Bank fishemen and Dad tired of getting me and my son skunked :(

I have fished Benbrook, Pat Cleburne, Bailey lake and Alvarado so far and am 0/4... Dont have a cast net yet so ive tried worms, chicken livers, hot dogs, and this weekend have 1-2in cubes of chicken breast that i have in strawberry jello and garlic powder since Wednesday. Ive watched hours and hours of Youtube videos and am still struggling. Im going to get some smaller hooks tomorrow since ive been using 5/0-6/0 circles hooks. Im using a 3oz in line sinker, bead to swivel on 30# braid with 12#-50# (depending) mono and a 6-18" leader. I live in Crowley and can usually only get 1-2 fishing sessions in a week. Usually 1 of those we go for 5+hrs. Ive gone as early as 3am to hit these spots and plan on trying lake Alvarado tomorrow night since i had the most bites there last week out of any of the above and staying at least till midnight. I dont want to take anyones honey holes or anything just would like to catch a few eater size catfish for me the wife and kids to enjoy. I also dont mind particularly to drive but want to exhaust the places close to me before i drive 2 hrs to Tawak or Texoma and get skunked there too lol. Sorry for the long post but wanted to give as much info as possible.Help a brother out.... Please

Welcome to the forum! Im not trying to be discouraging but Summer fishing in Texas is rough especially when you're tied to the bank and the lack of rain is not helping any and COVID. If you look at most of the threads on this forum the guys with boats and electronics are having a difficult time as well. I was born and raised in Michigan fishing on the Great Lakes and have been in Texas since 2008 and it is frustrating. As soon as the temps start to drop and we get some consistent rain the fishing will pick up! Keep at it and it will pay off and as they say "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work"

Alvarado has fish it’s just a matter of how much time you got .

Awesome post and some Lifetime Memories.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. Took today off so even though its gonna be so gd hot today I may try to sneak in a little pre fishing before taking my boy out. We usually swap with my kids and I take 1 out a week so they get some solo time with Dad when im off. Once it cools off I plan on taking them camping as well. They are 1st and 3rd grade this year and with the Covid [censored] we are homeschooling this year so I try to make sure we do as many activities as possible.

At this time of the year you need to find deep water. If you are fishing shallow flats you probably will not catch much until it gets cooler. I would try Baja Beach near the dam on Benbrook. You have to get an annual permit from the city, but there is good access to deep water from the bank. I have also had good luck at small park ponds during the summer. You can search the Texas Parks and Wildlife site for community ponds to find them. Many of these are stocked regularly and provide good action. Finally, learn to chum. I carry range cubes in my van all the time and throw out a few pounds every time I leave a good fishing lactation. If you chum 3 days in a row and don’t catch anything at that location, the condition are not good, at least at that time of year. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Stay after em Dad! Y’all will get em figured out soon. If your able to fish the same area 2 times a week then get you some range cubes and start chumming em in. Catfish train easily. Go chum your area 3-4 days in a row before you go and there should be some fish hangIng around when you get there. Chum, chum, chum! Switch to a prepared bait like stubbys, sureshot, CJ’s, or DK. ...You’ll want to switch your rig to a slip cork with a treble hook. Plenty of YouTube videos to show you how to rig and how to bait em in. If there aren’t any fish in your baited area after 4 days of chumming then your in the wrong area. There are a ton of guys on here that will be willing to help you get things moving in the right direction if you ask the right questions. Good luck and post those pics when you get into em!

Take the kids out to a community pond with some worms and a small hook under a bobber. Catch about 10 bluegill and put them on ice. Now you have fresh cut bait for blues and without using a cast net.

The advice from El Gato Azul above is also great advice. I haven't used range cubes yet, but I have used rabbit food to chum in carp and channel cats.

