Sports
Prairies & Lakes Region fishing report for the week of December 24, 2025
By TPWD
Dec 25, 2025
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Dunlap
SLOW. Water stained; 63 degrees. Post front bass were biting small plastics ned rigs or shallow crankbaits. Conditions were tough with bright sun and no clouds, so you had to downsize to get a bite. There are a bunch of chunky 14-15 inch fish. Report by Lee Johnson and Kenneth Linder, local anglers.
 
Aquilla
GOOD. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 1.12 feet below pool. Warm fishing weather in the holiday forecast. Crappie are good on brush piles in 20-25 feet of water with minnows or jigs. Bass are good on spinnerbaits in 5-10 feet of water. Catfish are good in the timber with 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; 61 degrees; 0.32 feet below pool. Numbers of bass can be caught in 5-10 feet near deep water on crankbaits. Sand bass are schooling in the mouths of creeks in 15-20 feet of water. Catfish are in deep water. Crappie are in brush piles. All species will sit facing the warm water current at the discharge during the winter months. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler.
Athens
FAIR. Water normal stain; 54 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. Bass are feeding on shad and bluegill gearing up for winter. There has been a decent concentration of fish shallow and deep. Use live-scop to locate offshore bass and have an umbrella rig or a minnow on a jig head ready. Cast a weightless 5 inch stick bait in shad and bluegill patterns for shallow fish. Mix in a dropshot, Carolina rig, and Texas rig worm on the edge of the grass line. Crappie are schooled up on main lake brush piles hitting crappie jigs or minnows. Use a lighter jig head as the water cools down if the wind allows for it. Water clarity 3-4 feet of visibility. Report by Captain Kirk Pasalich, Artifishable Fishing Guide Service.
 
Bastrop
FAIR. Water normal stain; 60 degrees. Bass are suspended in deeper water. Fish can also be targeted in the warmer water at the discharge.
 
Belton
EXCELLENT. Water normal stain; 59 degrees; 0.50 feet above pool. Winter patterns are in place now, therefore really keeping an eye on the weather will be key to fishing success. The best results will be had during the wind shift from south through west to north as dry cold fronts push in. Fishing will improve as the winds swing through the southwest and right up to the point where the northerly winds peak. The next best scenario will be on the first day of returning southerly winds. The worst results can be expected during post-frontal conditions with classic clear, cold, calm weather in the hours or days following a front's passage. Foggy conditions will also make fishing very difficult whenever they set in. All other conditions will typically result in average fishing. Focus on 27-31 feet of water for white bass and hybrid striped bass. Slowly and steadily reel a white �¾ ounce Bladed Hazy Eye slabs off the bottom and anticipate that fish will follow. When they do, keep right on reeling until they strike or turn away. This lure includes a stinger hook which will account for a majority of your wintertime fish. If your slab does not have a stinger hook, you are missing a lot of wintertime fish. Anticipate a majority of smaller fish in your catch, 9-12 inch white bass and undersized hybrid striped bass, with plenty of bonus largemouth bass and freshwater drum. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish continue to be excellent. Anglers can expect the numbers of trophy size bluecatfish to increase. Slow drifting with fresh shad or brim works best in 45-65 feet of water and along ledges and points. Smaller bluecatfish are still excellent with smaller baits along sand flats and old river channels. Channel and Flathead catfish are slow. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
 
Benbrook
FAIR. Water normal stain; 60 degrees; 1.76 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 18-30 feet next to structures with live minnows. Catfish are good in 20-30 feet with stink bait and cut bait. Hybrids are fair on live bait in 20-40 feet. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.
