Also See:
Jeff Nail’s Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Report
Lake Hartwell Fishing Report from Captain Mack
Lake Lanier Fishing Report from Captain Mack
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 September 25, 2024
GOOD. Water clear; 77 degrees; 0.23 feet above pool. Crappie are good over trees in 15-25 feet on jigs and minnows. Report by The Bait Shop, Post, Texas.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 86 degrees; 65.60 feet below pool. Black bass are fair in 20-35 feet on Carolina rigged and Texas rigged creature baits, fished deep in Wat Red, Kudzu, pumpkinseed, gourd green, and bloodline colors are having the best results. Main lake points and ledges are holding the most fish. Topwater baits in bone and shad colors are also catching a few fish. White bass and Stripers are good in 30-50 feet up the Rio Grande around buoys 20-23 feet. Follow the shad bait balls and the fish are right under them. Alabama rigs, underspins, spoons, deep diving jerkbaits and swim baits are doing great. Happy Fishing. Report by Captain Raul Cordero, Far West Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 5.41 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. Bass are biting shallow on crankbaits and creature baits. The offshore bite is good as well once the sun rises on brush piles and 10-15 feet of water.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees; 6.01 feet below pool. Fishing pattern is holding as the water slowly cools off. Catfish pattern is holding steady drifting with fresh cut shad. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.
SLOW. Water slightly stained; 81 degrees; 0.54 feet below pool. Bass are slow, but can be caught on the outside of grass lines with Texas rig worms and weightless flukes. Crappie are slow on small jigs over deep brush 25 feet. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.70 feet below pool. Bass are feeding more heavily at night than during the day. There is an abundance of bait in deep water. Small minnow presentations work best. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stain; 85 degrees; 0.26 feet below pool. Mayflies are hatching, so expect some topwater bass action. Bass are fair on soft plastics in the cuts, or with frogs over grass. Crappie are fair with jigs in flooded timber. Catfish are fair on juglines.
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees. Lake Bastrop is fishing decent for bass. The discharge is always good early in the morning, throwing small swimbaits and shaky heads. Further out in the discharge, you can work around the rock piles throwing a shaky head, jig or crankbait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
EXCELLENT. Water stained; 83 degrees; 1.24 feet below pool. Great fishing has improved even more this week. After the first significant cold front moved through the first week of September the north winds increased, the air temperature and lake surface temperature dropped, and the humidity levels increased. Fishing for white bass improved drastically with fish now inhabiting portions of the bottom they have not used since May down to as deep as 47 feet. A go to tactic has been to drop a MAL Original with chartreuse tail to the bottom and crank it fast enough to get and keep the spinner going, up to about six cranks off bottom, then repeating. The early morning shallow bite has all but died and there is a productive deep water bite now starting around 8 a.m. and ending around 10:45 a.m. There are small fish to contend with, but quality fish are present. To catch quality fish leave the small fish behind after the initial burst of interest at a given area. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish have been great. Large numbers of blue catfish under 10 pounds can be found in the mouths of creeks and along old river channels in 10-30 feet of water. Drifting with fresh cut shad has worked best. Channel catfish have been excellent using punch bait around gravel beds and timber. Flatheads have been slow but can be found around large rock piles using live bait. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 2.57 feet below pool. Catfish are good in shallow water. Perch are good in shallow water. Crappie continue to be good in 20 feet of water using live minnows. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are shallow around structure using chatterbaits and Texas rigged worms. Few reports on catfish and sand bass.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.59 feet below pool. Channel catfish are fair in 25 feet of water on baited holes with stink bait. Crappie limits are possible in 25 feet of water on standing timber with black and green jigs. Channel catfish are fair in 25 feet of water on baited holes with stink bait. White bass are fair at night in the lights with a white spinnerbaits. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Black bass are chasing shad and bream. Windy retaining walls will produce marauding bass. Try topwater baits in a fish pattern and streamers in a Bream pattern. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Bass are excellent, especially late afternoon. Water clarity is good with 3 feet of visibility. Schools are suspending in 10 feet or less on main lake points on the north side of the lake, and points east of the railroad bridge. Use an Alabama rig, walking top water. Shaded walls next to points with bladed jigs or small swimbaits have produced bigger fish. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers.
stained; 85 degrees; 2.30 feet below pool. Bass are hit-or-miss with longer activity on cloudy mornings. Frogs and choppos are good in pond weed. Then work wacky ring dingers to chatterbaits and rage swimmers. Offshore bite has slowed down, but brush piles in 14-19 feet are best with Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, and big shaky heads. Use 8-10 inch worms, but if the bite slows switch to smaller baits. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Crappie fishing is hot with fish on timber, brush or any structure you can find in 8-25 feet of water. Focus on the outside edges of timber lines and open water main lake timber under the surface. These fish have not been pressured, so any bait you want to present to them will work. Tons of fish around 12 inches can be put in the boat and quickly. This is definitely a lake to hit up if you are looking for a mess of crappie. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 12.30 feet below pool. Black bass are slow with a few being caught late afternoon before dark around deeper rocky shorelines using senkos and slow rolling spinnerbaits. Catfish are slow with a few caught late afternoon into the night on cut bait. Crappie and white bass are slow.
GOOD. Water stained, 90 degrees. Bank anglers are catching redfish at Dead Tree Point on live bait. Trolling near the dam area has been slow with live bait. Channel catfish are good along the rock lines on cheese bait and cut bait. Bass are slow. Report by Harry Lamb, Alamo Texas Fishing.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 11.60 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters early, switch to shad pattern crankbaits as the day warms up. The bite should only get better as things cool off and the fish start following migrating shad. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs at the usual places. Docks, brush piles and the 380 bridge have been productive. Minnows have been good, look for the jig bite to really get going as the water cools down further. Hybrids and sand bass have been good on live bait and slabs. Look for increased schooling activity during cool mornings, especially when there is cloud cover. The main lake continues to be the best area to find them. Keep a propeller bait handy for topwater action, a chartreuse slab for when they go deeper. Blue and channel catfish have been good on cut bait. Check the same areas that you find the sand bass in as the catfish will be nearby looking for an easy meal. Report by Keith Bunch, Lake Bridgeport Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.75 feet above pool. Black bass up to 5.67 pounds are fair on Hags’s baits with soft plastics and frogs casting into the newly submerged grass and weeds. Some catches with crankbaits in 2-8 feet of water around the rock cuts. Crappie are slow with catches up to 10 inches around docks with brush in 9-15 feet of water with minnows. White bass are excellent with catches up to 1.50 pounds on crankbaits around the lighted docks. Catfish are fair with catches up to 3 pounds on cut bait and on artificial lures.
GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees. Bass are excellent and can be caught with your favorite approach. Fish are schooled up on points before dark, and in brush piles in around 12 feet of water. Shallow bite has been good, and should progressively improve as the cool fall weather comes in. Report by the Aggie Anglers.
FAIR. Water slight stain; 83 degrees; 13.40 feet below pool. Topwater striper schools are sporadic lake wide. White bass are surfacing in large schools mid lake hitting slab spoons and topwaters. Trolling in 6-21 feet of water with white and chartreuse half ounce jigs and trailers has still been the most consistent pattern producing some keeper fish with numerous throwbacks. Vertically jigging, slabbing, with �½-1 ounce spoons has been working when you can find a school that will stay under the boat. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing. Cold front should increase the topwater action and possibly turn on the live bait bite. The topwater bite is improving for white bass and scattered stripers at the mouths of creeks working towards the back. Striped bass continue to be good trolling bucktail jigs on downriggers in 16-30 feet of water. Fish are feeding on shallow sandbars in the morning and afternoons. Catfish are slow in 15 feet of water on live shad, but are still on deep rock piles and ledges in 15-20 feet of water biting punch bait or shad. White bass bite is good on jigging spoons in 20-30 feet of water. Report by Captain Aaron Dick, One Up Fishing Guide Service. Crappie are good on brush piles and standing timber in 20-25 feet of water with jigs and minnows. Blue catfish are good in 20-25 feet of water with cut shad or punch bait. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are good throwing shaky heads and Texas-rigged 4-5 inch worms around rock piles to catch some good ones. Flipping trees in 5-15 feet with jigs, flukes and craw worms will get some too. A medium or deep crankbait will catch some of those bigger bass. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.04 feet below pool. Bass are still in transition from the summer to fall pattern with fish schooling all over the lake. Topwater patterns like pop r, frog, spook, fluke or buzz baits should all work at daylight on the main lake around pads and grass matts. Go to a light Texas rig worm when sun rises. Target river cuts and turns with a dropshot, shaky head or shad color crank bait and you should get bit. This is a beautiful time of the year to come visit this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.
GOOD. Water slightly stained, 92 degrees. Bank fishing has been good from Spider Island to Jet Ski Cove on live bait and shrimp. Redfish can be caught trolling around the dam area 10-15 feet on gold spoons. Blue catfish are fair on rock piles on shrimp and cut bait. Channel catfish are good on weed lines on cheese bait. No reports on bass. Report by Harry Lamb, Alamo Texas Fishing.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 24.80 feet below pool. With the cooler nights the bass are starting to get way more active. Topwaters early In the morning around grass have been producing fish. Then as the day progresses a Chatterbait around grass has been catching fish. Report by Evan Coleman, Big Bassin Fishing.
