San Antonio area Catfishing?

Do y'all know where the best place to find cats is around San Antonio? Seems to be tough around here finding decent places. I usually only catch one on cut shad or bluegill each trip. I tried garlic chicken livers on a treble but got nothing in three days.

Head down to Choke Canyon. Never fished it but have plenty of friends/family that have and always caught lots of whiskers.

What are you looking to catch? Trophy size blues or eater channels? Are you looking to stay North of SA or South?

Calaveras, Braunig, and Choke Canyon.

Plus #1. You can also try Placid !

I would add one other lake, that in my opinion is a more consistent and time proven catfish lake, and that would be Lake Mathis, or the official lake name of Lake Corpus Christi.
It's an old lake, and older than those lakes named above, but is time proven as a top catfish lake.
Calaveras and Braunig can't be beat for being close by for a short trip, but they can be hard to fish from the bank the closer you get to the weekend, and weekends you have to get there early to beat the regulars with the ten rods each, battling for bank space.
A boat is best on those two lakes, but as of late they can be finicky.
Also TPWD stocks a couple of community ponds with catfish as well, but again, you have to get there early to get a spot.

I worked for SRA back in the day at both Braunig and Caleveras. I have NO interest in eating fish out of there. I forgot about Lake Mathis. That is a fantastic option. If you can learn how to fish Canyon, you can get some good eater cats. I could typically catch some decent cats over by Cranes Mill Park. My buddy has really good luck at Rebecca Creek.

Another good option is Boerne Lake. Buddy has some good stringers coming out of there on cut perch.

Hi Jimbo,

I haven't been to Calaveras in quite a while. You say they are finicky? Wonder what's going on. Usually the hotter the day the better they bite up shallow. Braunig has always been finicky for me but produces some good size fish when they are on.

I haven't been in several months myself, and only bank fishing a couple of times due to back and hip problems, but the reports aren't good.
I was told they had a catfish tournament about a week ago and a pretty large turnout, and there were very few fish caught with some pretty good fishermen drawing blanks.
Some point the finger at those plecos, like the one you caught years ago that we were trying to figure out what it was. They have really taken over the lake.
There are other factors that I could point to as well, but who knows?
It's not the catfish lake it used to be by any stretch of the imagination.

Interesting read: https://www.chron.com/sports/outdoors/article/Armored-catfish-decimating-Texas-waterways-2175976.php

I talked to a popular catfish guide on Calaveras about this last year. He is very concerned about this lake's catfish population. He said they have started seeing over the past couple of years very few small fish in the mix of fish they do catch. This points to interference with the spawn. I have to agree with those that think it may be the plecos.

I've fished that lake since the early 70's and you could literally go out in a boat without any sonar equipment and blindfolded and throw out an anchor and start catching catfish.
Calaveras was always know for numbers of eating size channels and some huge bluecats back in the day.
Braunig was known more of a quality rather than a quantity lake, but it too seems to be suffering.
If the fishing continues to decline, that would mean less revenue for the parks, and that could be bad later on down the road.

I would throw in boerne city lake. it can be a tough lake to fish and you have to put in your time to learn how and where to fish, very much like canyon lake. I'll give you a few hints, my last trip to tx showed they were still following the same patterns and with the lake completely full I found the fishing to be fantastic. I fish off the dam with a slip float system, usually between 8-15 ft deep but sometimes as deep as 25. Worms, minnows, small sunfish or small crawfish are deadly on the big cats, cut bait works as well if you cant get small sunnies or minnows. a light jig tipped with a redworm or half a crawler slow rolled off the rocks works well too, just know you will have some hangups. dont bottom fish except free-lining or with a small split shot otherwise you are just asking to get hung in the rocks. The cats out of that lake taste sweet because of the clear water and high baitfish/crawfish diet. Good luck.

Grew up fishing and swimming out of Boerne Lake in the late 70's. One of the toughest lakes I ever fished as a teen, but once you get the pattern, you can catch big fish. Especially catfish!

Should have included this with my original post. One of about a dozen nice cats my guys caught over about 3 hrs. Also got lots of huge sunfish and a few white bass.

He looks pretty happy with that fish.
Looks like you have a lifetime fishing buddy.
Treasure the memories, they grow up awfully fast.
Keep up the good work.