Fish Tales

If you have an interesting fish tale about Lake Alan Henry you can summit it to Captain Mike at 1-806-747-0534 or e-mail it to

I read the fish tales of the dear on the lake and I myself caught them swimming in 45 feet of water. All the was across the lake. I thought it was someone's jugs scootin across the lake but it was still a sight to see.

Texas Veteran
Juan

> FISH STORY FROM WICHITA EAGLE NEWSPAPER
> > This was a pretty interesting story from The Sunday Wichita Eagle
> > Newspaper a couple of weeks ago. Was in a housing development around
> > 119th st. South and Maple. Anyhow a resident in the area saw a ball
> > bouncing around kind of strange like in the developments pond and when
> > he went to investigate, it was a flathead catfish who had obviously
> > tried to swallow a child's basketball which became stuck in its mouth.
> > The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive but unable to
> > because the ball would always bring him back up to the surface. The
> > resident tried numerous times to get the ball out but was
> > unsuccessful. He finally had his wife cut the ball in order to
> > deflate the ball and release the catfish.

At about 8:45 on Wed. May 28 I was coming out of Big Grape headed for the
ramp. I saw what appeared to be a tree top sticking out of the water and thought
it might be the tree that used to stand alone in the main body. When I got
closer I thought it was a floating log and then possibly a small animal. After I
finally motored close enough, it turned out to be a deer! The closest bank was
at least 150 yards and depth was over 50ft. I scared it off the intended path
and it turned and headed for the other bank which was approx. 200 yards.
Concerned that the deer might not make it, I got the trolling motor out and
followed it to shore. With the trolling motor on high 24v, the deer was outrunning
me! Once to the bank, it hopped right out and disappeared. Not being a deer
expert I would guess it to be a young adult and to weigh over 150lbs. Looked like
a doe to me, but some friends informed me that the bucks are without a rack
at this time. This it not the first time I have seen deer in the water at AH,
but never out in the middle of the lake. I guess from now on other boaters
won't be the only thing I'm looking out for. I took some pictures but don't know
how they will turn out due to the poor lighting.

> Capt'n Mike,
> Tanks a lot for the tips you gave me on fishing this lake. I will agree
with
> you that it is definitley one of the best lakes i have been to in west
texas
> and finishes a close second next to fork in texas. We caught six fish one
of
> them over four pounds. We enjoyed all the points and easy cover on the
lake
> and i will definitely spend more time fishing this lake in the future. I
> appreciate your help and hope you have many days of successful fishing
> whichever lake you may be on.
> Thanks A Lot,
> Beaumont Boyce

on this past sunday my brother in law and i were
fishing at alan henry, we have just got an old ranger
bass boat that we had only had on the water a couple
of times. we had fished for several hours and were
getting ready to come in when the starter on the
outboard went to smoking and quit working. we tried
to wave down several boats, many bass boats and no one
even offered to stop and help. we were a long ways
away from the ramp. we started back that direction
with the trolling motor waving down every boat that
went by. this went on for about an hour before this
guy was slowly coming up from behind us on a 14ft jon
boat with a 6hp motor and he asked if he could help.
we told him sure if he saw a game warden just tell him
we are broke down and send him to come get us. this
guy said i can pull you back so we let him pull us
just barly faster than our trolling motor. when we
got back to the ramp we offered to pay him but he
refused and said just stop and help the next guy.
this was the first time i have ever been stranded on
the lake and you can bet i will be stopping to help
anyone broke on the water, even if i am in the middle
of a tournament. all i ask is for people to be more
considerate and help each other out becouse if you
have not had a day like mine you will eventually.

thank you,
good boating
Rob Nance

One time my dad my brother and I went fishing for crappie. We were just
fishing off the
dock when all of a sudden it started raining. I thought we were going to
head back but my
dad just kept fishing so we were setting there fishing and all of a sudden
fish were biting
like crazy. We counted how many fish we were catching for almost and hour
and when we
got done fishing we had caught 102 CRAPPIE! not including the million of
perch we
caught and we were just using regular minnows. I thought that was
outstanding so keep
up the work guys.

My dad and me made our first visit to Alan Henry, April 4th-6th. My dad has been my fishing partner for all of my 27 years, and felt honored to be there to work the net for a 10.05 he landed on Saturday. It was by far the biggest bass he's ever caught. We had her weighed at Grubs' and turned her over to the folks who were running the tournament. For my dad and me I want to say thanks to everyone involved with Lake Alan Henry for making it such a great place to fish. We will be back!

3/29/02 -- My dad and I fished Alan Henry this
afternoon for about 3 hours before the rain hit, and I
landed this 23" 7.5lb bass on a lizard. This lake
just keeps getting better & better! Keep up the good
work.

Richard Feagan
Lubbock, Texas

Who said fishing was slow last weekend???? We were fishing top water, white buzz bait and Bobby Berry landed this 6 lb 10 oz at about 10:00 am Saturday the 22nd. He caught fish pretty steady and I sat and watched, cuz we only had one white buzz bait, and I was too proud to take it from him no matter how many times he offered it to me. Weather was great and fishing was better, couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

09/03/01 Well never take it for granted you will catch crappie with a crappie rig. Some friend of mine, caught a 40# yellow up by the dam, on a crappie rig. This is the 3rd big cat that I know of coming out of Henry, on a minnow. Capt'n mike

07/31/01 I was up at alan henry about 2 days ago and boy was it a sucess. we ran a
trot line and caught about 15 catfish in 2 days, and we caught 12 bass, 5
keeper bass, all over 19 inches in the mornin in about 15 ft of water on
plastic worms.

cloud

ON 7-28-01 CATCHING A GOOD NUMBER OF CHANNEL CATS ON STINK BAIT. DECIDED TO SEE IFF A PERCH WE CAUGT EARLIER WOULD LIKE TO GO YELLER CAT HUNTING. AFTER ABOUT THREE HOURS MY FISHING BUDDIE "FISH TUCKER" SAID OH LOOKIE HERE, AS HIS ROD WAS ABOUT TO TAKE OFF FOR A SWIM.AFTER A LONG FIVE MINUTES WE NETTED A 25# YELLOW CAT. I WOULD SAY WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD FISHING TRIP.

07/21/01water temp was 85 crappie were great on minnows about half that were caught
were limit or better. Has anyone ever mentioned going scuba diving at
this lake??? Thanks BK

MIKE
THE WIFE AND I WERE AT THE FISSING HOLE ON LAKE ALLAN HENRY THIS WEEKEND
AND LOOK AT THIS IT WAS A 16 1/2" CRAPPIE. I DID NOT HAVE A SCALE TO WEIGH
IT BUT THE PICTURE SAYS A LOT. THIS IS A COUPLE OF INCHES LARGER THAN THE
ONE SHE CAUGHT ABOUT 6 WEEKS AGO. IT WAS CAUGHT ON A MINNOW ABOUT 1 FOOT
OFF THE BOTTON IN 23 FT WATER.KEEP ON FISHING
JIM PRICE

Dear Capt'n Mike,

                      My first bass was caught at lake Alan Henry on July 3,
2001.My bass was a good sized bass.It was 14" caught with a DEAD minow.I
would also like to say I am 11 YRS. OLD.I am pretty young but, I am strong.My
name is PAUL.I would also like to say that DEAD MINOWS WORK AS WELL AS ALIVE
MINOWS.

                                                        THANK YOU,

                                                                 PAUL

Mike Last Saturday May 25, 2001,I was with my wife and grand daughter at Lake Allan Henry in a cove on the west side of the lake. I think it was you that took a picture of my grand daughter catching a bass for the first time by herself. Grand daughter is 6 years old and had a blast catching those small bass. there was a bale of hay tied to a tree where we was at. About 3 pm my wife hooked a 15 1/2 inch crappie ,nice fish. It was the biggest Crappie I had seen in a long time. I just moved to the area and enjoy all of the time I spend at Lake Allan Henry. some of our other catches were Cat Fish that were 13 to 15 inches, and more Crappie.

Howdy:
Here's one of 12 bass that Tom Ward and I boated on Lake Alan Henry on
Monday, May 28, 2001.
Taken on a top water plug in brush along shoreline.
Had a very good time on the lake this particular day. Love the way this
lake sets up for fishing.
Windy days are no problem with so many coves to get into and avoid windy
conditions.
Thanks for the opportunity to fish your fine lake.
Len Westra
LJ Ranch
Lohn, TX 76852

TomWard &Bass #2 052801 Lake Alan Henry TX

Howdy:
Thoroughly enjoyed our day out on Lake Alan Henry.
My son-in-law and I boated 12 bass in approximately 5 hours, three of
which were over 18".
Most were caught on top water plugs in open water and along shoreline.
Several were caught on
shad colored crank baits.
Thanks for the opportunity to fish this fine lake.
Len Westra
LJ Ranch
Lohn, TX 76852

