One of the hidden jewels of the Central Texas outdoors is Lake Aquilla. Located near the more popular Lake Whitney, Aquilla is less than half the size of Lake Waco, but offers some of the area’s best fishing and hunting opportunities.

I remember when the lake opened back in the early 1980s, and was amazed by the stories in former Tribune-Herald outdoor writer Earl Golding’s columns about fishermen regularly catching hundreds of crappie and largemouth bass from the lake on a single trip.

So one day, Blair Harris and I decided to verify those reports, and our story played out just like those we had read. We caught so many bass and crappie that we nearly got tired of it. By the end of the day, the skin on our thumbs looked like we’d been playing tug-of-war with a cheese grater.

At that time, most of the fish in Aquilla were still undersized, but there seemed to be fish stacked throughout the lake, because every spot we fished in, either one or both of us had a fish on.

Biologist’s report

Despite the non-stop action that day, I haven’t been back to Aquilla since — and I’m apparently not alone. Texas Parks & Wildlife biologist Michael Baird sent me a write-up on Aquilla in hopes of stirring up some interest in the under-utilized lake. The following is what he wrote:

“Lake Aquilla is a 2,366-acre reservoir located approximately seven miles east of the town of Whitney, straddled between Highway 22 and Farm-To-Market Rd 310. The unique ‘V-shape’ of the lake easily distinguishes the western Aquilla Creek Branch from the eastern Hackberry Creek Branch. Much of these upper branch portions are heavily timbered and can be difficult to navigate by boat, yet hold good numbers of sport fish — particularly where old creek channels and shoreline points intersect flooded timber.

“The more open-water habitat can be found near the middle and base of the ‘V’, where structural fish habitat is limited to occasional stumps and laydowns, rocky shoreline and aquatic vegetation including sparse amounts of Hydrilla. Sport fish in this area tend to concentrate around the numerous old ponds, borrow pits, islands and creek channels where they can take advantage of a variety of depths and temperature. 

“The sport fish assemblage at Aquilla consists of largemouth bass, white bass, white crappie and three species of catfishes (channels, blues and flatheads). Many Aquilla anglers claim the lake to be their favorite ‘honey hole’ — probably due to the lake’s low visitation and lack of competition from other anglers. Some of these claims may be justified based on the current water body records of certain sport fish: largemouth bass (12.81 pounds), channel catfish (17.50 pounds), white crappie (2.21 pounds) and white bass (2.00 pounds). 

“Those seeking lunkers can judge for themselves. Conversely, folks interested in family fun can still seek out record fish since water body records for some species are quite low. For example, the current record weights for bluegill and green sunfish are 0.20 and 0.30 pounds respectively — and might easily be broken by an aware angler. Also, some water body records do not yet exist (e.g., blue and flathead catfish) because anglers have never brought these species in for certification.”

So the next time you’re wondering where to fish, consider Lake Aquilla, and keep the current water body records in mind. If you think you have a record fish, please contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries Management office in Waco at 254-666-5190, or Academy Sports of Waco at 399-2410; certified scales can be found at both. You might just be the next record holder!

Skeet shoot Saturday

The Fourth Annual Waco Skeet & Trap Club’s Fun Shoot is slated for Saturday at the club, which is located at 7209 Karl May Dr., adjacent to the Waco Regional Airport.

With the opening of dove season just a few days later, the shoot would be an excellent opportunity to get a few shells pumped through the shotguns and for hunters to get their eyes sharpened up for that first flyover.

Call 753-2651 for more information.

Hunter education course

Now’s the time to complete a Hunter Education Training Course, which is required for hunters born after Sept. 1, 1971. People as young as 9 can take the course. For a listing of courses available in Central Texas, follow the link on the Centex Outdoors website.

 www.centexoutdoors.com

717-8907