Dunlap
SLOW. Water stained; 63 degrees. Fishing has been slow for bass after the cold front, and high winds have limited angler activity. Report by Lee Johnson and Kenneth Linder, local anglers.
Aquilla
GOOD. Water normal stain; 56 degrees; 1.21 feet below pool. Consistent fishing patterns between the cold fronts. 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; 0.61 feet below pool. Baitfish are in the deep water with game fish in pursuit behind them. 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; 60 degrees; 0.40 feet above pool. Water clarity is 2 feet of visibility. Water temperature rose to 60 degrees, but should decline with the cold fronts. There has been a decent concentration of fish shallow and deep. If you like to livescope offshore bass can be target with an umbrella rig, and a minnow on a jig head. Shallow bass can be caught with a weightless 5 inch stick bait in shad and bluegill patterns around docks. 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 wind allows for it. 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; 60 degrees; 0.59 feet above pool. After a very unusual ten day late December warm-up, water temperatures went from 55 degrees up to 62 degrees. As the water temperature improved, so did the fishing for white bass and hybrid striped bass. Before the cool down, we were using Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically with a slow upward retrieve. Thanks to the warmup, the fish were willing to chase much further and faster all week last week. Fish aggressively chased a MAL Dense lure with silver body off the bottom into the lower third of the water column. Fish seemed to show a preference in the 24-32 feet range on slow-tapering bottoms. Areas impacted by the southerly winds produced best. Birds were not a factor to determine fish location. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish have been excellent. Large numbers of blue catfish under 10lbs can be found along shallow banks in 10 to 15ft of water. For larger blue catfish drifting in 35-60ft with fresh cut shad has worked best. Channel catfish have been excellent using punch bait around gravel beds and timber. Flatheads have been slow but can be found around large rock piles using live bait. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
Benbrook
FAIR. Water normal stain; 55 degrees; 1.72 feet below pool. Catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait on 15-35 feet of water. Hybrids are fair on live bait in 20-40 feet of water. There are numbers of undersized fish that look similar to sand bass. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.
Bois d'Arc
FAIR. Normal stain; 58 degrees; 2.42 below pool. Before the cold front water temperature reached 55-62 degrees. Mornings bass bite continues to be slow on chatterbaits and spinnerbaits in 2-5 feet. Texas rigs with crawfish type plastics are good on big wood in 2-6 feet. The best bite has been with brightly colored squarebill crankbaits on the outside edge of grass, or along the break line 3-5 feet. 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; 53 degrees; 4.57 feet below pool. Water temperature is on the decline after the recent warming trend. 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; 3.37 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 midlake to the south end in 16-30 feet of water, or anchoring in 2-8 feet of water. The best bait has been cut shad. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
68 degrees; 0.53 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; 4.14 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; 0.79 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; 2.03 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
SLOW. Water slightly stained; 72 degrees; full pool. Bass are slow with fish scattered in shallow water biting rattle traps, chatterbaits, and Carolina rigs. The deep bite slowed due to the warmer weather. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.
Graham
SLOW. Water stained; upper 60 degrees; 3.96 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 14-16 feet on brush with minnows and jigs. Catfish are good near creeks and pockets with cut shad. Bass are good around main lake points with slow moving baits. Sand bass and hybrids are good schooling on main lake flats with crankbaits.
Granbury
FAIR. normal stain; 55 degrees; 0.28 feet below pool. Water temperatures have been see-sawing from the low to upper 50s depending on the weather. The lake is close to full pool and clarity is good. There are some floating hazards on the upper ends due to water releases from the north. Fishing reports have been slow to fair for most species except for crappie. Crappie are good near submerged structures when baitfish are holding. Crappie can be caught slowly working small jigs. The best crappie action is in town and upstream. Striped bass are slow to fair on live bait and jigs worked in 20-30 feet of water on the lower ends from Striper Alley to the dam. White bass are slow, but are suspended in the channel or near channel ledges from Sandy Point to Indian Harbor. Catfish action has been fair to good on cut bait fished on the upper ends near Hunter Park. Some good blue catfish catches have been reported near Water's Edge. Largemouth bass are good on main lake points and near major creek entrances on soft plastics worked near drop-offs. Largemouth bass to 6 pounds are possible when located. Some largemouth are being caught mixed in with the striped bass in deeper water. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 60 degrees; 0.25 feet below pool. White bass are in 28-30 feet of water on the bottom. 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. Birds are flying over areas with fish. 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
FAIR. Water normal stain; 64 degrees; 0.08 feet above pool. Bass are fair along the bank and on boat docks with jigs, soft plastics, crankbaits, and swimbaits. There are some deep bass chasing shad, and can be caught on Alabama rigs, swimbaits and jerkbaits.