Thanks everyone. I will have to give that slip bobber rig a try Azul. Thanks for the tips. JJ i will definitely try that. We usually catch and release our blue gills but may have to give that a try too bc we have a killer sunfish and bluegill spot. Osborne thanks for the welcome! I had all but given up on Benbrook. Always see a ton of carp there but dont try to go for them (at least not yet lol). I will look into that spot as anywhere else ive tried on benbrook is overrun with weeds and extremely shallow. We hit our local ponds of course in this area but with Covid and it being pretty populated they always seem a little over pressured. Weve gone to Greenbriar a couple times over the past year and both of those were skunks. Im just now learning there stocking schedule and may give them another try when they resume next month. Im just lucky my kids are so sweet and just love spending the time out there lol they always say it doesnt even matter if they catch anything they just like exploring with Dad. Im definitely going to give chumming a try since we do have so many local bodies of water and see how that helps out. We have a pet rabbit so that seems like an easisly accessible chum. Thanks again everyone and keep em coming!

If you have a spot for carp, get the kids on those. Even keep one for cut bait. Cats love cut carp!! My kids are spoiled on catching carp these days since the cats are slow. Just some corn on a small hook will get you in the action and the kids will be hooked reeling in some monsters!!

Nice idea! Ive always heard they were very hook and line shy so ive just avoided targeting them thus far if they are more difficult to fish for. I mainly was bass fishing my whole life but for the kids i felt that having a bobber or a catfish setup would be best. Will have to do some research on targeting carp and give that a try now lol. Thanks for the tip

Welcome to the TFF!
Good on you for getting out with the kids-
I’ve caught a lot of fish but I still get skunked sometimes-
There is some Great advice above, I bet something you have seen will help you-
Only thing I’ll add is you had mentioned a cast net, in my catfish journey for me when I used all the “usual”, if there is such a thing, catfish baits it increased my chances of catching a fish, but usually it was channel cats.
Learning to use a cast net changed the kind of fish I caught and many times increased the size of those fish.
The fish you are targeting are used to eating what is already in the water you are fishing, presenting bait they are familiar with either cut or whole is what a lot of on here do-
There are many other baits that absolutely will catch fish, but I have had more consistent catches using what I caught from the water I was fishing-
One other plus if you are fishing with young ones many of my trips the cast net and the possibilities each time you throw that cast net has been the highlight for those kids-
If you don’t know already, you can’t use “game fish” for bait, but you may catch shad, carp, drum, and sunfish, all can be excellent bait, just throw any crappie or bass back after the young one see’s it, or maybe let them return the fish, that’s sometimes fun.
That being said, I’ve caught catfish on a 14 in snake, chicken thighs (raw no flavor), Carl or buffalo bought from an ethnic grocery store, many many choices out there, you may try at least one pole set up using one of the unconventional baits and use others for more traditional baits-

There are baits that have worked a lot of times, baits that worked every once and a while, and baits that may work when all the regular baits are not working-
Fishing can be a journey that has many benefits along the way that has little to do with actually watching fish, especially when you have young ones to go on that journey with-
Best of luck to you and the family, please let us know how it goes, each trip you should learn something that increases your chances of being successful the next time-
Continue to reach out for help, many of us enjoy watching the journey also, and maybe someone here can help sometimes-

Thanks alot Stevie. I will definitely keep that in mind, and make sure I keep you all informed on our jouney. Im hoping next year to beable to get a truck and then I can start looking for a boat but for now we are just gonna do our best with whats available and try to really learn these spots near us.

Plenty of enjoyment in bank fishing too, those sunfish you spoke of earlier make great cut bait, many fish have been caught using only the head of a perch, it’s one of my favorite baits-
I still bank fish for carp also, jjhamel is right about them, just a small hook, a can of corn, or a bag of frozen corn, throw out some for chum, and throw your line in with that chum, it can be a blast for the young ones and yourself!

Benbrook is where ive seen the most carp so i may have to take the kiddos out there and check it out soon.

This time of the year you are going to have to get deeper. We are in 26 ft right now with our clients

Not familiar with your area but I would hit any bridges I could find right now. They will have access to deeper water and the shade from the bridge should help you and the fish! Should be drop offs a plenty and usually there is some decent structure that will hold fish. Should also be all kinds of species in that area so I would think you should fare alright. Just looking at the map I see the bridge over Joe Pool that looks to be near you. Not sure if you can fish this area or not but I would look at it. Both ends seem to have access to decent drop offs. It is Lake Ridge PKWY I am talking about.

