Prairies & Lakes Region Week of December 11, 2019

Arlington

FAIR. Water stained; 63 degrees; 1.83' low. Largemouth bass are best fished around larger docks on the eastern banks on spinners, plastic worms, with the most success coming on minnows. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs around docks and brush structure. Catfish are good on live bait and stinkbait throughout the lake and around the plant.

Athens

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 61-65 degrees; 0.95’ low. The southern wind and consistent weather the past week have lead to even more largemouth bass are caught on Carolina rigged worms, jigs, and spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs among surface cover and brush piles. Catfish are fair on cut bait and stinkbait. Sunfish are slow on cutworms.

Bastrop

FAIR. Slightly stained; 63 degrees; Largemouth remain fair to good with continued water warming. Best lures are Carolina rigged plastic worms, topwater, french fries, crankbait, and rigged lizards. Crappie are fair on jigs and live bait near submerged vegetation. Channel and blue winter catfish are good on stinkbait or cut bait. All species have been best near the plant and in the creek channels.

Belton

GOOD. Lightly stained; 61-63 degrees; 2.80’ low. Smallmouth bass are great on grubs, jigs, and smaller crankbait working outward of the numerous creek channels. Largemouth bass are fair fishing with spinners, and Carolina rigged plastic worms. Hybrid stripers are good on live bait, jigs, and crankbaits in middle lake channels. Crappie are fair on jigs in structure. Catfish are fair on shad, shrimp, blood bait, and stinkbait.

Benbrook

FAIR. Water stained; 62 degrees; 8.68’ low. Due to low lake levels, some access ramps continue to be closed. Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina rigged worms and lighter-colored spinnerbaits. With the low water stick to the mouths of the creeks, and deeper humps. Crappie are fair on minnows structure. Hybrid striped bass and white bass are good with slabs, spinners, or spoons. Catfish are good on stinkbait and live bait.

Bridgeport

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 62 degrees: 4.72’ low. Black bass are fair on craws, spinners, and jigs near rocky humps. Crappie are good with jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs and live minnows among deep drops. Hybrid are fair on slabs. Catfish are fair on shrimp and cut bait in deeper water and among feeder mouths.

Cedar Creek

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 58–62 degrees, 2.39’ low. Largemouth bass are Carolina rigged creature baits, plastic worms, crankbaits, and spinners moving deeper to the points and along the edges of the spillway. Hybrid stripers and white bass are fair still with schools. Crappie are good on minnows and pink and white jigs around larger docks and structure. Catfish are good on cut shad, dough bait, and stinkbait over corks in the many coves and under boat docks with at least 5 feet of water.

Cooper

FAIR. Water clear; 61–63 degrees; 1.81’ low. Largemouth bass are fair with topwaters, Carolina rigged worms, crankbaits, and spinners on points and slowly working the larger flooded timber. The white bass continue to be good on slabs and live bait. Catfish are excellent on live and cut bait.

Eagle Mountain

FAIR. Water stained; 62 degrees; 1.83’ low. Black bass are fair by steep main lake drops, docks, and reed beds on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and worms. Hybrid Striped bass are good on crank bait near ledges and in the main lake. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs under the same larger boat docks. Catfish are good on cut bait, prepped bait, and liver.

Fayette

GOOD. Water stained. 64 degrees; Largemouth bass are good on spinners, worms, and crankbait in submerged creek beds. Fishfinders are very useful to detect the best points and drops. Sunfish are consistently fair on worms and crickets. Catfish are fair on stinkbait, live bait, and cut bait.

Gibbons Creek

FAIR. Water stained; 64 degrees; Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina rigged soft plastics, spinners, and buzzbaits looking for the standing timber in the creeks and circling the warm water. Crappie are good on jigs, especially in the warmer discharge waters. Catfish are good on live bait and liver-flavored prepared bait.

