Prairies & Lakes Region Week of September 11, 2024

Arlington

GOOD. Water stained; 88 degrees; 4.49 feet below pool. Water temperature are in the upper 70s low 80s. Water clarity is stained. 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.

Athens

SLOW. Water slightly stain; 80 degrees; 0.43 feet below pool. Hard temperature drop turned the bite off, with water temperature now ranging from 74-85 degrees, Bass are scattered and hard to find. Bass are slow but some schoolers can be caught on small topwaters. Crappie are slow on small jigs over deep brush 26 feet. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees. Lake Bastrop is fishing well for bass. Look for baitfish early on both ends of the lake nearest the power plant and throw small swimbaits, flukes and shaky head trick worms to catch some there. There are still a few schools working out off the dam. Small weightless swimbaits letting them fall down through the water column will catch those good. Using a small ball head jig with tiny straight tail swimbaits will catch them as well. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Belton

SLOW. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.87 feet below pool. What a difference a week made after the first significant cold front moved into Central Texas last weekend. The north winds increased, the air temperature and lake surface temperature dropped, and the humidity levels increased. Morning lows of 59 degrees early in the week helped to further cool the water and allowed some cooling to penetrate beneath the surface. Fish responded well to the changes, boosting per-trip fish counts from the 70s and 80s into the low 100s over the weekend and into early this week. Fish are beginning to inhabit bottom terrain they have not held on in many months, down to around 40 feet. A go-to strategy is to find tightly grouped fish holding within 3 feet of bottom using down-imaging and 2D sonar, Spot-Lock on top of them and begin by presenting MAL Original lures vertically with a smoking tactic racing the lure upwards off bottom about 6 handle turns. This typically drew the attention of the best quality fish in the school. Once interest in that bait waned, switch to the smaller MAL Minis with very light braid to enhance sink rate repeating the same tactic to add additional smaller fish to the count. This represents the first time bottom-hugging fish have remained stationary enough to fish since the summer patterns kicked in as Belton reopened in early July. Westcliff and Rogers parks docks are still inoperative. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Not much change from last week. Catfish are excellent! With cooler weather and cloudy days catfish can be caught in depths of 5-25 feet with consistency. Fresh gizzard shad has been producing nice trophy fish and smaller cut baits have been excellent for fish under 10lbs. Channel catfish are fair around brush piles on punch baits. Flatheads are fair on live bait along river channels. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 2.41 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 18-20 feet of water using live minnows. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are good using Texas rigged worms in the stumps. Catfish and bluegill are good from the bank with worms, and stinkbait. Sand bass are schooling near the dam hitting spinnerbaits. Report by Benbrook Marina.

Bois d'Arc

stained; 85 degrees; 1.86 feet below pool. Bass shallow bite is good early on chatterbaits and frogs and rage swimmers through the pondweed 2-5 feet of water. Offshore bite is still there in 15-25 feet on Carolina rigs and Texas rigs best with ring frys and flukes and 8 inch worms over brush piles. There are still fish in the bushes to be caught on Texas rigs or weightless flukes and yum dingers 4-6 feet best. 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.

Bridgeport

GOOD. Water normal stained; 82 degrees; 11.23 feet below pool. Lake Bridgeport is hovering around ten feet low. Lake Bridgeport is around 11 ft low. Water is lightly stained with temperature in the low 80s. All ramps are open. Hybrids and sand bass are scattered, still wandering the open water of the main lake. They are slowly heading north following migrating shad. Some surface action may be found during the first few hours of daylight. Topwater baits and slabs should put them in the boat. Crappie fishing continues to be the talk of the lake. Docks, offshore brush piles and the 380 bridge have been holding fish. Minnows and jigs have been equally good! Largemouth bass has been picking up with the cooler weather. Look for fish in creeks and the backs of coves following Shad. Try topwaters early and square bill cranks later in the day. Catfish have been good on cut and prepared baits. Drifting flats around lake structure has been productive. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.

