Arlington
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.66 feet below pool. The bite has been solid early in the morning on topwaters and crankbaits. As the day progresses, fish are transitioning to points and brush piles, where worms, creature baits, and jigs are producing well. Now is a great time to cover water early, then slow down and target structure once the sun gets up.
Athens
GOOD. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.16 feet above pool. Bass are good and can be caught in grass 8-12 feet with Texas rigged worms, wacky rig senko and crankbaits. Bass are also good on brush in 15-18 feet with spoons and Texas rig worms. Crappie are slow on small jigs over brush.
Bastrop
GOOD. Water normal stain; 82 degrees. Look for bass shallow near reeds early and throw frogs, wake baits and other small topwaters to get bit. If you find any grass or lay downs, flip a craw or creature bait around those. Later, move to deeper water and look for any schooling bass and throw clear topwaters or small swimbaits and let it sink down to the school to get a bite. If they're not schooling, drag a Carolina rigged fluke or finesse worm or jig across humps and ledges. Watermelon colors work best. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.
Belton
GOOD. 82 degrees; 1.59 above pool. Water is dropping about 0.20 feet per day with ongoing 1,390+ CFS release. Owl Creek, McGregor, Live Oak Ridge, and Sparta Valley ramps are closed. Post-frontal weather brought windless, cloudless, hot conditions causing white bass fishing to fall off sharply. Lots of "popcorn" activity with white bass churning the surface for seconds then disappearing. Downrigging is the way to go using number 12 Pet Spoons in areas where abundant popcorn activity is occurring. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service. Catfish are good. Anglers can find blue catfish around points and sand flats in 10-25 feet of water. Larger fresh cut baits have been effective for trophy size fish. Eater fish under 10 pounds can be caught slow drifting with small cut shad along sand flats. Channel catfish are good and can be caught on punch bait in 10-20 feet of water. Flatheads are excellent on live bait in shallow water around river mouths. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
Benbrook
GOOD. Water stained; 88 degrees; 0.28 feet below pool. Hybrid striped bass are fair on live bait off ledges and humps in 20-40 feet of water. Crappie are good on live minnows and small jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait in 20-30 feet of water. Largemouth bass are good on ledges and close to structure. Report by Hundley's Guide Service.
Bois d'Arc
EXCELLENT. Water normal stain; 82 degrees; 0.51 feet below pool. The morning bite has slowed down a bit but still a few around pond weed and bushes. Frogs, flukes, wacky rigs and YUM Dingers are all working. Mid morning square bills over pond dams are good and chatterbaits in 4-6 feet. Offshore bite needs wind to be really good on deeper structures like rock piles and brush piles in 16-24 feet with Carolina rigs and Texas rigs and crankbaits. For the best bite is flipping big timber with Texas rigs and creature baits in 3-8 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Full summertime pattern with crappie in 15-32 feet of water. A lot of inactive fish, so do not beg them to bite. Use hand ties tipped with minnow for best results. Report by Dan Langston, River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Bridgeport
FAIR. Water is clear; 88 degrees; 0.98 feet below pool. Crappie bite is fair on dock poles and brush piles on minnows. Largemouth bite is decent using jigs, deep crankbaits and wacky rigged baits, near deep rock and points; white bass bite is good and hybrids are fair on main lake humps with slabs or live shad. Catfish bite is good on cut bait and live minnows. Report by Jack Pellegrini, Lake Bridgeport Crappie Guide Service.
Cedar Creek
EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 85-88 degrees; 0.63 feet below pool. Big numbers of white bass and several trophy-class hybrid stripers have hit the deck. We are consistently finding the best action in 15-22 feet of water. Good go-to setups include a variety of slabs, spinners and the always-reliable yellow bladed Bo Blade spinner using the proven saw tooth retrieve technique. Trolling Pet Spoons with a hellbender set-up at 3 mph in 13-17 feet of water is absolutely crushing the white bass. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck's Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Catfish are good anchoring on humps in 12-24 feet using small shad or cut shad on the bottom. Drifting larger cut bait like carp, drum or big gizzard shad on flats in 10-25 feet all around the lake. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.
Comanche Creek
Comanche Creek is closed for the summer and will reopen in October.
Cooper
GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.48 feet below pool. As the summer temperatures increase, target crappie are in deeper timber along the river channel and brush piles. Start on the edge of the timber line working towards the dam then to the timber in coves. Summer bite is typically best on live bait. Report by River Bottom Boys Guide Service.
