January and February: Big Fish Season

Reported by TF&G STAFF

Email us at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Location: Caddo Lake
Hotspot: Big Cypress River
GPS: N 32 43.9559, W 94 8.682
(32.7326, -94.1447)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Crankbaits and umbrella rigs in shad or white color, 1/2 oz. chrome jigging spoons
Tips: Concentrate on the bends and cuts in this main channel. When the bass are active, throw the shad or white colored crankbaits and umbrella rigs. When they are not feeding well, drop a 1/2 oz. chrome jigging spoon in these same areas and vertically jig off them off the bottom. Watch visibly and on your electronics for balls of shad to increase your odds of finding these wintertime schools of bass.

Location: Lake Chapman/Cooper
Hotspot: Boat Lane Creek Channel
GPS: N 33 17.911, W 95 43.634
(33.2985, -95.7272)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Jigs
Tips: Bounce jigs with rattles and big trailers off the channel edge. Fish this spot all day.

Location: Lake Conroe
Hotspot: Main Lake
GPS: N 30 22.3499, W 95 33.342
(30.3725, -95.5557)

Species: Hybrid Stripers
Best Baits: Live shad, Storm Swim shad
Tips: The hybrid stripers are schooling around ledges along the river channel. Find the schools of shad and you will find the hybrids. This time of year they will run shad up on these ridges during the day they will move deeper around the area. Find the depth the bait are in and you will find the fish. As the water temperatures drop, they will be in the 30 to 40 foot depths. Live shad will be the bait of choice in deeper water, but the swim shad will work as long as you can control your retrieve to keep the bait in the depth the fish are going to be in.

Location: Lake Fork
Hotspot: Woodpecker Island or Dam Area
GPS: N 32 49.2839, W 95 32.934
(32.8214, -95.5489)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Crappie jigs: 1/8 oz. jig head, pink in color with a chartreuse/pink jig body
Tips: January is the month we look deep for the schools of crappie located on deep humps and creek channels on Lake Fork. It’s also one of the months you are required to keep the first 25 per person you catch. There is, however, no length limit for the months of December, January and February. The humps I like to fish are around the damn area or the flats in the mouth of Little Caney. I also fish the deeper flats off of Woodpecker Island or point. I look for the crappie in 30-45 foot of water and you will see the bait fish and the crappie will be around them. This is the time of year you will need good electronics and calmer winds to hold in the open water. Once you locate the crappie, throw out a marker buoy and get out your favorite jig or crappie poles and go to work. If the jig bite is working, I like to put 2 jigs on the pole about 18 inches apart, using a 1/8 oz. head, pink in color and use a chartreuse/pink jig body. This will catch you a good mess in no time. If you are interested in a crappie trip call or text me for open dates or check out our website for booking details. I have been guiding on Lake Fork for 18 years.

Location: Lake Fork
Hotspot: Creek Channels
GPS: N 32 57.8279, W 95 37.5605
(32.9638, 95.6260)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Grandbass rattlesnake in black and blue or green pumpkin
CTips: February is the start of big bass season on Lake Fork. Big ones are shallow. I rarely fish deeper than 5 foot this time of year. My number one technique is a weightless 6.5-inch Grandbass rattlesnake black and blue or green pumpkin rigged with 17 lb. fluorocarbon 5/0 hook.
Fish slow around spawning areas such as stumps, grass, and shallow creek channels.
When the wind is blowing and you need to cover water a spinner bait, or vibrating jig will get you the bites you need.

Location: Lake Fork
Hotspot: White Oak Branch
GPS: N 32 55.608, W 95 40.824
(32.9268, -95.6804)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Lipless rattle baits, spinnerbaits, Finch Nasty Thumpers, GrandeBass Air Pro, Texas rigged 6.5 Mag Rattlesnake
Tips: The bass are moving into pre-spawn stage. Rattle baits, spinnerbaits and Finch Nasty Thumpers work well on the windy days. On sunny days weightless soft plastics like the GrandeBass Air Pro, a salt heavy stick bait with the airtail chamber so you can put scent or rattles in it, or a light Texas rig with a 6.5”” Mag Rattlesnake. Work secondary points and creek channel swings on flats. Lay down logs and any vegetation are great cover this time of year. Its big fish season.

