Prairies & Lakes Region Week of January 21, 2026

Dunlap

GOOD. Water stained; 63 degrees. Bass are good with creature baits on cloudy days. Reports of 3-5 pound bass and limits of smaller bass. Catfish are biting on punch bait in the middle of the river. No report on crappie. Report by Lee Johnson and Kenneth Linder, local anglers.

Aquilla

GOOD. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 1.50 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

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 1.80 feet below pool. The fish will be in their winter haunts and seek deep water after the coldest cold front of the season. Bass will bite Alabama rigs and jerkbaits, small swimbaits, and jigging spoons. Sand bass are good on shad in the main basin. Crappie are good on brush piles. Target deep piles by the dam and progressively shallower piles as you move towards the river. Catfish are in deep water feeding below shad. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.

Athens

FAIR. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.31 feet above pool. Fishing should be good before and after the cold front, but anticipate more fish to be offshore post front. Target offshore bass with 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. Expect the cold front to stack bass near the discharge biting any shad related lure. Bass will be near deeper humps and drop-offs biting Carolina rigs, Alabama rig and jigging spoons. Bass will be offshore until water is back in the 60s.

Belton

FAIR. Water normal stain; 54 degrees; 0.89 feet above pool. The bite and the fish have both slowed down as the water temperature dropped into the low 50s. There is a winter storm warning for Lake Belton from January 23-26. This will further drop water temperatures very suddenly, and make the bite even tougher. White bass and hybrid striped bass can be caught with white 5/8 ounce and 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs as the water is now too cold for faster tactics. When active fish are found, these slabs can be reeled up off bottom slowly while observing 2D sonar or Garmin LiveScope for follows. When a fish follows, maintain the cadence until the fish strikes or turns back. When less active fish are found, snap jigging can be effective, being sure a full, two second pause is used between jigging strokes. If fish do not respond to either, move on and find more active fish. When fish are spread horizontally, a 2.75 inch white grub on a ½ ounce jighead worked with a sawtooth method near bottom is also effective. After the freeze, prepare for deadsticking. Many largemouth bass are being caught with a white 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in 25-35 feet near timber and around isolated patches or pieces of cover. 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; 1.92 feet below pool. Fishing patterns remain consistent. Crappie are good on live minnows and small jigs next to timber. Catfish are fair 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

FAIR. Normal stain; 51 degrees; 2.75 below pool. Water temperatures are 49-53 degrees. The morning bass bite is very slow. Fish stick baits very slowly around bushes in 4-7 feet of water midday when water temperature starts to rise. Square bill crankbaits and chatterbaits are better in the afternoon around shallower drop-offs or points that come up but have a deeper side. Texas rigs and Viper XP Jigs in 5-7 feet of water on the edge of creeks like Timber Creek and Honey Creek are fair. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Finding crappie is not an issue, but the bite is very hit-or-miss. The pattern remains consistent in the creek channels in 30-50 feet of water on timber with jigs or minnows. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Bridgeport

FAIR. Water clear; 53 degrees; 4.82 feet below pool. Before the cold front the bite was consistent. Expect most species to scatter, relate to the bottom, or both for a couple days. Then crappie, bass, and hybrids will push deeper. Many fish are almost in prespawn mode skipping over the true winter patterns. White bass and hybrids are fair on main lake humps and points, deadsticking slabs or trolling with deep crankbaits. Crappie are good on docks in 10-15 feet, 20-30 feet on offshore brush piles, with roamers suspended top third of the water column in 30-40 feet. Minnow bite is good and jig bite is decent. Largemouth bass are fair using medium crankbaits, Alabama rigs, and swimbaits for deeper schooling fish. Morning bite is along the bank in the morning with crankbaits and chatterbaits on main lake rock and docks. Catfish are good on cut bait and chicken liver on main lake humps, 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; 51 degrees; 3.92 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 good throughout the lake in 2-40 feet with cut shad. Drift in deep water, or anchored on bottom in shallow water. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

Comanche Creek

GOOD. 68 degrees; 0.73 feet above pool. Comanche Creek largemouth bass and channel catfish are extremely abundant. The warm water from the power plant draws in anglers from all over the state. Tilapia mania continues on Squaw Creek if you are looking for tablefare. This power plant lake continues to be a breeding ground for this invasive species. The best tilapia catching method is a piece of nightcrawler on a small hook fished under a bobber. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Cooper

FAIR. Water stained; 53 degrees; 4.67 feet below pool. Crappie are reported to be fair to good with jigs or minnows.

Cypress Springs

SLOW. Water normal stain; 53 degrees; 0.82 feet below pool. Crappie are excellent roaming open water midlake to the dam with minnows or jigs. Black crappie are in 20-50 fish schools. It is best to cast to the schools. White crappie are suspended individually in deeper water. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Eagle Mountain

SLOW. Water stained; 56 degrees; 2.12 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; 60 degrees; full pool. Expect the water temperature to dip to 60 degrees after the cold front. With back to back cold fronts in the forecast, fishing will be tough. Bass should push off the bank due to the cold temperature. Before the cold front shallow bass could be with rattletraps over grass and in front of the reeds in the mornings, then with Carolina rigs and shaky heads in deeper water. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.