Graham

FAIR. Water stained; 58-60 degrees; 2.81' low. The warm discharge water has been holding all species of game fish. Largemouth bass are good on slow moving reeled lures such as spinners, cranks and worms. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs and Alabama rigs in the deeper warm water. Hybrid strippers are consistent in the channel between Graham and Eddleman on rattle traps. Catfish are fair on cut shad and live bait.

Granbury

FAIR. Water lightly stained. 62 degrees. 0.26’ low. Crappie fishing is fair around protected structure like boat docks with minnows and jigs. Catfishing is fair fishing over baited holes with live and artificial baits. White bass are fair mid-lake and up north. Largemouth bass are fair and are found around boat docks and shoreline cover with plastic worms and crankbait.

Grapevine

FAIR. Water stained; 63 degrees; 0.28’ high. High water has changed conditions for largemouth bass. Good lures continue to be Texas and Carolina rigged plastic worms fished around flooded timber and vegetation. White bass continue to be fair on live shad. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good on live and prepped bait in most parts of the lake.

Jacksonville

FAIR. Water stained; 60 degrees; 0.86' low. Largemouth bass continue to be fair close to the dam, and island dropoffs with spinners, jigs, and crankbaits. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows as we uncover more structure. Catfish are very slow on cut shad and prepped bait.

Joe Pool

GOOD. Water stained; 61 degrees; 2.87’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits around detected structure and flats with vegetation. Crappie continue to produce using live bait around the highway bridges. Catfish are good on cut bait by the spillway and near creeks.

Kemp

FAIR. Water clear; 60 degrees; 2.29’ low. Largemouth bass are good with Texas-rigged, straight-tailed worms, crankbait, and spinnerbait. Crappie are good on crappie jigs with good structures. White bass and hybrid continue to be good on slabs throughout the main body of the reservoir. Catfish are good with blood and liver prepared baits.

Lavon

GOOD. Water stained; 62-65 degrees: 3.64' low. Crappie are good on jigs, spinners, crankbaits, and plastic worms on ledges and structure. White bass are poor. Black bass are good in 5-20 feet on crankbaits worms and jigs on rock and deep points. Catfish are very good on santee rig cut shad in 8-20 feet.

Lewisville

GOOD. Water stained; 61-65 degrees; 0.05’ high. Black bass are good on Texas-rigged plastic baits and spinnerbaits within coves and natural shorelines. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and weighted jigs among brush and vegetation. Catfish are fair on prepared bait and cut bait. Hybrid stripers continue to be tough to pinpoint.

Limestone

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 61 degrees; 3.26’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on plastic worms, topwater, spinners, and buzz baits continuing in the creek structures. White bass and hybrid stripers are fair on slabs. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs around standing timber. Catfish are good on cut shad, shrimp, worms, or prepped baits, especially above bobbers at night.

Navarro Mills

FAIR. Water stained; 64 degrees. 2.40’ low. Crappie continue to be good on minnows and jigs in mid-depth ridges, with brush structures, and among standing timber. Catfish are good with stink bait, live and cut bait. White bass are fair on slabs. Black bass are picking up to fair with spinners, and jigs along the north shores.

Palestine

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 61 degrees; 1.70’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina rigged worms, spinners, lipless cranks, and jigs. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Hybrid stripers are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Catfish are excellent on shad and chicken livers.

Palo Pinto

SLOW. Water stained; 59 degrees; 2.97’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina rigged plastic worms, jigs, and spinners. Crappie are fair on live minnows and jigs in brush piles and any structure. White bass are fair on live shad. Striped bass are good on live shad and jigs. Catfish are fair on live shad, minnows, and stinkbait.

Proctor

FAIR. Water lightly stained. 61-64 degrees. 3.46’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to slow with spinners, crankbaits, and jigs without consistent habitat. Try artificial reefs. Trolling for hybrid stripers with live bait continues to be fair. Crappie are good with jigs among structure and near the spillway. Catfish have been good on stinkbait and cut bait.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 2.84” low. Largemouth Bass: good in 8-12 feet on crankbaits. White bass: fair on drop shot and spinner tail shads on the open water side of the standing timber. Crappie: slow on minnows and small jigs using bridge pilings as cover. Catfish: are good on cut bait and gizzard shad in most water. Hybrid are moderate on lipless crankbaits in 15-20 feet.

