bank there with no luck (with plastic worms and berkley catfish bait). But I'm seeing tons of fish my last 2 days out. I think they're white/striped bass but I can't catch any:( I've tried using a bobber with bait 12 inches under the surface or a carolina rig type setup. Even tried live nightcrawlers under a bobber yesterday. Consider myself a more than decent fisherman but this is getting a little frustrating. Any suggestions on rig types and baits would be most welcome.

You can chum for catfish. In moving water you will might try getting a can of Alpo dog food in a can and punching some holes in it. Tie a string on it so it will stay near you and attract fish.
Also you may try getting some shad via a cast net or from somewhere like walmart. Cats love em! You can also use a very small hook and catch some sunfish and then put them on a bigger hook, that catches bass and cats. Rooster tail baits seem to work pretty good also for those white bass. The main thing is to not get discouraged! Keep fishing man and you will be all right!

Thanks for the tips. I'm really after the bass (although i'll take anything) cos there seems to be a fair bit of them now. How would you rig and fish a rooster tail? No sinker or bobber just tied on the end of your line and cast it where you think the fish are and then reel it in slowly? What about shad/minnows for the bass or shad/minnow like lures?

You are in Austin, try for carp. Closest thing to a saltwater fight you will find. We've got a tourney up there from the 24th to the 31st. If you are game swing by and we'll show you a thing or two about carping. Town Lake has 45 2 man teams on it for the 24 and 25th. After that Emma Long park should hold a lot of carpers from across the country having a blast. Ask for me and I'd be happy to show you how we do it.

Hmmmm ... never even considered carp. Only carp I've ever seen are in garden ponds! Like the pic of the one u had though. That thing's big enough to be a grouper. Might take you up on the offer to check you out on Town Take this Saturday.

You are after bass, I have a stocked pond in my back yard full of the things! I just moved out there and it is AWESOME! Ill shoot you a PM and maybe we can hook up. Iive in lockhart, you can go to yahoo and look up where it is. A rooster tail is like a spinner bait but it has fir on the skirt instead of the plastic. here is a rooster tail.

http://image.basspro.com/images/images2/34500/34621.jpg

Thanks for the tips about rooster tails. Went down to the river this evening after work for about 45 minutes just before it got dark and had myslef enough time to land a nice white bass (about 16/17 inches) on a rooster tail. First bass ever .... it was kinda like a snapper when it hit the rooster tail.

No prob! I got your email fuz, I am prolly going to do some fishing on sunday. Hit me up if your game!

Fuz,
If you hit up Town Lake or Austin Lake, you won't be dissapointed. The carpheads are allways willing to lend a hand.

Went down to the river again on friday after work on got me 2 nice sandies in less than an hour. They just seem to love those silver/white rooster tails. Went back on Saturday but didn't have any luck. There were quite a few people and almost all of them were using live bait I think. I hope the it doesn't rain too much this week cos we'll have to wait a few days for the water to be ok and the sides were still pretty slick from the last rains.

Fuz, where in the river are you fishing?

I mostly go to Granger (north of Taylor) - with not much catching (I am new in this). Granger lake is rich with white bass, crappie and catfish; during this time of year, whites go up the river to spawn and people catch them from the bank. Also the spillway can be very productive. I do not catch much, everyone around me are. I watch, ask questions and experiment; doing little better.

Browny

I'm new to this just like you but I've been watching and asking some questions. Live bait and road runner jigs seem to be working in my area. I'm talking about the Colorado River east of Austin in the Webberville area. There are some state parks in the Webberville area that have some fishing access. I was going to head out this evening but it's raining a lot and the banks get pretty slick so I'm home.