Graham

SLOW. Water stained; upper 60 degrees; 4.16 feet below pool. Crappie are good inn 14-16 feet of water on brush with jigs and minnows. Catfish are good in deeper water near creek channels feeding on shad, so use cut shad. Bass are good on main lake points in 8-12 feet with crankbaits or jigs. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling around main lake flats. The bite is good on spoons and jigs.

Granbury

FAIR. normal stain; 57 degrees; 0.54 feet below pool. Water temperatures are currently in the middle 50s and water clarity is good in the main lake as well as upstream in the Brazos River. Striped bass to 7 pounds and sand bass to 2 pounds are slow to fair midlake from near Indian Harbor to in town by the city beach. Look for suspended fish in deeper water on those colder days. Some sand bass are being caught in the river near Tin Top. Striped bass are best on live shad and, or 5 inch soft plastics fished real slow near channel breaks. Best crappie action continues to be from Bentwater to above Hunter Park on small jigs and minnows. Look for suspended crappies on standing structure and under deeper docks. Best blue and yellow catfish action continues to be on cut bait from near Water’s Edge to Hunter park. Bigger blues catfish are in shallow water adjacent to river and creek channels. Black bass continue to be fair to good to 5 pounds on soft plastics around main lake points and near laydowns in the river above Granbury. Best action for black bass are on those warmer days and afternoons. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Grapevine

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 0.68 feet below pool. Inclement cold weather in the forecast will hamper fishing conditions. Sleet and ice paired with high winds will create dangerous conditions. White bass 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; 52 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; 55 degrees; 0.10 feet above pool. Water is stained on the north end. Bass are biting jigs, Carolina rigs, and dropshot out deep, and some action on docks with a jig and dropshot. Deep are being caught on minnow type baits, and shallow fish are biting rattle traps and chatterbaits.

Joe Pool

FAIR. Water normal stain; 57 degrees; 0.52 feet below pool. The fish will be in their winter haunts and seek deep water after the coldest cold front of the winter. Bass will bite Alabama rigs and jerkbaits, small swimbaits, and jigging spoons. Crappie and white bass are good in the main basin. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.

Lavon

FAIR. Water stained; 51 degrees; 2.20 feet below pool. Expect new patterns to emerge after the cold front. 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; 55 degrees; 0.54 feet below pool. White bass and hybrid striper are fair in 30-55 feet of water. Check river channels and flats near the channels. Jigs, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits are working. 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 on cut shad drifting points, ledges, and flats near the river channels and in the shallower river channels in 20-45 feet of water. The shallow water bite is fair as well in the far ends of the lake in 2-5 feet. Crappie are slow to fair in 15-38 feet of water. Check brush piles, submerged timber, laydowns, bridge columns, and rock piles near a drop off ledge. The creeks are producing as well, with more short fish than keepers. Minnows and jigs are working. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing.

Limestone

GOOD. Water clear; 53 degrees; 2.18 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are steady. Some crappie are as deep as 24 feet with most in 10-15 feet of water. Crappie are on brush, roaming, and on the power line pylons biting minnows. Crappie eggs are still not fully developed yet. White bass, catfish and crappie are roaming fish in 18-24 feet of water. White bass eggs are fully developed though. A few more fish have made the push toward the north end along with a few more headed into the creeks. 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. 55 degrees; 0.50 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

GOOD. water stained; 48 degrees; 0.06 feet below pool. Fishing patterns should remain similar. Crappie are good on timber in 16-25 feet of water with minnows or jigs. White bass and hybrids are good in open water following bait. Deadstick with swimbaits. Largemouth bass are good in the creeks with moving baits, or on docks with jigs. Catfish are good in shallow water with cut shad. Catfish up to 45 pounds are possible.

Palo Pinto

FAIR. normal stain; 54 degrees; 0.76 feet below pool. Blue catfish are good in 8-10 feet of water with liver, fresh cut shad. Crappie are slow in deep water with minnows. Sand bass and hybrids are slow. There are a lot of bait fish in the creek. Catfish are feeding on the bait fish in the creek. Report by Palo Pinto RV.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water normal stain; 51 degrees; 1.84 feet below pool. Water temperatures dropped this week and the white bass have 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. 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 .The fish also were on the lower half of the water column. Crappie are fair and also moving out from brush and in the deeper water along flats and levees reports of catches on bridge pillars. Big blue catfish and larger eating size are on the deep flats lower and mid lake. Drifting with large cut bait best. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 52 degrees; 1.20 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 35-50 feet on brush or timber using minnows or small natural colored jigs. Sand bass continue to school under shad on deep main lake points in 35-55 feet. Fish are biting 2-3 jigs tied above a 1 ounce slab. The wind is blowing bait up on to wind blown points, so this can be a good area to target as well. Blue catfish can be found off main lake points with bait on it. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.

