Prairies & Lakes Region Week of January 19, 2022

Arlington

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 47 degrees; 5.44 feet low. The weather should make for a pleasant fishing companion this weekend with mild temperatures and wind. Black bass are good on main lake points and slopes using jerk baits, square bills, and Carolina rigged worms. Fishing is slower in the morning and picks up when the sun rises. Report by local fishermen Wesley Molina.

Athens

GOOD. Water clear; 50 degrees; 0.26 feet above. Cold front will dip these warm temperatures down, but the sun should be shining and the wind mild, creating pleasant fishing conditions. Bass continue to be slow, throwing Alabama rigs around bait fish to 25 feet of water on deep brush piles. Crappie are slow on jigs and minnows in deep brush. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water clear; 56 degrees. Largemouth bass are good fishing football jigs, crankbaits, and purple or black Carolina rigged plastic worms near rocks, brush, and shaded timber. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in brush piles. Channel and blue catfish are good on nightcrawlers and punch bait.

Belton

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 58 degrees; 2.66 feet low. The water temperature has finally met the typical “threshold” to bring in predictably slower winter fishing. This means from this point until the spring warm-up fishing success will rise and fall with the passage of fronts and the fishing will be deep and slow. Success will come primarily with slabs. White bass are good around 30 feet of water on three-eighth-ounce or five-eighth-ounce bladed hazy slab. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are good, scattered from mid to deep water in the river channel and in structure. Drifting using fresh cut bait will put the cats in the boat. Report by Jason "SPUD" Barton, Cattin' Around Adventure's Professional Guide Service.

Benbrook

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 54 degrees; 4.60 feet low. Largemouth bass are fair fishing jerk baits, shaky head jigs, deep-diving crankbaits, and blue or purple Carolina rigged worms near docks, brush, rocks, and main lake points. Crappie are good on minnows near brush piles. Hybrid striped bass are fair with live bait and swimbaits. White bass are good with slabs and live bait on main lake drop-offs, ridges, and humps. Catfish are good with chicken liver, shrimp, and cut bait.

Bridgeport

GOOD. Water stained; 52 degrees; 3.83 feet low. The weather should cooperate this weekend with mild winds and rising temperatures after the cold front. Largemouth bass are slow on crankbaits and underspins are fished very slowly. Sand and hybrid bass are good on the deadstick technique, fair on slabs. Both work best when fished with little or no movement in cold water. Don't be afraid to move around to different depths as the fish are doing the same thing. Keep an eye out for Gulls to help you find the fish. Blue Catfish are good on cut gizzard shad, drifting deeper water near the river channel. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in deeper water near docks and the HWY 380 bridge. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.

Cedar Creek

EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 50-53 degrees; 1.86 feet low. Bass are good in 12-18 feet of water using Carolina rigs and football jigs. Crappie fair in 20-25 feet of water using jigs on deep brush piles. Hybrid and white bass are good in 30-40 feet of water using live baits or half-ounce slabs. Catfish are good main lake humps or baited holes using frozen or live shad. Report by Kyle Miers, Lake Country Outfitters.

Cooper

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 49 degrees; 3.50 feet low. Blue catfish are great, drifting and anchoring with cut shad. Report by Johnny Ward, Ward's Catfish Guide Service.

Fayette

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 60 degrees. Catfish are good in 14-16 feet of water fishing over chum with a stink bait. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Gibbons Creek

GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 1.50 feet low. Lake closed.

Graham

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 40 degrees; 2.77 feet low. The crappie bite has improved with catches coming 20 feet of water. They will start to school up as the water temperature declines. Catfish are good on jug lines.

Granbury

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 44 degrees; 0.78 feet low. Striped bass are slow, scattered in 20-40 feet of water in the main lake channel. Report by Kraig Sexton, Sexton’s Guide Service LLC. Striped bass are good to seven-pounds on the lower ends on plastics. Look for bird action. Black bass are good to six-pounds on soft plastics fished in 15-30 feet of water. Crappie are good near deeper structure on small jigs. Some good crappie catches in the river near Tin Top have been reported. Winter time the blue catfish are good on cut shad fished on shallow flats off the channel on several areas of the lake. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters. Blue cats are roaming and scattered on Granbury but the cool weather is helping. The bite is picking back up. Catching most in 2-8 feet of water on flats and tops of channel ledges on cut shad and drum. Finding more channel cats in the same depths near structure/standing timber. Better fishing during the day than night lately. Marking tons of shad mid lake up to hunter park in the main channel. Late night and early morning congregated at the boat ramps. Report by Jeff Sojourner, Sojourner Fishing. Blue and channel catfishing is good, as these fish are responding to colder water temps. They can be caught on cut shad along main channel ledges and adjacent flats, especially around flooded timber. They are still moving between shallow flats (2-7 feet deep) and the main channel (12-24 feet deep) so anglers should target these transition areas. Flatheads have been slower to bite due to dropping water temperatures, but are still being caught on cut and live shad. Catfishing report by Mike Watkins, Personal Best Guide Service.

