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Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Reports

jeffnailfishing@gmail.com

Lake Lanier Weekly Fishing Report

April 26, 2024

Water Level: The lake level has risen slightly over the past week to .54 feet ABOVE full pool.

Water Temp: Temps mellowed out a little bit with the cold fronts. I am seeing 64-67 on Garmin.

Water Clarity: The lake is clearing up with the main lake being clear and the rivers above hwy. 369 starting to look more like summer clarity than winter/early spring.

I have been on Lanier for 7 of the past 7 days and the fishing has been good to very good depending on the day. It has been a roll of the dice on which category any given day will be.

We are still fishing shallow by Lanier standards. I don’t think we boated a fish that came out of more than 15ft of water all week. For moving baits, the Mini-Me spinner bait was the most consistent. It played a notable role throughout the week. We stuck with the same retireve I discussed last week. A steady, slchmedium speed retrieve was still best. As with last week, we targeted rock and clay banks with the Mini-Me. Interestingly, this bait/ pattern produced spots, LM and even stripers this week.

It is April and the next presentation should not come as much of a surprise to many readers who have followed along over the past couple of years. The “Pitch Shot” is back in play and we are loving every minute of it. This technique is phenomenal for both numbers and size this time of year.

We have targeted shallow structure with the Pitch Shot this week. While most finesse soft plastics will work, this time of year, it is all about the 4in Zoom Dead Ringer. There is something about this profile that is absolute killer. As the name implies, we are pitching this around and not fishing it all the way to the boat. It is all about putting the bait in as many likely places as possible as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is a technique where anglers can drop the trolling motor and just go fish as they would with a shaky head, however, you are going to cover a lot more water.

Due to the overall number of bites that can occur, this technique is also great for teaching what a worm and more specifically a DS bite feels like. My equipment for this presentation is listed below and here is a link to a short video I made last year on the presentation: https://jeffnail.uscreen.io/programs/pitch-shot-40ee5a

Rod – St. Croix Legend Extreme and Legend X 6’10” MLXF

Reel – 2500/3000 series Shimano Stradic or SEVIIN GX

Line – CAST fishing 12lb Braid with a 8lb Sunline Sniper leader

Hook – 1/0 or 2/0 Owner Down Shot

Sinker – 1/8 or 1/16oz tungsten

The daily videos I publish cover these techniques in greater detail and all other techniques that were effective over this past week. In these videos, I cover the conditions, part of the lake, and how I caught fish (or did not) for most days that I am on the water. All subscribers will have access to all historical videos as well (245 videos). You can sign up and view videos at https://jeffnail.uscreen.io

For the new few weeks, I have the following dates available: April 30, May 1-3, 11-14, 16, 17, 19-22. If you are interested in a trip, please reach out and I will get you on the calendar.

Jeff

770-715-9933

jeffnail.uscreen.io

Jeffnailfishing.net

#stcroixrods #castfishingco #trixstercustombaits #gillfishing #Spotchoker #seviinreels #dugoutbaitandtackle #hammondsfishingcenter #LanierBaits #dugoutbaitandtackle #talkintackle

Jeff Nail_ 0546.JPG

Captain Macks’ Lake Lanier Fishing Report

Also See:

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Reports

April has been a good month for anglers targeting
Lanier’s Gamefish! We will see if we can
duplicate that as we enter into the month of May?
May is also historically a very good month on
Lanier, and often offers some very good post
spawn topwater activity for the Stripers and Bass.

The weather looks good going into the first week
of Month! The extended forecast indicates warm
temps, fairly light winds and minimal rain chances
through the week. The lake level Friday afternoon
was 1071.51, down a very slight .05 feet from last
week. That will leave us .51 feet over full pool.
The lake temp is around 68 degrees.

Striper Fishing

Striper fishing is very good! Free lines and
planers remain the preferred pattern, with a few
down line fish mixed in. Fishing structures such as points and humps have been producing well.
Remember, the fish may be really tight to the structure, or very loosely oriented and holding on
the periphery. Expect more fish to be up tight to the banks or structure early, especially so if you
are fishing a baitfish spawn. Remember, those spawning baitfish could be on shallow, onshore
areas, or near structures over open water areas. Herring, Shad, and Shiners are all good bait
choices, and it looks like Herring availability is improving! Fish the Herring 30 to 60 feet behind
the boards, 25 to 40 on the Gizzards. Place the free lines 70 to 100 feet back and adding a split,
may be a plus, particularly later during the day.

Pitching live Herring is also a very good pattern, perhaps the best overall. You will need to fill the
well up, as this method will use big numbers of bait. For starters, a Herring is generally only
good for two or three pitches, once the bait becomes weakened and compromised it is
drastically less effective, Change them out often to maximize the bite! You will also get a lot of
bites from Hungry Spotted bass, and counting the Bass (and Channel Cats) 40 to 50 fish days
are not uncommon with this method! Don’t spend a lot of time on a given place. If you pitch a
bait up there and fish are present, they will be quick to bite. If you stop getting hooked up, move
on to the next area.

And speaking of pitching Herring, add green lights to the list of structures you will need to pitch
to. This bite is also very good as is typically at this point in the spring. Nothing fancy here, just
toss a bait up to the light, and basically hang on. We’ll talk more about technique next week!

Bass Fishing

Bass fishing continues to be very good! There are fish on several patterns, but with big numbers
of fish in shallow water in some phase of the spawn, the shallow water patterns will be difficult to
beat for the numbers. Some of the bigger fish are relating more to some shallow offshore
structures, and some are related to deeper offshore structure where the are Herring Spawning.
The largest part of the bait fish spawn occurs early, day break and into the first couple of hours
into the morning. although it will sometimes last into the day. The Threadfin Shad are generally
more active early, just an hour or two after sunrise. Keep in mind that after the actual spawning
activity wanes, the Herring are still in the area, as are the Fish. How do you find them? You’ll be
able to physically see them with your eyes, and of course with the sonar, especially the fish in
open water areas. Possibly the best method to locate the spawning baitfish? Watch the Blue
Herons, they have a pretty good handle on this situation.

In addition to targeting the Spawning Baitfish, there are plenty of Spotted bass in water 4 to 12
feet deep scattered out on the banks. Remember, the Spots are spawning as well. If I had to
pick a favorite structure, a rocky bank with a fairly steep gradient has been money, but you will
also catch fish over sandy pockets, flats and points. There are many baits and patterns that will
catch fish right now, but one that has been very good is the spinnerbait. The Bass are
responding well to the spinnerbaits, and they are also baits that allow very high saturation. With
so many fish scattered out on the banks, that high saturation has great benefits.

Remember to
fish the spinnerbait back into, not over, at least an 8 to 12 foot. bottom. Spotted bass will spawn
deep, and keeping the spinnerbait shallow during the retrieve may discourage some of the
deeper fish from chasing down the bait.
Some other techniques to try: Scoping around the shallow baitfish concentrations has been
effective, small soft swim baits on the lead head have been to the go to. Check out some of the
dock lights if you are out after dark or predawn. I think many anglers think of Stripers when they
think of lights, but the Bass are also attracted to the lights! The same baits I mentioned in the
Striper section will apply, start out with a moving bait and follow that up with a worm or jig on the
bottom. Top waters are producing some nice catches, with smaller more subtle baits on the
banks being very effective. The bigger top waters, Spook, Haints, and OG’s to name a couple,
will get the bite!

Good Fishing!!
Capt Mack

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

11 Pound Guntersville Bass

Also See:

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Reports

Fishing Report 4/27/24

We are not quite there with the weather yet, but we had a more consistent week weather-wise than we have had all spring. This helped add to the bite as the bass were not on the
move as much as they had been, allowing us to find the fish quicker each day. It was,
however, the most consistent week of the year, and we had a blast.

