Whiskered Tradition

Just in time for the spring warm up and the wave of fishing fever that always comes with it, hatchery staff with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s inland fisheries division are gearing up for another round of channel cat stockings at more than a dozen “Neighborhood Fishin’ Lakes” around the state. Depending on where you live, there could be a generous batch of the tasty whiskered fish coming to a small lake or pond near you.

Around since the early 2000’s, TPWD’s Neighborhood Fishing’ Program is built around 18 public lakes and ponds where kids under 17 can fish for free and the fish are almost always willing to bite.

The lakes are small, most ranging from 1/2 acre to 7 acres. The fishing holes are conveniently located in close proximity to larger cities including Dallas, Houston, Tyler, Amarillo, Austin, College Station, San Angelo San Antonio and Waco, usually in well-lit park locations that offer easy access.

The same lakes are stocked with hatchery-raised raised trout from late fall through early spring, when the water is cool enough for the temperature sensitive fish to survive. In mid-April, once water temperatures start nudging the 70s, the emphasis shifts to channel catfish. Catfish are a hardy species that can tolerate warm or cold water.

TPWD will carry out staggered stockings of the channel catfish in the urban waters from now through the end of October. This year’s plan calls for nearly 121,000 fish to be divided among the 18 NFP lakes.

The catfish, most in the 12-14 inch range, are reared on commercial feed in growing ponds at five different TPWD hatcheries, according to Todd Engeling, TPWD’s freshwater hatchery chief. Engeling says the fish will be transported in state hatchery trucks and released in the designated lakes every other week through the end of October, except for a short break during the height of Texas’ summer heat.

The number of fish stocked at each location varies with the size of the lake. Bigger lakes get more fish. The idea is to keep each lake stocked well enough to maintain good catch rates and keep fishermen happy until the next batch of fish come.

Not surprisingly, maintaining regular stocking schedules on 18 bodies of water is quite the undertaking that demands considerable manpower. Last year, TPWD hatchery trucks gobbled up more than 51,000 miles of highway while carrying out the NFP stockings. That’s not a bad thing. The NFP is a great avenue for drumming up new recruits to the sport. Engeling says the most recent survey data from 2012 showed 81,000 unique anglers made use of 14 fishing lakes that year. Many of the urban anglers who take advantage of the opportunity are beginning anglers or youngsters. They catch a lot of fish, too. Channel catfish are great to eat, so anglers are encouraged to keep their daily limit of five fish for the skillet. “Catfish are fun and easy to catch for anglers of all ages and experience levels,” said Craig Bonds, TPWD inland fisheries director. “If you’ve never fished before, these are the perfect places to get started. If you are an experienced angler, these are the perfect places to introduce fishing to a friend or family member.” Anglers can find comprehensive list lakes to be stocked and a map of all the NFP lakes at neighborhoodfishing. org. The dates and times of the stockings are not listed. --------- Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@ yahoo.com.