For more information on Lake Lavon, contact the Wylie Chamber of Commerce at (972) 442-2804, the Corps of Engineers at (972) 442-3141 and visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/lavon ; for Ray Roberts Lake, see www. tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/ recreational/lakes/ray_roberts .

CENTRAL TEXAS
Downstate, anglers living along the thickly populated midsection of Interstate 35 don’t have far to drive for some excellent catfishing this year.

“Lake Waco is pretty hot,” said TPWD’s John Tibbs, the Waco-based district supervisor for Inland Fisheries. “Someone’s going to be breaking the lake record for blue cat in the next few months. We’ve come close already. The lake’s all-tackle record for blues is 49 pounds; 35.5 for rod and reel.”

If you want some fine catfishing on a smaller lake, here’s a little secret: In the opinion of a man who makes his living by what he knows about fish, Lake Lavon is as good as Texoma.

And in the Waco area, it’s never been easier to get a potential record officially weighed. “The new Academy store here has worked with us to set up a weigh-in station at the store,” Tibbs said. “They’re trying it out, and so far it’s been working great. They’re weighing fish left and right.”

As for 7,194-acre Lake Waco, which has been around since 1965, a rise in the pool led to a productive catfish spawn. “We’ve got some real good fish in there,” the biologist said. Too, not being known as one of the state’s prime catfishing destinations, you won’t be facing as much competition at Lake Waco, which lies inside the Waco city limits off state Highway 6.

Trotliners like the North and South Bosque River channels, while flats and submerged structure are good for channel cats on stink bait, blood bait or shrimp.

Tibbs also is high on Lake Belton, a 12,385-acre impoundment on the Leon River five miles northwest of the Bell County town of Belton. “It’s another popular lake, real pretty, with a surprising amount of use,” he said. “It got stocked with blue cats a few years back, and they’ve been catching a lot of them. It’s also real good for hybrids.”

Tibbs said that in cool weather, savvy anglers fish deep for blues with cut shad or ghost minnows. Blues love a real cold spell, which will kill off shad, leaving the scavengers a veritable buffet. Add your shad-on-a-hook to the menu and you’ll get a fish.

Spring and fall are the best seasons for channel cats, which respond to various kinds of offerings ranging from dead bait to stink bait.

“A lot of fishermen bait certain holes for channel cats,” Tibbs said, “and they’ll keep coming back to the same hole.” But, he added, if you don’t get a bite in 15 minutes, move to another spot.

For more on Lake Waco, see www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/ recreational/lakes/waco and the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.wacocvb.com; for Lake Belton, see www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/ fish/recreational/lakes/belton and the Belton Chamber of Commerce at www.beltonchamber.com .

HILL COUNTRY
Now 71 years old, the granddaddy of Hill Country impoundments is Lake Buchanan, in Burnet and Llano counties. This 22,211-acre lake, which has water as deep as 132 feet, has three things going for it: (1.) Though “Buck” is best known for its striped bass, it’s an excellent catfish lake as well. (2.) It’s an easy drive from the booming Austin metropolitan area. (3.) Even though it’s close to the capital, it gets fewer visitors than do the closer-in Highland Lakes.