The weekly fishing report as compiled for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for Sept. 9 and also available on the internet at https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/fishreport.phtml:
NORTHEAST
ATHENS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 0.89’ high. Largemouth bass are good on jerk baits, chatter baits, flukes and Texas-rigged plastic worms working the drop-offs, brush piles and standing timber. Crappie are good with minnows in standing timber and boat docks. Catfish are good on prepared bait. Sunfish are good on cutworms and crickets.
BOB SANDLIN: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85-87 degrees; 0.25’ low. Black bass are good on drop shots, diving crankbaits, chatter baits and Texas-rigged plastic worms in 18-28’ near deep-water humps, flats and boat docks. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles, bridges and standing timber. Catfish are good on live bait and cut bait in 12-25’.
CADDO: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.80’ high. Largemouth bass are good in shallow water near trees, stumps and grass beds fishing plastic frogs, topwater plugs, chatter baits and skirted jigs in 3-5’. Green pumpkin Texas-rigged plastic worms are productive in deeper water near timber and vegetation lines in 8-16’. Crappie are good on minnows near brush piles and timber in 14-25’. White bass are fair on jigs and slabs in the main lake. Chain pickerel are slow. Catfish are good on prepared bait and nightcrawlers in 12-20’ fishing baited holes near channels and timber edges.
CEDAR CREEK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.25’ low. Largemouth bass are good working topwater plugs and jerk baits very early on vegetation lines and creek ledges and near boat docks. Spoons, plastic worms and diving cranks fished in deeper water near boat docks, main lake drop-offs and timber are productive later in the day. Hybrids and sand bass are off main lake points and humps with slabs, heavy spoons and swimbaits. Crappie are good with chartreuse-tipped jigs and minnows in brush piles and deep water boat docks and near submerged timber in 15-28’. Catfish are good in 12-25’. Live bait and cut bait are working well.
COOPER: GOOD. Water clear; 85-88 degrees; 2.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Carolina-rigged plastic worms, crankbaits and skirted jigs in 16-25’. The white bass and hybrids are good in 25-35’ with slabs and jigging spoons over humps, flats edges, and near main lake drop-offs. Crappie are good with minnows on brush piles and timber near creek channels. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared bait in 14-25’.
FORK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85-89 degrees; 1.41’ low. Largemouth bass are good on slow-moving plastic worms near standing timber, points and drop-offs in 18-28’. Diving crankbaits are effective at times. White and yellow bass are fair in deeper water with slabs and jigging spoons. Crappie are slow on minnows in 18-25’ in brush piles and standing timber. Catfish are good on live bait in 12-24’.
JACKSONVILLE: FAIR. Water stained; 88 degrees; 0.12’ high. Largemouth bass are fair with purple or red plastic worms and crankbaits in deeper water near docks, rip-rap, and brush piles. Crappie are fair on minnows in 14-25’ around submerged structure and brush piles. Catfish are good on cut shad and live bait.
LAKE O’ THE PINES: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.07’ high. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs, spinners and Texas-rigged creatures in 15-25’. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows in the standing timber areas along the creek channel and brush piles in 15-28’. Catfish are good on trotlines with cut bait or live bait.
LAVON: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 1.76’ low. Crappie are good on minnows fishing 15-25’ over brush piles, secondary points and bridges. White bass are good in 20-30’ with slabs. Look for birds diving over feeding schools of white bass. Black bass are fair on chatter baits, wacky worms and crankbaits in 15-28’. Catfish are good on cut bait and live bait in 14-25’.
MARTIN CREEK: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 1.27’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chatter baits and plastic finesse worms in 15-28’. Crappie are fair on minnows in 16-28’ in timber and brush piles. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared bait in 12-25’.
PALESTINE: GOOD. Water clear; 87 degrees; 0.45’ high. Largemouth bass are fair working Texas-rigged worms in plum or blue, shad-like swim baits and deep-running crankbaits near boat docks and riprap. Crappie are fair on minnows around bridges and timber in 15-25’. Hybrid stripers are good on live bait in 25-35’. White bass are good on slabs and swim-jigging spoons. Look for birds diving over feeding schools. Catfish are good on punch baits and live minnows.
