Arlington
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.21 feet above pool. Conditions are still the same. The lake has received a lot of rain so the clarity is stained. Bass continue to be shallow, or on deep points with crankbaits.
Athens
GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.80 feet above pool. Bass are good in 8-12 feet of water in grass with Texas rigged worms, wacky rigged senkos, and crankbaits. Bass are also good on brush in 15-18 feet of water with spoons and Texas rig worms. Crappie are slow on small jigs over brush. Report by Reagan Nelson, Lake Athens Bass Guide.
Bastrop
GREAT. Water stained; 80 degrees. Lake Bastrop is fishing well. Bass are schooling up in the mornings in the discharge. Throw small swimbaits, flukes, jerkbaits and Texas-rigged worms or a shaky head. Later move out off the dam to find some schoolies and throw topwaters or cranks or a tiny jighead and 2 inch minnow style bait. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs. There is some schooling action in the evenings, but the bass are finicky. The shad are small so use smaller profile baits, or small jerkbaits for a reaction bite.
Belton
FAIR. Water stained; 83 degrees; 3.58 feet below pool. Belton has climbed another 4.58 feet since last week after recent rain and releases from Lake Proctor. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now releasing water at a rate of 1,100 CFS. Fishing for white bass has gotten tougher now that young-of-the-year shad are in abundance, and the water is stratifying as the thermocline develops. I observed that most of my success is coming in the first few hours of light in the morning and again in the last hour of light on either side of sunset. Covering ground by downrigging with a 3-armed umbrella rig equipped with #13 Pet Spoons and keeping a close eye on depth so as to keep the balls about 3' up off bottom was the key to finding scattered fish. The MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail continued to produce well this week after locating fish by downrigging. It shows up remarkably well on forward-facing sonar and 2-D sonar. Drop it either to the bottom if fish are on bottom, or below the level of suspended fish, and crank it up at a steady cadence at least two cranks above the fish showing highest in the water column. If a chase occurs, keep cranking at that same steady cadence until the fish either catches it, or turns away. When a strike occurs, keep right on cranking without a hard hookset. The likelihood of topwater action increases as the water warms, and at least some light action is taking place on all but the windiest mornings and evenings. Be on the lookout for herons feeding repetitively over open water, then go in stealthily for a look so as not to spook the fish and push them off the surface. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are fair. Anglers should expect slower activity while catfish are spawning. Shallow water around timber with fresh shad or prepared bait can produce smaller blue catfish under 10 pounds. Flatheads catfish are fair on live bluegill around river mouths and log piles. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
Benbrook
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 1.37 feet above pool. Crappie bite is good on small jigs and minnows. Largemouth bass are good off points on hard plastics, soft plastics and live bait. Hybrid bite is good on flats with live bait in 20-40 feet of water, but many are undersized. Report by Hundley’s Guide Service.
Bois d'Arc
GOOD. water normal stain; 83 degrees; 1.67 feet above pool. Water level is high and the clarity is semi clear mid lake and murky on the west end. Bass are good early in the morning around shallow bushes and main lake pockets with topwaters like frogs and buzz baits. Flukes and senko type baits are good mid morning. Big long flats or points are good with Texas rigs and Carolina rigs around bushes and smaller trees. The offshore bite has been good in 12-25 feet with Carolina rigs best on rock piles, brush piles and pond dams. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Crappie are excellent on timber from 15-30 feet of water with hair jigs tipped with minnows. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Bridgeport
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.71 feet above pool. The water is clearing fast with a light stain. Crappie bite is fair on dock poles and brush piles. Largemouth bass bite is decent shallow using jigs, crankbaits, and soft plastic Texas rig baits. White bass topwater bite is on and hybrids are good on points and main lake humps with slabs or live shad. Catfish bite is good on cut bait and live shad. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
Cedar Creek
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.20 feet above pool. Hybrid striped bass and white bass bite is on fire while fish continue to be in a feeding frenzy. Focus on flats throughout the lake and on edges of drop-offs, especially on cloudy and overcast days. Use slabs on drop-offs and along seawalls early in the mornings in depth of 5-14 feet. Reports of great catches using silver or white slabs and spinners and retrieving off the bottom at a very slow retrieve to catch these fish in depths of 17-26 feet of water. The crappie have also migrated back into the main lake. Look for them under bridge pylons or under docks where the depths are between 3-10 feet. Guides have been reporting exceptionally nice catches on sunny warmer days. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish remain consistent targeting humps in 10-20 feet of water, but there are a lot of small fish. Bigger fish can be caught drifting cut shad, carp, drum or bream. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
0.66 feet above pool. Comanche Creek is closed for the summer and will reopen in October.
