Prairies & Lakes Region Week of October 15, 2025

Aquilla

GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 1.37 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. Crappie are good on brush piles in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Bass are good on spinnerbaits in 3-10 feet of water. Catfish are good in the timber on 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

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; 3.20 feet below pool. Shad have migrated to the shallows, so most game fish that feed on shad are active in the 1-10 feet of water. Bass are good moving to shallow water to feed on shad. Crappie are great congregated in big schools around brush, timber, and in the channels. Catfish are great, fish are feeding around the main river and creek channels. White bass are great. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.

Athens

GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. Fall is upon us as cooler nights approach. Bass are starting to feed on shad off main lake points and flats. When you can find bass use a topwater or a spoon. Start thinking about fishing shallow in the mornings and evenings using a weightless 5 inch stick bait or 5 inch soft jerkbait. Mix in a hollow body frog and spinnerbait shallow as well. Crappie are schooled up on main lake brush piles and deep grass lines in 12-20 feet of water hitting crappie jigs or minnows. Water clarity 3-4 feet of visibility. Report by Captain Kirk Pasalich, Artifishable Guide.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water normal stain; 90 degrees. Bass are good with small topwaters, frogs and jerkbaits will get some bites as well as a shaky head with a finesse or trick worm. The discharge or the intake side is a good place to start. Look for some bass schooling up after shad. Later, move out to ledges or any rock you can find and work a jig or any Texas rigged soft plastic to get bit. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Belton

GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.41 feet above pool. As summerlike weather continues to grip Central Texas, the normally fantastic fall fishing is just now beginning to kick in. The thermocline has dropped below the 50 foot mark, so all bottom areas shallower than that are now usable by fish and concentrations of white bass and shad are beginning to increasingly use bottom with each passing day. This week the low-light morning bite has been weak, with the best fishing kicking in around 8:15-11:15 a.m., especially if there is any breeze at all. After sunrise and before sunset, use SI to find fish in 30-45 feet and more often than not they will give a fair response to the MAL Heavy Lure with chartreuse tail worked vertically by cranking it up off the bottom for at least 6 handle turns. As a bonus, with water now sufficiently oxygenated down to 50 feet, a deep blue catfish bite is beginning to uptick as well. A go-to for blue catfish for a second week in a row was to chum an area, return to it later, refresh with chum, and then fish with doughbait. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are fair. Shallow sand flats and wind blown banks have been consistent for blue catfish under 10 pounds. Larger catfish have been caught along river channels and underwater timber. Channel catfish are good on punch bait around submerged timber. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 2.94 feet below pool. Crappie are good on live minnows in 18-30 feet on brush piles and timber. Catfish are good in 20-30 feet on cut bait. Hybrids are fair on live bait in 25-45 feet of water. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.

Bois d'Arc

EXCELLENT. Normal stain; 85 degrees; 1.69 below pool. Bass are good with buzz baits, topwater frogs, choppos and poppers early around pond weed. Mid morning switch to squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits around old pond dams 3-7 feet. Bass are good on Texas rigs, but best on creature baits around big timber and bushes on flats 7-12 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Crappie are good in deep trees in 15-30 feet of water suspended in 15-22 feet. Fish are transitioning and related to the bottom due to the northern wind. As a southern front moves in expect the fish to rise again. Secondary creek channels and bank line break lines are good. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Bridgeport

FAIR. Water clear; 78 degrees; 3.49 feet below pool. Crappie are good on the docks, and brush piles in 15-30 feet with minnows, or natural colored jigs. Largemouth bass are good using topwaters, flukes, senkos, and chatterbaits on main lake rock and around docks. White bass and hybrids are scattered on main lake humps and points with topwaters, slabs or trolling. Catfish bite is good on cut and live bait main lake humps and in the rivers. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.

