B.A. Steinhagen
FAIR. Water stain; 85 degrees; 1.34 feet below pool. Water is being released into the lake from Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Mayflies are hatching, so expect some topwater bass action. Bass are fair on soft plastics in the cuts, or with frogs over grass. Crappie are fair with jigs in flooded timber. Catfish are fair on juglines.
Bob Sandlin
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 93 degrees; 0.22 feet above pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Big blue catfish up to 30 pounds are in 20-35 feet of water with cut bait. Channel catfish are fair in 15-20 feet of water on baited holes with stink bait. Crappie are good in 30 feet of water, or suspended in 15 feet of water with minnows. White bass are good at night in the lights with a white spinnerbaits. Report by Joey Crews, Lake Bob Sandlin Chubby Chaser Guide Service. Black bass are feeding early on shad patterns around grass and retaining walls. Main lake points are good for bass using clouser type patterns. Bream are plentiful with wooly buggers and small worm patterns. 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 like deep diving crankbaits, dropshots and Texas rigs. Night fishing has the best bite and is an escape from the heat and recreational boaters. Sand bass and black bass schooling together near the dam, and bridges. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.
Caddo
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.50 feet above pool. Caddo is starting to finally look like her normal summer self with the water levels coming down after all the flooding this year. Starting to see more and more lily pads and the grass is thicker in places. Bass are schooling, so keep an eye and ear open on the main lake. Look for the birds to show you where the shad, because bass will be feeding. Fluke, buzz bait, topwater plugs and small rattle traps or spinnerbaits will all work for the schooling fish. In the river a Texas rig, drop shot or shaky head worm will all get bit all day long over the grass and pad lines, and fishing the cuts. This is a great time to come see and fish this beautiful lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.
Conroe
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.02 feet above pool. Thermocline is around 30 feet of water. Catfish are good on baited holes and around structure. Crappie fair to poor on minnows on structure 10-20 feet. Largemouth bass are good up shallow early and on offshore structures and docks by mid morning. Report by Brad Doyle, Bradley’s Guide Service. Hybrids and white bass are schooling in 18-26 feet biting live shad or large minnows, or trolling with a deep diver with a pet spoon as a trailer. Some are scattered but also finding schools. Many are jigging spoons too aggressively, getting more hits with a calmer jigging motion, white or chartreuse slabs from MT Pockets has been working well.
Fork
GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 0.42 feet below pool. Bass are fair in the morning on swimbaits, frogs, and chatterbaits around grass and weeds in 2-4 feet. Offshore bite is best with Carolina rigs in 18-24 feet in big worms and flukes. Crankbaits are still working over deep water humps ms points in 22-27 feet. Shad patterns and chartreuse and blue backs XD 6 and XD 8 best. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. August brings in hot temperatures. Bass are feeding in 10-12 feet where the thermocline is not present. Look for schooling bass in the open water and creeks as shad hatch is in full swing. Also, check out the brush piles as big bass are using them to feed on crappie. Bream are excellent in the shallows, wooly buggers and small poppers should bring a strike. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork continues to be excellent as we get deeper into the summer pattern. Fish are still stacked up on brush, trees and some lay downs. Best depths are 14-28 feet with a few fish a little shallower and a little deeper. The bite has been somewhat finicky lately. Minnows are a good choice to help overcome the slower bite. You can still catch fish on smaller hand tied baits or soft plastics. I’ve also noticed that rotating spots or finding new spots with less pressured fish has been important. The catfishing on Lake Fork is excellent like it seems to always be for eater sized channel cats. There are still tons of fish under roosting trees in 14-22 feet of water on the north ends of the lake. Bait a hole with cattle cubes or sour grains to get those fish concentrated. Then use any catfish bait of choice to load the boat. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.
Houston County
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.10 feet above pool. Fishing patterns are consistent. Sunfish are good. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs. Bass are slow midday, with the best bite in the morning.
Lake O’ the Pines
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.21 feet above pool. Solid summer pattern is holding steady for the bass. Bass are good with schooling activity starting to pick up. Follow the shad to find the bass. There is still some bass 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
GREAT. slightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.10 feet above pool. White bass are good and moving quickly in 2-16 feet of water. Shallow early morning and then moving to flats late morning hitting white and chartreuse Duck Tracker slabs. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.
Martin Creek
GOOD. Water stained; 94 degrees; 0.30 feet below pool. Bass are good early and late off points and at the edge of the hydrilla on plum worms and under spin swimbaits. Larger bass are on deep brush using deep diving crankbaits. Crappie are excellent, concentrated schools are suspended on brush and standing timber in 25-30 feet of water. Shad colored jigs and minnows are best. Catfish remain good in 15-25 feet on live bait and nightcrawlers. Report by Hambone guide service Report by Hambone Guide Service.
Nacogdoches
EXCELLENT. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.33 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are excellent on small swimbaits using forward facing sonar in 8-16 feet of water, or off the bottom in creek channel swings with Carolina rigs, or deep diving crankbaits. Crappie are excellent over brush piles and standing timber with light weight chartreuse and natural colored crappie jigs. Catfish are slow on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Naconiche
GOOD. Water stained; 89 degrees; 0.50 feet above full pool. The water temperature increased quickly over the last week. Continue to keep an eye on the thermocline because this tells you the exact depth to present your offering. Even over deep water, do not go below this line. Numbers of bass can be caught in the 8-10 feet zone with swing-heads, weightless flukes, and jerkbaits, with the Texas-rig stick-bait landing the most catches. When you find schooling bass, chunk an underspin, or a “spook” style topwater. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are excellent on deep diving crankbaits, small swimbaits and Carolina rigs 10-15 feet of water. Crappie are excellent cruising around the timber lines with some brush piles with live minnows or natural colored crappie jigs. Catfish are fair on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Pinkston
GOOD. slightly stained; 90 degrees. Largemouth bass are excellent on dropshots and small swimbaits in 10-18 feet of water, or with deep diving crankbaits on points and edges. Lots of 3-5 pound catches. Water visibility has cleared to about 3.5 feet of visibility. Catfish are good on live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service.
Raven
FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees. We are expecting beautiful, sunny conditions all week with 100 degrees of heat! Anglers are advised to try their luck in the early morning or late afternoon to escape the heat. Water level continues to be high and the water murky. Navigate with caution watching for floating debris. Crappie are fair on minnows and artificial grubs. Bass are fair on soft plastic artificials. Catfish are fair on worms fished off the bottom. Bluegill are excellent at the boathouse dock on crappie bites and worms.
Sam Rayburn
GOOD. Water stained; 89 degrees; 5.35 feet above pool. No water is being released, stoned in the creeks. Bass are slow in shallow water with many smaller fish being caught on frogs, and spinnerbaits. Deeper bass bite is fair with Carolina rigs. Crappie are slow in the morning, but improve midday. Catfish are all over the lake in 20 feet of water and in 12 feet of water in the creek channels. White bass are on points in the south end of the lake near the dam. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service. Bass are feeling the heat as well. Lake level is fluctuating due to recent rains. Bass are biting on finesse baits, dropshot or jighead minnow or Carolina rig. Mid lake to north lake is the most productive areas. Lots of fish schooling on main lake flats and ledges. Falling water creates current so fish congregate and now that the lake is risen again the fish are scattered. Report by Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.
Toledo Bend
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 91 degrees; 1.63 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are consistent. Lake is stained in some of the main creeks, but still clear out on the main lake. Crappie fishing is slow with a few catches on deep brush and lighted boat docks at night using live bait. Bass are fair with very few bites on topwater now that all the clouds are gone, best bite still has been from 8-14 feet on Texas and Carolina rig worm and mid-running crankbait. There are few small fish being caught out deeper in 18-25 feet on drop shot and spoons, these fish are small and most are Kentucky bass. With no moon and poor weather the night fishing has slowed down this past week, but a big Texas rigged worm at night in 14-20 feet is hard to beat, especially with the hot daytime temperatures. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.
Tyler
GOOD. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Night fishing is good for catfish and crappie in the lights. Crappie are good using minnows and jigs on brush in 16 feet of water. Catfish are fair in 12-16 feet of water shrimp, and liver. Bream are good on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are fair biting off the barge with topwater and crankbaits. Carp are slow on dough baits. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler.
Welsh
FAIR. Water stained. 106 degrees. Few reports from anglers.
Wright Patman
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 1.50 feet above pool. The lake level is high and water is being released. Be sure to check ramp status before heading out.
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