Seminar Jan. 21, 2005

Ernest Paty and Guy Skinner

In this seminar, you�ll have the unique ability to draw on over 100 total
years of fishing experience. Ernest and Guy have dedicated their
fishing to the pursuit of America�s favorite panfish and are anxious to
share that experience with you so that you will catch more


So sit down, buckle up and get your �note taking� pencils ready�and
thanks for coming!!


Fishing Seasons


In our opinion the single most common mistake the average fisherman makes
is to assume that there is only one Crappie season, SPRING. Actually there
is only one Crappie season for us, and it lasts all year long. You should be
aware of differences in the parts of the season. We will start this seminar
with WINTER since that�s where we are.

Winter: A very predictable time to fish. The Crappie, once located, will
probably stay there for several weeks.

Slow down your presentation.

Fish deep points and drops in lakes, fish 35�-45� deep (locate the fish on
your graph). . Trolling works good for this if you prefer minnows .

Jigs are also very effective and are our preferred method. We use two
1/4oz - 3/8oz jigs and slow troll, called Cannon Balling.

And very shallow in Creeks. Creek fishing is overlooked in winter because
most fishermen assume that all the fish have gone deep. Fact is the creeks
are full of Shad and Crappie all winter and are usually easy to catch. Creeks
are our favorite method of winter fishing. This type fishing can be done
from the bank or from a boat. We often use a bobber in the winter to slow
down the jig movement.

Spring: An easy time to catch crappie but also a very erratic bite
because of constant cold fronts with strong winds. Continue to fish creeks
and fish shallow areas in lakes.

Summer: Good dependable bite. Great fishing on bridges, brush piles &
docks. Shade is key to success. Mid depth, 7�-15� seems to hold fish all
summer.

Fall: Our favorite time for BIG Crappie. Same locations as summer but
OH My! What whoppers.


BANK FISHING SITES
LAKE RAY ROBERTS


1. OVERLOOK COVE: ENTER PARK FROM 455 EAST OF DAM. FROM
PARKING AREA WALK SOUTH TO COVE. THIS COVE HOLDS A LOT OF
CRAPPIE IN THE SPRING. PRETTY AREA WITH NICE BEACHES.
2. BUCK CREEK: EAST OF HIGHWAY 377 WHERE BRIDGE CROSSES
CREEK. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER PLACES ON SOUTH SIDE OF
BUCK CREEK THAT CAN BE ACCESSED BY WALKING A SHORT
DISTANCE.
3. FOUR CREEKS THAT CROSS 922: (TRINITY RIVER, WOLF CREEK,
INDIAN CREEK & ISLE-D-BOIS CREEK)
4. PECAN CREEK: ENTER SOUTH OFF OF 922.
5. WEST END OF POND CREEK: ALSO POND CREEK RAMP AND
ACCESS AREA.
6. SANGER ACCESS AREA & RAMP.
7. CREEK AND POND IN WEST END OF MARINA COVE:
LAKE LEWISVILLE
1. POINT IN STEWARTS CREEK PARK:
2. LITTLE ELM CEMETERY: TURN OFF 720 ON KINGS RD. WEST TO
DEAD END @ CEMETERY. FISH OLD ROAD BED AND FOLLOW SHORE
EAST AROUND POINT. EXCELLENT SPRING CRAPPIE AREA.
3. COVES IN LITTLE ELM PARK.
4. LITTLE ELM CREEK @ 380:
5. TRINITY RIVER @ 380: FISH TRAP ACCESS AREA.

