Sports
TPWD fishing report - Pineywoods Region
Jul 13, 2024
- B.A. Steinhagen
- FAIR. Water stain; 80 degrees; 0.72 feet below pool. 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; 0.17 feet above pool. Channel catfish are excellent in 10-12 feet of water on baited holes with stinkbait. A few catches of blue catfish in the same areas with cut bait. Crappie are good on brush piles and standing timber in 20-25 feet of water with black and green 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 like 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.
- Bois d'Arc
- stained; 85 degrees; 0.27 feet below pool. Bass are best in the bushes and trees in 6-12 feet with Beavers and creature baits on Texas Rigs. Some fish are in 4-7 feet on the outside of the grass line on main lake points biting chatterbaits, flashy swimmers and spinnerbaits. Offshore bass are good in 10-15 feet of water with Carolina rigs and Texas rigs on brush piles. JawTech KO sticks good around bushes and outside of grass 4-6 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service.
- Caddo
- FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.40 feet above pool. Caddo is setting up good for bass fishing. Schooling bass bite is heating up with topwater frogs, buzz baits or choppo bite. After another round of heavy rain expect the high water levels, muddy water or more current. Your river fish are setting up good for dropshots, Texas rig, football jigs or Carolina rigs. And there are still fish being caught around trees with the brim bedding so a pop r, fluke or senko still work around the trees for you tree anglers. It is a beautiful time of year to come enjoy this lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.
- Conroe
- GOOD. Water slightly stained; 89 degrees; 0.15 feet above pool. Largemouth bass fishing is good flipping under docks and around bluegill beds. Bigger fish are related to offshore structure and brush-piles biting Texas Rigs, Carolina Rigs, and crankbaits. Report by Roy Crush IV Fishing. Catfish are great and near the end of their spawning patterns. 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. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.
- Fork
- GOOD. Water Stained; 81 degrees; 0.16 feet above pool. Bass are good on Z-Man chatterbaits and lipless crankbaits early in 2-5 feet on points and grassy wind blown banks. Topwaters are hit-or-miss early on points. Carolina rigs, big shaky heads and Texas rigs are good in 10-25 feet of water on points, humps, drop offs. Big worms doing the best in these areas. Crankbaits are good over deep underwater ridges and humps with timber in 18-28 feet. Shad patterns and blue and chart Strike King 6XD or 8XD. 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
- SLOW. Water stained; 82 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. 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; 2.21 feet above pool. The lake received inches of rain from the tropical depression. Channel catfish are good in 15-20 feet of water in the bridge shade. Channel catfish bite in 3-4 feet of water under trees. 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. Solid summer pattern is holding steady for the bass. 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; 0.52 feet above pool. 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; 0.42 feet above pool. Bass are good along hydrilla with weightless senkos and Texas rigged worms. Keep a shad colored rattle trap handy for schooling bass. Crappie are excellent on brush piles and standing timber in 20-24 feet suspended around 15 feet. Minnows and pin tail Bobby Garland jigs work well. The fish bunch up on bright sunny days. Fish should go on ice as soon as possible, or keep ice in a live well due to extremely high water temperatures. Report by Hambone Guide Service.
- Nacogdoches
- EXCELLENT. Water stained; 92 degrees; 0.44 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are excellent off the bottom in 15-20 feet of water on big crankbaits, Carolina rigs and dropshots. Crappie are excellent on brush piles with live minnows or ¨û ounce crappie jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal¡¯s ETX Guide Service.
- Naconiche
- FAIR. Water stained; 88 degrees; 0.50 feet above full pool. The heat is on so the fish should be in full summer mode. Keep an eye on the thermocline and this tells you the exact depth to present your offering. Bass are 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 good on brush piles with chartreuse crappie jigs. Catfish are slow on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal¡¯s ETX Guide Service.
- Pinkston
- GOOD. normal stain; 89 degrees. Largemouth bass are good with soft plastic swimbaits and Carolina rigged trick worms. Crappie are good on live minnows on standing timber. Catfish are slow on cut bait. Report by Cal Cameron, Cal¡¯s ETX Guide Service.
- Raven
- SLOW. Water slightly stained; 88 degrees. Huntsville State Park was hit directly by Hurricane Beryl, and will be closed due to storm damage. We apologize to our anglers who were hoping to get on the water this week. Call for up to date information.
- Sam Rayburn
- GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 5.11 feet above pool. Lots of floating debris after the recent rains from Hurricane Beryl. 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. As the lake continues to drop fish are going to be moving to traditional summer locations pending the thermocline depth. Bass are good early morning on shallow main lake points with medium or deep diving crankbaits, and topwaters. Main lake ledges with Carolina rig shaky head and spoons. Brush piles shallower than the thermocline with Texas rigs, jigs or Carolina rigs. The thermocline is actively fluctuating and will continue to do so while lake level changes. Navigate with caution watching for floating debris, trees, and stumps. Report by Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.
- Toledo Bend
- GOOD. Water slightly stained; 92 degrees; 1.04 feet below pool. Many houses and marinas sustained damage due to Hurricane Beryl, and power has not been restored in many areas. All the roads are back open, and trees have been pushed to the side. Please make sure and call your marina, or house before heading over to the lake. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.
- Tyler
- GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 1.13 feet above pool. The water has been cool and the fish have been biting after the recent weather. Crappie are good using minnows and jigs on brush in 16 feet of water. Catfish are good in 12-16 feet of water nightcrawlers, 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.
- Welsh
- FAIR. Water stained. 106 degrees. There has been a fish kill in certain areas of the lake. It is believed to be related to low oxygen levels in the water. If anyone sees dead or dying fish call the Texas Parks and Wildlife 24-hour hotline, 512-389-4848.
- Wright Patman
- GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 5.86 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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