Bastrop 11/23/24

Joined: May 2008

Posts: 10,871

Rayzor OP

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I pulled into a boat slip at the Northshore ramp to find a TPWD ranger walking on the wooden sidewalk. He came up to me and said he wanted to do a boat check, to which I said “sure.” He checked to make sure I had the necessary equipment, and we got into a conversation. He wanted to know if I had any luck, to which I replied that I hadn’t. I told him Bastrop hasn’t been the same since the eel grass on the north part of the lake was sprayed. He said that the lake had not been sprayed, but he knew what had killed the eel grass. Obviously, I wanted to know. He said that tilapia was killing the grass. I then asked him why the grass on the south end was still there then. He said that the tilapia were staying on the warmer north end. My next statement was that I have been fishing Bastrop for almost 20 years, and I have never seen a single tilapia on Bastrop. He said that he just did a boat check on a group of “guys” heading out with their cast nets. I then said I have never seen a single person cast netting on Bastrop. I commented that it was very possible that tilapia are in the lake, but the power plant does not generate like it used to and that should affect the amount of tilapia in the water. I also said that the disappearance of the grass was not a long drawn-out occurrence. It seemed to happen in a 6-month period.

Now don’t get me wrong; this office was as nice as they come. I just told him my opinion. This officer is the kind of law enforcement that you don’t mind stopping and showing your fishing license and equipment. Kind of reminds me of how nice Officer Bishop was.

BTW – I also told him that I have been told that the eel gras died during the cold weather of the winter. I don’t believe that either.

Bastrop used to be a lake I could go to dang near any month of the year and catch SOME fish. It hasn’t been that was for me in quite some time.

I will step off of my wooden box now.

Be safe,
Rayzor

2001 Triton Tx-21/225 Mercury EFI

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 91

pocfishin

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TPWD Inland Fisheries Office (San Marcos)
Patrick Ireland
District Supervisor
505 Staples Road
San Marcos, Texas 78666
(512) 353-0072
[email protected]

By the way, I agree that Game Warden Kris Bishop was a very nice lady.
I ran into her a couple of times on Bastrop.

If your bored, you can read the latest TPWD report on Lake Bastrop from 2022:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/lake_survey/pwd_rp_t3200_1245_2022.pdf

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 4,064

fivebites

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Posts: 4,064

Rayzor, I took my neighbor (a rookie fisherman) out a week ago Friday. We fished from around 7:30 to 1:30 Put 15 in the boat, and if he had been experienced we probably could have caught double that. I spent half the time pulling out backlashes and getting him unstuck. We fished the north side mainly. Texas rigged pumpkin senkos, a few on spinnerbaits, and quite a few on baby brush hogs. All of them in less than 10 feet except a couple I caught off some timber in about 12′. Tried out in 20-30 but couldn’t get them going. It’s amazing to me the quantity of fish in Bastrop, but that TPWD seems to think there are “good quality” fish in the lake. Yeah, they’re not 10″ long, but they’re also mostly 1-3 pound fish. Stocking pure Florida’s I think would help that lake a lot.

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TopwaterTom

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Bastrop does indeed have Tilapia and they mainly stay on the north end of the lake, that is all true. LCRA has confirmed this.
Somehow they got transferred in within the last year or two, my guess is from other cast netters.
Did they spray the grass? We will never know because everyone you talk to has a different story. There is nothing I can do about it, so I’m not going to stress about it.
The lake has definitely changed in the past few years though. When I talked with the LCRA guys last year, we talked about how its always such a dink fest out there. They strongly encouraged us to take out our limit each time we are there.
Too many fishermen catch and release, and that only strengthens the smaller fish population.

Joined: May 2008

Posts: 10,871

Rayzor OP

TFF Guru

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Joined: May 2008

Posts: 10,871

TPWD Inland Fisheries Office (San Marcos)
Patrick Ireland
District Supervisor
505 Staples Road
San Marcos, Texas 78666
(512) 353-0072
[email protected]

By the way, I agree that Game Warden Kris Bishop was a very nice lady.
I ran into her a couple of times on Bastrop.

If your bored, you can read the latest TPWD report on Lake Bastrop from 2022:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/lake_survey/pwd_rp_t3200_1245_2022.pdf

If he wasn’t a TPWD, he did an amazing job of impersonating one. From the clothes to the boat, to the radio communication I overheard between him and his station concerning the legality if my boat. In other words, he was for real. He just had his opinion, just like I had mine.

Be safe,
Rayzor

2001 Triton Tx-21/225 Mercury EFI

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 91

pocfishin

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But his expertise stops at that.

He should not be giving his opinion about the fishery in Lake Bastrop.

Data collection and managing the fishery at Lake Bastrop is handled by the biologists listed above.

As a GW, his opinion carries a lot of weight with the general public and in this case, may be wrong.

Joined: Jan 2003

Posts: 19,354

Jimbo

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fivebites

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Ha!! I don’t think so Jimbo!! He eventually got better at it and I adjusted the reels accordingly. He got pretty excited about the day and is asking his wife to get him a new setup for Christmas!! Better gear usually = less issues.

2019 Chevy Tahoe
2018 Basscat Eyra 250 Proxs
PB Wife of 32 years!
PB Largemouth 9.56 Ray Roberts