Me and a couple of friends are new to the kayak fishing scene but have heard a lot about the Reds on Fairfield. Has anyone been out on Fairfield in a yak and are there any suggestions (places to put in, bait, etc)?

Im interested in this as well.

Hey KR and Dave,

When you get to the state park, there are 2 boat ramps. I'm not really familiar with Yaks, but i figure you guys can put in anywhere theres a beach or ramp, right? Well, there's 1 ramp that currently is too shallow for boats, so that would be a good spot for you. I've seen guys with john boats put in at that spot. As far as bait, right before you make the turn to the state park, theres a Chevron that sells bait. I've caught a few of the reds on that lake and they put up a darn good fight. To hook up with one on a kayak should be an adventure to say the least...Make sure those yaks come with handles because i'm thinking your fishing trip would turn into a roller coaster ride as soon as you hook up...

Fishing for reds on fairfield from a kayak is a blast.



I make the trip several times every Autumn/Winter.



http://picasaweb.google.com/bretley/Reds#slideshow

37 in the yak in 1 day.... not too bad

nice gallery
&
good fishin'

Nice gallery...I bet that is tons of fun. Last time i was out there i caught a 40in red...now that woulda been alot of fun on a kayak...

We went to Fairfield (3 people and 3 yaks) for the first last year as well to fish for red's. There are two ramps in the State Park. I would recommend the launch closest to the camp sites as it is more central to lake, albeit not by a lot. We actually camped in the state park and got a site on the lake and was easy entry into the lake. Not all lake sites have ideal kayak access, but most due since there is a large number of sites on the lake. We were at an advantage lake wise because the water level was so low there were very few PB's. Fishing was not great, but reports indicated it was off in general. Good luck, would like to do this trip again as well.

Yaker ramp advice-

If you are just day tripping the prevailing SE to SW wind is from the near (south) ramp toward the North ramp (on the camp ground peninsula). The south ramp is a much longer road ride from the camp sites. There are winter days especially when the wind comes from the N or NW, and most of the campsite shoreline is in the lee of a N or NW wind. The north ramp launch will put you into a more central part of the lake, and the water is always cooler there and drops further north from there.

A Yak can get in and out easily at either ramp. At this lake level and for a foreseeable future if you used the south ramp you would not have to contend with power boats. Also there are bathroom facilities (change rooms?) only at the south ramp. Only the south ramp has a screen enclosed fish cleaning station.

During the summer the southern water will be very hot, and the air above it will be very hot and humid. During the summer up in the hot outfall cove flow there is water too hot for safe human immersion. I have recorded 111 F in the pure flow stream, with a current so strong I doubt a Yaker could drift in it for very long. At the peak of the summer that whole cove might be 106 to 108 F, still too hot for humans to be immersed in.

Sooner or later they are going to start ramp and dock construction work on one or both ramps. I hope they will attempt to do one at a time. (I understand they just went out for bids.) Thus you need to know the current construction situation before you go to these ramps. Worst case you would have to drive to the other ramp, or carry your yak further out of the swimming or fishing point or old fishing pier parking areas.

There is also a loop road running south from the bottom of the south ramp parking lot that leads to a demolished fishing pier site. You can park closest of all to the waters edge there. The water is thin there but I expect a yaker can handle just about any depth. I do not know how firm the bottom is there, but the bottom 40 yard back toward the ramp permits 1"-2" deep foot prints.

No matter where you launch all park shorelines (except the swimming area...usually!) have been fished, be sure to wear something that discarded fish hooks can not penetrate.

To get to the south ramp turn left on the first road after you come away from the park gate/office area. That left turn is just 30-40 yards from the office building. To get to the north ramp follow that gate road to the very end, about 4-5 miles into the park it passes all the facilitated camp sites roads.

I was out on Fairfield last week. There was two guys with Kayaks...they were all over the lake. Got a chance to talk with one of them...they did pretty good that day. One guy says thats all he ever uses is a Kayak on Fairfield.

Im thinking about going camping/fishing out there on the 16th.


Bummer just found out there is a tournament there that same saturday. http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4337589/1

Hopefully they dont catch all the fish! We should be getting out there at about 5pm on saturday and fishing sunday morning.

Careful of other boaters during the bass tournaments on Fairfield with your yak..there can be a good amount of fog in the morning and they will just run right over you...not seeing you of course.

Well the tournament is over with at 2:30 pm and I wont be getting there till after that.

As far as locations on Fairfield, I am not seeing any dead giveaways here, but my scientific side says the warmwater outflow from the power plant. Having fished it only once, on fly, I can say Fairfield is big enough to need assistance in narrowing down the productive areas (that is if you are also in a kayak). SD

should i fish the area near the warm water outflow? Any tips from the experienced guys?


I found this online....

here is a map of the place. Im thinking we might camp at Big Brown Creek Primitive Camping Area.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/park_maps/pwd_mp_p4503_078h.pdf