I just bought a boat, me and my nephew focus mostly on bass fishing, but I was wanting to take the wife and kids out to a lake somewhere and catch something. We live in D/FW, and I know this may sound so stupid, but is there a good lake to go find some perch or something? Are they going to be stacked up on brush piles? If so about how deep normally this time of year? And I guess just get some worms and small hooks?

Right now the Sunfish are in their winter pattern and are not that active. Usually Spring through Fall are the best times to fish for em. During the warmer months you can find Sunfish at just about any dock or tree line. They are are also very aggressive and the bite is usually pretty good during the warm months. Right now the fish are in deep water 15 to 25 feet deep usually by brush piles or sunken structure. Their bite is also very slow and you need to have plenty of patients. Hope this helps out some and good luck to you. Let us know how you do on your future Sunfish trips. Would love to see some more reports from the Dallas area.

I would wait until Spring. For what I see here on this forum Spring through Fall those Sunnies stay pretty active and seem easier to catch. Just my opinion.

Thanks guys, I will take them when the weather warms up some, someone was telling me about a little lake that had a bunch of perch and you could catch them all the time, perfect spot to take kids, but #1 I don't remember where they where talking about and #2 I don't remember who the heck told me about it...

Just about any community lakes or ponds are going to have Sunfish in em. You can also use Google to help locate bodies of water in your area. Great fish to start the Kiddos on. Heck great for adults also.

Plus #1. Also try to find some nice Community Lakes and ponds!

Depending on their age.... I would 100% get out of the boat and go to a local park / pond. Pack a small lunch, feed the ducks, and do a bit of fishing. Please don't make the same mistake I did with my kids and assume they would love 8 hours of looking for fish. Get them on fish quickly, fish only for 30min and leave on a high note and keep em wanting more!

When I take my son it fishing it does have to be a shorter amount of time than I would normally go. I tend to stick to creeks and ponds, and accept the fact that he's occasionally going to lose interest. To make it a good experience for him we typically couple it with a little nature exploring and getting muddy.

If your ever in the Mesquite area take your family here 32.7851,-96.630473 its got a park with a wooden play area and a piece of South Mesquite Creek runs right thru it . The banks are easy to walk the water shallow , full of sunfish and the occasional Bass to spice things up . When the kids get bored they can play in the wooden castle , they have nice clean bathrooms and a dairy queen right across the street . Its really the best you could get.