Prairies & Lakes Region Week of July 9, 2025

Arlington
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.69 feet below pool. Bass can be caught with deep diving crankbaits on deep points.
Athens
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.28 feet above pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Bass are good in grass in 8-12 feet of water with Texas rig worms, wacky rig senkos and crankbaits. Bass are good on brush in 15-18 feet of water with spoons and Texas rig worms. Crappie are slow on small jigs over brush. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.
Bastrop
GREAT. Water stained; 90 degrees. Largemouth bass are schooling in the evenings on flats in 15-22 feet of water biting small green plastics.
Belton
FAIR. Water stained; 84 degrees; 4.71 feet above pool. Lots of changes over this past week and Lake Belton is now flooded. The lake is 4.71 feet above normal and still rising with U. S. Army Corps of Engineer releasing 1962 CFS. The lake was flooded by both the Cowhouse Creek and the Leon River, so the upper ends of both tributaries are dirty with much flotsam. The walkways to all courtesy docks are submerged. Check the USACE website for closures going into the July 12-13 weekend. Plan an alternate means to secure your boat after you launch. Some topwater action is occurring, but it is far from reliable. Mornings are best for encountering this action. Get upwind and drift into these fish. Do not motor to them and put off a wake, and avoid chasing after them with the trolling motor. A cork rig has been the go-to rig for these fish with the trailer behind the cork closely matching the forage size. If there is no topwater action, or once it dies, downrigging is the next best option. Using multi lure rigs with #12 Pet Spoons will get bit. Surface temperatures cooled to 82 degrees with recent rain and clouds. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are good. Anglers can find blue catfish around points and sand flats in 10-20 feet of water. Larger fresh cut baits have been effective for trophy size fish. Eater fish under 10 pounds are active and slow drifting with small cut shad along sand flats will produce. Channel catfish are good and can be caught on punch bait in 10-25 feet of water. Flatheads are excellent on live bait in shallow water around river mouths. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
Benbrook
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 1.58 feet above pool. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics and crankbaits. Catfish are good on cut bait and punch baits. Crappie are good on minnows. Hybrid striped bass are good early morning on live bait in 20-40 feet of water. Report by Hundley’s Guide Service.
Bois d'Arc
GOOD. water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.15 feet above pool. Early morning bass bite is fair with flukes and frogs near pond weed in 2-4 feet. Texas rigs with beavers and creature baits are good in timber areas or bushes 3-7 feet. Offshore bite is very good on brush piles, pond dams, rock piles in 16-24 feet. Carolina rigs and Texas rigs are best with big worms or big brush hawgs. Deep crankbaits are good over and around humps, points and over brush piles and pond dams 16-22 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Crappie limits are still possible but will take some time. Target fish on timber from 15-30 feet of water with minnows over jigs. The key will be to cover water to catch the active fish, do not beg them to bite. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Bridgeport
FAIR. Water normal stain; 87 degrees; 0.09 feet above pool. Crappie are good in the morning then become sluggish as the days heats up. Largemouth bass are good off main lake points and rocks using Texas rigs and deep crankbaits. Hybrids and white bass are good using slabs and live shad on main lake humps. Catfish are fair using cut shad and big live minnows. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
Cedar Creek
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.26 feet above pool. Big numbers of white bass and several trophy-class hybrid stripers have hit the deck. We are consistently finding the best action in 15–22 feet of water. Good go-to setups include a variety of slabs, sometimes paired with 2–3 jigs above, and the always-reliable yellow bladed jig using the proven saw tooth retrieve technique. Trolling spoons at 3 mph in 13–17 feet of water absolutely crushed the white bass. Water temperatures are currently holding around 83 degrees and will continue to rise as summer heats up over the next couple of weeks. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Fishing patterns remain consistent. Catfish are good anchoring on humps in 12-24 feet using small shad or cut shad on the bottom, or drifting larger cut carp, drum or big gizzard shad on flats in 10-25 feet all around the lake. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
0.38 feet above pool. Comanche Creek is closed for the summer and will reopen in October.