Location: Lake Livingston
Hotspot: Bedias Creek
GPS: N 30 54.858, W 95 36.9059
(30.9143, -95.6151)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: Sassy Shad, Blue Fox, Rat-L-Traps, Tsunami Cocktail spinners, road runners
Tips: January brings in the start of the incredible white bass spawn on Lake Livingston. Spring white bass fishing is met with a fanatical following here. Whites will move into upper Lake Livingston creeks in huge numbers to spawn. Bedias Creek is famous for white bass fishing in January. However, many factors need to come together to get in on the great fishing here in January. Current conditions can dictate the fishing as one day can be feast and the next day, famine. Water conditions, temperature and fluctuating levels can dictate success or failure. Typically the best time to go is with a warming trend bringing a southeast wind following a recent local rain. The moving water from run off will pull the fish up stream and stack them up in deep holes far up Bedias Creek. The “shoals” is a well-known area here where the whites stack up under the right conditions.

Location: Lake O the Pines
Hotspot: East Point Johnson Creek
GPS: N 32 46.321, W 94 32.207
(32.7720, -94.5368)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows
Tips: Bounce minnows on the bottom with a spinning rig. Morning through midday.

Location: Lake Nacogdoches
Hotspot: Old Rebar Hole
GPS: N 31 38.197, W 94 48.293
(31.6366, -94.8049)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Soft plastics
Tips: Work the creek bend and drain, drag over the edges. Avoid midday.

Location: Lake Sam Rayburn
Hotspot: Five Fingers
GPS: N 31 7.92, W 94 7.71
(31.1320, -94.1285)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: 6” – 7” suspending jerk baits, red Rat-L-Traps, bass jigs, Carolina rigs, deep diving crankbaits
Tips: January is one of the three best months of the year to catch a bass over 10 pounds on this lake. If the winter is mild, look for big pre-spawn females to move into big bays and stage in drains and ditches that are 8 to 15 feet deep. Best baits will be 6” – 7” suspending jerk baits and the Rayburn standby, red Rat-L-Traps. If the winter is cold/bitter, try ledges and channel swings in 15 to 25 feet with jigs, Carolina rigs and deep cranks.

Location: Toledo Bend North
Hotspot: Brown’s Bend
GPS: N 31 42.324, W 93 47.8199
(31.7054, -93.7970)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: Slab spoons, Rat-L-Traps, tail spinners
Tips: In January, the White Bass will be feeding heavy, bulking up before making their annual run up the river to spawn. The whites will be holding on the north end river channel sandbars. If we receive a lot of rain and have a strong river current, you will start seeing some action in the river proper. Otherwise, work the main lake sandbars with slab spoons, Rat-L- Traps and tail spinners. Use your electronics to locate the bait fish and you’ll locate the whites. Your daily limit is 25 fish per person.

Location: Lake Wright Patman
Hotspot: Rocky Point
GPS: N 33 17.355, W 94 10.629
(33.2893, -94.1772)

Species: Largemouth bass
Best Baits: Jerkbaits
Tips: Use black/gold jerkbaits; jerk and pause, slow and pause retrieve; midday thru afternoon.

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Action Ramps Up for Bass of All Stripes

Reported by TF&G Staff

 

Email us at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Location: Lake Austin
Hotspot: Creek Inlets and Bedding Areas
GPS: N 30 17.826, W 97 47.2739
(30.2971, -97.7879)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Cyclone and Picasso spinnerbaits, River2Sea S-Waver swim baits and crankbaits, T-rig or weightless rig with a V&M Wild Thang 8.5 worm or Chopstick
Tips: Find flats that are close to deeper/thick grass as this is the typical pattern for ambushing shad and smaller fish. Be prepared to throw multiple baits at the same area. I will usually throw Cyclone and Picasso spinnerbaits along the edges and River2Sea S-Waver swim baits and cranks as well.

