PINEYWOODS
REPORT
Pineywoods Region Week of July 3, 2024
B.A. Steinhagen FAIR. Water stain; 75 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Bass are good on soft plastics in the cuts, or with frogs over grass. Crappie are good with jigs in flooded timber. Catfish are fair.
Bob Sandlin
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Channel catfish are excellent in 20-25 feet of water on baited holes with stinkbait. Crappie are good on brush piles and standing timber in 25-30 feet of water with jigs or minnows. White bass are schooling on the main lake in 35-40 feet of water. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Black bass should be receptive to topwater frogs in shad or bream patterns, and clouser type baits around grass and retaining walls. Bream are slow with water clarity and high water is not good. 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. Deep diving crankbaits, dropshots and Texas rigs. Night fishing has the best bite and is an escape from the heat and recreational boaters. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.
Caddo
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.12 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Caddo is really looking good and healthy after the wet spring. The lake level is still up a little with some current still flowing down the river, but it is not in a flood stage so it is safe to navigate and fish. Bass are starting to school and can be caught on top waters, flukes, Texas rigs or dropshot worms and even rattle traps. The frog bite, choppo or buzz bait bite is starting to produce some giants as it does every July and August around lily pads, grass and trees. You will not get numbers of bites but the ones you do will be big. Water is clearing nicely on the main lake but is still little stained near the river with all the current. July on Caddo Lake is beautiful every year, so prepare for amazing sunrises and sunsets when you come to fish this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.
Conroe
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.65 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Largemouth bass fishing is good flipping under docks and around bluegill beds. Bigger fish are related to offshore structure and brush-piles. Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, and Crank-baits are still catching them. Report by Roy Crush IV Fishing. Catfish are great and near the end of their spawning patterns. With afternoon surface temperatures around 93 degrees, it appears that the dog days of summer have arrived. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Some hybrids are scattered while some are schooling in 19-26 feet biting live bait, jigging with a spoon, or trolling with a deep diver with a pet spoon as a trailer. Crappie are in or around structure 12-21 feet using minnows or jigs. Hair jigs are outproducing plastics. Always wear your life jacket and stay hydrated in this heat. Happy July 4th! Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.
Fork
GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Bass are good shallow in the mornings on chatterbaits and flukes until about an hour after sunrise. Then there is a decent bite in 5-8 feet on crankbaits and light Carolina rigs. High spots are best with deeper water close by. June bug or green pumpkin are best on plastics and bream pattern square bills in a 2.5 are best. Offshore the bite continues to improve, if you can find the group of fish that wants to bite. Target humps, roadbeds, and long points in 18-25 feet of water with Carolina rigs with big worms. Blue fleck or watermelon red are best. Crankbaits are still good over deeper points. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Black bass are chasing topwater patterns early in the day and later in the day when it is dark. Check out the brush piles as big bass are using them to feed on crappie. Bream are excellent in the shallows on wooly buggers and small poppers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing continues to be excellent going into the dog days of summer. Fish are in all the places they should be for this time of year. Look for crappie holding on brush piles, summer time trees, lay downs, bridges and docks. You can find fish in 14-30 feet right now but it seems like those fish will be above 14-16 feet as that is where the thermocline is showing up. One of the biggest keys to loading the boat with crappie has been finding the fish that haven’t been pressured as much. We are still having a lot of success with very small hand tied jigs in 1/16 ounce. Cut the tails down shorter to get those finicky bites to hook up. Minnows are producing bites but it seems the hook up ratio is much lower and we end up losing a lot of minnows to those finicky fish. Soft plastics will work on the more aggressive crappie too. Staying off huge groups of fish, pitching and swimming jigs will also help to keep those fish put a little longer. If you get the boat right over fish with the really bright sunny skies they will move off most times and relocate. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.
Houston County
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.05 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Largemouth bass are hitting square bill crankbaits or shaky heads on docks, and swim jigs in shallow water around vegetation. Crappie are on minnows around standing timber and offshore brush in 8-14 feet. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.