GOOD. normal stain; 79 degrees; 2.15 feet below pool. Smaller sized baits are the key to success! Hybrids and white bass are good early in the morning at daylight on midlake points and drop offs along sandy flats throughout the dam area, Crappie Island, Key Ranch and the spillway humps in 11-17 feet. Cast spinners and slabs and look for schooling fish on these flats as well as deeper seawalls and shorelines. Then fish any hump in 14-22 feet throughout the lake to find fish stacked up in schools as the day warms up. Look for schooling fish on cloudier days. Use spinnerbaits or drop a slab down to the bottom and work it fast up and down and the fish will hit it immediately. Also throwing out a slab and reeling it back with a slow retrieve is also working well. Cast rattle traps, Spoons,Umbrella Rigs, slabs or sassy shads to get the hybrids to bite. The crappie bite has been getting better. Target crappie with small jigs and minnows in 5-12 feet under bridge pylons, hidden brush piles throughout the lake or under docks. Limits are being reported, although guides have been reporting conditions are improving with bigger sized fish being caught. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are biting on humps and points in 18-24 feet of water anchoring or drifting with cut shad. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
FAIR. Water stained; 86 degrees; 31.26 feet below pool. Few anglers on the water due to low water levels. Call to check ramp status. Bass are fair early in the morning or late in the afternoon on main lake long extended points with shad colored crankbaits and flukes. If you come across some hydrilla there are usually a few in the cover. Catfish are in 15-30 feet of water. Crappie are biting on deep docks in 25 feet of water with live minnows or grubs. White bass are schooling early in the morning on long points near the dam. Report by Scott Springer, Fish Choke Canyon Lake.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 73 degrees; 13.44 feet below pool. Crappie have really been doing good on minnows. Also a few anglers are having luck on channel and blue catfish on perch, worms and cutbait. Report by Lake Cisco Rentals.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.53 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are slow on topwaters early in the morning, or flipping a senko into cattails. Crappie are fair with jigs and minnows.
0.40 feet above pool. Comanche Creek will reopen to the public Tuesday, October 1. Reservations are needed.
GOOD. Water stained; 84 degrees; 0.66 feet below pool. Catfish are good all over with improved catches of keepers after the water cooled. Target catfish in 10-30 feet of water on catfish bubblegum, liver, worms, and punch bait. Bass are good early and late in shallow water and offshore midday on structure and ledges. Crappie are still poor but some can be caught on structure 12-25 feet. Hair jigs have been out producing plastics. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Hybrids have been scattered in 13-24 feet with some whites mixed in, some are trolling with a deep diver and a pet spoon trailer, others are using slabs from Bradley Outdoors to jig for them. Always wear your life jacket and stay hydrated in this heat. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees: 2.00 feet below pool. Hybrids are great off main lake humps and points with live shad, you can catch them vertically jigging spoons. Crappie are slow but can be caught in 3-10 feet of water on the bottom of timber with a crawdad jig. Catfish are good on the edges of the river channel in 15-20 feet of water. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
SLOW. 85 degrees; 10.16 feet below pool. Few reports from anglers on the water.
GOOD: Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.65 feet below pool. Channel catfish are good in 12 feet of water with stink bait. Crappie are good in 15 feet of water on minnows. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Patterns and conditions have not changed since last week, but fish are grouping up more. Finesse baits like small swimbaits and drop shots will help locate groups. Water clarity is 2-3 feet. Bass are good, with fish grouping up near isolated pieces of hard cover. Texas rigged, small profile creature baits in green pumpkin. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 4.96 feet below pool. White bass are fair to slow on main lake structures. White bass continue to be scattered due to ongoing water releases. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles and main lake structure on jigs with white color combinations. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.
Closed to the public.
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 45.26 feet below pool. River is flowing so the north end of the lake is fishing well. Catfish are good with catches up 25-30 pounds being caught in Veleño Creek. Gar are good up the river as well. Gar are good on the north and south end with cut carp or tilapia and big shad. Bow fishing is excellent on the south end. Crappie are slow for numbers and the few being caught are undersized. Bass are good in brush piles in 10-20 feet of water with a crankbait or soft plastic. Report by Ram Reyes, Ram Outdoors.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 92 degrees. Bass should become more active after the cold front enticing a fall feeding frenzy on points. Bass continue to be good on points hitting squarebill crankbaits early then moving out to 14 feet of water throwing shaky heads and deep diving crankbaits. Perch are fair to good on shallow flats in 5-8 feet of water and starting to push deeper. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 1.62 feet below pool. Shallow bass bite is good early to mid morning around grass and smaller points in 2-4 feet with topwaters, flukes, or shaky heads and minus 1 type crankbaits. Carolina and Texas rigs are good on points and humps in 10-14 feet near drop-offs. Smaller baits catch numbers, but big worms will catch bigger bass. Crank baits such as DD 22,XD 5,XD 6 still fair, but have slowed down during the full moon. Best places are long points and over or around road beds in 15-20 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Bass are aggressive on top water and shallow. Windy banks can provide schooling action so be ready with a small top water or streamer. Catfish are shallow around boat houses. Bream are excellent in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be excellent as we head into fall. You can find fish in a very large range of depths from 12-40 feet. Timber still has some great white crappie if you cover water and pick off those fish. Brush piles are holding decent numbers with a combination of white and black crappie. You can find black crappie on underwater road beds and bridges. We should see more and more black crappie on the tops of timber in deeper water over the next month. Minnows are a great bait but we did catch fish on small hand tied jigs this week. Soft plastics will work and that bite will get better as water cools off. The catfish bite is on fire in 18-28 feet around timber along creek channels. These fish are following bait migrations and will load up under your boat as you begin to fish. They will even elevate off the bottom as they load up so you can fish up and down the water column to find the larger fish. Use any prepared bait of choice to catch this fish. Using some cattle cubes or sour grain will attract and hold even more fish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 7.65 feet below pool. Hybrid stripers are fair to good. White bass can be caught trolling with crankbaits or live shad. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters along the rocks.
