That's right I'm the crazy guy going camping in November at B.A. Steinhagen. My mission... to get my daughters, niece, and nephews HOOKED on fishing. Luckily we're staying at Magnolia Ridge Campground which has a children's fishing pond so hopefully we'll be able to pull in some fish there and on the lake. I do have a question for all you avid fishermen though and would love your thoughts.

I'm thinking of making a throw line to tie to a tree there near our campsite and toss into the water hoping to catch some catfish over night/mid day while hiking. Maybe 20' long with 5 drops and a weight on the end.
1. Has anybody tried this with? Any success?
2. How would you deploy (throw the line) without it getting all tangled up?
3. Should I add finger floats near each hook to keep the bait off the bottom?
4. I am planning to use cut bait but have heard something about hot dogs soaked in Jello... anyone try this?
5. Anyone know of a good place to throw a cast net for bait fish?

Alright I'll leave you alone for now... I'll have plenty more questions though don't worry!

You may be better off with jug lines. Use two hooks one about 3 feet from top and one about halfway down. Use 3/0 circle hooks and since your there the best bait is fresh perch heads (trust me). Make lines about 20 feet long and anchor to the bottom with something that weighs about a pound. Place in 13-15 feet of water.
This is what I did for fun fishing with kids. 2 hooks are manageable but 5 sounds like a nightmare. If you go to catfish section and search jug lines there are many many posts about jug lines.

Thanks for the reply TR176. I guess the reason I was looking more at throw lines than jug lines is that I don't have access to a boat to get out in the lake. We'll be strictly on shore. I did see where many people suggest against more than 2 - 3 hooks and saw a great video of a guy that basically makes a pole out of 3/4" PVC and shoves that in the ground tying 2 hooks to a line and weighting it at the bottom. I think this is the route I want to go with it. I may try it out today on the trinity after work. I'll definitely look for a few perch and hope the kids can jerk some in quicker than I can put lines out.

Magnolia Ridge is not the choice for bank fishing at Dam B. That area of the lake is very shallow and slopes gradually. I've duckhunted that area and in most places you can wade far from shore.

There is deeper access on the other, East side, of the lake. Martin Dies Jr. State Park

Hen house Ridge and Walnut Ridge units both have deeper creeks running through and fishing is much better.

Thanks for the info. I've stayed in Walnut Ridge before but didn't have the chance to fish it. I'll have to drive around a bit. I wanted to show the kids the dam too so that might be a good day for heading over to the east side.

the state park rents kayaks and canoes.