Cedar Creek

EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 77 degrees; 2.34 feet below pool. Consistently finding the best hybrid action in 13-18 feet of water with slabs, and spinnerbaits using the proven saw tooth retrieve technique. Trolling spoons with a hellbender set-up at 3 mph in 13-17 feet of water is absolutely crushing the white bass on several humps throughout the lake. As water temperatures decrease into the low 70s we will target big hybrids on shallow ledges and humps with Alabama rigs. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck's Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are good on main lake humps and points in 16-24 feet of water using cut shad on the bottom. Lots of small fish with some decently sized fish mixed in. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Comanche Creek

90 degrees; 0.30 feet above pool. Comanche Creek has reopened and anglers are lining up to get on this reservoir. Largemouth bass are good to excellent on Texas rigged worms and shallow crankbaits on the upper ends. Channel catfish limits are good to excellent on cut or prepared baits. Tilapia catches continue to be best on worms fished under a cork. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Cooper

GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 2.84 feet below pool. Crappie are good with some fish still shallow in 2-6 feet of water at the base of trees, and some fish have transitioned to the creek channels in 15-20 feet of water. Minnows are preferred over jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Cypress Springs

FAIR. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.81 feet below pool. Crappie are primarily on structure, but a few are transitioning to roam in creek channels. The best bite is on minnows, but a few bites can be had on jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Eagle Mountain

FAIR. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 2.59 feet below pool. Catfish are good on manufactured bait and cut shad. Black bass are good on swimbaits. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows around boat docks and over brush. Perch are good on nightcrawlers. Sand bass are good on slabs in deep water over humps. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.

Fayette

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 86 degrees; full pool. The lake is turning over. Some bass can be caught early in front of reeds or over grass with rattle traps, and underspins. The bite is slow after the morning bite shuts off. Cast Carolina rigs, shakyheads and drop-offs in 14-16 feet of water later in the day. The average fish is about 3-6 pounds. Some bait fish can be seen surfacing along the banks early in the morning. Thermocline is still present in 12-15 feet of water. Boat traffic has slowed. Few catfish anglers on the water. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.

Graham

GOOD. Water stained; upper 80 degrees; 3.02 feet below pool. Crappie are good with minnows in 12-14 feet on main lake brush. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling on shad in pockets and creeks. There is a good bite on jigs and spoons. Catfish are good on main lake flats feeding on shad. Use cut shad and chicken liver. Bass are shallow schooling on shad in pockets. The bite is good on topwater and crankbaits.

Granbury

GOOD. normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.00 feet below pool. Water temperatures continue to be around 80 degrees and are sure to fall. The heat up this past week started heating the water back up but that should not last too much longer. Water levels are around a foot low. Lots of anglers are catching sand bass on spinnerbaits and slabs mid lake. Some fish are schooling early and late. Striped bass are slow to fair to 7 pounds on live bait fished on the lower ends. Look for some bird action to point you to active fish. Osprey can point you to active fish. The gulls have not returned in full force yet. Largemouth bass numbers are good with an occasional bigger fish mixed in. Some early morning topwater action is occurring and many of the largemouth are schooling with the sandbass. Lipless crankbaits and soft plastics are producing. Catfish action continues to be good on cut and prepared baits on many areas of the lake. Best action for Blues are in town to near Hunter Park.Crappie action continues to be good to excellent on small minnows and jigs worked near submerged structures. Best crappie reports are from in town to near Indian Harbor. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Grapevine

GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.20 feet below pool. White bass are good along the south bank casting slab spoons under the birds. Lots of undersized sandies to sift through. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O'the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Hawkins

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees. Topwater early and late will produce good black bass and bream action. Small white poppers working shallow around the shoreline are a good bet. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville

SLOW. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. Water is clear and in the low 80s. Bass are good on deeper brush with jigs and soft plastics. Morning topwater bite was good on frogs, walking baits, and buzz baits. Suspended fish and schoolers can be caught on minnow type baits and topwaters. Swim jigs are producing around docks.

Lavon

FAIR. Water stained; 86 degrees; 2.71 feet below pool. Crappie are in 10-20 feet on brush timber and standing timber with minnows and jigs. White bass are very active until 9 a.m. in 10-20 feet of water. Check every main lake point until you land on a school. The best bite is on white or chartreuse 1 ounce slabs. Catfish are on flats near drop-offs in 10-15 feet of water with punch bait, stink bait and cut bait. Have a spot chummed out before you get there will make it way easier. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.36 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady, but as the water cools more white bass should be showing up on humps and points. White bass are fair on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water. Slabs, spoons, spinnerbaits and live bait are working. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are slow in similar depths as the white bass. These fish have been moving fast. 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 drifting humps, points and flats in 15-32 feet of water. Channel catfish are fair to good on baited holes on humps and points in 15-30 feet of water on cut shad or punch bait. Crappie are slow to fair in 10-28 feet of water. Check brush piles, submerged timber, laydowns, rock piles and submerged cover close to a drop-off ledge. Minnows and jigs are catching those fish. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. The overall bite is tough right now. Hybrid and white bass are cruising the main lake around points and creek channels. Largemouth are sitting around shallow rocks and brush pretty well through the day.

