I was born at Athens General Hospital a few months after daddy graduated from UGA and got a job teaching agriculture at Dearing High School. He also bought the small farm where I grew up, starting a business that would grow into 11,000 laying hens and selling eggs to most stores in the area.
The old farmhouse had an oil burning heater in front of the closed-up fireplace. That was the only heat in the house so winter evenings meant everyone gathering in that room to talk and stay somewhat warm. Bedtime meant burrowing down under thick homemade quilts.
Its tin room made summer showers a symphony of lulling sounds. No air conditioning meant open screen windows, flies in the house all summer and fans in every room.
The house sat on rock pilings that were picked up on the farm and stacked without mortar. If you looked closely you could see the ax marks on the hand hewn floor beams. One end of the house sat about four feet off the sloping ground but the other end was only a few inches off the ground.
The crawl space was a favorite place to play in the summer during the day since it was the coolest place available. Under there doodle bug traps dotted the dry dusty soil. Spiders were everywhere. And it was not unusual to confront the king snake that lived under there keeping us safe from poisonous snakes.
One of the best features was the wide porch that ran the entire length of the front of the house. Almost all summer evenings had us sitting out there shelling butterbeans and black-eyed peas.
The porch was also a gathering place on weekends when friends or family dropped by. It was not unusual for someone driving by to stop for a glass of sweet tea and discussions about weather, crops, children and other important issues.
There were not many other kids my age in the area. I started 1st grade at Dearing Elementary – one end of the same school building as Dearing High – with 25 in my class. That included every child my age in that half of McDuffie County. But on weekends it was not unusual to have cousins near my age visiting.
We spent the evenings playing while the adults sat on the porch. I had a big sandbox and we built castles and tunnels in it. The sand was dug by hand and transported by pickup from the aptly named Sand Hill Road. Catching toad frogs was an every night occurrence and we played with them like pets.
We designed our sandcastles and tunnels for them and put quart glass jars on tunnel ends for windows to see them. We also caught fireflies and either put them in a jar or fed them to the toads, watching the light blink inside the toads stomach for some time.
Rolling a roll-up bug in front of a toad usually resulted in a quick tongue flick and a missing bug. They would eat anything moving in front of them so the Mark Twain story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” made sense to me when I read it.
I remember one night getting furious when an older cousin took one of my frogs and chased a vising neighbor girl up the road with it. We could hear her screams for what seemed like miles. But they were both interestingly quiet walking back! Turns out he was old enough to be much more interested in girls than frogs!
We had a big wooden platform near the porch where we often cut a cold watermelon. Mama had a big kitchen butcher knife and it was used to split the delicious cooling treat.
The adults used knives to slice mouth size chunks of wet, red, juice-dripping joy but we kids picked up our slice and buried our face in it. We were messy but happy!
When I was about 12 I talked mama into letting me use the big butcher knife to slice and eat my watermelon. And we both learned, I was too young to use it. For some reason after I finished I thought it would be a good idea to stab the rind with the knife.
When I did, the knife stopped when it hit the wood under the rind. But my hand did not. Slick from juice, is slide down the handle and on down the blade.
I can still see my hand as I opened it and saw the red gap running across my palm filling with blood. It was quickly wrapped and I was taken to the hospital emergency room eight miles away for my first experience with stitches.
Although growing up wild in Georgia was rough and resulted in many injuries, I survived!
I was born at Athens General Hospital a few months after daddy graduated from UGA and got a job teaching agriculture at Dearing High School. He also bought the small farm where I grew up, starting a business that would grow into 11,000 laying hens and selling eggs to most stores in the area.
The old farmhouse had an oil burning heater in front of the closed-up fireplace. That was the only heat in the house so winter evenings meant everyone gathering in that room to talk and stay somewhat warm. Bedtime meant burrowing down under thick homemade quilts.
Its tin room made summer showers a symphony of lulling sounds. No air conditioning meant open screen windows, flies in the house all summer and fans in every room.
The house sat on rock pilings that were picked up on the farm and stacked without mortar. If you looked closely you could see the ax marks on the hand hewn floor beams. One end of the house sat about four feet off the sloping ground but the other end was only a few inches off the ground.
The crawl space was a favorite place to play in the summer during the day since it was the coolest place available. Under there doodle bug traps dotted the dry dusty soil. Spiders were everywhere. And it was not unusual to confront the king snake that lived under there keeping us safe from poisonous snakes.
One of the best features was the wide porch that ran the entire length of the front of the house. Almost all summer evenings had us sitting out there shelling butterbeans and black-eyed peas.
The porch was also a gathering place on weekends when friends or family dropped by. It was not unusual for someone driving by to stop for a glass of sweet tea and discussions about weather, crops, children and other important issues.
There were not many other kids my age in the area. I started 1st grade at Dearing Elementary – one end of the same school building as Dearing High – with 25 in my class. That included every child my age in that half of McDuffie County. But on weekends it was not unusual to have cousins near my age visiting.
We spent the evenings playing while the adults sat on the porch. I had a big sandbox and we built castles and tunnels in it. The sand was dug by hand and transported by pickup from the aptly named Sand Hill Road. Catching toad frogs was an every night occurrence and we played with them like pets.
We designed our sandcastles and tunnels for them and put quart glass jars on tunnel ends for windows to see them. We also caught fireflies and either put them in a jar or fed them to the toads, watching the light blink inside the toads stomach for some time.
Rolling a roll-up bug in front of a toad usually resulted in a quick tongue flick and a missing bug. They would eat anything moving in front of them so the Mark Twain story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” made sense to me when I read it.
I remember one night getting furious when an older cousin took one of my frogs and chased a vising neighbor girl up the road with it. We could hear her screams for what seemed like miles. But they were both interestingly quiet walking back! Turns out he was old enough to be much more interested in girls than frogs!
We had a big wooden platform near the porch where we often cut a cold watermelon. Mama had a big kitchen butcher knife and it was used to split the delicious cooling treat.
The adults used knives to slice mouth size chunks of wet, red, juice-dripping joy but we kids picked up our slice and buried our face in it. We were messy but happy!
When I was about 12 I talked mama into letting me use the big butcher knife to slice and eat my watermelon. And we both learned, I was too young to use it. For some reason after I finished I thought it would be a good idea to stab the rind with the knife.
When I did, the knife stopped when it hit the wood under the rind. But my hand did not. Slick from juice, is slide down the handle and on down the blade.
I can still see my hand as I opened it and saw the red gap running across my palm filling with blood. It was quickly wrapped and I was taken to the hospital emergency room eight miles away for my first experience with stitches.
In Georgia, THE HOG DOWN AWARDS PROGRAM COULD BRING REWARDS YOUR WAY
SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (June 26, 2025) – Feral hogs spread disease and cause extensive damage to wildlife habitat and agricultural crops. Trapping to remove large groups is the most efficient way to combat this destructive species, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division. And now, thanks to a new program, you can potentially win a big-value prize for participating in the Hog Down Awards Program!
“If you talk to almost any landowner, regardless of acreage size, I bet they can tell you a story about the destructive nature of feral hogs on their property and how they regret not taking action sooner and more often against them,” said DNR Wildlife Resources Division Director Ted Will. “And, while hunting is an effective way to remove small numbers of hogs, whole sounder trapping is your best bet to make a dent in the actual population on your property. You can remove much greater numbers of animals at a time, and at less effort.”
Whole sounder trapping, the removal of an entire group, is the most efficient technique to remove hogs. However, traps designed for this purpose require a significant upfront investment (up to $3,500 per trap or more).
To reward significant hog control efforts and arm individuals with better tools, the Georgia DNR has developed the Hog Down Awards Program. Through this pilot program, DNR will award 20 hog traps (5 traps each quarter) valued at approximately $3,500 to randomly selected participants who submit a successful entry. Rules and details are subject to change.
Some Basic Program Details:
Participants must lawfully kill a minimum of 10 feral hogs during the quarter.
Photos of hogs required for submission (photos must be taken with a smart phone or camera capable of including location and with time/date enabled).
Random drawings for five traps will be held at the end of each quarter (July-September, October-December, January-March, April-June).
Only Georgia residents may enter.
Feral hogs are a non-native invasive species that can multiply faster than any other similarly sized mammal and cause an estimated $150M+ in damage to Georgia’s agriculture, forestry, and wildlife habitat annually. They can destroy a field overnight. They carry a number of diseases, which can spread to livestock, pets, wildlife, and humans. In addition to issues affecting personal property, feral hogs can devastate natural resources that are critical for native wildlife.
For full program rules and details and entry link, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/HogDownAwardsProgram.
Growing up wild in Georgia for me meant living on a small 15-acre farm. We had 11,000 laying hens and that was our main business, selling eggs to local stores. We delivered to small mom and pop country stores that sold a few dozen each week up to the local A&P and Winn Dixie where we delivered about 30 cases of 30 dozen each, twice a week.
We also raised hogs for the market, with a farrowing house for a dozen sows to the shelter where the pigs were fattened up for market, usually about 60 at a time.
For years we had two or three milk cows and I grew up drinking “raw” milk and eating “clabber,” which I found out was homemade yogurt when I went to college. We had two ponies for my brother and I to ride and we cut hay from the field for the horses and cows. And we had a huge garden every year and mom spent hours so we could eat canned and frozen vegetables all winter.
Although there was some kind of work to do on the farm every day during the summer, I spent many hours building tree houses and huts in the woods with my friends Harold and Hal. They ranged from simple platforms with two or three boards nailed to branches somewhat parallel to the ground to elaborate sleeping structures in the trees.
We often labored for hours dragging boards, hammers and nails to the selected tree. Many of my tree houses were built with old barn boards from one we tore down when I was about six years old. And many of my nails were straightened after being pulled from those boards.
My friend Harold’s parents owned a planer where trees were cut into rough planks then planed down to smooth building wood. When Harold was involved, we had access to good wood, sometimes rough cut but often planed boards that were culled for some reason, usually a bend in them. But they worked great for treehouse and huts.
We built a huge – to us – platform in a big pine in the woods behind Harold’s house. It was about 200 yards from the back of his barn where the road access ended. It was about 12 feet square and so high we put side boards around it to make sure we didn’t fall out. That was the only one we ever did that, all the others were low enough they didn’t scare us.
We spend a lot of hard work pulling boards up with a rope then nailing them in place. One time we carried our sleeping bags to the tree planning on sleeping way up there but chickened out and slept on the ground under the tree.
That made us decide we needed a structure on the ground. Someone had the bright idea to build a prefab hut and carry the walls and roof down in sections rather than make multiple trips with individual boards.
