My son has moved to south west SA and now wants me to come vist. What are the options? Have a boat with good sonar and mapping. I see Braunig and Caliveras on the map. Are there other places Any info on these two and others would be greatly appreciated.

Choke canyon is about 75 miles south but it's not real good this year. I don't know anything about Calaveras or Braunig but I think I saw some reports on it in the freshwater report section.


Or head far south to Falcon!

The redfish in Calaveras and Braunig draw large and enthusiastic crowds. These are industrial power plant lakes, however, and they aren't going to give you the feeling that you are at one with nature. Choke is probably your best bet. It's a prime largemouth fishery, and not bad for crappie and cats. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to get to the Hwy 1099 launch from where 1604 S. crosses over I-37. You might also want to take a look at Medina. The fishing there can be tough, but it's a very attractive clear water lake.

If you want to catch some fish, and don't mind them being mostly cats or reds you should concentrate on Calaveras and Braunig with Calaveras being the larger of the two, and it's a little friendlier in that it's a little easier to figure out.

Calaveras has a reputation for cats and in good numbers but the size isn't as good as Braunig, but Braunig is known for bigger cats and mostly channels.

The reds are there also if you want to brave the crowds and fish the crappie wall at Calaveras or troll, or drifting live bait off the bottom in the deeper water. They don't tail in the shallows like at the coast though, so it's a matter of moving around until you find them.

Cats are good using chicken livers, talapia, or cut shad, and whole fresh shrimp. Slip cork around the rip rap or shoreline brush works great early or late, and deeper drop offs later in the day.

Both lakes are good for some quick trips, and they usually produce even in what is considered a slow day.

Choke is more of your conventional type fishing lake with dead trees and plenty of grass in some areas, and is hands down a better bass lake than either of the local powerplant lakes.

Medina, and Canyon are the other two clear hill country lakes north and northwest of S.A. that are great if you just want to relax and get away from the crowds, but like it has been said, they can be tough, but you'll usually still get some action on the small side.

Dunlap is just off I35 in New Braunfels, but it's kind of a well kept secret as a bass lake, but during the summer it belongs to the skiers.

Between the rivers and lakes in S.A. it's usually not hard to find a place to wet a line and get it stretched, but it takes a little bit of a learning curve to find out what works and when.

I've tried all of them, in San Antonio area.
I have to say, concentrate on Choke Canyon and Braunig.
Choke Canyon is great for guys who love the art of the hunt (for LMB), and Braunig is good for Reds and Stripers.

If you want to fish a lake, go to Calaveras, as it was the shizznit awhile back for bass. If you want to fish some creeks and save boat gas, San Antonio has plenty of them and they produce quality fish.

Is lake corpus christi or mathis lake really not that good.I heard good things about it.Been there years back looks good,their stringers looked good too.Great crappie lake too.

Hey guys thanks for all of the replys. I will take a while but I will check all of them out. Wife says son and grandkids are closer now so will spend more time in SA. I want to fish they all want to play. Thanks again

Well the best lake to "play" at is going to be Canyon Lake, it is best for watersports and you can fish it, but as said before, it can be a tough lake to fish.

I HATE it when I reply to the wrong post... Everyone just kinda shakes their heads and thinks "poor fella is lost".

Keep the elbow of your lower hand STRAIGHT while paddling otherwise you'll wear yourself out quick.
Simple little thing that will make a very big difference.