Tyler — GOOD. Water normal stain; 91 degrees; 0.34 feet below pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Night fishing is good for catfish and crappie in the lights. Crappie are good using minnows and jigs on brush in 16 feet of water. Catfish are fair in 12-16 feet of water shrimp, and liver. Bream are good on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are good out to 16 feet of water with topwaters, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Palestine — SLOW. Water slightly stained; 91 degrees; 0.36 feet below pool. Hot weather continues to impact all species, making for early bite periods, often the bite is over by 9 a.m. Blue and channel catfish may continue through the day on stronger baits, such as shrimp. Some hybrid stripers have been caught by trolling redneck rigs with 2 inch Pet spoons over humps and roads. A large factor has been the thermocline, which continues to be high in the water column, only about 13 feet down, less in shallower water. Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 0.93 feet below pool. Bass are good early morning around bream beds in 3-6 feet with chatterbaits and square bills crankbaits. Shaky heads are also good. Offshore bite is best on points, humps and creek channel swings in 12-22 feet. Carolina rigs and big shaky heads with big worms best with a few on football jigs. Deep crankbaits are still good around roadbeds and humps and over deep crappie brush puked. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. August brings in hot temperatures. Bass are feeding in 10-12 feet where the thermocline is not present. Look for schooling bass in the open water and creeks as shad hatch is in full swing. Also, check out the brush piles as big bass are using them to feed on crappie. Bream are excellent in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork has been improving as we approach the later part of summer. We still are seeing tons of crappie on brush piles and lay downs. Those fish bite some days and lock up some days. They are mostly black crappie as well. We are also seeing white crappie on timber in 18-32 feet. Those fish may not be in huge numbers but the bite is way better. There are also some fish on certain bridges and you can pick up a few fish on the right column. Minnows are the dominant bait for this time of year. Small hand tied jigs and soft plastics will also catch some fish. The catfish bite continues to be excellent on baited holes around timber in 13-20 feet. Look for roosting overnight birds and drop some cattle cubes or sour grain. Then use any catfish bait of choice to load the boat. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.18 feet below pool. Solid summer pattern is holding steady for the bass. Bass are good with schooling activity starting to pick up. Follow the shad to find the bass. There is still some bass in the bushes along the banks pitching Texas rigged worms and jigs, or wacky rigs. Bass are good on brush piles on points on the south end of the lake in 15-25 feet of water with deep running crankbaits, jigs, wacky worms and Texas rigs. The north end of the lake is producing catches in the grass and bushes. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 93 degrees; 0.12 feet below pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Big blue catfish 15 feet or less. Channel catfish are fair in 15-20 feet of water on baited holes with stink bait. Crappie are good in 30 feet of water, or suspended in 15 feet of water with minnows. White bass are good at night in the lights with a white spinnerbaits. A few catches of white bass while targeting crappie with a crappie jig and white curly tailed jig. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Black bass are feeding early on shad patterns around grass and retaining walls. Main lake points are good for bass using clouser type patterns. Bream are plentiful with wooly buggers and small worm patterns. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Bass are good on points in 18-22 feet of water using deep water baits like deep diving crankbaits, dropshots and Texas rigs. Night fishing has the best bite and is an escape from the heat and recreational boaters. Sand bass and black bass schooling together near the dam, and bridges. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Caddo — GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.02 feet above pool. Schooling bass are surfacing for some good topwater action with topwater lures or flukes. A Texas rigged worm, dropshot or shaky head will do the trick as the sun rises and heat sends the fish to the bottom. You can get in the river or bayou with a light Texas June bug or red bug worm targeting the grass and lily pad lines. Lake level is getting low but with all the rains from this spring we are still at decent levels but you need to be safe and smart in some areas as in some boat runs your less than 2 feet deep so pay attention to your lower unit and your water pump. Always a good time in August to come see this majestic lake that God spoke into existence as the lily pads are really starting to show off. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Martin Creek — GOOD. Water stained; 95 degrees; 0.77 feet below pool. Bass are fair with the early bite the best. Swim baits and weigh less senco’s over the grass will work well. Crappie are excellent on brush piles in 25-30 feet using Bobby Garland jigs in screamer color and minnows. Catfish are good on jug lines using live bait. Report by Hambone Guide Service.

Athens — SLOW. Water normal stain; 87 degrees; 0.03 feet above pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Bass have been slow and scattered. Best options are outside grass lines on windy banks. Jigs and shaky-head worms are working, but you will need to cover a lot of water. Some bass are schooling. Crappie are slow as well. The night bite on deep brush with minnows is the most consistent pattern. Report by Jim Brack, Athens Guide Service.

Hawkins — GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Bass are good with clousers around edges of grass during the day. Bead heads will tempt bream and bass. Bream will be on beds and easy to spot, remember they can see you too. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville — SLOW. Water normal stain; 90 degrees; 0.13 feet below pool. The bite is really tough, with no real patterns to follow. Best luck has been with a finesse worm Texas rigged around brush in 8-14 feet.

— Hicks can be reached at phicks@tylerpaper.com