Create Your Own Trout School!

Mark Davis works a popping cork like no one I have ever seen. The host of The Outdoor Channel’s highest-rated fishing show, “Big Water Adventures,” pops his super hard, leaving only a brief pause for fish to strike especially when fishing for speckled trout.

He calls this “creating your own school,” referring to finding schooling game fish.

Seven years ago I watched him out fish everyone in the Lower Laguna Madre near Port Mansfield using a popping cork to catch dozens of trout including a 30-inch monster.’

Fast forward two years later, I fished with him at Hackberry Rod & Gun with Capt. Kirk Stansel and he once again caught the biggest trout of the day a 27-inch sow using this strategy.

“People think that popping corks are not effective for big fish but they could not be wrong. And these same people often talk about how effective topwaters are for the exact same fish. Corks, like topwaters, draw the attention of fish,” he said.

Davis noted using a soft plastic fish or shrimp imitation under a cork is like fishing a topwater with a trailer and big fish cannot resist it.

The version of Davis’ method I use is to pop the cork hard three times and let it sit for 1-2 seconds. Repeat process.

Another advantage according to Davis is you can cast long distances, which can be a big help in local waters during winter when anglers are wade fishing and covering a much smaller area than they would in a boat.

“Being able to make long distances is an advantage for another reason. Big fish are often spooky and do not like boats approaching them closely,” Davis said.

Davis said anglers should take a second look at popping corks and not be afraid to work them with gusto.

“This technique does not require a high-level fishing pedigree to fish effectively. Anyone can do it and I guarantee they will start catching more big specks and reds,” Davis said.

“And the best part is they can watch a cork go under just like when they were kids. The difference is instead of it being bluegill or little catfish, they might just catch the trout of a lifetime.”

This tactic can work in the winter just as much as it does any other time of year. I know it sounds counterintuitive to how most anglers seek huge trout during February but it flat out works. 

It is time to shake up common conceptions of fishing and try different things. I have written in the past that any angler who cannot get excited about seeing a cork disappear in the water needs to quit fishing.

In this case when that cork disappears it could be the trout of a lifetime.

It does not get much better than that in my opinion.

Chester Moore