We pretty much stuck with moving baits all week, Duckett Spinner Baits, Tight-Line swim jigs,
SPRO crank baits, and some Missile Bait 48 stick baits up in the day. The bites were active,
and the post spawn bite got better each day, I love this time of year especially the deep crank
bait bite.

Benefits of Fishing the Shad Spawn

When it comes to an exciting and active time in bass fishing nothing beats fishing the shad
spawn; there is a very good reason for this and that is the abundance of large amounts of
food source. There are no doubt large numbers of shad making the bass easy bray and
abundance of food to feed on. This phenom known as the shad spawn increases the bass
activity making the bass more susceptible to your bait and much easier to have some great
catches not only in numbers but in size. Just about any moving bait fished during the shad
spawn causes reaction bites as the bass attack rapidly and continually when this occurs.

Your chances of targeting active fish, feeding fish and big fish increase 3-fold; your bait gets
slammed and attacked by feeding bass and in most cases you’re in for the time of your life in
bass fishing. The bass generally feed near the surface over the top of structure like wood or
grass and generally in shallow water. This makes baits like top-water fishing extremely active
and rewarding as the bass strike without hesitation on surface baits moving over their heads.

Fast moving baits like swim jigs, chatter baits, spinner baits all become great choices along
with your top-water baits as you look for feeding during the shad spawn. It’s a time when you
can easily plan a fishing trip just by looking at the topographical maps and fish the shallow
water areas close to the deep-water drops putting you in position to target pre-planned areas
easily during the shad spawn. This phenomenon is predictable and occurs every year as the water
temperatures warm into the low 70’s on most bass fishing impoundments.
Although the shad spawn out continually during the year for about 9 out of the 12 months
the first one that occurs during the warming water is the most active and most productive as
the bass have been healing up from their spawning activity, they are hungry and competitive and
the overabundance of food cause them to feed aggressively. It’s a time that makes bass
fishing easy, fun and extremely productive.

Come fish with me I have days available the movement into spring patterns is close and the best is yet to come. Call today to schedule your trip to Lake Guntersville. We fish with great sponsor products, Mercury Motors, Ranger Boats, Lowrance Electronics, Dawson Boat Center, Toyota Trucks, Vicious Fishing, Duckett Fishing, Lew’s Fishing, Power Pole, Missile Baits T&H Marine and more.

Amazing How Fast Bass Fishing Can Change In A Few Spring Days

Call it a tale of two Sinclairs. Or a tale of three lakes in only three days. Last weekend showed how fast bass fishing can change this time of year.

Last Friday I met Ricky Layton to get information for my GON April Map of the Month article. The weather guessers were right for a change when they predicted high winds, bluebird skies and cold weather. That combination is usually the kiss of death for fishing in the spring.

Ricky said we would meet at Bass’s Boat House, an old marina where the clubs used to put in back in the 1970s. It was near the dam and the water might be slightly clearer in that area, and we would be more protected from the wind. All this spring the flooding rains have made our lakes fill up with very muddy water.

We waited until 9:00 AM to go out since it was cold. The first two hours seemed to show the weather and muddy water was working against us. Ricky took me to some places he had caught good fish the weekend before, but the water was even muddier than it had been and we got no bites.

At 11:00 Ricky was starting to look at the article pattern and caught an eight-pound largemouth on a bladed jig. The fish was up shallow near a grass bed, the pattern for April. That is a big fish for Sinclair, it has been a long time since I have seen one that big there, although there have been several that were close the past few years.

About noon we started fishing and marking places for the article, working bass bedding and shad spawning areas. Ricky caught a five-pound largemouth out of a grass bed on what will be hole #2. A few minutes later he caught one weighing about six pounds there.

The next place we fished Ricky caught another fish right at six pounds, on the same pattern, halfway back in a creek with grass beds up shallow on the bank. One of the last places we fished he landed his smallest fish of the day, one that weighted about 3.5 pounds. In all that time I landed one weighing about 2.5 pounds, but my excuse is I was too busy netting his fish and taking pictures and notes to fish.

Ricky ended up with five bass weighing a conservative 28 pounds. That is the kind of catch you dream about and expect on Guntersville, not Sinclair, especially under bad weather conditions. The water temperature was 58 to 59 degrees where we fished, making those big largemouth were looking for bedding areas.

On Saturday Ricky took his son fishing at Sinclair. Although colder, the weather was better, but the fishing was not. He said they did land a seven-pound fish out of hole #10 but their best five weighed “only” about 14 pounds, not great compared to the day before.

I could not wait to get on the water Sunday morning in the Flint River Bass Club March tournament at Sinclair. I should have known better.

After fishing from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, 13 members landed 20 bass weighing about 36 pounds. There was one five bass limit and five people didn’t catch a 12-inch keeper.

Travis Weatherly won with five weighing 9.02 pounds and his 4.99 pound largemouth was big fish. My three weighing 7.47 placed second and I had a 4.57 pounder for my biggest fish. Niles Murray placed third with three weighing 5.75 pounds and Brent Drake came in fourth with three weighing 4.20 pounds.

The cold air made me shiver on my run to my first stop. Luckily there was enough wind to keep the fog down, it was wispy and hanging just off the water. But there was enough to make it scary trying to watch for all the floating wood.

I stopped off a grass bed that was perfect for the pattern Ricky caught his big fish on Friday, but my heart sank when my temperature gauge hit 49 degrees. A nine or ten degree drop just had to affect the bass. It surely did affect my optimism!

I fished three places in three hours without a bite. Around 11:00 the weak sun was warming the water a little, raising the temperature to about 51 degrees in the cove where Ricky caught a six pounder. I cast a Chatterbait across in front of a grass bed, something thumped it and I set the hook.

My rod bowed up and the fish headed for deep water. I just knew I had a six pounder on, but suddenly my line went slack. The fish just pulled off without me ever seeing it.

At noon I was in the area where Ricky caught two fish, hole #2. I was very down, fishing half the day without a keeper. The water had warmed to 52 so I had some hope. I cast my Chatterbait into some grass and hooked the four pounder I weighed in. That improved my attitude a lot.

After another hour of fishing without a bite, I caught a two pounder in front of some grass, then at 2:00 PM landed my third keeper, a one pounder, from another grass bed. That was it. I fished hard for the rest of the day without another bite.

Sturgeon Poachers Fined, One Jailed

Sturgeon Poachers Fined, One Jailed in Oregon

from Waterworld

St Helens, Ore. — Three men owe thousands in fines, and one served jail time after a felony conviction for poaching five oversized sturgeon fish, including one giant white sturgeon, in Scappoose Bay in 2022.

The original incident gained attention in 2022 when sportsmen fishing along the banks of Scappoose Bay noticed people fishing from a boat had caught a sturgeon but did not release it as required by law. The legal anglers reported what they saw to OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers, who began monitoring the area. After two days of surveillance, Trooper Scott Bernardi and Senior Trooper Justin Morgan, both from the St Helens office, approached the men where they were moored at the dock.

The subjects claimed that they had not caught any fish. However, Troopers could see two lines extending from the dock into the water. When they pulled up the lines, they found four live sturgeon, ranging in size from five feet to more than seven feet long. All four were secured under water so they would remain alive. While inspecting the boat, Troopers found an additional large white sturgeon, about five feet long.

Julio Duran, of Salem, pleaded guilty to take/possession of a giant white sturgeon, which is a Class C Felony, and take/possession of four oversized sturgeons, which is a Class A misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to fishing without a license, although officials dropped charges for fishing with illegal barbed hooks. Duran served 20 days in the Columbia County jail and owes $5,000 in restitution to ODFW; $500 to the Turn In Poachers TIP reward program; 36 months’ probation, and a three-year angling license suspension. He forfeited the fishing rods and equipment used during the crime.

Jose Plascencia, of Dayton, pleaded guilty to fishing without a resident angling license. Plascencia must serve either 10 days on a Columbia County work crew, or 80 hours of community service, and 24 months of bench probation. He must pay $750 in restitution and is suspended from fishing for three years.

Axel Guell, of St Helens, pleaded guilty to angling without a resident license. Guell must pay $500 in restitution, serve 24 months bench probation and is suspended from fishing for three years.

Senior Trooper Justin Morgan is pleased with the dedicated effort of the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office to pursue charges and bring poachers like this to justice.

“This poacher spent 20 days in jail over the holidays in hopes of changing his behavior. Luckily, the quick-thinking juvenile sportsmen were able to report what they witnessed to the Oregon State Police, through the TIP line, and we were able to apprehend this individual and release the large sturgeon back into the bay,” he said.

All five sturgeon were released back into the bay alive, which is a relief to conservationists. White sturgeon, once plentiful in Oregon waterways, are a Pacific Northwest icon. Sturgeon are long-lived and revered as “living fossils” because they have remained nearly unchanged since they first evolved around 200 million years ago.

White sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers can currently generate between 30,000 – 40,000 angler trips annually, which contribute millions in economic benefits. In recent years, lower populations of the slow-growing fish preclude taking one home for a meal. But anglers can still catch and release the massive fish, which provides the thrill of the experience.

An 80-year-old giant sturgeon like the one Duran poached is a valued contributor to the breeding stock. Sturgeon don’t reach breeding maturity until they are about 20 years old, and about six feet long. They can live more than 100 years. Older female sturgeon can produce ten times the number of eggs as young females. Poachers who take these giants contribute to an ongoing reduction of the fishery.

Catching poachers is a collaborative effort that often begins with lawful citizens doing the right thing and reporting suspicious behavior, according to Morgan, and recently another youth reported a poaching incident that resulted in criminal citations. Morgan is proud to live in a community that values the state’s natural resources.

“These recent acts by young sportsmen to protect wildlife is a testament to values of young Columbia County residents and is a direct reflection of their parents and mentors,” Morgan said, “A game warden’s biggest asset is the public doing the right thing by reporting poaching incidents.”

The legal fishermen who reported the crime received bonus rewards of $500 each through the Turn In Poachers (TIP) Reward Program. The program offers cash rewards or hunter preference points to people who report fish and wildlife crimes that result in an arrest or citation.

Turn In Poachers campaign coordinator Yvonne Shaw states the importance of the TIP Line.

“The TIP Line is a key tool to fight poaching,” she said, “People who call the TIP Line to report poaching or suspected poaching, can remain anonymous and they also can get cash rewards or hunter preference points if their tip leads to an arrest or citation.”

The Protect Oregon’s Wildlife- Turn In Poachers campaign educates the public on how to recognize and report poaching. This campaign is a collaboration among state agencies, sportsmen and other conservationists, landowners, and recreationists to engage the public in combatting Oregon’s poaching problem. Our goal is to: Incentivize reporting on wildlife crimes through the TIP Line; Strengthen enforcement by increasing the number of OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers; and Support prosecution in becoming an effective deterrent. The campaign helps to protect and enhance Oregon’s fish and wildlife and their habitat for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Contact campaign coordinator Yvonne Shaw for more information. Yvonne.L.Shaw@odfw.oregon.gov.

If you know of or suspect other crimes against fish wildlife or habitat, please report to the Turn In Poachers (TIP) Line. 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP (*677) from a mobile phone. Or email: TIP@osp.oregon.gov.

TEXAS WEEKLY FRESHWATER FISHING REPORT

from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Also See:

Lake Guntersville Weekly Fishing Report from Captain Mike Gerry

Lake Country Fishing – fishing reports on Lakes Sinclair and Oconee, and more. (subscription required)

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Freshwater Fishing Reports

Texas Parks and Wildlife Weekly Saltwater Fishing Reports

Freshwater Weekly Fishing Report Week of February 28, 2024

Alan Henry

GOOD. Water clear; 49 degrees; 4.11 feet below pool. Water temperature on the main lake is 49 degrees and 53 degrees in the back of creeks. Crappie are good in 15-30 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Report by The Bait Shop, Post, Texas.

Amistad

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 64.98 feet below pool. Black bass are fair on rattletraps, crankbaits, wacky worms, dropshot, spinnerbaits, and Texas rigged lizards worked around rocky points next to shallow spawning flats. Most bass holding in 10-20 feet of water. White bass are good 30-50 feet of water on main creek channels, around bait balls and birds. Blade baits and spoons are working best. Stripers are slow. Keep‘em tight. Report by Captain Raul Cordero, Far West Guide Service.

Arlington

SLOW. Water stained; 61 degrees; 0.06 feet below pool. Bass are in a pre-spawn and early spawn pattern. Bass are slow, on docks with grass throwing creature baits and moving baits.

Arrowhead

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 54 degrees; 8.06 feet below pool. The catfish bite has improved as fish start to migrate to spawning grounds relating to wood in 5-15 feet of water. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.

Athens

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 61 degrees; 0.46 feet above pool. Fish are finicky with the weather, but fish should pattern nicely when the weather stabilizes over the next week. Bass are fair as fish start moving to shallow water. Cast small moving baits underpins, jerkbaits in the wind. Crappie are slow scattered moving shallow minnow under a float in shallow water 2-6 feet of water. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Austin

SLOW. Water normal stain; 62 degrees; 0.73 feet below pool. Bass have pushed up to spawn in multiple areas of the lake. There is a decent amount of fish shallow right now. Lightweight plastic worms and small weedless swimbaits have been the ticket. The recent full moon put fish on spawning beds. This is a great time of the year to be out on Lake Austin! Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing. Bass are starting to move towards beds biting jigs, lizards and senkos. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

B.A. Steinhagen

SLOW. Water stain; 55 degrees; 0.60 feet below pool. Influx of runoff so the water is turbid and lake levels are in constant flux. Catfish are biting good in the shallows on cut baits and prepared baits. Largemouth bass are slow.

Bastrop

GOOD. Water stained; 60 degrees. Water temperatures are holding steady so the bite is consistent. Bass are fair slowly working creature type baits, and weightless swimbaits in the grass lines. Green pumpkin worms are good on transitions in 8-12 feet. Visibility is about 2-3 feet and cloudy. Report by Jason Hernandez, Bass Institute of Bastrop. Bass continue to be good working soft plastics like 4 inch worms, flukes and craws in or on the edge of grass lines. A Carolina rig or ball head jig with small straight tail swimbait is still working on humps and deeper ledges. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Belton

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 58 degrees; 12.31 feet below pool. Water level is steady and warming thanks to unseasonably mild weather. White bass, hybrid stripers and shad have all begun shifting shallower due to what is shaping up to be an early spring. Fish are in 19-30 feet of water. Fish have been noticeably aggressive thanks to a net warmup over the past four weeks. A go-to tactic right now is easing with the white, 5/8 ounce or 3/4 ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. Relying on side imaging to find fish, Spot-Locking atop them, then fishing vertically aided by Garmin LiveScope. The easing tactic involves slowly and steadily lifting the slab from near bottom upwards and watching sonar for signs of fish following the bait. If a follow occurs, the bait must continue to be moved steadily upwards. Beware that the surface temperature can be very misleading, and that the temperature from 10 feet below the surface and deeper is still significantly cooler. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfishing has been excellent in 10-25 feet of water. Slow drifting with suspended baits around points and river channels has worked best for blue catfish. Flatheads are becoming more active at night and have been caught near structure and rock piles with live perch or shad. Channel catfish are fair and have been caught in shallow water around timber using punch bait. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.

