hey all

Still new to the state and finally going to start getting back on the water. I have fished Eagle Mountain, Grapevine, Bridgport, and Ray Roberts with moderate sucess in my first year. I have struggled in finding any bluegills in my efforts. Can anyone provide some input on these lake, in particular Eagle Mountain, as I am only a mile and a half from the lake. Any information on crappie fishing will be appreciated as well.

Thanks
TB

You will not find any large bluegill in any of the North Texas lakes, but you should find ample quantities of smaller fish. At this time of year they are on the bottom in deep water. Try fishing near piers with 10 feet or more of water. The best bait is crickets, followed by red wiggler worms.

The crappie are in 14 feet of water over structure. Minnows will out fish jigs at this time of year.

Eagle Mountain has the fish. You just need to find them. Welcome to North Texas. In about 2 months you will find outstanding fishing for panfish in any of the lakes you named.

One other question about panfish in this area, i have read several posts that refer to perch, but to my understanding there are no perch in these waters. Are we talking about the same species of fish? Or something else?

I moved from Fort Worth to the Panhandle 25 years ago so won't try to give info on where to find Bluegill that may be outdated, but as far as 'perch', that's a blanket term southerners use for any species of sunfish. You're correct, there are no Yellow Perch near you, although I used to find small White perch in French Lake in Fort Worth.

I have never fished in the Ft. Worth Area before. What "Smithaven" stated I could not have said any better as to where the fish are at this time of year. Also To the Texas Fishing Forum. Glad to have you on board. Looking forward to seeing some of your catches and reading more of your reports and post.

They are Officially called Sunfish. The Texas Parks&Wildlife fresh water species section on their web site has good descriptions of the six Sunfish found in Texas waters.

There are no perch in North Texas. I am often on my soapbox trying to educate the unlearned, but it is a lost cause. We several several varieties of sunfish that the locals call perch, but they are definitely not.

Ha ha, so would you prefer I call them 'bream' or 'brim'? Just kidding of course!

Thanks again for all the input folks, I will some pictures when I get out and hopefully have some sucess.

Bream is a time honored name for all Sunfish. It is used because the early settlers thought the Sunfish looked like the European Bream. Calling them Bream does not raise my hackles like calling them Perch.

As you say it is just for fun. I can post all I like and it will not convert even one redneck. Sometimes I get a remark from serious anglers who point out there are really several varieties of small Perch in north Texas - just no Yellow Perch.

Anyway, MJTB2006, I hope you enjoy catching the Sunfish. And again, welcome to North Texas.

yep theres logperch one of the few true perches down here... but the dont grow to any size worth eating or catching but make great bass bait or crappie

Fork is supposed to have some nice size bluegills. Used to be bluegill guides on that lake back when I was looking into going up there for a trip or two. I don't know if I would use a strong statement like "You will not find any large bluegill in any of the North Texas lakes". There's bound to be some, just not in the numbers and concentrations to be considered a "good bluegill lake" for size. There's still a long growing season in that part of the state. What I've heard told is, "if you want to find a healthy bluegill population, look for a healthy bass population."

Used to catch some nice ones in grapevine but haven't been able to find them in any decent size in a while

I tend to find the bigger healthier populations of gills in streams and small ponds where pressure is lighter and have found that the general size seems to be larger to It is not uncommon for me to average 10-15 over 1 lb in the stream I tend to fish

I posted this comment on another thread, but I do not see many streams as I understand them; actual flowing water. Are they major branches with names like up north, or are these more like canals coming off the main lakes? Any streams on the north west side of the metroplex worth checking out?