Oh yeah, I would definitely use chum in an area like this, my buddy uses canned dog food if that helps any. Cubes would make it easier to get away from the bank but not sure if you have a farm and ranch store nearby. Also a bag of cubes is like 50lbs so that is a lot just to go fishing with.


Good luck!

Get the navionics ap and you can see what lakes have the deepest water closest to shore. This will save you a bunch of time and you will also know roughly how deep you are fishing.

https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@6&key=srehErjinQ

I would downsize all your tackle.

Hi Chayce...,

Welcome to TFF! OK, so you are bank fishing. Sadly, in this heat, the fish during the day will be in deeper water. But they do come in to feed in the AM & during the evening & night. Catfish do not like sunburn, as it can be fatal for them.

El Gato noted one good thing upfront. I always explain that if you fish from a bank, you are limited to fish that are there. If there are none, chances are, you won't catch any. But as he noted, if you will be fishing the same area, bait it, to draw them in. But be sure they cannot eat whatever you set out, or you will be feeding them, without being able to catch any.

Another help aid, is to use my Catfish Calendar, for Blues (BC days) & Yellows (YC day, plus my separate PYC days). But note that Blues also hit good on YC days. If you want to fish for Channels, then I might suggest BFT (Buffet) days, as that seems to be when I catch Channels.

Not sure if you are using just a few R-n-Rs or whatnot. I might suggest some (5 or 10) two piece cane poles from Academy. Run a cord from the base of your 1st cane after tying it securely, up to the second pole & ties a loop coming off near the tip. On the base also have a loop. You can stab the pole in the bank. Also tie a short line to connect the base to a Nail type tent steak. If the can pole pulls out, you still have it attached to the bank. On the tip end, you decide what time of line, as well as the hook, and if you want a cork. My GrandDad use to line the bank with "set hooks" (short home made poles). You can even by bells to connect which will sound off if there is a fish.

Good Luck!

Thanks Lynn! I will definitely keep that in mind. Went out night fishing with my son and FINALLY got the skunk off of us!

What did you catch?

Great!!!

Now another suggestion (or a few). Get you a wirebound notebook. Keep it, a pen, and a pencil, put into a gallon ziploc bag & take it with you when you fish. Perhaps also a rag/towel, to wipe your hands off to keep paper from getting wet, or really smelly. By taking notes (your "fish log"), you will be keeping a log of where, what, wjhen, how, and so much more. By writing it down, you put it into the subconscious, even if you never look at it again. But it is there for you to study. It will help you develop (study) your efforts & the results, as well as patterns, times, bait, strategies & so on.

By mastering this, you are sure to be eventually mastering it all. Always keep your determination that you will succeed, by making affirmations that even if you did not catch something on a trip, what new did you learn to do or not to do.And then others one day will ask you how. In a sense, it is very similar to walking the labyrinth. What this does, in another angle, is open pattern-feeds within the brain (metaphor- a reducer such as a transformer), which connects to the Mind (metaphor- Power plant or distribution plant).

One of my secrets for succeeding at my Catfish Calendar, was starting to take down notes & "log" them in. In fact, in 1985, the ports editor who did a write up on me & "Big'Un" (a 60#+ Op or Yellow) really liked my "log" angle, especially from it first trying to take me out of the boat in 1983, almost catching it in 1984, until finally getting her in the boat in 1985. My daughter was not quite 4 years old when I caught it, and in the boat with me.

I’m gonna go a different direction with my advice. Scrape a little money up for a trip with Stubby77 or littlewheel on this forum. You might be surprised how little it costs and those boys would have the time of their lives. A half day of fishing will see you put many catfish filets in the freezer and y’all will be talking about it for weeks. I guarantee it ! See littlewheels post at the top of this page. That’s what you’ll see and experience for you and your boys.

Thanks Don! Greg is the one in the pic !

This was Don’s trip!

Oh thats awesome! Yes we would love to get a guide and go out some day.