Prairies & Lakes Region Week of January 28, 2026

Dunlap

SLOW. Water stained; 50 degrees. The inclement weather has limited angler activity on the lake. The freeze should push bass to deeper water. Use slow moving baits like creature baits, jigs or soft plastics. Target catfish with cut bait. Crappie are slow. Report by Lee Johnson and Kenneth Linder, local anglers.

Aquilla

GOOD. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 1.15 feet below pool. Typically when a big cold front comes in the striper bite improves. Schools of stripers will be chasing shad to the surface, and seagulls will be feeding on the shad as well as the striper. So the key to finding the fish will be finding the working seagulls. Fish should be easy to catch by casting chartreuse soft plastics with a paddle tail or swimbaits into the schooling fish and working birds. A slow retrieve works best. Crappie are good on brush piles in 20-25 feet of water with minnows or jigs. Bass are fair on spinnerbaits in 5-10 feet of water. Catfish are good in the timber with prepared baits. Sand bass are fair in 20-30 feet of water on jigging spoons off main lake humps. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.

Arlington

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 45 degrees; 1.89 feet below pool. Water temperatures dropped to the 40s after the Arctic blast. Fish are going to be deep for the winter until water temperature reaches the mid 50s again. Bass can be found in deep water around rock, wood, or hard bottom areas. Crappie and sand bass will be in the middle of the lake eating small shad. Catfish will be underneath these game fish eating the shad that falls to the bottom. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.

Athens

FAIR. Water normal stain; 54 degrees; 0.50 feet above pool. Fishing should be good before and after the cold front, but anticipate more fish to be offshore post front. Find offshore bass with a livescope and use umbrella rigs. Shallow bass can be caught with a weightless 5 inch stick bait in shad and bluegill patterns around docks. Mix in a dropshot, Carolina rig, and Texas rig worm on the edge of the grass line. Crappie are congregated on main lake brush piles biting crappie jigs or minnows. Report by Captain Kirk Pasalich, Artifishable Fishing Guide Service.

Bastrop

SLOW. Water normal stain; 50 degrees. Bass will be biting at the hot water discharge, or schooled up on deep main lake humps and drop-offs biting Carolina rigs, Alabama rigs and jigging spoons. Any imitation shad bait will be good this time of year.

Belton

FAIR. Water normal stain; 54 degrees; 0.75 feet above pool. As of Wednesday, Lake Belton ramps were sufficiently clear of ice to once again allow for launching following the recent winter storm, although overnight refreezing must be considered for the next few mornings. The lake temperature dropped a full 7 degrees in the past 5 days which does not bode well for fishing. My best advice is lower your expectations, find fish with sonar before you drop a line, and fish very slowly and methodically. Target white bass and hybrid striped bass with 5/8 ounce or 3/4 ounce white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook. The stinger hook is invaluable this time of year. Snap-jigging with a full 2-3 second pause between snaps will produce when fish are lethargic. Slow-smoking upwards off the bottom with these same slabs will produce when fish are more turned on. Birds have been disappointingly sparse this year, but will lead you to fish when they show. As the water continues to cool, dead-sticking with horizontally rigged soft plastics will come on strong for suspended fish located near suspended bait. Largemouth bass are readily caught with these same tactics near timber. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are excellent. Trophy size bluecatfish can be found along river channels, sand flats and around steep ledges in 30-40 feet of water. Larger fresh cut baits have been effective for the trophy size fish while eater size fish under 10 pounds are still active and slow drifting with small cut shad along sand flats is best for those. Channel catfish are slow but can be caught on punch bait around timber in 10-25 feet of water. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

FAIR. Water normal stain; 53 degrees; 2.03 feet below pool. Fishing patterns remain consistent. Crappie are good on live minnows and small jigs next to timber. Catfish are good in 18-30 feet of water on cut bait. Hybrids are good on live bait and umbrella rigs in 20-40 feet of water. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.