Cooper
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees: 2.00 feet below pool. Fishing pattern remains similar. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of water on timber and brush piles. Minnows are outperforming jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Cypress Springs
FAIR: Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 1.48 feet above pool. Starting to see a slight thermocline 5 feet off the bottom. Bass are feeding actively in a summer pattern. Night fishing has been producing large fish. Crappie are great in 20 feet of water on minnows. Catching lots of channel and blue catfish in deeper water on humps and around structure. No reports on white bass this week. Report by Chris Caswell, Lake Bob Sandlin Crappie Fishing Guide. Crappie are excellent on brush piles and docks but you will have to weed through numbers of small fish to catch a limit. Minnows are outperforming jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Eagle Mountain
FAIR. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 0.52 feet above pool. Sand bass are fair with fish in scattered schools. This is typical for this time of year. This time of year some sandies can be caught on the lights at night with imitation shad or rattletraps. Black bass are fair with bass assassins early morning around rocks, or under the lights at nights with chrome and blue rattletraps, or bucktail jigs. Channel catfish and blue catfish are good on manufactured bait or cut bait in 27-30 feet of water on deep water humps and points. Some catches on baited holes. Crappie are fair on deep water brush piles and docks with jigs and minnows. Perch are good around the docks with nightcrawlers under a cork. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
Fayette
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 87 degrees. Bass are good on shallow points early then moving deep to a summer depth in 14-20 feet of water hitting deep diving crankbaits, shaky heads and Carolina rigs. Perch can now be caught from the bank to 10 feet of water on nightcrawlers with catfish mixed in. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen’s Guide Service. Some bass are moving offshore, so a jig or a Carolina rig will get a lot of bites. Crankbaits and swimbaits will get some as well. A deep crankbait is catching a lot off the deep channels and rock piles/ledges. A frog or a topwater early will get some nice bass blowing up on those. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
Graham
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Water is still high and muddy. Bass are slow feeding on shad in shallow water. Crappie are slow. Sand bass and hybrids are good on main lake flats. The bite is good on cut shad and chicken liver.
Granbury
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.24 feet below pool. Water levels are at full pool, however navigation may be dangerous due to floating debris. Fishing for striped bass and sandbass are best on the lower ends using trolled baits. Largemouth bass are good in the back of the creeks where the water has settled out some. Soft plastics, lipless crank baits and spinner baits are good choices. Crappie are slow to fair in the muddy water holding close to structures. The catfish bite is good to excellent on prepared bait or cut shad fished near creek entrances. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 5.66 feet above pool. White bass are good showing up in better schools on humps in 27 feet of water hitting slabs. Blue herons and egrets are working. Check ramp status before heading out. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
Hawkins
GOOD. Water slightly stained. 80 degrees. Topwater lures early and late will produce good black bass action. Bream should be making their move shallow for their spawn. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
Jacksonville
GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.30 feet above pool. Fish are biting good shallow on crank baits and rattle traps. Also good on brush from the bank out to 16 ft. On soft plastics and jigs. Water is muddy from recent rains and temps are in the low 80's.
Joe Pool
GREAT. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 2.57 above pool. Bass can be caught shallow, mid depths, and deep. There is a good topwater bite or they are eating your favorite soft plastics and shad style flukes. Crappie can still be caught using crappie jigs or minnows. White bass schools are still popping up here and there. Wear your life jacket. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors.
