Cats Are Coming

Neighborhood Fishin’ channel catfish stockings underway

It’s spring in Texas. Time to gather the youngsters and head out to a Neighborhood Fishin’ Lake near you. The cats are coming.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department launched its annual Neighborhood Fishin’ Lake catfish stocking program on April 11.

Founded in the early 2000s, the program centers on 18 small lakes and ponds where kids 16 and under can fish for free with no license required.

The lakes -- which range in size from 1/2 acre to 7 acres -- are 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.

Each year, TPWD stocks the lakes with thousands of hatchery raised channel catfi sh and rainbow trout. This year’s catfishing stockings will include nearly 119,000 fish that will be released at two-week intervals through the end of October (excluding August), according to Todd Engeling, TPWD inland fisheries deputy division director. Most of the cats are around 12 inches long.

Adults 17 and older are required to have a fishing license and freshwater fishing stamp to fish in the neighborhood lakes. You will need your own gear and bait, too. Fishing is allowed with pole and line only with the limit of two poles per person.

Each person fishing is allowed to keep five catfish per day. Other species count towards the five-fish limit. Only one bass (14 inches or more) per day may be retained. For more information about stocking locations, visit www. neighborhoodfishin.org.

Fishing For Cats

One of the neat things about fishing for channel cat is they don’t require much skill to catch, no matter if you are fishing in small or big water. Fishing with a cork or with a Carolina style rig are the most common tactics.

The cork serves a dual purpose. It suspends the bait off bottom and allows the angler to visibly detect strikes without having to rely on feel. When a fish bites the bait, the cork lets you know it.

There are two styles of corks - a fixed and slip cork. A fixed cork secures to the line using clips that suspend the bait at a constant depth. The slip cork allows the cork to slide up and down the line until it comes in contact with a bobber stopper. This makes it easier to control the depth of the bait presentation. Plus, it is easier to cast.

The standard Carolina rig is built by sliding a 1/2 or 3/4 ounce slip sinker onto the main line, then adding a barrel swivel and a leader beneath it. Many anglers like a short leader about 12-14 inches to make it easier to detect the light bite of channel cat.

Catfish will eat assorted baits ranging from manufactured punch baits, cheese, chicken livers, cut bait or live night crawlers.

Reynolds wins BBS with 11.48 pounder, Laramore voluntarily withdraws 10.40

Tater Reynolds of Florien, LA., weighed an 11.48-pounder to take the first place grand prize package valued at $150,000 in the 41st Annual Sealy Big Bass Splash held April 25-27 on Sam Rayburn.

Reynolds took home a fully rigged Phoenix bass boat, RAM truck and $10,000, plus another $7,380 in hourly cash for the four bass he took to the scales over the course of the three-day event. He banked an additional $1,500 from Bass Cash Bash for the 11 pounder.

Reynolds said he caught three of his money fish, including the tournament winner, on a $100 nine-inch crappie pattern glide bait guided by forward-facing sonar. The fourth hit a jighead minnow. All were caught 10-18 feet down around timber and brush piles in 20-24 feet of water.

There’s a good story behind Reynolds’ winning catch, which came on the second morning of the tournament.

“I caught a 7.80 pounder off a brush pile about 10 minutes earlier — it was the only fish I could see around it,” he said. “Three other boats saw me catch that fish and they swarmed me like buzzards, just waiting on me to leave.”

Reynolds left the spot alright, but he didn’t race to weigh in. Instead, he relocated to another one of his sweet spots about 150 yards away. He saw the winning fish finning around on his sonar screen. He said it was suspended around a leaning log in 20-24 feet.

“I caught it about 10 casts later,” he said. “Those two fish came 10 minutes apart.”

James Laramore’s story didn’t have such a happy ending.

The veteran angler from Vidor weighed in a 10.90 pounder on Day 1 of the event that he voluntarily withdrew from the competition after realizing he had removed his fire extinguisher from his boat before the tournament got underway.

Laramore told Sealy Outdoors tournament director Chris Bennett the safety rules violation was an honest mistake he will forever regret.