RAY ROBERTS: FAIR; Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 0.31’ high. Largemouth bass are slow on plastic worms, chatter bait and jigs in 16-26’ near timber, riprap and channel edges. There is an early and late topwater bite on points with a ledge or drop-off. White bass are fair in 20-40’ on slabs and minnows near main lake flats and drop-offs. Crappie are fair on minnows around standing timber and brush piles. Catfish are fair on live bait and prepared baits.
RICHLAND CHAMBERS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85-88 degrees; 0.44’ high. Largemouth bass are good on chatter baits, flukes, jigs and finesse worms fishing near boat docks, secondary points, bridges and drop-offs. White bass and hybrids are fair on slabs or deeper near main lake points, flats and humps. Crappie are good on minnows or jigs tipped with a minnow on bridge pilings and in brush piles. Catfish are good on punch bait and live perch. Bream are good on live crickets or worms.
SULPHUR SPRINGS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 1.94’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Texas-rigged plastic worms and brush hogs near brush piles, drop-offs and flooded timber. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in 18-28’ near brush piles and standing timber. Catfish are good on cut shad and prepared bait in 15-25’.
TAWAKONI: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86-89 degrees; 1.13’ low. Catfish are good on punch bait and cut bait. Largemouth bass are good on buzz baits, watermelon-colored Texas-rigged plastic worms and skirted jigs. White bass and hybrid stripers are good on live bait and slabs with some fish schooling on the surface. Use sonar to locate fish in deeper water near drop-offs, large flats and humps in the main lake. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around brush piles, docks and bridge pilings.
TEXOMA: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85-89 degrees; 0.70’ low. Striped bass and white bass are good on live bait and topwater baits when fish are near the surface. Diving birds are marking feeding schools on the surface throughout the lake. Use sonar to mark schools along the river channel and flats. Schools are constantly moving with the bait. Largemouth bass are fair fishing Texas-rigged plastic worms and diving crankbait in 16-28’ with some fish being caught in shallow water early in the morning. Top waters, chatter baits and poppers are catching fish in these shallow areas. Crappie are fair on minnows by boathouses, timber and brush piles in 15-25’. Catfish are good on cut bait, prepared bait and live bait.
TYLER: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 86 degrees; 0.02’ low. Black bass are fair on finesse worms, skirted football jigs, chatter baits and drop shots fishing deeper docks, timber and vegetation edges. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles, structures and timber in 18-25’. Catfish are good on punch bait and live bait. White bass are good in 25-40’ on jigging spoons and slabs.
SOUTHEAST
HOUSTON COUNTY: GOOD. Water stained; 88 degrees; 0.01’ low. Black bass are good with several catches over 5 pounds this week, showing a very healthy bass population mainly over brush piles. Carolina-rigged worms, spinners and watermelon-red worms are the baits to use. Crappie are fair on live minnows moving to lighted piers. Bream and bluegill are good using live worms. Catfish are good on juglines using shad.
SAM RAYBURN: GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 3.09’ low. Largemouth bass are good with worms, crankbait and jigs in medium-depth structures similar to last week’s locations. White bass are fair becoming more aggressive lately, especially off points. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs using all structures. Catfish are fair on live and stinkbait.
TOLEDO BEND: FAIR. Water heavily stained; 86-88 degrees; 2.37’ low. As we continue to clean up after Hurricane Laura, please be careful with many missing or moved buoys. Black bass are good catching bass with a Carolina rig with a 4’ leader and a 1-oz. sinker, and deep bite (15-23’) with Carolina Rig Baby Brush Hog in green pumpkin. The shallow bit is 2-8’ on topwater poppers or quick-moving jigs. White bass have become very active, ranging 14-20’. Crappie are good shallower on shiners and jigs equally with some brush piles moved. Bream are good on spawning beds, small jigs and crickets. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait.