Local Fishing Report (Week of May 11)

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B.A. Steinhagen: FAIR. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.48 feet below. Bass are fair pushing out from the shorelines in submerged vegetation and timber hitting senkos, chatterbaits and crankbaits. Crappie are good using minnows and jigs on main lake structures and brush piles. Catfish are good moving shallow biting cut and cheese bait.
Bob Sandlin: GOOD. Water clear; 72 degrees; 0.20 feet low. Crappie spawn appears to be complete and fish are staging on brush in 15-20 feet of water biting on minnow and jigs. Bass are shallow in 2-3 feet of water off banks and under docks. Throwing your favorite plastics should land you some nice catches. Catfish are spawning with a good bite off rocks in 2-3 feet of water using cheese bait or cut bait. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing.
Caddo: SLOW. Water stained; 67 degrees; 1.74 feet high. Caddo is muddy with all the rain and the current has showed up some but will not last long. Lake is going to be fun this summer, but we still have to get past the post spawn transition. Some schools of bass are in the river biting on Texas rigs or crankbaits. We had a small wave of females move back up on some trees being caught on frogs, wacky and flukes. Topwater action is coming into play better with buzzbaits and pop r’s working best. I always say no matter how the bite is coming to Caddo and experiencing God’s creation is still worth the trip. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship
Conroe: GOOD. Slightly stained; 79 degrees; 0.46 feet above. Catfish are ready to spawn in 5-25 feet of water looking for nests in tires, rock, brush, and timber. They will be concentrated together until around mid July. Hitting catfish bubblegum, shrimp, shad or minnows under a cork. Hybrid stripers are in small schools in 16-25 feet of water, with some early morning topwater action. Jigging with a one ounce spoon or trolling with a hellbender and pet spoon is producing. To determine the differences between hybrid and white bass check the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. Crappie are good in 14-24 feet of water in standing timber and brush piles using crappie jigs in blue/white, black/silver or sho nuff. Black bass are good deadsticking weightless senkos close to bulkheads. Texas rigged creature baits are producing early morning in 8-17 feet of water, moving deeper in the afternoon hitting creature baits and rattle traps. Always wear your life jacket! Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy Lake Conroe Fishing Guide.
Fork: GOOD. Water Stained; 73 degrees; 5.42 feet low. Lake Fork crappie seem to be nearing the very end of their spawn. White crappie are in less than 10 feet of water. Starting to see black crappie stacking up on laydowns, as they will do during the post spawn and summer pattern. Brush piles and deeper trees are also starting to produce better this week but will continue to get even better as we get closer to summer. Best depths seem to be 10-23 feet with black crappie higher in trees and the white crappie closer to the bottom. Minnows and hand tied jigs are producing really good but plastics will work. Report provided by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service. Bass are good on windy points in 1-3 feet of water with square bill, spinner baits, chatterbait in shad colors. Shaky heads are good around big wood good in 3-5 feet of water using super finesse worms. Mardi Gras dropshots are also good around wood with small straight tail worm. Carolina rigs are good on points and secondary points with lizards in green pumpkin. Report by Lake Fork fishing guide Marc Mitchell and Jason Hoffman, Lake Fork Pro.
Houston County: GOOD. Water stained; 75 degrees; 0.15 feet above. Crappie are good on brush piles and docks using minnows and jigs. Bass are good in standing timber, docks and rocks on spinnerbaits, crankbaits and waky worms. Catfish are good shallow on cut and prepared baits.
: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 72 degrees; 0.10 feet low. Fish are right where we left them in the same pattern. Crappie are staging on brush in 15-20 feet of water biting on minnow and jigs. Bass are shallow in 2-3 feet of water off banks and under docks. Throwing your favorite plastics should land you some nice catches. Catfish are spawning with a good bite off rocks in 2-3 feet of water using cheese bait or cut bait. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing.
