Creek Fishing? Lake?

New yak angler here -

I have taken out my yak once and itching to go again. Live in Denton, thinking of paddling up a creek (that is almost a old joke in the making) and wondering what is on the bite in Jan? Hickory Creek off Lake Lewisville is super close to me. I can travel a little to do this - up to an hour or two I guess.


I have read the Crappie and Sand Bass will start running up in late Feb or early Mar, depending on water temp. Thinking the creeks or inlets will shelter me from the wind (on windy days).

Is this a waste of my time to try to fish the feeder creeks right now?
Should I focus on the inlets? 50-200 yards out?
Maybe I should go look for carp? and hit the feeders when the temps change...?

Suggestions are welcomed and thanks in advance.

following- would love to know the same!

Fished lewisville just earlier this week lake is pretty turned off right now but on the east side of the lake we have found whites in the morning by pier 121 with an Alabama rig

I have done pretty good in Denton Creek with the Crappie on a Crappie Tube under a slip bobber. the 2 back to back weekend left me with 21 Keepers in the 7 hour 2 trips combined.

I do live fairly close to you (North Fort Worth) and I am just getting my Kayak skills under control myself....

PM Sent.

I can't imagine hooking into even a modest size carp while in a kayak. I imagine it would pull you all over the place in a kayak.

As for the fish being turned off, I tend to dismiss that conventional wisdom. I seem to catch fish by downsizing my bait and presentations. As long as conditions allow I'll go for multispecies fishing with ultralight gear. Never seem to get skunked.

And if you do get skunked, just consider it gaining kayak experience.

I don't normally fish for whites but have been catching them on Palestine and Monticello next to the bridge pilings while fishing for bass with deep diving crank baits. Trying to get a big treble hook out of a white bass mouth has to be worse than getting hooks out of any other kind of fish. Caught one the other day that took forever to get out and finally had to give up and just pull its whole gill plate through its mouth.





With much smaller baits and hooks it would be much more fun.

Crappie have been in the creeks since early Nov.

and lighter gear... Sandies are a blast on a 5' ultralight with 4lb test.