Cooper
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees: 0.50 feet below pool. As the summer temperatures increase the water temperature target crappie are in deeper timber along the river channel, and brush piles. Start on the edge of the timber line working towards the dam then to the timber in coves. Summer bite is typically best on live bait. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Cypress Springs
FAIR: Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.14 feet above pool. The overall bite has slowed down this week. Bass are fair at night feeding under lights and active at day break. Crappie slow to fair between 15-25 feet deep on any structure above the thermocline. Catfish are good, actively roaming points and humps. White bass have been the most aggressive biters this week hitting minnows and anything shiny. Report by Chris Caswell, Lake Bob Sandlin Crappie Fishing Guide. Crappie are excellent on brush piles and docks but you will have to weed through numbers of small fish to catch a limit. Minnows are outperforming jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Eagle Mountain
FAIR. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.17 feet above pool. Thermocline has set in 25-30 feet of water. Catfish are good on manufactured baits 20 feet of water on deep water humps and points. Sand bass are fair to good on chartreuse and white slabs in 15-20 feet of water on ridges south of Pelican Island. Sand bass are schooling in the lights at night biting medium diving crankbaits and rattle traps. Crappie are fair to good on jigs or live bait on brush piles and rock piles. Perch are good along the banks and docks with worms under a cork. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
Fayette
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 92 degrees. Grass is looking good, so cast a frog to see if you can get a bass to bite. Bass are good 20 feet of water biting deep diving crankbaits, shaky heads and Carolina rigs. The bite slows midday. Perch can be caught from the bank to 10 feet of water on nightcrawlers. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service.
Graham
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.37 feet above pool. Bass are slow. Crappie are slow on minnows. Sand bass and hybrids are good schooling on the main lake flats with spoons. Catfish are good in the mouths of creeks.
Granbury
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.25 feet below pool. Lake Granbury cooled some this last week with all the rain and water flows. Lake level is at full pool and water temperatures are in the 80s. Most of the lake is settled out with some stained water on the upper ends. The best reports of fish are the white bass which are being caught all over the lake on slabs, spinnerbaits and trolled baits. Surface schooling action is common. Mixed in with the sand bass are some striped bass. Best striped bass action is on the lower ends on live bait or trolled jigs or crankbaits. Largemouth bass are abundant and are good to 7 pounds fished near creek entrances. Some good topwater action on feeding flats have been reported from in town to Indian Harbor to Decordova subdivision. Best largemouth bass action is on spinnerbaits and crankbaits early then soft plastics later in the day. Catfish action has been good to excellent with some large blue and yellow catfish being caught on cut shad and perch respectively. Best catfish action has been reported on the upper ends. Crappie reports have been slow to fair on jigs fishing on bridge pilings and underwater timber. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 1.44 feet above pool. White bass are good on humps with slabs. Some blue herons and egrets are working, but primarily standing along the banks. Water level continues to be high, so check ramp status before heading out. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
Hawkins
GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Topwater lures early and late will produce good black bass action. Bream should be making their move shallow for their spawn. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
Jacksonville
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.10 feet above pool. Bass are biting soft plastics on brush and structure in 8-20 feet with a dropshot, Texas rig, shaky head. Minnow baits and rattletraps are working on suspended and schooling fish.
Joe Pool
GREAT. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.35 above pool. Fishing is good but scattered. The lake is full pool and holding steady. Water temperatures are in the low to mid 80s, and will rise as temperatures get hotter. Bass can be found shallow during the early morning hours before the sun gets up. You can catch them with topwater and small soft plastics Texas rigged. Look for submerged pond weed. The shallow fish will be your 12-14 inch fish with the occasional slot fish. Once the sun gets up the bite moves out to mid depths 5-12 feet of water. Here you can use soft plastics, mid depth crankbaits in shad color, and drop shot. Look for timber and submerged brush and structure. Larger slot fish and the occasional over slot fish are in this depth range. You have to time it right due to there being bite windows where they feed then shut off. If you are not getting bit keep moving. Crappie are out on your favorite summer deep spots on minnows. Please wear your life jacket and be mindful of the weather. Be sure your boat is equipped with safety equipment, bilge pumps, batteries. It could save your life. Go fishing and wear your life jacket! Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.
