B.A. Steinhagen
FAIR. Water stain; 85 degrees; 0.55 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. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Bob Sandlin
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 93 degrees; 0.29 feet below pool. Summer fishing patterns are holding steady. Big blue catfish 15 feet or less. 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. A few catches of white bass while targeting crappie with a crappie jig and white curly tailed jig. 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. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Caddo
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Never thought I would say this about Caddo this year after all the rain we had in the spring, but we need some rain. Lake is falling quickly now and the bite has slowed down some but there are still some big ones being caught on topwater lures early. River fish are still setting up decently and can be caught on june bug colored Texas rigs, dropshots and shaky heads in your cuts and curves of the river plus along the grass pad lines. Looks like some lower temperatures and chance of rain is on the forecast, so maybe the bite will pick back up some. If you are new to Caddo just put in on the river and have a fluke, pop r or Texas rig tied on and just cover the grass line on edge and you should get bit. Lake is setting up nice and is always a beautiful and majestic trip out here to see and fish this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Conroe
GOOD. Water stained; 94 degrees; 0.29 feet below pool. Water temp 91 degrees in the morning to 97 degrees in the afternoon. Catfish are good on baited holes and ledges near structure and shallow at night. Bass shallow early and chasing schools of bait after sun rises. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Crappie are hit-or-miss in 13-21 feet. Hair jigs are producing better than plastics.
Fork
GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 1.17 feet below pool. The early morning bass bite has been slow, but a few can be caught on windy points with spook type baits and chatterbaits in 2-5 feet. Offshore bite is best in 12-25 feet on humps, roadbeds, long points with flukes, and dingers. Deep crankbaits are still good over deep channel swings and brush piles in 20-25 feet. 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. Crappie fishing on Lake Fork has continued to be excellent. We are seeing some big white crappie on timber in 18-28 feet along creek channels. Covering water and finding the areas holding lots of fish are the ticket. Lots of single fish on pole timber and some trees may have several fish in the branches. Brush piles, bridges and lay downs have been slow the last few weeks. For the best bite try to find a structure that has not experienced a lot of fishing pressure. Minnows are working well, but some anglers are having success with hand tied jigs and soft plastics. The catfish bite is absolutely on fire on Lake Fork. We still have loads of fish in shallow trees around roosting birds. I’m also seeing a big migration of catfish moving into the 18-28 feet range along creek channels. Catfish may be following bait fish just like other fish will do as we head into the fall months. Baiting holes with cattle cubes or sour grains will hold fish to your area. Use any preferred catfish bait to load the boat once you get the fish stacked up. You can catch 100 fish in just a few hours right now. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Houston County
SLOW. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.15 feet below 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. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Lake O’ the Pines
GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.29 feet below 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 in the grass and bushes. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Livingston
GOOD. slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.26 feet below pool. Catching a lot of white bass in 8-12 feet of water with white and chartreuse slabs. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Martin Creek
GOOD. Water normal stain; 98 degrees; 0.99 feet below pool. Martin Creek is 96 degrees at the boat ramp and 100 degrees plus west of scrapper cut. Bass are fair to good on deep brush piles using redbug worms and 6XD crankbaits. Early and late along the hydrilla with weightless senco’s.
Nacogdoches
GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.92 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are good on standing timber and hard spots with a Carolina rig or deep crankbait in 15-20 feet of water. The size of bass are 2-4 pounds on average. Crappie are fair in brush with ⅛ ounce white or chartreuse crappie jigs. Catfish are poor on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Naconiche
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 87 degrees; 1.00 foot below pool. 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. The jerkbait Jr. Plus-1 got the most bites over the weekend. If you find them hugging the bottom in 8-10 feet, dragging a Texas rig Mag-worm can be effective. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services. Largemouth bass are excellent on Carolina rigs and small paddle tail swimbaits in 8-12 feet of water. Fish might be suspended over 20 feet of water but they are 8-10 feet below the surface. Crappie are excellent with numbers around standing timber. Fish are 10-13 inch stacked up in large groups. Catfish are fair on cut bait and live minnows, especially near the pier. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Pinkston
GOOD. slightly stained; 88 degrees. Largemouth bass are excellent with fish varying from2-5 pounds. Bass are in timber suspended over 20 feet about 8 feet below the surface using big swimbaits, small 5 inch white swimbaits, and dropshots. Crappie are fair with fish scattered and very few on brush piles with crappie jigs or live minnows. Catfish are poor with cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal’s ETX Guide Service. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Raven
FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees. There is some rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast to help improve the bite. 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. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Sam Rayburn
GOOD. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.40 feet above pool. Water is off-colored like the lake is trying to turnover. Water is being released. Hydrilla is surfacing and could be a good place to cast for bass. Bass are slow in shallow water in brush with many smaller fish being caught on frogs, and spinnerbaits. Deeper bass bite is fair with Carolina rigs. Crappie are slow moving to and from the brush to timber. 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 jig head minnow or Carolina rig. Mid lake to north lake is the most productive area. 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. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Toledo Bend
FAIR. Water normal stain; 92 degrees; 3.60 feet below pool. With the moon on the fall, the night fishing has slowed down. Few fish are still being caught on Texas rig big worms in 12-18 feet, but for most part, it is slow at night. The day fishing continues to be tough, just very little to no early topwater bite at all. A few good reports of fish schooling in the afternoon, this is happening when we get few clouds around the lake, not many good fish, but reports saying good numbers and some large groups are showing up all around the lake. The deeper bite should get back going anytime. Crappie are slow too, but the few that are being caught are good size, these coming on minnows on standing trees and brush piles. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Tyler
SLOW. Water normal stain; 91 degrees; 0.50 feet below pool. Rain in the forecast heading into the weekend. This should cool the water and improve the bite. Night fishing is good for catfish and crappie in the lights. Crappie are slow using minnows on brush in 16-25 feet of water. Catfish are slow in 16 feet of water shrimp, and liver. Bream are slow on red worms off the barge and throughout the lake. Bass are slow in 10-12 feet of water with topwaters, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Report by The Boulders at Lake Tyler. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
Welsh
FAIR. Water stained. 106 degrees. Few reports from anglers.
Wright Patman
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.58 feet above pool. The lake level is high and water is being released. Be sure to check ramp status before heading out. Anticipate increased boater traffic due to the Labor Day weekend.
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