East Texas Fishing Report

Published 9:34 pm Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tyler — SLOW. Water normal stain; 50 degrees; 0.28 feet above pool. Few anglers on the water due to the weather, but expect a slow bite. Crappie can be caught in 30 feet of water. Bass are slow in deeper water on a variety of soft plastics. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Palestine — SLOW. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 0.30 feet above pool. Bass and crappie should move off the bank to staging areas post frontal pattern. Crappie may be caught in 8-16 feet of water. Bass can be caught on soft plastics. White bass are running in the river hitting 2 inch grubs on an 1/8 ounce jighead or underspins.

Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water stained; 50 degrees; 0.44 feet above pool. Water clarity has been 1-2 feet in northern coves. Wind has been pushing bait along banks at the first half of coves. Fish are schooling up under bait, and can be caught with Alabama rigs, spinnerbaits, spoons, and underspins. Docks in 10-12 feet of water are also good with squarebill crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service. Look for small male bass around sandy banks in mouths of coves. Small streamers and craw patterns should produce bass. Crappie and catfish should be moving shallow when the weather stabilizes, wooly buggers should work well. Slow-sinking small fish patterns might work well. Clousers on sunny rocky shores might draw a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Caddo — SLOW. Water stained; 55 degrees; 1.28 feet above pool. Fishing continues to be hit-or-miss due to cold nights and fronts with heavy rain that has muddied the clarity. We need a long stretch of nights in the upper 50s or low 60s to really turn the bass on. The current has been strong so the white perch bite has been tough also. The bite should be on fire by mid-March after some warmer days. Navigate with caution watching for floating logs and salvinia while the lake level is high and current flowing. As we enter spring we enter spawning season with big bites. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.20 feet below pool. Water level is about 4 inches low with temperatures 56-65 degrees. Bass have made a big move to the shallows with some on beds in 1-3 feet. Flukes and senkos are good in these areas. Chatterbaits and small swimbaits are good in the backs of the pockets and shallow flats with grass. Look for some main lake points to start producing with squarebill crankbaits and Carolina rigs in 3-5 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Catching small bass shallow with bait fish streamers. Larger females will become more active as warm days continue around structure and brush. The crappie should be moving shallow and Wooly buggers can be a good choice. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The Lake Fork crappie bite is really good, if you can stand the cold weather and beat the winds. Patterns are changing daily due to the inconsistent weather patterns. Some days fish will stack up on bridges and the next they will disappear. Timber in 14-34 feet seems to be the most consistent pattern. If you find a crappie and hold an artificial bait above it still enough most fish are crushing that bait. Use smaller profile jigs in deeper water mid lake, or on bridges. On the north end in shallower and muddier water use longer and bigger profile jigs. Try to fish lighter, more neutral colors in deeper water and darker colors in shallower water. Soft plastics and minnows will still get you bit as well. We should see the fish push shallower and shallower over the next few weeks with warmer temps in the forecast after the next week. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Lake O’ the Pines — FAIR. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 1.12 feet above pool. Water clarity has been 1-2 feet in northern coves. Wind has been pushing bait along banks at the first half of coves. Bass are schooling up under bait, and can be caught with Alabama rigs, spinnerbaits, spoons, and underspins. Docks in 10-12 feet of water are also good with squarebill crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits. Some bass are related to grass hitting shad and bluegill colored bladed jigs. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Martin Creek — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 0.00 full pool. Bass are good over the hydrilla using bladed jigs and swim baits. Crappie are fair to good finding brush in 12-15 feet with minnows and power bait champ minnow on 1/4¼ ounce jig heads. Sand bass are good near hot water discharge using small jigging spoons. Catfish can be found in the same area using minnows and cut bait fishing on the bottom. Report by Hambone Guide Service.

Athens — SLOW. Water normal stain; 58 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. Water temperature ranging from 54-62 degrees. Bass are slow and can be caught in grass 5-15 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. 55 degrees. Larger Chain Pickerel are spawning in shallow water. Focus on areas with stumps, brush, and vegetation. Small bass are active in shallow areas relating to vegetation and structure. Focus on windy banks when possible. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Jacksonville — SLOW. Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.26 feet above pool. Water temperatures are in the high 50s. Bass can be caught near the bank on soft plastics. The buck bass seem to be moving shallower.

— Hicks can be reached at phicks@tylerpaper.com