The Dog and Cat and Crappie Days are Here

Reported by TF&G STAFF

 

WITH THE DOG days of summer here, it’s hard to believe the fish will be biting in this heat. But they are biting. Crappie are almost always active and very catchable on jigs and minnows. If you can find deeper brush piles, start early and plan to be off the lake by noon. The best places to look for the deeper bite will be at the mouths of creeks where brush piles or other structure are present.

In July, the catfish have finished eating all the shad they could hold after the shad spawn. They are back in the deep water along channel edges and are fairly easy to catch. Just find a stump or other channel structure and throw stink bait at them.

Email us at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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Location: Caddo Lake
Hotspot: Alligator Bayou and Big Cypress Bayou
GPS: N 32 41.5019, W 94 2.2319
(32.6917, -94.0372)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: V&M Paddletail Frog and V&M Porkpin Worm
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fish the edges of these creeks on the upper end of Caddo Lake with the white frogs on top and 1/8 oz. weighted Junebug colored worms on the bottom along the edges of the grass. Give extra attention to the bends and points.

Location: Lake Conroe
Hotspot: North Lake Area
GPS: N 30 27.786, W 95 36.1799
(30.4631, -95.6030)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Primos stink bait
Source: Richard Tatsch
www.fishdudetx.com
Tips: Locate a stumpy area along a channel on the north end of the lake, toss some range cubes out and give it about 30 minutes. I use sponges to absorb the dipping bait with a #6 treble hook with a small egg sinker. Let it go to the bottom and wait on a little resistance. Once you feel it set the hook and hold on!

Location: Lake Cooper
Hotspot: Deep Well
GPS: N 33 18.574, W 95 41.189
(33.3096, -95.6865)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Crankbaits
Source: TPWD District Fisheries Office
903-593-5077
Tips: Fish gold or firetiger deep crankbaits. Work them down and stop. Dawn through afternoon.

Location: Lake Fork
Hotspot: Ray Branch
GPS: N 32 48.6059, W 95 34.296
(32.8101, -95.5716)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows, jigs in blue ice color with Bobby Garland jig bodies
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: The best places to look for the deeper bite will be at the mouth of Ray Branch, mouth of Little Caney and the mouth of Chaney. This is the deeper end of the lake, and you will find the crappie in the 24- to 27-foot range. My best color of jig will be blue ice using the Bobby Garland jig bodies.

Location: Lake Livingston
Hotspot: The Hump
GPS: N 30 40.8299, W 95 4.992
(30.6805, -95.0832)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Live Shad, 1 ¼ oz. white slabs, spoons, Tsunami Holographic in hot pink/gold, 4-inch Swim Shad.
Source: David S. Cox
www.palmettoguideservice.com
Tips: Bounce baits off the bottom; look for strikes on falling baits. Troll Tsunami Swim Shad behind a #10 jet diver.

Location: Lake Nacogdoches
Hotspot: Dam
GPS: N 31 35.314, W 94 49.494
(31.5886, -94.8249)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Soft plastics
Source: TPWD District Fisheries Office
409-698-9114
Tips: Fish Texas-rigged black soft plastics. This is a very popular night spot.

Location: Lake O the Pines
Hotspot: Arms Roadbed
GPS: N 32 45.790, W 94 36.554
(32.7632, -94.6092)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Crankbaits
Source: TPWD District Fisheries Office
903-938-1007
Tips: Fish bright cranks, Carolina rigs. Work the brushpiles on long roadbed. Avoid midday. Night fishing good here.

Location: Lake Sam Rayburn
Hotspot: Caney Flats
GPS: N 31 08.475, W 94 14.353
(31.1413, -94.2392)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Soft plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fish Carolina-rigged plastics. Hit ditches, flats, and humps. This is a good post-spawn area.

Location: Lake Toledo Bend
Hotspot: Still Water
GPS: N 31 44.928, W 93 50.2619
(31.7488, -93.8377)

Species: Black & white bass
Best Baits: Top water plugs, Rat-L-Traps, crank baits, slab spoons and plastics.
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: In July the main lake points will be active with plenty of schooling activity for both the Black and White Bass. Typically, early morning and late evening will be the prime feeding times. Start off shallow and back out to deeper water, if need be, with deep diving crank baits and soft plastics.