Limestone

GOOD. Water clear; 77 degrees; 1.64 feet below pool. Shad are moving towards the backs of creeks, so expect fish to follow. It will not be long until fall patterns will be in effect. Crappie are good in 8-15 feet of water on offshore brush, power lines, and standing timber with minnows. Largemouth bass are good on offshore brush, docks, bulkheads and rocks in 4-12 feet of water with Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, or Carolina rigs. White bass are on main lake points and flats in 7-16 feet of water with spoons. White bass can also be caught on beetle spins at night around docks with lights. Catfish can be caught with cut bait or minnows on the main lake or at the mouths of creeks. Shad are transitioning to be the backs of creeks. Limestone Marina continues to be the best place for bank fishing. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.

Navarro Mills

GOOD. 85 degrees; 0.54 full pool. Catfish have slowed with primarily smaller size fish being caught. The bite seems to be better on shad than other baits. Crappie are staying strong and consistent off brush piles in the lake. Fish tend to be buried in the mud at the very bottom in 12-14 feet of water on brush piles. White bass have slowed with one stray fish here or there, but no more schools. Still a few largemouth bass being caught off minnows from the banks. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.

Palestine

GOOD. water stained; 79 degrees; 0.45 feet below pool. The fishing pattern remains consistent for all species, but the quality of fish is improving as fish feed up. Crappie good in 8-16 feet of water on brush, timber and boathouses using hand tied jigs. Catfish are excellent in 3-12 feet of water cut bait and punch bait. Bass are good around boathouses and vegetation at the backs of creeks. Bait fish are transitioning to the backs of creeks.

Palo Pinto

GOOD. normal stain; 85 degrees; 2.33 feet below pool. Blue catfish are good on fresh cut bait in deep water. Crappie are good around deep brush piles and boat docks with minnows and jigs. Hybrids and sand bass are biting topwaters around the spillway. Gar are biting all day long. Navigate with caution watching for submerged obstacles while the lake is 2 feet low. Report by Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.75 feet below pool. White bass are fair in the mornings with surface activity starting again on the common flats. Throw small swimbaits, tail spinners or rattletraps. Later in the morning white bass are shallow in 16-18 feet on long points, coves and ledges. The best technique is to troll in 12-14 feet of water. White bass are starting to group back up and as the water temperature declines to the mid 70s fish will start to push shad in the flats early and late then be on structure the rest of the day. Crappie are fair on brush piles in 12-15 feet of water, or bridge columns. Catfish are good in wooded timber in 12-15 feet on prepared punch bait. Chumming will help bring the schools into your areas. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 1.31 feet below pool. Crappie are good on brush piles in 20-28 feet of water, or timber in 9-14 feet of water. Use live minnows or natural bait colored jigs Largemouth bass can be caught on offshore rocks in 16-22 feet of water with black and blue jigs, or shallow vegetation that is matting up in 4-8 feet of water with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or swimbaits. Channel catfish can be caught baiting holes. Blue catfish can be caught on flats with 18-24 feet of water with cut bait. Sand bass can be caught on windblown points or humps off the points. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.

Richland Chambers

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 1.40 feet below pool. Fishing over all is fair and the water is slightly stained. The pattern has been consistent for the past few weeks. White bass and hybrid bass are still somewhat slow. Large numbers of eater size catfish are being caught. It is a great time to go out and fill up the freezer. Black bass are going to continue on a boat dock pattern in the major creek arms. They will follow the shad going back into the creeks throughout the fall. Keep it simple and cover water with squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.