Lavon
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 3.66 feet above pool. Gates continue to be open with no changes to the patterns. Fish early morning while sand bass are surfacing blowing shad out of the water using topwaters or a swimbait. The white egrets will be on the banks telling you pretty much where they should be. If you are not getting bit within the first 30 minutes of sunlight, you will probably have to move out to 10-20 feet of water and use 1 ounce white or chartreuse slabs. While the gates are opening and closing the crappie bite is hit-or-miss. Target timber and brush piles in 10-20 feet. Once the gates close this should be the pattern for the rest of the summer. Start shallow and work your way deeper to search for fish. Channel catfish are good on baited holes, rip rap and brush. Bait the rocks and bushes with soured grain to hold fish in there long enough to catch limits. Black bass are biting white and chartreuse spinnerbaits in the morning around the rip wrap, concrete and shallow submerged brush on points and secondary points. Bass are not biting at the back of the coves anymore. Cast creature baits, and Texas rigged worms on rock piles and large brush piles, or underwater points in 10-15 feet of water Carolina rigs. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
Lewisville
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 2.47 feet above pool. White bass are fair on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water with slabs, spoons, spinnerbaits and live bait. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are fair in similar depths. If you are keeping fish, please be aware that there are a lot of undersized hybrid stripers in the lake that look very similar to a white bass. Blue catfish are fair on cut shad anchored or drifting humps and flats in 15-32 feet of water. Crappie are fair in 8-28 feet of water on brush piles, submerged timber, and submerged cover near drop-offs with minnows and jigs. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. Water clarity is about 1 foot. Largemouth bass can be caught shallow around bushes and rock in 5 feet of water. Hybrid striper 20-30 feet of water near creek channels with live bait or slabs. Crappie are on main lake brush in 15-20 feet of water or cruising deep hard bottom flats.
Limestone
GOOD. Water normal stain; 86 degrees; 0.09 feet above pool. Big rains but the bite remains consistent. Crappie are in 10-18 feet of water on power lines, standing timber, or offshore brush with minnows. White bass are in 7-17 feet of water with super slabs. Catfish are good in 10-20 feet with cutbait, or large minnows. Largemouth bass are good in 4-14 feet of water with boat docks, bulkheads, and rocks with chatterbaits, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and spinnerbaits. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
Navarro Mills
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 7.83 feet above pool. Water level is on the rise with over 6 feet gain within the last week. White bass are slow and difficult to find. Crappie are slow on brush piles hitting jigs or minnows. Seeing more than normal yellow catfish on brush piles and near docks. Catfish are good for eaters with shad and perch. Largemouth bass are slow. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
Palestine
GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 1.99 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush and timber in 12-22 feet of water. White bass and hybrids are good on clay points early and late in the day. Catfish are spawning with a good bite on bulkheads or riprap and nightcrawlers and punch bait.
Palo Pinto
SLOW. Water stained; 87 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. Navigate with caution watching for floating debris. The water clarity is murky and muddy. Catfish are good in areas with freshwater coming in with fresh cut bait. Crappie are in deep water on minnows. Very few reports of bass, hybrids and sand bass. Anglers running juglines or terrines be sure to check them regularly as a thermocline is settling in on the bottom. Report by Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water stained; 83 degrees; 0.05 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. White bass are excellent in the mornings with surface activity common on the flats. Throw small swimbaits, tail spinners or rattle traps. Later in the morning white bass are moving out to deeper water on long points, road beds and levees. Crappie are related to brush piles in 12-18 feet of water. Crappie are showing up at bridge columns and moving around drop-offs going from structure to structure. Catfish are good in wooded timber 15-18 feet of water prepared punch bait. Chumming will help bring the schools into your areas. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.
Ray Roberts
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees; 1.86 feet above pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady. You can now start flipping shallow for bass. Largemouth bass are offshore in 18-25 feet of water primarily on rock piles with 10 inch worms, crankbaits and football jigs. A few bass on timber at dawn and dusk weightless flukes or weightless senkos. Mayfly hatch is going on so the best crappie bite is at first light. Crappie are scattered and slow after the recent rain. Crappie are good in brush piles and timber in 18-25 feet of water. Sand bass are on humps and points in 25-40 feet of water with slabs. Blue catfish are good in 20 feet of water. Channel catfish are good in 10-25 feet of water on flats. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan’s Crappie Co.
