Freshwater Weekly Fishing Report Week of October 2, 2024

Alan Henry

GOOD. Water clear; 76 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Crappie are excellent in 15-25 feet on jigs and minnows fishing over trees. Report by The Bait Shop, Post, Texas.

Amistad

FAIR. Water normal stain; 86 degrees; 65.58 feet below pool. Black bass are fair in 15-25 feet on ledges, chunk rock points off the Rio Grande. Hard stick baits, plastic flukes and assassins, small swim baits and top water poppers. Shad and bluegill patterns are working best. White bass are good up the Rio Grande 30-40 feet. Baits of choice are sabiki rigs, white curly tail grubs, small underspins, square bills and hammered nickel spoons. Stripers are fair and scattered. Report by Captain Raul Cordero, Far West Guide Service.

Arlington

GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 5.57 feet below pool. The fishing pattern remains consistent despite the water level dropping 1 foot. Brush piles are in 10 feet of water. Fishing patterns are holding steady. Bass are biting shallow on crankbaits and creature baits. The offshore bite is good as well once the sun rises on brush piles and 10-15 feet of water.

Arrowhead

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 77 degrees; 6.12 feet below pool. Fishing pattern is holding as the water slowly cools off. Catfish pattern is holding steady drifting with fresh cut shad. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.

Athens

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 81 degrees; 0.59 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady for the first week of October. Bass are slow, but can be caught on the outside of grass lines with Texas rig worms and weightless flukes. Crappie are slow on small jigs over deep brush 25 feet. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.

Austin

SLOW. Water stained; 72 degrees; 0.50 feet below pool. Bass are good with creature baits or craws near dock pylons. There is very little topwater action. Report by Randal Frisbie, Central Texas Fishing Guide, LLC.

B.A. Steinhagen

FAIR. Water stain; 85 degrees; 0.36 feet below pool. Mayflies are hatching, so expect some topwater bass action. Bass are fair on soft plastics in the cuts, or with frogs over grass. Crappie are fair with jigs in flooded timber. Catfish are fair on juglines.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees. Lake Bastrop is fishing decent for bass. The discharge is always good early in the morning, throwing small swimbaits and shaky heads. Further out in the discharge, you can work around the rock piles throwing a shaky head, jig or crankbait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Belton

EXCELLENT. Water stained; 79 degrees; 1.43 feet below pool. Fishing is white hot for white bass. The surface temperature fell below 80 degrees for the first time since the summer warmup, and that has drawn bait to the surface. Not only is the deep, vertical fishing doing well, there is also some topwater now sprinkled in. The morning bite is best with the bite getting going around 8:00 a.m. after the sun has risen and the wind has begun blowing. Find fish in 32-48 feet with well-tuned sonar, lock atop them, get your splasher working to draw and hold fish, then proceed to catch them in great numbers! The MAL Original with chartreuse tail has been phenomenal. There are a lot of small fish in the lake. Usually, the largest fish in a school will bite first, so, if you just want bigger fish, move after you start catching smaller ones. If you enjoy the action of smaller fish, consider downsizing your treble on the MAL by using a #6 treble instead of the stock #4 by cutting off the treble at the hook's eye and attaching the #6 with a split ring. Drop the MAL to the bottom and crank up steadily for at least 6 cranks. Do not set the hook! Just keep reeling and the fish will continue to compete for the bait until one gets well hooked. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Fair numbers of blue catfish under 10 pounds can be found in the mouths of creeks and along old river channels in 10-30 feet of water. Drifting with fresh cut shad has worked best. Channel catfish have been fair using punch bait around gravel beds and timber. Flatheads have been slow but can be found around large rock piles using live bait. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 2.68 feet below pool. Catfish are good in shallow water. Perch are good in shallow water. Crappie continue to be good in 20 feet of water using live minnows. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are shallow around structure using chatterbaits and Texas rigged worms. Few reports on catfish and sand bass.

Bob Sandlin

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.68 feet below pool. Crappie are excellent in 15-20 feet of water on brush piles with minnows or jigs. Channel catfish are fair in 25 feet of water on baited holes with stink bait. White bass are fair at night in the lights with a white spinnerbaits. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Black bass are chasing shad and bream. Windy retaining walls will produce marauding bass. Try topwater baits in a fish pattern and streamers in a Bream pattern. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Water clarity is 3-5 feet of visibility. Bass are great under shaded docks with shaky head worms and jigs, and grass edges with bladed jigs, buzzbaits or frogs work well in shallow creek pockets. Topwater walking baits and Alabama rigs are great in the morning and evening. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Bois d'Arc

stained; 85 degrees; 2.46 feet below pool. Bass are on windy points early with chatterbaits and rage swimmers. Topwaters are fair around pond weed with yellow magics and choppos. Texas rigs are good around timber and bushes 4-7 feet. Carolina rigs are fair on offshore brush piles and structure. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Crappie fishing is hot with fish on timber, brush or any structure you can find in 8-25 feet of water. Focus on the outside edges of timber lines and open water main lake timber under the surface. These fish have not been pressured, so any bait you want to present to them will work. Tons of fish around 12 inches can be put in the boat and quickly. This is definitely a lake to hit up if you are looking for a mess of crappie. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Brady

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 12.57 feet below pool. Black bass are slow with a few being caught late afternoon before dark around deeper rocky shorelines using senkos and slow rolling spinnerbaits. Catfish are slow with a few caught late afternoon into the night on cut bait. Crappie and white bass are slow.

