Prairies & Lakes Region Week of May 15, 2024

Arlington

SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.44 feet above pool. More rain in the weekend forecast, be sure to check ramp status before heading out. The lake is flooded and there is floating debris. Reports that all species are biting in shallow cover. Channel catfish can be caught with shad off the banks.

Athens

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.66 feet above pool. Rain in the weekend forecast, but the pattern should remain consistent. Bass are fair working the outside edges of grass with jigs and shaky-head worms. Schooling bass are starting to fire up. Crappie are good on small jigs and minnows on brush piles out to 30 feet. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees. The water visibility is around 2-4 feet. Bass are good using shad or bluegill colored flukes and swimbaits. The bite has been fair on creature baits in natural colors like watermelon seed and green pumpkin. Report by Jason Hernandez, Bass Institute of Bastrop. Bass are schooling early in the morning in the discharge and out over grass flats on the opposite end of the lake as well. Small clear topwaters are getting slammed in those areas as well as soft plastic jerkbaits and shallow crankbaits. When the sun rises, work the grass lines inside and out will get you a bite using 4-5 inch stick worms and curly tail worms. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Belton

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 74 degrees; 11.35 feet above pool. A second round of May flooding occurred on May 12, making an already difficult situation even tougher. Lake Belton is now 11.35 feet high and slowly falling at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases at a rate of 4,100 cfs. Another round of heavy rain is expected on May 16. Unfortunately, the opening of the dam to release water sped the movement of the muddy water in the Cowhouse Creek arm and the Leon River arm such that even the main basin of the lake nearest the dam is now discolored. As of May 13 I temporarily stopped fishing on Belton until the situation stabilizes. Access to the lake is questionable and is on an hour-by-hour basis. When clear water was available to fish, the fishing for both white bass and both short and legal hybrid striped bass was good in under 32 feet and on slow-tapering segments of the bottom. The MAL Dense with chartreuse tail has been my go-to bait. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. The catfish bite is excellent, with the recent rains and steady water currents coming in from the Leon River anglers should target the mouths of these creeks with fresh shad. Anchoring or drifting at slow speeds with smaller baits is best. Flatheads have been caught heading up rivers around structures. Channel catfish have become more active and can be caught in shallow waters using punch bait. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

SLOW. Water stained; 64 degrees; 4.93 feet above pool. The ramp at Benbrook Marina is open. Water level continues to be high and fishing is reported to be slow for all species.

Bridgeport

GOOD. Water stained; 70 degrees; 12.89 feet below pool. The low water ramps at Wise County Park and Runaway Bay are the best bet for launching. The main lake is stained but quite stirred up on both ends. Crappie continue to be hot, especially from the mid lake area south. Fish can be right on the shore or out to about 8 feet of water around cover with minnows and jigs. Sand bass and hybrids have been good. Fish are wandering, feeding hard on shad. Look close to shore early and back off into deeper water as the day warms up. Topwater baits and slabs have been putting them in the boat. Largemouth bass have been good on topwaters, flat billed crankbaits, finesse baits. Check main lake points near deeper water. Catfish action is picking up on! cut shad. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.

Cedar Creek

EXCELLENT. Slightly stained; 76 degrees; 0.12 feet above pool. Start early in the morning at daylight and hit the dam or the western shorelines of the lake and look for schooling hybrids and white bass close to seawalls and shorelines. After that fish any hump in depths of 22-28 feet throughout the lake to find fish stacked up in schools. Use spinnerbaits like a mepps#4 spinner or drop a slab down to the bottom and work it fast up and down and the fish will hit it immediately. Also throwing out a slab and reeling it back with a slow retrieve is also working well. The crappie bite has been getting increasingly better. Look for them under bridge pylons or under docks where the depths are between 3-10 feet. Quick limits are being reported. Guides have been reporting exceptionally nice catches on sunny warmer days. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Some catfish are moving out deeper now that the shad spawn is about over. Blue catfish are good early in the morning along retaining walls. When this action slows focus efforts on points and humps in 10-20 feet of water with cut shad. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Comanche Creek

1.04 feet above pool. Closed.

Cooper

GOOD. Water stained; 68 degrees: 1.00 feet below pool. The lake is on the rise with water being released at the spillway. Anglers are reporting good catches of sand bass and catfish.

Cypress Springs

GOOD: Water stained; 79 degrees; 0.90 feet above pool. Water levels continue to be high so navigate with caution. Bass are good on fishing the boat docks, and shallow points chasing the shad spawn with Texas rig worms, crankbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, or flipping into flooded bushes. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Eagle Mountain

GOOD. Water normal stain; 72 degrees; 0.41 feet below pool. The lake has risen 3 feet. White bass are good on main lake structures with slabs and cohos. Crappie are good shallow and mid depths on jigs. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on punch bait and shad. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

Fairfield

Closed to the public.

Fayette

FAIR. Water stained; 75 degrees. Bass are fair in shallow water along dam rocks with spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Catfish are fair but the bite is improving on stink bait.

Graham

GOOD. Water stained; 69 degrees; 2.71 feet below pool. Water is rising. Stained fishing is good. Crappie are on brush and biting. Bass are biting good up shallow in the new submerged grass. Sandbass and hybrids are schooling out deep. Catfishing is very good with the running water on shad.

Granbury

GOOD. Water clear; 74 degrees; 0.29 feet below pool. Granbury water temperatures are in the middle to upper 70s. Granbury is stained due to the heavy rains and releases from Possum Kingdom. There is a lot of floating debris, so be careful navigating the lake. There continues to be clear water on the lower ends. Sand bass fishing continues to be good to excellent on slabs and spinnerbaits when located. Best locations for sand bass are Indian Harbor and near Decordova subdivision. Big striped bass are good to 12 pounds on big live shad and trolled umbrella rigs on the lower ends. Some topwater action is possible early and late on feeding flats from Blue Water Shores to Decordova. Largemouth bass are fair to good with catches up to 7 pounds fishing crankbaits and soft plastics near docks and creek entrances where the water is clearer. The muddy water has concentrated the catfish bite where water is flowing in creek channels on many areas of the lake. Bigger blue and flathead catfish have been caught on the upper ends. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters. Lake can be very peaceful and the level is higher than normal. Largemouth bass are good from the banks, hitting medium sized minnows. Sand bass are slow with a light bite on slabs. Crappie are schooling through lake. Catfish are good on cut bait after dark. Catches of perch, bluegill, and sunfish are plentiful, so get the kids or grandkids and make some memories. Report by Terry Hodges, local angler.

Grapevine

GOOD. Water clear; 62 degrees; 9.62 feet above pool. White bass are good in 14-15 feet of water with shiny lures bounced of the bottom. Birds are leading the way to fish. Catfish are mixed in with the white bass. Launch from the high water ramp at Katie’s Wood Park. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’ the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Hawkins

SLOW. Water slightly stained. 70 degrees. Black bass will chase small streamers and top waters above and around grass. Bead heads will tempt bream and bass. Make long casts as the water is clear. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville

GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.43 feet above pool. Water is muddy and high due to the rain. Bass are biting crankbaits, soft plastics from the bank to 14 feet on ledges and drop-offs with Carolina rigs.

Joe Pool

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 65 degrees; 5.65 feet above pool. Bass can be found shallow in the flooded brush caught with your favorite soft plastic. Crappie are on the brush piles and in the grass edges on minnows or crappie jigs. Bream are shallow in the flooded brush. The water is clearing but is still muddy in some areas. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.

