Nature

Texas’ Neighborhood Ponds are Stocked: Get Hooked on Fishing!

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Grab your poles and head to your neighborhood fishing pond – the fish are biting! Texas Parks and Wildlife announced last week that they’ve stocked 16 Texas ponds with fish (Due to impacts from Harvey, stockings in Missouri City and Katy have been postponed).

The Catfish are Biting

catfish

Photo: Flickr/Patrick Lewis

The channel catfish are ready when you are. Catfish are named for the barbels (“whiskers”) around their mouths and have scaleless skins, fleshy, rayless posterior fins, and sharp defensive spines in the shoulder and dorsal fins. Known best for preferring strong-smelling baits, try using nightcrawlers, chicken livers, shrimp, stinkbait or cut hot dogs to lure these guys in.

Trout Coming Soon to a Pond Near You

Rainbow trout

Photo: Flickr/erikmeldrum

While catfish are mostly what you’ll find in your neighborhood ponds this time of the year, if you hold out for colder weather, you might catch a trout. Rainbow trout prefer cold water and they survive only during winter in most parts of Texas. Rainbow trout get their name from the beautiful colors that shine on their skin. Trout stocking begins in late November or early December and continues until March. Trout are known to like cheese, kernel corn, nightcrawlers, red wigglers, and mealworms. If you’d rather use a lure, try a small inline spinnerbait or a spoon.

Fun for the Whole Family

Fishing

Photo: Pixabay/missyliner0

While the rules for fishing in open waters and lakes can be complicated, the same can’t be said for neighborhood fishing. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the rules are simple: fish with no more than two poles, catch no more than five-a-day and don’t use cast nets.

Remember, kids 16 and younger fish for free and adult licenses start as low as $11 (one day, all-water). And just a reminder: Trotlines, jug lines, fish traps, seines, cast nets, bows, and spears are not allowed in neighborhood fishing lakes and ponds.

To learn more about the Texas Parks and Wildlife “Neighborhood Fishin’” program, visit their website.