SLOW. Water stained: 85 degrees; 9.12 feet below pool. Expect the bite to improve as the water temperature cools. Sand bass are hit-or-miss in the evenings. Bass are slow in the evenings with catches up to 2 pounds. Carp and gar can be caught up stream. Black drum can be caught in the stilling basin.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 4.28 feet below pool. Fishing is improving with the cooler water temperature. Bass are biting in shallow water on shad. Sandbass and hybrids are schooling all over the lake. Crappie are good in the brush on jigs and minnows.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.35 feet below pool. Temperatures have been see-sawing with the weather with the water fluctuating from the upper 70s to the low 80s. Sand bass are good to excellent on slabs and spinnerbaits in many areas of the lake. There are lots of small sand bass, but some bigger ones mixed in. Look for schooling action in town around the Shores to Striper Alley. Striped bass are slow to fair with catches up to 10 pounds fishing with live bait on the lower ends from Decordova to the Dam in 15-20 feet of water. Look for those striped bass near schooling sand bass. Largemouth bass continue to be good on crankbaits and soft plastics fished near humps and ridges near creek entrances. There is a good largemouth bass topwater bite in the back of sloughs where baitfish are holding. Crappie catches are fair to good on small jigs and minnows fished on submerged structures in 10-20 feet of water. Best reports on crappie have been from near Water’s Edge to Bent Water. Catfish action is good on cut shad and prepared baits on many areas of the lake. Look for catfish on shallow humps in 10-15 feet of water. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.07 feet above pool. Black bass are good to 7 pounds on worms and crankbaits. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows fished over cover in 4-12 feet of water. White bass are fair with mostly small undersized fish being caught over ridges, humps, and roadbeds. Blue catfish are good on shad. Yellow catfish are good to 25 pounds on live bait. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.83 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent with the average size of fish caught larger than what we have seen. White bass are moving fast but if you find the right school and structure the fish will leave and come back. White bass are good in 22 feet of water with white jigging spoons. Fish are feeding well. Catfish can be caught mixed in with the sand bass. All boat ramps are operational andt the lake is in good shape. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 49.57 feet below pool. Crappie are in standing timber. Sand bass are good. Catfish are good on minnows and worms. Largemouth bass are good.
GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Bass are chasing bait fish around the edges of grass. Bead heads will tempt bream and bass, dropping the flies at the front of the grass line. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.05 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent, but this should change as the weather begins to cool. Sunfish are good. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs. Bass are slow midday, with the best bite in the morning.
SLOW. Water Stained; 85 degrees; 14.16 feet below pool. Bass are slow with the best bite around the north end of the dam on rocks of the overflow, and in Game Warden Cove in 4-11 feet of water on trees near the rocky shoreline. Smaller fish are biting topwaters, and bigger fish were caught on square bill crankbaits for jerkbaits for schooling bass. Blue catfish can be caught on juglines with live bait or cut carp. White bass are schooling throughout the day.
SLOW. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.11 feet below pool. Bass fishing is tough with fish scattered. Spotted bass can be caught with crankbaits on brush piles in 10-16 feet of water. There is a fair topwater bite in the morning and at dusk. Some schooling action on topwater and swimbaits.
SLOW. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.04 below pool. Activity is picking up daily with shad and small bass in the creeks. Expect bigger to move in soon. Squarebill crankbaits, swimbaits, and topwater will catch fish. There has been a lot of sporadic schooling for white bass and largemouth bass. Crappie can be caught on minnows under the bridges. No report on catfish. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.25 feet below pool. Water is stained and visibility is around 1 ft north of 155 bridge. Bass are good in the grass near the islands or off the points with a creek channel running on the end of the point. Bluegill colored flukes, creature baits will produce bites. Big fish can be caught with a black hollow body frog on top of matted grass, or a buzz toad along the edges of matted grass. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers.
EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 2.71 feet below pool. Catfish are excellent on baited holes. Dragging shad on Santee Rigs are producing some 10-15 pound fish with an occasional 20-30 pound fish. Crappie are excellent on 1/32-1/8 ounce jigs or minnows. Finding Fish on laydowns in 5 feet of water and any kind of hard structure as deep as 18 feet, or brush piles in 15 feet of water. Black Bass are in 3-20 feet. Cast white and chartreuse spinnerbaits early in the morning 1-5 feet. About an hour or two after sunlight no bite, switch to a 3-6 foot diver, then gradually go to a 12-15 foot diver as the sun rises around 10 o’clock. Obviously, there will be days when fish will not react to a reaction bait, such as a crankbait, so you might have to slow down and Carolina rig or Texas rig to entice a bite. There is still some submerged brush on main points and secondary points that are holding fish early morning till the drop back out 10-20 feet. Rocks along banks, boat ramps, floating and submerged tire reefs, and rock piles. Do not be scared to try one to 5 feet of water all day long because there are some shallow ones right now. White bass are excellent, but everyday is different. One day they are over here, the next day they are on the other side of the lake. Try to hit the main lake points and ledges in 15-20 feet with 1 ounce white slabs for when fish are on the bottom, and topwater plugs, or swimbaits for surfacing fish. Glass House Point, Island Point, and little ridge have been hot. Bluegills are still super good on structure, such as brush piles in 15-20 feet. Earthworms, wax worms, mealworms, working great on light line 2-4 pound. Crickets are catching bigger fish. Do not be surprised if you catch crappies while you’re trying to catch the gills. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.17 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 20-25 feet of water over brush piles with jigs or minnows. Channel and blue catfish are good on punch bait in 25 feet of water over brush piles. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 82 degrees; 1.34 feet below pool. White bass are fair to good on humps and points in 15-30 feet of water. There has been some sporadic bird activity on mid lake flats and humps. 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. Blue catfish are fair on cut shad. Drifting mainlake humps, points, and flats near the river channel have produced in 12-32 feet of water. With the recent rain, there will be catfish where the river and creeks flow into the lake as well. Channel catfish are good on baited holes on punch bait in 8-25 feet of water on humps and points. Crappie are fair in 6-26 feet of water. Check brush piles and submerged cover close to a drop off ledge. Cover close to drop off ledges has been best. Minnows and jigs are catching those fish. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Bass are more active at night. Largemouth bass are slow on jigs and finesse worms. A lot of fish are cruising around chasing bait fish. Crappie are heavily stacking up in main lake brush piles in 12-15 feet of water. Sand bass are all over biting live bait or spoons. Lake levels are dropping rapidly, so navigate with caution.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees; 1.81 feet below pool. Water temperatures are fluctuating from the upper 70s to the upper 80s. Thermocline is strong at 15 feet. White bass have been schooling in the back of the creeks. Seeing numbers of shad schools moving into the back of the creeks this week. Largemouth bass are scattered with some fish suspended on deep brush and some under docks. Crappie action continues to be best on offshore fresh willow tree piles, with some on power line pylons and standing timber. The lake is dropping, so navigate with caution. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.
GOOD. slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.65 feet below pool. White bass are great on roadbeds in 6-16 feet of water hitting Duck Tracker slabs. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 90 degrees; 1.33 feet below pool. Bass are good with red bug worms working the edge of the hydrilla. There are schooling bass along the county line road with best bait the 1/4 ounce chrome rattletrap. 6-8 XD crankbaits on deep brush. Crappie remain excellent in standing timber and brush piles in 25-30 feet of water. Minnows are the go to bait. Catfish are still being caught on jug lines with live bait in water above the thermocline. Fishing water depth that no thermocline is present. Reports given by Hambone guide service.
SLOW. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 90.15 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water due to limited access and low water level.
FAIR. Water stained; 74 degrees; 48.22 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady as the water starts to cool off. White bass bite continues to be excellent on just about anything. Bass are good on minnows and artificials. Catfish are fair to good with nightcrawlers, minnows, chicken liver and frozen shad. Crappie are fair with artificial baits and minnows. Trout are slow. Walleye are good on minnows, grubs, and other artificial baits. Hit the secondary points of a morning, slabbing in about 40 feet of water. Best of luck to you out there. Please be safe out there, watch weather reports. Life vests save lives. Report by Kenneth Wysong, SharKens Honey Hole.
SLOW. Water stained; 83 degrees; 1.58 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water. The best bite will be early and late in the day.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 1.26 feet below pool. The clarity has improved to 4 feet of visibility. Largemouth bass are excellent with 3-5 pound fish being caught on small swimbaits and topwaters. There is a lots of schooling action. Crappie are excellent on 1/16 ounce white crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on live minnows and cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 0.00 feet full pool. Much warmer temperatures have increased the surface temperature so this destabilizes the fish. They cannot decide if they need to stay or go from their typical summer haunts. Expect the next two cold fronts to drop the temperature down to the mid 70s before heading further down to set off the fall turnover. Keep an eye on the thermocline. This tells you the exact depth to present your offering. Even over deep water, do not go below this line. The square-bill crank 5 feet depth got the most bites over the weekend. If you find them hugging the bottom in 8-10 feet, dragging a Texas rig Mag-worm can be effective. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters and swimbaits. Crappie are excellent on brush and standing timber in 10-15 feet of water on 1/16 ounce white crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on cut bait in the fishing pier area. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 92 degrees. 0.43 feet below pool. Bass are good on white chatterbait and spinnerbaits early morning and evening. Flipping soft plastics around reed bases in 1-3 feet of water midday is the ticket to catch shaded up largemouth bass. Crappie were good around boat docks on chartreuse jigs and catfish were fair on cut bait and stink bait around river channel bends. Report provided by the Angelo State Fishing Team.