6. HICKORY CREEK @ OLD ALTON BRIDGE: (COPPER CANYON RD.
2181)
7. HICKORY CREEK @ 1830 & 377:
CEDAR CREEK

1. HIGHWAY 175: WHERE IT CROSSES CEDAR CREEK AND LACY
CREEK.
2. HIGHWAY 334 IN GUN BARREL CITY: AT THE RAMP AREA ON THE
ISLAND BETWEEN GBC AND SEVEN POINTS. EAST OF 198 WHERE N.
TWIN CREEK CROSSES 334.
3. HIGHWAY 90 NORTH OF MABANK: CROSSES CEDAR CREEK AND
LACY CREEK.
GRAPEVINE LAKE

1. DENTON CREEK: (WHERE IT CROSSES 377) CAN PARK ON 377 AND
WALK IN OR LAUNCH AT MARSHALL CREEK PARK AND MOTOR UP TO
377 & BEYOND. DEPENDS ON WATER LEVEL. GOOD FISHING AT 377,
AT THE OLD DOWNED BRIDGE JUST EAST OF 377, AND IN THE BENDS
AND BRUSH PILES ALONG THE CREEK. IN A BOAT, WATCH FOR
SANDBARS, THEY HOLD FISH ON THE DOWNSTREAM DROPOFFS.
2. PARKS ON NORTH SIDE OF LAKE NEAR DAM.:

BANK FISHING SITES


FROM RUDY AND OTHERS


(1) Bachman Lake- Upper end, in the creek, late winter and all of spring
holds some incredible bass fishing! Beautiful wooded area, crystal clear
water, and bass from 6 inches to 10 lbs plus! Access is best above Lemmon
Avenue bridge, south shore of creek, along shorecrest drive. Shoreline is
laced with trails created by fishermen. Parking is plentiful along Shorecrest.
Lower end of creek/beginning of lake: Lemmon Avenue bridges, north side,
great access, bass and crappie fishing here is phenomenal spring and early
summer.

Open water between Lemmon Avenue and Webb Chapel- early and mid
spring is awesome spinnerbait, crankbait and inline spinner fishing for black
bass, 50 fish/hr is NOT uncommon when they are passing through here on
their way to or returning from the upper creek. Most small schoolies, but
there are some hawgs thrown in there with them, Parking is ample and free,
using either the Walgreen's parking lot, or the public park parking behind
the Whataburger at Webb Chapel and NW Hwy

Main Lake- good yr round for bass, crappie, and catfish, great access from
anywhere, fishing can range from so/so to incredible! My best black bass so
far weighed in at 12 lbs even, best crappie pushed 3 lbs. Favorite areas are
the rip rap along Shorecrest, at the foot of the Love Field runways, the
levee along Denton Drive, and the Cypress trees on the north shore from the
Recreation Center to the Children's playgrounds! Plenty of free public park
parking.

(2) White Rock Lake in Dallas: Centrally Located- in the heart of the city.
great fishing for a variety of fish including black bass, crappie, sand bass,
and channel cat.
Winfrey Point-In the spring and into the beginning of summer, great area
for black bass! Access-East Lawther off Garland Road, behind the
Arboretum. The manmade, anchored fish reefs are great, and the shoreline
is littered with concrete slabs(erosion control) and bullrushes, water fairly
shallow, but the type bottom that bass love for fanning nests in! In early
spring the bullrushes hold hordes of spawning crappie, that can be gotten
with the 10-12 ft crappie poles, and light line and jigs! Once the spawn is


over and we move headlong into summer, the sandbass love Winfrey Point
and use it as a cafeteria for dining on surface shad, most of the time the
schools will be reachable from the shore. Plenty of parking all along E
Lawther.

The shoreline along Garland Rd, from the spillway to E. Lawther. Fantastic
spawning bass fishing area, and the pier on Garland road is awesome for
crappie when the spawn hits high gear! It is also lighted, but unless you see a
bunch of fishermen on the pier actively fishing, can be dicey after dark if
you are alone. Crappie fishing can get so good off this pier, that last spring,
I took two pound and a half MALE crappie off of it using a 7 inch Zoom
Watermelon worm, looking for spawning bass!! Best parking/access is ;the lot
alongside the spillway, on Garland Road.

WRL-West Lawther Drive, From the old covered boathouses, to
Mockingbird Lane, the fishing here for black bass, crappie, and the channel
cat can be fabulous!! Winter time crappie fishing inside the old boathouses is
awesome at and right after dark, the inlet creek above the boathouses,
north of the footbridge holds vast numbers of spawning crappie, and the
area under and on both sides of the footbridge, is a "black bass spawning
Hilton, so to speak!" 7 lb plus bass during the spawn from this area are not
at all uncommon, and daily and regular limits of slab crappie are not unusual
either.

