B.A. Steinhagen
FAIR. Water stained; 76 degrees; 0.32 feet below. Fishing patterns continue to be steady. Look for fish to move shallower and feed as the water temperature declines. Bass are fair with topwaters in submerged vegetation and crankbaits along the edge of grass. Crappie are fair using minnows and jigs structures and brush piles. Catfish are good moving shallow biting cut and cheese bait.

Bob Sandlin
GOOD. Water clear; 72 degrees; 1.81 feet below. Catfish are good on baited holes 15-20 feet of water using cheese bait. Crappie are good on brush and laydowns in 12-15 feet of water biting on minnow and jigs. Black bass are fair early using topwater baits or chatterbaits shallow. White bass fair on midlake humps with slabs or minnows. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing.

Caddo
GOOD. Water stained; 77 degrees; 0.35 feet above. As the water temperatures cool the fishing patterns will be similar but the bite will improve as fish start feeding up. Fishing is good in the river and bayou systems as the shad are starting to bunch up. A shad colored crankbait seems to be working best cranking along bank lines. If the fish are not biting moving bait, use Texas rig, dropshots and a spoons. The fall fishing patterns are beginning and will be fun and beautiful to fish for several weeks while the foliage turns red on this natural lake God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Conroe
GOOD. Slightly stained; 77 degrees; 2.26 feet below. Eater sized catfish have been great on catfish bubblegum, worms, and liver in 8-30 feet of water on ledges and points. Even catching some trophy class fish mixed in. This strong front should get them going even better. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Fall weather is almost here and crappie are active as the water temperatures have declined. Cast 1/16 ounce orange jig heads paired with sho nuff (crappie magnet), orange and green (panfish assassin) and green, clear (panfish assassin) with flake, tipped with a crappie nibbler and minnows are fair. Fish are schooling up and roaming out of structure, bigger crappie are committing more by pitching over structure and letting it fall pendulum style over it in 12-16 feet of water. Crappie fishing report submitted by Justin Burns with Slab Donkey Guide Service Lake Conroe. Hybrid stripers schools are growing in numbers as the water temperatures cool, but many catches continue to be undersized. Target flats in 12-21 feet of water. Black bass are in 5-14 feet of water using creature baits, crankbaits, swimbaits, as well as some jigs or minnows, close to or in structure. Always wear your life jacket. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy Lake Conroe Fishing Guide.

Fork
GOOD. Water Stained; 78 degrees; 6.74 feet low. Bass fishing is slow turnover. The morning bite has been slow with a few on chatterbaits just off shore in 3-5 feet around cover, such as the outside edge of boat house if they have water or fence rows. This bite will continue to work into mid morning. As the sun rises the bite transitions to 5-12 feet of water on Shaky heads and Carolina rigs with smaller baits, like 7 inch worms in blue fleck or tequila sunrise. Viper XP jigs picking up a few also in 8-10 feet of water on big wood. Purple passion is best color followed by black and blue. Report by Lake Fork fishing guide Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Pro. The bass bite is slow right now. On shallow points use a walking topwater bait or Carolina rigged Lake Fork Trophy Lures Baby Ring Fry. On main lake humps and points in 12-15 feet of water work a dropshot. Report by Jason Hoffman, Lake Fork Guide Service. Fly fishing for bass fishing is slow try sub-surface patterns during daylight and short topwater lures at last hour of daylight. Sand bass are subsurface in open water. Bream are 6-7 feet of water, try beaded flies around boathouses and brush piles. Crappie are gathering in brush piles. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork surface water temperatures are reaching the low 70s already, and the crappie are biting great. White crappie are excellent suspended on the mid section of trees in 15-30 feet of water. Seeing lots of black crappie on some of those trees in 15-22 feet of water at the base of the trees. Still seeing tons of fish on brush piles and laydowns as well but those fish may be much more finicky and harder to catch. Minnows are still the go to bait on my boat each day but I’ve heard of some success on jigs as well. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Houston County
GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 2.37 feet below. Largemouth bass are in 4-12 feet of water on docks, points and brush using square bill crankbaits, shaky heads, Ned rigs and wacky worms. Crappie are in 12-20 feet of water in brush and standing timber using minnows. Report by Colan Gonzales, DFW Fishing Guide Booking.com.

Lake O’ the Pines
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 72 degrees; 0.84 feet low. This is the time of year fish will be moving shallower and feeding heavily as the water temperature cools. Catfish are good on baited holes 15-20 feet of water using cheese bait. Crappie are good on brush and laydowns in 12-15 feet of water biting on minnow and jigs. Black bass are fair early using topwater baits or chatterbaits shallow. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing.

Livingston
FAIR. Stained; 77 degrees; 1.08 feet low. White bass are fair to slow with the season winding down as the water cools. Catfish can be caught drifting with cut bait on main lake flats and open water. Crappie continues to be slow. Striped bass are slow. Gar are excellent on anything and anywhere in the lake. Largemouth bass are slow in 2-6 feet of water along the banks. Report by Jeff Friederick, Fishin’ Addiction Guide Service.

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Martin Creek
GOOD. 81 degrees. Water lightly stained; 3.63 feet low. Martin Creek is a power plant lake with warm water and a current that affects the lake differently from others. The fall season will start later, usually bringing the fish shallow when the water temperature is closer to 70-degrees. Catching bass along the hydrilla with top water baits during a cold snap is not uncommon. When the weather cools fish will follow the warmer water staying shallow in 10-15 feet of water or less. During this time a Carolina rig works great for bass at the Scrapper Cut area on the lake. Large catfish can be found in the discharge using cut bait. Crappie tend to scatter out more instead of bunching up in schools under the bridge and old road bed at Dry Creek.

Nacogdoches
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 70-75 degrees; 3.87 feet low. Lake turnover is complete. Fish are feeding more throughout the day due to cooling water temperature. Bass are good shallow and on topwater lures during the morning as they chase bait up to grass edges. Crappie are good on minnows and gathering on brush piles and timber. Smaller groups of fish tend to be better to bite than large groups. They will slowly migrate to the main creek channel over the next few weeks. Use caution when running north of the highline. Lake levels continue to drop and more standing timber is soon to be exposed. The lake is the lowest it has been in 10 years. Use caution. Report by Blake Oestreich, Brushbuster Guide Service.

Naconiche
GOOD. Water clear to stained; 74 degrees; 1.00 feet low. Lake Naconiche continues to be murky while the lake turnover. Bass are transitioning to the fall patterns, so now is the time to start throwing your fall lures, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs and rattle lures. The Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services.

Raven
FAIR. Water stained; 70 degrees; 3.75 feet low. After the recent cold snap the bass bite has slowed, but was good on junebug senkos and green pumpkin trick worms, topwater lures and chatterbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and 1/16 ounce jigs around brush piles. Catfish are slow on cut bait and punch baits. Water clarity in the far south end is great with 2-4 feet of visibility, while the north end is still somewhat stained with less visibility.

Sam Rayburn
FAIR. Water stained; 71 degrees; 5.78 feet low. Shad are shallow. Bass cranks spinnerbaits and jigs shallow ledges and points small baits matching the baitfish. Crappie are on holding tight main lake brush migrating to the creeks and in 12-14 feet of water hanging on brush and timber in 27 feet of water. Catfish 12-22 feet of water points and creek channels chasing bait cut bait and liver perch. White bass are slowing down moving into the riverbiting small crankbaits and silver spoons. Report by Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.

Toledo Bend
FAIR. Water stained; 71-74 degrees; 4.59 feet low. The water level is 167.4 with no generators running. Water temperature at the dam is 71-74-degrees with surface temperature around 73-degrees. With some wind and rain this week the back feeder creeks are stained and muddy, and the main lake remains clear. There are two types of l schooling bass in the fall transition. One group will be shallow along the banks chasing and feeding on shad. Look for blue herons and white cranes feeding on baitfish and walking the bank, this will be nature’s visual key to the location of bass. The second group of bass will remain deep but will congregate into bigger schools. For the shallow bite use a topwater bait, such as spooks, buzz baits and pop-r’s, and 1/4 ounce or 3/8 ounce spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse, or black. To try something different, go back to the old single spin with a Colorado blade using silver for clear water and gold for muddy water. Squarebill crankbaits out to three feet in shad and perch imitation colors. For deeper bass, use a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce jigging spoon in silver with a white or yellow accent tail feather, or deep diving crankbaits in citrus shad and Tennessee shad colors. The jig bite will be coming on strong this week with the night temperatures dropping into the 40s, so the bass will start to put their feed bags on. Cast your jig to long tapering points that drop off into deep water. The best colors are black and blue, PB&J football jigs ⅜ - 3/4 ounce with a 3-inch matching color craw trailer, and a green pumpkin jig with the chunk style trailer dipped in chartreuse color. Crappie bite is picking up in 10-20 feet of water using small jigs and small minnows depending on the cloud cover. Bluegills are mixed in with the crappie in brush piles and some are now being caught under boathouses and docks. Catfish are holding in 10-20 feet of water, and migrating up into the feeder creeks. Another bass pattern, if you are using a 5-8 WT fly rod, use a topwater foam white or black wiggle fish and sometimes cast a Dahlberg Diver in yellow/black color with a floating line; strip slowly and stop, pause, strip again or you can cast a crease fly shad color imitation; strip, strip, pause. The cadence can change daily with the cooler temperatures. Some days fish want the fly fast across the surface like chasing down a shad and other days they want it dead, motionless on the surface. After the colder nights have passed, try a Clouser minnow and sub-surface streamer fly like a Black Wooly Booger. Now that the lake is at a winter drawdown, it is prime time to go scouting in feeder creeks, ditches, man-made structures, creek bends and undercuts for springtime fishing spots. Always leave the area better than you found it by picking up trash. Good luck and tight lines! Report from Master Captain Steve (Scooby) Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Orvis Endorsed Fishing Guide, Mudfish Rod Shop, Kayak Sales, and Rod Repair

Tyler
FAIR. Water lightly stained; 70 degrees; 3.02 feet below. Cooler weather is here and the bite is on. Crappie, catfish and bass are loaded up on brush piles in 10-20 feet of water. Catfish are good on liver and minnows, stink bait and liver. Bass are good with trick worms, topwater lures and minnows. Crappie are good using live minnows. Bluegill are good mixed in with the crappie biting red worms. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Wright Patman
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 73 degrees; 2.25 feet above. White bass are biting on tail spinners, but most catches are undersized. Catfish still biting good on baited holes with punch bait Report by Brooks Tarkington, Lake Wright Patman Guide Service.