Bois d'Arc

SLOW. Normal stain; 46 degrees; 2.66 below pool. Due to inclement weather and dropping water temperature the bass bite is slow. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. After freezing weather it typically takes 1-4 weeks for the bite pick up. Crappie enter a hibernation state when the water drops into the 40s, so expect the bite to be slow. Crappie will be deep, then suspend higher in the water column on bright and sunny days. Nightly lows will be below freezing, so this will keep the water temperature low. The best bite will be on minnows, or tiny ice jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Bridgeport

FAIR. Water clear; 44 degrees; 4.80 feet below pool. Crappie are fair on docks 15-30 feet deep. Roaming crappie are suspended in the top third of the water column in 30-40 feet. Minnows and jigs are working. Largemouth bass are decent using jigs, Alabama rigs, and swimbaits on main lake points, creek channels, or on banks in the late afternoons with crankbaits and chatterbaits on main lake rock and docks. White bass and hybrids are fair on main lake humps and points, deadsticking slabs and flukes. Catfish bite is good on cut shad and chicken liver on main lake deep holes, deeper holes in coves, and in the river in creek channels drifting. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.

Cedar Creek

GOOD. Water normal stain; 45 degrees; 3.82 feet below pool. The winter deadsticking bite is in full force. Target hybrid striped bass and white bass in 36–45 feet of water throughout the lake. Use a fish thumper and splasher to draw fish beneath the boat, as schools will often move through the water column at depths of 18–28 feet. Depending on wind speed, use a ½–1 ounce jighead paired with a 3–4 inch soft plastic fluke. Be ready for subtle bites and set the hook quickly. Drift at speeds of 0.3–0.5 mph for best results. If you are not getting bites within 20–30 minutes, move to a new location. Key areas to target include sharp drop-offs, ledges, and mid-lake humps and points across the lake. Vary jig and plastic colors based on cloud cover and sunlight, rotating between bright and shad patterns for the best success. The crappie bite continues to improve. Target crappie with small jigs and minnows in 14-22 feet of water around bridge pylons, brush piles, and docks. Anglers are finding limits by moving from spot to spot, catching several fish before relocating. Guides report conditions improving, with larger crappie showing up more frequently. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are fair drifting deep flats in 20-40 feet of water. Look for deep water with bait and fish action then drift cut gizzard shad, carp, or drum. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Comanche Creek

GOOD. 68 degrees; 0.49 feet above pool. Comanche Creek continues to boast on numbers of largemouth bass and limits of eater sized channel catfish. Tilapia are abundant on this power plant lake. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Cooper

FAIR. Water stained; 50 degrees; 4.73 feet below pool. After freezing weather it typically takes 1-4 weeks for the bite pick up. Crappie enter a hibernation state when the water drops into the 40s, so expect the bite to be slow. Crappie will be deep, then suspend higher in the water column on bright and sunny days. Nightly lows will be below freezing, so this will keep the water temperature low. The best bite will be on minnows, or tiny ice jigs.

Cypress Springs

SLOW. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 0.66 feet below pool. After freezing weather it typically takes 1-4 weeks for the bite pick up. Crappie enter a hibernation state when the water drops into the 40s, so expect the bite to be slow. Crappie will be deep, then suspend higher in the water column on bright and sunny days. Nightly lows will be below freezing, so this will keep the water temperature low. The best bite will be on minnows, or tiny ice jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Eagle Mountain

SLOW. Water stained; 47 degrees; 2.15 feet below pool. Few anglers on the water due to the cold weather. Big blue catfish can be caught on cut shad or cut perch. Big blue catfish and yellow catfish on trotlines with live bait. Crappie are slow. Black bass are slow. Perch will always bite around structures with nightcrawlers under a cork. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.

Fayette

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; full pool. Bass should push off the banks to the first drop-offs in 10-25 feet of water. Bass may be in the deeper water near the dam, the rocks near the dam will be difficult with the forecasted north wind. Bass will be lethargic due to the cooler water temperature so fish slowly with soft plastics or deep diving crankbaits. Expect a slow bass bite. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.

Graham

SLOW. Water stained; upper 50 degrees; 4.02 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 14-16 feet on brush on jigs. Sand bass and hybrids are good around the hot water outlet with cut shad. Catfish are good in deer water near creek channels with cut shad. Bass are slow with slow moving baits like Carolina rig or crankbaits.