Location: Bachman Lake
Hotspot: Bridge or Dam Areas
GPS: N 32 51.5699, W 96 51.3839
(32.8595, -96.8564)

Species: Largemouth Bass and Crappie
Best Baits: Bass: spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps | Crappie: minnows and jigs
Tips: For bass, throw spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps along the weed lines. Bass fishing is especially good at the dam, by the banks and near the timber under the bridge. Crappie are under the bridge at night this time of year. Minnows and jigs are your best bet right now.

Location: Lake Buchanan
Hotspot: Paradise Point and Rocky Point Areas
GPS: N 30 50.022, W 98 24.2879
(30.8337, -98.4048)

Species: Striped Bass & White Bass
Best Baits: Live shad, slabs
Tips: January should be the ending month of the transition for all species moving from fall and winter patterns to early spring patterns. Striper and white bass fishing should be good in the upper half of lake from Rocky Point to Paradise Point.
Focus your efforts on early and late in the day using live bait and jigging slabs in 20 to 40 feet of water near ridges and humps close to the river channel.

Location: Lake Buchanan
Hotspot: Shaw and Garret Island
GPS: N 30 50.85, W 98 24.8424
(30.8475, -98.4140)

Species: Stripers, Hybrid Bass & White Bass
Best Baits: Jigs, slabs, Rat-L-Traps
Tips: Stripers are going to around the Shaw and Garrett Island area of the lake. The upper end of the lake seems to be the best area this time of year. Watch for seagulls. White bass will be on the upper end of Lake Buchanan as well,

Location: Canyon Lake
Hotspot: Jacob’s Creek Area
GPS: N 29 53.778, W 98 13.3739
(29.8963, -98.2229)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Hard plastic jerk baits, soft plastic jerk baits, slow rolling spinnerbaits, lipless and square bill crankbaits
Tips: This area offers protection from the north wind and receives lots of sunshine to warm the water. There is no vegetation but there are stick-ups and this area has deep water not far away. Because this area has a lot of shallower water, it’s a good area to throw the suggested baits above.

Location: Canyon Lake
Hotspot: Guadalupe River Area
GPS: N 29 54.348, W 98 18.858
(29.9058, -98.3143)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Minnows and jigs
Tips: This area is protected from the wind and has lots of trees, drop-offs and ledges. Fish about 6’ to 10’ deep above and around the trees.

Location: Cedar Creek Lake
Hotspot: Main Lake Points
GPS: N 32 16.554, W 96 8.0339
(32.2759, 96.1339)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Jigs with plastic trailers in 1/4 to 3/8oz in various colors, spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps
Tips: Fish all of the docks inside spawning coves from the main lake points to the back. Jigs with plastic trailers in 1/4 to 3/8oz in various colors will work skipped under the docks. Mix in spinners and Rat-L-Traps in 2’ to 8’ as well.
Location: Eagle Mountain Lake
Hotspot: Baptist Point
GPS: N 32 52.79, W 97 28.64
(32.8798, -97.4773)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: 3/4 oz. Jig head and a 4-inch fluke
Tips: This area is good this time of the year due to the north wind pushing shad into this point. The sand Bass generally follow. Try finding fish on your depth finder drop your jig head and fluke just above them. Use the dead sticking method. Hold the fluke and jig head very still giving a twitch every 30 seconds or so.

Location: Fayette County Reservoir
Hotspot: Hog Pond Trees
GPS: N 29 55.2779, W 96 43.23
(29.9213, -96.7205)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Shad, CJ’s punch bait
Tips: Stumps in the area. North winds are blocked here by the trees. Fishing a tight line due to winds this time of year helps keep bait in the prime area. There is lots of brush in this area to get hung up on so get your fish to your boat as soon as possible.

Location: Gibbons Creek Reservoir
Hotspot: North Eagle Point
GPS: N 30 38.118, W 96 3.0779
(30.6353, -96.0513)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: CJ’s punch bait, shad
Tips: This lake is full right now. Gibbons Creek comes close to shore here. Tight line this area for blues and channels. Use kahle hooks with shad or treble hooks with punch bait.
Location: Granger Lake
Hotspot: Main Lake
GPS: N 30 42.402, W 97 20.91
(30.7067, -97.3485)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Shad, cut bait, Zote Soap
Tips: Not much except catfishing is going on right now at Granger. The blues are still biting good on various baits. Cold fronts seem to turn them on and blow the shad to the windy banks. Fish those areas and you will have the best luck. Jug lines work well this time of year. I like to use Zote Soap, but shad are preferred by many. The larger blues are better on shad or large pieces of cut bait. Drift fishing with the wind is a good technique to put blues in the boat.