Cedar Creek

GOOD. slightly stained; 85 degrees; 1.79 feet below pool. The fishing has been increasingly more challenging the past 7-10 days. If you find a pattern right now stick with it and continue to fish the same techniques if you are catching fish. 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 heats up. 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. The evening bite from 5-9 p.m has also been very good. Hit up seawalls close to points in depths of 5-18 feet and cast rattle traps, spoons, 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 can be caught on humps in 16-20 feet on cut shad. Some bigger fish can be caught drifting with big cut bait in 15-25 feet. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Comanche Creek

0.40 feet above pool. Closed.

Cooper

GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees: 2.00 feet below pool. Catfish are excellent in a post spawn phase hanging out in 2-13 feet of water on timber. Hybrids and sand bass are good schooling on main lake humps and points, and in the river feeding under balls of shad. Fish can be caught on spoons or slabs. Crappie are good on main lake brush piles, or in 4-18 feet of water on timber. Fish are not schooled up, so hit several trees for a mess of crappie. Minnows are out fishing jigs.

Cypress Springs

GOOD: Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.65 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. Pines: isolated hard cover in relatively deeper water near creek channels, throwing a green pumpkin jig with chartreuse has been producing, as well as 1/4 oz rattle traps on grass edges that have signs of bait activity. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers.

Eagle Mountain

GOOD. Water normal stain; 77 degrees; 4.73 feet below pool. White bass are fair to slow on main lake structure. 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.

Fayette

FAIR. Water normal stain; 87 degrees. Bass are starting to move shallow points becoming more active on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Perch are good on shallow flats in 5-8 feet of water and starting to push deeper. Thermocline is breaking up so fish tend to be more scattered, but a pattern will emerge. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service.

Graham

SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 3.72 feet below pool. Water is cooling off a little. The bass are still out in deeper water on brush piles. Crappie are out on brush piles and are biting on minnows and jigs. Sandbass and hybrids are schooling out on main lake flats and are biting on jigs and spoons. Catfish are feeding on shad out on main lake flats biting on cut shad and chicken liver.

Granbury

GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.15 feet below pool. Granbury water temperatures are in the low 80s due to the recent cool down but are sure to rise some. Water levels have risen and are close to normal pool. Striped bass are on the move and are scattered from Bentwater to Striper Alley. Striped bass are good on trolled Alabama rigs and on gizzard shad. Sand bass action is good on slabs and spinnerbaits from the Shores in town, Indian Harbor and near Blue Water shores. Look for surface feeding in all these areas. Crappie action continues to be good on small jigs and minnows fished near standing timber from in town to near Water’s Edge to the timber close to the old hot water outlet. Catfish are good on cut and prepared baits fished near creek entrances on many areas of the lake. Largemouth bass are slow to fair to 7 pounds near deeper docks and main lake points. Look for schooling fish early and late near creek entrances and the river above Granbury is reporting some good catches working the laydowns. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Grapevine

FAIR. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.45 feet below pool. Birds should start working schooling white bass any day. There are large active schools of white bass in 22-26 feet of water hitting jigging spoons. We are still a few weeks away from the lake turnover. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service. Top inline spinner or swimbait.

Hawkins

GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Bass are good with clousers around edges of grass during the day. Bead heads will tempt bream and bass. Bream will be on beds and easy to spot, remember they can see you too. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville

SLOW. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.06 feet below pool. Bass are good on soft plastics in 8-16 feet of water. Topwater bite has improved.

Joe Pool

SLOW. Water normal stain;81 degrees; 0.07 below pool. Baitfish are starting to move into creeks. Small bass are good in the creeks around bait, the bigger fish are not in the creeks but hanging at the mouth. White bass are sporadically schooling on the main lake. Crappie can be found on deep crappie spots. No report for catfish Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.

