You'll never guess what I caught, the very first time I wet a hook in Belton Lake. It was the summer of 1956, the year the water came back. Heavy rains ended the Great Drought that had held Texas in a dusty stranglehold since 1950. My mom had taken me and a couple of other aspiring young anglers to try our luck off the new marina, about five miles northwest of the city of Belton. The lake itself was brand new. The dam was completed two years earlier, but only recently had the Leon River and Cowhouse Creek run enough water to fill the 12,000-acre basin. We didn't know what fish to expect. The fact of the matter was, we simply didn't care. Like most 12-year-olds, all we wanted was to catch some fish. The more the better. It was of little or no importance which variety bit our hook.

Variety is a way of life on Belton -- it's home to virtually every species found in Central Texas, including a couple of exotics. Local favorites include three catfish species: channels, blues, and flatheads ("yellow cats"). Mr. Whiskers bites all year -- it was in December 2006 that Willie Goodwin caught the lake rod and reel record 47-pound flathead. Jeffery Cummings' all-tackle record 77 1/2-pound monster yellow cat hit his trotline in August, 1996. And indeed it's in the warm weather that the channels and blues move into shallower water and are easier to find and catch. Best baits are earthworms, grasshoppers, shrimp, shad, bloodbait and the various stinkbaits like the classic Catfish Charlie. If you're after a big flathead, I'd recommend setting a trotline near a deep drop-off and baiting with live sunfish.

Crappie fishing is considered only fair here, but I can remember seeing nice slabs caught from the marina and also by bank fishermen near the Hwy 36 bridge. The trick is to find structure in deep water near a drop-off. Small minnows are always a favorite bait for crappie, but personally I catch more on small jigs tipped with Berkley Crappie Nibbles. ...

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