Tyler — SLOW. Water normal stain; 65 degrees; 0.65 feet below pool. Crappie are slow in 20-25 feet of water. Catfish are slow, scattered in 10-16 feet of water stink bait and nightcrawlers. Bream are slow on red worms in deep water. Bass are slow on trick worms and crankbaits. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Palestine — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 58 degrees; 0.93 feet below pool. Water temperatures have now begun to dip into the upper 50s. Fishing remains generally good, you just have to work around the shorter bite periods and the weather. Some fishing that is often overlooked by Lake Palestine anglers is right in Tyler, rainbow trout. This fishing can often provide some relief from wintertime cabin fever and the not-being-to-able-to-get-out-there blues. It is also a very good way to get the youngsters into fishing. These potentially short fishing trips, shorter attention spans of the youngsters, being in town and with shorter prep-and-go time, often get results faster. In Tyler, the fishing is provided from late November to about March, with 2 trout stockings, around Thanksgiving and New Years at Broadway, Faulkner Park and Glass Park/Woldert Pond. Both ponds provide easy parking and walk-up bank fishing. Most productive is bait fishing, with canned corn or Gulp paste baits, using medium or medium to light rods with open face spinning reels loaded with 6 pound or 6 pound equivalent diameter braid, 5-6.5 feet. Kids will be able to feel the bite and the fight, and can form the basis for their fishing experience. Many towns in Texas have this program, provided by the TPWD, and the program and details can be found within this website. Report by Jim Beggerly, Jim’s Fishing Lake Palestine.

Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 1.09 feet below pool. Fishing has been excellent for big largemouth, especially when the sun is shining. Water clarity is dependent upon the amount of remaining live vegetation present and wind direction. There is up to 4 feet of clarity in grassy and calm areas and approximately 2 feet on the windblown points or coves. Bass have started to move out from the backs of creeks and are starting to congregate at the mouths of main creek channels. The larger fish are sitting on the bottom along creek channel bends or saddles off of mainlake humps. Big fish can be caught with an Alabama rig, flat-sided crankbaits, or a dark colored jig in 10-15 feet of water. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service. Windy, sunny banks and retaining walls are good bets for black bass. Try subsurface fish patterns in 5-10 feet of water. On warm, sunny days, small shad pattern flies might produce bass around submerged vegetation. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Caddo — GOOD. Water stained; 53 degrees; 0.36 feet above pool. Caddo is starting to see its winter season kick in with water temperatures in the low 50s now. We still need a bunch of rain but as of now it is still dry. Beginning to see crappie anglers out here more, and the white bass are running better. Anything that looks like a shad should work, rattle traps, swimbaits, Alabama rigs, chatterbaits and crankbaits. Keep your fluke tied on for when they are being hard to bite or a drop shot. This is one of my favorite times of the year to be on this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 2.38 feet below pool. The best bass bite is around big timber near channels and drop offs in 4-7 feet with chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, square bill crankbaits, Viper XP jigs, or Texas Rigs with creature baits. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. The water is cooler, so now we have deeper fish. Black bass are slow in 5-10 feet of water with Clousers with a sinking tip line are your best bet. Focus on creek bends and drop-offs. Small streamers and top water patterns might catch active bass in creeks on warm days. Report by Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork. Lake Fork water temperatures have finally dropped into the upper 50s and the big fish are showing up and showing off. This week we have fish all over the lake in depths from 12-58 feet. You can find big numbers of black crappie at the base of shallow trees in 12-18 feet in the mid lake areas. Sometimes you will find white crappie in the same trees suspended halfway down. It is the opposite once you move to deeper water. The black crappie are higher on the trees off shore and the white crappie are further down on the trees. We have seen some bigger crappie in the 2.5 pound range being caught so the winter time big fish season has arrived. The best areas for concentrations of fish are loaded with shad. The bite has been up and down this week but my boat has put the minnow bucket up until next summer. You can still use minnows and they will produce great. Small hand tied jigs are also working extremely well this week. We should also see the aggressive fish hitting plastics and even large baits as the water cools off. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 65 degrees; 0.57 feet above pool. Largemouth bass bite is excellent. Spotted bass schooling around the dam has slowed. Water clarity is good in coves that have not been wind blown. The fish are bulking up for the winter, and have been biting shad colored baits up in shallow coves and creek channels. Flukes, small swimbaits, or a dark colored jig around boat ramps have all produced good size fish. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Martin Creek — GOOD. Water slight stain; 59 degrees; 1.74 feet below pool. The power plant has not been generating, so expect the water temperature to be lower. Bass are fair to good in the hydrilla with swimbaits, chatterbaits, lipless crankbaits and senkos. Crappie are fair to good with minnows and Bobby Garland jigs in 15-25 feet around brush piles and existing timber. Report by Hambone guide service.

Athens — GOOD. Water normal stain; 60 degrees; 0.63 feet below pool. Bass are good and can be caught in grass 5-10 feet with Texas rig worms, wacky rig senko and lipless crankbaits. Crappie are slow on small jigs over deep brush 25 feet. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.

Hawkins — GOOD. Water slightly stained. 60 degrees. Chain Pickerel are active in shallow water. Concentrate on areas with stumps, brush, and vegetation. Small bass are active in shallow areas relating to vegetation and structure. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville — SLOW. Water normal stain; 58 degrees; 0.17 feet above pool. Lake level is high due to recent rains, and currently spilling over the spillway. Bass can be caught on the bank, docks, or on brush with soft plastics, and suspended fish with minnow style baits. There is some topwater action, but nothing great.