Catching Catfish The Easy Way

I get some very strange fishing reports from readers; but, this one has to take the prize. We all know that we are blessed with a very plentiful population of catfish in our Lake. Often times we get reports of fishermen catching 50 to 100 fish a day in a party of four; however, this is the first time I have heard about someone catching a nice fish from a dangling, unattended line while the fisherman was taking a break.

This fisherman was taking a break from catching fish and stuck his rod in a rod holder with the line dangling in the water. When he came back to get the rod and start fishing, it already had a catfish on the line. Now I guess that is about as easy as it gets.

Check out the fishing report to get the lattest on the catfish!

Have a story you want to share?????….send it with pictures to papajohn@lakeconroefishingguides.com

Nice Hybrid On A Rat-L-Trap

The water temperature is warming up and the hybrids are moving to shallow water. Many fishermen are throwing Chrome/Black, Red and Red/Chrome Rat-L-Traps in the shallow water once hybrids are seen feeding on shad. Bain and his big smile is pictured with one of his fish. He and his fishing buddy caught 5 hybrids, 2 nice bass and a gou in 8 feet of water in the back of one of the main creeks.

If you have a fish story you want posted, just email the picture and a brief description of the trip to papajohn@lakeconroefishingguides.com and we will post it for you. You can even brag a little bit if you want to tell all your friends to visit the blog and see your catch.

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15 3/4 Inch Monster Crappie

The water surface temperature on Sunday morning 03/07/10 had cooled down to 48 degrees in many of the shallow areas holding crappie the day before and many of the crappie in the shallows retreated to deeper water. There were still good catches on the morning bite in shallow water, just much slower than on Saturday.

Wayne Tewksbury didn’t get the word on the water surface temp or the fish being in shallow water and he went to one of his favorite spots in water 15-18 feet deep. He caught close to a limit of crappie and had nice slabs, the biggest being 15 3/4 inches and the other just slightly over 15 inches. Sometimes it pays not to get the word.

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If you have a fish story you want posted, email papajohn@lakeconroefishingguides.com with pictures and the info and we will post it.

16 3/4 Inch Monster Crappie

Jerry Smitherman is a very serious fisherman. He showed up down on the Point Aquarius docks late Friday afternoon and asked how the fishing was. Everyone responded we have caught a few. Jerry wants to know if there were any big ones in the area. Someone responded that most of the fish caught were 11-13 inches. Jerry kind of acted like that wasn’t really what he was interested in.

No one paid much attention to what Jerry was doing, which looked like nothing. Several fishermen were catching fish and of course holding them up for Jerry to see. He just smiled and said he was looking for that one BIG FISH. Well, let me tell you, in about an hour, here comes Jerry down the dock with what everyone thought was a small bass. As he got closer, everyone realized it was a crappie. “Now this is what I call a BIG ONE”, Jerry said as he proceeded to get his picture taken and leave. I guess you only need one if it is almost 17 inches long. Be sure and check the FISHING REPORT for what else is going with the fishing this weekend.

Take A Kid Fishing! Let Love It!

We that live on Lake Conroe and those that visit the Lake from other areas are so blessed to be able to get out and enjoy the beauty of this part of Texas. Spring is upon us. The water temperature of the Lake has increase significantly the past few days and fishing will just continue to improve with each passing day.

I spend most of my days on the Lake and it fills my heart with joy to see more and more fathers taking their kids fishing. Grandparents are also really getting into the swing of things. As the water warms, the crappie and bream are going to move to the shallow water. A cork and a minnow can provide a young fisherman/fisherwoman with a lots of fun.

Don’t forget to take your kids and grandchildren fishing!

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Texas Parks and Wildlife Offering $500 Per Pound

ATHENS—Most ShareLunkers—13-pound-plus bass caught between October 1 and April 30—are caught by ordinary anglers who enjoy a brief flurry of fame and get a fiberglass replica of their catch and some ShareLunker clothing.

The angler who catches the 500th entry into the Toyota ShareLunker program will get all that and a little something extra: $500 a pound for every pound the fish weighs. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is offering the prize to mark the 500th lunker milestone and celebrate the success of the Toyota ShareLunker Program, which began in 1986. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is providing the prize money.

A fish that meets the minimum 13-pound weight for entry into the program will be worth $6,500. A 14-pounder would garner the angler $7,000. And should someone catch a new state record weighing, say, 18.2 pounds, they would take home a cool $9,100.

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Bait Thief Discoverd on Dock

I had email today from a neighbor that has a tub on his dock for keeping shad alive that he uses for bait. He has a pump in the tub to keep fresh water constantly being pumped in and it has been a very satisfactory way to keep his bait alive.

He went out the other day to do some fishing and low and behold, a Great Blue Herron was standing on the dock with a very satisfied look on his face. As he approached the bird, he realized that the lid had been knocked off of his tub and after further investigation, the tub was empty of any bait. He had caught the bait theif red handed and the bird didn’t even care. When I answered his email I told him about the Great Blue that was getting crappie out of a bucket I had on the dock at one of the Marinas where I was fishing. The thief got two nice crappie before I realized what he was doing. I guess everybody has to eat!!!!

When the water warms up to 60 plus the shad will begin to move to the bulkheads to spawn. Millions of shad will crowd the bulkheads and this provides one of the best times of the year to fish for catfhish using shad for bait and the hybrids will also crowd the bulkheads at daylight to feed on the shad. The shad are easy to see splashing around on the bulkheads and are easy to catch with a castnet. You will also find them in shallow areas where there is lots of grass and weeds on the shoreline. Late February and early March are our best times. We will keep you posted in the fishing report.

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On Guard - Photographer Louis E. Wheeler

January and February are always good months for bird watching on Lake Conore. We are blessed with an abundance of wildlife and photo oportunities. The weather has been very cold; but, if you bundle up and take it slow, you can see Osprey, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, American White Pelican, Eagles, King Fisher, Blue Birds and many others.

“On Guard” is a photo taken while on a bird watching trip on Lake Conroe with Papa John. The Photo On This Page Is The Property Of Louis E. Wheeler And Is Copy Right Protected. Many photos of wildlife in the Montgomery County area can be viewed at his gallery.

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FFA (FISH FILET ASSOCIATION) Report 50 kept- 100- caught—crappie- (1) 15 !/2”—(6) 13”—(7)=12”—(36)=11”——–(16) males—–(34) females—females all have egg roe—no red tail males –should be next week.

Lake Conroe Big Bass Habitat Threatened

WHEN IS ENOUGH “ ENOUGH” ? After the turn of this century hydrilla, an exotic and invasive aquatic plant species, once again reared its ugly head in Lake Conroe. How it got there has been up for debate, but its presence stoked the fear of many who weathered a similar storm in the early 1980s. 9,000 acres of the plant caused severe recreational restrictions to Lake Conroe users, and was eventually managed with 270,000 grass carp.

At that time Lake Conroe was a nationally recognized largemouth bass fishery, with a healthy base of natural aquatic plants offering protection to all fish species. The grass carp that were stocked in the lake 30 years ago did their job on the hydrilla, as they eliminated all of that invasive plant. Unfortunately, their appetites also led them to turn on the native plants, and they eventually denuded the entire lake of all plant life. The lack of vegetation in Lake Conroe altered the largemouth bass population for the next 10-15 years. As soon as the fry hatched, they were quickly consumed with no way to hide from predation.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department dedicated the entire decade of the 1990s to manually planting native aquatic shoreline plants, and the bass fishery slowly rebounded. 10+ pound bass were caught annually on the lake, and anglers from all over the country returned to visit our community. The largest bass of 2009 in the state of Texas was caught out of Lake Conroe in January. The national circuits also returned to fish Conroe’s waters. The Paralyzed Veterans of America made a stop here in which ex-soldiers competed from their wheelchairs that were placed in boats. Many of them caught the biggest bass of their lives from Lake Conroe. The FLW circuit of professional bass fishing held their Texas Tournament Trail Championship here a few years ago. Lake Conroe was on the short list to host the B.A.S.S. BassMasters Championship in 2008. The Professional Anglers Association held their World Championship on the lake this past October, and is looking to return again next year. Each and every circuit that hosts a tournament on Lake Conroe brings in outside money to our local economy. Restaurants, motels, and retail outlets all benefit from this form of tourism.

After the 130,000 grass carp were stocked (2006-2008), the 2,000 acres of hydrilla were eliminated, and the native aquatic plant life was once again decimated. Native plant acreage was reduced from nearly 2,000 acres to 150 acres. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was forced to start over with the native plant base in the lake, this time with the help of a local bass club who endorsed the hydrilla management program from the beginning. TPWD and the Seven Coves Bass Club are heading into their third year of transplanting native plants into the lake, but no colonization is taking place with the presence of the remaining grass carp population in the lake. The only plant life, of any measurable proportions, are a few patches of water lilies and a scattering of seanie bean bushes. These small areas of remnant native plant life have become the most important tools in the assurance of future bass recruitment.

Without native plants, Lake Conroe’s largemouth bass population is once again in danger of taking a big hit. To compound matters, some people are taking it upon themselves to rid the lake of any of the “beanie” bushes in the water. This has occurred in Atkins Creek, Little Lake Creek, and is currently taking place in the headwaters of Lewis Creek. Most of these “beanie” fields are established in known spawning flats, and without their protection the bass fry will be in big trouble after they hatch.

Although the destruction of native plants in public bodies of water requires a permit from TPWD, and permission from the San Jacinto River Authority is requested to manage plants on Lake Conroe, in many cases this protocol has not been followed. Hydrilla was the main argument in the beginning of both “plant wars” that have taken place on Lake Conroe, but aesthetics and cosmetics have always been the evolutionary ending. It seems that some will not be satisfied until the lake is once again denuded to please the few.

So it’s time for the big question to be asked…”When is enough…ENOUGH ?”

Ron Gunter
Conroe, Texas
Seven Coves Bass Club
Assistant State Conservation Director-Texas B.A.S.S. Federation Nation