Len & Largemouth Bass Lake Alan Henry TX

05/15/01 I took my Son out of school for the day to go fishing. Some things are more important than the 3 R's. We got to the lake on the evening of the 9th of May. We set up camp & put the boat in the water. The fishing that evening was good. We caught several bass, small, but fighters, & several nice croppies. The next morning we hit the shoreline with a orange & brown crank bait. We smoked 'em! This was the first time my 9 year old caught fish on artificial bait. He caught about 25 small bass that day & several croppie. He lost a bass that would have gone at least 8 pounds. The hog took his lure, slapped the water, & headed for the trees. He snapped the line on a tree. My Son was upset, but we talked about what fishing was all about. We would have let it go anyway & that's the sport. By the time we got home the fish weighed 12 pounds. I guess the talk we had worked. He is now a real fisherman!! We love the lake, the camping, & the people who work there!! P.S. Thanks to the one's who keep the lake clean!! Good job!! Donn & Ethan Hicks / Amarillo, Tx

My buddy and I were fishing from the shore of the cove just to the left of the dock using top water lures when we spotted a big bass just cruisin around. We put about six differant lures infront of her but she only showed a little interest, no bites. Finally I pulled out this terrible looking frog lure that Ive gotten tons of strikes on but never hooked one with. Apparently bass like that lure becase she nearly swallowed it. She was about 7 pounds and fat ( i dont think shed spawned yet ) We put her back so we could catch again some day.

Thanks
Blair and Christian
morning after easter

04/29/01Mike,
My boss and I fished Alan Henry for the first time Sunday 29, April.
We did real well. Got quite a few good ones. Most of them were
from 2-6 pounds. We both had a fish break off. These we got
a look at and were both easily 8+. My boss is from Alabama
and was really impressed with the lake. We are going back
this weekend. Good fishin'.

paul

04/29/01 Just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for your hospitality. My
Name is Beau Crum and I stayed with Nemo Britton in your rental house last
week for 5 days. The weather didn't cooperate for most of the week, however
the last day was very productive. I caught a nice 7.3 lb bass on a topwater
late in the evening on Monday. I caught 2 bass weighing 4.5 and several 2-3
pounders. I drove up from Memphis and was thoroughly impressed with the
fishing. I hope to be back real soon. I will send you a picture of my big
fish. It was the largest one thus far in my career and I will be getting a
fiberglass reproduction to match. I put her back in so she could produce
some more "hogs" just like herself. Take care and really enjoyed your
facility,

Beau Crum
Memphis, Tennessee

04/22/01 My name is Tyler. I live in Plainview Texas. I am 13 years old.
Anyway, your never going to believe this. My dad and I went to Lake Alan
Henry for 5hours. When we got there we unloaded are boat things like that.
After we got ready we went near the dam on the left side going to the dam
where my dad fished a point not to long ago. On my first cast just to the
left of the bank I caught a little 6 inch bass. Then my dad caught a three
pounder. We hardly caught anything after that. We went all over the lake
didn't catch a thing. We went back to the point and nothing. Then we went
further back being the point where i saw two BIG bass. One was about 4
pounds while the other was 5 pounds. My dad didn't believe me. Then we got
stuck on a big tree where the bass where. I thought they be gone but they
where still there. It was probably blowing 15-20 that day. We sat there for
a long time. I used a pumkinseed plastic worm 7" while my dad used a soft
plastic jerk bait. The bass didn't bite my worm, but they looked at it for a
while, so I put on a little chartues topwater buzzbait. While I was doing
that my dad had on that big bass for a second, he didn't even know it until
it went in the tree and broke off. My dad was mad. then he put a jig on,
they didn't bite that, then he went back to the jerk bait. I fished my
buzzbait underneath the water instead on top. Each time I through it they
look at it then go underneath the tree. After I reel my lure back up it pop
back out again. Finally on my 7th cast the big bass hit. When I set the hook
that fish went everywhere. Then it went into the tree, and I can't believe I
didn't lose him. Then my dad got him and acted like he was fixing to drop
the big 5pound bass into the water. Then we found out it hasn't spawned yet.
I felt real bad I didn't release him. But what got me that bass that haven't
spawned yet would bust anything. But not this one. It took me 35min to hook
that bass. My dad was real jealous. That was the biggest bass I have ever
caught in my life. A 5lb Bass

Hey...04/15/01

great fishing Friday and Sat. Landed some good bass (one 22 inches) and we
brought home 20 crappie, several of them really good ones. Parking lot was
full to the brim, but that is one thing I love about Alan Henry is that it
is not crowded on the lake. Do you think that will change when they build
all of those ramps and docks they are talking about, with the mineral
rights battle being over?

