Posted on Sun, May. 11, 2008

Old anglers can find new spots

By Bob Hood

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Star-Telegram/Bob Hood

Hamilton's City Lake has plenty of fish and hardly any fishermen.

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Finding new places to fish away from the crowds isn't as difficult as you might believe.

I've been doing it for years and sometimes I'm amazed after approaching a "new" lake and discovering no one else is there.

There are three keys to finding these lakes: studying a state map, talking with strangers who obviously are anglers and calling district Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries offices.

Of the three, I think more lakes can be "discovered" by simply following the blue lines, the ones indicating creeks and rivers. Follow the blue lines and look for any indication of a lake along their paths. And then go fishing.

Most of the lakes you will find are 30 to 100 acres, though some are larger. And, generally, the less information you can find out about them, the better your chances are of having the lake all to yourself. Although Memorial Day weekend might be the exception.

Here are just five of the many lakes I have found over the years and I'm still searching for others:

Millers Creek Reservoir

2,212 surface acres

Off Farm Road 1608 east of Munday, about 175 miles from Fort Worth

While I was turkey hunting in 1973, the ranch owner told me the bulldozers I could hear in the distance were creating a new reservoir, and that's all the encouragement I needed to investigate. The lake was impounded a year later, and a friend and I enjoyed some of the best bass fishing we have ever seen. We launched our boats from a rocky bank for several years before a boat ramp was built on the northwest side of the lake. Back then, it was rare to see another boat, and, even today, the lake remains relatively unknown. Camping is allowed, but the sites are primitive. The lake has good populations of largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, sand bass and hybrid striped bass. There are stands of timber along the banks in some coves and on the upper reaches of the lake.

McCarty Lake

188 surface acres

Off U.S. 283 between Baird and Albany, about 145 miles from Fort Worth

Several years ago, while on a three-day mission to drive to and fish several small West Texas lakes I had never seen, I found this isolated jewel. Fishing patches of potato weeds and partially-flooded willows near the dam, I caught five bass weighing from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds. That, along with the solitude, hooked me on the lake, which also has a good population of channel catfish and occasionally produces some big crappie. The next time I go, I plan to set a few jug and drop lines for channel cats and periodically check them while going for bass.

Bryson Lake

710 surface acres

Approximately 4 miles northwest of Bryson, about 80 miles from Fort Worth

One morning several years ago, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Bruce Hysmith told me his crews had just stocked several thousand coppernose bluegills in a new lake between Jacksboro and Graham and said he was hoping anglers would provide him feedback on how they bit. I decided to become one of his "field testers." The lake -- built in a large rocky draw with a narrow channel -- usually has very clear water, making it one of my favorite spots to fish at night under a full moon for largemouth bass. The coppernose bluegills really never took off, but the regular bluegill and sunfish populations are high. If you're after panfish, this is the place to go. The lake is safely accessible only by float tubes, jon boats and small one or two-person crafts, or by bank fishing.

Lost Creek Reservoir

385 surface acres

Off Texas 59, just east of Jacksboro, about 60 miles from Fort Worth

This lake has an astonishing variety of underwater structure that should appeal to any angler after bass or catfish. Excellent boat launch facilities with large parking spaces and a lighted dock are just off Texas 59. I still marvel that the average number of boats I have seen on the lake during week-day visits has been none to two. And it's only about 60 miles from Fort Worth. The lake offers good fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegills and is a must-visit lake for anyone looking for a new spot to fish. And check out the old Jacksboro city lake next door.

Hamilton's City Lake

35 surface acres

About 2 miles east of Hamilton off Texas 22, about 105 miles from Fort Worth

While I was filling my truck with gas at a Hamilton store about 10 years ago, a man with a small jon boat in the back of his pickup pulled up and I noticed the bottom of his boat was wet. I asked him if he had had any luck fishing, and he showed me several large sunfish in an ice chest. Since then, I have fished the lake as often as possible while taking U.S. 281 to other destinations, including one day last week while returning from Port Mansfield. As usual, there wasn't another angler on the lake and I enjoyed an hour of fishing for sunfish from the bank. Boats are allowed, but gasoline engines are prohibited. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department surveyed the lake last summer, and there are plans to stock it with 9-inch channel catfish this fall.