Livingston: GOOD. Stained; 70 degrees; 0.66 feet above. White bass are good off points and brush hitting slabs and spoons. Catfish are good in the bulkheads on cut shad. Largemouth bass are fair just out from the shoreline and around standing timberon crankbaits, topwaters, and chatterbaits.
Martin Creek: SLOW. 76 degrees. Water lightly stained; 0.04 feet above. Crappie are good on main lake brush piles and structure. Bass are fair in submerged vegetation and points out a little deeper than we have been seeing. Hitting Texas rigs, crankbaits, and some topwaters. Catfish are fair on punch bait and shad.
Naconiche: GOOD. Water clear to stained; 79 degrees. Starting to see some good numbers of post-spawn bass schooling up over deeper water. Alabama rigs and a "plus-1" jerkbaits are getting the most bites. Topwater bite is producing well early and later in the day. Texas rigs, junebugs, and worms have produced in 12 feet of water. The Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services.
Raven: GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees. Crappie are excellent on minnows and jigs. Bass are good on minnows and soft plastics. Catfish are good on live and cut bait. The lake almost full pool with about 2 to 3 feet of visibility. As a reminder, you can keep up to five bass UNDER 16 inches. Thinning out the population is important to ensure the larger bass have plenty of room and forage to grow into giants. Also, the Prairie Branch fishing pier is closed for renovations, and should reopen within the next two weeks.
Sam Rayburn: GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 1.02 feet low. Bass are good along the banks and in submerged brush using white popping frogs. The bite in the creek channels is good on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Crappie are good, coming out from the spawn moving to brush piles. Catfish are good in the creek channel drop-offs on cut bait and shrimp. Bluegill are moving out of shallows to brush piles. Report by Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.
Toledo Bend: GOOD. Water stained; 70-73 degrees; 0.29 feet low. The water level is 171.7 with one generator running 24 hours. Water temperature in the mid lake area is 70-73 degrees. The back feeder creeks are stained, but the shallow flats and main lake are clear. Bass are moving around in submerged vegetation and structures. Try casting topwater imitations like popping frogs, buzz baits, spinnerbaits, wacky worms, senko style baits, flukes, lizards and don’t forget them swim jigs. Crappie are relocating to deeper water. When you see the Magnolia trees starting to blossom that is an indicator that the temperature is almost right for the bluegill to spawn. You can catch a bluegill using live crickets, grasshoppers, earthworms and small surface floating spiders and poppers. The shad spawn is still working, so follow the shad and you will find the bass. Typically, the shad are triggered to start their spawn when the water temperature ranges between 68-76 degrees. Laying their eggs on wooden structures and wooden bulkheads in shallow waters. Threadfin and gizzard shad play an important role in freshwater ecosystems, and by extension, are important to fishermen. The Catfish are biting on a slip cork rig in 2-4 feet of water from first light to 8:30 a.m. using shrimp, live or frozen shad, chicken livers and punch baits. Summer is here, time to get those kayaks or canoes out and get the family together to go fishing or exploring on beautiful Toledo Bend Lake! Remember to always keep your life jacket on while on the water and don’t forget to fasten that engine kill switch lanyard to your life jacket if you are operating a motorized vessel on the water. Play it safe on the water, always inform your loved ones or a friend of your expected return time to port or home. Good luck and tight lines! Report from Captain Steve (Scooby) Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Mudfish Rod Shop, Kayak and Fishing Guide Service.
Tyler: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 73 degrees; 0.28 feet above. Bass are good on trick worms and crankbaits along the rocky shorelines and timber. Crappie are fair on brush piles and submerged structures using minnows and jigs. Bluegill are good on red worms. Catfish are coming shallow biting on commercial baits and cut bait. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.
Wright Patman: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 72 degrees; 6.29 feet above. Fishing patterns are locked in for another week. White bass are beginning to slow to fair biting on slabs. Crappie are good in McGuffy Slough and Point on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good in the upper end near Herron Creek and McFarlan Island punch bait. White bass are good hitting most everything such as swimbaits, and fluke style baits. Report by Brooks Tarkington, Lake Wright Patman Guide Service.

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