Aquilla
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 1.19 feet below pool. Crappie are good on brush piles in 15-20 feet of water on minnows and jigs. Bass are good on spinnerbaits in 3-10 feet of water. Catfish are good in the timber on prepared baits Sand bass are fair in 20-30 feet of water on jigging spoons off main lake humps. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Arlington
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; 2.90 feet below pool. Shad have migrated to the shallows, so most game fish that feed on shad are active in the 1-10 feet of water. Bass are good moving to shallow water to feed on shad. Crappie are great congregated in big schools around brush, timber, and in the channels. Catfish are great, fish are feeding around the main river and creek channels. White bass are great. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.
Athens
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.02 feet above pool. Fall is upon us as cooler nights approach. Bass are starting to feed on shad off main lake points and flats. When you can find bass use a topwater or a spoon. Start thinking about fishing shallow in the mornings and evenings using a weightless 5 inch stick bait or 5 inch soft jerkbait. Mix in a hollow body frog and spinnerbait shallow as well. Crappie are schooled up on main lake brush piles and deep grass lines in 12-20 feet of water hitting crappie jigs or minnows. Water clarity 3-4 feet of visibility. Report by Captain Kirk Pasalich, Artifishable Guide.
Bastrop
GOOD. Water normal stain; 90 degrees. Bass are good with small topwaters, frogs and jerkbaits will get some bites as well as a shaky head with a finesse or trick worm. The discharge or the intake side is a good place to start. Look for some bass schooling up after shad. Later, move out to ledges or any rock you can find and work a jig or any Texas rigged soft plastic to get bit. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
Belton
GOOD. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.21 feet above pool. As summerlike weather continues to grip Central Texas the normally fantastic fall fishing has yet to begin. Fishing has improved after the first cold front of the season. Morning temperatures have been in the 60s and have led to a very slow cooldown on the lake. Fish and bait can now be found down to the 50 feet mark. This week the most aggressive white bass bite is in the first and last hours of light around sunrise and sunset. These patrolling fish are moving fast so, downrigging with #12, or #13 Pet Spoons continues to be my preferred tactic for pursuing these fish. After sunrise and before sunset, if you can find fish in 30-45 feet of water with sonar, they will give a fair response to the MAL Heavy Lure with chartreuse tail worked vertically by cranking it up off the bottom for at least 6 handle turns. As a bonus, with water now sufficiently oxygenated down to 50 feet, a deep bluecat bite is beginning to uptick as well. A go-to for blue catfish is to chum an area, return to it later, refresh with chum, and then fish with doughbait. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are fair. Shallow sand flats and wind blown banks have been consistent for blue catfish under 10 pounds. Larger catfish have been caught along river channels and underwater timber. Channel catfish are good on punch bait around submerged timber. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
Benbrook
Water normal stain; 79 degrees; 2.76 feet below pool. Crappie are good on live minnows in 18-30 feet on brush piles and timber. Catfish are good in 20-30 feet on cut bait. Hybrids are fair on live bait in 25-45 feet of water. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.
Bois d'Arc
EXCELLENT. Normal stain; 85 degrees; 1.57 below pool. Bass are good with buzz baits, topwater frogs, choppos and poppers early around pond weed. Mid morning switch to squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits around old pond dams 3-7 feet. Bass are good on Texas rigs, but best on creature baits around big timber and bushes on flats 7-12 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Crappie are excellent on breaklines in 15-25 feet of water, or creek channels leading out of coves. Some crappie are starting to school up and roam, but a majority of fish are still related to structure. Expect fish to transition to main channels and channel arms within the next few weeks. Crappie are thickening up so quality fish can be caught to fill the freezer. The bite is best on minnows. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Bridgeport
FAIR. Water clear; 78 degrees; 3.22 feet below pool. Crappie are good on the docks, and brush piles in 15-30 feet with minnows, or natural colored jigs. Largemouth bass are good using topwaters, flukes, senkos, and chatterbaits on main lake rock and around docks. White bass and hybrids are scattered on main lake humps and points with topwaters, slabs or trolling. Catfish bite is good on cut and live bait main lake humps and in the rivers. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
Cedar Creek
EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 77 degrees; 2.10 feet below pool. Consistently finding the best hybrid action in 13-18 feet of water with slabs, and spinnerbaits using the proven saw tooth retrieve technique. Trolling spoons with a hellbender set-up at 3 mph in 13-17 feet of water is absolutely crushing the white bass on several humps throughout the lake. As water temperatures decrease into the low 70s we will target big hybrids on shallow ledges and humps with Alabama rigs. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck's Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are good on main lake humps and points in 16-24 feet of water using cut shad on the bottom. Lots of small fish with some decently sized fish mixed in. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
90 degrees; 0.36 feet above pool. Comanche Creek has reopened and anglers are lining up to get on this reservoir. The channel catfish action is excellent on prepared or cut baits. Largemouth bass are also abundant and anglers boast of numerous catches up to 7 pounds. Reservations are required and can be made on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. Comanche Creek is open Thursday through Sunday. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Cooper
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 2.56 feet below pool. Crappie are good with some fish still shallow in 2-6 feet of water at the base of trees, and some fish have transitioned to the creek channels in 15-20 feet of water. Minnows are preferred over jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Cypress Springs
FAIR. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.70 feet below pool. Crappie are primarily on structure, but a few are transitioning to roam in creek channels. The best bite is on minnows, but a few bites can be had on jigs. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Eagle Mountain
FAIR. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 2.33 feet below pool. Expect the bite to improve as the weather cools. The catfish are good on manufactured bait and cut bait. Sand bass continue to be slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs over deep water brush piles. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. Perch are good on nightcrawlers around boat docks under corks. Carp and Buffalo are good on sweet corn around boat docks. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
Fayette
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; full pool. Bass are slow while the lake is stained from a possible turnover, and the super moon. On the backside of the full moon the pattern will be consistent, but you will just need to add determination to the tackle box. Small bait fish are along the bank early in the morning bringing some small 4-5 inch bass shallow. Bass are slow early in the morning working underspins on points just off the grass, then rattletraps and deep diving crankbaits off the bank. Cast Carolina rigs, shakyheads and drop-offs in 14-16 feet of water later in the day. The average fish is about 3-6 pounds. Some bait fish can be seen surfacing along the banks early in the morning. Thermocline is still present in 12-15 feet of water. Boat traffic has slowed. Few catfish anglers on the water. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.
Graham
GOOD. Water stained; upper 80 degrees; 2.84 feet below pool. Crappie are good with minnows in 12-14 feet on main lake brush. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling on shad in pockets and creeks. There is a good bite on jigs and spoons. Catfish are good on main lake flats feeding on shad. Use cut shad and chicken liver. Bass are shallow schooling on shad in pockets. The bite is good on topwater and crankbaits.
Granbury
GOOD. normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.89 feet below pool. Granbury water temperature is close to 80 degrees. Water levels are a little over a foot low. Water clarity is good, but we could use some rain. Crappie action continues to be good on structure on many areas of the lake. Sand bass action is good midlake on spinnerbait and slabs. Look for schooling action early and late. Many of the largemouth bass are also schooling with the sand bass. Bigger largemouth bass are good near deeper docks, near creek entrances, and main lake points. Best baits for largemouth bass include topwaters early and crankbaits or soft plastics later. Catfish action is good midlake and on the upper ends with cut bait. Striped bass are slow to fair on live shad fished near creek ledges on the lower ends. Look for any surface action to locate fish. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.91 feet below pool. White bass are good along the south bank casting slab spoons under the birds. Lots of undersized sandies to sift through. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O'the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
Hawkins
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 84 degrees. Topwater early and late will produce good black bass and bream action. Small white poppers working shallow around the shoreline are a good bet. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
Jacksonville
SLOW. Water normal stain; 83 degrees; 0.01 feet above pool. Water is clear and in the low 80s. Bass are good on deeper brush with jigs and soft plastics. Morning topwater bite was good on frogs, walking baits, and buzz baits. Suspended fish and schoolers can be caught on minnow type baits and topwaters. Swim jigs are producing around docks.