Cypress Springs
FAIR. Water normal stain; 89 degrees; 0.30 feet below pool. Bass have been better this week, catching them in 15-20 feet of water roaming and chasing shad. Seeing some topwater action in the mornings. Crappie have been hit or miss. They are stacked on deep timber and all brush piles. The 12-20 feet of water brush piles have been the most active for the smaller fish. Catfish are still really active in 10-30 feet of water and hitting all baits. A few white bass limits have been caught this week on the bridges. Report by Chris Caswell, Lake Bob Sandlin Crappie Fishing Guide.
Eagle Mountain
FAIR. Water normal stain; 85 degrees; 1.06 feet below pool. Sand bass are fair on slabs. Crappie are fair on deep water brush piles. Black bass are fair early and late evening on topwater baits. Perch are good on nightcrawlers around docks and boat houses. Catfish are good on manufactured and cut bait in 28 feet of water on humps. Report by Captain Bobby Mann, Catch a Dream Guide Service.
Fayette
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 90 degrees; full pool. Grass is looking good, so cast a frog to see if you can get a bass to bite. Bass are good in 20 feet of water biting deep diving crankbaits, shaky heads and Carolina rigs. The bite slows midday. Perch can be caught from the bank to 10 feet of water on nightcrawlers. Report by Mark Fransen, Fransen's Guide Service.
Graham
GOOD. Water stained; upper 80s degrees; 0.81 feet below pool. Crappie fishing is slow but okay in shallow brush using minnows and jigs. Sand bass and hybrids are schooling around the hot water outlet and are good on slabs and shad. Catfish are out on main lake flats and are good on cut shad. Bass fishing is slow but okay in shallow water vegetation.
Granbury
GOOD. Water good clarity; upper 80s to low 90s degrees; 0.17 feet below pool. Water temperatures continue to be in the upper 80s to low 90s in the back of the sloughs. Clarity is good and thermoclines are starting to develop around the 20-foot level. Best action is sand bass on many areas of the lake using Pet Spoons trolled behind a crankbait. Slabs work good on the sand bass and small striped bass when on humps and ridges in 12-20 feet of water. Striped bass to 10 pounds are possible on live bait and trolled jigs in 12-20 feet of water mainly on the lower ends between Decordova and Blue Water Shores. Largemouth bass are schooling early with the sand bass near feeding flats and are good on topwater baits and lipless crankbaits. Bigger largemouth to 7 pounds are possible on crankbaits and soft plastics fished near creek entrances and near main lake points. Some great largemouth action mid-lake is reported near Water Edge and Ports O Call. Best catfish action is at night on cut or prepared baits fished near creek entrances. Crappie action is good to excellent on small jigs and minnows fished near underwater structures such as bridge pilings and submerged trees in the 10-20 foot depth range. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters.
Grapevine
FAIR. Water clear to slightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.14 below pool. White bass are very inconsistent– either you’re going to catch a lot or nothing at all. Very inconsistent pattern. Catching white bass and some catfish on jigging spoons under schooling fish in 40-50 feet of water. Report by Omar Cotter, Luck O’the Irish Fishing Guide Service
Hawkins
Water slightly stained; 85 degrees. Fish early and late for bream and bass in and around weed beds with small poppers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.
Jacksonville
SLOW. Water clear; 90 degrees; at pool. Fishing is extremely tough right now. Bass are being caught on brush and underwater structure with big worms on Texas rigs, shaky heads, and dropshots. Some suspended and schooling fish can be caught on traps, minnow-style baits and swimbaits. Report by Greg Lotun.
Lavon
GOOD. Water normal stain; 86 degrees; 0.83 feet below pool. Crappie have slowed down and changed their eating habits– some days they're munching, some days they don't move, and some days "where are they?" It's not easy unless you get lucky and find that hungry school. Minnows are king. Black bass are good with white and chartreuse spinnerbaits in the mornings along with jerkbaits and soft plastics like the original Slugo worked Texas rigged without weight. If water is super clear, use that technique. If not clear, throw a 3-6 foot crawfish colored square bill around boat ramps and riprap for limits before 8 a.m. After 8 a.m., switch to a 12-foot KVD Series 5 in sexy shad. Soft plastics in watermelon red work well Texas rigged, or creature baits Carolina rigged. Brush piles produce using swimbaits glided over the top. White bass have been at 15 feet consistently. White slabs 1 ounce with treble hooks cut off except one work best at Little Ridge Point, Hybrid Point, and the island tip. Anglers are out by 7:45 a.m. at the latest. Tying a jig 12 inches above your slab on a loop knot catches two fish at a time. The splash brings them to the boat. Catfish are good at 15 feet on flats near drop-offs. Throw maize around the boat and they show up looking like sand bass schooling on your screen. You can limit within an hour or two with punch bait. Report by Carey Thorn, White Bass Fishing Texas.