That was not a great idea. The three room walls were about five feet square and the top a little bigger to overhand the front. They were heavy! It probably took us longer dragging each one a few feet and stopping to catch our breaths than it would have taken to haul individual boards to the site.
Harold, Hal and I spent a few nights sleeping in that hut. But we ended up with so much stuff like dry firewood, emergency canned food, matches in a jar and other essentials for wilderness living inside we eventually had to put up our pup tents to camp and just use the hut for storage.
My favorite tree house was in a pecan tree in front of our house on Iron Hill Road. It was beside the ditch so only a few feet from the road. And it was very simple, three or four short boards nailed between limbs of a fork that ran out toward the road.
Short boards nailed to the tree trunk made my ladder to get to it. That platform was just big enough for me to sit with my back against the tree or lie on my stomach and read. I usually had a cool breeze and was well hidden from the people in the cars that I watched as they rode by.
Many deer stands now are more complex and detailed than our tree houses back then. But they served our purpose of a place in nature to get away from everything. My parents were far from “helicopter” parents. As long as I got my chores done I was free to roam until supper time, and I did almost every day.
I am afraid those kinds of days are mostly gone for most kids.
One of the most accessible groups of fish across the country are the various panfish species. They can be found just about everywhere and are generally prolific and tons of fun for all ages to target. Bluegill, crappie, perch, and other similar species are also some of freshwater’s best-tasting fish.
Two popular fishing guides, Western New York’s Capt. Joe Fonzi and Wisconsin’s Jeff Evans each spend a good portion of their seasons guiding for panfish, which end up making an excellent meal for their clients. Both shared insight into their favorite species, how to catch them, and their secrets for cooking the best-tasting fish.
It’s Crappie for Evans
Evans began with a borderline sacrilegious statement about his preferred fish to eat in a walleye-crazed state like Wisconsin. His choice is the crappie.
“I’ve told people I would trade a walleye for a crappie every day, especially fresh crappie; it’s hard to beat,” he said. “I love eating crappie, and they are so much fun to catch. After they spawn and transition to the deeper weed edges and weedy points, they will usually be in those places until they head to the basins in the fall.”
Targeting weed lines, Evans said it’s hard to beat a small 1.5-inch tube jig on a slip bobber. “It’s tried and true, we probably catch 90 percent of our crappies that way,” he said. “We try all sorts of colors but always seem to come back to pink and white. This rig is something we use all season long; it’s a super versatile way to fish because you can easily adjust your bobber for the depth.”
Evans also likes the rig for its ease of use in all weather conditions. “It’s great because if you have a breezy day, the waves will give the bait for the action you need, and then when it’s calm, you can pull the rod and get the action,” he said. “It keeps the bait right in front of the fish.”
Fishing lightweight 1/32 and 1/64-ounce heads can be tricky to keep the bait down, so Evans has learned to add a 1/8-ounce egg sinker a foot above the bait and connect his mainline and leader to a barrel swivel.
“That’s a great way to keep your bait below the surface, but it also helps with casting so you don’t tangle the slip bobber as much,” he said. “I like to use a 1/8-ounce Thill Wobble bobber and adjust the slip to the weight. For my mainline, I like 15 lb Seaguar Smackdown in the Flash Green color. It casts incredibly far and is good at holding the slip knot in place.”
Evans utilizes a 12-inch section of Seaguar Gold Label fluorocarbon leader material between the barrel swivel and tube jig. “6 lb is perfect for crappie because it’s such a thin diameter and gives you a nice natural finesse presentation for your jig,” he said.
Early and Late Season Perch
Primarily fishing Lake Erie out of Buffalo, New York, Capt. Fonzi is a well-accomplished smallmouth bass angler and a premier trophy bass guide, but perch are also a big part of his guiding business.
“Perch are the main target for me in April and then again in September and October,” said Fonzi. “Both times of year are in the same areas and deep; in the spring, our fish will spawn as deep as 50 feet of water, which most people don’t realize,” he said. “They come into those areas again in the fall and will stay there all winter until we pick back up the next spring.”
These areas that he’s looking for are breaks and depth changes. “In most lakes, perch spawn on the edge of weeds, but we don’t have that in Erie, and instead, they use the rocks and vertical structure of the depth changes,” he said. “They’ll use these same areas in the fall to feed up on baby gobies. Those elevation changes hold tons of baitfish, and the perch gorge on them and eat like pigs.”
Targeting depths around the 50-foot range, Fonzi’s most productive setup is a double drop-shot rig with either live shiners or small soft plastic baits.
“What works well is a 4-inch Yamamoto Senko cut in half; they eat the heck out of those in the white colors or chartreuse with gold flake,” he said. “I like to use as light of a drop-shot weight as possible and will start with a 5/8-ounce weight but will adjust if I need to based on the wind and waves. I’ll also adjust my leader length on the hooks based on how the fish act; some days, the first hook could be only a few inches above the weight, and other times, it could be higher if the fish are suspended chasing baitfish.”
His line setup is a 10 lb Seaguar Smackdown braid and a leader of 10 lb Gold Label fluorocarbon. “We may get a few more bites with a lighter 6 or 8 lb leader, but fishing this way, you run into a lot of big walleye and bass as well, which gives me some added strength to land those as well,” he said. “The other thing you run into is constantly swinging two jumbo perch at the same into the boat over and over, which can stress your line, so the heavier leader helps and won’t break.”
Cooking Your Catch
When targeting crappie, Evans is cautious and limits how many he and his clients bring home each trip to protect the fishery. He’s a fan of a good old-fashioned fish fry and has narrowed it down to how many filets it typically takes to feed each person in attendance.
“It’s hard to beat fried crappie, and it always seems to work about four filets per person since some won’t eat that many, and others will eat more,” he said. “Having a fish fry at the end of the day is a great way to celebrate your day on the water, but I also don’t take too many because our lakes can be susceptible to overharvesting, especially with all of our new technology for electronics. I never take more than ten fish home, even though the limits are much higher.”
Every lake is a little different in size, but Evans says generally, crappie between 8 and 11 inches are perfect for a fish fry, and he’ll release the bigger ones. One trick he learned to get great-tasting fish is to utilize hot sauce.
“If you dip the filets in Frank’s Red Hot and then coat them in whatever crumbs you prefer to use right before going into the hot oil, they taste incredible,” he said. “It’s not too spicy after they are cooked, but the flavor is incredible.”
Fonzi prepares his perch in many ways, but one of his most often requested meals is fried perch sandwiches. “I like to mix either House Autry, Shore Lunch, or Uncle Buck’s fish fry seasoning half and half with Italian-style breadcrumbs,” he said. “Then I’ll enhance the mix with some Romano cheese, extra Italian seasoning, or garlic powder. Then, I’ll dip the filets in egg and place them into that mixture. It helps fill the voids in the filets, and they turn out crispy and crunchy when you fry them.”
He finishes the sandwich with a slice of American cheese and homemade tartar sauce made of Miracle Whip, relish, and lemon pepper as the dressing on top.
Catching panfish is always a good time as you can often get into large numbers and catch them quickly. The reward for catching them is an excellent meal at the end of the day, and their great-tasting filets keep anglers returning for more.
Seaguar Smackdown braid is available in high visibility Flash Green and low visibility Stealth Gray. It is available in 150- and 300-yard spools in sizes ranging from 10 to 65 lb tests.
Seaguar Gold Label Fluorocarbon leader is available in 25- and 50-yard spools in 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 & 12 lb tests for freshwater use, complementing the 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 80 lb test leaders available for saltwater.
GREAT. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 68.09 feet below pool. White bass are good off points and ledges with small swimbaits, jigs, and spoons. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs moving deeper midday. Report by Shon Riley, Lake Amistad Fishing Guides.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Conditions are still the same. The lake has received a lot of rain so the clarity is stained. Bass continue to be shallow, or on deep points with crankbaits.
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.35 feet below pool. Catfish bite is slow while the spawn is on. Still waiting on mature catfish to show. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.58 feet above pool. Bass are good in 8-12 feet of water in grass with Texas rigged worms, wacky rigged senkos, and crankbaits. Crappie are slow on small jigs over brush. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.64 feet below pool. Summertime patterns are in play right now on Lake Austin. Bass are deep around bait and setting up on brush piles. Early morning bites can be found on the bank and as the day goes on fish are pulling out deeper around creek mouths and open water. Small swimbaits, dropshots, Texas rigs and shaky heads fished deep are getting bites. Quite a bit of grass growing deeper on both ends of the lake. Mostly hydrilla and eel grass. Lightweight Texas rigs fished deep are getting bites. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing.
GREAT. Water stained; 80 degrees. Lake Bastrop is fishing well. Bass are schooling up in the mornings in the discharge. Throw small swimbaits, flukes, jerkbaits and Texas-rigged worms or a shaky head. Later move out off the dam to find some schoolies and throw topwaters or cranks or a tiny jighead and 2 inch minnow style bait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs. Summer pattern has locked in, so slow your approach. A good summertime pattern is to target bass dragging the bottom with Alabama rigs in 20 feet of water. The schooling activity has slowed and fish are deep. A few fish can be caught in patchy grass and reeds the first and last two hours of the day. Continue to cast clear topwaters, shad colored squarebill crankbaits, or Alabama rigs rolled extremely slow off the bottom.
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.53 feet below pool. Belton has climbed another 0.38 feet since last week. Fishing for white bass has gotten tougher now that young-of-the-year shad are in abundance, and the water is stratifying as the thermocline develops. The best success is during the first few hours of light in the morning and again in the last hour of light on either side of sunset. The MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail is the only lure I’ve used for the past four weeks, and it continued to produce well this week. It shows up remarkably well on forward-facing sonar and 2-D sonar. Drop it either to the bottom if fish are on bottom, or below the level of suspended fish, and crank it up at a steady cadence at least two cranks above the fish showing highest in the water column. If a chase occurs, keep cranking at that same steady cadence until the fish either catches it, or turns away. When a strike occurs, keep right on cranking without a hard hookset. Some topwater action is also taking place, although it has not become predictable. Be on the lookout for herons feeding repetitively over open water, then go in stealthily for a look so as not to spook the fish and push them off the surface. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are fair. As we start the spawning cycle anglers should expect the catfish activity to slow for a few weeks. Shallow water around timber with fresh shad or prepared bait can produce smaller blue catfish under 10 pounds. Flatheads are fair on live bluegill around river mouths and log piles. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.88 feet above pool. Catfish are good on live and cut bait 10-25 feet of water. Hybrids are good on live bait 15-30 feet of water. Bass are good with hard plastics off ledges, and soft plastics around brush. Report by Hundley’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.55 feet above pool. Crappie are loaded on the brush piles in all depths and are doing great on jigs. White bass are numerous cruising around deeper structures and will hit almost anything. Catfish have been slower this week, but should start biting in 15-20 feet of water on stink bait. Bass are in a summer pattern biting early morning and late night around lights. Lots of spotted bass and yellow bass are being caught right now too. Report by Chris Caswell, Lake Bob Sandlin Crappie Fishing Guide. Check out the backs of coves for hydrilla and milfoil, fish patterns should draw bass out from cover. Top water patterns in lilies should be good at mid day.. Catfish are moving shallow, wooly buggers should work well. Clousers on sunny rocky shores might draw a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Crappie are excellent in timber and brush piles in 14-30 feet of water. Minnows are preferred over jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
GOOD. water normal stain; 76 degrees; 0.34 feet above pool. Morning bass bite has picked up. Grassy or weed areas around main lake points and secondary points are good with spook type baits and poppers in 1-4 feet of water. Wind blown points with shad in 2-4 feet of water are good with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and rage swimmers. Road beds with bigger timber are really good with Texas rigs creature baits in 4-7 feet. Some fish are showing up on offshore structures in 12-19 feet of water. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Crappie are excellent on structure from 15-25 feet of water. Minnows are out performing jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 15.14 feet below pool. The lake is very low and ramps are closed. There is a temporary use ramp available. It is possible to catch crappie and bass from the crappie house and from the bank.
