The lake currently does not have much aquatic vegetation which makes the fishing tougher. Still had several 70 to 100 fish days this year.

Those cast netters work their butt off to get whatever they get. I really do not see how it is worth it. Have seen them out even when it is cold. With the 360 it is amazing to see how many tilapia beds there are.

The lake is full of 5 lb tilapia, which are not good for that lake. The big one's raid bass beds or occupy spawning habitat the bass could use. Or so Mike Fraizer of Camelot bell told me. The small ones do create forage of course.

The issue with the cast netters however is multifold:

1. Many of them keep everything they catch.
2. They get out of their boats and walk around tear up the shoreline and the spawning beds.
3. None of them do it legally. Per law the fish are to be eviscerated on capture (never happens). Also, if they are being sold, the majority of which are I'm sure, they need a commercial fishing license.
4. They pile 6 of them in little john boats on a lake that can get downright scary when the wind picks up.
5. They lose their nets in the rocks all over the place creating tons of snags everywhere.

A good start would be to ban cast netting during the spawn Jan - April. Don't just write tickets but seize boats/equipment if they have slot bass. Enforce license and safety compliance.

Other than that, them removing giant tilapia from the lake probably isn't a bad thing. That's my

TPWD definitely patrols Fayette a lot. The only lake I've ever been to where I was stopped twice in a single day of fishing by 2 different wardens.

You can frog fish for big uns all day if you know where and how

On an LCRA lake, you can be checked by TPW and LCRA. No problem.

Frog is fun there but that’s not the “deal”! Offshore is the name of the game and it’s not even close!

Call or email the Fisheries Biologist for the lake. I know they have looked extensively at the bass and law enforcement data for Fayette since the cast netting began as there was a petition to the TPWD Commission to ban cast netting at Fayette. My recollection is they saw no changes that they could correlate with the cast netting. I also think there were quite a few tickets issued but he can give you the actual number. There were some changes in the bass population over time with followed the decline in the aquatic vegetation. There is very little grass in the lake right now. How the lake keeps kicking out what it does without grass is a mystery to me. Perhaps the reeds that line much of the lake provide enough cover for young bass.

Fisheries Biologist for Fayette County
Patrick Ireland
(512) 353-0072
patrick.ireland@tpwd.texas.gov

My guess is if the cast netters weren't there, the lake would be ruined by the tilapia. Don't get me wrong, the cast netters are a pest, and they make a mess because they are disrespectful of the lake. That said, it isn't like the WANT their cast nets ruined by the rocks. I don't have a solution, but am curious what would happen to the lake without the cast netters. Of course, the large tilapia population is also probably the main food source for the bass, which is probably why it holds up without the vegetation.

So, Bass vs. Tilapia, which one would prevail if it were left to nature? The tilapia raid the bass nests, but the bass eat the tilapia year round.

The tilapia will throw you off while side scanning because there are thousands of them and they are in big groups off shore!

Does Fayette still stay warm year round?

Then why do lakes like Coleto Creek just down the road that have zero castnetters not die under the weight of tilapia?

The Tilapia were there a long time before the cast netters showed up so I do not think they hurt the bass population too much. The lack of grass has just made the lake fish tougher. I just do not see how the cast netters make any money given the effort it takes to catch them if this is indeed a commercial venture. Last time I was there they were in the parking lot at dusk putting the fish they had in ice chests. The boat that did the catching was there all day long, as was I, and had less than one ice chest of tilapia. It would be much cheaper to buy farm raised tilapia fillets at HEB. Maybe they enjoy the sport of cast netting like we enjoy bass fishing.

This is interesting. Is there an actual law on Coleto Creek stating no cast netters?

Is Fayette generally a lake to avoid in the summer as some power plant lakes are?

The schooling action can be incredible if you can handle the Texas heat