Family Fishing and Fun at South Lakes Park in Denton

We found an awesome park AND stocked fishing hole all in one!  South Lakes Park is part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife's Neighborhood Fishin' program to stock neighborhood lakes with fish that are easy to catch so families can enjoy the sport regardless of their experience level.
 
 
 
We brought our fishing poles but decided to do a little bike riding and exploring before we caught our dinner feast.

The boys just had to race each other!


Of course, we had to stop frequently to explore the possible adventures that awaited us....like this storm drain....


Rachel loved balancing as she walked across the rocks.  Nicholas loved listening to the sound of the water as he zipped through the channels.

 
What a beautiful day and what fun we were having!  I had to stop several times just to take it all in.
 

As I was stopped, I noticed these little snails slowly crawling around.  The kids were fascinated and we sat and watched them for a long time.


What a cute and charming little guy!


Nicholas loved riding down the hill as fast as he could go!


There are even some cool sculptures to admire around the park.

 
And as awesome playground!


Rachel stopped to get a drink of water.  She's already got sassiness in her hips!

 
It was starting to get late in the day so we pulled out our fishing poles and got some hooks wet.  Stuart helped Rachel with casting. 
 



Nicholas did great on his own.
 

If you are 17 years or older you must have a valid fishing license with a freshwater stamp.  But kids under 16 can fish for free.

Channel catfish are stocked starting in the third week in April and continues through summer into the fall.  Fish are stocked every 2 weeks, except in August.  Try stinky bait with these guys or use nightcrawlers, chicken livers, shrimp, or our most successful fish bait - cut up hot dogs!
 
Rainbow trout like cold water so they are stocked from December to March.  Try cheese, corn, nightcrawlers, red wigglers, and meal worms or spinnerbait and spoons to catch these fish.


There are no minimum lengths of the fish you can keep but you can only keep five catfish or rainbow trout per person.  We didn't have to worry about the limit though since all we caught were grass and weeds growing in the lake.


While Nicholas was determined to keep trying to catch dinner for us, Rachel gave up.  While playing around near by she discovered these cool bird prints in the dirt!

 
She has fun no matter where she is or what she is doing!  I love her silly spirit!
 
 
The boy was a little more serious about catching fish and we had to drag him away as he kept trying "just one more cast!"
 

South Lakes park is a 187 acre city park located at 556 Hobson Lane in Denton, Texas.  For more details about the park, check out the City of Denton website for South Lakes Park.

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