Location: Lake Wright Patman
Hotspot: Dino’s Ledges
GPS: N 33 15.037, W 94 13.215
(33.2506, -94.2203)

Species: Largemouth bass
Best Baits: Crankbaits
Source: TPWD District Fisheries Office
903-938-1007
Fish chartreuse/blue crankbaits, using medium action, cast toward structure; avoid midday.

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Fish Deeper for Bass and Crappie

Reported by TF&G Staff

BASS AND CRAPPIE are settled into their summer patters of holding near the thermocline, along deep-water ledges, points and cover. For bass, spend most of your time fishing points with deep diving crank baits and soft plastics. For crappie, look for channel bends or points with brush piles.

Stripers and Hybrids will be near dams and other cool water areas. The best bait will be live perch, shad, or minnows.

For catfish, this is a good time for drifting bobbers.

 

Email us at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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Location: Lake Austin
Hotspot: Main Lake Rocks, Shade Trees, and Shaded Docks
GPS: N 30 19.464, W 97 50.316
(30.3244, -97.8386)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Jigs, Spinnerbaits, crankbaits
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Bass will be searching for cover and ambush positions throughout the lake. I break my guide trips into 3 approaches, mornings, daytime, and evenings.

Location: Lake Buchanan
Hotspot: Dam Area
GPS: N 30 45.1842, W 98 25.6254
(30.7531, -98.4271)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Live perch, shad, minnows, 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz. slabs, deep diving trolling type baits
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: If fishing with artificials is your thing, 1 oz. and 1 1/2 oz. slabs plus deep diving trolling type baits will be best.

Location: Canyon Lake
Hotspot: Scuba Diver’s Point
GPS: N 29 51.8879, W 98 12.8399
(29.8648, -98.2140)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Rapala Snap Rap in gold orange color
Source: Steve Nixon
www.sanantoniofishingguides.com
Tips: Fish this area from 40 to 60 feet deep and look for schools of striped bass on your fish finder.

Location: Cedar Creek Lake
Hotspot: Main Lake
GPS: N 32 14.154, W 96 5.97
(32.2359, -96.0995)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: Cut shad or other cut bait
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: This month we are drifting bobbers. Set out several rods with floating rigs anywhere from 2’ to 6’ below the surface in 12’ to 35’ of water and drift with shad or other cut bait.

Location: Eagle Mountain
Hotspot: Pelican Island Humps
GPS: N 32 54.592, W 97 30.002
(32.909871, – 97.500030)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: slabs, crankbaits, topwaters
Source: Kolby Kuhn
kolbymkuhn@gmail.com
Tips: Fish are in a Summer pattern and are aggressively feeding on shad. Look for fish feeding near the surface early and late in the day. Casting topwater lures or crankbaits will catch these fish. When the sun is up focus on deeper points and drop-offs in 10-20 ft of water on the humps.

Location: Fayette County Res.
Hotspot: Third Boat Ramp Point
GPS: N 29 55.878, W 96 43.368
(29.9313, -96.7228)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: CJ’s punch Bait
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: There is a 20’ deep point here. Anchor on this point and chum straight down beside the boat.

Location: Gibbons Creek Res.
Hotspot: Trees at Intake Channel
GPS: N 30 36.8999, W 96 4.29
(30.6150, -96.0715)

Species: Catfish
Best Baits: CJ’s Punch Bait
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Anchor near stumps/trees in 4–12-foot water. Be sure to chum and expect fish to be near the bottom. Use a treble hook.

Location: Lake Granger
Hotspot: Main Lake Humps and Ridges
GPS: N 30 42.1979, W 97 21.8819
(30.7033, -97.3647)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: 1/2 oz. white slab spoon
Source: Tommy Tidwell
www.gotcrappie.com
Tips: This time of year, the white bass school up on humps and ridges feeding on shad. They can be caught very easily on slab spoons. White’s a good color, but color really doesn’t matter. The smaller 1/2 oz. slabs also work a little better than the larger ones. The key is to find the whites feeding close to a high spot like a hump or raised roadbed. The top of the roadbed would be 10 to 12 feet under water with deep water all around. Position your boat on top of the high spot and jig the slabs off the bottom..