Benbrook

GOOD. Water stained; 64 degrees; 0.53 feet above pool. Crappie are up the creeks gearing up to spawn but can be caught on minnows or jigs. Catfish can be caught at the mouths of creeks with cut bait. Bass are shallow for the spawn biting shallow crankbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits. Report by Camron Wilkerson, Camron’s Quality Crappie Guiding.

Bob Sandlin

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.34 feet above pool. Crappie are fair with fish scattered 2-20 feet of week throughout the lake with minnows or jigs. Sand bass are good with fish stacked under the Texas State Highway 21 bridge with yellow or white slabs in 20-30 feet of water. Catfish are fair in 10-15 feet of water on baited holes with cheese bait. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing. Bass are good in shallow water with some starting to set up on beds biting lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Texas rigged lizards and chatterbaits. Most bass are in 10 feet or less. Expect fish to be spawning in the full moon this weekend. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine. Black bass will be active in the backs of creeks and coves, shad pattern streamers in white are a good bet. Crappies will start their move towards the banks soon, try wooly buggers and small fish patterns fished slowly. Try streamers around retaining walls on warm sunny days. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Brady

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 13.08 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are slow on rocks with chatterbaits or crankbaits or in the stickups on senkos or worms. Catfish are fair on live perch or cut shad in the mouth of Brady creek on trotlines or jug lines. Crappie are good in the marina or around hardwood main lake or creek entrance. White bass are slow on small crankbaits.

Braunig

FAIR. Water stained, 63 degrees. Red drum are fair to poor on cut bait like shad and crawfish scented baits around the discharge in warmer water. Catfish are fair using cheese bait, livers and frozen Gulf shrimp around the edges of the discharge, jetties and shoreline coves.

Bridgeport

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 50 degrees; 15.37 feet below pool. The low water ramp off of U.S. Route 380 and the dam are the best launch options. Beaching is required at both ramps. Sand bass and Hybrids are setting up for their spawn. Look toward the north end and the river. These fish will be grouped up but maybe hard to find. Deadsticking and slabs are the best bet. Largemouth bass are in pre-spawn mode. Look north for the warmest water you can find around the mouths of creeks and coves. Try a Minnow or craw imitator. Catfish continue to be good on cut shad, try drifting flats near the river channel. Crappie continue to be scattered. Look for them to be staging for their spawn very soon. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.

Brownwood

GOOD. Water stained; 59 degrees; 8.85 feet below pool. Black bass to 7.89 pounds are good on Hag’s Bait jigs, jerkbaits and crankbaits in 3-12 feet of water. Bass are in prespawn on secondary points and the mouth of cove pockets. Crappie are fair at the Wild Duck and brush piles on minnows in 12-15 feet of water starting to move shallow. White bass are excellent on crankbaits and Alabama rigs. Catfish are good on cut or prepared bait around baited holes.

Bryan

FAIR. Water stained; 60 degrees. Catfish, crappie and bass can be caught near the restaurant, off rocks and floating docks with small minnows, worms, and cut bait. Report by The Bait Barn. Bass are good shallow fishing crankbaits or flipping Texas rigs on flats. Report by The Aggie Anglers.

Buchanan

EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 59 degrees; 25.58 feet below pool. White bass fishing remains excellent, if you want to load the boat now is the time vertical jigging 15-60 feet of water and trolling small crankbaits have been the best producers. Stripers have been biting good when you can stay out of the whites. Vertical jigging and live bait have been best patterns 20-45 feet of water depth has been key. The birds are still pointing out the fish when they decide to work. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing.

Caddo

FAIR. Water stained; 61 degrees; 1.19 feet above pool. These warmer temperatures have the wasp flying, snakes crawling and the trees are budding. Water temperatures should remain consistent in the 60s and the lake level is good after the rains. Finesse your way around trees with flukes and senkos, or if it is windy use a chatterbait or swim jig. Start in 4-6 feet of water to see if you can find a big female. Then work your way to 2 feet of water. Focus on trees, but if there is another cold snap do not be shy about taking a rattletrap on the flats to cover the grass and pad stem areas around the trees. Fish would move off the trees and hold on that hard bottom near deep water and near the spawning trees. Always a fun time to come out and enjoy this lake that God spoke into existence and see the gators coming out to warm up after winter. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Calaveras

FAIR. Water slightly stained, 57 degrees. Red drum have been fair to slow on frozen Gulf shrimp, cut bait and crawfish scented baits. Blue catfish and channel catfish have been fair on cheese bait, frozen Gulf shrimp and livers in 15-25 feet of water and in deep parts of coves from the recreational shoreline.

Canyon Lake

GOOD. Water clear to normal stain; 63 degrees; 21.28 feet below pool. Fishing is good with bass moving into pre-spawn and spawning phase. Working a spinnerbait or chatterbait in shallow water, or a swimbait on the grass edges is producing as well. Report by Evan Coleman, Big Bassin Fishing.

Cedar Creek

EXCELLENT. Stained; 58 degrees; 0.15 feet below pool. White bass are staging in full force for the spring spawn and heading into shallower water, 6-18 feet, and into any shallow creek that has flowing water. Hybrids and white bass continue to be caught deadsticking in 25-35 feet in the mouths of the big creeks. Deadsticking utilizing a thumper and a splasher with deadsticking lures with a 1-1.5 ounce jighead with a tandem hook or jig above it paired with a small plastic fluke. You must keep your drift speeds under .5 mph with the ideal drift being .3 mph utilizing drift socks to keep you slowed down in windy conditions. In the weeks to come hybrids and white bass will continue to migrate to the shallower water from 8-20 feet to spawn and will be easy to find. You may even try trolling a small spinner bait or a hellbender or pet spoon rig at 2 mph in the shallower depths. The crappie bite has picked up in the creeks and inlets in 2-10 feet of water throughout the entire lake. The warm weather will continue to drive these fish shallow to spawn. If you can find a brush pile near a dock you can find them stacked up but most of the crappie have migrated into the creeks or shallow water now. Guides have been reporting exceptionally nice catches on sunny warmer days. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service.

Choke Canyon

GOOD. Water stained; 65 degrees; 28.03 feet below pool. Black bass are in 8-10 feet of water on secondary points and main lake points using Carolina or Texas rigged worms, or swimbaits. Catfish are fair in 10 feet of water with stink bait or cut bait. Crappie are good in shallow water with live minnows or small black and chartreuse crappie jigs. Check ramp status before heading out, and navigate with caution. Report by Scott Springer, Fish Choke Canyon Lake.

Cisco

GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 11.58 feet below pool. Crappie are improving in shallow water biting on minnows. Channel catfish are good in 8 feet of water on worms. Lots of bass activity chasing bait out to 15 feet deep. Report by Lake Cisco Rentals.

Coleman

SLOW. Water stained; 55 degrees; 9.16 feet below pool. Few reports, but typically crappie can be caught in the brush piles under docks. Crappie are good on jigs at the docks.

Comanche Creek

GREAT. Water stained. 65 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. Comanche Creek continues to boast great catches of black bass to 7 pounds on soft plastics. Channel catfish populations are great, and the bite is good on prepared baits and cut shad. Tilapia can be taken on worms or through the use of cast nets in the shallow. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.

Conroe

GREAT. Water stained; 60 degrees; 0.02 feet above pool. Springtime is upon us with the redbuds blooming, so pretty much all scaled fish are either spawning or moving shallow to start soon. Seeing lots of smaller males making beds. Catfish have still been good on baited areas and some bulkheads on shad, liver, catfish Bubblegum and punch bait. Be safe and be ethical. Report by Brad Doyle, Bradley’s Guide Service. Hybrids are staging on channels, cast and retrieval or live bait has been good. Crappie are in 3-14 feet of water starting the spawn, finding some at pre-stage, minnow or jigs with a cork have been working. Always wear your life jacket. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy Lake Conroe Guide.

