East Texas Fishing Report

Published 11:14 pm Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Tyler — SLOW. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.14 feet above pool. Crappie are slow in 20-25 feet of water. Catfish are slow on chicken liver. Bream are slow on red worms in deep water. Bass are slow on crankbaits. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Palestine — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 57 degrees; 0.30 feet below pool. Crappie are good midlake to the southern on deep timber and channel ledges with jigs and minnows. This cold front should finish setting the fish up. White bass and hybrid stripers are good on the south end along the river channel and main lake points deadsticking or with tail spinners. Catfish are good on the north end targeting creeks and ditches where freshwater is running into the lake, as well as newly flooded bushes with chicken liver or cut bait. No report for bass, but traditionally this lake fishes shallow for bass year round with jigs.

Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water stained; 60 degrees; 0.42 feet below pool. Bass are starting to stage for the spawn and putting on some good weight. Mainlake areas near spawning flats that have hard cover or steep drops have been the most productive. Slow moving bottom baits like a finesse or compact jig in green pumpkin, a finesse worm, or a Ned rig are producing the most number of bites. 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; 52 degrees; 1.34 feet above pool. The lake is muddy after the recent rainfall. Anything near the river will be muddy with lots of salvinia and logs floating, so be careful when navigating on the lake. Bass are good with fish feeding up. Shad related lures are best like Alabama rigs, swimbaits, chatterbaits, rattle traps and flukes. The white bass have been active, but the freshwater and stained water may slow the bite down some. Still it is always a fun time and a blessed trip to come out and fish a lake like Caddo that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Fork — GOOD. Water Stained; 55 degrees; 1.85 feet below pool. Bass are good in 3-5 feet of water in timber or grass with chatterbaits, square bill crankbaits and flukes. Texas rigs and shaky heads are good around docks in 5-10 feet of water. Carolina rigs fair on roadbeds and high spots 14-17 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Report by Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork. The Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be excellent as the surface temperatures continue to drop. Lots of fish can be found on timber, brush and bridges in 18-58 feet. If you find areas with tons of shad there will be crappie close by. Look for fish migrating towards deeper water that sometimes follow creek channels. The jig bite has kicked in for the winter. Small hand tied jigs are producing extremely well and soft plastics will get you a bite. Minnows are always a go to bait for crappie on Lake Fork. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Historically a strong cold front will shut the bite off when the water temperature is 43 degrees or lower. Expect the crappie to become stationary to reserve energy. If the water temperature drops into the 30s a shad kill is possible. If this happens crappie will feed on the shad and follow the fish deep to feed. Target the lower two-thirds of the lake. Crappie are good in the river channel timber. The best approach is a light line with an ⅛ ounce jig. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.

Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 1.50 feet above pool. Bass are starting to stage for the spawn and putting on some good weight. Main lake areas near spawning flats that have hard cover or steep drops have been the most productive. Slow moving bottom baits like a finesse or compact jig in green pumpkin, a finesse worm, or a Ned rig are producing the most number of bites. Report by Blake Doughtie, Lake Country Lunkers Lures and Guide Service.

Martin Creek — GOOD. Water stained; 58 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. Martin Creek is at full pool, stained and 58 degrees at the boat ramp. Caution buoys at the spillway and at Well Head are not present, so use extreme caution in these areas. Bass are good with swim jigs, swimbaits, bladed jigs and Texas rigged worms on the inside and outside of hydrilla, or with dropshots around tilapia beds near scrapper cut. Crappie are slow on brush piles in 10-20 feet of water with minnows. Catfish are good at warm water discharge using live and cut bait. Sand bass are good at discharge as well using small jigging spoons. Report by Hambone guide service.

Athens — SLOW. Water normal stain; 53 degrees; 0.178feet below pool. Bass are slow and can be caught in grass 5-10 ft 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. 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 stained; 62 degrees; 0.19 feet above pool. The lake is very muddy with water temperatures in the low 60s. Bass fishing is tough with a few bites on jigs and soft plastics on brush and around docks. Suspended bass can be caught with a minnow style bait or jerkbait. White spinnerbaits and chatterbaits will be good in the muddy water.