Lewisville
FAIR. Water normal stain; 84 degrees; 0.51 feet below pool. White bass are slow on points and humps in 15-32 feet of water. Some topwater action with smaller fish has begun in deeper open water. Slabs, spoons, spinners and live bait are working. Keeper sized hybrid stripers are slow to fair in similar depths as the white bass. These fish have been moving fast. If you are keeping fish, be aware that there are a lot of undersized hybrid stripers that look very similar to a white bass. Blue catfish are fair on cut shad anchored or drifting humps, points and flats in 20-40 feet of water. Channel catfish are fair on baited holes on humps and points in 15-35 feet of water on cut shad or punch bait. Crappie are slow to fair in 15-28 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.
Limestone
GOOD. Water clear; 89 degrees; 0.85 feet below pool. Summer patterns are holding steady. Saw a more pronounced thermocline this week at 16 feet. Lake has dropped a little bit and is clear. Crappie are good in 8-14 feet of water on minnows. Offshore fresh willow tree piles are best, but standing timber and concrete pylons are also holding fish. Largemouth bass are good on docks, bulkheads, and brush piles in 4-14 feet of water with Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, chatterbaits, and spinnerbaits. White bass are good on silver War Eagle Super Slabs in 7-17 feet of water on humps, points, and flats. Catfish are good noodling or on cut bait all the way to 20 feet deep on points, humps, and flats. Lake Limestone Marina will be the best spot for bank fishing as the summer goes on. Report by Colan Gonzales, Lake Limestone Guide Service.
Navarro Mills
GOOD. 83 degrees; 0.14 feet above pool. Crappie are biting great in open water, on brush piles, and off the docks. They prefer minnows and pinch head minnows with some action on jigs but fish are more reluctant on artificials. Catfish are on fire with all three species active. Perch, goldfish, and shad have all worked really well. White bass are active and schooling at the top of the water with spoons and trolling effective. A lot of 5-7 pound largemouth bass are being caught by accident, usually on minnows while fishing for crappie and catfish. Report by Navarro Mills Marina.
Palestine
FAIR. Water stained; 81 degrees; 0.20 feet below pool. Fishing is a little tough this week. The weather has the fish in a bit of limbo but there's still plenty around. Crappie are fair on brush in 12-18 feet of water on minnows. Catfish are good on punch bait around brush and timber. Bass are slow but a few are being caught around docks in the shade. White bass and hybrids are scattered but some are being caught trolling on points and roadbeds.
Palo Pinto
FAIR. Water murky; 89 degrees; 0.42 feet below pool. Water is a little murky due to recent rainfall. Blue catfish are biting well on cut bait, carp and drum in shallow water. Drift fishing is the best and a lot of big blue catfish have been caught this past week. Crappie are biting in deep water on the bottom with minnows and doing real good. Sand bass and bass are not too great this time of year due to warm water temps. Hybrids have been pretty good early morning and late evening on spoons and any kind of shiny bait. Drum and carp are a little slow but that is the best bait to use. Report by David Holt, Lake Palo Pinto RV Park.
Ray Hubbard
GOOD. Water stained; 87-89 degrees; full pool. White bass have been fair in the mornings with little to no surface activity on the common flats. Throw small swimbaits, tail spinners or rattle traps. Later in the morning white bass are moving shallow in 12-16 feet on long points, coves and ledges. Best technique is to troll in 14-15 feet of water. Crappie are slow and relating to brush piles in 12-15 feet of water. Crappie are at bridge columns. Beat the heat and night fish with submerged green lights and minnows. Catfish are slow 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; 0.34 feet below pool. Things are starting to make a transition and it's getting a little tougher with water temps getting up to the 90s. Crappie are starting to move out deep to deep brush in 35-40 feet and in trees in 25-40 feet of water. Channel catfish are about the same - you can still fish baited holes. Sand bass are in 35-45 feet of water. Largemouth bass are roughly the same as they've been on offshore rocks or shallow brush. Everything is fair, nothing extremely good. Report by Daniel Koberna, Lt. Dan's Crappie Co.