Granbury

FAIR. normal stain; 50 degrees; 0.58 feet below pool. Lake Granbury fishing reports slowed as many did not launch due to the ice and snow this last weekend. Water temperatures dipped into the 40s and water clarity is good. Bait and fish are huddled deep in the channel. Striped bass are slow to fair on jigs with 5 inch soft plastics fished in 30-40 feet of water from close to the dam to the Peninsula. Crappie are good on small jigs worked on structure from Bentwater to the river near Tin Top. Blue and yellow catfish are fair to good on cut shad fished on shallow flats near Hunter Park and some reports coming from near Waters Edge. Largemouth bass are best on warmer days near deeper docks and deeper structure working soft plastics very slowly. Some largemouth are on the channel ledges where the bait fish are holding. By Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Grapevine

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 50 degrees; 0.59 feet below pool. When anglers can safely get back on the water the best tactic will be to deadstick for white bass. Fish will be deep and scattered. Move small slabs and small swimbaits on stinger hooks very slowly or even deadstick. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O'the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Hawkins

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 50 degrees. Small shiny bait fish patterns are a good bet for chain pickerel. Black bass are on the move around grass in shallow sunny banks. Use small white and red streamers with good success. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville

SLOW. Water stained; 43 degrees; 0.19 feet above pool. Inclement weather has kept anglers off the water. Bass are slow in deep water with crankbaits, rattle traps or chatterbait.

Joe Pool

SLOW. Water normal stain; 48 degrees; 0.27 feet below pool. Water temperatures dropped to the 40s after the Arctic blast. Fish are going to be deep for the winter until water temperature reaches the mid 50s again. Bass can be found in deep water around rock, wood, or hard bottom areas. Crappie and sand bass will be in the middle of the lake eating small shad. Catfish will be underneath these game fish eating the shad that falls to the bottom. Big blue catfish have been showing up in the middle of the lake on deeper holes. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.

Lavon

FAIR. Water stained; 40 degrees; 2.10 feet below pool. Inclement weather has kept anglers off the water. Typically when the water temperature drops below 42 degrees there is a chance of shad kill. This will draw the big catfish shallow to feed. Before the Arctic blast fishing patterns were consistent. Crappie are on the humps or in 25-30 feet of water on structures hugging the silt bottom. Find threadfin schools and the crappie will be nearby. Spider rig fishing with minnows and jigs will land fish. White bass are deep 100-500 yards off the dam. Turn on your noise making thumper or splasher and anchor up for about 10 minutes. Moving a quarter of the way down the dam until you find fish. Use live scope and watch for fish studying the bait. Then start reeling up slowly to trigger a bite. Small swimbaits on 5/8 ounce jigheads, minnows, or slabs will work. Live threadfin, if you can get them and keep them alive, work great. Expect a bi-catch of crappie, catfish, and sometimes some largemouth bass. Catfish are good in 3-15 feet and 25-30 feet. Anchoring up on tree lines in the shallows with cut bait on the bottom seems to be producing some very large catfish. There can be large schools in 25-30 feet of water in the shad wall or bait. This thick wall of bait is from the bottom to 7-15 feet. Drag cut bait and santee rigs along the bottom. Panner boards help tremendously. Black bass are on laydowns and rock piles in 15-20 feet. Cast a squarebill crankbait or a 12 foot diver on boat ramps throughout the day. Any super sharp drop-offs in around 15 feet of water are producing bass with Carolina rigged jigs and 5/8 ounce jigs with a jerkbait soft plastic minnow attached. Free swim it over the bass if you have live scope. Bluegills and tilapia seem to have disappeared for the winter. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water normal stain; 49 degrees; 0.57 feet below pool. After the freezing weather, anticipate all species to push to deeper water. Expect the white bass and hybrids to concentrate in the deep river channels in 40-60 feet of water. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing.