FAIR. Water stained, 88 degrees. Redfish are slow congregating in schools in front of the power plant, the dam, and old Corpus Christi Road. Redfish can be caught with gold and silver spoons, or imitation shad. a variety of colors from bass assassin plastics, or trolling soft plastics. A few catches anchored with shrimp, perch, and gizzard chad. Stripers and catfish are slow. Report by Manny Martinez, Fishing With Manny.
FAIR. Water stained; 77 degrees; 0.34 feet above pool. Crappie are primarily roaming but finding some active fish on dock poles or brush. Largemouth bass bite is decent in shallow water using topwaters and crankbaits. White bass and hybrids are good on main lake humps with slabs or live shad. Catfish bite is good on cut bait. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 79 degrees; 0.80 feet above pool. Black bass to 4.97 pounds are good in 8-25 feet of water on shaky heads, Hag’s Jigs or Tornados and topwaters. Bass have moved into an early summer pattern. Crappie are excellent with catches up to 15 inches on minnows and jigs in 18-25 feet of water main lake brush piles. White bass are good to 2.5 pounds on crankbaits out of the lights at night. Catfish are Fair on cut shad, nightcrawlers and chicken livers on the main lake flats.
GOOD. Water stained; 77 degrees. Brush piles have been a huge factor to catch bass after the shad spawn. Bass can still be caught shallow, but offshore points and rock have produced the best. Report by the Aggie Anglers.
EXCELLENT. Water slight stain; 76 degrees; 18.32 feet below pool. Boating hazards are prevalent on the north end after the recent inflow, so exercise caution while boating. The shad spawn is still going but not lake wide and they are holding just off the bank on some rocky shorelines. The white bass and striper are around the spawn and are biting on just about anything thrown. Several days last week there were abundant top water white bass schools and a few stripers. The stripers are biting excellent on live shad in 9-45 feet of water. White bass continue to bite on slabs and soft plastics 20-36 feet of water on wind-blown points and humps. The trolling bite for stripers has picked up but has not had a day to day consistency. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing. Fishing patterns are consistent with increased topwater action. Hybrids and stripers are hitting umbrella rigs in 15-30 feet of water, or live bait in 30-50 feet of water over sand points and trees. Increased topwater and trolling action. Report by Captain Aaron Dick, One Up Fishing Guide Service. Bigger bass are being caught on rock piles in 5-15 feet on jigs, swimbaits and most Texas-rigged soft plastics. Flipping trees is good right now as well with flukes and craws. The topwater bite is starting to turn on as well and you can catch some big bass throwing around rocky points and shallow ledges. Crankbaits are always a good choice as well. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are good in 15-20 feet of water around standing timber and main lake points. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 67 degrees; 1.41 feet above pool. Caddo is over pool with a good current. The clarity is stained and muddy near the river and bayou, but looks really good on the main lake. The pad and grass bass are starting to heat up with flukes, ribbits, buzzbaits, frogs and such. As the lake level falls expect bass to hold tight to trees hitting big worms, senkos, flukes or frogs. The river bite has slowed due to the muddy water, and may slow until the water clears. Conditions are improving, and even with a slower bite it is always a great time to come see a lake majestic and divine like Caddo. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.
GOOD. Water stained, 91 degrees. Fishing is excellent for redfish between 10-20 pounds with imitation shad, or gold and silver spoons. Target redfish shallow or in 15-25 feet of water. Channel catfish and blue catfish are excellent with catches between 5-15 pounds possible with stink bait, perch, and shad. Stripers are slow. Tilapia are good from the bank using shad, and shrimp. Redfish and catfish average between 5-10 pounds off the bank. Report by Manny Martinez, Fishing With Manny.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 78 degrees; 31.80 feet below pool. Striped bass and white bass are good fishing humps on the lower end and long drawn out points in 20-30 feet of water with shad colored swimbaits and jigging spoons. Bass are excellent around the grass with topwaters in the morning and your favorite plastics during the day. Report by Charles Whited, Barefoot Fishing Tours.
GOOD. stained; 77 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. The hybrid striped bass and white bass are on a feeding frenzy! Start looking for heavy bird activity throughout the lake on flats and near the dam, or on the edges of drop-offs especially on cloudy and overcast days. Focus drop-offs and along seawalls early in the mornings in 5-14 feet with slabs. Reports of great catches using silver or white slabs and spinners and retrieving off the bottom at a very slow retrieve to catch these fish in depths of 17-26 feet of water. The crappie have also migrated back into the main lake. Look for them under bridge pylons or under docks where the depths are between 3-10 feet. Guides have been reporting exceptionally nice catches on sunny warmer days. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are good on humps in 5-20 feet on fresh shad, or drifting in 15-25 feet of water for bigger fish. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 35.39 feet below pool. All boat ramps are closed at this time. Fishing off the bank is excellent for catfish, blues, and channel on stink bait, perch, and gizzard chad. Some crappie and freshwater drum are being caught off the bank. Some kayaks and flat bottom boats are being allowed at this time. Report by Manny Martinez, Fishing With Manny.
GREAT. Water stained; 75 degrees; 13.17 feet below pool. Overall the lake is fishing great. Crappie are being caught in 10 feet of water. Channel catfish are biting in less than 10 feet of water. Report by Lake Cisco Rentals.
FAIR. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.12 feet below pool. Black bass to 3 pounds are excellent in 1-10 feet of water throughout the lake in the grass and bushes with a white and chartreuse spinnerbait. A few fish are on the docks with a dropshot or Neko rig, Hag’s Tornados in Morning Dawn, Tsunami Jigs and spinnerbaits. Most bass in the 1.5-3 pound range are guarding fry. Crappie are slow to 10 inches on jigs in 8-15 feet in the stumps and under docks. Hybrid bass are Excellent to 10 pounds on squarebill crankbaits on lighted docks and chasing the shad spawn on the dam early and late. Catfish are slow on prepared bait, nightcrawlers and chicken livers.
GREAT. Water stained; 84 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Catfish are good in 10-40 feet of water. They are spawning at this time, use a floater to suspend bait off the bottom. Catfish will be very structure oriented until the spawn is over. Crappie are fair to poor as they have been hit hard this spring. Target fish in 10-25 feet of water, but only expect a few bites. Big bluegill are everywhere from 3-25 feet of water. It is a great time to take kids out for some good action. Largemouth bass are good on the edges, docks as well as offshore structure during the day. Report by Bradley Doyle, Bradley’s Guide Service. Hybrids and white bass are on flats and drop-offs in 14-26 feet of water using live large goldfish or minnows, slabs, spoons, and crankbaits. I have been removing one of the treble hooks to make it easier when action is good. Check the tooth patch to distinguish the difference between the two species. Juvenile hybrids are prominent as well as large white bass. Always wear your life jacket! Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees: 2.00 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of water on timber. Minnows are outperforming jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
SLOW. 80 degrees; 14.85 feet below pool. The lake level is very low with mild wind conditions in the mornings becoming windier towards the afternoon. Some reports of blue catfish and yellow catfish averaging between 3-40 pounds. Report by Weber’s Landing.
FAIR: Water normal stain; 78 degrees; 0.37 feet above pool. Crappie are loaded on the brush piles in all depths and are doing great on jigs. White bass are numerous cruising around deeper structures and will hit almost anything. Catfish have been slower this week, but should start biting in 15-20 feet of water on stink bait. Bass are in a summer pattern biting early morning and late night around lights. Lots of spotted bass and yellow bass are being caught right now too. Report by Chris Caswell, Lake Bob Sandlin Crappie Fishing Guide. Crappie are congregating on boat docks and brush piles. Some bigger fish are roaming. The best bite is a hand tied ⅛ ounce jig tipped with a minnow. You will have to weed through small fish to find the keepers. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.36 feet above pool. Channel catfish are good on manufactured bait on deep water humps, points and drop-offs. Sand bass are fair to good green and white slabs on deep water humps, points and ridges. Crappie are slow to fair on minnows around docks and deep water brush piles. The north end of the lake is stained like chocolate milk, the south end is trying to clear but continues to be stained. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 71 degrees; 47.04 feet below pool. Black bass are great in 3-15 feet of water on hard bottoms with crankbaits, senkos or power worms. Spinnerbaits are good in shallow water along rocks. Keeper catfish are good in 10-20 feet of water using stink bait, shrimp, or small cut bait. Trophy catfish are fair while fish are in a spawn transition. Target fish 3-15 feet of water with live shad or fresh cut bait. Bow fishing for gar is excellent, and rod and reel is good with cut bait on the south end at the mouth of Tigers Creek. Crappie are slow with fish scattered. Report by Ram Reyes, Ram Outdoors.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 87 degrees. The early morning bass bite is starting to slow. Bass are good with underspins, rattle traps and spinnerbaits in less than 4 feet of water. Shaky heads and Carolina rigs are still working in 12-20 feet of water. Bass are still not suspending. Perch are in 10 feet of water on nightcrawlers with catfish mixed in. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water Stained; 73 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. The early morning bass bite is good on points and around grass with topwaters, and chatterbaits. Points with shad are best in 2-4 feet of water with chatterbaits, and squarebill crankbaits. The grog bite is good over shallow grass. The offshore bite has been good in 15-22 feet of water on Carolina rigs with flukes or big worms on points, humps, road beds. Deep crankbaits are starting to improve in channel swings in 20-25 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Lily fields are filling in, hydrilla and milfoil are reaching for the surface. Fish this type of cover at midday when bass are seeking cover. Frog patterns are working in the shallow vegetation early and late. Drop a clouser on an isolated cover for black bass. Large bream have moved shallow, wooly buggers are producing good fish. Channel catfish are cruising 2-4 feet, clousers are a good choice. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing improves daily as we head into the summer pattern. The bigger fish are finally stacking up with all the small fish we have been seeing the last few weeks. Crappie are on underwater bridges, underwater roadbeds, bridges, lay downs, brush piles, tire reefs and of timber in the 14-32 feet range. Minnows, soft plastics and hand tied jigs will work as these fish are aggressive and hungry coming off the spawn. Great success has come using small 1/16 ounce hand ties with or without a 1/4 ounce egg weight pegged above it. The winds dictate whether or not we can fish that jig solo. Color does not seem to matter, if you swim or even hold that bait above the fish. The most important part of the presentation is to stay above the fish always. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 75 degrees; 5.05 feet below pool. Few reports from anglers. Bass are in all stages of the spawn hitting creature baits and soft plastics. Crappie can be caught with minnows or jigs in shade and brush.
GOOD. normal stain; 77 degrees; 10.13 feet below pool. Bass fishing remains consistent. Look for some spawning fish mid to up river and use soft plastics like lizards, creature baits and worms for those. Some bass are a bit deeper and a shaky head works wonders on this lake around offshore humps and ledges. Find some lay laydowns in around 3-5 feet and flip those for some good bites. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
FAIR. Water stained; 76 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Water is still high and muddy. Bass are slow feeding on shad in shallow water. Crappie are good on brush in 14 feet of water with minows and jigs. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling on the main lake points feeding on shad. The bite is good with minnows and spoons. Catfish are on the main lake flats feeding on shad. The bite is good on cut shad and chicken liver.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.23 feet below pool. Water is stained slightly on the upper ends, but is generally clear from midlake to the dam. After the recent rains the lake is full pool, so watch for floating debris. Striped bass and sand bass can be caught near channel breaks near feeding flats at several locations from Ports–O-Call to Sandy Point and near the dam. Bigger striped bass are being taken on 1ounce slabs and live shad fished mainly on the lower ends from Decordova to near the pump stations close to the dam. Smaller stripers and sand bass are easily being caught on slabs and spinnerbaits all over the lake from Bentwater to Blue Water Shores. Largemouth bass are good to 6 pounds on soft plastics and lipless crankbaits fished in the back of sloughs and near main lake points. Look for topwater action on feeding flats. Crappies are holdings to structure near deeper docks, underwater timber and near bridge pilings and are good on small minnows and jigs. Blue catfish continue to be good from Water’s Edge to Hunter Park on cut shad. An occasional bigger blue or yellow catfish to 25 pounds plus are possible. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.92 feet above pool. Black bass are good on spinnerbaits fished around cover. Crappie are good to 2 pounds on minnows fished over brush piles. White bass are fair on crankbaits trolled along shallow roadbeds. Blue catfish are good on jug lines baited with shad. Yellow catfish are good on live bait fished around timber. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 5.82 feet above pool. White bass are in all depths feeding on shad. Use inline spinners shallow and slabs in deeper water. Keep an eye out for birds working. Really nice catfish mixed in with the white bass. Check ramp status before heading out. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
SLOW. Water normal stain; 75 degrees; 47.67 feet below pool. Reports of good catches of sand bass on minnows. Few reports of crappie. The lake did receive some rain, but be sure to call to inquire about launching conditions before heading out.
GOOD. Water slightly stained. 75 degrees. Topwater lures early and late will produce good black bass action. Bream should be making their move shallow for their spawn. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.53 feet above pool. Bass should start schooling in deeper water hitting Carolina rigs and crankbaits. Crappie should be on brush piles biting jigs or minnows.
FAIR. Water Stained; 75 degrees; 12.03 feet below pool. Bass are fair with primarily smaller sized fish up to 3 pounds. The best bite is early morning in shallow water spinnerbaits or chatterbaits. Crappie are good under docks hitting minnows or jigs. A bass was caught while targeting crappie.
GREAT: Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.85 feet below pool. Inks Lake has been fishing well all year for bass. Working the grass with worms or flukes will land a good bite. Skipping docks is a great way to get some big bites as well. A frog in the shallows will get some big bites and a shallow crankbait or even dropshots around the bulkheads will get some good bites as well. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.17 feet above pool. Water is clearing up, but is still a little high. Fish are biting on brush piles with soft plastics, jigs, and swim baits. Also on shallow lay downs with soft plastics and crank baits.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.70 above pool. Water level is going down slowly back to normal pool. Summer is hear so it is time to look out for pleasure boaters. Bass fishing has improved in all depths. Crappie are moving out to the deeper cover for summer. White bass schools are popping up all over the lake, just look for concentrations of bait. Catfish are mixed in with white bass, below the schools. Be safe and wear your life jackets! Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 1.93 feet above pool. Bass are good on main lake points, submerged bridges and road beds with shad colored crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Topwaters are good around shallow grass early morning and late evening. Crappie are good on standing timber and brush piles ranging 12-15 feet with slip cork jigs in blue and chartreuse and shad colors. The lake is at normal pool, so be careful when navigating outside of the boat lanes. Report by Brian Vickery Fishing.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 65 degrees; 1.56 feet above pool. There is not a discernible white bass pattern while the gates are open. Fish early morning while sand bass are surfacing blowing shad out of the water using topwaters or a swimbait. The white egrets will be on the banks telling you pretty much where they should be. If you are not getting bit within the first 30 minutes of sunlight, you will probably have to move out to 10-20 feet of water and use 1 ounce white or chartreuse slabs. While the gates are opening and closing the crappie bite is hit-or-miss. Look on timber and brush piles in 10-20 feet. Once the gates close this should be the pattern the rest of the summer. Start shallow the work your way deeper to search for fish. Channel catfish are good on baited holes, rip rap and brush. Bait the rocks and bushes with soured grain to hold fish in there long enough to catch limits. Black bass are biting white and chartreuse spinnerbaits in the morning around the rip wrap, concrete and shallow submerged brush on points and secondary points. Bass are not biting at the back of the coves anymore. Cast creature baits, and Texas rigged worms on rock piles and large brush piles, or underwater points in 10-15 feet of water Carolina rigs. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.25 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 18-24 feet of water with minnows. Catfish are good in 25 feet of water with punch bait. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are good on docks and bulkheads in 3-10 feet of water. Skipping a light jig or Texas-rigged fluke or worm will get you bit well in those spots. Some fish are deeper on rock and brush piles in 10 feet of water. Flip a soft plastic in those areas to get good bites. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
FAIR. Water stained; 78 degrees; 1.44 feet above pool. White bass are fair to good on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water with jigs, slabs, and live bait. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are fair in similar depths. 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 good on cut shad drifting humps and flats in 15-32 feet of water. Check wind blown banks where herons are present early in the morning. Crappie are slow to fair in 8-28 feet of water on brush piles, submerged timber, and submerged cover near drop-offs with minnows and jigs. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. Crappie are in 10-18 feet of water on power lines, standing timber, or offshore brush with minnows. White bass are in 7-17 feet of water with super slabs. Catfish are good in 10-20 feet with cutbait, or large minnows. Largemouth bass are good in 4-14 feet of water with boat docks, bulkheads, and rocks with chatterbaits, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and spinnerbaits. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
GOOD. normal stain; 76 degrees; 0.39 feet above pool. White bass are great in 6-15 feet of water on wind blown points and ledges with white and chartreuse slabs. Catfish are in 1-4 feet of water on bulkheads with best action at daylight. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.
Marble Falls
normal stain; 76 degrees; 0.58 feet below pool. Bass are good skipping docks with craws, flukes and worms, or cranking bulkheads and shallow rocks. Topwater action is good with frogs and topwaters. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.02 above pool. Bass remain good along the edge of hydrilla with Texas rigged worms. Crappie have loaded up on brush piles in 20-30 feet with minnows and pintail jigs. Catfish are good on baited holes in 10-15 feet with nightcrawlers and punch bait.
FAIR. Water stained; 68 degrees; 46.14 feet below pool. Sand bass are great throughout the lake with silver spoon lures, and artificial grubs in chartreuse, pearl blue and yellow. Catfish are good near Harbor Bay and Bugbee with cut bait and frozen shad. The Stilling Basin, or Spring Canyon, is producing catfish with chicken liver, minnows, worms, and shrimp. Crappie are great with the best bite on Rosie red minnows near Sanford Yake area, off of the dock, and a few fish pulled out of Bugbee in the shallow areas. Bluegill and perch are good underneath the docks and shallow areas around the lake with worms. Walleye are great in the evening hours and early mornings in many areas of the lake. Minnows, bottom bouncers or floating worm harnesses, chartreuse, red mouth jerkbait or slab spoons are great choices. Trout are good in Spring Canyon with a power bait and number 10 snell hook or split shots. Report by Dave Wright, Wright-On Bait, Tackle and Watercraft Rental.
FAIR. Water stained; 70 degrees; 1.43 feet below pool. Crappie have improved to fair in 3-4 feet of water. Fish are a few weeks from spawning. Sand bass are fair around the dam when shad are surfacing. Shad are spawning so the bite should improve the bite for all species. Channel and blue catfish are slow in 15 feet of water. Black bass are slow on main lake points with soft plastics.
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.14 feet below pool. Water clarity is heavily stained to muddy. Largemouth bass are fair on bladed jigs and swim jigs around shallow grass points. Crappie are good on main lake timber and brush piles in the creeks. Catfish are slow on cut bait or live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.50 feet above pool. Bass are suspended 8 feet down over deeper water biting jerkbaits plus 1. Keep an eye on the thermocline and be sure to fish above it. Some larger bites in 8-10 feet of water near the bottom with a square bill crankbait. Cranking it in and around the timber that is immediately adjacent to the boat lanes near the backs of the creeks was the ticket. Do not forget to run an Alabama rig and topwater, early and late, for some aggressive feeding fish! Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina rigs or medium diving crankbaits on main lake points. Crappie are excellent on main lake timber utilizing forward facing sonar. Catfish are slow on cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 79 degrees. 0.41 feet below pool. The bass bite has been good flipping soft plastics around reed bases in 1-3 feet of water. The spawn is ending and bass are staying in the shallows as the water temperature rises to the 80s. The key is to cover water until you find a good stretch that holds multiple bass. Focus on holes in the reed banks where bass will set up on their beds. Watch for balls of bass fry because a fry guarder will be close by. Crappie were fair around main lake 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.
GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 2.41 feet above pool. Sand bass are excellent with spoons in brush piles. Sandies are running in schools with the better bite in the evenings over the morning. Crappie are starting to stack up in deeper brush piles hitting jigs or minnows. Some keepers, but primarily smaller sized fish. Catfish are shallow with primarily catches of small eaters. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 77 degrees; 22.62 feet below pool. Black bass are good to 10 pounds on a variety of baits in 8-18 feet of water. Some fish still targeted scoping on main lake with crappie imitation baits. Some fish are being caught on 10-in worms and plum apple, plum or red bug in the brush next to channel swings and bends mainly 10-12 feet of water. Topwaters also seem to be coming into play around perch beds in 2-7 feet of water. Crappie starting to pick up around bigger trees suspended 5-8 feet. Trees can be in anywhere from 15-25 feet of water. Minnows working best. White bass are fair at night on live minnows. Catfish are good on rod-and-reel with a variety of cheese baits and stink baits 5-15 feet. Report by Wendell Ramsey, Ramsey Fishing.
SLOW. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 18.79 feet below pool. Black bass bite is good to very good on topwater and crankbaits. The Whopper Plopper has been excellent along with deep diving crankbaits. Crappie bite is steady with schools being located using forward facing sonar and caught using the Bone Head jigs. Catfish are good. Always wear your life jacket and stay aware. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.
GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 0.83 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush and timber in 12-22 feet of water. White bass and hybrids are good on clay points early and late in the day. Catfish are spawning with a good bite on bulkheads or rip rap and nightcrawlers and punch bait.
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.31 feet above pool. Conditions are looking good on the lake and the water level is 4 inches over the spillway, but forecasted storms may muddy the water. Catfish are biting great on cut bait and fresh shad. Crappie are biting in deep water on minnows. Hybrids and sand bass are biting on minnows. Report by Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.
GOOD. slightly stained; 80 degrees. Largemouth bass are excellent on large swimbaits and dropshots. Crappie are fair on standing timber with small crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on cut bait or live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.09 feet below pool. Stripers are finally picking up in 20-40 feet of water. Live bait is good, but bait can be hard to find, and nothing is being caught trolling. Fish are moving fast when found, so your best bet is to just sit and wait for them to move through. Sand bass are fair in 20-30 feet of water on main lake points. Chrome seems to be out producing all other colors, but try white, and chartreuse. Catfish are good on cut shad in 2-10 feet of water fished on the bottom. Baited holes are your best bet to catch numbers but will not produce big fish. Bait with cattle cubes and wait 2-3 hours before fishing. Use punch bait for best results on baited holes. Catfish should be going into spawn soon, which will slow the bite. Water clarity is less than 1 feet on the north end. The south end is better at 2-4 feet of visibility, but still heavily stained. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 76 degrees; 1.04 feet above pool. The water is above full pool and fishing has slowed some for anglers. Reports of white bass caught trolling in shallow water. Crappie are transitioning to brush piles.
SLOW. Water slight stain; 70 degrees. Lake Raven water clarity is slightly stained. The lake is seeing hydrilla die back due to recent herbicide treatment. Largemouth bass are good on weedless rigged artificial worms in red-tinted colors with glitter. Anglers should target the cove where the boathouse is located. This area has seen recent success when working the hydrilla grass line. No reports of crappie or catfish in recent weeks. Bluegill are good off of the boathouse dock on hotdogs and worms under a bobber.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.11 feet below pool. White bass have been spotty in the mornings with some surface activity. Throw small swimbaits, tail spinners or rattle traps. Later in the morning white bass are moving out to deeper water on long points, road beds and levees. Crappie are related to brush piles 12-18 feet of water. Crappie are showing up at bridge columns, and moving around drop-offs going from structure to structure. Catfish are good on the rocks around the lake using a slip cork and prepared punch bait. Chumming will help bring the schools into your areas. Report by John Varner, John Varner’s Guide Service.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.10 feet above pool. Crappie are stacking up on timber, bridge pylons and brush piles in 20-25 feet of water. A minnow is the preferred bait, but a 1.5-2 inch jig is catching fish too. Largemouth bass are moving to offshore rock piles and main lake points. Some bass can be targeted on shallow laydowns or shaded areas. Best baits have been 10 inch forms, weightless flukes or weightless senkos. Sand bass are on humps and points in 30-50 feet of water with slabs. Blue catfish can be caught under the white bass with 3-6 inch shad. Channel catfish are good in 10-25 feet of water on flats. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan’s Crappie Co.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.66 feet above pool. The lake is 6 inches above full pool level with four of the twenty-four spillway gates open. White bass action has slowed to fair in 20-25 feet of water off main lake points, roadbeds, and humps. A slab and jig combination is hard to beat. Check out the south shoreline around the Lighthouse for early morning top water action. Hybrid striper action is good with live bait or shad off the 309 Flats and South Shoreline near Fisherman’s Point Marina. Blue catfish action is fair on cut bait and shad in the shallow water off windblown points. Catfish can be caught on punch bait below Schools of feeding white bass. Crappie action is slow. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin’ Guide Service. Black Bass are fair, with the water stained. The temperature is low 80s but does cool down a little with the storms that hit. This is when you can start checking those deeper spots. I like to fish stump rows, rock piles, and brush piles. Fishing ahead of the upcoming patterns can payoff if you hit it right. Deep crank baits, jigs, and dragging plastics can be great right now. With the water level the way it is now there are always some fish shallow also. Boat docks continue to get better and better on the lake. I personally always prefer the deep bite better in June. Good fishing, Terry Hawkins Guide Service. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. Water is being released and the level is slowly dropping. Numbers of bass are shallow in the buckbrush, so flip plastics and jigs. Topwater bite around pencil grass and reeds. Grass and pads are coming back slowly. Target bass on points and drains with crankbaits, or with jigs and Carolina rigs off ledges and structure. Crappie are slowly move out to brush and timber. White bass are schooling off points. Catfish move out to deeper water and creek channels cut bait doing good. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.57 feet above pool. At the Marina the crappie bite is fair, and the catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait. Bluegill are fair on crickets or worms. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows over brush in 8-18 feet of water. Catfish are good in 3-10 feet of water with cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are fair on crankbaits and shiny spinnerbaits in 2-8 feet of water. White bass are very good trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are good with many undersized fish being caught in deeper water using cut bait or mussels. Below the dam fishing is slow. since no water is being released. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
SLOW. Water stained; 80 degrees. 47.86 feet below pool. Black bass catches have been improving greatly. The fish are being caught on plastics. Reports of bass caught exceeding 5 pounds, with many in the 2-3 pound range. Good reports of catfish being caught on blood punch bait. Always wear your life jacket and stay aware. Report by Bronte Guns and Tackle Pro Staff.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 2.12 feet below pool. Stillhouse has risen another 0.06 feet since last week. The water is warming rapidly and the fish are suspending more and more each day. The two drivers for this is the stratification of the water by temperature which will eventually lead to the creation of the thermocline by mid-June, and the increasing presence of young-of-the-year shad making their way into open water. When fish are suspended, I rely heavily on my 2-D sonar, traditional sonar or colored sonar, as the three-dimensional cone it makes use of extends the echo signature of the fish into long arches which are larger and much more easily seen on a screen then the shorter rice grain signatures seen on side-imaging and down-imaging. The MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail is the only lure I have used for the past four weeks. It shows up remarkably well on forward-facing sonar and 2-D sonar. Drop it either to the bottom if fish are on bottom, or below the level of suspended fish, and crank it up at a steady cadence at least two cranks above the fish showing highest in the water column. If a chase occurs, keep cranking at that same steady cadence until the fish either catches it, or turns away. When a strike occurs, keep right on cranking without a hard hookset. Mornings are best, from 7:20 a.m. to around 10:15 a.m. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 77 degrees; 0.49 feet above pool. Lake Tawakoni is fishing good and is in its full summer pattern. The hybrid striper and white bass bite is good. Fish are feeding on thread-fin shad suspended over deeper water. Slabs, swimbaits and live bait are working best. The eating sized catfish bite is red hot. Baited holes in 20 feet are working best. Prepared baits such as punch bait and dip baits are catching more fish. Crappie are decent on bridge pilings and shallower brush in 8-14 feet. Docks are also holding fish. Jigs are out-fishing minnows currently. Look for that to chance as water warms into the 80s. Largemouth bite is good. Shallow crankbaits, flukes and frogs are catching best. First hour and last hour for the frog, and the cranks mid morning into the mid day around shallow dock pilings, rip-rap and isolated underwater irrigation pumps. Use your side-imaging to locate these. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
FAIR. Water stained; 74 degrees; 12.08 feet above pool. Catfishing is still excellent using punch bait along rock banks for channel cats in 15-25 feet of water. Cut shad and whole shad on ledges in 30-45 feet of water for keeper blues and look for bigger fish in shallow creeks and coves. Striper fishing is very inconsistent with the current lake conditions. Top waters, swimbaits and live shad on humps and flats in 20-25 feet of water fishing any clear water you can find. Look for the lake to clear once they turn down the outflow. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Striped bass are hit-or-miss with slabs in 15-30 feet of water, with a better bite on live bait. Midlake to the dam water is clearing. Very little floating debris left on the lake. Channel catfish can be targeted around big rocks and drop-offs in 20-30 feet of water cut bait. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.61 feet below pool. It is finally summer time, everything around Toledo is getting right, most storms are gone and the sun is cooking. Bass are good. Shallow fish are still strong on frogs, topwaters, swim jigs and wacky-worms from 2-7 feet of water. The deeper bite is coming on strong in 14-18 feet of water with big crankbaits and Carolina rigs. A few great reports of 7 pound bass being caught at night with spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits along the edge of the flooded grass. Crappie are good on brush piles, standing timber, and main lake docks with jigs or live bait. The water temperature is starting to reach the mid to low 80s, pushing crappie out of the creeks. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 43.67 feet below pool. Lake Travis is fishing great. Bass are on the verge of schooling up as the water temperatures rise into the 80s. Most fish are being caught on worms, creature baits, craws and swimbaits or flukes. Look for grass on the channel swings on the main lake for a lot of bass. Some of the bigger bass are on the deeper outer side especially in the isolated patches of grass. There are some good bass on the deeper ledges as well in 15-30 feet of water. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs. Time to fish marinas in 30-40 feet of water for bass, white bass, crappie and bluegill. Grass action for bass has slowed. Bounce between shaded bluff walls with a craw and marinas with small swimbaits and small spoons. The water is crystal clear when there is no wind, so downsize baits. Report by Randal Frisbie, Central Texas Fishing Guide, LLC.
