Texas Fishing Report
Published 4:19 pm Friday, July 30, 2021
Athens — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.46 feet high. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, spinners and wacky worms working the points, humps, vegetation lines and grass beds. Crappie are good with minnows and jigs near timber, brush piles and boat docks. Catfish are good on live bait, chicken liver and earthworms. Sunfish are good on dough balls, crickets and cut earthworms.
Bob Sandlin — GOOD. Water clear; 86-89 degrees; 0.05 feet low. Black bass are good on crankbaits, flipping jigs, senkos, topwaters and bladed spinners near grass lines, brush and rocky shorelines. Try drop shots, football jigs and crankbaits working in deeper water near cover or timber as well. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in brush piles, under docks and timber near a creek or channel. Catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait.
Bridgeport — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.61 feet low. Black bass are fair on football jigs, blue flecked Texas rigged plastic worms, flukes and shad like crankbaits fishing rip rac, points, timber and channel ledges. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs working bridge pilings, timber and brush piles. White bass are good on main lake channels and flats with live bait and slabs. Hybrid stripers are good along the main lake channel with live bait and swimbaits. Catfish are good on chicken liver, live bait and prepared bait.
Caddo — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.97 feet high. Largemouth bass are good working crankbaits, flipping jigs, jerk baits, wacky rigs and drop shots near grass lines, channel edges, points and trees. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs near brush piles and timber. White bass are good on slabs and swimbaits on the channel edges, flats and main lake humps. Chain pickerel are slow with spoons and small jigs. Catfish are good on nightcrawlers, chicken liver and punch bait.
Cedar Creek — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.01 feet low. Largemouth bass are good with shaky head jigs, perch like crankbaits and drop shots near brush piles, docks and timber in 12-20 feet of water. Hybrids and sand bass are good on main lake points, humps and flats using swimbaits, slabs and live bait. Crappie are good with minnows and jigs in brush piles, beneath boat docks and bridges. Catfish are good in water depths 18-30 feet using live bait, punch bait and earthworms.
Cooper — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.01 feet high. Largemouth bass are good on diving crankbaits, orange or red Carolina rigged craws, bladed spinners and flipping jigs. The white bass and hybrids are good over humps, ridges and flats using silver slabs and white swimbaits. Crappie are good with minnows and jigs tipped with minnows working brush piles and timber. Catfish are fair on live bait and earthworms.
Fork — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86-88 degrees; 0.50 feet low. Largemouth bass are good on topwaters and buzz baits early or late in the day, Carolina rigged plastic worms, diving crankbaits and football jigs working road beds, timber and brush piles. White and yellow bass are good using live bait, jigging spoons and slabs on humps, flats and ridge lines. Crappie are good on minnows near brush piles, bridges and timber. Catfish are good using cut bait and punch bait.
Gibbons Creek — GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees; 2.06 feet low. We are seeing similar fishing patterns as past weeks. Largemouth bass are fair fishing over brush with several suspended per location. Drag over spinners, worms, and crankbait. Crappie are fair on jigs trying each spot you see. Catfish are fair on live bait all throughout the lake.
Houston County — FAIR. Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.33 feet high. Black bass are fair early morning and evenings using swimbaits, black and blue Senko, watermelon red off points, and spinners and divers. Crappie are fair in 12 to 14 feet of water using live minnows and moving among brush piles. Bream are good using live worms in shallow structures. Catfish are good on jug lines and over 15lbs using hot dogs and perch plus shad.
Jacksonville — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.10 feet high. Largemouth bass are fair with deep diving crankbaits, shaky head jigs, craws and plastic worms near points, timber and brush piles. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs working timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait.
Joe Pool — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.68 feet high. Largemouth bass are good fishing shad-patterned crankbaits, curly tail soft plastics and shaky head jigs along rocky shorelines, flats and drop-offs. Crappie are good near brush piles on minnows. Catfish are good on chicken liver, punch bait and live bait.
Lake O’ the Pines — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 1.03 feet high. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon green and pumpkin colored Texas rigged plastic worms, diving crankbaits, football jigs and jerk baits. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows near brush piles, fallen timber and deep creek bends and ledges. Catfish are good with live bait, chicken liver or cut bait.
Lavon — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.14 feet low. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs, fishing bridges and brush piles. White bass are good with chartreuse, silver or white slabs and live bait. Look for birds diving over feeding schools of white bass. Black bass are fair on chatter baits, shaky head jigs, diving crankbaits and green or red Carolina rigged plastic worms. Catfish are good on cut bait and live bait
Livingston — FAIR. Water lightly stained; 81 degrees; 0.13 feet high. White bass are fair following shad in deeper water. Success around Pine Island has been reported. Black bass are fair using jigs, weighted worms, crankbait, and topwater. The best habitats have been points, and working vegetation. Striped bass are fair moving around the bridge. Crappie are good with jigs working vegetation and above some structures deeper than 10 feet depth. White bass have emerged as good with minnows and Alabama rigs working points and cove barriers. Catfish are fair on live baits, and stink bait.