 
Bois d'Arc
SLOW. Normal stain; 47 degrees; 2.25 below pool. Water temperatures are 44-54 degrees. Early morning bite is slow, with a better bite mid morning to evening. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are fair around bushes and pad stems in 3-6 feet. Suspending jerkbaits still work around trees, but are best around pond dams in 4-7 feet. Texas rigs are fair on big timber in 5-8 feet with beavers or creature baits. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Crappie are slow in the creek channels in 30-50 feet of water on timber. Cover a lot of water. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
 
Bridgeport
FAIR. Water clear; 50 degrees; 4.48 feet below pool. Crappie bite is good on docks, offshore brush piles, and suspended above boulders with minnows and there is a decent bite jig bite in 8-15 feet and 25-45 feet. Largemouth bass bite is decent using deep crankbait, Alabama rigs, and swimbaits for deeper schooling fish, or on banks in the morning with crankbaits and chatterbaits on main lake rock and docks. White bass and hybrids are biting decently on main lake humps and points, deadsticking slabs or trolling with deep crankbaits. Catfish are good on cut bait and chicken liver on main lake humps, deeper holes in coves, and in the river on boulders. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
 
Cedar Creek
EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 3.27 feet below pool. Fishing remains steady. Good stacks of hybrid striped bass and white bass are being found on mid-lake points and drop-offs along sandy flats throughout the entire lake including the dam area, Crappie Island, Key Ranch, and the spillway humps in 8-14 feet of water. Cast spinnerbaits and slabs, and watch for schooling fish on these flats as well as around deeper seawalls and shorelines. Fish any hump in 10-14 feet across the lake to find schools stacked up as the day warms. Schooling activity is best on cloudier days. Birds will show you the way and will become more consistent indicators of active fish as fall continues and throughout December. Target hybrids with a spinnerbait or work a slab vertically with a fast up-and-down motion. Strikes are immediate. A slow retrieve with a slab cast and reeled steadily back is also effective. Try rattle traps, spoons, umbrella rigs, slabs, or sassy shads to trigger bites. The crappie bite continues to improve. Target crappie with small jigs and minnows in 5–12 feet under bridge pylons, brush piles, and docks. Anglers are finding limits by moving from spot to spot�"catching several fish before relocating. Guides report conditions improving, with larger crappie showing up more frequently. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are good drifting cut gizzard shad and other rough fish like drum or carp in 20-30 feet of water. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
68 degrees; 0.45 feet above pool. Black Bass continue to be good in numbers on soft plastics. The warm lake draws anglers from all over the state. Catfish anglers are catching good numbers of eater sized channel catfish on prepared baits. Tilapia continue to be abundant in the warmer water and many are taken using a cast net. Tilapia are great table fare, so take as many as you can catch. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Cooper
SLOW. Water stained; 53 degrees; 3.86 feet below pool. Crappie continue to be slow in the river channels with minnows. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Cypress Springs
SLOW. Water normal stain; 53 degrees; 0.81 feet below pool. Crappie are excellent roaming midlake to the dam with jigs, but have some minnows just in case. Black crappie are in 10-50 fish schools. White crappie are roaming solo in open water. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Eagle Mountain
GOOD. Water stained; 56 degrees; 1.98 feet below pool. Fishing patterns have been holding steady. The eater catfish will start to slow, so switch the tactic to drifting. Trophy blue catfish bite should start to pick up. Blue catfish are good with cut shad on trotlines. Yellow catfish are good with live perch on trotlines. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows around boat docks and pushing shallow due to water temperature. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. White bass are fair on slabs over humps and points Perch are good on nightcrawlers around docks. Carp are fair to good on manufactured bait around docks. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
Fayette
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 66 degrees; full pool. Bass are scattered with some good quality fish being caught. The bite is slow to fair along the banks with rattle traps, or in 14-20 feet of water on deep diving crankbaits when the wind allows. Dropshots are finally landing bass in 16-20 feet in the afternoon. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.
Graham
SLOW. Water stained; upper 60 degrees; 3.84 feet below pool. Bass are good early and late on main lake points. Crappie are good in 16-18 feet deep in brush and on rock piles with minnows. Catfish are good on cut shad in deeper water feeding on shad near the main lake channels. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling in the back of pockets and on main lake flats with the shad. The bite is good with jigs and crankbaits.