“I didn’t even think twice about it — my boat is always ready to go,” Laramore said. “Upon going to look I realized my fire extinguisher was missing. I instantly knew where it was and realized it was a rules violation. It was a costly mistake, but had I won the tournament I would have felt bad for the guy who finished second knowing that I skipped out on a rules violation and he followed all the rules. This sport needs to maintain integrity.”

Richard Madole of Many, LA., won second place overall with a 10.77 pounder, $20,000; Matthew Williams of Lufkin, 3rd, 10.01 pounds, $15,000; Cole Moore of Georgetown, 4th, 9.41 pounds, $10,000; and Steven Briggs of Many, LA., 5th, 9.27 pounds, $5,000.

Sealy Outdoors says the tournament drew 3,100 entries. Anglers weighed in 822 bass totaling 3,857.89 pounds.

Outdoors Briefs Elites begin Texas swing at Fork, Sabine River

The Bassmaster Elite Series begins its 2025 Texas swing a May 8-11 at Lake Fork. Not surprisingly, big weights are expected as some of the nation’s best pros square off on one of the top bass fisheries in the country.

Located near Quitman, Fork has a rich history of kicking out triple digit weights at the top of the Elite leaderboard. In 2024, the entire Top 10 cracked the 100-pound mark during a four-day event Trey McKinney won with 130-15 pounds.

McKinney’s total was just shy of the all-time record for total weight in a four-day B.A.S.S. event — set by Paul Elias on Falcon Lake in Texas in 2008.

Longview’s Lee Livesay is always a heavy favorite when the Elites come to town. Livesay, 40, won backto- back events on Fork in 2021-22 with 112-5 and 11311, respectively.

Daily takeoffs, weigh-ins and outdoor expo will be held at Caney Point Recreation Area.

On May 15-18, the Elites will land on the Sabine River in Orange. The Sabine is regarded as one of the Elites most challenging venues, where weights are typically low, a four pounder goes a really long way and navigation hazards are many.

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., won the 2023 event with an overall weight of 44-3, outpacing Texas’ Clark Wendlandt by almost 3 pounds.

Daily takeoffs, weighins and an outdoor expo will be held at the City of Orange boat ramp at 418 Pier Rd.

104 teams compete in NRL catfish tournament

More than 100 teams turned out for the 5th annual Neches River Catfish Tournament on April 25-26. Several found the big ones biting.

The winning teams in each division: Overall Heaviest Cat: Bryce, Clint and Ellen Jenkins weighed in a 42.6 pound flathead, $7,100.

2 Fish Stringer: Jake Greenup, Seth Kornegay and Hayze Bell, 66.4, $1,500.

Ladies: Lexi Counahan, Britney Watson, 8.4lbs, $502.

Kids: Harper Peveto, 4.8 pounds, $200 Big Blue: Jessie Davidson, Blake Modisett, Neches Howard, Seann Whittman, 19.4 pounds, $1,500 Longest Gar: Rocky Lankford, Ashila Lankford, Kolby Helm, 53.5 inches, $250.

Boat/ Motor/ Tr a i l e r Drawing: Dylan McHale, $15,000 Tournament director David Holland said the event drew 104 teams. It raised $3,000 to benefit two youths battling health problems and awarded six scholarships.

Bass Champs on Belton

Lee Leonard and Scott Bronder weighed in 24.40 pounds on five bass to top 163 teams in the Bass Champs team event on April 26 at Lake Belton. They earned $25,200 in cash. The winners caught their fish using Texas rigs and Carolina rigs away from the bank on ledges and other structure in 15-20 feet.

Jonathan Click and Dustin Walton took second with 19.33, $6,000; Corey Schnautz and Raymond Calk, 3rd, 18.91, $3,500; Zane and Eric Washburn, 4th, 18.91; $2,800; Todd Castledine and Jarrett Latta, 5th, 17.72, $14,150 including a $10,000 Skeeter contingency bonus.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo. com.