Richland Chambers

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 54 degrees; 2.31 feet below pool. Catfish are very good on cut bait and punch bait. Anglers are catching big numbers and the trophy size catfish. Hybrids are inconsistent, but this cold front may improve the bite soon. White bass are hard to find at times, but can be found on points in 41 feet of water with ½ ounce jigheads with a 2.5 inch minnow type bait and an Ice jig to catch them. Back bass can still be caught around hard cover. When the water gets cooler I like a tight wobble shallow crankbait or jig. Good Fishing, Terry Hawkins Guide Service Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.

Somerville

SLOW. Water stained; 54 degrees; 3.06 feet below pool. Expect the very slow and light bite with the forecasted cold front. 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; 1.81 feet above pool. The bite and the fish have both slowed down as the water temperature dropped into the low 50s. There is a winter storm warning for Lake Belton from January 23-26. This will further drop water temperatures very suddenly, and make the bite even tougher. White bass and hybrid striped bass can be caught with white 5/8 ounce and 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs as the water is now too cold for faster tactics. When active fish are found, these slabs can be reeled up off bottom slowly while observing 2D sonar or Garmin LiveScope for follows. When a fish follows, maintain the cadence until the fish strikes or turns back. When less active fish are found, snap jigging can be effective, being sure a full, two second pause is used between jigging strokes. If fish do not respond to either, move on and find more active fish. When fish are spread horizontally, a 2.75 inch white grub on a ½ ounce jighead worked with a sawtooth method near bottom is also effective. After the freeze, prepare for deadsticking. Many largemouth bass are being caught with a white 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in 25-35 feet near timber and around isolated patches or pieces of cover. Largemouth can still be found on warmer days on the outside edge of the thin band of hydrilla growing around the 15 feet mark, but many largemouth bass are being caught with the white 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab in 30-50 feet near timber, near breaklines, and around isolated patches or pieces of cover. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Bass are being caught using a mix of techniques as fish transition with changing winter conditions. Some fish are relating to submerged vegetation in 10–20 feet of water, where drop-shot rigged finesse worms and light Texas-rigged soft plastics are producing. Other bass are roaming open water and following schools of shad, especially along main lake areas and channel edges. These nomadic fish can be targeted with suspending jerkbaits and mid-strolling minnow-style soft plastics when they show on electronics. As colder weather moves in, anglers should expect bass to shift more toward deeper structure and concentrate more tightly around baitfish. Report by Ander Meine, Bassquatch Fishing.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 53 degrees; 2.01 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni has been warmer than normal, so fishing conditions have been atypical for the season. However, this is about to change as this arctic weather hits this weekend. The hybrid, striper and white bass bite is somewhat slow. We are seeing medium sized white bass on main lake points in 30-35 feet on jogging spoons and flukes. The eating sized blue catfish bite is great with easy limits on punch bait in 35-45 feet. The trophy catfish bite is good in 20-30 feet of water on fresh cut bait. We have not seen fish over 60 pounds in a few weeks, but 20-50 pound fish are being caught. The crappie have been slow, but there is a steady bite at the 2 mile bridge on minnows and jigs. Fish are suspended 17-24 feet over 30-35 feet of water. Largemouth bass bite improved after the big warm up on soft plastics on shallow ledges and ends of docks. Y’all stay warm! Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texoma

GOOD. Water stained; 53 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. With the arctic blast and some wintry weather coming at the end of the week we will be seeing colder temperatures over the next week, and that makes for good conditions for a midday or afternoon fishing trip. Striper fishing into a winter bite. Deadsticking in 50-65 feet of water in the main lake is producing good quality fish. Swimbaits are producing good fish as well on structures and points in 10-20 feet of water. Be on the lookout for active working groups of birds as well to throw swimbaits or drop a deadstick under and around. Catfish have settled in on deep flats 45-60 feet of water. Medium to large cut baits are the bait of choice as the winter is the time to catch trophy blues on Texoma. Drifting at a .5-1.5 mph using drift socks or a trolling motor will help cover water. Crappie are hanging on structure and stumps in 18-25 feet of water, be patient and have a variety of jig color and styles as it can vary day to day. Bigger fish can be found roaming stump flats and creek channels this time of year. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. The cold front will lower the water temperature and improve the deadstick bite. Stripers are good with Alabama rigs or swimbaits on structures in 12-20 feet of water with Alabama rigs and swimbaits. Fish are feeding up and stuffed full of bait. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Weatherford

SLOW. Water slightly stained; 52 degrees; 5.98 feet below pool. Crappie are slow at the crappie house with minnows and jigs. Bass are slow around docks 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; 1.65 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

GOOD. Water normal; 52 degrees; 1.90 feet below pool. Bass slow this week. Crappie are good under bridge pylons on minnows. Sand bass are good trolling through schools of shad mid lake. Catfish are good on cut shad. Report by Michael James, local angler.

« Fishing Report Search