Lavon

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 2.19 feet below pool. Good numbers of catfish can be caught on baited holes. Dragging shad on Santee Rigs are producing some 10-15 pound fish with an occasional 20-30 pound fish. Gizzard Shad and sunfish cut in chunks. Crappie are great on 1/32-1/8 th ounce jigs or minnows. Finding Fish on laydowns in 5 feet of water and any kind of hard structure as deep as 18 feet, or brush piles in 15 feet of water. Black Bass are in 3-20 feet. Cast white and chartreuse spinnerbaits early in the morning 1-5 feet. About an hour or two after sunlight no bite switch to a 3-6 foot diver. Then gradually go to a 12-15 foot diver as the sun rises around 10 o’clock. Obviously, there will be days when 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. There is still some submerged brush on main points and secondary points that are holding fish early morning till the drop back out 10-20 feet. Rocks along banks, boat ramps, floating and submerged tire reefs, and rock piles. Do not be scared to try one to 5 feet of water all day long because there are some shallow ones right now. White bass are very good but everyday is different. One day they are over here, the next day they are on the other side of the lake. Try to hit the main lake points and ledges in 15-20 feet with 1 ounce white slabs for when fish are on the bottom, and topwater plugs, or swimbaits for surfacing fish. Glass House Point, Island Point, and little ridge have been hot. Bluegills are still super good on structure, such as brush piles in 15-20 feet. Earthworms, wax worms, mealworms, working great on light line 2-4 pound. Crickets are catching bigger fish. Do not be surprised if you catch crappies while you’re trying to catch the gills. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.70 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. They will be 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 main lake humps, points, and flats near the river channel in 12-32 feet of water. Channel catfish are good on baited holes on punch bait in 8-25 feet of water. 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. Shad are grouped in small bait balls. Hybrid striped bass and white bass are pursuing the bait balls early and late in the day. Bests bite on live bait and spoons. Largemouth bass and spotted bass are grouping up in 3-6 fish schools chasing bait fish in open water, or sitting around brush piles and natural structure. Best bite has been on a crankbait or dragging a jig.

Limestone

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 81 degrees; 1.56 feet below pool. Crappie can be caught suspended in 7-12 feet on fresh willow tree piles, standing timber and powerline pylons with minnows. The thermocline is still around 15-17 feet. Largemouth bass are in 2-12 feet with Texas rigs, split shot rigs, frogs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Catfish and white bass are the same. 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. The first signs of fall are here. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Navarro Mills

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.20 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.

Palestine

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 91 degrees; 0.75 feet below pool. Depending on what happens with Hurricane Francine, the lake could rise over 6 inches. The rising water will cause the clarity to be murky, but that should be good for the bass. Look for bass in the shallows, especially where there is foliage or wood in the water. Try Texas rigs, soft plastic jerkbaits, chatterbaits, and frogs. The rain is good for the catfish bite, with the best bite during the day especially for blue catfish. Just check the moon position and go. Good smelly baits like shrimp and cut shad are good for the larger catfish shed. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine.

Palo Pinto

GOOD. Water normal stain; 96 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Crappie, sand bass, black bass and hybrids are all slow while the water is murky from the freshwater runoff. Catfish are good on cut perch. Report by David Holt, Lake Palo Pinto RV Park and Resort.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water stained; 88 degrees; 1.66 feet below pool. White bass are fair on points and long ridges on the shorelines in 12-17 feet of water. Fish are also in shallow humps 13-16 feet, but they are moving fast. Fish and a horizontal presentation throwing Bo-Blade slabs and slow rolling. There has been very little early morning schooling on flats. Trolling is also producing white bass 13-16 feet of water. Crappie are fair and relating to brush 24-35 feet deep suspended around 16-20 feet minnows working best. Crappie are showing up on bridge piles suspended. Catfish are fair around the north end of the lake around timber using cut shad working best in 5-12 feet of water. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 0.45 feet below pool. White bass are schooling on the surface early mornings and late afternoons. Crappie are decent in 15-30 feet on brush piles and bridge pillars on minnows and small jigs. Channel catfish bite is great on punch bait 10-20 feet of water. Report by Justin Wilson, Wilson Outdoor Connection.