Lavon
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. Bass are great in 3-6 feet of water on hard structure and flooded solitary brush and stumps with shallow square bill crankbaits in crawfish red. The best bite is from 6-9 a.m. Crappie can be caught in 7-9 feet of water on laydowns, or on deep piles in 25 feet. The bite is inconsistent, but the fish are huge. Best bite is on minnows, hair jigs, and 1/16 ounce soft plastics. If fish are nosing down and avoiding the lure or bait, downsize the jig to a 1/32 ounce or smaller. Match the shad hatch which is just about an inch long right now. White bass are excellent with catches of 14-15 inch fish possible. Target main lake points in 10-20 feet of water. If there is a lot of bait in the area, the sandies are there somewhere. When the fish surface cast topwaters, but throwing a swimbait can catch bigger fish. Smaller fish cannot get their mouth around the hook gap on a quarter ounce lead head. Also, if you throw a topwater bait, there are two dangling travel hooks that you have to deal with versus one on a swimbait. If fish are not surfacing use a 1 ounce white slab. Channel catfish are good on baited holes in 5-15 feet of water with punch bait, chicken liver, shad one to two cranks off the bottom or under a bobber if in shallow water. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
Lewisville
FAIR. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.27 feet above pool. White bass are slow to fair on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water with slabs, spoons, spinnerbaits and live bait. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are slow to fair in similar depths. 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 to good on cut shad anchored or drifting humps and flats in 15-32 feet of water. Channel catfish are good on baited holes on humps and points, and riprap in 15-28 feet of water on cut shad or punch bait. Crappie are fair in 15-28 feet of water on brush piles, submerged timber, and submerged cover near drop-offs with minnows and jigs. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Water clarity is about 1 foot. Largemouth bass can be caught shallow around bushes and rock in 5 feet of water. Hybrid striper 20-30 feet of water near creek channels with live bait or slabs. Crappie are on main lake brush in 15-20 feet of water or cruising deep hard bottom flats.
Limestone
GOOD. Water normal stain; 89 degrees; 0.22 feet above pool. Catfish noodling is excellent under bank washouts and boat ramps. Docks with lights are good at night for white bass. Lake cleared up even more this week. Fresh willow tree piles are best for crappie right now they need to be set in 17 feet of water. Largemouth bass continue to be good in 4-14 feet of water with boat docks, bulkheads, and rocks with chatterbaits, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and spinnerbaits. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
Navarro Mills
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 4.04 feet above pool. Few anglers on the lake as the lake continues to drop. White bass are slow and difficult to find. Crappie are slow on brush piles hitting jigs or minnows. Seeing more than normal yellow catfish on brush piles and near docks. Catfish are good for eaters with shad and perch. Largemouth bass are slow. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
Palestine
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.00 feet at pool. Crappie are good on brush in 14 feet of water with minnows, or in timber in 18-25 feet of water with jigs. Channel catfish and small blue catfish are good near reading walls with stink bait or cut bait. Bass are good in 4-7 feet of water with senkos. White bass are good around sunrise in the morning on main lake points with small rattletraps or shallow diving crankbaits.
Palo Pinto
SLOW. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Blue catfish and yellow catfish are good on jug lines with cut shad and drum in shallow water. Crappie are slow. After the recent rain the water is murky. Report by Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.07 feet below pool. White bass have been fair in the mornings with surface activity on the common flats. Throw small swim baits, tail spinners or rattletraps. Later in the morning white bass are moving out to deeper water on long points, road beds and levees. Crappie are slow and relating to brush piles 12-18 feet of water. Crappie are showing up at bridge columns and they are moving around drop off going from structure to structure. Catfish are good in wooded timber 15-18 feet with prepared punch bait. Chumming will help bring the schools into your areas. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.
Ray Roberts
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.09 feet above pool. Summer patterns are holding steady. Largemouth bass are in 18-25 feet of water primarily on rock piles with 10 inch worms, crankbaits and football jigs. The best bass bite is flipping shallow cover early in the morning. Crappie are good in brush piles and timber in 18-25 feet of water. Sand bass are on humps and points in 20-25 feet of water with slabs. Blue catfish are good in 20-25 feet of water on humps and flats with live shad. Channel catfish are good in 10-25 feet of water on flats. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan’s Crappie Co.