Lavon
FAIR. Water stained; 86 degrees; 2.42 feet below pool. The pattern is consistent but the bite is tough after the lake turnover. Crappie are fair to good with limits possible, when the water temperature cools the bite will improve as fish start feeding up. Target crappie in 10-18 feet of water with structure in 15-18 feet being the sweet spot. Any colored jigs is good as long as it is in their face. Bass are good in 5-20 feet of water on rock or concrete structures, such as boat, ramps, riprap, and bridges. Cast white and chartreuse spinnerbaits in the morning, then switch to a square bill crankbait in crawfish or sexy shad colors. In the morning bass can be as shallow as 2 feet hugging the bank. Around 8 a.m. switch to a 12-15 foot diver in the same colors. If the crankbait bite is slow, switch to a soft plastic and slow the presentation down. Try a slender flat-bodied creature bait in Okeechobee, watermelon, red and watermelon green, Zoom motor oil worms, or Beaver tails. Watermelon red or watermelon green with watermelon red is best. Bass are not attacking swimbaits. White bass are on underwater points and ledges on the main lake in 10-15 feet of water. Use a white or chartreuse 1 ounce slab with a jig tied approximately 18 inches above to produce two fish on one rod. A thump or a splash or will keep them under your boat. Tap the bottom of the boat with a broom stick or something to make noise to keep them under you as they are very curious. Larger catfish are starting to move as shallow as 9 feet with a concentration in 15-18 feet of water. Cast cut shad, bluegill, or drum for the big fish. Channel catfish are sitting in 12-15 water on shallow flats with drop-offs nearby. Fish are primarily staying on the flats all day long. Remember, if you chum, they will come. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
Lewisville
FAIR. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 1.13 feet below pool. Fishing patterns are holding steady but as the water cools more white bass should be showing up on humps and points. White bass are fair on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water. Slabs, spoons, spinnerbaits and live bait are working. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are slow in similar depths as the white bass. These fish have been moving fast. 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 to good on cut shad drifting humps, points and flats in 15-32 feet of water. After the recent rain, the river and creek mouths should hold fish. Channel catfish are fair to good on baited holes on humps and points in 15-30 feet of water on cut shad or punch bait. Crappie are slow to fair in 10-28 feet of water. Check brush piles, submerged timber, laydowns, rock piles and submerged cover close to a drop-off ledge. Minnows and jigs are catching those fish. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing. The overall bite is tough right now. Hybrid and white bass are cruising the main lake around points and creek channels. Largemouth are sitting around shallow rocks and brush pretty well through the day.
Limestone
GOOD. Water clear; 77 degrees; 1.43 feet below pool. Shad are moving towards the backs of creeks, so expect fish to follow. It will not be long until fall patterns will be in effect. Crappie are good in 8-15 feet of water on offshore brush, power lines, and standing timber with minnows. Largemouth bass are good on offshore brush, docks, bulkheads and rocks in 4-12 feet of water with Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, or Carolina rigs. White bass are on main lake points and flats in 7-16 feet of water with spoons. White bass can also be caught on beetle spins at night around docks with lights. Catfish can be caught with cut bait or minnows on the main lake or at the mouths of creeks. Shad are transitioning to be the backs of creeks. Limestone Marina continues to be the best place for bank fishing. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
Navarro Mills
GOOD. 85 degrees; 0.39 full pool. Fishing patterns remain steady this second week of October. Eater size and larger catfish are excellent with any catfish bait. White bass are fair trolling. Crappie are good in 15 feet of water on brush piles in the morning and evening with jigs or minnows. Bigger crappie are on the bottom. Largemouth bass are slow with occasional catch while targeting other species. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
Palestine
GOOD. water stained; 79 degrees; 0.32 feet below pool. The fishing pattern remains consistent for all species, but the quality of fish is improving as fish feed up. Crappie good in 8-16 feet of water on brush, timber and boathouses using hand tied jigs. Catfish are excellent in 3-12 feet of water cut bait and punch bait. Bass are good around boathouses and vegetation at the backs of creeks. Bait fish are transitioning to the backs of creeks.
Palo Pinto
GOOD. normal stain; 85 degrees; 2.16 feet below pool. Blue catfish are good on fresh cut bait in deep water. Crappie are good around deep brush piles and boat docks with minnows and jigs. Hybrids and sand bass are biting topwaters around the spillway. Gar are biting all day long. Navigate with caution watching for submerged obstacles while the lake is 2 feet low. Report by Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 1.47 feet below pool. White bass are fair in the mornings with surface activity starting again on the common flats. Throw small swimbaits, tail spinners or rattletraps. Later in the morning white bass are shallow in 16-18 feet on long points, coves and ledges. The best technique is to troll in 12-14 feet of water. White bass are starting to group back up and as the water temperature declines to the mid 70s fish will start to push shad in the flats early and late then be on structure the rest of the day. Crappie are fair on brush piles in 12-15 feet of water, or bridge columns. Catfish are good in wooded timber in 12-15 feet on prepared punch bait. Chumming will help bring the schools into your areas. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.
Ray Roberts
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 82 degrees; 1.15 feet below pool. Crappie are good on brush piles in 20-28 feet of water, or timber in 9-14 feet of water. Use live minnows or natural bait colored jigs Largemouth bass can be caught on offshore rocks in 16-22 feet of water with black and blue jigs, or shallow vegetation that is matting up in 4-8 feet of water with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or swimbaits. Channel catfish can be caught baiting holes. Blue catfish can be caught on flats with 18-24 feet of water with cut bait. Sand bass can be caught on windblown points or humps off the points. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.
