Hello - I am from Colorado and I fished there for many years. From shore, from boats...
I need to know a few things:

a) is my colo lake fishing gear useful in texas where I assume primatily bass are fished?
b) I live near Canyon Lake. Which fishing spots on that lake are recommended for non-boat fishing?
c) It is my intention to buy perhaps a ponton boat at some point, but until then, I would love to get friendly with people thru this forum and fish with them on their boat - I know this is a pretty direct request.

thanks
steve san marcos

a) It all depends on the species of fish you are after. I have friends in Colorado that fish, but mostly for trout. If that is the primary gear you have you will most likely need to make some changes.
b) I've never fished Canyon Lake so I'm not much help there.
c) I can tell you from personal experience that if you are at some point buying a boat with the intent to fish out of it, a pontoon will leave you frustrated. I bought a "fishing" model a few years back and regretted it. I recently sold it and bought a Skeeter. Night and Day!

Welcome to Tejas!

First of all welcome to the forum
Since you are from Colorado you more than likely have a fly rod and have fished for trout there.
You are now living near Canyon lake which is about the only body of water that can sustain a healthy rainbow trout population in the Guadalupe river which flows from the base of Canyon lake dam.
There are several water crossings and camps that you can obtain access and fish just about year around for trout, and there are annual stockings which are sponsored by local businesses and trout unlimited as well as TPWD.
Canyon Lake itself has miles of shoreline and public boat launches as well as a couple of military camps that require military ID or DOD ID cards in order to enter. These camps have fishing piers and bank access.
There you can fish for striped bass, white bass, bluegill, catfish, and LM black bass. Typical bass gear will work for these as well as light to medium spinning gear.
Those two military camps are located off 306 at the Jacobs creek area.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/stocking/guadalupe.phtml

Fishing gear is fishing gear. Your bass gear from Colorado will work for the bass in Texas. Once you get dialed in and figure out how you really like to fish and where you want to fish most of the time, you can upgrade your equipment so that it works in the best way for those places.

Texas does have a lot more flooded trees, brush and grass than Colorado, and you will probably need heavier equipment than you're used to eventually especially if you want to become a little more serious about bass fishing.

Popular rods generally are 6'6 to 7'3 MH baitcasting models for casting and 7'6 H models for pitching and flipping. If you have a couple of 200 sized Baitcasting reels, you're good to go to work! You might want to use anywhere from #10 to #20 line depending on the cover.

And you can always use your spinning gear if that's what you have. Lots of people fish drop shots or jerk baits or ned rigs or any other finesse rigs around open water with 6'6 to 7' M action rods with a 2000 or 2500 sized reel and #6 to #10 line.

Enjoy Texas and the world class bass fishing in Texas!!!

Thanks for replies. I went online to get a TX fishing license and it said expiration was 31-Aug-2020?
I selected a freshwater fishing license $30-
Is there a diff annual pass?
thx
steve

No. It is the same annual license, they just all expire Aug 31st of each year. If you buy it right now, you will have to buy another one in 2 months. If you wait until after Aug 15th, it will be good until Aug 31, 2021. Also, if you plan on doing any kind of hunting you should look at the Super Combo license, but the same expiration rules apply.

There is also an Outdoor Annual app you can get that has all of the Texas fishing and hunting regulations and licensing requirements. It updates itself as anything is changed so you are always good to go.

Texas has great species diversity, so you don’t have to be tied to just largemouth bass. However, for many Texas anglers the largemouth bass is the only fish that exists.

Fishing below Canyon lake is the most similar area in the state to Colorado.

If you want to fully experience Texas fishing, eventually you need to head to the coast and try some saltwater fishing.

All of your equipment can be used to catch something in Texas.

You shouldn't have mentioned the coast!
If he fishes the coast he won't ever want to fish Canyon again!

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I want to fish now, but paying $30 for about 7 weeks and then buying another fishing license seems a bit crazy, but I guess that is about $4 per week for fishing - esp worth it when I catch fish.
Is there anyone who lives in San Marcos who does fiah often and would be ok with me tagging along to learn locations, best gear... I learn best by doing. I will assist with fuel money, food...
thx
steve

You can get a year to date for a few extra dollars.

Really? Ive never heard of this option. Where can I find this magic little detail?

It is the year from purchase all water package. The description is at the link below.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/licenses/fishing-licenses-stamps-tags-packages

Your wrong about Texans primarily fishing for bass. We fish for all species. Catfish, crappie, stripers, carp , gar, etc. Welcome. Lots of places to fish, for all kinds of fish and fishermen.
Also, think hard about pontoon boat, they can be fun, but very limited for fishing. If you havent noticed, its windy in Texas, wind not a friend of pontoons. I had one for a couple years. Lots of different styles, research. Good luck.

Nice! Learn something new every day. This is like a cheat code....