SLOW. Water stained. 82 degrees; 33.49 feet below pool. Channel catfish are slow in shallow water with punch bait. White bass and crappie can be caught under the lights at night with minnows or shad. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 75 degrees; 0.30 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush piles with minnows and jigs in 10-16 feet of water. Catfish are good in 5-6 feet of water with liver and nightcrawlers. Bass are scattered with a fair topwater bite or feeler with trick worms, spinnerbaits and topwaters. Bream are good on red worms throughout the lake. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler. Bass are great with a phenomenal topwater bite the first hour of fishable light, but will shut off quickly as the sun rises. Dropshots and Texas rigs are producing very well on normal summer patterns until the evening topwater bite in that last hour of the day. Crappie are holding in 10-20 feet on brush. Catfish are fairly shallow on nightcrawlers and prepared baits but are working deeper and are lethargic recovering from the spawn. Thermocline was around 22 feet on the main lake but will be moving up around 18-20 feet in the next week or two. Report by Holton Walker, Holton Walker Fishing.
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Crappie are on fire in the summer pattern hanging out in 10-18 feet of water on structure. Minnows always work well but a purple crappie jig with a chartreuse tail is a good artificial. Black bass are suspended over structure in 20 feet of water hitting crankbaits or a silver spoon. Report by Greg Culverhouse, Crappie King.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees. The boat ramp continues to be closed and blocked off through 2025, kayaks and canoes can still be launched from the bank. The lake has seen increased pressure from a growing number of kayaks and personal watercraft. Recommended techniques include moving baits like lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and A-rigs. Texas-rigged soft plastics also work well, with Senkos, dropshots, and shaky heads being effective. Report by Team YAKUSA.
FAIR. Water stained; 79 degrees; 3.16 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 15 feet of water on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Bass are slow on soft plastics or crankbaits in deeper water. Catfish are fair with cut bait and shad on rocks. Water clarity is 7 inches.
FAIR. Water normal stain; 72 degrees; 19.98 feet below pool. Crappie are good 2-8 feet on jigs and minnows. Catfish slow in cut and prepared baits. Report by The Bait Shop, Post, Texas.
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 76 degrees; 1.73 feet above pool. Water is lightly stained 76 degrees. Catfish are good using cut bait in 25-30 feet of water. Striped bass bite is fair on live bait in 25-30 feet of water. Crappie are on main lake brush piles in 15-30 feet of water. White bass fishing is good on slabs on main lake humps in 25-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass fishing is good using soft plastics on deep structure. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
GOOD. Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 7.95 feet above pool. Crappie are moving into brush piles and structure setting up in a summer pattern. Downsize to small hair jigs in 10-15 feet of water. Channel catfish are good near brush along the bank with stinkbait. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.33 feet above pool. Discharge at the 59 bridge is 2630 CFS. Water is starting to clear up nicely making for a decent largemouth bite in the shallows. Grubs and worms rigged Texas rigged seem to do the trick. Drop-offs in cypress trees are a great place to start then venture shallow to structure and shaded banks. Crappie are picking up quite a bit in Luces Bayou, tight to structure being enticed with minnows and hand tied jigs in 6-10 feet of water. Catfish are fantastic still in bulk heads eating fresh caught shad both under a slip cork and bottom fishing. Always wear your kill switch and be prepared. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
Zebra Mussel AlertTo prevent the spread of zebra mussels, the law requires draining of water from boats and onboard receptacles when leaving or approaching public fresh waters. Get details.
GOOD. 80 degrees. Tide levels are on the rise again. Trout are great on croaker in about 4 feet of water. Drum are consistent over reefs on dead shrimp. Redfish have been coming off of shallow flats on shad. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.
San Antonio Bay
FAIR. 80 degrees. The water is in great shape but the wind has picked up. The tide has also come up and the redfish are moving into the back lakes. Trout action has picked up along the shorelines. Live shrimp are hard to find but other live bait is available. With the high tide topwaters are working well in the back lakes. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.
Sabine Lake
FAIR. 82 degrees. Jetties are producing limits of beautiful speckled trout, limits of redfish, and some drum in the morning. Fish are averaging 15-20 inches, throwing back quite a few oversized fish. Once the wind starts blowing and sun rises focus efforts inside the channel along rocks, shell flats with live shrimp on a popping cork. Drum and sheepshead can be caught on the points, drops and along our banks with live shrimp Carolina rigged. The south end of Sabine Lake produced some nice trout drifting in 2-4 feet of water using 3.5 inch plastics in red shad or morning glory chartreuse with quarter inch jig heads that bite. Salinity in the lake is improving and the bite is turning on. There are a few birds working along the shoreline and in the middle of the lake and nice shrimp. Catching some trout beneath the birds late in the evenings. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 78 degrees. This week will be a little cloudy with lots of sun this weekend for great fishing like last week! The tides and water levels will be changing from 3-4 to twice daily Saturday. Water temperatures are in the 70s. Last week there were fewer big 25 in plus trout in the surf, and more on the bayside. Water levels are back and forth per normal with a lot of sargassum washing in. Anglers are still catching plenty of redfish everywhere. There are plenty of keeper speckled trout being caught along with sand trout, black drum, sheepshead and crabs caught along the jetty. The flounder are here for the Spring but mostly 16-20 inches. The bigger stingrays and sharks are definitely here and the real action has begun. Seeing more sharks while shrimping in the bay the past few days. The surf is still producing lots of redfish and huge black drum, some big speckled trout and a lot of sharks along the whole peninsula with more activity towards Gilchrist and High Island. Anglers are using cut mullet, big menhaden or shad, and stingray chunks for bait with awesome results. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.
Trinity Bay
FAIR. 76 degrees. With the hard south, southeast winds this time of year fresh water is now being blown into Baytown from the Trinity lowering the parts per unit significantly. Good water is in the ship channel by the blue atoll. The west shoreline by Eagle point is holding good fish and believe it or not, smith point has some good looking salt water. Remember, fishing structure is your best bet. Reefs seem to be ok but shell sandbars have been producing well on the ambush side with the current flowing around using Redemption Outdoor gear popping corks and live shrimp. Additionally, grass shorelines with bait present are where it is at for redfish but takes patience as you must stick with it. We have been catching good redfish in this scenario using WAC Attacks WACky Shad XL in the sparkle chartreuse color married with a redfish magic spinner bait to mimic button shad by and in grass. Flounder are being caught well with lures and live shrimp on rocks as well. Always be prepared and wear your kill switch, it could save your families lives. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
East Galveston Bay
GOOD. 83 degrees. Snapper season kicked off and there were plenty of fish for all those that went offshore of Galveston. Even some kingfish were landed. Bay fishing continues to be good, borderline great. Plenty of speckled trout are being caught throughout the bay system with live shrimp, croakers, and artificial lures. Plenty of black drum being caught along with some really big sheepshead from the middle to upper Galveston Bay on rocks and oyster shell bottom. The surf finally greened up and anglers caught some speckled trout along the Galveston beachfront. Most of Trinity Bay remains fresh with water coming out of the Trinity River. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. This week will be a little cloudy with lots of sun this weekend for great fishing like last week! The tides and water levels will be changing from 3-4 to twice daily Saturday. Only changes have been the heat. Fishing remains great by boat and wading around oyster beds. Still catching a lot of speckled trout everywhere, sheepshead and bull redfish with some gaff tops/hardheads under a popping with live shrimp and soft plastics. Report by Captain Jack Blume, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temperature 80 degrees. The water clarity is very good for East Galveston Bay, with average clarity throughout the bay system. The redfish bite was excellent again for us this week, around drains and in the very shallow water areas back in the marsh. We are still using Imitation shrimp lures & tails under popping corks, with a 1-foot leader to trigger bites, as well as Deadly Dudley Rat Tails, and WacAttack Flukes, in lighter colors with 1/8 ounce jig heads. Jerkbaits and swimbaits are still triggering some bites as well, if you like throwing those style baits. The last few days on the flats we have enjoyed most of our success on the Popping Cork with artificial catching the best trout, as well as the most numbers. We have been catching some nice Flounder on our trips on high tides up in the flooded grass. The reef action has continued to pick up, when the wind conditions allow it, so keep that in mind as well as you venture out into the bay. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Service, LLC.
Galveston Bay
FAIR. 80 degrees. Snapper season kicked off and there were plenty of fish for all those that went offshore of Galveston. Even some kingfish were landed. Bay fishing continues to be good, borderline great. Plenty of speckled trout are being caught throughout the bay system with live shrimp, croakers, and artificial lures. Plenty of black drum being caught along with some really big sheepshead from the middle to upper Galveston Bay on rocks and oyster shell bottom. The surf finally greened up and anglers caught some speckled trout along the Galveston beachfront. Most of Trinity Bay remains fresh with water coming out of the Trinity River. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
West Galveston Bay
GOOD. 80 degrees. Snapper season kicked off and there were plenty of fish for all those that went offshore of Galveston. Even some kingfish were landed. Bay fishing continues to be good, borderline great. Plenty of speckled trout are being caught throughout the bay system with live shrimp, croakers, and artificial lures. Plenty of black drum being caught along with some really big sheepshead from the middle to upper Galveston Bay on rocks and oyster shell bottom. The surf finally greened up and anglers caught some speckled trout along the Galveston beachfront. Most of Trinity Bay remains fresh with water coming out of the Trinity River. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
Texas City
GOOD. 75 degrees. This week will be a little cloudy with lots of sun this weekend for great fishing like last week! The tides and water levels will be changing from 3-4 to twice daily Saturday. Water temperatures are just right. Anglers are catching speckled trout, redfish, and black drum with some occasional sand trout, gafftop, and croakers. The sheepshead are around structures and piers. Wade fishing along the levee or anywhere from the dike has been productive from the beginning to the end still. Live shrimp and finger mullet have been the best baits. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.
Freeport
FAIR. 81 degrees. Surf has been good as the winds laid down in the morning throwing live shrimp or croakers using chatter weights. Topwater and soft plastic have been good for trout and some redfish in the first gut. West of Galveston has been good with trout fishing under the birds with live shrimp under a popping cork catching trout, and big gafftop catfish. There had been schools of jack crevalle working big pops of mullet. Freeport Harbor has been holding good numbers of mangroves snapper, trout, sheepshead, redfish and big sand trout using live shrimp with a light weight. Anglers are catching trout, sheephead, redfish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and some sharks near at the jetties on surfside and Bryan Beach. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.