Grapevine

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 50 degrees; 1.43 feet low. It’s been a windy January and there has not been long enough breaks between, so the barometric pressure is changing too quickly for the fish to decide what to do between fronts. Find places to fish where you are protected from the wind. Lake Grapevine runs northwest to southeast, so the dam can provide some protection when the blows from the south. Success will come on day with light winds in the 45-50 feet of water in the creek channels. Deadstick with jigging spoon and a stinger hook with a berkley gulp minnow tied two feet up. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Jacksonville

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 50 degrees; 0.08 feet above. Largemouth bass are fair with deep diving crankbaits, shaky head jigs, Texas-rigged plastic worms near points, timber, and brush piles. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs working for timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait.

Joe Pool

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 56 degrees; 1.56 feet low. The weather temperatures are yo-yoing this week but the fishing is staying the same. This time of year the fish are around boat houses in brush piles and rock banks. The shad are moving to shallow to warmer water and the fish are following to feed. Bass are biting on six-inch Motor Oil worms. Crappie are good in the brush piles around boat houses biting on little minnows.

Lavon

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 4.00 feet low. Crappies are good on jigs and minnows in 20-30 feet of water near condos and trees. White bass are good in 20-30 feet of water on the humps. Blue catfish are great in 25-30 feet of water drifting with cut bait. Bass are good on suspended crankbaits, jigs, deep diving crankbaits and soft plastics in 10-25 feet of water suspended on structure. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

Lewisville

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 1.89 feet low. White bass are fair to good in deep water. Check in 32-65 feet of water near river channels using jigs or live shad. Hybrid stripers are slow, but can be picked off every once in a while. They will be hanging around the white bass. Catfish are steady with a good bite most days drifting cut shad or chicken breasts. Check near wind blown points and flats near creek channels. 18-30 feet of water has been best, but there are catfish in deeper water as well. Crappie are fair to good all over the lake in depths ranging from 10-35 feet of water. They will be holding tight to structures such as piles of leaves, stumps, laydowns, brush piles and standing timber using minnows and jigs. Report by Wes Campbell, BendaRod Fishing (www.bendarodfishing.com).

Limestone

GOOD. Water clear; 56 degrees; 1.75 feet low. All fish are in pre spawn mode, so they are full of eggs and feeding up before they mate. Largemouth are in 10 feet or less on chatterbaits, lipless crankbaits, and wacky worms. Crappie are in 14-24 feet of water on minnows around brush and standing timber. White bass are in 8-17 feet of water on points on silver jigging spoons. Report by Colan Gonzales, Dfwfishingguidebooking.com.

Navarro Mills

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 53 degrees; 1.38 feet low. Fishing is slow for boaters and shoreline fisherman alike. Crappie are slow on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good off points on the south side of the lake in Liberty Hill. Bass are good off of Crappie Point. Charlie Boze, Navarro Mills Marina. Crappie are good with limits coming near treese using ATX Lure Company’s 2.25-inch wicked shad, and a two-inch baby shad. Report by Zach Minnix, Jig N’ Jerk Guide Service.

Palestine

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 53 degrees; 0.21 feet low. Another cold front is rolling through but the temperatures will bounce back quickly and the winds should be mild. Crappie are good on jigs in 25-35 feet of water, suspended in 16-24 feet. Report by Mark Standrige, Three Nails Guide Service.

Palo Pinto

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 45 degrees; 0.63 feet low. Fishing continues to be slow due to the cold fronts rolling through. Crappie are slow on jigs and minnows near docks and moving deeper than they have been. Catfish are good on the flats using perch, chicken liver and off docks using minnows.