Somerville

FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; 2.01 feet below pool. Navigate with caution watching for stumps near timber, and stay clear of rocky shorelines. Crappie are slow at the marina, but bluegill remain fair with crickets and worms, and catfish remain good with minnows or punch bait. The main lake bite has slowed some. The crappie are fair with jigs or minnows over brush in 8-15 feet of water. Catfish are fair in 10-15 feet of water near structures with jug lines, cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are slow on crankbaits and soft plastic baits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are fair trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are slow in deeper water using jigs and cut bait. Below the dam, all species are slow with zero water being discharged. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Stillhouse

FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.34 feet above pool. As summerlike weather continues to grip Central Texas, the normally fantastic fall fishing is just now beginning to kick in. The thermocline has dropped below the 50 foot mark, so all bottom areas shallower than that are now usable by fish and concentrations of white bass and shad are beginning to increasingly use bottom with each passing day. LThis week the low-light morning bite has been weak, with the best fishing kicking in around 8:15-11:15 a.m., especially if there is any breeze at all. After sunrise and before sunset, use SI to find fish in 30-45 feet and more often than not they will give a fair response to the MAL Heavy Lure with chartreuse tail worked vertically by cranking it up off the bottom for at least 6 handle turns. As a bonus, with water now sufficiently oxygenated down to 50 feet, a deep blue catfish bite is beginning to uptick as well. A go-to for blue catfish for a second week in a row was to chum an area, return to it later, refresh with chum, and then fish with doughbait. As a bonus, schooling largemouth bass, generally less than 15 inches, are very predictably feeding in open water on the surface as they trap shad there. This has been going on for four weeks now and appears to be slowing down, regardless, there is now a small fleet of mostly bass boats chasing these fish around, so, expect company. Small, clear soft plastic baits cast quickly and accurately on well-filled spinning gear into fresh "boils" will get the best reaction. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Larger bass are coming from submerged vegetation in 12–20 feet of water on drop-shot rigged finesse worms. For better numbers, target nomadic schools of open-water bass chasing shad. Small weightless soft jerkbaits and swimbaits have been productive, with forward-facing sonar key for staying on these roaming fish. Report by Ander Meine, Bassquatch Fishing.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.20 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish well as we begin to see the first signs of the lake turning into some fall patterns. The hybrid striper and white bass bite are good. The fish are moving hard looking for good pockets of water. Fish main lake points in 8-15 feet using inline spinners and slab spoons. The eating sized catfish bite is still red hot. Easy limits on half day trips are the standard right now. Baited holes in 12-20 feet using prepared baits such as punch or dip baits. The trophy blue catfish are beginning to feed. We have seen fish in the 20-30 pound range on medium sized pieces of cut baits in 10-25 feet. Crappie are improving under bridges and on shallow brush with the bite on minnows. Largemouth bass are extremely shallow and preferring fast moving shallow crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texoma

GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.56 feet above pool. Striper fishing is good on live bait on main lake ledges in 20-40 feet of water. Fish are still moving fast and have plenty of shad to choose from. Small slabs in 8-15 feet of water on shallow flats for small stripers and sandbass. There is still random surface action going on morning and evenings. Catfishing is good near baited holes on punch bait fished near the bottom in 18-25 feet of water. The backs of creeks along flats and near deep water for channels. Blue catfish are stacked in 40-50 feet of water on ditches biting whole threadfin and cut shad. Big blue catfish will be roaming the deep flats soon in 50-65 feet of water drifting whole gizzard shad and rough fish. Crappie are on the brush piles and in docks in 12-18 feet of water with jigs. Use electronics to locate active fish on brush, but still seeing a lot of smaller fish. Bigger crappie are roaming near creeks and stumpy flats. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are off the banks on brush in 8-12 feet of water. Electronics are key to find brush on Texoma. With so much bait in the lake fish will not have to pull up as shallow. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Stripers are still hit-or-miss, but the bite should improve as the weather cools. The best fish can be caught early on topwaters, then take the topwater to deeper water switching to slabs as the sun rises. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water stained; 78 degrees; 5.44 feet below pool. Water visibility 8 inches. Bass are slow around docks with crankbaits. Crappie are slow on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Catfish are good around rock with cut bait and shrimp. Bait fish are primarily congregated in the main lake, with some fish shallow.

Whitney

GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.07 feet below pool. Catfish are good using punch bait in 20-25 feet of water. Striped bass are good with live bait in 25 feet of water, or topwater baits where fish are schooling. Crappie are in the main lake brush in 15-30 feet of water. White bass are slow on main lake humps in 25-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass are good using soft plastics on deep structure. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.

Worth

GOOD. Water normal; 82 degrees; 1.50 feet below pool. Bass fishing are good against any structure in shallow water. Crappie fair around bridge columns with minnows. Catfish are good in timber with punchbait. Sand bass are chasing schools of bait on the deep end of the lake hitting slabs. Water clarity is normal and is at 82 degrees midday. Report by Michael James, local angler.

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