Lavon

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 55 degrees; 5.50 feet above pool. White bass will be along the banks if the sad are spawning. Paddle tail swimbaits, and topwater lures are filling the box. If they are not up on the banks, check in 20-35 feet of water on structure, slopes, rock, piles, or humps. Use 1 ounce or 2 ounce slabs in white or chartreuse with a jig tied about 18 inches above it for a double. Crappie are slow. Live scopers rule the lake on the single roaming fish. Very few fish piled up in numbers on structures. Catfish are spawning on the rocks in 3-10 feet of water using sour maze, Milo or chicken scratch fermented in a bucket for two weeks. Then use a barber with punch bait, chicken, liver, shrimp or shad. Black bass are loving the newly flooded brush and forest. Cast white spinnerbaits early in the morning. Cast white spinnerbaits into flooded structures early in the morning, this will work throughout the day when it is cloudy. Work wacky worms on the submerged button willows. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water stained; 74 degrees; 3.84 feet above pool. Conditions and fishing patterns are similar white the lake is on the rise. White bass are fair to good on humps and points in 20-35 feet of water with slabs, jigs and live bait. Cast small swimbaits shallow to the birds on the bank. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are fair in similar depths as the white bass. If you are keeping fish, please be aware that there are a lot of undersized hybrid stripers in the lake that look very similar to a white bass. Catfish are good drifting flats near the river channel and ledges of wind blown points in 12-30 feet of water. The shallow water catfish bite has been good as well with shad spawning. Anchor in 1-5 feet of water near wind blown points, timber, sticks, and creek and river mouths. Crappie are fair using minnows or jigs in 4-25 feet of water on brush piles, rock piles, stumps, standing timber, and laydowns. Cover near drop-off ledges has been productive as well. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Water continues to be on the rise and is dirty so fishing can be tough. Bass are in 4-10 feet of water with crankbaits, spinnerbaits or dragging a soft plastic. The best bite seems to begin at noon.

Limestone

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 76 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Lake continues to be above the pool and is muddy. Fishing patterns are consistent, but the bite may be slower while water continues to flow in. Crappie are in deep brush piles, standing timber and power lines in 13-17 feet of water biting minnows. White bass are feeding at night around docks with lights using beetle spins and super spoons. Largemouth bass are good in 1-4 feet of water in the creek channels using topwater frogs, swim jigs, Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Navarro Mills

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 70 degrees; 12.20 feet above pool. Liberty Hill boat ramp is open, all other boat ramps are closed due to flooding. Reports of a nice size largemouth bass caught from the shore by a young angler.

Palestine

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 74 degrees; 0.86 feet above pool. All fishing has been on and off due to weather. The weekend forecast is showing frontal activity producing wind and rain. Should be less wind, but mostly out of the east for the next few days. Fishing in between the frontal activity has been good. Bass have been up in the flooded grass and under tree branches in the water hitting frogs and soft jerkbaits, or squarebill crankbaits fished in front. Trolling continues to produce whites and hybrids, but for surface feeding activity you have to be out there at sunrise. Channel catfish are in the shoreline rocks, fishing with a bobber 5 feet out will get them. Crappie reports remain the same, good in deep water, 16-24 feet, when you can get out there, scattered shallow bite early morning and again evening. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing.

Palo Pinto

GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 6.15 feet below pool. The lake has risen a foot and continues to rise. Blue catfish are good with cut bait in freshwater. Crappie are slow. Carp are spawning. Drums are biting on minnows and worms.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. White bass are good starting early morning on flats in 2-6 feet of water using small bospinners and 3 inch swimbaits 1/2 ounce jig head. Look for birds on the shorelines picking up shad. White bass relating to humps, levees and long points in 17-29 feet of water using 3/4 ounce Bovee slab with a jig 12 inches above. Crappie are good, relating to brush in 14-18 feet using minnows and jigs. Catfish are good along rocky shorelines using a slip cork with prepared stink bait moving shallow. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 70 degrees; 3.86 feet above pool. High water. White bass on the bank and flooded areas in the mornings. Shad are spawning pretty heavy. Look for the birds. Catfish are good in the creeks and near any current. Crappie is good 15-20 foot of water, brush piles. Minnows. Report by Justin Wilson, Wilson Outdoor Connection.

Richland Chambers

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.67 feet above pool. Water clarity is stained on the main lake and muddy up the creeks. White bass are good with slabs on main lake points and humps in 25-35 feet of water. Some early morning topwater action in shallow coves. Hybrid stripers are fair on the 309 Flats and Pelican Island in 30 feet of water on live shad. Catfish are fair on windblown points with shad. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service.

Somerville

GOOD. Water stained; 76 degrees; 1.05 feet above pool. The fast bite at the marina just has not materialized this year. Catfish and crappie fair and bluegill good on minnows, worms, and stink bait at Somerville Marina early morning. Black Bass are fair hitting soft crankbaits and spinnerbaits in 6-10 feet of water. Crappie good on the brush piles in 10-20 feet of water and pilings biting minnows and small jigs. Catfish are very good in 2-8 feet of water. Larger catfish are good on jug lines baited with shad or cut bait. White bass are very good trolling in the lake using Pet spoons and jigs, and when anchored with ghost minnows or shad. Hybrids are very good, finding schools is the key, caught on cut shad and 2 ounce jigs. Hybrids are also being caught from shore at the Dam and Welch park areas. Flood gates open at 95 cfs and various species are good at spillways while water is being released. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Stillhouse

GOOD. Water stained; 72 degrees; 4.48 feet above pool. A second round of May flooding occurred on May 12, pushing Stillhouse to 4.48 feet high. As of May 14, it was still rising slowly even with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releasing 788 cfs. Fishing in general has been hindered in the upper half of the lake due to large fields of debris, especially during wind shifts. The upper third of the lake is muddy, with gradual clearing from mid-lake near Dana Peak Park and downstream from there. With flooded terrestrial vegetation now around the entire perimeter of the lake, largemouth bass are now scattered both in that brush, and in the shallower hydrilla. In water over 26 feet, hydrilla is starting to droop and die off as it is denied sunlight by the depth and color of the flood water. White bass fishing has been made difficult in the 20-40 feet depths these fish typically inhabit due to fouling of lures by the dead and dying hydrilla strands on the lake's bottom. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

Tawakoni

GREAT. Water lightly stained; 73 degrees; 1.34 feet above pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish good as we set up into a solid early summer pattern. The hybrid striper and white bass bite has been good. We are seeing transitioning fish currently. Very few fish we are cleaning have eggs and the post spawn pattern has been solid. Fish are staging up on humps and points in 12-20 feet. Artificial lures, such as slabs are working good and so is live bait. The eating sized catfish bite for both blues and channels has been excellent. Both the shallow water blue catfish bite and channels prefer cut shad and punch bait in 1-3 feet or 12-25 feet. Crappie are good on minnows in 10-15 feet on brush piles and bridge columns. The largemouth bite is great in 1-5 feet of water. Plastics and shallow crankbaits are the key right now. An early morning shad spawn is key for multiple bites in the same location. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texoma

GOOD. Water normal stain; 67 degrees; 4.91 feet above pool. Striped bass fish are great using live shad on deep flats 50-60 feet of water and on humps along river ledges in 30-50 feet of water. Small schools of post spawn stripers with a lot of over 20 inch fish. Topwaters early along the rocks where shad are spawning as well. Bass fishing is good using live shad and top waters along the bluffs and dam wall in the clear water. Mudline is north and west of Washita Point with clear water on the southern end of the lake. Catfish are good on live shad and cut shad along the bluffs in 20-30 feet of water. Channel catfish are on the rocks in 5-10 feet of water, prepared baits and live shad are working. Crappie fishing is good on brush piles in 12-18 feet of water using jigs and live minnows catching them suspended around the structure and boat docks. Report by Jacob Orr, Guaranteed Guide Service Lake Texoma. Lake is flooded with floating debris so navigate with caution. Stripers can be caught along the mudlines, where the clear water and muddy water converge, with swimbaits and topwaters. Fish are moving around a lot but limits daily can be caught. Bait anglers are reeling in larger sized fish catches in deeper water. As the water starts to drop back down fish should return to the banks. There is sporadic bird action. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water heavily stained; 76 degrees; 1.02 feet below pool. Catfish are fair transitioning to shallow water for the spawn. A few catches with shrimp and cut bait. Crappie are fair with mostly smaller sized fish being caught on deeper water brush piles with minnows or jigs. Bass are slow in transition deeper to the summer pattern depths hitting crankbaits and chatterbaits.

Whitney

FAIR. Water stained; 73 degrees; 8.28 feet above pool. Catfish are good using cut shad in the mouth of creeks. The Striped bass bite is improving with some limits being caught on live shad in 20-35 feet of water. Crappie continue to be fair on small jigs and minnows fished near deeper structure. White bass are fair moving out of the creeks in shallow waters. Largemouth bass continue to be fair along structures and docks. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.

Worth

FAIR. Water normal stain; 72 degrees; 1.92 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. White bass are good on main lake structures with slabs and cohos. Crappie are good shallow and mid depths on jigs. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on punch bait and shad. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

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