Cooper

GOOD. Water stained; 57 degrees: 1.00 feet below pool. The water is turbid after the recent rainfall and rising water level. Few anglers on the water but reports indicate the blue catfish bite is good.

Corpus Christi Lake

FAIR. 60 degrees; 8.07 feet below pool. Conditions look great over the next week. Catfish are good in 2-4 feet of water on wind blown shorelines on worms, cheese bait, and cut carp. Crappie are fair in 1-2 feet of water on minnows and jigs. The spawn is slowly turning on. White bass are slow. Largemouth are slow. Report provided by Captain Damian Hubbs, Top Gun Outfitters.

Cypress Springs

FAIR: Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.59 feet above pool. Crappie are fair with fish scattered 2-20 feet of water, with some fish pushing shallow using minnows or jigs. Catfish are fair in 20-25 feet of water on tire reefs with cheese bait. Sand bass are good on main lake points with slabs. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing. Bass are good with most bass still roaming in deeper water, but in the coming weeks bass will push shallow to beds. Bass are biting lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Texas rigged lizards and chatterbaits. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Eagle Mountain

GOOD. Water stained; 61 degrees; 5.93 feet below pool. White bass are fair on main lake structure on slabs and in mid depths on chartreuse and white cocahoes. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles shallow and in mid depths and main lake structure on jigs. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait on structure. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

Fairfield

Closed to the public.

Falcon

GOOD. Water stained; 70 degrees; 34.44 feet below pool. Bow fishing is good for gar in the backs of creeks. Rod-and-reel fishing for gar should improve as the water settles and weather stabilizes. Catfish are good up the Rio Grande in the current. The spawn is about to start. Bass fishing is excellent in 2-8 feet of water targeting shallow bushes and timber with chartreuse and white or red chatterbaits, perch or tilapia colored jigs. Bass are spawning. Crappie are very slow with few reports. Report by Ram Reyes, Ram Outdoors.

Fayette

GOOD. Water stained; 57 degrees. Fishing patterns are consistent, but fish may push shallow with the full moon. Bass are good targeting roadbeds and the dam with Carolina rigs and finesse worms. Look for fish staging for the spawn in the backs of coves and cuts. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Fork

GOOD. Water Stained; 61 degrees; 0.24 feet below pool. Bass are all over the place with a good shallow bite and nice catches offshore fish utilizing live scope. Shallow fish are best on moving baits like chatterbaits and spinnerbaits and some minus ones in 1-3 feet. Edge of grass in 1-4 feet of water is still producing with ViperXP Jigs and Texas rigged creature baits. Grass in 1-4 ft best . Wacky rigs are good near edge of grass. Water temp is 56-66 depending on your location. Murky east and west but clear in the mid lake areas. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Bass are in the shallows working streamers are working in 1-8 feet. Clousers should produce good results around structure. Crappie will be moving towards the banks, small patterns like wooly buggers are a good bet. Bream will also move to warmer water, a wooly bugger would be a good choice. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie on Lake Fork are spread out all over the different depths on the lake right now. You can still catch some fish out deep in 50 plus feet of water, you can catch fish up in 2 feet of water and all the depth in between. Not seeing huge numbers of fish concentrated in any specific depth yet as these fish are moving towards spawning areas. We have been seeing bigger fish this past week being caught like we normally do in the springtime. The bite should get hotter and hotter in less than 20 feet deep areas as water temperature rise over the next few weeks. With tons of rain the last few weeks the water is stained in most areas and muddy way up north close to the runoff and feeder creek areas. Chartreuse hand ties are working well for fish deeper than 25 feet right now and black and chartreuse soft plastics are working well on shallower fish where the water is more stained. Minnows will still work as well. The catfish bite is really good around roosting trees on the north ends of the lake. Timber in 13-18 feet is best and look for the birds in that timber at first light. Bait around the trees with cattle cubes or sour grain to really concentrate those channel cats well. Then any prepared catfish bait will load the boat. The bite has been light and most fish just swim away with the bait. We are watching lines very closely to see when fish have the bait. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Ft. Phantom Hill

GOOD. Water stained; 63 degrees; 6.50 feet below pool. Crappie are starting to relate to rock banks using minnows or jigs. Largemouth bass are moving shallow red or orange crankbaits, worms or chatterbaits. Catfish are good drifting shallow flats with cut bait. Report by Camron Wilkerson, Camron’s Quality Crappie Guiding. Reports of crappie catches in the intake using jigs or minnows.

Graham

SLOW. Water stained; 55 degrees; 5.71 feet below pool. Crappie are fair to good on jigs and minnow. Catfish are moving into shallow water and catching them on shad. Bass have been hard to catch.

Granbury

GOOD. Water clear; 57 degrees; 0.12 feet below pool. Water temperatures on Granbury are in the middle 50s on the main lake and near 60 in the river above Granbury. The lake is relatively clear. Some shad kills have been reported mid to lower lake. Spawning sand bass and crappie are starting to be caught in the river near Tin Top. Largemouth bass are also being caught in the backs of major creeks and in the river near Tin Top. Some good blue and yellow catfish catches to 20 pounds are possible on the flats north of Hunter Park. Striped bass are reported as slow from Decordova to Indian Harbor. Crappie catches on submerged structures on small jigs are producing from mid lake to the Peninsula and in the river above Granbury. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters. Granbury striped bass are slow, but can be caught on live bait, deadsticking, strolling swim baits and umbrella-rigs. Fish are scattered from Striper Alley to the railroad bridge. Report provided by Kraig Sexton, Sexton’s Guide Service LLC, Fishing Charter, Marine Electronics & Whitney.

Granger

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 60 degrees; 0.33 feet above pool. Black bass are good on black Stanley Jigs fished in heavy timber in Willis Creek. Crappie are moving shallow into the backs of ditches and sloughs off the river and up Willis Creek. White bass are good up river around Comanche Bluff. Blue catfish are good on shad. Yellow catfish are slow. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.

Grapevine

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 57 degrees; 0.09 feet above pool. Most of the white bass have moved into the creeks to spawn. There are still some fish in 40-50 feet of water suspended down 20-35 feet of water biting slabs on stingers hooks using a thumper. Crappie are in the deeper water and can be caught on jigs. Reports that bass are in the backs of creeks on spawning beds. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’ the Irish Fishing Guide Service.

Greenbelt

SLOW. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 46.02 feet below pool. Few anglers and reports while the lake level is low.

Hawkins

SLOW. Water slightly stained. 58 degrees. Chain pickerel are shallow in the lily pads and around brush and grass. Black bass will feed in shallow water on warm banks and creeks. Try small baitfish imitations with barbless hooks. Fish calm sunny banks. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Houston County

GOOD. Water clear; 65 degrees; 0.18 feet above pool. Largemouth bass are good in 1-7 feet of water with wacky worms, weightless Texas rigs, yum dingers or swim jigs. Crappie are in 10 feet or less using minnows on standing timber, brush, or deep docks. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Hubbard Creek

GOOD. Water Stained; 63 degrees; 11.88 feet below pool. Crappie are up the creeks gearing up to spawn on minnows or jigs. Catfish are at the mouths of creeks with cut bait. Bass are shallow for the spawn biting shallow crankbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits. Report by Camron Wilkerson, Camron’s Quality Crappie Guiding. Lake record blue catfish caught this past week on cut bait.

Jacksonville

SLOW. Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.14 feet above pool. Bass are in 8-10 feet of water biting Texas rigs, wacky worms and rattletraps.