Martin Creek — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.18 feet low. Largemouth bass are good on drop shots, spinners, crankbaits and football jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in brush piles. Catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait.
Palestine — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.61 feet high. Largemouth bass are good working perch like crankbaits, flipping jigs, wacky worms and flukes working near drop offs, brush piles and rocky areas. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around brush piles, docks, bridge columns and timber. Hybrid stripers are good on live bait and swimbaits. White bass are good on live bait, slabs and jigging spoons on main lake points, channel ledges and flats. Catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait.
Ray Hubbard — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86-90 degrees; 0.05 feet low. Largemouth bass are fair on blue or purple Carolina rigged worms, football jigs, jerk baits and crankbaits near rocky banks, flats, drop-offs and timber areas. White bass are good with slabs, tiny torpedoes and jigging spoons near main lake flats, humps and points. Crappie are good with minnows in brush piles. Catfish are good on live bait, chicken liver and punch bait.
Ray Roberts — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.13 feet high. Largemouth bass are fair on orange and red craws, crank baits, drop shots and flipping jigs near timber, rip rac and drop-offs. White bass are good in water depths 15-35 feet using chartreuse slabs and live bait near main lake points, flats and along the river channel. Crappie are good on minnows around timber, bridge columns and in brush piles. Catfish are good on worms, chicken liver and cut bait.
Richland Chambers — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86-89 degrees; 0.06 feet high. Largemouth bass are good on flukes, football jigs, drop shots and diving crankbaits fishing near points, creek channels and rocky shorelines. White bass and hybrids are good on live bait, slabs and jigging spoons near main lake flats, humps and points. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs near bridge pilings, brush piles and timber. Catfish are good on cut or punch bait, shrimp and earthworms. Bream fishing is good with dough balls, cut earthworms and crickets.
Sam Rayburn — FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; .03 feet high. Largemouth bass are good on points and ledges using topwater frogs, and in the grass lines using jigs. Crappie are good in the 14-22 feet of water working brush piles using jigs, but most success comes with shiners.
Sulphur Springs — FAIR. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 1.25 feet low. Largemouth bass are fair on bladed spinners, football jigs and drop shots working near points, drop-offs and fallen timber. Crappie are good on minnows in near brush piles and standing timber. Catfish are fair on live or punch bait and earthworms.
Tawakoni — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.01 feet high. Blue Catfish are good on fresh cut bait. Channel Catfish are good on punch bait and chicken liver. Largemouth Bass are fair on crankbaits, Texas rigged plastic worms, flipping jigs and bladed spinners near vegetation lines, docks and flooded brush. White bass and hybrid stripers are good on swimbaits, slabs and live bait near the main lake channel, flats, drop-offs and humps. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around brush piles, docks and bridge pilings.
Texoma — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 84-87 degrees; 5.00 feet high. Striped bass are good on live bait and swimbaits in the river channel and tributaries. White bass are good on silver or chartreuse slabs and jigging spoons. Largemouth bass are good fishing tubes, shaky head jigs, diving crankbaits and purple, blue or black Texas rigged plastic worms. Crappie are good on minnows near boathouses, timber near a channel and brush piles. Catfish are good on earthworms and punch bait.
Toledo Bend — GOOD. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 1.44 feet low. The water is clear to slightly stained. The water level is 170.5 feet with two generators operating during the day (12 hours). It’s been an early bass bite on the Mudfish Stealth Goober surface popper in black in 2-6 feet of water fishing off the bank in timber areas. We are using 8 WT fly rods. Our best bite for Perch is a slow sinking Black Cap Spider in 1-3 feet of water under the shaded tree line in the early morning and late evening.
Tyler — GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees;0.25 feet high. Black bass are good on crankbaits, football jigs, drop shots and chatter baits near points, drop-offs and brushy coves. Crappie are fair on minnows in timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on cut bait, chicken liver, punch bait and earthworms. White bass are good in water depths 12-25 feet with slabs and jigging spoons. Bream are good with live crickets, dough balls or cutworms.
Wright Patman — FAIR. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 2.98 feet high. Largemouth bass are fair on bladed spinners, crankbaits, jerk baits, curly tailed plastics and flipping jigs in flooded vegetation, flats and points. White bass are fair on swimbaits and slabs. Crappie are fair on minnows near timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on chicken liver, punch or live bait.