Richland Chambers
FAIR. Water stained; 84 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. White bass sew slow with some topwater schooling action early morning on the south shoreline and various main lake points. Hybrid striped action is good with live shad off the Windstock Point and south shoreline near Fisherman’s Point Marina. Blue and channel catfish are good with eater size fish being caught on shad or cheese bait in 20 feet on point and dropoffs. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service. Water temperature is in the mid 80s. The rains are keeping the water temperature down and stained. As last reported you could start shallow the go deeper. If you’re going deeper, fish long points and brush piles. The shallow bite could involve shoreline grass and boat docks. There are certain coves with large schools of Gizzard Shad. This will keep some big bass in those coves. Big glide baits can be very effective in these areas. Good fishing Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
GOOD. Water stained; 88 degrees; 0.78 feet above pool. Very few changes to the fishing pattern as temperature remains warm with high humidity. At the Marina the crappie bite is fair, and the catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait and bluegill are fair on crickets or worms. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows over brush in 8-18 feet of water. Catfish are good in 10-15 feet of water with cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are slow on crankbaits and shiny spinnerbaits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are good trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are good in deeper water using cut bait or jigs. Below the dam all species are fair with 189 CFS of water being released. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 4.25 feet below pool. Lots of changes over this past week and Stillhouse is now flooded. The lake is 4.25 feet above normal and still rising with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers releasing 1587 CFS. The lake was flooded by both the Trimmier Creek and the Lampasas River, so the upper end of the lake is dirty with much flotsam down to the long point off of Union Grove Park. The walkways to all courtesy docks are submerged, so plan an alternate means to secure your boat after you launch. White bass fishing is tough. If largemouth bass are schooling on the surface, there will likely be white bass mixed in. If there is no topwater action, or once it dies, downrigging is the next best option using multi lure rigs with #12 Pet Spoons. If side-imaging reveals bottom-oriented schools of white bass, consolidating them using a splasher, and then fishing vertically with MAL Heavy Lures silver blade and chartreuse tail will work well until the school drifts off. Surface temperatures cooled to 82 degrees with recent rain and clouds. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Before flooding conditions bass were schooling around the trees and bigger bends on the lake and willow points biting small swimbaits or topwaters. Working a slow approach in the grass along the road bed or long underwater points throwing worms, craws, creature baits, chatterbait or swimjig. A jig in deeper water on ledges and trees are catching some as well. Watermelon and green pumpkin base colors seem to be best. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.31 feet above pool. Fishing has been good on Tawakoni as we work our way into a solid summer pattern. Hybrid striper and white bass are good on swim baits, slab spoons and live bait in 17-35 feet. Fish are following to the bait fish. Find the bait, find the fish. Eating sized catfish are rock solid and limits are pretty easy right now. Fish are biting on prepared baits such as punch bait and dip baits. Best depths have been 12-25 feet. Crappie are good on bridge columns and shallow brush on jigs and minnows. Best depths have been 12-18 feet. Largemouth bass are good at daylight on frogs in the pads and mid morning and evening on shallow cranks, flukes and smaller rattle traps on shallow points. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
Texoma
FAIR. Water stained; 84 degrees; 1.87 feet above pool. Striped bass fishing is hit and miss but fish are starting to surface on shallow sand flats and in cuts. Top waters and swimbaits are working as well as live bait drifting shallow 10-15 feet of water or anchoring on main lake ledges in 15-25 feet of water. Catfishing remains excellent on punch bait in 25-30 feet of water on humps and main lake points. Bigger blues will be cruising the deeper water drift while gizzard shad or rough fish off of the river channels on flats in 40-55 feet of water. Bass fishing is good on hard baits and reaction baits near docks and the backs of coves early in the mornings and late evenings. Fish main lake points and rock bluffs mid day off the banks. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Striped bass are good on topwaters in shallow water, switching to slabs as fish move out to 15 feet of water. Water clarity is improved. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
Weatherford
FAIR. Water stained; 85 degrees; 2.92 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 15 feet of water on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Bass are slow on soft plastics or crankbaits in deeper water. Catfish are fair with cut bait and shad on rocks. Water clarity is 7 inches.
Whitney
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 1.82 feet above pool. Water clarity is stained, but the bite is consistent. Catfish are fair using cut bait in 25-30 feet of water. Striped bass bite is fair on live bait in 25-30 feet of water. Crappie are on main lake brush piles in 15-30 feet of water. White bass fishing is good on slabs on main lake humps in 25-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass fishing is good using soft plastics on deep structure. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Worth
FAIR. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.27 feet above pool. Reports of catches of carp with bait balls. Catfish can be caught on punch bait.

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