SLOW. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.34 feet below pool. White bass are good on chartreuse slabs. White Bass can be found in the main lake on underwater humps or schooling on the surface in the morning and afternoons. Catfish are good on punch bait and shad in the flooded timber on the west end of the lake. Crappie are good on minnows around brush piles in 15-20 feet of water. Largemouth bass are fair on crawfish jigs near the dam. Report by Clay Major, Major Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees; 40.12 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers fishing due to low lake levels.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 79 degrees; 25.89 feet below pool. Flooded green vegetation is starting to decay and sour moving fish out further into the brush and suspending in open water. Black bass are slow, with one 12 pounder and a 9 pounder reported. Main lake water is clear with schooling activity in open water. Bass are moving around being caught on topwaters, rattle traps and small minnow shad imitating baits. Upper end stained and tough fishing but a few bass being caught on worms. Still some debris moving around with the wind so be careful on the upper end of the lake. Crappie are good with fish suspended in trees in deeper water hitting minnows and small jigs. White bass are still being caught at night mainly under lights. Catfish fair on cut bait and shrimp in a variety of places shallow and deep. Report by Wendell Ramsey, Ramsey Fishing.
SLOW. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 17.22 feet below pool. Anglers are reporting success using several methods to catch quality bass up to 7 pounds. Bass are being caught on large plastic worms with large shaky heads, and swimbaits. Crappie reports are good with anglers catching limits on live bait and Bone Head jigs. The fish are schooled up on brush piles and trees. Anglers utilizing forward facing sonar are reporting success. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.
SLOW. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; 0.83 feet below pool. The cooling trend that began about two weeks ago has not continued. There are reports and observations of lake turnovers and the thermocline sinking, but large-scale cooling is just not taking place yet. This is simply because the overall weather pattern has not really changed much. We just passed the Fall Equinox, so the nights will be getting longer and contributing more to diurnal cooling of the water and the shorter days will heat the water less on the average. On the average though, looking at the history of the lake, we have less rain and a lowering lake to look forward to until November. Bass have been fair predominantly from fishing boathouse patterns with spinners, jerks, and finesse type lures. The various striped bass have also been only fair, the longer bite periods just did not develop because of increased temperatures. Crappie have been good, but primarily for white crappie down at 16-24 feet on brush and timber, black crappie have been slow. All catfish remain good at night, but only fair during the day. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine.
GOOD. Water slight stain; 88 degrees; 0.98 feet below pool. Blue catfish are biting great up in the flats at Lake Palo Pinto and in Lake Palo Pinto Creek on cut bait. Crappie are slow. Hybrids and sand bass are biting in deep water on roadrunners and rattle traps. Black bass are slow. Report by David Holt, Lake Palo Pinto RV Park and Resort.
FAIR. normal stain; 82 degrees. Water clarity is clear. Largemouth bass are good on large or small swimbaits, and dropshots in 10-18 feet of water. Crappie are excellent on 1/16 ounce white crappie jig. Catfish are slow on live minnows or cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 1.57 feet below pool. Striper are starting to pick up but still not consistent. Live bait is putting fish in the boat if it can be caught. Downriggers are still slow at the moment and not catching any fish. Any kind of artificial bait is fishing slow at the moment. Look for them in 20-40 feet of water. They are moving fast and not staying in one spot long. Sand bass are still slow. Look for them in 20-30 feet of water. Use live shad or small slabs and jigs or rattle traps. White and silver are good colors. Catfish are fair to good. Cut shad or your favorite brand of stink bait, also known as punch bait, is producing good numbers of fish in 15-30 feet of water fished on or near the bottom. This rain we just got has cooled the lake of 2-3 degrees but I expect it to rise again this week. Water clarity is steady at 6-12 feet of visibility. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service. Bass are scattered on ledges, points, and deep timber hitting crankbaits, Carolina rigs, dropshots. Report by JK Outdoors Bass Fishing Guide.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.70 feet above pool. The lake is over full pool and with water being released at 100 cfs, this is the highest rate of release for the last 9 years. One fishing dock is open in South Creek Park. Early morning fishing on jugs has been productive for catfish. Recent sightings of alligator gar behind the dam.