Location: Lake Joe Pool
Hotspot: Lynn Creek Fishing Barge
GPS: N 32 37.836, W 97 02.391
(32.6306, -97.0399)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fish live minnows on a bobber, hit in, out and round the brush.

Location: Lake Lavon
Hotspot: Main Lake Brush and Standing Timber
GPS: N 33 4.5839, W 96 27.7379
(33.0764, -96.4623)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: 1/8 & 1/16 jigs with a painted pink head in black and chartreuse and white and chartreuse.
Source: Carey Thorn
whitebassfishingtexas.com
Tips: Concentrate on fishing 7ft-15ft as that will be the target for brush and standing timber. Some fish are still spawning in the button willows and submerged green willows around 2ft-6 ft.

Location: Lake LBJ
Hotspot: Honeymoon Hump Area
GPS: N 30 34.35, W 98 21.474
(30.5725, -98.3579)

Species: Bass and Crappie
Best Baits: Bass: Top water lures, buzzbaits, soft plastics, umbrella rigs, and lipless crankbaits; Crappie: jigs and minnows under slip bobbers.
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Bass and crappie are settled into their summer patters of holding near the thermocline, along deep-water ledges and points. For bass, work topwaters, buzzbaits and lipless crankbaits before the sun comes up and just before dark. During the day, go deeper with soft plastics, umbrella rigs and spinnerbaits around grass edges. Find brush piles and you should find crappie. For this Hotspot there is plenty of vegetation in water less than 14’ plus it has fast break lines off the hump. There is also deep water close by to hold some big bass during the hot days.

Location: Lake Palestine
Hotspot: Kickapoo Creek
GPS: N 32 16.374, W 95 28.338
(32.2729, -95.4723)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Big Eye Jig in black/brown amber and chart/white spinnerbaits
Source: Ricky Vandergriff
www.RickysGuideService.com
Tips: Fish the creek channel slow and fish the stumps and brush along the channel. Also, fish the islands with the big eye jig and a chartreuse/white spinner bait.

Location: Lake Ray Hubbard
Hotspot: IH-30 and Power Plant Jetty
GPS: N 32 51.96, W 96 32.082
(32.8660, -96.5347)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Trick 4” worms on a shaky head, deep diving crankbaits in perch pattern, buzzbaits and top water lures.
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Black bass have moved just above the thermocline around the rocks on I-30 and on the Power Plant Jetty. This stratification will be from 12 to 14 feet depending upon the wind and if we have had any rain. Catch them on trick 4” worms on a shaky head or use deep diving crankbaits in perch pattern. Fish for them with buzz baits and top water lures in the grass above Hwy 66 early and very late.

Location: Lake Ray Roberts
Hotspot: Corps of Engineers Brush Pile
GPS: N 33 22.711, W 97 3.31
(33.3785, -97.0552)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: There are over 50 brush piles made by the Corps of Engineers on this Lake. Most are located on submerged points in 20-35 feet of water. They simply dozed the timber on the main body of the lake and shoved it into piles. The piles were then cabled down to the ground. Fish minnows over them.

Location: Richland-Chambers Res.
Hotspot: 309 Flats
GPS: N 31 58.368, W 96 6.99
(31.9728, -96.1165)

Species: White Bass and Hybrid Striper
Best Baits: Clear or White Tiny Torpedos
Source: Royce Simmons
www.gonefishin.biz
Tips: July is often the HOTTEST month of the year in Texas. It can also yield some of the HOTTEST white bass fishing you’ll experience the entire summer. White bass on Richland Chambers normally begin early a.m. & late p.m. topwater schooling activity in July, and it will last through September. Check out the Hwy 309 Flats on the North Shoreline. Look for terns and egrets picking up bait over large schools. Sometimes, the schooling fish will literally be chasing shad in 1-to-5-acre size schools.

Location: Lake Somerville
Hotspot: North Schooling Area
GPS: N 30 19.638, W 96 32.064
(30.3273, -96.5344)

Species: White Bass
Best Baits: Hellbender/spoon
Source: Weldon Kirk
www.fishtales-guideservice.com
Tips: Troll deep diving lures. Get spoons down close to the bottom. Watch for schooling right after daylight.