Joe Pool

FAIR. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.21 feet above pool. The bite remain consistent. Crappie are biting when you can find them stacked. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.

Lake O’ the Pines

GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 1.37 feet above pool. Crappie are excellent in the main creek channel north of the Texas State Highway 155 bridge with minnows or jigs. Sand bass are good north of the Texas State Highway 255 bridge towards the rock dam with small spinnerbaits. Catfish are good 10-15 deep with cut bait. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O’ the Pines Crappie Fishing. Spawning stages. Bass are good in shallow water with some starting to set up on beds biting lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Texas rigged lizards and chatterbaits. Most bass are in 10 feet or less. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Lavon

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 55 degrees; 0.37 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady, but this should change next week after the forecasted rain. It should be amazing fishing after the creek clears, but for that to happen, the water level would have to come up 2 to 4 feet or more, for a couple hours. That will get a bunch of white bass spread out through the creek system in higher numbers. Crappie seem to be moving north, so watch for spawning activity. Starting to see some in 18-20 feet of water on structures. A few roamers out in 15 feet. So basically, they are scattered around the lake. I would be on the north end, looking more than the south end. A majority of white bass are on the north end, funneling into the creeks for their annual white bass spawning run. 4 pound line and small jigs, rooster, tails, in-line, spinners, or minnows are working great in the creek systems. Catfish are great using cut bait on a santee rig drifting in 20-30 feet of water. If you are the first one out on the lake and you see the cormorants roosted in a tree, you can bobber out chicken liver, or cut bait or punch bait 3-6 foot under a bobber underneath the cormorants where they were in the tree, and you should find blue catfish and channel catfish feeding on what the birds were dropping into the water at night. Expect black bass to come shallow in the full moon to put these fish in 1-10 feet of water on beds. Best places to look are rocks, concrete or sandy bottom with gravel. Senko watermelon green watermelon, red work very well for hitting the bushes and tree stumps surrounding the shores. Work your way back into the back of the coves. don’t overlook the sides of boat ramps as they will use that to lay their eggs in the rip rap and sandy bottoms. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.

LBJ

FAIR. Water stained; 63 degrees; 0.27 feet below pool. Expect the crappie to push off the banks after the cold front. Crappie are fair with orange and black jigs in 5-15 feet of water. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service.

Lewisville

FAIR. Water lightly stained; 56 degrees; 0.01 feet below pool. White bass are fair in the river channels, up the creeks, or moving towards deep ledges of humps and points in 30-45 feet of water. Slabs, jigs, and live bait are working. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are fair. They will be in similar depths as the white bass. 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. Catfish are fair to good. Now is a great time to catch the bigger blue catfish drifting flats near the river channel and ledges of wind blown points has produced in 12-30 feet of water. The shallow water catfish bite is also picking up with the water temperature warming. Fishing on anchor in 1-8 feet of water near wind blown points, timber, and creek and river mouths has been good. Crappie are fair to good in 5-32 feet of water on bridge columns, brush piles, rock piles, stumps, and laydowns. Standing timber near creek mouths and shallow coves has produced as well. Crappie are being caught both in the main lake and in the creeks. Minnows and jigs are catching those fish. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Baitfish are cruising high in the water column due to warmer temperatures. Sand bass, hybrids and crappie are excellent and will be chasing baitfish. Largemouth bass are tough, but fish are starting to move shallow. After the full moon, smaller largemouth bass are sitting in 4-6 feet of water and bigger bass are in 10-20 feet of water off main lake points mainly foraging on small shad. Small swimbaits, wacky rigs and shakey heads are producing catches.

Limestone

GOOD. Water normal stain; 67 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Largemouth bass are good in 1-4 feet of water in the creek channels using swim jigs, Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits. Crappie are good fishing minnows in brush, standing timber, and creek channels in 1-10 feet of water. White bass are in 10 feet or less using silver jigging spoons on points and humps. Lots of white bass up the river at the Texas State Highway 164 bridge for bank anglers. Catfish are in 10 feet or less on creek channels and main lake points using cut bait. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Livingston

SLOW. Stained; 55 degrees; 0.08 feet below pool. Fishing slowed over the weekend. Sand bass are running in the creeks. Few reports of catches of hybrid stripers. on other species, but expect the bite to improve with the warmer weather.

Martin Creek

FAIR. Water stained; 65 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. Bass are good over and along the edge of the hydrilla. Topwater baits early along with lipless crankbaits and wacky worms work well. Crappie are beginning to congregate in the timber and brush piles in 16-25 feet of water using minnows and gulp on jig head. Catfish remain good at hot water discharge on live and cut bait.

Medina

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 60 degrees; 90.11 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water due to limited access and low water level. Very little public access.

Meredith

FAIR. Water stained; 44 degrees; 45.20 feet below pool. The pattern is consistent, and pre-spawn bite is pretty good, hopefully we have a good spawn this year. Bass are fair on minnows and artificials. Catfish are fair on crawlers, minnows, chicken liver and frozen shad. Crappie are fair on artificial baits and minnows. White bass are good, but fish are scattered biting minnows, slabs or any vertical presentations. Trout are good on power baits, minnows, worms, small spinners l, spoons and flies. Walleye are fair to good on minnows, grubs and other artificials. Please be safe out there, watch weather reports. Best of luck on finding your next catch. Life vests save lives. Report by Kenneth Wysong, SharKens Honey Hole.

Millers Creek

FAIR. Water stained; 55 degrees; 8.23 feet below pool. Due to low lake levels few anglers are on the water. Crappie and catfish are slow with a few bites near the dam.

Nacogdoches

GOOD. Water stained; 55-59 degrees; 0.16 feet above pool. Crappie are fair, and scattered with fish suspended in open water solo or in small groups. Look for them to soon start staging for spawn. Water levels are finally back to normal. Report by Blake Oestreich, Brushbuster Guide Service. The muddy water will warm up quickly. Expect to be shallow biting rattletraps and squarebill crankbaits. Report by Captain Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.

Naconiche

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 59 degrees; 0.50 foot above pool. The much warmer week should all but trigger the bucks to move up shallow. There is still some time before the pre-spawn females move up, fully, but this wont take long. Always remember that many Naconiche bass bed deeper than most other East Texas lakes. A chartreuse squarebill got the bites over the weekend, but any shad imitation could produce. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services

Nasworthy

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 57 degrees. 0.42 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent. Bass were slow on chatterbaits, flipping soft plastics in the reeds in 1-3 feet of water. Crappie are good around boat docks on chartreuse jigs and catfish were fair on cut bait and stink bait around the dam. Report provided by the Angelo State Fishing Team.

Navarro Mills

GOOD. Water stained; 55 degrees; 0.29 feet above pool. The lake is 2 feet high and the dam gates are open. Fishing on the main lake will remain slower than usual until the lake level comes down and the gates are closed. White bass are slow on minnows in 20 feet of water. Crappie a slow on jigs with a slow presentation in 20 feet of water. Blue catfish are fair on cut bait near timber. Channel catfish are fair on Danny King’s punch bait. Report by Clay Major, Major Guide Service.

O.C. Fisher

SLOW. Water stained; 50 degrees; 51.15 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers fishing due to low lake levels.

O.H. Ivie

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 30.77 feet below pool. The lake is in good shape with bass pushing shallow for the prespawn becoming aggressive on chatterbait, creature baits, plastics baits 1-12 feet of water. Look for bass to spawn with the next full moon. White bass chasing rattletraps and spinnerbaits schooling up the rivers. Should be spawning in the next month. Crappie are moving around bigger pecan trees in 15 feet of water hitting small red chartreuse or red and white jigs, or live minnows on a small hook. Channel catfish, 1-5 pounds, are moving shallow on shrimp and chicken river. Report by Wendell Ramsey, Ramsey Fishing. A better pattern should emerge as the weather warms heading into the next full moon.