East Matagorda Bay
GOOD. 78 degrees. Calm weather has turned on a good surf bite wading, or out of the boat at the jetties. Redfish, and trout are biting live shrimp, cut mullet and artificials. Catches of drum near the surf or on the shallow reefs. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
West Matagorda Bay
GOOD. 78 degrees. Calm weather has turned on a good surf bite wading, or out of the boat at the jetties. Redfish, and trout are biting live shrimp, cut mullet and artificials. Catches of drum near the surf or on the shallow reefs. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
Port O’Connor
GOOD. 78 degrees. Trout are good early morning at Bird Island with live croaker. Jack crevalle and bull redfish are schooling on the surface between the jetties and Bird Island early morning during the incoming tide with blue crab or Spanish Sardines. Keeper black drum in the apron of the jetties. Slot redfish are biting inside and outside of both the jetties with blue crab of Spanish sardines. Sharks are biting in both jetties on cut jack crevalle and skipjack. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.
Rockport
GOOD. 80 degrees. Trout are great on live shrimp, piggy perch and croaker in flats and along channels. Redfish are fair on shrimp, mullet, pin perch and menhaden in sand pockets and along mangroves. Black drum are fair on live or dead shrimp and fish bites. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Port Aransas
GOOD. 80 degrees. Red snapper season has opened up and the bite is great on squid cigar minnows and live perch. Redfish are good on live shrimp finger mullet and shad on the north and south jetty. Oversized redfish are great on cut crab and mullet. Trout are great with croaker and shrimp free lined along rocks. Redfish and trout have been great in surf using croaker and live shrimp. Sharks have been being caught in the surf using mullet, jacks and stingray.. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Corpus Christi
GOOD. 80 degrees. Tide levels are on the rise again. Trout are great on croaker in about 4 feet of water. Drum are consistent over reefs on dead shrimp. Redfish have been coming off of shallow flats on shad. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.
Baffin Bay
GOOD. 83 degrees. Moderate weather has really turned the big trout bite on in Baffin Bay! The past week was just a dream with many upper size trout in the 27-31 inch range up to nearly 10 pounds. Target areas with lots of bait, as well as grass strips near the shoreline, and middle level potholes and edges. There was a good topwater bite shallow when the winds were light and potholes when it was a little windier. The She Dog in black/gold chrome/orange was a killer. As usual, the Coastal Brew Baits 6 inch darts in Pothole Pimp, Watermelon Red and Hoochie Coochie were very, very effective. Here is hoping this trend continues for a while! See you on the water! Report by Captain Sally Black. Conditions this week will be great for fishing Baffin Bay. Early in the morning is the time to take advantage of the speckled trout and bite. Once the heat starts to set in, fishing up shallow for speckled trout becomes difficult. Late in the morning to afternoon you can find redfish in shallow grassy areas. Oftentimes you can have the opportunity to sight-cast to these redfish cruising the flats or when you find them tailing. Top water bites in the morning have been eventful, with the best producing lure being a DownSouth Supermodel in “Rootbeer Hopper” or “Big poppa pearl”. Anything roach color, with gold or red flakes has been working wonders in Baffin Bay. This summer heat can be seriously dangerous, stay hydrated and most importantly remember to practice safety and courtesy out on the waterways. Tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.
Port Mansfield
GOOD. 78 degrees. It has been good one day and fair the next recently. Our fish have been moving around a bit but not far from any previous day. Small adjustments in your wading or drifting has been paying off. We have fresh gulf water entering our bay and it is helping. Redfish are also grouping up. Most are in about 2-3 feet of water and some even deeper. Trout are holding in the same areas also. Best baits are swimbaits in pearl and hot, and soft plastics. Offshore bite is starting to heat up for red snapper. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters.
South Padre
GOOD. 83 degrees. Light southeast wind with bay temperature 83 degrees and holding. Trout are good on the edges of the intercoastal, gas well flats and south of the new causeway. Redfish are spotty on the east side from Three Islands to south bay. Small black drums and sheepshead are good at the old causeway. Mangrove snapper are good at the end of Brownsville Channel and the south jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin.
Port Isabel
GOOD. 83 degrees. Light southeast wind with bay temperature 83 degrees and holding. Trout are good on the edges of the intercoastal, gas well flats and south of the new causeway. Redfish are spotty on the east side from Three Islands to south bay. Small black drums and sheepshead are good at the old causeway. Mangrove snapper are good at the end of Brownsville Channel and the south jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin
Zebra Mussel AlertTo prevent the spread of zebra mussels, the law requires draining of water from boats and onboard receptacles when leaving or approaching public fresh waters. Get details.
“Doodle Bug, Doodle Bug, are you home.” That little ditty came to mind when I went to my woodshed last week and saw several small conical holes in the dry dirt. We used to chant it when stirring the little holes with a straw, trying to get the “doodle bug” to show itself.
It never did!
Years later I found out doodle bugs are really ant lions and the holes are their food traps. When I built my woodshed in the early 1980s and saw the holes I did some research and also put ants in the trap. It was somewhat disconcerting to watch the bug hiding at the bottom flip dirt up to make the ant fall faster to the doodle bug’s waiting jaws.
I also scooped up a trowel of dirt and put it on a piece of screen wire and sifted out the bug. They are ugly – with a capital “U!” They look a little like a fat tick but with a wavy body. The head is on a short neck and has two huge pincher jaws to grab and kill ants.
I am sure some horror movies have used them as models!
Another bug that I did see and play with was a “roll up bug,” what we called rollie polies and something many called pill bugs. These segmented bugs roll up like an armadillo when scared and will roll around on a tabletop like a BB!
I found many critters like those while growing up since I lived outside most of the time. I often dug in the dirt and turned over boards and logs to find fish bait. Most didn’t scare me since they didn’t bite or sting but those I didn’t know I left alone.
One of the strangest critters I found over the years was a thin brown slimy worm several inches long with a lighter strip down its back. But its head flattened out into a half-moon shape, so we called them hammerhead worms. They were not common but I found them regularly when looking for earthworms.
A little research shows hammerhead worms came to the US about 100 years ago, not recently as some hysterical folks claimed a few years ago. They do produce a toxin but at such low levels they cannot hurt you. And the mouth is too small to bite you.
But they look scary!
When I moved to Griffin in 1972 and started fishing the Flint River I heard about “rock worms” and used many for bait. Pull some moss off rocks under the water in the river and you are likely to find a worm like critter with six small legs near the head and what looks like a stinger on its tail. They make great bait for anything that swims.
I found out they are really the larvae of damsel flies. Much like butterflies and caterpillars, the adult fly lays eggs in the water that hatch and grow in the worm form. Eventually they climb out of the water and the fly stage sheds the hard larvae body and flies off to find a mate, starting the cycle all over again.
Last weekend there was a huge Mayfly hatch at Bartletts Ferry. Mayflies are bigger cousins of Damsel Flies and go through the same life cycle. I saw a few Friday and Saturday, but clouds of them around the bathhouse lights at Blanton Creek Sunday morning before I left for the Sportsman Club tournament made me change my plans.
The river was very muddy and I found very few Mayflies and had a hard time getting a bite in the muddy water. Bream love to eat the bugs and bass find the bream easy meals while they concentrate of gorging on Mayflies, so a hatch is a good place to fish.
In practice I had caught many more bass in the clear water in Hawalakee Creek and planned on starting there, But the big hatch convinced me to go to a place in the muddy water where I had seen the start of a hatch the day before.
In the tournament 11 members and guests fished from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM to land 38 bass weighing about 52 pounds. There were six five bass limits and two people didn’t weigh in a fish.
My change of plans worked, I won with five bass weighing 10.13 pounds and had a 2.52 pounder for big fish. Kwong Yu had five at 8.21 pounds for second, third went to Billy Roberts with five weighing 5.80 pounds and Raymond English had four at 5.44 pounds for fourth.
I had 11 keepers total. I caught all my bass around grassbeds on a Texas rigged worm or under docks with a whacky rigged Senko. In every case there were Mayflies in the grass or on the docks!
An American Fishing Story While you were hopefully staying healthy and going fishing during the COVID pandemic, St. Croix Rod used our six-week shutdown to improve our processes and products for the benefit of our anglers. The VICTORY Series is one specific, direct, and tangible result of those efforts.
Five years later, VICTORY remains one of our most-popular rod series ever. Here’s why it has such broad appeal with anglers…VICTORY Defined
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SCIII+ is Born
Utilized today in AVID, AVID Walleye, and AVID Panfish series rods, SCIII+ was born with the VICTORY Series. The hybrid carbon fiber material allows us to build extremely light and strong rods while customizing actions to optimize them for specific techniques and applications. Ryan Teach is a total bass nut. He’s also St. Croix’s VP of Innovation. Watch the video to learn how and why our SCIII+ material was developed, and what it means to you when you fish a VICTORY rod.VICTORY for All
Speaking of specific techniques and applications, VICTORY includes 25 distinct models. Check out our highly detailed Recommended Technique Chart to learn what we designed each specific VICTORY rod to do.Our Doors Are Open to You
As proud as we are of our VICTORY rods, we’re equally proud of every rod we put into your hands. If you’re ever going to be in our neck of the Northwoods, we’d love to show you how our passionate people do all of it. Schedule a St. Croix Rod Factory Tour by calling us at 715-997-3950 or emailing us at factorytour@stcroixrods.com.Not coming to our area? Watch this video to see exactly how each VICTORY rod is crafted from start to finish. NEED A NEW ROD? SHOP VICTORY
About St. Croix Rod Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major American producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The family-owned company owns and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph®, Mojo, and BASS X, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and Rod Geeks.
Its scary how fast my attitude can change at a club tournament. Many times I have gone from disgusted to happy in a few minutes when I suddenly caught several bass or caught a big one. And it goes the other way, too when I lose a big fish or miss several bites on a tough day.
Last Saturday I went from disgusted to happy at the Potato Creek Bassmasters June tournament on Oconee. After fishing hard all day I had three small keepers to weigh in. I just knew everybody else would have a limit of big bass based on reports I had been getting. The weekend before it took 19 pounds to win a local tournament.
At 6:00 Robert and I ran down to a grassy point where I can usually catch a keeper at first light this time of year on a spinnerbait or buzzbait. After 30 minutes of casting the sun came up and neither of us had a bite.
I was hardheaded and kept fishing the grass, concentrating on shady banks. At about 7:00 I decided to fish out deeper on a rocky point. I told Robert I saw what looked like big fish moving on the bottom about 15 feet deep.
I cast a jig to them and felt a thump, but before I could set the hook my rod almost got jerked out of my hand. Almost as soon as I started fighting the fish I told Robert it was probably a catfish based on the way it rolled when it pulled.
Sure enough I got a six or seven pound blue cat to the boat. It was hooked in the tail, I guess that is why it took off when it bumped my jig. I used my pliers to pull the hook out without landing the fish.
Going into the next cove Robert got a keeper largemouth on a whacky rigged worm behind my buzzbait. That made me put it down and go to a slower moving bait.
