Top Dawg Crappie Fishing Services will provide you with a memorable crappie fishing and CATCHING experience on any of a number of lakes and rivers in North & Northeast Texas, and in particular the DFW area. We also provide guiding services on DFW area creeks during the cold weather months (November – March). We offer guided boat or kayak fishing trips on the following lakes: Ray Roberts, Lewisville, Grapevine, Lavon, Ray Hubbard, Whitney, Richland Chambers, Bob Sandlin, Bridgeport, Fork, Texoma and other smaller lakes, as well as on the Brazos River. When in the cold weather season and upon special request, we offer guided bank fishing trips on Denton Creek, Rowlett Creek and several other hidden gems. Our trips are designed to target Crappie but other species may inadvertently be caught including white bass, black bass, hybrids, stripers, catfish and more.
We accommodate up to 2 guests on boat fishing trips, 1 guest kayak fishing and up to 3 guests on bank fishing trips. We can guide guests of nearly any age and skill level. Even if one has never fished before, we can make your first outing a success. While we have guided a number elementary school age children, introducing a child to Crappie fishing should involve one key ingredient– FUN!! Fishing for Crappie around timber and other obstructions (fish cover) requires patience and strength so we recommend that youngsters be at least of elementary school age or older to make a trip.
In addition to the guiding services and watercraft (unless bank fishing), we provide fishing rods (one per person), the necessary tackle (jigs, minnow hooks and other terminal tackle), live bait and cold water/soft drinks (no alcohol permitted on board). In addition, smiles, laughter, whoops, cheers and high-fives are also generously provided. We have personal flotation devices (PFD) available. Fish cleaning and packaging is available at a cost of $1 per fish.
Guests should bring a valid fishing license, funds (if paying with cash), hat, polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, and camera/smart phone. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes suitable for the weather, especially in consideration of the hot days of summer. If potential rain is forecast, you may also want to bring a rain jacket and possibly rain pants. A hand towel and hand sanitizer might also come in handy. For more information, see our FAQ linked below.
We require all adult guests to sign a waiver and release form before we will begin any trip. You can download a copy of the form below.
Fishing from a fully rigged boat provides our guests with a safe and spacious fishing deck, stability against the wind and waves, and ample power to move around the lake or river when hunting for fish or beating a storm to a safe harbor. We use a Lowe stinger 175 aluminum all-weld fishing boat with a 60 HP Mercury 4-stroke outboard motor for reliability. The boat has over a 7-foot beam for fishing room and convenience. Our boat is equipped with Garmin Livescope fish finder technology on the bow for real-time viewing of Crappie.
We have three seating positions on the front deck for comfortable seating for two anglers plus the guide while fishing. Some of the earlier BarFly or Top Dawg photos online show the previous boats that we used but they pale in comparison to our latest watercraft.
As of January 2022, the costs of the boat trips are $300 for 1 guest half day, plus $50 more for a second angler; $450 all day for 1 or 2 guests. There is a surcharge for time and fuel of $50 for trips outside a 50-mile radius of Prosper, Texas (our home area north of DFW). Also, We require a $50 nonrefundable deposit to be made promptly after booking a trip online.
We are confident that you will find that our boat, equipment, amenities, and knowledgeable and friendly approach to fishing for Crappie will meet or exceed your expectations for a guided boat fishing trip in Texas.
For those anglers who want to experience the thrill and challenge of encountering the waves, water and fish up close and personal, kayak fishing may be right up your alley. The higher level of maturity and skill necessary for safely navigating and fishing from a small craft makes a kayak fishing trip even more special.
For our kayak fishing trips, we use a pair of Old Town autopilot 120s. These single-person kayaks are 12 feet long and nearly 40 inches wide for incredible stability. The kayaks also come equipped with a Minn Kota Power Drive trolling motor with I-Pilot technology which allows for GPS spot lock over fish locations.
As with out boat, we use Garmin Livescope fish finder technology to find and isolate fish on structure and in open water.
As of January 2022, the costs of the kayak trips are $325 for 1 guest half day, and $425 all day (no additional guests for any kayak trip). As with boat trips, there is a surcharge for time and fuel of $50 for trips outside a 50-mile radius of Prosper, Texas (our home area north of DFW). Also, We require a $50 nonrefundable deposit to be made promptly after booking a trip online.
Given the size of these water crafts, kayak trips are more susceptible to adverse weather and water conditions. We treat safety as a top priority, most especially during the cold water season. So water and weather conditions at the time of a trip may necessitate a change in the planned lake, access point, fishing area and navigation path. Nonetheless, if a “Plan B” is necessary, we will do our very best to make your trip equally successful and memorable.
Since we will not have our guide in the same watercraft as the guest, we may design our kayak trips as a “kayak rental” instead of a guided kayak fishing trip. While we will still be along on the trip in our own kayak and will still assist with locating the fish, classifying and handling the trip as a rental affords us more flexibility to keep fish.
If you are looking for a different and interesting fishing adventure, why not give our kayak trip a try?
Bank Fishing provides an opportunity for every angler to fish. The cost to get started in bank fishing (that is, from the lake, river or creek shoreline) is within financial reach for nearly everybody. Bank fishing adds another dimension to the fishing experience. By accessing the fishing grounds on foot, one can get to waters that boats and sometimes even kayaks cannot reach. The added benefit of being in terrestrial nature, avoidance of rough water, and getting healthy exercise make a bank trip a great alternative. Top Dawg Crappie Guide Services almost exclusively focuses on creeks for any bank fishing expeditions.
While some Crappie, white bass and other species inhabit the creeks year round, there are season migrations of baitfish followed by predator fish (like Crappie) into the creeks as well as spawning periods that make the Crappie more susceptible to bank fishing tactics. We only schedule bank trips during the cold weather months (typically November-March).
As of January 2022, the cost of a bank trip is $150 for 1 guest half day, plus $50 more for each additional angler (up to 2 additional). For an all day bank fishing trip, add $100 to the total.
Depending on the location, shoreline condition, and access route, a bank trip may necessitate a few additional accessories. Since access may be wet, rubber boots will likely be most useful. Also, wading into creeks may require the use of hip or chest waders. And if the shoreline is steep and muddy, cleats for the boots or waders will help keep you upright. We will never intentionally trespass on private or restricted lands for our bank trips, although permission from a landowner may be possible.
Even is you’re a boat fishing enthusiast or a hardcore kayak fisherman, trying a special bank fishing trip might just add a new wrinkle to your fishing repertoire.