Lake O’ the Pines
GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees; 2.75 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Channel catfish are good in 15-20 feet of water in the bridge shade. Crappie are good in 16-25 feet in standing timber with minnows on a cork. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Bass are good 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 on the grass and bushes. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.
Livingston
GOOD. Stained; 87 degrees; 0.14 feet below pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The bite is as good as it gets! White bass have been schooling and have been mainly in 10-20 feet of water. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.
Martin Creek
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 101 degrees; 0.31 feet below pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The water temperature is 101 degrees mid lake. Bass are good targeting the edge of the hydrilla around points at night and early morning. Weightless senkos and Texas rigged worms with 1/8 ounce weights are catching fish. Crappie are good in 20-28 feet on brush and standing timber with fish suspended around 15 feet. Minnows and electric chicken pintail jigs are catching fish. Seeing many jug lines out for catfish from 8-20 feet of water using live bait. Report by Hambone Guide Service.
Nacogdoches
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.49 feet below pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Largemouth bass are good on Carolina rigs and dropshots in 18 feet of water. Crappie are good on brush piles with live minnows or natural colored crappie jigs. Catfish are slow on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Naconiche
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; 0.50 feet above full pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The heat is on so the fish should be in full summer mode. Keep an eye on the thermocline. This tells you the exact depth to present your offering. Even over deep water, don’t go below this line. Found quality bass holding tight to submerged timber with a Texas rigged Mag-worm. The days of Mag-worm fishing are probably here for the next several months. This is a common approach, so do not be afraid to do something different like Tokyo-rig instead. If you catch them schooling, chunk an underspin at them. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are excellent on Carolina rigs and large swimbaits. Crappie are slow on live minnows. Catfish are slow on cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Pinkston
FAIR. normal stain; 89 degrees. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Largemouth bass are excellent with large glide baits and 3 inch shad colored swimbaits. Crappie are slow on live minnows on standing timber and brush piles. Catfish are slow on cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Sam Rayburn
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 6.56 feet above pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Water level is slowly dropping, but fishing conditions and patterns are holding steady. Summer bite is just around the corner when we will see the bass draw to deeper water points and white bass schooling. Bass are good on topwaters, or flipping soft plastics into submerged brush and points, or deeper humps and points with Carolina rigs. Crappie are in 12-16 feet of water, 20-30 feet on timber and brush. Catfish are in 22 feet of water in the creek channels. White bass are in 26 feet of water off of points on jigging spoons. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service. Water temperatures are rapidly rising to the mid 90s. Thermocline is 15-25 feet of water depending on where you are in the lake. Morning until 10 a.m or after 3 p.m. Largemouth bass are good on submerged main lake points and ledges in 16-24 feet of water with crankbaits, jig head minnow or Carolina rig. Report by Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.
Toledo Bend
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 92 degrees; 0.27 feet below pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Fishing patterns are holding steady with a tougher bite this week. Bass are good shallow to deep all over the lake however you like to fish. The best baits for shallow water are frogs, pop r’s, buzz baits and senko. The mid range fish are good on Texas rig and mid running crankbait in 8-12 feet range. The deep fish are coming on big crankbaits, Texas rigs and Carolina rigs. With the full moon coming, the night fishing will be back on fire with buzz baits and spinnerbaits around the shallow water. Watch for snakes in the flooded bushes at night. Crappie are fair while there continues to be a current from the influx of freshwater coming down the lake. Fish deep docks and lighted docks at night and shallow brush piles with jigs and live bait. Thanks Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.
Tyler
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.07 feet full pool. Anticipate increased recreational boater traffic for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Crappie are good using minnows and jigs on brush in 16 feet of water. Catfish are good all over the lake on shrimp, and liver. Bream are good on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are good on crankbaits, plastic worms and topwater frogs.
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