Ray Roberts

GOOD. Water stained: 61-64 degrees; 0.35’ high. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina rigged worms, lizards, and topwater with vegetation cover around 8-16 feet. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows around the brush and timber north. Catfish are good on live bait and stinkbait.

Richland Chambers

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 64 degrees; 3.48’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on topwater early in the day, plastic worms, spinners, and jigging spoons. White bass and hybrids are good on slabs and jigs as deep as you can go. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs around timber coves. Catfish are excellent on live bait and cut bait.

Somerville

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 64 degrees; 0.25’ low. White bass and hybrids continue to be good in the deep main lake on minnows, rattle traps, and Alabama rigs. Crappie fishing has been great surrounding the marina and with larger structures. Catfish and sunfish are good throughout the lake, with low traffic and good structure.

Squaw Creek

GOOD. Water clear; 64 degrees; 1.55’ low. Catfishing has been excellent while fishing around the timber next to creek channels mid-lake and south. Chumming with soured grain is a great way to be more successful when targeting these fish. The largemouth bass fishing has been excellent this week around shallow and deep structure on soft plastic worms and crankbaits.

Stillhouse

FAIR. Water stained; 62-66 degrees; 3.02’ low. Largemouth remain good by rocky points and water surface covering vegetation on topwater, jigs, and Carolina rigged plastic worms. Smallmouth are fair with topwaters and crankbaits on the same points as largemouth. White bass are fair with small spinners in open water drops. Sunfish are fair in shallow water cover on cutworms. Catfish are fair with live and cut bait. Trotlining is best in the upper lake using live sunfish.

Sulphur Springs

SLOW. Water stained; 60 degrees; 0.54’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas rigged plastic worms, topwater, spinnerbaits, and bass jigs. Crappie continue to be slow on minnows. Catfish are fair on nightcrawlers, livers, cut and live bait. Night fishing has been the reason for catfish success.

Tawakoni

FAIR. Water stained; 61-64 degrees; 1.61’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinnerbaits, plastic worms, and jigs among natural shoreline vegetation, and the shallower bridges. White bass and hybrid stripers are good on slabs, spoons, and Alabama rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows under bridges, docks, and marinas. Catfish are excellent and as close to a sure bet on live, cut shad, shrimp, and stinkbait.

Texoma

GOOD. Water stained; 62-64 degrees; 1.90’ high. Striped bass continue to be excellent using slabs, swimbaits, and live bait in deeper water. Largemouth bass are good drifting live baits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs around large structure in shallow water. Catfish are fair on live shrimp, cut bait, and minnows.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water stained; 59–62 degrees; 2.68’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on spinnerbaits and plastic worms in and around submerged cove boundaries and deeper structure. White bass are good with minnows, smaller crankbaits, and Alabama rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in brush structure. Catfish are good on crawfish, livers, blood baits, and cut bait.

Whitney

FAIR. Water stained 62 degrees; 6.41’ low. Black bass continue to be good on plastic worms, jigs, and crankbaits in portions of the lake that have increased visibility. Use shallower baits such as topwater lures, and fast-moving jigs in the murkier portions of the lake. White bass are fair on Alabama rigs, spinnerbaits, and with minnows in the main southern reservoir approaching the dam. Crappie are fair with minnows and jigs in the middle or upper end of the lake. Catfish are good on live shad, stink bait, and cut shad.

Worth

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 61 degrees; 1.92' low. Largemouth bass are fair on buzzbaits, spinners, and worms. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs with structured cover and under docks. Catfish are good on live bait, stinkbait, and cut bait close to the airport flats.

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