Granbury
GOOD. normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.20 feet below pool. Granbury water temperatures have been see-sawing some with the cold and then warm ups. Water temperatures are in the low to middle 50s. Best action for striped bass continues to be on the lower ends on live bait and jigs. Look for those striped bass in 20-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass are also being caught at those deeper depths feeding on the bait fish. Soft plastics and crankbaits are on order. You might find bass on top where sand bass and striped bass are feeding. Big blue and yellow catfish have been hit-and-miss, but your best option is cut shad fished mid lake to near Hunter Park on the upper ends. Crappie continue to be good suspended on timber and bridge pilings on many areas of the lake. Sand bass have been slow to fair on slabs and spinnerbaits near hoving birds mid-lake. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 53 degrees; 0.02 feet below pool. White bass are in a solid deep water winter pattern. The active schools of white bass have been on the east half of the lake in 45-48 feet of water along creek channels. A thumper or a thumper stick is a key to success. Deadsticking small slabs and small swimbaits on stinger hooks. Crappie and channel catfish are mixed in with the white bass. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O'the Irish Fishing Guide Service.
Hawkins
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 52 degrees. Small poppers fished around grass and isolated stumps should draw a strike from black bass. Small streamers should bring action from chain pickerel. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
Jacksonville
SLOW. Water normal stain; 58 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. Water is clear and in upper 50s. A few bass caught on docks and brush with jigs and soft plastics. Most fish caught on minnow style baits and Alabama rigs in open water on fish chasing shad.
Joe Pool
FAIR. Water normal stain; 57 degrees; 0.36 feet below pool. Fish are officially in the winter patterns. A lot of game fish are in the deepest water of the lake or next to the deep water. Shad migrate to these deep holes for the winter and thus game fish follow them. Focus primarily for the 10-15 feet depths range this winter and then on the warm days try the shallow areas next to deep water. Report by Cade Rudiger, local angler. Water temperatures dipped into the upper 50s and warm up throughout the day to 60. Bass are related to bait and the bait has slid out to the mid depth up to 25 feet over major structure changes. The bass bite has been a little slow in the mornings but picking up in the afternoon. It is time to slide out to that first major break in 12-15 feet of water. Soft plastics on Texas rigs and Carolina rigs are working. Shad color crankbaits are working, and it may be time to pull out the Alabama rig and go after the bass. Stay safe and wear your life jacket. Report by Gilbert Miller, GTB Outdoors, LLC.
Lavon
FAIR. Water stained; 51 degrees; 2.12 feet below pool. Crappie are deep hugging the bottom of humps, in 25-30 feet on structure, and hugging silt bottoms. Spider rig fishing working with minnows and jigs. Some crappie can be caught in 6-12 feet in the private boat slips with structure from 7-9 a.m. then from 3 p.m. to dark. White bass are deep anywhere from 100-500 yards off the dam. Turn on your noise making thumper or splasher and anchor up for about 10 minutes. If fish do not come, move a quarter of the way down the dam and try again. Fish should be in the same area as the threadfin. Use live-scope to watch fish get near your lure, then slowly reel up to trigger a bite once the fish starts to study the bait. Small swimbaits on 5/8 ounce jigheads, minnows, or slabs will work. Live threadfin are great. Expect to catch crappie, catfish, or a largemouth while targeting sandies. Catfish are good anchoring on tree lines in 3-15 feet of water with cut bait on the bottom and seem to be producing some very large fish. Catfish are schooling in 25-30 feet feeding on shad. There is a thick wall of bait from the bottom and anywhere from 7-15 feet. Once you see that, you know catfish are in the area. Start dragging cut bait on a santee rig. Black bass are in 15-20 feet of water on laydowns and rock piles. Throw a square bill crankbait up on boat ramps, even in the middle of the day. Put on a 12 foot diver if you do not get a bite. You will be surprised to find not all the fish are deep. Any super sharp drop-offs in 15 feet of water are producing bass with Carolina rigged jigs or a 5/8 ounce jig with a jerkbait soft plastic minnow attached free swimming it over the bass if you have live scope. No reports of bluegill, they have disappeared for the winter. No reports of tilapia. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
Lewisville
FAIR. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.03 feet below pool. Hybrid striper and white bass are slow to fair in 30-50 feet of water in river channels and flats near the channels with jigs, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and live bait. 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 15-40 feet of water. The shallow water bite is good as well in the far ends of the lake in 2-5 feet. Crappie are fair in 10-34 feet of water in brush piles, submerged timber, laydowns, bridge columns, and rock piles. Submerged cover close to a drop off ledge usually is best. Minnows are working better than jigs. Report by Wes Campbell, BendARod Fishing.