Braunig

GOOD. Water stained, 89 degrees. Some redfish are being caught from the bank with live bait and shrimp, and along the jetty and dam area on spoons 18-20 feet. Channel catfish being caught along the jetty and in the back of the lake along weed lines on cheese bait. Bass are slow but being caught inside the weeds on plastics. Report by Harry Lamb, Alamo Texas Fishing.

Bridgeport

GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 11.74 feet below pool. The water is stained and foamy with evidence of fall turnover. All ramps are open. Hybrids and sand bass are scattered and hard to find while they chase bait quickly. The main lake is still the best area to find them. Look for these fish to move north as more cold fronts arrive in the area. Smaller baits are the go to as there are a huge number of small shad in the lake. Crappie fishing continues to be front and center! Dock shooting jigs and minnows around brush piles and the 380 bridge are putting them in the boat. Seeing some reports of nice largemouth bass being caught at sunrise on topwater baits. Catfish have been good on cut bait. Drifting mid depth flats have been putting them in the boat. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.

Brownwood

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.83 feet above pool. Black bass up to 3.67 pounds are poor on frogs in the new water along grass and weeds. Some can be caught on cranks off the rocks in 2-8 feet of water around the rock cuts. Crappie are poor to 10 inches around docks with brush on minnows in 9-15 feet and on offshore brush piles. White bass are good to 2.00 pounds on crankbaits around the lighted docks. Catfish are fair to 4 pounds on shad and liver.

Bryan

GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees. The bass bite picked up after the recent cold front. Bass are good on brush piles and shallow with topwater lures. Report by the Aggie Anglers.

Buchanan

FAIR. Water slight stain; 83 degrees; 12.61 feet below pool. Topwater striper schools are sporadic lake wide. White bass are surfacing in large schools mid lake hitting slab spoons and topwaters. Trolling in 6-21 feet of water with white and chartreuse half ounce jigs and trailers has still been the most consistent pattern producing some keeper fish with numerous throwbacks. Vertically jigging, slabbing, with ½-1 ounce spoons has been working when you can find a school that will stay under the boat. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing. Cold front should increase the topwater action and possibly turn on the live bait bite. The topwater bite is improving for white bass and scattered stripers at the mouths of creeks working towards the back. Striped bass continue to be good trolling bucktail jigs on downriggers in 16-30 feet of water. Fish are feeding on shallow sandbars in the morning and afternoons. Catfish are slow in 15 feet of water on live shad, but are still on deep rock piles and ledges in 15-20 feet of water biting punch bait or shad. White bass bite is good on jigging spoons in 20-30 feet of water. Report by Captain Aaron Dick, One Up Fishing Guide Service. Crappie are good on brush piles and standing timber in 25 feet of water with chartreuse jigs. Blue catfish are good on structure in 30 feet of water. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are good throwing shaky heads and Texas-rigged 4-5 inch worms around rock piles to catch some good ones. Flipping trees in 5-15 feet with jigs, flukes and craw worms will get some too. A medium or deep crankbait will catch some of those bigger bass. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Caddo

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.02 feet below pool. Bass fishing is tough after the weather has warmed. We need some cool nights to get these fish fired up again. There is still some schooling action on the lake hitting flukes, pop r’s, buzz baits and frogs. To find the bait ook for the lily pads and grass lines and listen for the pads popping. Fish in the cuts in the river with rattle traps or shad color crankbaits. Once you find fish you can switch to a dropshot, shaky head or Texas rig and catch more after they quit hitting a moving bait. It is about to be a fun time on the lake and with majestic views as the lake turns red and the fall winter colors come around on this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Calaveras

GOOD. Water slightly stained, 92 degrees. Redfish are being caught off the back from Spider Island to Jet Ski Cove on live bait shrimp and crawfish. Some catches along the dam in 12-15 feet on spoons and plastics. Blue catfish are good on road bed on cheese bait and cut bait. Channel catfish are being caught rock lines on cheese bait. Bass are slow. Report by Harry Lamb, Alamo Texas Fishing.

Canyon Lake

GOOD. Water normal stain; 78 degrees; 25.06 feet below pool. There is a good bass topwater bite In the morning with a spook or buzzbait. Then as the day warms focus on the outside grass lines with a neko rigged worm. Report by Evan Coleman, Big Bassin Fishing.

Cedar Creek

GOOD. normal stain; 79 degrees; 2.23 feet below pool. Hybrids and white bass are good early in the morning at daylight on midlake points and drop-offs along sandy flats throughout the dam area, Crappie Island, Key Ranch and the spillway humps in 11-17 feet. Cast spinners and slabs and look for schooling fish on these flats as well as deeper seawalls and shorelines. Then fish any hump in 14-22 feet throughout the lake to find fish stacked up in schools as the day warms up. Look for schooling fish on cloudy days. Use spinnerbaits 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. Cast rattle traps, Spoons, Umbrella Rigs, slabs or sassy shads to get the hybrids to bite. The crappie bite has been getting better. Target crappie with small jigs and minnows in 5-12 feet under bridge pylons, hidden brush piles throughout the lake or under docks. Limits are being reported, although guides have been reporting conditions are improving with bigger sized fish being caught. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are beginning to move shallow on the humps and points anchored with cut shad in 8-16 feet fishing bottom fishing, or drifting with bigger cut bait in 12-24 feet of water. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Choke Canyon

FAIR. Water stained; 86 degrees; 31.39 feet below pool. Few anglers on the water due to low water levels. Call to check ramp status. Bass are fair early in the morning or late in the afternoon on main lake long extended points with shad colored crankbaits and flukes. If you come across some hydrilla there are usually a few in the cover. Catfish are in 15-30 feet of water. Crappie are biting on deep docks in 25 feet of water with live minnows or grubs. White bass are schooling early in the morning on long points near the dam. Report by Scott Springer, Fish Choke Canyon Lake.

Cisco

GOOD. Water normal stain; 74 degrees; 13.54 feet below pool. Fish are biting great, lots of bass activity hitting top water. Crappie and sand bass are best on minnows. Blue catfish are good with cut bait on jug lines. Water clarity is good with 10 feet of visibility. Report by Lake Cisco Rentals.

Coleman

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.14 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are slow on topwaters early in the morning, or flipping a senko into cattails. Crappie are fair with jigs and minnows.

Comanche Creek

0.41 feet above pool. Comanche Creek is open to the public Thursday-Sunday. Anglers are encouraged to make a reservation on the Luminant Power online reservation system.

Conroe

GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.79 feet below pool. Catfish have been excellent this past week on catfish bubblegum, liver, worms, and punch bait in 8-30 feet of water. Bream have been plentiful as well in 4-20 feet of water using Worms and liver. Bass are good up shallow early and late with wacky rigged worms. Offshore structures and docks are good once the sun has risen, with some midday schooling on shad. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Crappie are not as productive, but some can be caught on structure 12-25 feet. Hair jigs have been working better than plastic. Catch a few then move to the next spot, they have been turning off as quickly as they turn on. Hybrids have been schooled up this week in 12-24 feet with some whites mixed in, hanging on flats and drop-offs. Many folks are trolling with a deep diver and a pet spoon trailer, others are using slabs from Bradley Outdoors to jig for them, as well as casting swimbaits or crankbaits. Always wear your life jacket and stay hydrated in this heat. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.

Cooper

GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees: 2.00 feet below pool. Hybrids are great off main lake humps and points with live shad, you can catch them vertically jigging spoons. Crappie are slow but can be caught in 3-10 feet of water on the bottom of timber with a crawdad jig. Catfish are good on the edges of the river channel in 15-20 feet of water. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Corpus Christi Lake

SLOW. 85 degrees; 10.29 feet below pool. Few reports from anglers on the water.

Cypress Springs

GOOD: Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.70 feet below pool. Channel catfish are good in 12 feet of water with stink bait. Crappie are good in 15 feet of water on minnows. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Water clarity is 3-4 feet of visibility. Bass are on hard cover, and can be caught with a dropshot or shaky head worm. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Eagle Mountain

GOOD. Water normal stain; 76 degrees; 5.24 feet below pool. White bass are fair to slow on main lake structures. White bass continue to be scattered due to ongoing water releases. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles and main lake structure on jigs with white color combinations. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

Fairfield

Closed to the public.

Falcon

GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 45.27 feet below pool. Bass are good in 8-20 feet of water on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and soft plastics. Catfish are good with bigger catfish being caught in the Rio Grande or along the main lake river channel dragging and drifting cut tilapia, cut carp or fresh shad. Crappie are slow. Bow fishing for gar is excellent near Tigers. Rod-and-reel fishing for gar has been excellent near the San Ygnacio RV Park. Report by Ram Reyes, Ram Outdoors.

Fayette

GOOD. Water normal stain; 92 degrees. Bass are good on rattle traps and square bill crankbaits on the points at sunrise. When the early morning bite slows, switch to Carolina rigs and shaky heads in 14 feet of water. Topwater bite is improving but is still slow. Perch are slow to fair to good on shallow flats in 5-8 feet of water and starting to push deeper. Slight turnover on the northeast corner of the lake. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service.

Fork

GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 1.74 feet below pool. The lake is turning over on the upper east and west arms. Early morning bite is good on topwaters and flukes, and yum dingers around grass. Carolina rigs and Texas rigs are good on points and humps in 7-12 feet. Deep crankbaits are fair over brush piles and roadbeds. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Bass are aggressive on top water and shallow. Windy banks can provide schooling action so be ready with a small top water or streamer. Catfish are shallow around boat houses. Bream are excellent in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be excellent as we head into fall. You can find fish in a very large range of depths from 12-40 feet. Timber still has some great white crappie if you cover water and pick off those fish. Brush piles are holding decent numbers with a combination of white and black crappie. You can find black crappie on underwater road beds and bridges. We should see more and more black crappie on the tops of timber in deeper water over the next month. Minnows are a great bait but we did catch fish on small hand tied jigs this week. Soft plastics will work and that bite will get better as water cools off. The catfish bite is on fire in 18-28 feet around timber along creek channels. These fish are following bait migrations and will load up under your boat as you begin to fish. They will even elevate off the bottom as they load up so you can fish up and down the water column to find the larger fish. Use any prepared bait of choice to catch this fish. Using some cattle cubes or sour grain will attract and hold even more fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Ft. Phantom Hill

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 7.52 feet below pool. Hybrid stripers are fair to good. White bass can be caught trolling with crankbaits or live shad. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters along the rocks.