Proctor

SLOW. Water clear; 42 degrees; 1.79 feet low. Fishing is slow as we enter into the winter season. Crappie are fair near brush piles in Copperas Creek Park. Catfish are fair drifting in the high point area. White bass and hybrid stripers are slow on slabs. Black bass are slow.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52-53 degrees; 1.77 feet low. White bass are fair to good starting midday. Large schools are roaming the deep flats in 33-42 feet of water, primarily suspended in the middle water column. Half-ounce slabs with multiple crappie jigs tied 12-inches apart are working best. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

FAIR; Water lightly stained; 51 degrees; 0.89 feet low. White bass are moving quickly in 20-28 feet of water on main lake points biting on one-ounce silver and chartreuse slabs, with better luck on smaller slabs because the smaller size is most similar to what they are feeding on. The bass are moving quickly, so the bite is best on the bottom using Alabama jigs in 30-35 feet, letting the bait hit bottom and slowly reeling up. The bite is best while the wind is blowing and dies down when the wind does. Crappie are good on main lake brush piles 20-30 feet on minnows, with bigger fish in the Buck Creek area in the standing timber around 20 feet with bait suspended in the 10-12 feet of water.

Richland Chambers

GOOD. Water clear; 54 degrees; 2.39 feet low. There are very few folks fishing this time of year and will not be till around mid-March when temperatures warm and activity increases. Crappie are poor on bridges and brushpiles in 20 feet of water. White bass are fair on slabs scattered throughout the main lake on points in 25-35 feet of water. Fish slowly, as the water temperatures have lowered and the fish are lethargic. Catfish are good on Danny King's Punch Bait on a #4 Treble Hook in timber on the Richland Arm in 20-30 feet of water. Fish where the Cormorants roost. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service.

Somerville

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 59 degrees; 0.11 feet high. The bite is light so pay attention to the rod. Crappie are slow in deeper brush piles and in the creeks using jigs and minnows. Channel and blue catfish are excellent on punch bait in 4-10 feet of water. Hybrid bass are fair using two-ounce jigging spoons in 10-15 feet of water. Black bass are fair on deep diving crankbaits. White bass are fair trolling with mepp spoons. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Stillhouse

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 2.50 feet low. The water temperature has finally met the typical “threshold” to bring in predictably slower winter fishing. This means from this point until the spring warm-up fishing success will rise and fall with the passage of fronts and the fishing will be deep and slow. Success will come primarily with slabs. Stillhouse is holding big white bass on five-eighth-ounce bladed hazy eye slab worked vertically along the old Lampasas River channel. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

Sulphur Springs

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 47 degrees; 5.32 feet low. Suspending jerkbaits are best along the drop-offs and ditches in 6-10 feet of water. Slow rolling spinner baits in these same areas work also. Viper XP jigs in black and blue are working against big wood along the creeks and ditches in 7-10 feet. Shaky heads also working in these areas with a four inch Ring Fry.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 2.28 feet low. Cold fronts rolling through will have the fishing hit or miss, but when the bite is on it will be similar. Bigger blue catfish bite is turning on as the water temperature decrease. Eater catfish are good in 23 feet of water on cut bait. Crappie are good in 8-10 feet of water and in deep brush piles using jigs and minnows. White bass are good on the flats using bucktail jigs and spoons. Report by Keith Parks, Messin’ with the Fish.

Texoma

EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 50 degrees; 1.02 feet low. Fishing will be hit and miss as the winter cold fronts roll through. Striped bass are good on swimbaits in shallow water hitting points and spots. In open water flukes and deadsticking are landing fish. On windy days cast Alabama rigs and keep it still because the fish are less active in the cooler water temperature so they are not chasing. Big fish are in the main lake with 20-pound giants being reeled in. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors. Catfish are good ranging from small to 30-60 pounders using gizzard shad. Start the day off in deep water transitioning to main lake flats off the river channel later in the day. Striper fishing is good using live bait with gizzard shad working best, swimbaits, and Alabama rigs. Bass are suspended in 30-50 feet of water off main lake points. Bait fish are holding around the points attracting the feeding bass. Report by Trey Franklin, Tight Lines Guide Service.

Weatherford

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 50 degrees; 3.07 feet low. Largemouth bass are really good on blue/back chatterbait or crankbaits. Crappie are good at the Crappie House on Monkey Milk, Blue Grass in 12 feet of water. Catfish are fair to good using cheese bait.

Whitney

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 55 degrees; 2.28 feet low. Striped bass are good on jigs fished from White Bluff upstream with some good action on the main lake as well near the state park. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters. Striped bass are good on 12-45 feet of water using chartreuse/white swimbaits and deep diving crankbaits. Catfish are good in 6-14 feet of water using cut bait. Report by Kraig Sexton, Sexton’s Guide Service LLC.

Worth

GOOD. Water normally stained; 49-52 degrees; 1.95 feet low. Crappie are good around boat docks, brush piles, and bridge columns on minnows. Bass are fair on main lake points and ledges and in standing timber. Catfish are fair to good on cut shad and cut bait in all depths both drifting fishing and fishing anchored. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service and Catfish Edge.

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