Richland Chambers
FAIR. Water good clarity; 87 degrees; 0.09 feet below pool. White bass are fair with fish being caught on slabs on points, humps and roadbeds on both the Richland and Chambers Creek arms of the lake. Fish are shallow in 10-15 feet of water and the morning bite is best. Not much activity on the main lake as a thermocline has set in around the 25-foot depth. Hybrid striper action is fair with live bait fishermen catching fish on shad off the Windsock Point and the 309 Flats. Gizzard shad are the guide's bait of choice. Blue and channel catfish action is good with small and eater size fish being caught on Mr. Whiskers Cheese Punch Bait on a number 4 or number 6 treble hook in 20 feet of water on points and drop-offs. Report by Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin' Guide Service. Black bass can be caught early on topwater on wind blown points. Then move out deeper and fish brush piles. The bridges this time of year can also be very good using shaky heads and swimbaits when fishing the pilings. If you have the right electronics you can see the cross members and slow roll a swimbait around them. Bait are always gathering around bridges which attract the bass. Report by Terry Hawkins Guide Service.
Somerville
GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. 94 CFS discharge at the dam. At the Marina crappie bite is fair, bluegill are fair on crickets and worms, and catfish are fair on minnows and punch bait. On the lake crappie are good on jigs and minnows over brush in 8-15 feet of water with late afternoon bite good. Catfish are fair in 10-15 feet of water around structures using cut shad or punch bait. Black bass are slow on crankbaits and soft plastic baits in 6-14 feet of water. White bass are excellent trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows. Hybrids are good in deeper water using jigs and cut bait. Below the dam all species are fair fishing with a light amount of water being discharged. Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse
GOOD. Water stained; 81 degrees; 2.13 feet above pool. Fish are up shallow in the flooded brush and the topwater bite is good. Frogs, walking baits and wakebaits are catching some good fish. Look for grass on the flats as well and pitch worms and creature baits around that. You can also work the rock cover deeper with worms to get bit. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs. Water is dropping about 0.12 feet per day with ongoing 560+ CFS release. USACE has reopened all boat ramps except Cedar Gap. The drastic water level drop has adversely impacted white bass fishing with concentrations scattered between 25-30 feet deep. Downriggers are the way to go to cover ground and find fish concentrations. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Tawakoni
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 80 degrees; 0.18 feet below pool. Lake Tawakoni continues to fish decently as we head into August. Fish are moving often–staying on them has been a challenge. The hybrid striper, striper and white bass bite has been good. Fish are stacking up on shallow points in 10-20 feet. Surface feeding is also happening sporadically in early mornings and late evenings when we have some wind. Slab spoons, downriggers and swimbaits are working equally good. The eating sized 1-3 pound catfish bite is red hot. Limits are being caught daily in just a few hours. Prepared baits such as punch and dip baits are working best. The crappie bite has picked up. Minnows are working best in 12-20 feet near bridge pilings. The largemouth bite is good on frogs at daylight and working over to shallow cranks around dock legs and submerged irrigation intakes. Shaky heads have been good too. Report by Captain Michael Littlejohn, Lake Tawakoni Guide Service.
Texoma
GOOD. Water stained; 79 degrees; 1.42 feet above pool. Things are picking up, especially on the weekdays when crowds are gone. There's an early morning topwater bite when shad are on the surface in the main part of the lake. Use pencil poppers and other topwater lures to catch stripers feeding on them. After they go down, start looking for fish on the grass using slabs to catch big groups of stripers surfacing in deep water anywhere from 30-60 feet deep. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors. Striper fishing is getting better every day on lures. They're moving fast and seeing schooling fish on the surface with the right conditions. Topwaters, swimbaits and slabs are working. Look at river ledges and channels for suspended fish on the main lake. Catfishing is good on punch bait and cut shad. Channels are on humps and points near stumps in 20-30 feet of water. Eater blues are roaming the lake in big schools all over the deep water. Crappie fishing look at docks and brush in 15-20 feet of water using jigs, minnows or small shad. Use electronics to locate active fish and structure near the mouths of creeks and coves. Largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing throw topwaters early along the rock banks and off main lake points. Fish have plenty of forage so fish for a reaction strike throughout the day near docks and brush. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service.
Weatherford
FAIR. Water stained; 87 degrees; 3.75 feet below pool. Water visibility is 1 foot. Bass are slow around docks with crankbaits and jigs. Crappie are fair in deeper water with minnows and shad. Catfish are fair with cut bait and shad.
Whitney
GOOD. Water clear; 87 degrees; 0.16 feet below pool. Catfish are fair using cut bait in 25-35 feet of water. The striped bass bite is fair on live bait in 30-40 feet. Afternoon bites are better. Crappie are up in the main lake in brush in 15-20 feet of water. White bass fishing is fair on slabs on main lake humps in 12-15 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; 86 degrees; 0.97 feet below pool. Reports of catches of carp with bait balls. Catfish can be caught on punch bait.
