Hi Folks,
My wife and I recently made a dream come true and moved to Canyon Lake. The lake and I have a long history but mostly having to do with sailing. Now I'm learning to fly fish and fishing in general will play a greater role. I'm told this is a hard lake to fish. My interest is in putting some fish in the skillet so I'm not hard to please. Any advice will be welcomed. A month or so ago I was having fun catching panfish in a cove using my fly rod. Now I'm guessing the fish have moved out into deeper water. Should I be using live bait on the bottom for catfish? Suggestions?
Thanks,
John

I could give you my two cents worth for catfishing, but will offer this instead. Post the question in the catfishing section and you will get plenty of good advice. But let me also add this. I have bought a place at Canyon Lake and will be moving there in a few weeks. I have a boat and need fishing buddies. Crappie, whites and stripers, cats, perch. Don't bass fish If you are interested in going with me sometime, let me know.

wgpj,
Thanks for the great offer. It's one I may take you up on. I used to sail and kayak this lake but a doctor tells me that I shouldn't do the upper body twisting thing anymore. I just put the kayak up for sale and purchased a used single-place inflatable pontoon rig with a trolling motor. Classic Accessories Colorado XT. Grandpa Buggy but it gets me out into the deeper water. My wife still prefers her kayak. We bought this place in the Oaks Subdivision off of FM 2673 back in August after my wife retired. It features a private park with boat ramp. My email address is jhansen1951@gmail.com. Shoot me a line.
John

Hey guys I live in New Braunfels and would like to maybe meet up with you guys and find some fish. I moved here in March and have fished Canyon twice with no luck. Once on the bank and the other time in my kayak. Same for the Guadalupe. My email is cwbag1@gmail.com

Charles

Canyon can be a very difficult lake to fish. You need to put a lot of time on that lake and learn it. The more you fish it the better you will get. Some basics I have learned from fishing Canyon. During the late fall and winter fish the creek beds and drop offs (18 to 30 feet). Spring/Summer. Coves and drop offs along with shore lines and docks. The upper Guadalupe River has plenty of stick-ups and sunken timber and should be very good this upcoming winter and spring. The upper Guadalupe should be good all year long. Good luck.



Side Note: Bass,Striped Bass,Crappie and White Bass.

Don't feel bad fellas, I've fished it for years (not regularly though) and never catch more than 2 fish per trip.

I have been using Ramp 23 Mystic Shores/North Cranes Mill since the flooding. I started out in the Ramp 23 Canyon Lake Shores cove but the high water levels made the ramp difficult to use solo (and Potter Creek being closed). So I moved to 23 because of the size of the ramp and the courtesy dock. Ramp 23 provides plenty of opportunities for shallow or shoreline fishing. I have seen plenty of small johnboats (including mine) and yaker's. But it is very popular during the warm periods because the size. The other advantage is that is right at the mouth of the river and provides easy access for small boats but you have to dodge the high speed Bass boats and family loaded Pontoons..... Now that the water has leveled off, the fishing has been descent along the shores of the inner cove and the small outer cove around the ramp. The depth drops off quickly as you get out towards the point on the Mystic Shore side (fancy subdivision across from ramp). The cove formed at the mouth of the river along the front end of Mystic Shore is usually pretty popular with the bass boaters. This last Saturday (12/5) I worked the shoreline along both sides of the inner cove with the ramp and the outer cove on the Lake Shores side and landed 10 and lost 3, all lmb or gauds (I think), still learning about guadalupe bass. 5 barely made 12in and probably 1/2-3/4 lb'ers, 4 between 12-14 inches and made it to 1 lb, the largest was just over 14in and 1.25 lbs. They seemed to like crawfish jigs and square bill or shallow diver crankbaits in shad colors. Good luck and Tight Lines!

I may be on the "wrong" end of the lake. I can put in at a POA park across from Comal Park.

John

really good info....thanks guys

No you aren't on the wrong end. The best fishing on the lake is close to you at Toms Creek imho. The fishing is improving on Canyon. But like the others have said, it can be tough.

Fished there for the first time on 12/5/15. Put in at Turkey Cove and ran over to the cove NW of Canyon Park Marina. Fished for about 6 hours and put 12 in the boat. Only 4 legal black bass with the largest going 4.4#. Started out in 15' to 30' throwing Ned Rig, drop shot and cranks. Not a single hit. Was able to spot a few active fish chasing shad in the shallows so I switched over to a Z Man FattyZ in Bluegill on spin cast w/6# copolymer and began instantly getting bit. Also had multiple hits on a Z Man ZinkerZ in Pearl but liked the other because it was a little shorter and more resembled the shad I saw them chasing. First time throwing anything that light and the hook set is way different from heavier lines on a bait cast IMO. Needless to say, I missed way more than I caught but still had a good day for a lake I had never wet a line in before. Don't know if this will help as the front that blew through this weekend is sure to have altered the pattern. I am currently working in the oilfield and staying in Victoria. I will definitely head back up there but will do so when I can rent a room for the weekend and spend more time fishing and less time with the 4 hour round trip drive. Sounds like my first experience there was unusual so I'm interested to see if I can repeat or top it.

Tight Lines,
Jared