James

Last summer (June 4th 2000) the day of bass fishing had just about come to an end and we were preparing to rig up and spend the night crappie fishing when I decided to make one last cast with my lucky white crankbait....fishing had been a little slow up to this point when I made one final cast....the lure was in the water only a matter of seconds before the bass hit.....she weighed in at a little over 6 pounds and was the fight of my life.......she was undoubtedly about to be a mom so after a Jimmy Houston like kiss I let her go.....the evening was followed with GREAT crappie fishing so no matter what you're in to, this is a great lake......Josh

-----------------------------------------------------
I went fishing Sat. the 6th and caught a 5 1/2 pound bass on a spinner bait. It was in 14 ft. deep water but only about 3 to 4 feet deep, hanging right on a tree stump. It was my only fish but I was excited to get him. Got a couple of bites on worms but nothing caught. The lake was beautiful and I will be back, (hopefully this weekend), see ya .

What a great day to fish! I had three bass total over 17lbs between them. Two 6's and a 5 1/2 all released. Maybe things are picking up. Mike Marshall

In June of last year, we were running a trotline up the Brazos from the boat ramp, we had a big one on the line. My friend grabbed the line to pull the fish in, in a split second the fish pulled him in head first off the front of the boat. It scared him as well as the rest of us. He was alright, but we lost the fish. I saw it's tale and to me it looked like it was between 30 and 40 lbs.. Lesson to be learned, be careful there are some real big fish in this lake. Captain Mike

In December of last year there was a 30 1/2 lb. yellow taken inside the well at the crappie house. Keith { of Nancy's Bait in Post} said it was caught with a crappie minnow while fishing for crappie. He said it took 3 people to land it. I guess you don't have to have a boat to land the big one in this lake. Captain Mike

Last Nov. 1st I went fishing at Alan Henry. I got up at 4:00 am and drove to the lake. It was raining and very foggy when I left Lubbock. When I got to Post the rain stopped. I hit my favorite spot at 5:15. By 9:00 am I had caught nine bass. Six of them were over 18 inches long. I have a digital scale and nearly all six of the keepers were over six pounds each. Just another great day of fishing at Alan Henry. They were really hitting Red Shad worms. Lubbock did a good thing in building this lake. Now we fisherman need to take care of the fishing. By the way I let all the fish go. Steve

Well I arrived at the lake at 7:30 pm and set up the motor home up in one of the camping areas. I was on the water by 8:30. I went to my favorite point and in about fifteen minutes I had caught two nice fish. I went to another hot spot of mine and by 9:45 I had caught another Nine good fish. Two of them were keepers. Thats Eleven fish in about an hour and a half. I told my seven year old son that I was glad he was with me because no one would believe me. Just another great fishing trip to Alan Henry. Steve

i live in corpus christ , been in south tx 15yrs. ( BUT I'M FROM LUBB.} GO
TECH OK i have fished alan henery with a freind of mine from new home about
4 times, super lake lake!!!!!!!. when i lived in west tx. i lived on white
river lake. for about 10 yrs. your web site is great its good to keep in
touch with good fishing in tx. we fish lake c.c 4to 5 times aweek ,chock a
few times falcon when we un load. kepp up the good site for us west tx
exsssss. HAPPY FISHING FROM SOUTH TEXAS

both number and size. This is going to be one of the best lakes in the state if the fishery is managed well. By the way, all of the fish caught were extremely healthy. The colors on the fish and the girth of the fish point to an extremely healthy Lake. The 5.25 LB

My wife and I went to the lake on 5/26/00 to do some night catfishing. This was only are second time ever to the lake. We dropped anchor near the opening of little grape creek in a small cove in about 30 feet of water. We tried a variety of baits but did not get any catfish. However, about 11:00 PM the Crappie started biting on bass minnows. We fished until sunrise and caught around 30 Crappie. 15 of these were keepers. Of the 15 or so we threw back, most were around 9 inches. I wish the catfish would have been biting, but this turned out to be a fun trip. We will definitely be back. Brandon

07/20/00 Dad and i had set a rope, about 75 feet long, out with bait for catfish,
before we went and fished for bass, and at the end of the day we came back to
check the rope and all but one of the hooks we had put on there were snapped
in half. There was about 7 hooks and six of them had broken off! Brandon Clark

07/25/00 Mr. Cook of Tahoka, on Sunday, caught a 16 inch bass, then 2-17 inch bass, and then caught a 26 inch bass weighing 15 1/2 pounds. This would have been the lake record if it was registered but he said he ate it. He caught the fish on the walk way to the crappie house. I was told about it Sunday evening by other friends and saw Mr. Cook on Monday and he told me the details. He had witnesses and all. So be sure to register any potential records with Texas Parks and Wildlife. At this lake you can go up to Grubbs store and they will call the TPWD, to get it registered. capt'n mike

08/04/00 Hello, we had a good fishing trip, and thanks for the advise! Gobbler creek
was excellent for bass but the catfish weren't biting well. We went and
moved our trotline down out of gobbler creek and towards the boat docks from
that direction. We found a spot in the opening of a big cove along the main
lake and had some good success! We caught two nice blue cats and a 16 lb
flathead in one night! I recommend gobbler creek for people who our trying to
bass fish! Thanks again for the advise and tips, I appreciate it.

