Anyone camped on the Neches?

[jackh]

Looking for a 1 or 2 night trip either on the Neches or Village Creek. I am thinking there will be fewer people on the Neches this time of year, am I correct? Any advice on where to put in or take out for a trip like this? Thanks.

[Hirsch]

If you check up in the camp reports you will find several for those waters.

[FishingSETX]

If I were you, I'd steer clear of the neches till cooler weather! Water temps are usually hovering at 90 or above making it one heck of a hot trip! We made the trip from Sheffield ferry near spurger to hwy 96 in evadale a few years back in June and it was miserable hot and with water temps that hot,jumping in didn't do a bit of good.

Village creek stays much cooler (spring fed). That's why the trip I've got coming up is on the creek!

As for launches/takeouts on the neches from upstream to downstream you have:

one just below the dam at steinhagen,

Sheffield ferry,

johns lake,

the county park just north of silsbee,
hwy 96 bridge in evadale,

Lakeview sandbar,

lnva salt water barrier.



For village creek you have (upstream to downstream):

McNeely road just down from the big thicket visitor center,

hwy 418 bridge,

hwy 327 bridge,

baby galvez road,

hwy 96 bridge in Lumberton,

village creek state park

Lakeview sandbar after the confluence of village creek and the neches river.



I've never done the stretch from McNeely Rd to hwy 418 but its 15 miles and looks like it would be fairly tough (some portages and log jams). I'd like to give it a shot one day but didn't want to drag my buddy along on his second time to be in a yak!

A good one night trip would be 418-327 on the creek or johns lake to evadale on the neches.

A good 2 night trip is hwy 96 to lakeview on the creek or sheffields ferry to johns lake on the neches.

Any of those trips can be done in one night less but I prefer 4-5 miles a day leaving plenty of time to relax, swim, and fish along the way.

[jackh]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll have to wait for it to cool off some to do the Neches. Don't think I can make your village creek trip, thanks though.

[FishingSETX]

If you decide to do a trip on the neches in the spring and need some company, I'd be up for it. I sure won't make the mistake of going in summer again though!!!

[M.saxatilis]

Would like to do that trip from Sheffield to Evadale in the spring again. "Five More Days on the Neches"

[FishingSETX]

Just an FYI, spent the afternoon on the river with my wife and little boy. If you are looking to do a float trip, the water is absolutely perfect right now!!! Plenty of flow and the temp is perfect. Now I wish I would have planned to float it instead of the creek!!!the rain must have cooled it down.

[jackh]

Just an FYI, spent the afternoon on the river with my wife and little boy. If you are looking to do a float trip, the water is absolutely perfect right now!!! Plenty of flow and the temp is perfect. Now I wish I would have planned to float it instead of the creek!!!the rain must have cooled it down.

You think I could stay away from crowds on a two night trip easier if I did village creek or the Neches? And which has better scenery in our opinion?

[FishingSETX]

My opinion is the creek has much better scenery than the river but you will have more people in canoes/kayaks on the creek during the middle of the day and some can be pretty boisterous. Either one is a great trip. On a hot day during the summer, there will be a good bit of traffic on the river too but it will be john boats. We were down there about 2 hrs yesterday and had 6-8 boats go by the sand bar.

From late evening to early morning, you will see very few people on the creek because the shuttle services only run from 8-6. You might see/hear a few boats on the river at night but it'll be less than during the day.

Either way I wouldn't call either trip "secluded". Both are really fun trips. I always have trouble choosing which to take. The creek has better fishing for small bass, and the river has OK bass fishing and good catfishing at night.