Limestone

GOOD. Water clear; 40 degrees; 2.01 feet below pool. The Arctic blast dropped temperatures to the 40s. Expect quality fish but not quantity because their metabolism will be slower due to the cold water. After the water warms about 5 degrees from the lowest point the bite will improve. However, catfish thrive in the cold temperature and will be feeding. Before the cold front the bite was consistent and should remain. Crappie are on brush, roaming, and on the power line pylons biting minnows. White bass, catfish and crappie are roaming fish in 18-24 feet of water. Largemouth bass have started feeding on crawfish, so red and crawfish pattern baits will be a key to catching bass. Largemouth bass are in 6 feet of water or less on docks, bulkheads and rocks with red chatterbaits, red rattletraps, and Texas rigs. This pattern will be consistent until February when the water starts to warm. Numbers of catfish and white bass are in 18-24 feet of water. Catfish are biting in the creeks and on timber with birds. The best catfish bite will be at the marina for bank anglers. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.

Navarro Mills

SLOW. 50 degrees; 0.32 full pool. This cold front should improve the blue catfish bite. Blue catfish have been midlake in 10-15 feet of water biting shad. Expect the crappie bite to shut off as fish scatter in deeper water. Crappie will be lethargic, but action should pick up in February. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.

Palestine

SLOW. water stained; 48 degrees; 0.12 feet below pool. These major temperature shifts usually ignite the big fish to chase bait balls in open water and feed heavily. If there is a shad kill, the catfish, white bass and hybrids will gorge themselves. Expect numbers of big fish to be caught off bait concentrations this week. Catfish will bite cut shad. White bass and hybrids will bite swimbaits.

Palo Pinto

SLOW. normal stain; 47 degrees; 0.71 feet below pool. Anglers have not been fishing due to inclement weather. Blue catfish thrive in the cold water, so expect the bite to be good. Crappie will be slow but biting in deep water. Bass, hybrids and sand bass will be slow. Report by Palo Pinto RV.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water normal stain; 51 degrees; 1.71 feet below pool. Anticipate a slow bite if water temperatures drop below 48 degrees. Afternoons will be better as the water starts warming back up. White bass are grouped up in deep water flats 32-38 feet of water. Midday to afternoons have produced a better bite during the full moon. The south end of the lake is the most productive area in the lower half of the water column. Locate schools of bait and fish in those areas with the 2-3 jigs tied above a 1 ounce slab. Thumping the boat produces the best chances. Crappie are fair in deeper water along flats and levees. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 52 degrees; 1.09 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in the creeks, and in 25-40 feet of water on brush and rocks. Fish will be lethargic so you will have to use a slow presentation and put the bait right in front of the fish. A chartreuse or monkey milk jig should be good. Blue catfish should be in 35-50 feet of water. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.

Richland Chambers

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 49 degrees; 2.14 feet below pool. The hard cold front is going to drop the water temperature in the high 40s or very low 50s. It will bunch the hybrids up and fish will hug the bottom. Deadsticking will be good. Good electronics will be essential to locate fish. Black bass that are shallow will be around rocks and other hard cover. Use a crankbait, jig, or a chatterbait. The suspended deeper black bass can be located with Livescope. This is a great time for a jerkbait or an Alabama Rig. White bass are tough to catch due to the cold temperatures. This is also the time to catch trophy catfish. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.

Somerville

SLOW. Water stained; 48 degrees; 2.98 feet below pool. Fishing conditions have been tough due to the inclement weather. Expect the very slow and light bite with the forecasted cold front. As the water stabilizes the bite will pick up with the same patterns. At the marina the crappie bite is fair, and catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait. Bluegill are slow on crickets and worms. On the lake crappie are fair with various jigs and minnows holding tight under brush in 8-16 feet of water or roaming. Catfish are good in 5-12 feet of water on drop-offs with cut shad, punch bait or using jug lines. Chumming areas helps. Black bass are slow on craw jigs and slow plastic baits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are slow trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are fair with jigs or cut bait in deeper water. Below the dam all species are slow while water is not being discharged. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Stillhouse

