The weekly fishing report as compiled for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for Sept. 30 and also available on the internet at https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/fishreport.phtml:

NORTHEAST

ATHENS: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 81 degrees; 0.49’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on shad colored crankbaits, bladed spinners, and Texas-rigged plastic worms working the drop-offs, brush piles, and flooded timber. Crappie are fair with minnows in standing timber and boat docks. Catfish are fair on prepared bait. Sunfish are good on cutworms and crickets.

CADDO: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.52’ high. Largemouth bass are good in shallow water near trees, stumps, and grass beds fishing plastic frogs, poppers, chuggers, skirted jigs in 3-5’. Texas-rigged plastic worms and crankbaits are productive in deeper water near timber and vegetation lines in 8-16’. Crappie are good on minnows near brush piles and timber edges in 14-25’. White bass are fair on jigs and slabs in the main lake. Chain pickerel are slow. Catfish are fair on prepared bait and nightcrawlers in 12-20’ fishing baited holes near channels and timber edges.

CEDAR CREEK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 77 degrees; 0.10’ low. Largemouth bass are good working topwater plugs and jerk baits very early on creek ledges and near boat docks. Shaky heads, black or purple plastic worms, and diving cranks fished in deeper water near boat docks, main lake drop-offs, and timber are productive later in the day. Hybrids and sand bass are being caught off main lake points and humps with slabs, and live bait. Crappie are good with jigs and minnows in brush piles, deep water boat docks, and near submerged timber in 15-28’. Catfish are good in 12-25’.

COOPER: Good. Water clear; 77-81 degrees; 2.71’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on drop shots, medium size crankbaits, and skirted jigs in 12-25’. The white bass and hybrids are good in 25-35’ with live bait, slabs, jigging spoons over humps, flats edges, and near main lake drop-offs. Crappie are good with minnows on brush piles and timber near creek channels. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared bait in 14-25’.

FORK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.66’ low. Largemouth bass are good on slow-moving finesse worms and jigs near standing flooded timber, points, and drop-offs. White and yellow bass are fair in deeper water with slabs and jigging spoons. Crappie are fair on minnows in 18-25’ in brush piles and standing timber. Catfish are good on punch bait in 12-24’.

JACKSONVILLE: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees; 0.06’ high. Largemouth bass are fair with finesse worms, silver spoons, and medium crankbaits in deeper water near docks, rip-rap, and brush piles. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in 14-25’ around submerged structure and brush piles. Catfish are good on cut shad and punch bait.

JOE POOL: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees; 0.47’ low. Largemouth bass are fair fishing wacky worms fished slowly in 14-23’. Shad like crankbaits and spinners along channel edges, mouths, and pockets are effective as well. Crappie are good beneath bridges and structure on minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair on prepared bait.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.11’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shaky heads, football jigs, and crankbaits in 15-25’. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows in the standing timber areas along the creek channel and brush piles in 15-28’. Catfish are good on trotlines with cut bait or live bait. Baited holes are producing with punch bait.

LAVON: GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.81’ low. Crappie are good on minnows or jigs fishing 15-25’ over brush piles and bridges. White bass are good in the 20-30’ with slabs and swimbaits. Look for birds diving over feeding schools of white bass. Black bass are fair on craws, wacky worms, and crankbaits in 15-28’. Catfish are good on prepared bait in 14-25’.

MARTIN CREEK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and swimbaits, and Texas-rigged worms in 15-28’. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in 16-28’ in timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on punch bait in 12-25’.

PALESTINE: GOOD. Water clear; 81 degrees; 0.26’ high. Largemouth bass are good working Texas-rigged worms, swimbaits, and crankbaits near boat docks and riprap. Crappie are good on minnows or jigs tipped with minnows around bridges and timber in 15-25’. Hybrid stripers are fair on live bait in 25-35’. White bass are good on slabs and jigging spoons. Look for birds diving over feeding schools. Catfish are good on punch baits and live minnows.