Oak Creek

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 50 degrees; 15.98 feet below pool. Bass are being caught using Alabama Rigs and small swimbaits. Anglers are finding the baitfish then searching for fish suspended in 10 feet of water. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.

Palestine

GOOD. Water normal stain; 62 degrees; 0.13 feet above pool. Crappie continue to spawn, but half of them are done already. Most fish are 1-14 feet. Bite is good on jigs and minnows. Largemouth bass are good in 2-8 feet on baits that make a lot of commotion such as chatterbaits. Report by Sam Parker, Freshwater Fishing Adventures. Crappie have finally moved into the shallows, the white bass are in the Neches River, and the pear and plum trees are blooming. The crappie are mostly whites and mostly males, as noted by catches in the central part of the lake, but with good blackface spawning markings. Water temperatures were still a little low, with none in the central and southern areas over 60 degrees, only the Kickapoo Creek area being slightly higher. White bass were biting good along the Chandler River Park, mostly on 2 inch crappie twisters. Channel catfish are good on shrimp along that same section of the Neches River. Blue catfish continue to be good on humps and roadbed edges in the main lake in 15-23 feet on live minnows. The new Sunshine hybrid stripers were reported schooling for their pseudo spawn runs in the Saline Bay area, and are keeping size now. Trolling with Coyote spoons and 1.5-2 ounce roadrunners works. Jim Beggerly, Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing.

Palo Pinto

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 55 degrees; 9.59 feet below pool. Water temperature is nearing the 60 degree mark, so watch for pre-spawn patterns to emerge. Catfish are slow. Crappie bite slowed to fair off the docks.

Pinkston

GOOD. clear; 59 degrees. A full moon and warming trend have temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s so anglers should expect fish to be moving to the bank rapidly. Fish with lightweight Carolina or Texas rigs, chatterbaits, weightless flukes, worms, or rattletraps. As well as a spook, pop-r, and buzz bait. Report by Captain Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.

Possum Kingdom

FAIR. Water clear; 58 degrees; 0.37 feet below pool. Striper are fair but improving on swimbaits and Alabama rigs cast at the shore. Look for fish in 5-40 feet of water. You will have to beat the shoreline to death, but they are there and can be caught. Some can also be caught using live bait in the river channel. The fish are scattered but can be caught. Sand bass are fair to good with small slabs and small jigs are the way to go, but some can be caught using small live bait also. Your best bet is to use small jigs or swim baits casted at the shore in shallow water. Look for them in 2-10 feet of water. Catfish are great on cut shad in 1-5 feet of water. Water clarity is 2-8 feet of water. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service.

Proctor

GOOD. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 12.87 feet below pool. Bank anglers are reporting a good bite for crappie and catfish. Ramps are closed. It is possible to launch a boat from the gravel at Buffalo Springs.

Raven

SLOW. Water stained; 58 degrees. Reports for bass, crappie, catfish are all slow still. Bluegill are good at our boathouse and piers.

Ray Hubbard

GOOD. Water slight stain; 63 degrees; 0.01 feet below pool. White bass are good in 5-12 feet off of flats with fish showing up on some ridges and humps. Small lures like 3 inch CoHo’s with a 1/2 jig head and in line spinners working best for shallow water, and 3/4 ounce Bovee Spin slabs for deeper water. Cast out, let sink to the bottom and 10 reels then re drop and repeat. White bass are also showing up on long points in 18-24 feet later in the mornings as well as grouping in deep flats 35-38 feet of water using slab and jig combination. Crappie are on deep brush piles and trees roaming in deep water moving shallower in the afternoons, jigs or minnows keeping the baits 17-24 feet of water. Catfish are moving deeper on points roaming in 17-28 feet of water and grouping up in deep water. Report by John Varner, John Varner’s Guide Service.

Ray Roberts

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 0.45 feet below pool. Catfish have improved in 5-15 feet of water using cut gizzard shad. Should continue to only get better with this warm weather should see some bigger ones showing up shallow real soon. Catching some whites up closer to the creeks but not in the creeks yet. Don’t think it will be long before we see guys catching them off the side of the roads way up in the creek. First big rain with this warm weather I think a lot of them will move up especially the males. Report by Justin Wilson, Wilson Outdoor Connection.

Richland Chambers

FAIR. Water clear; 53 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. The water temperature is in the 50 degree range early in the morning, but increases to 56 degrees by mid afternoon. White bass and hybrid stripers are fair to good with fish being caught on a slab and jig combination off main lake points and humps in 30-40 feet of water. Deadsticking continues to be the approach, but the fish are becoming more aggressive with the warmer temperatures. Many of the white bass are up the creeks for their annual spawn. A few reports of crappie being caught in the shallow water, and the coves and creek channels on minnows. Eater size channel catfish are fair and continue to be caught on punch bait on a treble hook fished in the timber off the Richland Creek Channel in 15-20 feet of water. Shallow water off points is kicking into gear for the blue catfish. Targeting windblown points with cut shad has been key for bigger blues. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin’ Guide Service.

Sam Rayburn

GOOD. Water stained; 58-63 degrees; 0.84 feet below pool. Water conditions are stable, but they are slowly dropping the water level to continue work on the dam. Water is still very muddy north of Calhoun Point. A full moon and warming trend have temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s so anglers should expect fish to be moving to the bank rapidly. Fish with lightweight Carolina or Texas rigs, chatterbaits, weightless flukes, worms, or rattletraps. As well as a spook, pop-r, and buzz bait. Report by Captain Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing. Fishing patterns are holding steady. The water is muddy north of the Texas State Highway 147 bridge and clearing south of the bridge. The grass lines are in 6-12 feet grass of water. Male bass are moving up shallow in the grass, but the females are holding in 12 feet of water. Cast soft plastics and rattletraps. Crappie are moving into creeks to spawn with very few on main lake brush piles. This bite should improve next week. Catfish will follow soon. White bass are good up the river and can be fun to fish as they put up a good fight. If there are high winds it will stir the water up, cooling the water in the pockets. Water is being released as work continues on the dam. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.

Somerville

FAIR. Water stained; 59 degrees; 0.34 feet below pool. Spawn temperatures are almost here. Some fish are leaving the creeks, into the main lake. Catfish and crappie fair and bluegill slow on minnows, worms, and stink bait at Somerville Marina early morning. Black Bass are fair, hitting spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits. Fish are staged 6-10 feet of water with a few shallow. Crappie are fair on the main lake brush piles and pilings in 14 feet of water on pilings, but the best bite is up creeks, now full of water. Biting minnows and very small jigs. Catfish are fair, scattered in shallow water. Larger catfish are fair in deep water drifting or on jug lines baited with shad or cut bait. White bass are slow in the lake and fast bite up the creeks. White bass are caught using Pet spoons and jigs. Hybrids are fair, fishing schools, caught on cut bait and 2 ounce jigs. Hybrids are also being caught from shore at the Dam and Welch park areas. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.

Spence

SLOW. Water stained; 59 degrees. 47.14 feet below pool. Anglers are reporting catches of bass using crankbaits and swim jigs. The catfish bite is moderate on cut bait. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.

Stamford

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 2.95 feet below pool. Several boats on the water, but they are frequently changing locations. Fish are starting to move around with the warmer temperature, this may slow with the slight cool down in the forecast. Catfish and bass are in the coves, but not seeing fish on beds. Crappie are good near concrete and in the crappie house. Some bass action shallow using small lures. White bass are fair. Catfish are slow.

Stillhouse

GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 16.79 feet below pool. Water is rising and warming due to recent rains and mild weather. White bass and shad have begun shifting shallower due to what is shaping up to be an early spring. Fish are in 18-32 feet of water and are more aggressive. A go-to tactic right now is easing with the white 5/8 ounce or �¾ ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab. The easing tactic involves slowly and steadily lifting the slab from near bottom upwards and watching sonar for signs of fish following the bait. If a follow occurs, the bait must continue to be moved steadily upwards. Utilize side imaging to find fish, Spot-Locking atop them, then fishing vertically aided by Garmin LiveScope to catch. Bird activity is still sufficient to help find fish in the mornings only. Once the fish loses interest in a vertical presentation, throw a 3/8 ounce jig head and 3 inch white curltail grub to mop up any nearby fish. Once those fish quit, it is time to move. If you encounter schools of migrating white bass using the river channel, a short, fluke-like soft plastic on a jighead tied to hang horizontally and fish similar to deadsticking will add fish to your count before they move on. Beware that the surface temperature can be very misleading, and that the temperature from 10 feet below the surface and deeper is still significantly cooler. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

Tawakoni

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 0.34 feet above pool. The hybrid striper and white bass are being caught on plastics and swim baits in 20-35 feet. The trophy catfish are good on fresh cut shad and cut bait in 10-25 feet. Both drifting and anchoring are working equally well. The largest fish we landed this week was 60 pounds. The eating sized smaller catfish are also becoming active and can be targeted in shallow water on very small pieces of cut shad. Look for these fish in 2-10 feet of water on wind blown points. The crappie are good right now. They are in transition and we are starting to see them move up out of deep water and into the mid depths and semi-shallow water. Minnows and jigs are working equally good. The largemouth bass bite has also turned on. Anglers are catching fish on rip-rap and shallow docks on soft plastics like brush hogs and small flukes in 2-6 feet. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Texana

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.06 feet below pool. Few anglers on the water due to the recent weather, but the warming trend and full moon should bring fish shallow. No white bass or crappie reports from anglers. Water clarity is turbid from runoff.

Texoma

GOOD. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 1.01 feet below pool. Striped bass fishing is slow on flukes and live shad in the main lake river channels. Watch for birds in the backs of coves where big stripers will be feeding on gizzard shad. Cast swimbaits in 5-10 feet of water with a fast retrieve. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are fair on swimbaits in the mouths of creeks around stumps. Fish in 5-8 feet of water with a slow retrieve across the bottom. To catch some smallies use soft plastics along the bluffs in the backs of the coves. Catfish are slow on cut gizzard shad and prepared baits. Need rain and muddier water, but look for the trophy fish to be shallow in 2-12 feet of water near the rivers. Plenty of bait to eat has them hard to catch. Crappie are slow at the boathouses and brush piles using 1/16 ounce head and a 2 inch glo head. Look for fish to be in the creeks shallow on structure and along the banks on laydowns. Report by Jacob Orr, Guaranteed Guide Service Lake Texoma. Striped bass are good with nice size fish and limits caught daily. Fish are in 8-20 feet of water on structure using Alabama rigs or 4-5 inch swimbaits. Fish are starting to stage in the tributaries for the spawn. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.

Toledo Bend

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 58 degrees; 0.38 feet below pool. Bass fishing is good in really all depths from 1-30 feet of water, with catches up to 9 pounds. Shallower fish are coming on weightless senkos, wacky-worms, chatterbaits and square bills. Mid range fish are biting on Carolina rig lizards and brush hogs, football jigs and mid range crankbaits. Deeper fish are coming on dropshots, spoons and swimbaits. Do no expect these fish to remain deep for long with the water temperature increasing the baitfish will start to push shallow. Crappie are picking up as the creeks clear and crappie move in. Best baits are jigs and live minnows in 6-12 feet. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.

Travis

GOOD. Water stain; 58 degrees; 49.14 feet below pool. Lake Travis is fishing strong for bass. Look for fish piling up in transitional areas chasing bait fish. Shad colored crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are catching some as well as craw colored jigs and worms as well as green colors. Look at deep water ledges near main lake pockets and halfway back in creeks and coves. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Twin Buttes

SLOW. Water stained. 54 degrees; 32.27 feet below pool. Crappie are slow in the main lake hugging the bottom in 20 feet of water biting minnows. Crappie should start migrating in the rivers. Several catches of females with eggs, but they are not ready for the spawn just yet. White bass are up the river for the annual spring spawn. Channel catfish are slow. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.

Tyler

SLOW. Water stained; 60 degrees; 0.11 feet above pool. Fishing should be good for the next few weeks as fish begin to spawn. Catfish are very slow off the barge in 16 feet of water using liver. Crappie are fair to good scattered in 4-10 feet of water in the creek beds with minnows and jigs. Bluegill are very slow with a few catches on red worms. Bass are slow using crankbaits, and black trick worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits starting in 6 feet of water moving deeper. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Waco

GREAT. Water stained; 55 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady but look for fish to push shallow with the warming trend and full moon. Blue catfish are biting live shad, and cut bait. Largemouth bass are slow. White bass and hybrid stripers are fair staging up the river for the spawn. Crappie are fair with fish still in a winter pattern deep on open water brush piles and standing structure. Catches of hybrids and crappie near Bosque Park on live bait and cut bait.

Walter E. Long

SLOW. Water stained; 62 degrees. Several bass 6-7 pound bass have been caught. Fishing has been tough due to the high winds, but numbers of fish can be caught. Best success spot locking on to fish then using a very slow approach with 5 inch Yum dingers, or finesse baits. There seems to be a lot of traffic on the lake, so navigate slowly with caution. Decker is getting a lot of traffic for a tiny lake. Bass will enter into the pre-spawn over the next week so expect more big fish to be caught. Report by David Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide.

Weatherford

FAIR. Water stained; 58 degrees; 7.38 feet below pool. Catfish are fair in the main lake using cut bait. Crappie are fair in the crappie house with minnows and jigs. Crappie should spawn in the next few weeks. Bass continue to be slow, with a few catches in 15-20 feet of water using Texas rigs and crankbaits. Bass should be pushing shallow soon for the spawn.

Welsh

GOOD. Water normal stain. 63 degrees, 69 degrees in the discharge. Largemouth bass are good spawning shallow on beds with creature baits and crankbaits.

White River

SLOW. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 20.10 feet below pool. Crappie and catfish are being caught on minnows and worms from the docks or banks.

Whitney

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 0.56 feet above pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady but look for fish to push shallow with the warming trend and full moon. Hybrid stripers can be caught from the island to Bear Creek on live bait, deadsticking, strolling swimbaits and umbrella-rigs. Report provided by Kraig Sexton, Sexton’s Guide Service LLC, Fishing Charter, Marine Electronics & Whitney.

Worth

FAIR. Water normally stained; 61 degrees; 3.06 feet below pool. White bass are fair on main lake structure on slabs and in mid depths on chartreuse and white cocahoes. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles shallow and in mid depths and main lake structure on jigs. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait on structure. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.

Wright Patman

GOOD. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 3.40 feet above pool. Crappie are good on the main lake with minnows.

Houston

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 58 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Water clearing up. White bass are heavy in the creeks in all north ends feeding heavily in the morning eating jigs and spins with crappie mixed in feeding in the brush on the shorelines. Crappie are scattered in luces bayou and the way fork in 6-14 feet of water eating on small jigs and hand tied jigs along with minnows from waterside marina. Catfish are getting good in the creeks and rivers as well on shad and stink bait. Trotlines and long leader jugs have been doing well. Largemouth bass are coming back with decent catches burning shorelines and riprap using weightless crawls and big lip crank baits. Gar are heavy in the creeks. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

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