Choke Canyon is starting to get hammered with duck hunters from all over after the duck hunting show the other month! I have already run into problems!

The other morning, about 10 am, I began fishing one of my favorite areas, Greyhound Point! This is basically a main lake point where the river channel runs close by. You can fish hardwoods in fairly deep water, or fish closer to the shore but the water stays fairly deep! This is one of the most well known and well fished areas by Choke Canyon fisherman and you are hardly the only fisherman in the area on weekends!

Anyways, I was trolling along flipping a tree line in about 20 feet of water when I hear, "Hey!" I looked around and saw 2 duck hunters standing almost chest deep in water just off the tip of the point! I said, "Hey back to you!" The guy then said, "We arent going to get any ducks with you fishing there can you leave!" This kinda ticked me off@!

Choke Canyon is a public fishing lake, and I am a local resident and here I have these two guys telling me I cant fish the point that I fish every week. What really made me mad was that this was not some shallow back water duck hunting spot but a deep main lake point. This is a fishing spot!! Must of the duck hunters stick to the skinny back water ponds that nobody really fishes anyway! Plus it was already 10 am.

I decided to tell them this and told them that more people would be pulling up as the day picked up. I told them they needed to pick spots to hunt other than the popular fishing spots and should not expect to be alone at spots like this. They were lucky it wasnt a tourny! Anyways, 5 minutes later about 3 more anglers pulled up and we had a good laught talking about these two guys!

Oh yea, I was nevre closer than a 100 yds to them either, not that it matters.

I foresee a lot more hunter/fisherman problems on choke in the near future. The duck hunting pop has tripled since last year and these guys are acting like they own the lake. This doesnt sit well with fisherman who have been coming to choke for years!

What do yall think?

I tell you what no way in gods name would I ever wade in that lake,all them dang monster gators out there,man Flip I would of had to let them boys have my fishing hole(they had some nuts)to crazy for me.LOL

No doubt ,, Crazy and carrying guns...

Did they have a dog? I would have hung around to watch the gator eat the dog... I hear that is inevitable on that lake. Of course I haven't ever been there...

Jody

I yea, I forgot to say that I mentioned that to them. I told them they must not be around here because they were chest deep in prime gator water. There are several gators over 15 ft on choke and two that are close to 18 feet! Thats maneater size. Very stupid indead. I fish there every week and have only got wet twice, both times I fell off the boat chasing fishing rods. Each time I was so scared I about walked on the water! Yes, not smart to swim or wade in choke! Nothing usually happens but why risk it, especially if you have seen those crocodillians out there!

But, I will never give up a known fishing spot to a duck hunter. Nothing against hunters, Im a big hunter also, but I would never try to hunt off a main lake point that is one of the prime fishing spots on the hottest fishing lake in the country! Thats like a rapper performing at a George strait concert, stupid!

BTW, I love that frog buzzbait! Do you make those yourself? I would like to throw those on Choke! Bet they would be good at certain times! Cool idea, dont know why I never thought of that!

Ive been peppered on both Ray Roberts and Fork by the duck hunters... around here they shoot at ya before you get within 600 yards to let you know they are there and not to come any closer.

well... i am also a duck hunter that hunts choke on a weekly basis. duck hunting has been hard lately at choke and the only ducks that we have found has been down in that area. all the diver ducks are down in that deep water, we shot some canvasbacks, scaup and teal in that deep water 2 weeks ago.

And yes there are some gators in the lake and we have seen a bunch while duck hunting. but never had any of them bother us. When it gets cold the gators seem to stop moving as much. We usually see most of the big gators up river past the 99 bridge.

And there is also not much water back in the shallow ponds in choke. with the water being so low, it has forced the duck hunters to hunt where the water is, which means deeper water.

But on the other hand I am a fisherman too that fishes choke a lot also. and do agree that it is a public lake and the duck hunters were there first. but 10:00 is really late for them to be out. We are usually packed up and out of the water by 9:00 when we are duck hunting. If they havent gotten their birds by 10:00 they should be the ones to leave. IMO

Choke canyon is a awesome lake and we duck hunters and fishermen need to learn to get along.

Anyone agree?

shoulda seen this ones girlfriend

I fish choke weekly too and the biggest gators I have seen have all been in the 3/4 fingers area! You know what that means, they are big ones all over the lake!

Im not trying to start a fight with you. I am a ranch owner and hunter myself. I always show respect to people who are first to a spot and will usually just find my own spot, I like to be alone! However, I think that this was a different situation! These guys were trying to hunt off the tip of Greyhound point, this is like one of the top 5 fishing spots on the lake. There is plenty of other deep water further east on the shoreline, or you can go NW and find all of that shallow water which is still very accessible! At 10 am on a saturday you can not expect to duck hunt on main lake points and be alone.

Also, you are familiar with the lake and would never do this. As you know the dunk hunter pop has tripled do to the TV exposure. These are guys from across the state that dont even think about the fact that this is the biggest fishing lake in the state right now.

Another thing? How is it legal to hunt ducks around Choke but not anything else. Its all state park land. I dont understand this?

P.S. If someone were to intintially shoot at me with their shotgun, I would empty a clip of my .40 at them in a heartbeat. My .40 will pack more of a punch at 60 yds than a shotgun anyday. However, i would never do this unless being shot at first, but bring it on!

well if you would ever like to hook up for a hunting or fishing trip, let me know.

We have a similar situation on upper lake Somerville. Two creeks, Nails and the Yegua dump into the lake over a huge shallow area where ducks gather in great numbers.. The creeks offer great fishing from December to April but to get to the creeks by boat you have to pass right through the middle of the good duck hunting area. Weekends are busy during duck season so I usually stay away but I have crossed a few hunters on my way up the creek in my kayak. No confrontations yet but it is frustrating to all concerned.. I try to keep in mind that I can fish anytime but the hunters have a limited season and they usually have more $$ tied up in what they are doing then I... So I will yield to the hunters in most cases as a show of good sportsmanship..

hey flippin i guess you have the right to do whatever you want since you fish that spot every week..duck hunters probably woke up 2hrs before daylight,hiked in 100lbs of gear and spent 40 min. to set there spread up..and i guess thats the only spot on the lake with fish...they were there first you should have stayed away..those shotgun shells can penetrate skin at 200 yrds..you are both outdoorsman,you should have given them thier respect

With all the camo and blinds I can't see em till I'm on top of em. I'll stay away if I see them but come on...they're hiding.

I ran into a guy on hunting in Alligator cove on Fork several weeks ago. Thought that was a little too �main lake� for duck hunting. Fisherman normally coming in and out of there all morning. I just think it's asking for frustration to hunt in high traffic areas.

no way i would be caught in waders chest deep in choke... i would like to live, to fish another day....

jrich - the big gators are not just north of the 99 bridge, trust me..


it seems my bassboat attracts ducks too when i am fishing, whats the problem?...lol

them 15 foot+ gators are all over the lake. just curious, has there ever been one to attack a human?