East Texas Fishing Report

Published 10:02 pm Thursday, June 22, 2023

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.

Athens — GOOD. Water clear; 86-88 degrees; 0.32 feet above pool. Bass are fair on humps with Carolina rigs and jigs, and along grass edges using moving baits or shaky head worms. Schooling action has slowed, but flutter spoons or deep diving crankbaits can land catches in deep schools. Crappie are slow and scattered in brush in 30 feet of water. Best bite at night on jigs and minnows. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.26 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush piles 15-25 feet deep using minnows or jigs. Catfish are good six feet or less with chicken livers or worms. Sand bass good on main lake points with slabs or rattletraps. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O’ the Pines Crappie Fishing. After the recent rains target fish where there is a current. Bass are good off points with brush in 15-20 feet of water with Texas rigged worms, deep diving crankbaits, jigs and jigging spoons. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine. Black bass are good on top water and subsurface patterns. Fish

Caddo — GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.12 feet above pool. The area is still recovering after the recent storms. Before heading to the lake be sure to make the necessary preparations as resources can be sparse. Bass bite continues to be good with the pattern similar. Topwater action is heating up, and some fish trees so flukes, senkos and frogs are all in play. Should be a good current still with all the storms. so river spots should be good with drop shots, shaky head, Texas rigs and crankbaits. The lake is setting up beautifully for summer fishing. All the majestic views that God spoke into existence are on display. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Cedar Creek — GOOD. Water normal stain; 81-84 degrees; 0.38 feet below pool. Crappie are excellent, fishing brush piles in 12-18 feet of water using minnows and jigs early in the morning. Brush piles are full of crappie with an occasional yellow bass mixed in, if fishing with minnows, you might want to grab an extra dozen just to accommodate the yellow bass. Some bridge pylons have fish as well, the majority of them are just short of 10 inches. White bass and hybrids are good. Watch for birds diving first thing in the mornings, once they stop surfacing go check main lake humps in 15-20 feet of water. Typically silver slabs will work jigging off the bottom. Once the sun comes out, trolling rigs are working great. Largemouth have been found on brush piles in 10-13 feet of water using 10 inch worms worked slow, topwater bite early has been producing a few fish but not many. Report by Kyle Miers, Lake Country Outfitters.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 90 degrees; 0.34 feet below pool. Bass are good on topwaters, frogs and spook type baits early in the morning. On cloudy days the shallow bite is good on flukes and chatterbaits on the outside edge of flooded weeds. On sunny days the offshore bite picks up with Carolina rigs and Texas rigs with blue fleck, plum colors best. Designated hitters with big worms, or eight inch bull worms plum or red bug will land bites as well. Best offshore depths seem to be 18-25 feet near deeper water. Deep crankbaits are fair, but the bite is slowing. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Bass are slow with the topwater bite sporadic early and late in the day. Try frog patterns along the outside edge of grass and weed lines. Bream are excellent on beds. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie on Lake Fork seem to be transitioning to summer trees in deeper water and brush piles. The most recent rains have raised the lake a few more inches and it is looking really good. Water temperatures are also on the rise with the hot weather and plenty of sunshine. Seeing fewer fish on lay downs and bridges. Brush piles in 14-22 feet and trees in 18-28 feet seem to be the best bet and depths. The jig bite is still very strong on small hand tied jigs in brighter colors like chartreuse or pink with the cloudy skies and heavy rains we have had lately. Minnows are always a good bait on Lake Fork for crappie year round. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Hawkins — GOOD. Water slightly stained. 90 degrees. Black bass are excellent, try small poppers and streamers fished above grass and near structures. Bream are on the beds any small fly will draw a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville — GOOD. Water clear; 90 degrees; 0.03 feet above pool. Bass are good on deeper brush piles with soft plastics and jigs. A little bit of a bite on frogs and swim jigs in the pads and grass. Water is clear on the lake, but pretty muddy in the creeks after the recent rains.

Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water stained; 86 degrees; 0.81 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush piles 15-25 feet deep with minnows or jigs. Catfish are good six feet or less with chicken livers or worms. in six feet or less as they get ready to spawn. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O’ the Pines Crappie Fishing. After the recent rains target fish where there is a current. Bass are good off points in 15-20 feet of water with Texas rigged worms, deep diving crankbaits, jigs and jigging spoons. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Palestine — GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Largemouth bass are good using big deep diving crankbaits or Carolina rigs on points and roadbeds. Crappie are good in 15-17 feet of water on brush with minnows and jigs. Big crappie catches along the edge of river timber in 27 feet of water. White bass are slow on points with rattletraps, blade baits and jigging spoons. Catfish are excellent, it would be harder to say what they are not doing. Channel catfish are great under boat houses or in the river on baited holes fishing of the bottom with nightcrawlers, and punch bait. Bigger catfish are coming on jug lines and trotlines with live bait. Report by Ricky Vandergriff, Ricky’s Guide Service.

Tawakoni — EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.66 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish excellent with summer patterns in full swing. Fish are on the move as the water temperature increases to the mid 80s. Hybrid striper, striper and white bass have been consistent on slabs, in-line spinners and even live bait in 18-30 feet of water on drop offs, humps and long points. Side imaging is helping find the fish. Crappie are good in 8-16 feet on bridge columns, lay downs, and standing timber preferring minnows over jigs. Eatersize catfish are excellent with baited holes producing most of the fish right now. Prepared baits are working best in 22-35 feet of water. Largemouth bass are fair with a solid topwater bite the first 30 minutes on a white frog. Then switch over to a stick bait or shallow crankbait. Fish are holding on shady sides of shallow docks and bridges. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.

Tyler — FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.07 feet above pool. Bass are fair out to16 feet of water using topwater frogs, lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and worms. Early in the morning they can be seen as shallow one foot deep. Crappie are good in 12-16 feet of water on brush piles preferring minnows. Catfish are good all over the lake with nightcrawlers and stink baits. Bluegill are good on red worms all over the lake. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.