Georgetown

SLOW. Water stained: 85 degrees; 9.48 feet below pool. Expect the bite to improve as the water temperature cools. Sand bass are hit-or-miss in the evenings. Bass are slow in the evenings with catches up to 2 pounds. Carp and gar can be caught up stream. Black drum can be caught in the stilling basin.

Graham

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 4.38 feet below pool. Fishing is improving. Bass are good on top water in the morning and evening. Sandbass and hybrids are schooling all over the lake. Good on jigs and spoons. Crappie are in brush piles with minows and jigs.

Granbury

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.51 feet below pool. Granbury water temperatures are in the upper 70s to low 80s. Striped bass are slow to fair with catches up to 10 pounds on live bait fished on the lower ends with an occasional catch near Indian Harbor to the Shores. Some good striped bass are being caught below schooling with the sand bass. Sandbass continue to school early and late. Many of the sand bass are small, but there are some bigger ones mixed in. Look for the schooling sand bass from Striper Alley to Decordova Estates and near the Shores. Crappie are on underwater trees and bridges biting small jigs or small minnows from Water's Edge to the Peninsula. Catfish are active on baited holes and on flats and humps near creek channels. Cut shad is the preferred bait for catfish. The large yellow catfish are good on live perch. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Granger

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.11 feet below pool. Black bass are good to 7 pounds on worms and crankbaits. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows fished over cover in 4-12 feet of water. White bass are fair with mostly small undersized fish being caught over ridges, humps, and roadbeds. Blue catfish are good on shad. Yellow catfish are good to 25 pounds on live bait. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.

Grapevine

GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 1.06 feet below pool. White bass are good as the weather cools and water temperatures begin to decline. Birds are starting to direct the way to fish. White bass are hitting white jigging spoons. Catfish can be caught mixed in with the sand bass. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Greenbelt

GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 49.72 feet below pool. Crappie are in standing timber. Sand bass are good. Catfish are good on minnows and worms. Largemouth bass are good.

Hawkins

GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Bass are chasing bait fish around the edges of grass. Bead heads will tempt bream and bass, dropping the flies at the front of the grass line. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Houston County

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.07 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent, but this should change as the weather begins to cool. Sunfish are good. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs. Bass are slow midday, with the best bite in the morning.

Hubbard Creek

SLOW. Water Stained; 85 degrees; 14.20 feet below pool. Bass are slow with the best bite around the north end of the dam on rocks of the overflow, and in Game Warden Cove in 4-11 feet of water on trees near the rocky shoreline. Smaller fish are biting topwaters, and bigger fish were caught on square bill crankbaits for jerkbaits for schooling bass. Blue catfish can be caught on juglines with live bait or cut carp. White bass are schooling throughout the day.

Jacksonville

SLOW. Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 0.14 feet below pool. Bass are schooling and biting good on topwaters, spoons, and traps. Soft plastics with shaky head and dropshot in shallower water.

Joe Pool

SLOW. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.13 below pool. Activity is picking up daily with shad and small bass in the creeks. Expect bigger to move in soon. Squarebill crankbaits, swimbaits, and topwater will catch fish. There has been a lot of sporadic schooling for white bass and largemouth bass. Crappie can be caught on minnows under the bridges. No report on catfish. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.

Lake O' the Pines

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; 0.33 feet below pool. Water clarity is slightly stained with 2-3 feet of clarity. Bass can be caught on creek channel bends throwing Texas rigged creature baits, senkos, or compact jigs in black & blue. Grass edges are holding a high number of fish and can be caught on 3-4 inch swimbaits, flukes, or bladed jigs. Matted vegetation seems to hold the larger fish in fewer numbers, and can be caught throwing a ribbit frog or hollow body frog. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Lavon

EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 2.84 feet below pool. Best way to fill a stringer of catfish is to chum with sour grain in a five gallon bucket in 9-15 feet. Very good numbers of nice sized catfish of all sizes can be caught on punch bait, chicken, liver, cooked shrimp, or fresh chunks of shad. Dragging shad on Santee Rigs is producing some 10-15 pound fish with an occasional 20-30 pound fish. If you are dragging your baits and you hook up to a good fish, anchor up in that exact spot and cast around the boat. Pay attention to your side imaging shooting at least 100 feet 455 gtz . This will brighten up the fish as well and you can see them on your side imaging. Crappie are great with 1/32-1/8 ounce jigs or minnows. Look for sinking logs or stumps in 5 feet of water to start the morning and any kind of hard structure out to 18 feet. Then fish submerged timber or brush piles as the sun rises in 18-20 feet of water. These fish do not pull out of the shallows until 9-10:00 a.m. Black bass are in 3-20 feet, with bigger fish being caught in 7-15 feet. White and chartreuse spinnerbaits are good early in the morning 1-5 feet. A spinnerbait has been excellent on hard structure, or very sandy flats with structure nearby. When the bite tapers off an hour or two after sunlight, switch to a 3-6 foot diver gradually moving to a 12-15 foot diver as the sun rises. Some days fish will not react to a reaction bait, such as a crankbait, so you might have to slow down and Carolina rig or Texas rig to entice a bite. Rocks along banks, boat ramps, floating and submerged tire reefs, and rock piles. Do not be scared to try 1-5 feet of water all day long because there are some shallow ones right now. There is a whole bunch of 3-5 pound fish up shallow all day. Long scattered through that lake. White bass are very good. As soon as that water hits about 72-75 degrees these fish will go super shallow and you will not find any on any points deeper than 5 feet. There are so many fish mixed in with the gizzard shad. This will make the green water turn black and with polarized glasses the fish will pop for you. Small rooster tails or road runners will works as well, but the hook gap is too big for most dinks using a swimbait on a quarter ounce head. You are going to use a quarter ounce jig with a 3 to 4 1/2 inch swim bait in white or chartreuse. And this is an absolute must, you have to cast in 1-4 inches of water and start reeling right before it hits the water to prevent it sticking into the clay banks. Your first bite will be in 2-4 feet of water so that is 2-4 reels of the spilling reel, and your cast is over. Repeat. Once you find them, spot lock or anchor within casting distance without your boat drifting into them. Sometimes they will follow it to the boat. Bluegills are good on brush piles in 15-20 feet with earthworms, wax worms, mealworms on light 2-4 pound line. Crickets are catching some bigger fish. Do not be surprised if you catch crappie or catfish, while trying to catch the bluegills. Lunker bass patrol the piles too. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

LBJ

FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.22 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 20 feet of water over brush piles with minnows. Channel and blue catfish are good on punch bait in 25 feet of water over dropoffs and rock piles. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are slow with some topwater action early in the morning. There is not a pattern, so be prepared to cover water and be ready for anything. The clarity is muddy with very little grass. Report by Randal Frisbie, Central Texas Fishing Guide, LLC.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.47 feet below pool. White bass are fair to good on humps and points in 15-30 feet of water. There has been some sporadic bird activity on mid lake flats and humps. Slabs, jigs, and live bait are working. 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. Blue catfish are fair on cut shad. Drifting mainlake humps, points, and flats near the river channel have produced in 12-32 feet of water. Channel catfish are good on baited holes on punch bait in 15-28 feet of water on humps and points. Cut shad have been working well also. Crappie are fair in 6-26 feet of water. Check brush piles and submerged cover close to a drop off ledge. Cover close to drop off ledges has been best. Minnows and jigs are catching those fish. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Bass are more active at night. Largemouth bass are slow on jigs and finesse worms. A lot of fish are cruising around chasing bait fish. Crappie are heavily stacking up in main lake brush piles in 12-15 feet of water. Sand bass are all over biting live bait or spoons. Lake levels are dropping rapidly, so navigate with caution.

Limestone

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 79 degrees; 1.90 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. White bass have been schooling in the back of the creeks. Seeing numbers of shad schools moving into the back of the creeks this week. Largemouth bass are scattered with some fish suspended on deep brush and some under docks. Crappie action continues to be best on offshore fresh willow tree piles, with some on power line pylons and standing timber. The lake is dropping, so navigate with caution. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Livingston

GOOD. slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.73 feet below pool. White bass are great on roadbeds in 6-16 feet of water hitting Duck Tracker slabs. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.

Martin Creek

GOOD. Water normal stain; 89 degrees; 1.57 feet below pool. Bass are fair along the edge of the hydrilla using rattletraps, swimbaits and watermelon red Texas rigged worms. Crappie are good in brush piles and timber in 20-25 feet using Bobby Garland screamer jigs and minnows. Catfish are good along the dam drifting with night crawlers and shrimp. Reported by Hambone guide service.

Medina

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 90.37 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water due to limited access and low water level.

Meredith

FAIR. Water stained; 73 degrees; 48.21 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady as the water starts to cool off. White bass bite continues to be excellent on just about anything. Bass are good on minnows and artificials. Catfish are fair to good with nightcrawlers, minnows, chicken liver and frozen shad. Crappie are fair with artificial baits and minnows. Trout are slow. Walleye are good on minnows, grubs, and other artificial baits. Hit the secondary points of a morning, slabbing in about 40 feet of water. Best of luck to you out there. Please be safe out there, watch weather reports. Life vests save lives. Report by Kenneth Wysong, SharKens Honey Hole.

Millers Creek

SLOW. Water stained; 83 degrees; 1.67 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water. The best bite will be early and late in the day.

Nacogdoches

GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 1.34 feet below pool. The clarity has improved to 4 feet of visibility. Largemouth bass are excellent with 3-5 pound fish being caught on small swimbaits and topwaters. There is a lots of schooling action. Crappie are excellent on 1/16 ounce white crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on live minnows and cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.

Naconiche

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.00 feet full pool. Bass continue to be in a weird mood. They cannot decide if they need to stay or go from their typical summer haunts. Expect the next two cold fronts to get temps to drop back down to the mid 70s before heading further down to set off the fall turnover. Keep an eye on the thermocline. This tells you the exact depth to present your offering. Even over deep water, do not go below this line. The square-bill crankbait 5 feet depth got the most bites over the weekend. If you find them hugging the bottom in 8-10 feet, dragging a Texas-rig Mag-worm can be effective. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters and swimbaits. Crappie are excellent on brush and standing timber in 10-15 feet of water on 1/16 ounce white crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on cut bait in the fishing pier area. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.

Nasworthy

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 87 degrees. 0.46 feet below pool. The bass bite has been fair on white chatterbait/spinnerbaits early morning and evening. Midday flipping soft plastics around reed bases in 1-3 feet of water is the ticket to catch shaded up largemouth bass. Crappie were good around boat docks on chartreuse jigs and catfish were fair on cut bait and stink bait around river channel bends. Report provided by the Angelo State Fishing Team.

Navarro Mills

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.39 feet below pool. White bass are good on chartreuse slabs. White Bass can be found in the main lake on underwater humps or schooling on the surface in the morning and afternoons. Catfish are good on punch bait and shad in the flooded timber on the west end of the lake. Crappie are good on minnows around brush piles in 15-20 feet of water. Largemouth bass are fair on crawfish jigs near the dam. Report by Clay Major, Major Guide Service.

O.C. Fisher

SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees; 40.34 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers fishing due to low lake levels.

O.H. Ivie

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 77 degrees; 25.92 feet below pool. Black bass are slow with bass up to 5 pounds scattered shallow around brush as green vegetation still decaying. Main lake is still putting out a couple of quality fish up to 9 pounds. Mostly livescope, but some fish can be caught on topwater on the end of long tapering points in 8-12 feet of water with 10 inch worms and jerk baits doing some good. Upper end of Lake still stained not much to report. Still some crappie activity around deeper trees suspended in 12 ft over 25-30 feet of water with minnows. Scattered schools of white bass down by the dam with Alabama rigs, rattle traps and jigs. Catfish fair on rod and reels with stink bait and cut shad mid lake.  Report by Wendell Ramsey, Ramsey Fishing.

Oak Creek

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 17.22 feet below pool. Anglers are reporting success using several methods to catch quality bass up to 7 pounds. Bass are being caught on large plastic worms with large shaky heads, and swimbaits. Crappie reports are good with anglers catching limits on live bait and Bone Head jigs. The fish are schooled up on brush piles and trees. Anglers utilizing forward facing sonar are reporting success. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.

Palestine

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.95 feet below pool. All boat launches are open. The slight cooling from Hurricane Helene helped improve conditions, but with it came northerly winds, while not strong, these winds did interfere with the fishing creating a slow bite for all species except catfish. Blue catfish have been good with live minnows, shrimp, and cut bait, in 12-22 feet. Channels catfish are excellent but the size has been small. Please remember that these two species have special limits in this lake, so take a look in the TPWD Outdoor Annual for more information. Bass anglers should continue to fish boathouse patterns. The cooling trend should continue, and the daytime rod and reel angling improve. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine.

Palo Pinto

GOOD. Water slight stain; 88 degrees; 0.33 feet below pool. Blue catfish can be caught on shallow flats. Yellow catfish are good. Hybrids and sand bass are fair. Black bass are slow. Crappie are slow on live bait. Report by David Holt, Lake Palo Pinto RV Park and Resort.

Pinkston

FAIR. normal stain; 82 degrees. Water clarity is clear. Largemouth bass are good on large or small swimbaits, and dropshots in 10-18 feet of water. Crappie are excellent on 1/16 ounce white crappie jig. Catfish are slow on live minnows or cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.

Possum Kingdom

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.67 feet below pool. Stripers are fair with live bait putting fish in the boat consistently. Downriggers are still slow at the moment and catching very few fish. Any kind of artificial bait is fishing slow. Look for them in 20-40 feet of water. They are moving fast and not staying in one spot long. Sand bass are still slow. Look for them in 20-30 feet of water. Use live shad or small slabs and jigs or rattle traps. White and silver are good colors. Catfish are fair to good. Cut shad or your favorite brand of stink bait, also known as punch bait, is producing good numbers of fish in 15-30 feet of water fished on or near the bottom. Water clarity is steady at 4-10 feet of visibility. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service. Bass are scattered on ledges, points, and deep timber hitting crankbaits, Carolina rigs, dropshots. Report by JK Outdoors Bass Fishing Guide.

Proctor

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 1.41 feet above pool. The lake is over full pool and with water being released at 80 cfs. Copperas Creek day use has been a popular area for anglers. Call the park to check for camping and dock closures. Early morning fishing on jugs has been productive for catfish.

Raven

FAIR. Water light stain; 85 degrees. Crappie are fair on minnows and artificial grubs. Bass are fair on soft plastic artificials. Catfish are fair on worms fished off the bottom. Bluegill are excellent at the boathouse dock on crappie bites and worms.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 78 degrees; 2.02 feet below pool. White bass are good on shallow points early morning and late evening throwing tail spinners and topwaters. Later morning moving to humps, levees and long points in 16-28 feet water using 3/4 ounce slabs. Trolling is also producing white bass 13-16 feet of water. Crappie are fair and relating to brush or suspended on bridge pylons in 15-22 feet deep moving on and off structure with minnows. Catfish are fair around the north end of the lake near timber using cut shad in 12-17 ft water. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 0.65 feet below pool. White bass are schooling up on top early mornings, but the late afternoons activity is not consistent. Smaller fish when you do find them. Crappie are good in 5-20 foot brush piles and small patches of structure, minnows and small jigs. Channel catfish bite is still going good on punch bait 15-20 feet of water. Few bigger blues drifting cut bait on flats 15-25 feet. Report by Justin Wilson, Wilson Outdoor Connection.

Richland Chambers

FAIR. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 1.11 feet below pool. Very little change to the pattern this week water temperature up to 84 degrees. White bass are fair with just a few reports of catches being made on slabs when schools are located off main lake points. Fish are moving quickly in small schools. Hybrid stripers are also slow with a few fish being caught on live bait. Crappie will be in a fall pattern as the cooler water arrives. Target brush piles in 15-20 feet of water with minnows, but a few can be caught on jigs. Blue and channel catfish are good on punch bait in 15-20 feet of water in timber on the Richland Creek Arm of the Lake. Chum with Range Cubes and, or fermented grain. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service.

Sam Rayburn

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.82 feet below pool. Bass are schooling more in the morning so expect more topwater action on grass edges and points. Crappie are fair on standing timber in 27 feet on brush piles with minnows over jigs. Blue and channel catfish are fair in 24-27 feet of water and in the river bends on cut bait and minnows. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service. Lake level is holding steady, but expect the lake to drop to 5-7 feet low to continue to work on the dam in the future. Fish are in all stages of the transition. Target bass with jig head minnows and forward facing sonar. Bass are suspended at the mouth of creeks and on offshores flats chasing bait. When bass are schooling on the bottom cast a Carolina rig, dropshot, and shaky head. There is an abundance of shallow fish and this pattern should continue through the fall. Target the hay grass and flooded bushes early in the morning to catch bass chasing bait using a chatterbait, swimbait or frog. Report by Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Guide Service.

Somerville

FAIR. Water normal stain; 88 degrees; 0.85 feet below pool. At Somerville marina the crappie bite is slow, bluegill and catfish are fair. Crappie are slow over brush in 8-16 feet of water with jigs and minnows. Catfish are fair in 3-10 feet using cut shad or punch bait. White bass are fair trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are slow in deeper water, when you locate them, using cut bait. Below the dam fishing is fair, while water is being released at 277 cfs. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Spence

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees. 45.20 feet below pool. Bass are slow but anglers have reported some success on stick type baits. The catfish bite has been fair to good. Bank angler are reporting blue catfish and yellow catfish biting cut carp and shad. Yellow catfish are being caught on live bait as well. White bass bite is active on topwater baits, and spoons, such as the K.T. Slabs and Bomber Slab spoons. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.

Stamford

GOOD. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.90 feet below pool. Bass are good on soft plastics. When you find one fish, stay in the area because you will probably find another. Crappie are fair to good on concrete. Catfish are good in baited areas.

Stillhouse

SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.29 feet above pool. White bass fishing remains very tough. Suspended fish are responding to a splasher, but are unwilling to stick around very long. Fish can be caught with a vertically "smoked" MAL Mini lure. Consistent local bass tournament anglers report that bass are grouped on isolated cover. Bass can be caught in short windows under low light conditions right before sunrise and right after sunset. Dark, natural hues of soft plastics and Ned Rigs with the same colors are a good choice. Cedar Gap Park remains closed; Rivers Bend courtesy dock is not usable. Union Grove, Dana Peak, and Stillhouse Park's ramps and docks are all in good shape. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 82 degrees; 1.47 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish good despite unusually warm water temperatures. With the passing of the last two cool fronts water temperatures are hovering right at 82 degrees. Hybrid and white bass has been good. We are seeing schools of fish under newly arrived seagulls. Slabbed and swim bats are the ticket. Fish have been showing up anywhere from 3 foot all the way out to 30 feet. The Trophy catfish bite is turning on with fish in the 30 pound range being caught consistently on fresh cut gizzard shad and other types of cut bait in 10-20 feet. The eating size catfish bite is wide open and limits are being attained within a few hours. Fish vertically over baited holes in 20 feet of water with dip and punch baits. Crappie fishing is also turning on with the best bite on minnows in 15 feet. The largemouth bite is good at daylight on frogs and other topwater lures. There is a better night bite on worms and soft plastics in 2-10 feet. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texana

FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.74 feet below pool. Catfish are good on trotlines throughout the lake. Bass are fair in the north end of the lake.

Texoma

GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 1.51 feet below pool. The striped bass fishing has been excellent with live bait on ledges in 25-40 feet of water near river channels and creeks. The topwater bite will fire up in the shallows with a little more cool weather. Fish are still moving fast but starting to slow down and feed hard, its limits on live bait! Crappie fishing is still slower with the warm temperatures. Check brush and structure in 12-18 feet of water near points and off the creek ledges. Bass fishing is picking up. Alabama rigs with paddle tails near docks and down the bluffs throughout the morning for smallmouth. Soft plastics and hard baits on main lake points and in the backs of cuts midday. Start looking for cooler water temperature and foggy coves early in the morning. Catfishing remains great on shad and prepared baits near humps in 15-20 feet of water for channels, and ledges in 30-50 feet of water for blue catfish. Not seeing the big blues yet, but look for cooler water temps ahead! Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Guaranteed Guide Service. The weather has cooled off and the lake is turning over creating tough fishing conditions. Stripers are fair on the flats in 30 feet of water or deeper with live bait. The artificial bite is slow. Very little surface action for a topwater bite. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Toledo Bend

FAIR. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 4.13 feet below pool. It’s really back to summer again here the water temperature is back to the mid to high 80s. Bass bite is back to being just fair with shallow fish on topwater and chatterbaits. Creek fish are in 5-8 feet little better. Fish out deep, but most are small to keepers with dropshots and spoons. Crappie slow. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.

Travis

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 40.48 feet below pool. Lake Travis has been good in the morning as you can catch bass feeding shallow in the flooded brush. Throw flukes, swimbaits, 4 inch worms and creature baits with chartreuse dyed tails. When the sun gets up high, work deeper water along ledges and cliffs in 20-25 feet of water throwing jigs, shaky heads and Texas-rigged creature baits to get those better bites. A deep crankbait will get some bites as well. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Twin Buttes

FAIR. Water stained. 82 degrees; 38.00 feet below pool. Catfish are fair in the main body of the lake on drop-offs with cheese bait or fresh bait. If you fish with worms you will catch carp all day long. Crappie are undersized with fish scattered 7-15 feet of water. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.

Tyler

GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.84 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. Crappie are good with minnows on brush in 16-20 feet of water, and off the barge. Catfish are good in 10-16 feet of water stink bait, liver and nightcrawlers. Bream are good on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are fair on topwater baits, crankbaits and spinner baits in 4-12 feet of water. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Waco

SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.81 feet below pool. Summer fishing patterns are steady. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of open water on brush piles with live minnows or jigs. Largemouth bass are slow and scattered. The best bite is early or late in the day with soft plastics. Sand bass are excellent on small slabs, small crankbaits, small swimbaits and small spoons in 15-35 feet on open water humps, points, ridges, roadbeds, and on the Old Dam. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good with cut bait or live shad on juglines or rod-and-reel in 10-30 feet of water. Hybrids up to 7 pounds are being caught with 5 inch swimbaits or spoons at the Old Dam. Best colors are white and chartreuse or chrome.

Walter E. Long

GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees. It is still possible to launch but keep the motor trimmed up. Worms and flukes in the grass working best along the shore lines. Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide. Decker lakes water level is continuing to drop. The lake is fishing well right now. A lot of grass has been exposed with the low water levels. There is a really good punching bite and frog bite right now. Still seeing a lot of schooling activity but it is very scattered. Overall the lake is fishing great. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing Guide Service. Lake Decker is fishing great if you can get on it. They are not keeping it full very well. Bass are schooling after shad early in the pockets, so a swimbait, shad colored fluke, shallow crank or vibrating jig/spinnerbait works good for those. Later, work off the bank around grass with 4-5 inch worms in watermelon or green pumpkin colors. You can catch some up tight to the reeds flipping a craw or creature bait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water heavily stained; 80 degrees; 3.69 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent, but expect the bite to slow until water stabilizes after the cold front. Crappie are good on deep brush piles with minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair along the rocks with punch bait and liver. Bass are slow on deeper water ledges with crankbaits and soft plastics. The lake continues to be heavily stained with about 4-6 inches of visibility compared to the normal 12 inches.

Welsh

FAIR. Water stained. 95 degrees. Few reports from anglers.

White River

GOOD. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 22.88 feet below pool. Catfish are good. Crappie are good on minnows. Largemouth bass are biting in deeper water ledges with soft plastics.

Whitney

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.18 feet below pool. Catfish are good using cut shad or stink bait in 12-25 feet of water. Striped bass are slow with live bait or drifting in 25 feet of water. Very few are caught on artificial baits while trolling umbrella rigs and Alabama rigs. Crappie are fair with small jigs and minnows in timber in 15-20 feet of water on the north end of the lake. White bass fishing is slow. Largemouth bass fishing is slow. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.

Worth

FAIR. Water normal stain; 76 degrees; 2.85 feet below pool. White bass are good on main lake structures on slabs with teaser flies. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles and main lake structure on jigs with white color combinations. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on cut bait punch bait. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

Wright Patman

GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.29 feet above pool. Catfish are good with stink bait. Crappie are good with minnows and jigs.

Houston

GOOD. Water normal stain; 88 degrees; 0.19 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are on fire. Grubs are working well in the shallows in the back waters around the structure pushing deeper as the water heats up. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are working well also. Crappie are tight to structure in Luces Bayou and East Fork being caught on minnows and hand tied jigs heads. White bass are congregating around the Sharky’s Area biting crankbaits in the daytime, also trailing in the south end is producing (#12 pet spoon yellow tail). Catfish are awesome, biting live perch and fresh caught shad, jug lining is the best way. Always wear your kill switch, It can save your families lives. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

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