FAIR. Water light stain; 85 degrees. Crappie are fair on minnows and artificial grubs. Bass are fair on soft plastic artificials. Catfish are fair on worms fished off the bottom. Bluegill are excellent at the boathouse dock on crappie bites and worms.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 2.00 feet below pool. White bass are fair on shallow flats early morning and late evening. Fish are also in shallow humps 13-16 feet but they are moving fast. Fish and a horizontal presentation throwing Bo-Blade slabs and slow rolling. Trolling is also producing white bass 13-16 feet of water. Crappie are fair and relating to brush 15-22 feet deep moving on and off structure, and suspended on the bridge pylons biting minnows. Catfish are fair around the north end of the lake near timber with cut shad in 12-17 feet of water. Report by John Varner, John Varner’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 0.54 feet below pool. White bass are schooling up on top early mornings, but the late afternoons activity is not consistent. Smaller fish when you do find them. Crappie are good in 5-20 foot brush piles and small patches of structure, minnows and small jigs. Channel catfish bite is still going good on punch bait 15-20 feet of water. Few bigger blues drifting cut bait on flats 15-25 feet. Report by Justin Wilson, Wilson Outdoor Connection.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 1.02 feet below pool. Very little change to the pattern this week water temperature up to 84 degrees. White Bass fishing remains slow with just a few reports of catches being made on slabs when schools are located off main lake points. Historically, October cool fronts have turned the white bass on. Keep an eye on the 309 Flats and look for Gulls as they should arrive shortly. Hybrid stripers are also slow with a few fish being caught on live bait. Blue and channel catfish are good on punch bait in 15-20 feet of water on the Richland Creek Arm of the Lake. Chum with range cubes and, or fermented grain. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin’ Guide Service.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.61 feet below pool. Bass are schooling on points biting Carolina rigs. There is topwater action in the grass in the morning. Crappie are fair on 27 feet on brush piles with minnows over jigs. Blue and channel catfish are fair in 24-27 feet of water on cut bait and minnows. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service. Lake level is holding steady, but expect the lake to drop to 5-7 feet low to continue to work on the dam in the future. Fish are in all stages of the transition. Target bass with jig head minnows and forward facing sonar. Bass are suspended at the mouth of creeks and on offshores flats chasing bait. When bass are schooling on the bottom cast a Carolina rig, dropshot, and shaky head. There is an abundance of shallow fish and this pattern should continue through the fall. Target the hay grass and flooded bushes early in the morning to catch bass chasing bait using a chatterbait, swimbait or frog. Report by Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Guide Service.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 88 degrees; 0.52 feet below pool. At Somerville marina the crappie bite is slow, bluegill and catfish are fair. Crappie are slow over brush in8-16 feet of water with jigs and minnows. Catfish are fair in 3-10 feet using cut shad or punch bait. White bass are fair trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are slow in deeper water, when you locate them, using cut bait. Below the dam fishing is fair, while water is being released at 277 cfs. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees. 45.90 feet below pool. Bass are slow but anglers have reported some success on stick type baits. The catfish bite has been fair to good. Bank angler are reporting blue catfish and yellow catfish biting cut carp and shad. Yellow catfish are being caught on live bait as well. White bass bite is active on topwater baits, and spoons, such as the K.T. Slabs and Bomber Slab spoons. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.81 feet below pool. Bass are good on soft plastics. When you find one fish, stay in the area because you will probably find another. Crappie are fair to good on concrete. Catfish are good in baited areas.
SLOW. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.59 feet above pool. White bass fishing remains very tough. Suspended fish are responding to a splasher, but unwilling to stick around very long. What fish I have caught while scouting all came on vertically “smoked” MAL Mini lures. Consistent local bass tournament anglers report groups of bass on isolated cover. There is short window of success during low light conditions right before sunrise and right after sunset. Cedar Gap Park remains closed and the Rivers Bend courtesy dock is not usable. Union Grove, Dana Peak, and Stillhouse Park’s ramps and docks are all in good shape. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 1.38 feet below pool. Despite peak heat conditions Lake Tawakoni continues to fish fair the first week of September. The hybrid striper white bass bite is fair. Early mornings and late evening evenings have been best as we have been seeing random schools of Fish feeding on the surface. Slab spoons are working best. The eating size catfish bite is by far the best choice right now on the lake. This bite is wide open. Prepared such as punch bait and dip bait are working best in 10-20 feet. Crappie and largemouth bass are both slow right now. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.53 feet below pool. Catfish are good on trotlines throughout the lake. Bass are fair in the north end of the lake.
GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 1.37 feet below pool. Striped bass fishing is improving with each cooler day. Look for fish to be schooled up, moving along ledges and in ditches between 25-40 feet of water. Bigger fish can be found on shallow flats and at the backs of creeks, feeding on gizzard shad. Live bait and topwaters will be producing fish. Crappie fishing is also picking up with the cooler temperatures. Target brush and structure near points and drop-offs in 15-20 feet of water. Both jigs and minnows are effective but a faster presentation moving a jig through the brush will trigger reaction bites. Catfishing remains great, though many smaller blues are moving in schools on ledges, flats, ditches, humps, and just about anywhere else on the main lake. Live and cut shad are effective baits, or you can target channel catfish in shallower humps in 15-25 feet of water using prepared baits. Bass fishing is still challenging, but as the water continues to cool, expect fish to move up into the backs of coves and creeks chasing gizzard shad. Smallmouth bass fishing along the bluffs has been productive with live shad, particularly near rocky points in 8-12 feet of water. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Guaranteed Guide Service. Stripers can be caught early morning with topwaters along the banks especially under birds. Switch to slabs after the sun rises in 25 feet or less, but they can be deeper. The weather has cooled off and the lake is turning over creating tough fishing conditions. This will trigger fish to start feeding up for the winter. Seagulls should migrate through during the next couple of weeks, and some days terns are working. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors. Numbers of crappie can be caught but very few keepers.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 4.08 feet below pool. Bass fishing has improved, but forecast is showing lots cooler temperatures so this may slow the bite. Shallow fish coming on topwaters and chatterbaits, most of these fish coming on main lake points and in back of creeks. Mid range fish are coming on Texas rig and mid running crankbaits in 8-12 feet of water. There are a good number of fish schooling on some main lake ridges and half way back in creeks, as the water cools back off this week, these fish will really get going better. Good numbers of deep fish, action is good just not that many good ones, most are small to 14 inches. These fish are coming on Carolina rigs, big crankbaits and dropshots. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 39.05 feet below pool. Lake Travis has been good in the morning as you can catch bass feeding shallow in the flooded brush. Throw flukes, swimbaits, 4 inch worms and creature baits with chartreuse dyed tails. When the sun gets up high, work deeper water along ledges and cliffs in 20-25 feet of water throwing jigs, shaky heads and Texas-rigged creature baits to get those better bites. A deep crankbait will get some bites as well. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
FAIR. Water stained. 82 degrees; 37.85 feet below pool. The bite will be slower until the lake settles after the influx of freshwater. Channel catfish are fair on cheese bait. Catfish have moved to 6-8 feet of water with the rising water biting. Crappie are on the move towards the deeper water but still holding in the brush with jigs and live minnows. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.73 feet below pool. Crappie are good with minnows on brush in 16-20 feet of water, and off the barge. Catfish are fair to good in 10-16 feet of water liver and nightcrawlers. Bream are good on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are fair on topwater baits, crankbaits and spinner baits in 4-12 feet of water. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.
SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.83 feet below pool. Summer fishing patterns are steady. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of open water on brush piles with live minnows or jigs. Largemouth bass are slow and scattered. The best bite is early or late in the day with soft plastics. Sand bass are excellent on small slabs, small crankbaits, small swimbaits and small spoons in 15-35 feet on open water humps, points, ridges, roadbeds, and on the Old Dam. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good with cut bait or live shad on juglines or rod-and-reel in 10-30 feet of water. Hybrids up to 7 pounds are being caught with 5 inch swimbaits or spoons at the Old Dam. Best colors are white and chartreuse or chrome.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees. Water levels are low but it is still possible to launch. Numbers of bass have slowed, but fish can be caught with worms, frogs, flukes, and reaction baits. Expect the bite to improve as the cold fronts begin to roll through. Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide. The ramp is still open, but water levels are getting very low. Bass are great right now with frogs around most of the lake. Working weightless flukes and Texas rigged worms in the hydrilla off the bank has been producing. Lots of bait offshore right now with fish around them and a decent amount of schooling activity on the surface. The lake is in great shape. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing Guide Service. Lake Decker is fishing great if you can get on it. They are not keeping it full very well. Bass are schooling after shad early in the pockets, so a swimbait, shad colored fluke, shallow crank or vibrating jig/spinnerbait works good for those. Later, work off the bank around grass with 4-5 inch worms in watermelon or green pumpkin colors. You can catch some up tight to the reeds flipping a craw or creature bait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
FAIR. Water heavily stained; 80 degrees; 3.52 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent, but expect the bite to slow until water stabilizes after the cold front. Crappie are good on deep brush piles with minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair along the rocks with cut bait and shad. Bass are slow on deeper water ledges with crankbaits and soft plastics. The lake continues to be heavily stained with about 6-8 inches of visibility compared to the normal 12 inches.
FAIR. Water stained. 95 degrees. Few reports from anglers.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 22.82 feet below pool. Catfish are good. Crappie are good on minnows. Largemouth bass are biting in deeper water ledges with soft plastics.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 0.21 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent for the last weekend of September. Catfish are fair using cut shad in 12-25 feet of water. Striped bass bite is slow on live bait or drifting in 25 feet of water. Very few being caught on artificial baits while trolling umbrella rigs and Alabama rigs. Crappie are fair on small jigs and minnows in timber in 15-20 feet on the north end of the lake. White bass fishing is slow. Largemouth bass fishing is slow. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 2.57 feet below pool. White bass are good on main lake structures on slabs with teaser flies. Crappie are fair to good on brush piles and main lake structure on jigs with white color combinations. Blue catfish and channel catfish are good on cut bait punch bait. Report provided by Chad Ferguson of North Texas Catfish Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.39 feet above pool. Catfish are good with stink bait. Crappie are good with minnows and jigs.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 88 degrees; 0.07 feet above pool. Largemouth bass are really hitting ⅛ ounce grubs rigged weedless in the shallows in the morning. Focus on cypress stumps then move to heavy structure when the water heats up. Crappie are fantastic in 8-14 feet of water using hand tied jigs and minnows mainly in large stumps. White bass are heavy in the west fork being caught on crankbaits. Gar are plentiful in the creeks on red rattle traps. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
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