East Texas Fishing Repoirt

Published 7:54 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Athens — SLOW. Water stained; 59-63 degrees; 0.62 feet above pool. Bass are scattered in the shallows and can be caught throwing topwaters and spinnerbaits on windy banks. Crappie are scattered as well. Work the outside of docks with jigs and minnows. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Caddo — SLOW. Water stained; 60 degrees; 1.89 feet above pool. Bite may take a hit with the cold front and all the rain will muddy up the clarity. The bass spawn is on, so fish in three feet of water to catch bass on beds. A senko or fluke around the trees will land you a bass, but be prepared to cover a lot of water and trees. Top water lures like frogs or pop r’s will be coming into play very soon. If it is windy try a spinnerbait or chatterbait. As always this is a wonderful time for catching the bite of a lifetime, and to come out and enjoy this lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Cedar Creek — GOOD. Water normal stain; 54-59 degrees; 0.03 feet below pool. The bite may slow with the cold front, but fishing patterns are similar. Crappie are good, fish are staging on docks and shallow brush piles. 4-12 feet has been the best depth. Bridges are holding fish as well as they are staging there as well on pylons in 18-24 feet. White bass and hybrids are good in creeks and some mainlake humps are producing fish, in a few weeks they will start surfacing on shad. Use a silver slab and tandem rigged 1/8 ounce crappie jigs. Largemouth bass are good, jigs and spinnerbaits around shallow docks and bushes are producing fish around creek channel bends. Report by Kyle Miers, Lake Country Outfitters.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 63 degrees; 1.69 feet below pool. Bass are good on topwater frogs in the flooded grass. Flukes and senkos have been really good along the edge of the flooded grass in 2-4 feet. Darker colors are best such as black and blue and June bug. Texas rigs are good with beaver type baits in black and blue along the edge of the grass and some stumps 2-4 feet. Main lake points with spinnerbaits are good on windy points. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Pro. Cooler weather is affecting the movement of the black bass, as the water cools the females are not committing to the beds but, as the water warms activity increases. Be ready with a slow subsurface presentation in 3-4 feet or weedless topwater in flooded grass. Crappie are beginning to move towards the banks, try small bead heads fished slowly 3-4 feet. Carp and gar are spawning in shallow water. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork is getting really hot. Seeing great numbers and lots of big fish each day. The fish are making huge moves shallow this week and will for the next month. Areas in 2-13 feet are finally beginning to see more fish that are spawning. The 14-32 feet staging areas are also still loaded with fish and reloading daily now. Seeing lots of fish roaming in open water but the best luck is still coming on fish on timber or brush. Small hand tied jigs in chartreuse or orange are getting crushed right now, and you can still catch fish well on soft plastics and minnows. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins’ Guide Service.

Hawkins — SLOW. Water slightly stained. 62-70 degrees. Fishing is slow due to vegetation loss and low oxygen. Black bass are spawning long cast are required because the fish will spook easily. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville — SLOW. Water lightly stained; 62 degrees; 0.11 feet below pool. Bass are good on jigs and soft plastics in brush 6-16 feet of water. Some fish are moving up shallow, some big ones have been caught this week. Bass are in the prespawn.

Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 1.08 feet above pool. Overall, fishing patterns will be similar but look for the front to slow the bite and scatter the fish. Crappie are fair starting to show up shallow casting minnows under a slip cork. Catfish are good in 15-20 feet of water on baited holes. Sand bass excellent north of the 259 bridge on white roadrunners. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O’ the Pines Crappie Fishing. Bass are shallow in 3-7 feet of water gearing up to spawn on beds. Success with chatterbaits, craws, worms, and red rattletraps. Report by Mike Struman, R & R Marine.

Palestine — FAIR. Water lightly stained; 63-69 degrees; 0.67 feet above pool. Bass are good with the best bite using a shimmy shaker and big eyed jigs in shallow waters. Crappie are good shallow, on the timber and under the bridges on minnows and jigs. White bass are scattered but best on the points with crankbaits. Catfish are very good on baited holes in 20 feet, and under deeper boat houses on nightcrawlers. Report by Ricky Vandergriff, Ricky’s Guide Service.

Sam Rayburn — GOOD. Water stained; 62 degrees; 0.15 feet below pool. The bite has slowed after the cold front, but will pick back as the water warms. Look for another wave of the spawn to resume when the water warms as well. Male bass are shallow in the buck brush and the cypress trees so use soft plastics, trick worms and jigs. Bass can also be caught in 15-25 feet of water and in the grass lines using crankbaits and Alabama rigs. Male crappie will hold shallow until the water warms up in the cypress trees, and the females are slowly coming in. Bites on roadrunners, small plastics. Catfish are working their way shallow in the channel to spawn. White bass are running in the river biting small chrome rattletraps and roadrunners. Report by Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.

Toledo Bend — GOOD. Water stained; 65-68 degrees; 2.09 feet below pool. The water level is 169.9 with one generator running 24 hours. Water temperature at the Dam is 61 degrees. North of the three-mile Pendleton bridge, temperatures have been running 65-68 degrees. The back feeder creeks are flowing and clearing, except for the heavy pollen. The pollen is heavy from the Pine trees so if you have allergies you might want to wear a mask. The main lake is clear. Two more Bass over 10 pounds hit the scales again this week. At last count Toledo Bend has put 40 Bass over 10 pounds in the record books for the May 2022-May 2023 season for the Toledo Bend Lunker Program thus far. The bass are starting to move into their staging areas at the mouth of creeks, ditches, and drains to spawn when the temperature hits 68-72 degrees. Bass have been caught up shallow from 2-6 feet in the grass, buck brush, and on the edges of the drains next to the flats and do not forget your main lake points. Good numbers of bass have been caught on bladed jigs in colors of black/blue, white chartreuse, and red crawfish. Other baits for bass are Jig-n-pigs in ½ and ¾ ounce in colors black/blue, brown/orange, and a Carolina rig with plastic lizards in watermelon red and plum apple. Some bigger Bass have been caught on Senko’s in black/blue flake, watermelon red, black/red flake and motor oil colors rigged wacky or Texas style and the Natural Forage bait, a forage bug in the tequila sunrise color and also the new RW45 in WM Bluegill color have been good producers. The Crappie bite is moving shallow 1-6 feet in buck brush and along the vegetation breaks. Some Crappie have spawned, and others are fluctuating in and out depending on water temperatures. Don’t pass up those fly rods for crappie. Use an indicator with a Clouser minnow tied on about 12-14 inches below with a weighted fly 1/80 or 1/64 ounce. Best colors have been white and blue, all black, orange head, orange body with a chartreuse tail feather. The cadence is slow in 1-3 feet around cypress knees and buck brush. Also using a 1/80-ounce mop fly with success in colors of chartreuse, yellow, and tan. White Bass are still running north up in the feeder creeks using red head, white, yellow, and black chartreuse curly tails. Small Bluegill are starting to show up in shallow water and around boat houses. Catfish are being caught in shallow water current in the feeder creeks on punch baits, shrimp, and homemade weenie concoctions. Remember, it is always better to play it safe by telling a loved one or friend the area you will be fishing, how many people are in your party and the expected return time. Good luck and keep casting forward! Report from Master Captain Steve “Scooby” Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide, and Mudfish Custom Rod Shop.

Tyler — GOOD. Water stained; 66 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. The bite has slowed some with the recent cold front, but as the water warms the bite will pick up where it left off in the shallows. Bass are good to nine pounds on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and worms in 3-4 feet of water. Crappie are good out to two feet of water on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good with chicken liver. Bluegill are good on red worms, and even a small minnow. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.