For MEGA HAWG bass, the area in front of the HL Hunt Mansion can
produce some eye poppers! they hang here not only during the spawn, but all
spring, Summer and Fall. Parking is everywhere, picnic table and grills are
also abundant!

(3) WHITE ROCK CREEK: W. Lawther at NW Hwy, behind the "Flag Pole
Hill" area. First Frost to about 2nd week of March, Crappie fisherman's
Shangri-La! The Lawther/Goforth bridge, and all points upstream from it, to
the DART Light Rail trestle, deep holes with brushpiles, and more crappie
than you can even begin to imagine! Starting as early as January(although
this yr, two weeks before Christmas) the sand bass begin to move into this
creek! Parking is no Problem! Access from NW Hwy.
WRC: Skillman Avenue/Abrams Rd confluence. Upstream and Nw from Flag
Pole Hill. Deep holes below the Skillman bridge hold impressive numbers of
MEGA crappie and unbelievable numbers of MAGNUM Sand bass. They have
been there now for almost a month and a half, and are waiting for the water


to rise so they can progress to their spawning areas at Greenville Avenue at
Royal Lane! Parking is somewhat more restricted here, because the only close
in parking is on Merriman Parkway, east of the Skillman bridge on the
northeast side. The area itself is not restricted in any way, as a bike/jogging
trail and is all a part of the White Rock Creek Greenbelt.

WRC: Greenville Avenue, between Walnut Hill and Royal. The Harry Moss
Park, across the street from the Royal Oaks Country Club, has White Rock
Creek flowing behind the soccer fields(so parking and access in not a
problem). This is the main spawning area for the White Rock Lake Sand Bass!
Deep holes, clear, REALLY Clear water, small riffles and rapids, make this a
sand bass spawning paradise! Also, black bass in good numbers and surprising
size, make this creek their year round home, have seen several in the 5-7 lb
range taken here during the spawn. And oh yeah, this area of the creek is
littered with large schools of slab crappie too!

(4) Dixon Branch, White Rock Lake, Buckner Blvd@Lake Highlands Drive.
From the mouth of this creek to the last publicly accessible shoreline behind
the Rugby fields on Lake Highlands drive, this creek holds HUGE black bass
in the spring spawn AND the pre frost Fall chase of shad up creek from lake.
and in the winter time is choked with clouds of slab crappie, and countless
numbers of yellow bass! Best shoreline areas are the mouth of
the creek at the lake, off East Lawther, up to the old WPA bridge inside
White Rock Lake Park, and the bridge area where Dixon creek goes under
Buckner Blvd. Another hot spot is the last major bend in the creek with deep
water, upstream from Buckner Blvd. Easily identifiable, because on the
opposite bank, in and under the water is an old concrete culvert, visible in
the water. Foot access to this spot is to walk upstream from Buckner, and
walk on the east shoreline. Parking is plentiful inside the park, and at the
Rugby fields.
(5) Rowlett Creek, Upstream from Lake Ray Hubbard, Rowlett and Garland.
Castle Rd Green belt, between Hwy 66 and Northeast Pkwy., Garland. Public
Parking for Jogging/Biking trail, 5-600 yds to water from parking lot.
Legendary sand bass creek, from right now to maybe early April. This is the
only good, safe parking area, because the "curb jumpers" on NE Pkwy, in the
last few years have been ticketed and even towed away. The one thing is,
from Castle Rd, you can walk up to the prime fishing areas off NE Pkwy, and
walk toward 66, where some GOOD holes are, w/o too much problem!
RC-Gun Range Area, Pleasant Valley, Garland. Beautiful rapids, clear water,


trout stream look to it--MAGNUM SANDBASS IN UNBELIEVABLE
NUMBERS! Spring spawn haven for the chasers of the Sandbass. Only
problem is in recent yrs, more of the land has become posted, access is
being more and more restricted, and parking is "catch as catch can" off
Pleasant Valley and adjoining streets/roads. Sand bass are starting to
arrive: Now-early April!

(6) Cow Creek-West, upstream from Lake Waxahachie, from I-35 to
Maypearl Rd bridge. My personal favorite, one of the prettiest stretches of
water in North Texas, in the spring loaded with Crappie, Black bass, and
Sand Bass! 32 miles south of Dallas, on I-35, parking off old Highway 77.
Great spring fishing from bank for above mentioned species. Also accessible
rapids bank/wade fishing for spawning sandies, exit "Scarborough Faire"
exit off 35, turn right, and follow road to bridge.Parking is off side of road,
fight your way through brush and weeds to water, well worth it when the
sandie run is on! At 35, parking is plentiful, walk DOWNSTREAM, toward
lake, is worth it when the crappie and bass spawn is on. Up stream is a
different matter, with much of the land being fenced and posted(Lot of
money invested in Ranching aspect). Area immediately in vicinity of I-35 is
quite productive, so roaming and wandering may not be necessary.
(7) Waxahachie Lake, 7 miles SE of Waxahachie. Great year round bank
fishing for black bass, crappie, channel cat and bream. Limestone bottom
lake, fairly clear water Plenty of parks areas, so access is not a problem. My
favorite bank area is on the south shore of the lake. follow road along levee,
across spillway, take first right, and follow road to water, no more turns. A
small cove on left has standing timber, and in spring, those stickups are
choked with crappie! This is an excellent black bass and sand bass lake as
well, and surfacing sandies are a common sight in the summer. Side note:
Dale Hansen, of Channel 8 and 1310 The Ticket, lives out here, right off the
lake.
(8) Elm Fork of the Trinity River: Lots of ground to cover here. Sandy
Lake Rd, between Carrollton and Coppell, about a mile and a half west of I35E, commonly called "Carrollton Dam". Classic river/spillway fishing-
Channel, Flathead, Hybrid Striper, Full Blooded Striper, sandbass, and
crappie are the calling cards here.
Picnic Park, Baseball and Soccer fields, plenty of parking, and Harrington's
bait house, right on the banks of the river!


California Crossing, off NW Hwy and Luna Rd, near Las Colinas. Flood control
spillway, cats, striper, hybrids, crappie, sandies, and even black bass, yr
round fishing, parking aplenty, adjacent to National Guard Armory.

Jogging Trail along Elm Fork, upstream from California Crossing, North of
NW Hwy, to Royal Lane. Parking is the DART Transit Ctr at O'Connor and
NW, Las Colinas. Yr round for channel cat, sand bass, crappie, hybrids, and
black bass. Very Pretty stretch of river, clean water(comes from Grapevine,
Lewisville, and RayBob), lots of bank access.

(9) LB Houston Nature Preserve, California Crossing Rd@Luna Rd, Dallas,
Across river from Las Colinas. Big Gravel pit/lake. Parking at the entrance to
LB Houston Nature Trail. Virtually 100 percent of shoreline is accessible to
bank fishermen, deep water, humps, structure, flats, loaded with bass and
crappie! BIG ONES.
One really good site for the white bass run that most folks are not aware of
is Hickory Creek north of 377. There are many deep pools loaded with
sandies
and hybrids. You must wade as the banks are private property. I have never
seen another person fish this area. I think most folks don't realize how far
upstream the fish will run during the spawn.

Ed Brooke

One of my favorite bank fishing spots has been and will always be is the
Neches River above Lake Palestine. Except for the driving distance I love
this place. Why? Because no matter how much rain we get, and no matter
how miserable the conditions the water there is always clear. You may have
to alter where you fish at, high conditions fish backwater ditches and
sloughs, low water conditions you fish the main river.
I also like Lacey Creek that feeds Cedar Creek out of the Mabank side of
the lake. This stream will hold limits of Crappie like I had last February and
when conditions are right like they were 2 springs ago, Hybrids running
upstream like Salmon. Nowhere have I ever physically seen Hybrids in
shallow water like that.

Billy Seaman

Southeast end of the 720 bridge in Little Elm was very good. The area is
riprapped. The area had a ten to twelve foot clearance under the bridge.
Many guys walked the riprap and dabbled a jig in about 1- 2 ft. of water.

Fishinclyde


I have had the best luck with sandies behind the Bardwell Dam. You have to
be in good health to get there as it is at least a 3/4 mile hike up and over
the dam twice to get down there. Check with the corps of engineers about
water release first. Don�t try to carry too much gear but you should probably
bring at least one spare pole because you will lose a lot of line on snags.
Bring plenty of the larger plain old Wal Mart crappie jigs usually tied two
at a time. White is probably best but yellow and chartreuse produce well too.
Sassy shad, grub tails and slabs just about anything will produce but there
are a lot of snags so stick with the cheap jigs or it gets expensive. Cast
upstream and let the bait sink close to the bottom keeping the slack out as
it travels downstream and doubles are not uncommon. One more thing here is
you cannot see your vehicle so don�t leave any valuables in there... there
have been break ins in the past. Also watch out for the hybrids the smaller
ones can easily be confused with sandies and the game warden is known to
show up there. Also downstream from Bardwell under and around the I-45
bridge in Corsicana at Chambers Creek is a good spot as well using similar
methods.
Here the water is not quite as swift so minnows and jigs under bobbers work
well.
Have caught a lot of crappie here too they will hang behind the bridge
pilings in the slack water.

Jason

1) Grapevine Twin-Coves Park - Right before you get to the camp-grounds
there
is a small section of rip-rap off the right side of the road. The creek
channel bends in towards the bank right there and there is also some
standing
timber in the area. I have caught some crappie, catfish and white-bass in
there and I think it could be a really good spot under the right conditions.

2) Grapevine Murrell Park - There is a main-lake point just East of the
North/West ramp. This is the point where the big concrete block is. When
the water is lower than it is now you can walk out on the point and fish. The
water drops off pretty quick giving you access to some deeper water. There
is also some type of cover under there but I don't know what it is. I have
caught some good white-bass there and also a 5 pound largemouth. When the
water is high you can fish the point but you can't reach the drop-off.


3) Lavon 380 Bridge area - There is a road that goes off the side of 380
on
the Farmersville side. In the spring the white-bass fishing can be pretty
good in there. There are lots of catfish along the first stretch of rip-rap
beyond that side road. The catfish in that area seem to prefer worms for
some
reason. This is all on the south side of 380.

GregD

Below the dams at Lake Bardwell, Lake Navarro Mills and Lake Aquilla
are all good spots. They require some walking but if there is at least
25 CFS water release there will be fish there. Below the dam at Lake
Cooper is also excellent. Best CFS release is around 90-150 though.

Rick Teague

These are only a few of the many bank accessible spots in the
metroplex.

Thanks to Rudy Martinez (Lovfldx) and others for help in putting this
list together.

Woah tons of good information!

That is a lot to read... I will have to one day. Thanks a bunch.

Wow, great information. Thanks!

To all you guys, Thanks for the info!

Great post. Going to have to read through this. Looks like a combination of an earlier post that I filed and a bunch of new stuff. I have a lot of these locations on my map, but going to have to go through and see what's new and add that info to the map.

I may circle back to this thread with questions GetReal. Sometimes it's hard to find a location based on a description - coordinates make it specific, just like a map does - no a criticism at all - this is great stuff!

Nice job!

Thanks Got!

Hall of famers right there!! Deserves alot more recognition in my opionion...

Good stuff, thank you for sharing.

very good and detailed post! thanks so much

Muchas Gracias!

Thanks for taking the time to do this Gotreal and the rest. Many folks would covet this type of info. Sharing it speaks volumes on your character. And of course as usual ... Rudy...knocks it out the ballpark. I agree with Dunkky Dude, if there ever is a "Bank fishers Hall of Fame"...Rudy will be inducted for sure.

yup rudy lovfldx gave a few spots here among others. try em out and report what ya got. getcha some

Thank you for the tips and pointers!