Kayak Fishing Tips for San Marcos River, Texas
Today I want to share with you a few tips on how to fish the San Marcos River in Texas. Took me a bit to break it down, but think I have the formula for success!
We fished with the guys from TG Canoe and Kayak, and they recommended lighter white and white-chartreuse baits that imitated shad. They also suggested chatter baits, spinner baits, and swim jigs, but on our trip, the fish weren’t cooperating.
I decided to go to my finesse stuff which is what I usually do when the fish aren’t biting. Even in tough conditions, I can usually catch fish on a ned rig or a Senko. In San Marcos, the Senko really came through for me.
The Rods and Reels I Used in San Marcos
When fishing the Senko, I used a 7-foot Judge from Rain Shadow. It’s actually a crankbait blank, but I had it set up as a spinning rod.
It has more of a moderate action because it transitions from fiberglass to graphite. Graphite gives me plenty of backbone to pull fish out of cover but has a softer tip. The best use rods with softer tips when fishing from a kayak. These rods are lot more forgiving when I'm high-sticking and trying to land fish quickly.
Reel: 3000 Series Shimano reel.
Line: Seaguar Smackdown in Low-Vis Stealth Gray. I like using Stealth Gray when I'm finesse fishing because the fish can’t see the line very well. I always run a top shot of Seaguar Gold Label fluorocarbon too.
In this scenario, I used 15 to 20-pound test which is nearly invisible to the fish. It helped me get away using a slightly heavier line than you normally would.
San Marcos Bass Loved Senkos and JackHammers
Oddly enough, I had the most luck with a darker color Senko than what the guys at TG recommended. I kind of stumbled onto this by chance because I only had natural colors like watermelon with blue and purple flakes.
First I rigged a 5-inch Senko wacky-style using the Wacky rig tool. I prefer a Gamakatsu drop shot weedless hook over other wacky rig or wacky-style hook setups. I get better hook sets and more hookups when I’m using an o-ring on the bait.
Choosing the Right Colored Baits
The darker Senkos worked well, but then I decided to try something different to land some bigger fish. I had a white JackHammer tied on and I hadn't had much luck on anything in the lighter color range. I picked up the 7-foot, medium-heavy Judge that I have rigged up as a bait caster. This is also a crankbait blank, but it works well for throwing heavier JackHammers.
In this scenario, I was using a half-ounce JackHammer on a moderate rod. When a fish comes up and shakes its head the action is going to be a little more forgiving. I like having more forgiveness in the tip. It’s also nice having the graphite down in the backbone of the rod. This gives me the power I need to set the hook and muscle fish out of cover.
Fishing Line Used
On this setup, I had 30-pound test Seaguar Smackdown in Flash Green. The JackHammer is a moving bait that I usually swim pretty quickly, so I’m not too worried about the fish seeing the line, but I can see it at all times.
But that being said, I still always tip that with at least 20-pound fluorocarbon, and in San Marcos, I used Seaguar Gold Label which is very strong, nearly invisible, and smaller in diameter than some of the other fluorocarbon leaders out there.
I was using a half-ounce JackHammer in bruised green pumpkin with black and blue flakes mixed in, and I tipped it with either a black and purple or blue and purple Razor Shad from Z-Man. Since the bait is designed to work with chatter baits, it gave the JackHammer a really nice swimming action.
I only caught one fish on this so I wouldn’t say that a pattern emerged, but I only had it on for a few minutes and probably only made four or five casts. So I’m not sure if the fish liked the darker color or just happened to be in the area and would’ve pounced on anything I threw.
San Marcos Recap
What worked best for me in San Marcos was the 5-inch Senko rigged wacky-style in watermelon green and purple, but I caught the biggest fish on the bruised pumpkin JackHammer tipped with a black and purple or blue and purple Razor Shad.
When throwing the Senko, I used a medium action 7-foot Judge with a 3000 Series Shimano spinning reel and 20-pound Stealth Gray Seaguar Smackdown with either a 15 or 20-pound test Gold Label fluorocarbon leader.
For the JackHammer, I used the 7-foot medium-heavy Judge blank from Rain Shadow which has a moderate-fast action that I set up as a bait caster with 30-pound Seaguar Smackdown and 20-pound Gold Label fluorocarbon leader.
These rod, reel, and bait combos did the trick in San Marcos because they helped me put fish in the boat during some pretty tough conditions.
Further Reading
There is a full article on my expedition to the San Marcos River here: Black Bass Fishing the San Marcos River, TX. Enjoy!
Rods:
– 7’ Medium Rainshadow Judge
– 7’ MH Rainshadow Judge
Reels and line combos:
– Shimano Vanford 3000 reel spooled with 20lb Seaguar Smackdown in Flash Green and a 12lb Seaguar Gold Label Fluorocarbon leader
– Shimano Chronarch 150 HG spooled with 30lb Seaguar Smackdown in Flash Green and a 20lb Seaguar Gold Label Fluorocarbon Leader
Bait rigs:
– 5” green pumpkin and purple flake Yamamoto Senko rigged wacky
– 1/2 oz Z-Man Jackhammer chatterbait in bruised green pumpkin tipped with a black and blue laminate Razor Shadz
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