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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: Nerodia] #13054013 02/06/19 05:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Nerodia
Grout is correct. $5.00 a person. Wife and I went out today, barely were able to find a spot to park. Bite was off, but we scrounged a dozen keepers in four hours, and threw back as many smalls.




white bass? Were all the boats at the ramp guys white bass fishing?

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: gar1970] #13054181 02/06/19 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by gar1970
Originally Posted by KillerB
How much is the fee to launch at the 99 ramp?

5$ per person .fill out envelope and put in drop box. Sign says no temporary checks


Opps, my bad, I do not recall seeing a pay box there.


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13054192 02/06/19 02:46 PM
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I lived in TR when Choke was built and impounded and full, low, full, low.
I fished there from when the lake opened until I moved away in Jan,2018.
I personally feel like Mason Point has always been the best place to catch Crappie, also walking the bank during gator mating season or after that is something I would not do.


NO FISH NO FRIEND !!!!!
Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: Txbassin] #13054255 02/06/19 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Txbassin
I lived in TR when Choke was built and impounded and full, low, full, low.
I fished there from when the lake opened until I moved away in Jan,2018.
I personally feel like Mason Point has always been the best place to catch Crappie, also walking the bank during gator mating season or after that is something I would not do.


You are so right about those gators.
Several years ago I was in my brothers 15' bass boat, fishing the brush just to the left of the Mason Point launch, and we saw what was at least a 13' or 14' gator swim from the bank out to the open water just behind our boat, so in comparison to the boat it was no less than 13' long.
A few minutes passed and I hung up my spinnerbait just barely within arms reach, and we both had a good laugh because I was hesitant about sticking my arm down in the water to retrieve it.
As we trolled down the bank, there was a guy fishing out of a bellie boat, (innertube) and we told him about that big gator we saw not 75 yards from where he was fishing, and he said, "oh" with a very puzzled look on his face.
As we passed him I continued fishing, and then we heard some loud splashing and looked back, and he was practically running on the water headed to the launch ramp like you see those ducks when they get spooked trying to take flight.
Those gators can be very amusing critters at times!


Just one more cast!

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13055405 02/07/19 03:26 PM
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There are two in that lake that are 18 ft. plus. I saw pictures of one many years ago and during one of our tournaments we found one. Apparently a deer had come down for drink of water and that was all she wrote. The gator grabbed that deer seconds before we came around the point and got see the thrashing and the snacking. That doe was huge and that gator was a happy camper. This was about five years ago and if that gator still eats like that, no telling how big it is today.


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13055472 02/07/19 04:30 PM
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If I'm not mistaken the state record gator was taken there a few years ago that was 14' long.
There are no doubt dinosaurs in that lake.
Here ya go!

http://texasoutdoordigest.com/hunting/texas-state-record-alligator-killed-at-choke-canyon-reservoir/

Last edited by Jimbo; 02/07/19 04:36 PM.

Just one more cast!

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: grout-scout] #13055488 02/07/19 04:36 PM
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Yes, everybody seemed to be after the white bass, pretty much.


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: Nerodia] #13056011 02/08/19 01:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Nerodia
Yes, everybody seemed to be after the white bass, pretty much.



Yeah too much blabbing on Facebook about the Nueces being slow and the Frio is better this year. Facebook fishing reports is the devil.

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: grout-scout] #13056489 02/08/19 03:05 PM
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Originally Posted by grout-scout
Originally Posted by Nerodia
Yes, everybody seemed to be after the white bass, pretty much.



Yeah too much blabbing on Facebook about the Nueces being slow and the Frio is better this year. Facebook fishing reports is the devil.

Yep. Too far to tow the boat for what we got. Next time I go down, it will be to Choke itself for crappie. Should be good soon.


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13057982 02/09/19 11:13 PM
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Here's 2 residents of Choke we found near the Hwy 99 bridge last year. The guy doing the happy dance was fairly aggressive -- ran us out of a creek mouth, then followed us for about 10 minutes before giving us the happy dance display.

The 2nd picture -- that guy was huge. We estimated he went ~ 16 ft. He didn't move at all when we motored by.


[Linked Image]
[Linked Image]


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13058459 02/10/19 03:45 PM
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eeks Nice pics!

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: usmcgruntd.co] #13059557 02/11/19 04:25 PM
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16 ft!! State record! go get it.

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: BMCD] #13060121 02/12/19 01:07 AM
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Originally Posted by BMCD
16 ft!! State record! go get it.



Not that easy to hunt them there.

Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: grout-scout] #13061973 02/13/19 07:51 PM
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Originally Posted by grout-scout
Originally Posted by BMCD
16 ft!! State record! go get it.

Not that easy to hunt them there.


There's a yearly drawing with TPWD to hunt gators at Choke Canyon, and it's pretty competitive. I've been applying for 8 years, and I only got drawn for the Guadalupe Delta hunt one time a couple of years ago.

Before the hunt I did a little research into just how dangerous alligators are, and the Wikipedia list of fatal gator attacks is very enlightening:
Wikipedia list of fatal alligator attacks US
It's mostly senior citizens and children in Florida, and one doorknob from Texas. The bottom line being that if you're careful and the gator doesn't think it can easily fit you in its mouth, you're probably ok.

But that's also why public hunting of gators is a good idea, because they don't stop growing and after a certain size just about anything will fit in their mouth.


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Re: Choke canyon / alligators/kayaking [Re: LastCastPodcast] #13064045 02/15/19 08:36 PM
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I've kayaked out there many times, but I admit not in the past few years. When the water was really low, it seemed to concentrate the gators upstream on the Frio this time of year. The last time I did it, I saw dozens (yes, DOZENS) along the bank in a stretch of river no longer than half a mile. They ranged from juveniles to the big daddies like others have seen. My kayak is 13 ft, and it sure seemed like a couple were just as long as my boat. I don't know about 16 ft though...

I put in at the 99 ramp in my kayak yesterday. The parking lot was not that full, but it was a decent showing for a Thursday. Spoke to other white bass fishermen and guys targeting catfish, and it seemed fairly slow. I caught around 10 whites, but they were all undersized. Others had similar results, but at least a few had some keepers. I may have missed the peak of the run, or I didn't paddle far enough up. I paddled upstream a ways past the Daughtrey ramp. That ramp is open, by the way, contradictory to what someone said about it being closed on another thread. Had I known that it was open, it would saved me a lot of time and effort. My fault for not actually calling the park. A big center console was getting loaded up, so it even supports larger boats.

I did spook a gator off the bank about half a mile upstream of the Daughtrey ramp. It went crashing into the water toward me and made a ruckus in the process, but that's actually what you want them to do; it's their defense mechanism to submerge themselves because they're scared of you. Still, quite the site to witness from a kayak and a bit unnerving. As it had been a while since my last trip out there, I regained an appreciation for how the banks basically become flooded, marshy forest when the lake isn't ridiculously low. To the OP that suggested he was too intimidated by gators to kayak and would walk the banks instead, that's possibly the most dangerous way to fish this area during this time of year with these water levels. Besides the terrain being tough enough by itself, you run the risk of accidentally walking up on a female gator protecting her nest or brood. This is absolutely the worst possible scenario as far as having an encounter with a gator. You'd actually be safer in the kayak, assuming you don't take your dog with you.

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