Location: Lake Joe Pool
Hotspot: Joe Pool Marina Crappie Barge
GPS: N 32 37.618, W 96 59.119
(32.6270, -96.9853)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows
Tips: Fish live minnows on a bobber, hit in, out and round the brush.

Location: Lake Lavon
Hotspot: Island and Dam Area
GPS: N 33 3.0119, W 96 28.416
(33.0502, -96.4736)

Species: White Bass & Crappie
Best Baits: Live minnows, flukes in white or chartreuse
Tips: Crappie will be suspended next to the dam in 18-25 feet of water. Spider rigging minnows is your best bet. White bass will be near the island and out towards the dam. Concentrate your fishing efforts in 20-30 feet of water. Dead sticking Berkley Gulp Minnows, dead sticking live minnows, or dead sticking a 3” to 4” fluke in white or chartreuse just one foot above the school when you find them usually produces the best catches.

Location: Lake Palestine
Hotspot: Flat Creek
GPS: N 32 12.522, W 95 31.782
(32.2087, -95.5297)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Big Eye jigs, Texas Spinnerbaits
Tips: This time of year there are a few locations that I will focus on, all in the Flat Creek area. There is standing timber so fish your lure around all your trees and any tree you find up near the creek bends. Take extra time fishing this area and cast to the tree several times. Lures I will use will be my Big Eye jigs and the Texas Spinnerbaits. The best Jig colors will be black/brown amber, black/blue and blue candy. These colors will work in clear, stained and muddy water. Spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white and black neon will work well too.

Location: Lake Ray Roberts
Hotspot: Johnson Branch
GPS: N 33 23.753, W 97 0.801
(33.3959, -97.0134)

Species: Crappie, white bass
Best Baits: Minnows, ¾ to1oz. slabs
Tips: Start of the year is here along with cold temperatures but the fishing is still great. White bass bite has been consistent. Look for big schools of fish stacking up on points and humps close to creek channels in 20-30 feet of water. Slabs off the bottom have been the best with bucktail teasers tied on as well. Light boat traffic has made it easier to stay on fish once you find them. Keep an eye out for diving gulls making easy meals off bait fish being pushed up from schooling fish. The crappie bite has been good. Crappie have been on brush piles in 20-30 foot of water. Jigs are working well but the quality of fish seem to be better on minnows.

Location: Richland Chambers Lake
Hotspot: Crab Creek
GPS: N 31 57.348, W 96 19.914
(31.9558, -96.3319)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Danny King’s Punch Bait
Tips: Bundle up, take a thermos of coffee and get ready to catch some really nice blue cats on Richland Chambers. While we fish all winter for catfish, January and February are the best months to catch some of the bigger blues. Our target is “eater size” blues and channel cats but almost every trip someone will hook into a really big blue.

Location: Lake Somerville
Hotspot: Big Creek Park Shoreline
GPS: N 30 19.2419, W 96 34.908
(30.3207, -96.5818)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Shad, cut bait
Tips: Good area to drift fish. Drift at speed of 1/2 mph. Use 4/0 hook, three foot leader and a 1 oz. “no roll” weight. This is also a good area for jug lines this time of year if you are going after big cats.

Location: Lake Texoma
Hotspot: Paw Paw Creek and Willis Bridge
GPS: N 33 53.9879, W 96 53.796
(33.8998, -96.8966)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Live shad, Road Runners and Sassy Shad jigs
Tips: January is a big fish month at Lake Texoma. The cool water winter fishing is legendary. Large stripers up to 20 pounds will hold on structure. A 7-foot medium heavy fishing rod with 20-pound test is recommended. The 1 oz. Road Runner jig with a white 9-inch worm will produce fish located on main lake points and the mouths of creeks and humps with deep water nearby.