FAIR. Water stained; 54 degrees; 1.53 feet above pool. As of Wednesday, Lake Belton ramps were sufficiently clear of ice to once again allow for launching following the recent winter storm, although overnight refreezing must be considered for the next few mornings. The lake temperature dropped a full 7 degrees in the past 5 days which does not bode well for fishing. My best advice is lower your expectations, find fish with sonar before you drop a line, and fish very slowly and methodically. Target white bass and hybrid striped bass with 5/8 ounce or 3/4 ounce white Bladed Hazy Eye Slab with stinger hook. The stinger hook is invaluable this time of year. Snap-jigging with a full 2-3 second pause between snaps will produce when fish are lethargic. Slow-smoking upwards off the bottom with these same slabs will produce when fish are more turned on. Birds have been disappointingly sparse this year, but will lead you to fish when they show. As the water continues to cool, dead-sticking with horizontally rigged soft plastics will come on strong for suspended fish located near suspended bait. Largemouth bass are readily caught with these same tactics near timber. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Based on past cold snaps, expect the Arctic blast to push bass more firmly into true winter patterns. Fish should concentrate tighter to bait, especially on deeper structure, ledges, and channel-related areas. Open-water fish that were roaming ahead of the front will likely continue to do so, but may just hold lower in the water column. Umbrella rigs, drop-shots, football jigs, and slower mid-strolling presentations should become some of the key players. Report by Ander Meine, Bassquatch Fishing.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 46 degrees; 1.93 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni is still fishing well despite falling water temperatures after the winter weather. Water temps are 46 degrees on the main lake and much colder in the shallow areas. The white bass and hybrid-striper are still feeding. Best bite was with soft plastics in 20-25 feet on the main lake. Eating sized blue catfish are good in 40-50 feet on small cut shad and punch bait. Bigger fish are being caught compared to last week. The trophy catfish are good as fish feed up due to the falling temperatures. Quality fish up to 40 pounds are on main lake points and mid depths in 30-45 feet of water. The crappie are still fair on bridge columns and deep timber with jigs in 20-28 feet. The largemouth bass bite has slowed down with the cold shallow water temperature. Try rip rap with larger plastics in 8-12 feet. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texoma

FAIR. Water stained; 47 degrees; 0.79 feet above pool. Striper have pulled out of shallow water, off of structure with the arctic blast, and pushed out to deep water. Big groups of shad and fish are holding tight to the bottom in the river channels in 50-65 feet of water. Drifting flukes and keeping an eye out for active fish under gulls. Catfishing will pick up in deep water as we may start seeing some shad kill with the drop in water temps. Drifting whole gizzard or threadfin shad on flats and channels in 45-55 feet of water for bigger fish and anchored up using cut shad for keeper fish. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are holding tight to structure and docks in 8-15 feet of water. A slow presentation along with using your electronics to locate brush and changes in the bottom can be the difference in the bite right now. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. The cold front will lower the water temperature and improve the deadstick bite. Colder weather should slow the stripers down, so the deadstick should really turn on. Stripers are good with Alabama rigs or swimbaits on structures in 12-20 feet of water. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Weatherford

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 47 degrees; 5.91 feet below pool. Crappie are good at the crappie house with minnows and jigs. Bass are slow in deep water with soft plastics. Catfish are slow in deep water with liver or stink bait. The visibility is 12 inches.

Whitney

FAIR. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 1.53 feet below pool. Typically when a big cold front comes in the striper bite improves. Schools of stripers will be chasing shad to the surface, and seagulls will be feeding on the shad as well as the striper. So the key to finding the fish will be finding the working seagulls. Fish should be easy to catch by casting chartreuse soft plastics with a paddle tail or swimbaits into the schooling fish and working birds. A slow retrieve works best. Striped bass are fair on live bait and swimbaits in 25-30 feet of water. Catfish are good using punch bait in 30 feet of water. Crappie are fair on the main lake brush 20-30 feet of water. White bass are slow on slabs in 20 feet of water. Largemouth bass are slow using soft plastics on deep structure and around docks. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.

Worth

SLOW. Water normal; 52 degrees; 1.86 feet below pool. Bass are slow. Crappie are slow on the main lake, but can be caught in creeks and rivers. White bass are good under schools of shad using jigs. Catfish are slow on cut bait. Report by Michael James, local angler.

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