RAY HUBBARD: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.67’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on wacky worms, crankbaits, and football jigs in timber, near rocky banks, ledges, and drop-offs. White bass are good fishing chrome slabs and white jigging spoons on main lake flats, humps, and ridges in 18-28’. Crappie are good near bridges, brush piles, and submerged timber in with minnows. Catfish are good on punch bait in 16-25’.

RAY ROBERTS: FAIR; Water lightly stained; 77 degrees; 0.09’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina rigged worms, diving crankbaits, and white spinners in 16-26’ near timber, rip rap, and channel edges. There is an early and late topwater bite on points with a ledge or drop off. White bass are fair in 20-40’ on slabs near main lake flats and drop-offs. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles between 18-28’. Catfish are good on punch baits over haunted holes.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 77-81 degrees; 0.23’ low. Largemouth bass are good on swimbaits, crankbaits, jerk baits, and finesse worms fishing near boat docks, rocky points, creek ledges, and drop-offs. White bass and hybrids are fair on slabs and jigging spoons or deeper near main lake points, flats, and humps. Crappie are good on minnows or jigs tipped with minnows on bridge pilings and in brush piles. Catfish are good on punch bait and live perch. Bream are good on live crickets or dough bait near boat docks and rocky shorelines.

SULPHUR SPRINGS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 81 degrees; 2.25’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on plastic worms and brush hogs near brush piles, drop-offs, and flooded timber. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in 18-28’ near brush piles and standing timber. Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared bait in 15-25’.

TAWAKONI: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 78-81 degrees; 1.10’ low. Catfish are excellent on punch bait and cut bait. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, Senkos, jigs, and swimbaits. White bass and hybrid stripers are good on live bait and slabs with some fish schooling on the surface. Use sonar to locate fish in deeper water near drop-offs, large flats, and humps in the main lake. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around brush piles, docks, and bridge pilings.

TEXOMA: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 76 degrees; 2.22’ low. Striped bass and white bass are good on live bait in 25-35’ and topwater baits when fish are near the surface. Diving birds are marking feeding schools on the surface throughout the lake. Use sonar to mark schools along the river channel and flats. Largemouth bass are fair fishing Texas-rigged plastic worms and diving crankbaits in 16-28’ with some fish moving into shallow water in the 8-12’ range. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs by boathouses, timber and brush piles in 15-25’. Catfish are fair on cut bait.

TYLER: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees; 0.05 low. Black bass are good on plastic worms, skirted football jigs, and crankbaits fishing deeper docks, timber, and vegetation edges. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in brush piles, structure, and timber in 18-25’. Catfish are good on punch bait and live bait. White bass are good in 18-30’ on jigging spoons and slabs.

SOUTHEAST

HOUSTON COUNTY: GOOD. Water stained; 76 degrees; 0.06’ low. Black bass are good with tons of smaller catches only near vegetation on lighter colored rigged worms with water continuing to be stained. Crappie are fair on minnows working piers and bank fishing where there are steeper drops. Bream and bluegill are good using live worms coming quickly out of structure. Catfish are good on shad, prepped dough balls.

SAM RAYBURN: GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 3.26’ low. Largemouth bass are good all day with the cooling water temps working creeks, timber, brush, and vegetation. Topwater, spinners, and worms have all improved with more stable conditions until the end of this past week. White bass are fair to slow along and below brush. Crappie are good on jigs using all structures. Catfish are good on live and stinkbait.

TOLEDO BEND: FAIR. Water stained; 76-77 degrees; 3.51’ low. Fishing has settled back into normal patterns and consistencies, especially north lake, where the water clarity has returned to slightly stained. Black bass are good on topwater and wacky rigs in less than 5’ of depth. The cloudy days have helped moved the bass shallower. White bass are fair fishing brush piles and the occasional edges of structure. Crappie are excellent on jigs and shiners around structure. Bream are good with small jigs and crickets. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait.