The most effective way is to seine up some blacktail and redfin shiners, keep them alive in a minnow bucket, and cast them on a weightless gold hook along the shorelines as you wade quietly upstream.  Using artificial, the second best way would be to work a 5 wt 7 ft or lighter flyrod with a small bass bug or clouser.  Third, using ultralight spin-gear, cast the smallest possible crayfish pattern rebel cranks or 1/32-1/16 oz jigs with small power grubs (white, yellow, or black).  Please C&R these small-stream fish if possible.  Good luck.

 

Bull creek for bass...Fish chrome rattletraps.

Perch simple on crickets or worms.

The whites have been schooling in the middle of Bull Creek in the evenings, too.

Good Luck!

 

Great thoughts.......thanks.

 

i love catching the blacktip shiners with a cast net! where do you catch them down there? thanks! plus i am sick of having to drive across austin to get them for four bucks a dozen!

 

I haven't been to Bull Creek in a few weeks, but if there's flow, there'll be good minnows in the short runs next to small drops where the current is strongest.  Seining upstream with the seine width adjusted to match the width of the small pools/runs is most effective.  A small mesh/small diameter cast net might work, but I've never tried it.

Lake Travis' coves are full of these blacktail shiners plus glass minnows and perch too for easy fun seining. Be sure to throw back all the baby bass, as you'll seine tons of those too, whether you want to or not.

 

thanks! where are there places you can actually get on bull creek? i am fairly new to the area and i appreciate your help!

 

If you drive down loop 360, aka Capitol of Texas HWY, Bull Creek crosses under the hwy several times, and can be accessed at each crossing. Again, it all depends on adequate flow, but we used to have good seining where Spicewood Springs crosses 360, and at the next crossing downstream toward Lake Austin. This is also a good place to park and start an upstream wade.

 

i had no idea there would be good bait there! thank you so much for your help!