Limestone
GOOD. Water clear; 54 degrees; 1.77 feet below pool. More white bass, catfish and crappie are roaming fish in 18-24 feet of water. Crappie are on brush, roaming, and on the power line pylons biting minnows. Crappie eggs are still not fully developed yet. White bass eggs are fully developed though. Numbers of catfish and white bass are in 18-24 feet of water. Catfish are biting in the creeks and on timber with birds. The best catfish bite will be at the marina for bank anglers. Largemouth bass are in 6 feet of water or less on docks, bulkheads and rocks with red chatterbaits, red rattletraps, and Texas rigs. This pattern will be consistent until February when the water starts to warm. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
Navarro Mills
GOOD. 57 degrees; 0.27 full pool. Crappie are good in 14 feet of water on remote brush piles with jigs or minnows. Quality catches up to two pounds. Blue catfish are good from the bank or the boat with cut shad. No reports of white bass or largemouth bass. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
Palestine
GOOD. water stained; 50 degrees; 0.09 feet below pool. Crappie are good on timber in 16-25 feet of water with minnows or jigs. White bass and hybrids are good in open water following bait. Deadstick with swimbaits. Largemouth bass are good in the creeks with moving baits, or on docks with jigs. Catfish are good in shallow water with cut shad. Catfish up to 45 pounds are possible.
Palo Pinto
SLOW. normal stain; 52 degrees; 0.34 feet below pool. Blue catfish are slow with cut bait. Crappie are biting in deep water on minnows. Black bass, sand bass and hybrids are slow. Report by Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water normal stain; 52 degrees; 1.34 feet below pool. White bass are grouped up in large schools on deep flats in 32-38 feet of water. The south end of the lake is the most productive area. Locate schools of bait and fish in those areas with two or three jigs tied above a 1 ounce slab. Thumping the boat produces the best chances. Most fish are suspended in the middle of the water column. Crappie are fair as fish move out from brush to the deeper water along flats and levees. Reports of big blues catfish on the deep flats from the lower end to mid lake. Drifting with large cut bait best. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.
Ray Roberts
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 55 degrees; 0.94 feet below pool. Crappie are on main lake brush piles 35-45 feet of water, and in the creeks in 12-18 feet of water on timber and in deep holes. Crappie are good with natural colored jigs or minnows. Channel catfish are good on baited holes. Blue catfish can be caught on flats with 40-60 feet of water with cut bait. Sand bass are fair on humps with live bait, or slabs. Largemouth bass are fair to good running in pockets, ditches and draws with a swim jig. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.
Richland Chambers
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 57 degrees; 2.12 feet below pool. White bass and hybrid bass were starting to bite as the water temperature was cooling with the cold fronts, but has slowed to fair with this warming trend. Catfish are good, fishing points in 25-30 feet of water using cut bait. Some anglers are baiting holes and others fishing trees where the birds roost. It is a nice time to fill up the freezer. Black bass could still be caught on boat dock poles with a medium to shallow water crankbait and cover water. A general rule, most docks run out to 6 feet of water at normal lake levels. You can cover a lot of water using this method. Hopefully soon, the water temperature will cool and bunch the hybrids together. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
FAIR. Water stained; 59 degrees; 2.85 feet below pool. Looks like we will be running the air conditioner the rest of this year with forecasted temperatures in the low 80s. At the marina the crappie bite is fair and catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait. Bluegill are slow on crickets and worms. On the lake crappie are fair with various jigs and minnows holding tight under brush in 8-16 feet of water and starting to roam. Catfish are good in 5-12 feet of water on drop-offs with cut shad, punch bait or using jug lines. Black bass are slow on craw jigs and slow plastic baits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are slow trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are fair with jigs or cut bait in deeper water. Below the dam all species are slow while water is not being discharged. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse
FAIR. Water stained; 59 degrees; 1.10 feet above pool. Winter patterns are in place now, therefore really keeping an eye on the weather will be key to fishing success. The best results will be had during the wind shift from south through west to north as dry cold fronts push in. Fishing will improve as the winds swing through the southwest and right up to the point where the northerly winds peak. The next best scenario will be on the first day of returning southerly winds. The worst results can be expected during post-frontal conditions with classic clear, cold, calm weather in the hours or days following a front's passage. Foggy conditions will also make fishing very difficult whenever they set in. All other conditions will typically result in average fishing. Focus on 18-25 feet of water for white bass under early, low light conditions, then 35-40 feet of water once the sun brightens in mid morning and late afternoon. Slowly and steadily work white �¾ ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs up off the bottom and anticipate that fish will follow produced well in deeper water. When they do follow, keep right on reeling until they strike or turn away. This lure includes a stinger hook which will account for a majority of your wintertime fish. If your slab does not have a stinger hook, you are missing a lot of wintertime fish. When fish are spread along the bottom in shallow water slowly work 3 inch curl-tail grubs on jigheads. Stillhouse has a nice population of quality white bass with 14-15 inch fish not at all uncommon. Anticipate a by-catch of outsized largemouth bass and freshwater drum when working these slabs deep under brighter conditions. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 1.65 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni has settled into a healthy winter pattern and all species of fish are feeding! Water temperatures are sitting right at 52 degrees on the main lake. There is a big warm-up in the forecast, so water temperature could rise as high as 55 degrees on the main lake. The hybrid striper and white bass bite has been solid. Lots of big whites and some jumbo hybrids being caught on artificials in 30-50 feet. Best lures have been 4 inch swimbaits and 4 inch chartreuse flukes. The eating sized catfish bite has slowed some as it does every year when waters get into the lower 50s. Fishing under the cormorant roosts still are producing good numbers of quality eating sized fish 3-6 pounds. The trophy catfish bite is good for fish up to 55 pounds. Targeting fish in 20-35 feet has been the ticket on fresh cut gizzard shad. The crappie bite is steady. Fish have staged up in deeper more open water and finding the bigger schools of fish is important. Jigs are working best in 18-35 feet near bridge pilings and deep vertical timber. The largemouth bite is surprisingly good right now. Docks in 4-7 feet have been very good with Texas or Carolina rigged soft plastics, or slow rolled square bills crankbaits. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
Texoma
GOOD. Water stained; 53 degrees; 0.31 feet above pool. Stripers are in between patterns due to the weather warming back up and water temperatures hovering in the mid 50s. Live bait in 30-50 feet of water is catching good fish with a few bigger fish mixed in. Good fish size fish can be caught with swimbaits on structures and points in 10-20 feet of water. Still waiting on bigger fish to move in on the structure. The Deadstick bite is producing fish in 40-60 feet out in the open water areas off river ledges. Catfishing is good in deeper water 50-60 feet range on bigger cut baits suspended just off the bottom. Crappie will continue to settle in on deeper structures in 20-30 feet of water with jigs and dead minnows being the bait of choice. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Stripers are hit-or-miss with fish easy to find but hard to tempt to bite. Continue to deadstick in 24-50 feet down in deep water, when this bite ends there is an active bite shallow with Alabama rigs or swimbaits. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
Weatherford
SLOW. Water stained; 50 degrees; 5.55 feet below pool. Crappie are fair to good at the crappie house with minnows and jigs. When the cools again the crappie should pick up. Bass are slow around docks with crankbaits. Bass are moving to deeper water ledges for the winter pattern. Catfish are slow around rock with liver or stink bait. The visibility is 10 inches.
Whitney
FAIR. Water normal stain; 56 degrees; 1.44 feet below pool. Fishing remains consistent but the crappie bite has slowed. Catfish are good using punch bait in 30 feet of water. Striped bass are good on live bait and swimbaits in 25-30 feet of water. Crappie are fair on the main lake brush 20-30 feet of water. White bass are slow on slabs in 20 feet of water. Largemouth bass are fair using soft plastics on deep structure and around docks. Report by Captain Cory Vinson, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Worth
GOOD. Water normal; 58 degrees; 1.84 feet below pool. Bass are slow but a few are caught on slow moving baits. Crappie are good under the bridge. Sand bass good bouncing slabs off bottom in mid lake. Catfish are good on cut shad. Report by Michael James, local angler.