Texasredneck45

Hi, I fish Alan Henry about once a week but I go on the weekdays after work when it's not so crowded. I unload about 6:00 PM and fish till dark or a little after. I usually have good luck on a rattle trap, crome with a blue back, but the other day I couldn't buy a bite on this lure. I switched to a heddon zara sasso, black back and white belly, it's a broken back jerk bait type lure. It was just incredible the way the fish jumped on it, every other cast I had a fish hitting it. I caught 8 seventeen and a half LB bass and several small bass in about an hour. I didn't catch any keepers but had one hell of a time. This is a good lake and has the potential to be the best lake in Texas.

It was hot Saturday, August 13th, and my wife and I were fishing on the fishing pier. Things were kind of slow, and this guy came around and offered a couple of boys 25 cents a piece for perch for his trot line. So, I got out a little bitty cricket hook and fished between the 3 upright bars at the far end of the fishing pier for perch for them. I was using cut up pieces of Nightcrawlers, and I was getting bites everytime a got the bait to the bottom and then brought it back up about six inches.

I had caught them a dozen or so perch, when one time I lowered the bait to the bottom. It just sat there for 20 or 30 seconds, and then thud, a big old bass bit it. I guess he had scared the perch off and decided to settle for a little piece of worm.

Anyway, it took me a while to work him to the surface because he was a big fish, and I was using close to a throw-away rod and reel to catch the perch. He ended up being 18 inches and weighed 3 pounds.

It was fun, and everybody ended up catching some fish. But, I thought mine ended up being the most unusual with that big fish getting caught with a little bitty hook stuck on the edge of his lip.

This tale was told to me by a Mr. Walkup. That a friend of his by the name of Patty Cook, from Lubbock, had caught a 24 1/2 # yellow cat {flathead} on a fishing trip to Lake Alan Henry with him and his friends. It was Patty's 2nd fishing trip ever. She caught it on a minnow up Ince Cove, while fishing for crappie. It gave her one hell of fight and wrapped her around several trees before she got it in. Lucky she was fishing with wire line. What a story, Capt'n mike

A while back my dad and i were fishing at alan henry, and we had set a
trought line back in gobbler creek, but had no luck, so we moved it to
another location down towards the docks in a big cove. we set it out for
that night and in the morning we had caught two nice blue cats, and a 20lb
yellow cat!!!! Great Lake! Texas Redneck

Hey Captain Mike got a story for you. A week or so ago
I e-mailed you asking for advice on how to fish and
where to go to catch big bass at Alan Henry.My problem
was that when I fished there all I caught were a lot
of little bass, no big ones. You told me it was pretty
much unpredictable seeing that the lake record was
caught at the docks. To just keep trying. Well I am
proud to say I have broken my little bass streak at
Alan Henry. Last Saturday I fished the lake and of
course I caught several little bass, a # or less. But
at 9:45 or so I hooked into a BIG BOY! Finally a bass
worth mentioning. I was fishing up big grape, at the
bend with a crank bait(fat free suspending),shad
pattern. I was pretty much the only one catching fish
consistently when BOOM it hit. After 15 small bass I
caught a 6lbs plus bass that measured over 19in. It is
probably not a big deal to some but it is my biggest
bass at Allan Henry.

P.S. I did release it after a few pictures so it could
be caught later when its bigger.

Till next time, tight lines,
Texangator

11/27/00 We caught some good bass on the 22nd and the 25th in gobbler and grape creeks using crankbaits and black/blue jigs. Four keepers, one just under 6# most of the fish came on a crankbait. Mike Marshall

11/30/00 Capt. Mike,

My brother, Boyd, and I caught 11 bass on Nov. 29, 2000. We had 5 over 3
pounds with the largest going 6 lbs. 6 ozs. We were slow rolling white
spinnerbaits in 10 to 15 feet of water.

Thanks for having a place to brag.

Norman Clayton

My brother and I braved the cold friday after christmas. The fishing was slow , however we were rewarded with a 4 3/4 and a 6 1/2 lb bass. Unfortunately he caught the bigger fish , both on jigs.