Richland Chambers

FAIR. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.77 feet below pool. The lake level is 10 inches below full pool. Water temperature has cooled down to 84 degrees after the spotty showers and northeast wind. White Bass fishing remains slow and fish are scattered. Hybrid stripers are also slow, but check the south shoreline from Fisherman's Point Marina to Ferguson Point. They key to a catch will be live shad. Blue and channel catfish are very good punch bait in 15-20 feet of water in timber on the Richland Creek Arm of the Lake and also around Hickey Island. Chum with Range Cubes and, or fermented grain. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service.

Somerville

FAIR. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.11 feet below pool. Lake level is normal pool and the dam gates are closed. At Somerville marina the crappie bite is slow, bluegill and catfish are fair. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnow, over brush, 8-16 feet of water on the main lake. Catfish are fair in 3-10 feet using cut shad or punch bait. White bass are slow trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are slow in deeper water, afternoon bite better, if you locate them, using cut bait. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Stillhouse

SLOW. Water stained; 89 degrees; 1.02 feet above pool. Prior to the cool down, the white bass fishing remained very tough, with fish responding to a splasher, but unwilling to stick around very long. The fish we did catch all came on vertically "smoked" MAL Mini lures. Consistent local bass tournament anglers report bass being grouped on isolated cover, and having success in short windows under low light conditions right before sunrise and right after sunset. 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; 86 degrees; 1.25 feet below pool. Despite peak heat conditions Lake Tawakoni continues to fish fair the first week of September. The hybrid striper white bass bite is fair. Early mornings and late evening evenings have been best as we have been seeing random schools of Fish feeding on the surface. Slab spoons are working best. The eating size catfish bite is by far the best choice right now on the lake. This bite is wide open. Prepared such as punch bait and dip bait are working best in 10-20 feet. Crappie and largemouth bass are both slow right now. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texoma

GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.97 feet below pool. Striper fishing is good, using live shad on flats and across the river channels. Start looking for fish to stack up on ledges as the lake cools off. Big fish will be scattered in shallow water during early mornings and late evenings. Box fish are becoming plentiful on bait in 30-40 feet of water. Crappie fishing should improve as the water cools off. Look for fish suspended in brush in 12-15 feet of water, using minnows and dark-colored jigs. Use electronics to locate active fish under docks midday. Catfishing remains great as eater-size channels and blues continue to bite on punch baits and cut shad. Target shallow humps and points in 15-25 feet of water. Bigger fish will steadily show up, roaming the deeper flats as the thermocline disappears with the lake turnover. Bass fishing is still slower due to the abundance of bait in the lake, requiring more of a reaction to get bites. Use hard baits early and plastics late on main lake points and 8-15 foot humps, which are shallower now with the lake dropping. Report by Jacob Orr, Guaranteed Guide Service Lake Texoma. Striped bass are good with most catches in 30 feet of water or less with some fish in the tributaries and creeks, which is new territory. Start fishing with topwaters in shallow water then gradually work out to deep water with slabs. Some fish are surfacing, but do not rely on this. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water heavily stained; 85 degrees; 3.21 feet below pool. Crappie fishing has improved to good with the best bite in the crappie house and deep brush piles with minnows. Catfish are fair along the rocks with cut bait and shad. Bass are slow on deeper water ledges with crankbaits and soft plastics. The lake continues to be heavily stained with about 6 inches of visibility compared to the normal 12 inches.

Whitney

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.41 feet below pool. Catfish are poor using cut shad in 25-35 feet of water. Striped bass bite is slow on 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 on small jigs and minnows in timber in 15-20 feet 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; 77 degrees; 2.47 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.

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