Joe Pool
FAIR. Water normal stain; 57 degrees; 0.38 feet below pool. Baitfish are in the deep water with game fish in pursuit behind them. 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. 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; 2.05 feet below pool. Fishing patterns remain consistent. 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; 0.05 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; 60 degrees; 1.80 feet below pool. Water temperature reached the mid 60s during the warming trend and should be on the decline to the upper 50s. The winter patterns are holding steady and fish are gorging on sand. 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; 0.29 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; 0.07 feet below pool. Fish have settled into winter patterns. 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
FAIR. normal stain; 52 degrees; 0.48 feet below pool. Lake conditions are good with a good lake level and clear water. The blue catfish are good on cut carp and shad. Catches up to 58 pounds have been reported. Crappie are slow in deep water with minnows. Black bass, hybrids and sand bass are slow. Happy New Year! Report by Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water normal stain; 56 degrees; 1.50 feet below pool. The recent warm up scattered the white bass and made the bite more difficult, but fish are still 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 those areas with the 2-3 jigs tied above a 1 ounce slab. Thumping the boat produces the best chances. The fish were in the lower half of the water column. Crappie are fair and also moving out from brush and in the deeper water along flats and levees. Big blue catfish can be caught drifting with large cut bait on deep flats on the lower end and mid lake. Report by John Varner, John Varner's Guide Service.
Ray Roberts
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 54 degrees; 1.00 feet below pool. The pattern should remain consistent. 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
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 62 degrees; 2.22 feet below pool. The cold front that hit should cool the water temperature down into the 50s. The lake seems about a month behind with the warm weather we have had. Catfish are the most consistent fish biting. Dragging cut bait on flats or fishing trees that birds roost in are ideal areas. Black bass can still be caught shallow around dock poles and rocks. The base of retaining walls is a good place to locate the rocks. Use a square bill crankbait to fish these areas. Hybrids are still somewhat scattered and chasing bait. White bass are becoming more consistent in larger schools in 30-35 feet of water. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
FAIR. Water stained; 64 degrees; 2.92 feet below pool. Water temperature reached 64 degrees before the recent cold front. 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 or roaming. Catfish are good in 5-12 feet of water on drop-offs with cut shad, punch bait or using jug lines. Chumming areas helps. 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; 60 degrees; 1.30 feet above pool. After a very unusual ten day late December warm-up, water temperatures went from 55 degrees up to 62 degrees. As the water temperature improved, so did the fishing for white bass and hybrid striped bass. Before the cool down, we were using Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically with a slow upward retrieve. Thanks to the warmup, the fish were willing to chase much further and faster all week last week. Fish aggressively chased a MAL Dense lure with a silver body off the bottom into the lower third of the water column. Fish seemed to show a preference in the 24-32 feet range on slow-tapering bottoms. Areas impacted by the southerly winds produced best. Birds were not a factor to determine fish location. Largemouth continue to be good on white or silver three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs worked with a snap jigging tactic around deep timber. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 1.70 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; 0.16 feet above pool. Striped bass are biting swimbaits on structure in 10-20 feet of water. Large groups of birds are working over more active fish. Drifting along with the birds while casting and retrieving through them. The live bait and deadsticking bite has slowed due to the warm weather pattern the last couple of weeks. Fish are stuck in a holding pattern, but are still producing some fish from 35-60 feet of water. Drifting medium to large cut bait is producing eater size and larger catfish in 40-60 feet of water. The fish are a little more scattered so patience is key, so find an area where you are marking fish, set up a good drift, and stick with it. Crappie are holding steady on structure in 15-20 feet of water as the water is holding consistently in the 55 degree range. Jig size and color will vary day to day so have some options in the tackle box. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Stripers are good in 10-25 feet of water on ledges with swimbaits and Alabama rigs. Deadsticking has not been productive, but should pick up as the weather cools. Mixed results reported by bait anglers. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors.
Weatherford
SLOW. Water stained; 50 degrees; 5.69 feet below pool. Crappie are slow to fair 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; 58 degrees; 1.47 feet below pool. Fishing patterns remain consistent between cold fronts. 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; 57 degrees; 1.86 feet below pool. Bass are good using slow moving baits along banks with drop-offs. Crappie are good on minnows off docks. Sand bass are good with slabs mid lake chasing shad schools. Catfish are good on fresh shad. Report by Michael James, local angler.