In the back of the cove I caught a 13.5 inch largemouth on my jig. That set the pattern for the day. Largemouth must be 14 inches long to be kept at Oconee. A few minutes later as I reeled in my jig for another cast a thump made me set the hook and I landed a barely keeper largemouth on the jig. One for me at 8:00!
For the next three hours we tried a lot of different things, from rocks to docks. At about 10:00 I made a blind cast out on a shallow point as we rounded it to fish the next dock and saw my line moving out. When I set the hook I landed a 14.5 inch keeper, my biggest of the day.
Talk about a blind hog finding an acorn. There was no cover to hold a bass out there, but I believe in keeping my bait in the water at all times I can. That accidental keeper shows why.
After another hour of fruitless casting I decided to go back to the grassy point and try it. As I told Robert, they had to be hungry since they didn’t eat earlier.
After 15 minutes of casting my jig to the grass I had about given up. As happens all too often, not paying attention cost me. I cast my jig to the grass and before I could engage the reel a bass took off back into the grass. I hooked it a little and felt a strong pull before it came off.
That got my attention and in the next hour or so I caught at least a dozen bass from the grass on my jig. Unfortunately, although I measured several of them that looked like keepers only one was over the 14-inch line.
Robert had quit fishing since his back hurt and was sitting down in the boat with 30 minutes left to fish. I told him there was a deep brush pile on the way in I wanted to fish. My first cast to it produced another 13.5-inch bass on my jig.
That made Robert get up and fish, and sure enough his first cast with a Carolina rig produced a two pound keeper, our biggest of the day!
That was it. I was pretty disgusted.
At weigh 17 members of the club brought in 32 keeper bass weighing about 55 pounds. There was one five bass limit and two members didn’t have as keeper.
Lee Hancock blew us all away with a five bass limit weighing 11.75 pounds for first and his 3.60 pound largemouth was big fish. Doug Acree had three at 5.45 pound for second, third was Jason Turner with three weighing 5.19 pounds and my three at 4.13 pounds was fourth!
I really needed that last bass Robert caught! But fourth place cheered me up a lot!
What Are Some Tips, Techniques, And Tackle For Post-Spawn Bass
By The Fishing Wire
The post-spawn largemouth bass transition period is one of the best times to be on the water, but the party doesn’t last long
What’s so great about the post-spawn? It’s a recuperation period. Bass are hungry and rapidly becoming more aggressive. But it’s also a relocation period, which means the locations where post-spawn bass may be found can change from day to day. Thankfully, while post-spawn bass locations are variable, they are also highly predictable.
Post-Spawn Behavior Think of post-spawn largie behavior like this: All post-spawn bass are eager to feed, but there are two primary things going on. Most male bass engage in a distinct fry-guarding ritual for about a week or ten days immediately following the hatch. Meanwhile, the females are immediately out, abandoning their spawning sites – and their baby daddies – headed back towards deeper water. Once the neurotic males abandon their posts (often after snapping and devouring a good percentage of their own offspring), they may follow the same basic routes offshore as the females. The whole post-spawn transition usually lasts around a month.
Post-Spawn Locations Post-spawn bass routes often mirror pre-spawn routes. Their first stop is usually the first major drop off, which varies by location, but is often an emerging weed line or a secondary point leading to deeper water. Regardless of the actual depth, which may be anywhere from 7 or 8 feet to 15 or 20, structure is key. It doesn’t matter what it is, but something will attract and hold the bass (and forage) while they feed and adjust to the shallow-to-deep transition. In reservoirs that have creek channels, the locations where those channels intersect with structure can be golden. From these first, primary recuperation stops, post-spawn bass will continue to migrate to places like shallow humps, weed beds, and primary lake points. Some will spend the rest of the year there, and others will depart and disperse throughout the system.
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Post-Spawn Presentations Once anglers understand a bit about the ways post-spawn largemouths behave and have a good idea where to find them, the next step is dialing in the specific presentations to which they’re vulnerable.
Fry-guarding males stationed near cover or structure on the first break off the spawning flats can be very easy to catch, despite the fact that they’re not programmed to eat during this brief period. Capitalize on their plight by offering baits that threaten the offspring they’re programmed to defend. Soft plastic jerkbaits and stickbaits are a favorite here, but topwaters, and moving baits like crankbaits, swimbaits, underspin swimbaits, and spinnerbaits all resemble threatening school-raiders and will elicit strikes.
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For true post-spawn bass transitioning to deep water, specific presentations should be dictated by the structure, cover, and depth at which the bass are holding, as well as available forage. This may be crayfish, bluegills, frogs, shad… you name it… but it’s worth noting that a shad spawn can sometimes coincide with the largemouth’s post-spawn period. When this brief but significant event happens, bass key in, actively hunting and targeting weak or dying individuals within the swarms. When present, a shad spawn will dictate post-spawn bass locations and it should also dictate an angler’s presentations. Top post-spawn transition baits include hard and soft jerkbaits, topwater lures, frogs, jigs, shakeyhead jigs, wobblehead jigs, Texas and Carolina rigs, swimbaits, and Damiki rigs/jighead minnows.
Post-Spawn Tackle Recommendations Given the wide variety of effective post-spawn presentations, suffice it to say that almost any spinning or casting setup has its place. That said optimizing rods, reels, and lines for specific presentations always yields more success. Here are some solid recommendations.
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Hard and Soft Jerkbaits – A 6’6” to 7’ medium power, fast or extra-fast action spinning or casting rod is ideal, with a 68MXF being the sweet spot. 10-20 lb. fluorocarbon line is preferred because it sinks and has minimal stretch. Pair jerkbait casting rods with a slow- or medium-speed casting reel like the SEVIIN GFC166, GFC173, GSC166, or GSC 173.
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Crankbaits – Crankbait rods should have a softer, moderate action to absorb the shock of a bass slashing at a moving bait and to keep the treble hooks in place during the fight. Rod length starts at 6’6” when accurate casts to specific target windows are required and can go up to 8’ when long casts are needed in order to get deep-diving crankbaits down to depth. In most cases, a 72MM, 72HM, or 72MHMF are ideal. 12 to 20-lb. fluorocarbon line is preferred. Reels should prioritize power over speed. A SEVIIN GFC166 or GSC166 is an ideal choice.
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Topwaters – Tackle choices will vary due to the variety of lure styles and retrieves. Moving baits like buzzbaits and propbaits deserve a softer moderate or moderate-fast action like a 70MHMF. Popping baits, frogs, and walk-the-dog-style baits need a faster tip to animate the lure. Choose medium to heavy power depending on the cover you’re fishing. Thicker vegetation and areas with wood, dock pilings or other trouble call for a heavy stick like a 74HF. A rod like a 70MF or 71MHF is ideal for areas with less cover. Medium-speed casting reels like the SEVIIN GFC173 and GSC173 work great for most topwaters, but many anglers prefer a faster 8.1:1 (GFC181 or GSC181) for frogging and other presentations that require picking line up quickly.
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Spinnerbaits – Similar to crankbaits and chatterbaits, a spinnerbait is a reaction bait, meaning bass strike it while it is moving. This requires a softer rod to convert strikes and land fish. A medium-heavy power, moderate-fast action rod like you would use for a buzzbait or surface prop-bait is also perfect for spinnerbaits. A rod like this can also fish most common crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, and chatterbaits effectively. A 70MHMF is a perfect choice. Most anglers present spinnerbaits on 12-20 lb. fluorocarbon line and use a 6.1:1 or 7.3:1 casting reel.
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Stickbaits – Whether rigged Texas-style or wacky, stickbaits can be deadly on post-spawn bass. Spinning tackle gets the nod in this finesse presentation. The most popular stickbait rods range from 6’8” to 7’6” in medium-light to medium-heavy power, depending on nearby structure. Fast or extra-fast tips are helpful in detecting strikes on falling baits. Solid candidates are a 68MXF, 70MF, 70MHF, 610MLXF, or 73MLXF, with a 73MXF perhaps being the best all-arounder. 10-lb. braided line in a high-vis color also aids in detecting strikes but be sure to use an 8 to 15-lb. fluoro leader. A smooth and powerful 2500 or 3000 size SEVIIN GF, GS, or GX spinning reel is a perfect match.
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Swimbaits & Swimjigs – Paddletail soft-plastic swimbaits in the 3-4-in. range rigged on ¼ to ½-oz. jigheads or underspin jigheads catch bass everywhere. They’re a go-to choice for targeting post-spawn bass above weed beds, through sparse grass, along thick weed edges, around docks, on points, or in open water. They are versatile in that they can be counted down and fished at a variety of depths, and retrieves can be varied as well. Almost any casting or spinning rod can fish one of these baits. Moderate-fast or fast actions are ideal when paired with medium or medium-heavy power. A 71MHF is a great choice. Once again, 10 to 20-lb. fluorocarbon line is preferred. A medium-speed SEVIIN GFC173 or GSC173 reel gets the nod for casting rods, while a 3000-size GF, GS, or GX pairs great for swimbait fishing with spinning rods. Duplicate these setups for swimjigs.
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Bottom-Contact Baits – Jigs, shakeyhead jigs, wobblehead jigs, Texas rigs, and Carolina rigs all play for post-spawn bass. Highly sensitive, powerful rods are the rule, with 7’ to 7’5” medium-heavy to heavy, extra-fast action casting models serving anglers best. One exception is the Carolina rig, which are often fished in thicker vegetation. Rods for this technique still need loads of power but require a more moderate action. Shakeyhead jigs are another exception. More of a finesse technique, shakeyheads are often fished on spinning tackle – specifically a longer, medium-to-medium-heavy power rod like a 73MXF or 73MHF. Most of these bottom contact presentations are best fished on braided lines in the 15-40-lb. range. Preferred casting reels have a fast 8.1:1 retrieve to pick up line quickly before hooksets (GFC181 or GSC181). Shakeyhead spinning presentations call for a large-capacity 3000 size GF, GS, or GX spinning reel loaded with 20 to 30-lb braid and a 15-lb. fluoro leader.
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Damiki Rigs / Jigging Minnows – Primarily a forward-facing sonar technique, Damiki rigs/jigging minnows are a finesse technique best presented on medium-light to medium power, extra-fast spinning rods between 6’3” and 7’ in length. Your stickbait setup can be used to fish these lures. 63MLXF, 63MXF, 66MLF, 610MLXF, and 70MFspinning rods are popular choices. Use the extra capacity of a 3000-size spinning reel to manage the lighter lines used for these techniques. The SEVIIN GX3000 is ideal. You can use straight 6-to-10-lb. fluorocarbon line or very light 10-lb. braided line, but if you go the braid route, be sure to use an extra-long 8-to-10-lb. fluoro leader.
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