Location: Lake Whitney
Hotspot: State Park and Brazos River at the mouth of Nolan River
GPS: N 31 55.074, W 97 21.8219
(31.9179, -97.3637)

Species: Striped Bass & White Bass
Best Baits: 3” chartreuse swim baits from RSR lures and chartreuse Bass Assassins
Tips: SLOW IS THE NAME OF THE GAME! The water temp has dropped. The shad have been pushed from the creeks, ganging up in a “safety in numbers” type of pattern in the open water. The stripers and whites are following and gorging on them. The water is cold, the bait fish are lethargic and not moving as fast as normal so when you think your fishing slow enough, slow down even more.

 

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Winter Patterns in Full Force on West Lakes

Reported by DEAN HEFFNER

Email Dean Heffner at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Location: Lake Alan Henry
Hotspot: Cat Hollow
GPS: N 33 2.868, W 101 5.9039
(33.0478, -101.0984)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Deep diving crankbaits, bass jigs, spoons
Tips: January will find the bass following the shad and perch into deep water. Everything will
depend on the weather and the cold fronts that roll through. Some bass will remain shallow if the water temps stay in the 50’s. If the water drops below 50, the bass will move into the deep water, chasing the shad. Use your electronics to find the balls of shad and you will find the bass.

LOCATION: Amistad
HOTSPOT: Arapahoe Ledges
GPS: N29 36.36912, W100 57.6816
(29.606152, -100.961360)

SPECIES: largemouth bass
BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs, plastic worms
TIPS: There are several rock ledges near the channels with stumps here. Fish small jigs or finesse worms on light line on the ledges in 18-25 feet of water and set the hook at the slightest tap. Fish slowly and gradually work deeper as the sun rises.

Location: Lake Granbury
Hotspot: Deep water ledge on the lower ends
GPS: N 32 23.014, W 97 42.550
(32 23.014, 97 42.550)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: 3/4 to 1oz jig heads with 5 inch swimbaits/jerkbaits in blue/chartruese
Contact: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters
254-396-4855
Tips: Work over structure slowly and work deeper until you locate the best depth. Very little movement is required to get bit.

Location: Kirby Reservoir
Hotspot: Main Lake
GPS: N 32 22.864, W 99 43.760
(32.381060, -99.729331)

Species: Blue Catfish
Best Baits: Shad, carp
Contact: Lance Benson & Natalie Goldstrohm, TPWD
lance.benson@tpwd.texas.gov; natalie.goldstrohm@tpwd.texas.gov
Tips: Cold months are great for fishing for Blue Catfish in shallow water. Kirby Reservoir has a history of producing catfish over 40 pounds. Try using cut shad or cut common carp on a medium to large circle hook in a few feet of water. This shoreline is rocky so it is recommended to use a slip cork so you don’t lose your gear. This location can also be good for flathead catfish and channel catfish.

Location: Lake Possum Kingdom
Hotspot: Oil Well Slough
GPS: N 32 56.336, W 98 27.085
(32.938927, -98.451417)

Species: Striped bass, hybrids
Best Baits: Slabs, jigs
Contact: Dean Heffner
940-329-0036
Fav7734@aceweb.com
Tips: It’s cold this time of year but the fish don’t mind and are at the north end waiting for freshwater to come in so they can move up the Brazos to spawn. Live bait is always best but hard to come by this month, so slabs and jigs are the game this time of year. Stick to white and chartreuse and you will do well. Stripers and hybrids will be mixed in with the sandbass, so you just have to work through them to get to the bigger fish.

Location: Lake Possum Kingdom
Hotspot: Carter Island
GPS: N 32 57.677, W 98 25.122
(32.9613, -98.4187)

Species: Striped & white bass, hybrids
Best Baits: Live shad, cut bait, slabs, crankbaits
Tips: We had a lot of floodwaters come in October and November, so a lot of fish are already staged at the mouths of the major creeks and rivers that feed the lake. But this month’s hotspot will still be close to the mouth of the mighty Brazos River. Live shad is best, but cut bait will work. If you can find clearer water, then you can clean up with slabs. Mixed species will be staged waiting for any water flow to start the spring migration up the river. Chartreuse and white are the color palettes this month. You can also catch fish trolling RatLTraps and cranks.

 

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