Richland Chambers
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.77 feet above pool. The main lake still has clear water, and creeks are stained to muddy. White bass are slow with a few schooling on topwater early morning on the south shoreline. Hybrid striper action is good with live shad off the 309 Flats and Windsock Point. Blue catfish action is fair on cut bait and shad in the shallow water off windblown points. Catfish can be caught on punch bait beneath schools of feeding white bass. Crappie action is slow. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service. There is a lot of water running through the lake with the gates open and the creeks are full. Even though we are approaching summer there are still a lot of shallow bass. Target docks and flooded grass covering water with square bill crankbaits, chatterbaits and swim jigs. Later in the day focus on deeper spots. The higher water will keep the fish shallow until the lake starts dropping. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 1.41 feet above pool. Good rains put fresh water in the lake. Water is being released at the gates at 191 CFS, so there should be a good below the dam. At the Marina the crappie bite is fair, and the catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait. Bluegill are fair on crickets or worms. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows over brush in 8-18 feet of water. Catfish are good in 3-10 feet of water with cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are fair on crankbaits and shiny spinnerbaits in 2-8 feet of water. White bass are excellent trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are good with many undersized fish being caught in deeper water using cut bait or mussels. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse
GOOD. Water stained; 84 degrees; 1.30 feet below pool. Stillhouse rose another 0.78 feet since last week. The water is warming rapidly and the fish are suspending more and more each day. The two drivers for this are stratification of the water by temperature which will eventually lead to the creation of the thermocline by mid-June, and the increasing presence of young-of-the-year shad making their way into open water. When fish are suspended use 2-D sonar as the three-dimensional cone makes use of extends the echo signature of the fish into long arches which are larger and much more easily seen on a screen then the shorter "rice grain" signatures seen on side-imaging and down-imaging. Use a MAL Heavy with silver blade and chartreuse tail when the fish are aggressive, and downrigging with Pet Spoons is my backup plan when the fish are not aggressive. The MAL shows up remarkably well on forward-facing sonar and 2-D sonar. Drop it either to the bottom if fish are on bottom, or below the level of suspended fish, and crank it up at a steady cadence at least two cranks above the fish showing highest in the water column. If a chase occurs, keep cranking at that same steady cadence until the fish either catches it, or turns away. When a strike occurs, keep right on cranking without a hard hookset. On the downriggers, run balls just 1-2 feet above the shallowest fish showing on 2-D sonar. Mornings are best from 7:20-10:15 a.m. Topwater action on "schoolie" largemouth increased this past week but is far from peaking. Small shad imitating baits, preferably soft baits, cast quickly and accurately to a fresh "boil" will be much more likely to draw a strike. Minnow-shaped baits excel for this application. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Bass are schooling up on the main lake so be ready with some walking baits and other topwaters to catch quite a few that way. Otherwise flip and drag around any standing trees or look for piles of grass around. You usually cannot go wrong with a creature bait, fluke or worm dragging the grass in most places. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.83 feet above pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish well as we fall into a stable summer pattern. The hybrid striper, white bass and striper bite is good. We have seen striper to 18 pounds this week and most boats are seeing limits of hybrid striper and white bass. Best baits have been live Shad and slab spoons. Best depths have been 18-30 feet. The eating sized catfish bite is red hot. Easy limits are being caught on or near baited areas. Prepared bait such as punch baits or dip baits are working best. Crappie are decent. Minnows are starting to fish better than jigs as the water warms. Standing timber and brush piles are working best. Early in the morning bridge columns also are fishing well in18 feet. Largemouth bass are good on shallow structures such as submerged irrigation intakes near docks, rip rap and shallow lay downs and brush piles. Shallow crankbaits and early morning frogs are working well. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
Texoma
FAIR. Water stained; 74 degrees; 9.79 feet above pool. Striper fishing is improving with lake conditions. Fishing live shad on ledges and humps in 30-45 feet of water suspended above the muddier water on bottom. Start to watch for top water action as water temps rise, there is still a shad spawn going on near rocks and gravel banks. Catfishing is good for channels and blues on points and drop off 18-25 feet of water using punch bait on small treble hooks near the bottom. Key in on rocks and structure as fish move off the spawn and in the summer pattern. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Striped bass are good with some topwater action starting, and the live bait bite is great. Limits are possible targeting fish in clearer water. The water is clearing on the main lake and water is being released. Shad are still spawning. The small threadfin shad should start to run midlake soon improving the topwater bite. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
Weatherford
FAIR. Water stained; 79 degrees; 2.76 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 15 feet of water on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Bass are slow on soft plastics or crankbaits in deeper water. Catfish are fair with cut bait and shad on rocks. Water clarity is 7 inches.
Whitney
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 80 degrees; 2.25 feet above pool. Water level has risen a few feet but the bite remains consistent. Catfish are good using cut bait in 25-30 feet of water. Striped bass bite is fair on live bait in 25-30 feet of water. Crappie are on main lake brush piles in 15-30 feet of water. White bass fishing is good on slabs on main lake humps in 25-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass fishing is good using soft plastics on deep structure. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Worth
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.13 feet above pool. Reports of catches of carp with bait balls. Catfish can be caught on punch bait.