Richland Chambers
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 83 degrees; 1.03 feet below pool. The slightly cooler temperatures are a start in the right direction to get the bite going in the coming weeks for all species of fish. Hybrids and white bass are still a little off. Black bass are being caught on squarebill crankbaits and chatterbaits on docks. You can also use a Biffle Bug on an All-Terrain swing head to fish long points in 3-8 feet of water. Look for points that have rock, or root systems on them. Remember to cover water because this is a timing pattern. Catfish are still being caught in large numbers. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; 1.36 feet below pool. Navigate with caution watching for stumps near timber, and stay clear of rocky shorelines. Crappie are slow at the marina, but bluegill remain fair with crickets and worms, and catfish remain good with minnows or punch bait. The main lake bite has slowed some. The crappie are fair with jigs or minnows over brush in 8-15 feet of water. Catfish are fair in 10-15 feet of water near structures with jug lines, cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are slow on crankbaits and soft plastic baits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are fair trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are slow in deeper water using jigs and cut bait. Below the dam, all species are slow with zero water being discharged. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse
FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.13 feet above pool. As summerlike weather continues to grip Central Texas the normally fantastic fall fishing has yet to begin. Fishing has improved after the first cold front of the season. Morning temperatures have been in the 60s and have led to a very slow cooldown on the lake. Fish and bait can now be found down to the 50 feet mark. This week the most aggressive white bass bite is in the first and last hours of light around sunrise and sunset. These patrolling fish are moving fast so, downrigging with #12, or #13 Pet Spoons continues to be my preferred tactic for pursuing these fish. After sunrise and before sunset, if you can find fish in 30-45 feet of water with sonar, they will give a fair response to the MAL Heavy Lure with chartreuse tail worked vertically by cranking it up off the bottom for at least 6 handle turns. As a bonus, with water now sufficiently oxygenated down to 50 feet, a deep bluecat bite is beginning to uptick as well. A go-to for blue catfish is to chum an area, return to it later, refresh with chum, and then fish with doughbait. As a bonus, schooling largemouth bass, generally less than 15 inches, are very predictably feeding in open water on the surface as they trap shad there. This has been going on for three weeks now!so, there is now a small fleet of mostly bass boats chasing these fish around. Small, clear baits cast quickly and accurately on well-filled spinning gear into fresh boils will get the best reaction. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 1.03 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish well as we begin to see the first signs of the lake turning into some fall patterns. The hybrid striper and white bass bite are good. The fish are moving hard looking for good pockets of water. Fish main lake points in 8-15 feet using inline spinners and slab spoons. The eating sized catfish bite is still red hot. Easy limits on half day trips are the standard right now. Baited holes in 12-20 feet using prepared baits such as punch or dip baits. The trophy blue catfish are beginning to feed. We have seen fish in the 20-30 pound range on medium sized pieces of cut baits in 10-25 feet. Crappie are improving under bridges and on shallow brush with the bite on minnows. Largemouth bass are extremely shallow and preferring fast moving shallow crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
Texoma
GOOD. Water stained; 80 degrees; 0.48 feet above pool. Striper fishing is picking up on live bait as the water temperatures cool off and fish start to feed more frequently. Main lake points and humps in 20-25 feet of water and keep an eye out for surfacing fish throughout the day in deeper water along river channels. Swimbaits and slabs are still producing whites and stripers. Catfishing is good using punch bait in the backs of ditches and on flats in 18-30 feet of water. We are baiting holes as we are fishing them and the average. Channel catfish size is great right now. Big blues will start to show up on deep flats off the river channels. Whole gizzard shad or cut rough fish drifting 45-65 feet of water. Crappie are starting to fire up on the brush piles and in docks. A lot of short fish are being caught but the keepers will start to show up as water temperature drops. Jigs on brush and structure in 12-18 feet of water, use electronics to locate active fish roaming near the brush. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Stripers continue to be hit-or-miss as the lake turns over. The best fish can be caught early on topwaters, then take the topwater to deeper water switching to slabs as the sun rises. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
Weatherford
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 5.22 feet below pool. Water visibility 8 inches. Bass are slow around docks with crankbaits. Crappie are fair on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Catfish are fair around rock with cut bait and shrimp. Bait fish are primarily congregated in the main lake, with some fish shallow.
Whitney
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 0.74 feet below pool. Catfish are good using punch bait in 20-25 feet of water. Striped bass are good with live bait in 25 feet of water, or topwater baits where fish are schooling. Crappie are in the main lake brush in 15-30 feet of water. White bass are slow on main lake humps in 25-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass are good using soft plastics on deep structure. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Worth
FAIR. Water stained; 84 degrees; 1.32 feet below pool. Bass are good in shallow water early in the morning on shallow running crankbaits and topwater lures. Crappie are good under bridges using minnows. Sand bass are schooling early in the morning off points then transitioning deeper as sun warms up. The best bite is on slabs. Catfish are good in shallower water using punch bait. Report by Michael James, local angler.