Location: Lake Tawakoni
Hotspot: Sycamore Cove
GPS: N 32 55.818, W 95 58.8
(32.9303, -95.9800)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Carolina rigs, live shad
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: In August, Carolina rigging shad on 24” leaders is the ticket. Fish structure early in the day, hitting humps and sides of embankments. After the sun gets up and the water starts to turn warm, head out to deep water, around 35’-45’. Use electronics to search for schools of stripers. If you find a school that is moving super-fast, set up a slow drift, dragging large threadfins. If the schools seem to commit and hold under the boat, anchor and let them feed under you.

Location: Lake Texoma
Hotspot: Alberta Creek
GPS: N 33 57.54, W 96 36.012
(33.9590, -96.6002)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Slabs and topwater plugs
Source: Bill Carey, Striper Express
www.striperexpress.com
Tips: Early morning, several large schools will surface around the lake. These schools can be a mile long and a half-mile wide. Cast topwater plugs for great action. After the surface action ends, locate the schools of fish with your electronics. Then, vertically drop slabs and use a fast retrieve.

Location: Lake Whitney
Hotspot: Hwy 22 and McCowan Flats
GPS: N 31 57.2879, W 97 25.224
(31.9548, -97.4204)

Species: Striped Bass
Best Baits: Down riggers with a 1/2 oz. buck tail jig with plastic trailers
Source: Randy Routh
www.teamredneck.net
Tips: The thermocline has set in, and the stripers are hanging out on top of it. This time of year turns into a reaction type strike. The fish will feed early, late or even at night when it’s cooler. Using down riggers with a 1/2 oz. buck tail jig with plastic trailers. Troll the flats and ledges and edges anywhere from 13’ to 18’ down. Keep in mind the thermocline usually sets in at 22’ on Whitney so keep your baits above it.

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‘Cloud-Based’ Trick Helps Beat the Heat

Reported by DEAN HEFFNER

 

JULY AND AUGUST are our hottest months, but if you pick the right time and days, they can be very rewarding—and you can avoid sunburn. You have your early morning and late evening bites, of course, but also remember that fish can get very active on mostly cloudy days.

Here’s a little trick that can work on even a partly cloudy/partly sunny day: Pick a bend in the lake where you can see good in two directions for a long distance. Watch for a cloudbank that will cover the sun for 10 minutes or more. During this sort of an “eclipse” of direct sunlight, the fish will school—and push baitfish to the surface—and feed until the sun pops back out. This is the time to throw topwaters, jigs, and slabs—or anything that will match a wounded shad.

    Largemouth bass are in their usual ambush spots so pick your confidence bait and go after them. Any shady flats close to cover and a feeding flat will produce, but so will a lonely stump in the middle of a cove.

    Crappie will be in a deep summer pattern, so fish the treetops in deeper water. Crappie on most lakes should be around 20 feet in those spots. Fishing with a submerged light at night will produce nice limits of slabs. Fish small minnows and jigs fished near deeper timber and bridge pilings.

    Blue catfish prefer live or fresh dead shad or cut bait , whereas channel cats eat everything from stink bait to hotdogs.

Striped bass should congregate on the lower ends and are best on live shad fished near drop offs near feeding flats. Stripers can also be taken on deep crankbaits.

 

Email Dean Heffner at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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Location: Lake Alan Henry
Hotspot: Creek Channels
GPS: N 33 2.7719, W 101 3.8159
(33.0462, -101.0636)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Deep diving crank baits, worms, and flukes worked on a drop shot
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: The creeks of Ince, Little Grape, and Big Grape will have schools of shad out over the channels. Follow the channel until you locate the schools of bass or shad. Then concentrate your efforts there.

Location: Lake Coleman
Hotspot: Rear Cove
GPS: N 32 2.3976, W 99 27.6871
(32.0400, -99.4615)

Species: Largemouth bass
Best Baits: Live shad, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, slabs
Source: Natalie Goldstrohm, Natural Resources Specialist, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
325-692-0921
Tips: Coleman Reservoir is now full, and largemouth bass production has been great. The coordinates listed mark an old concrete structure surrounded by flooded brush. Fish the shoreline with spinner baits, whacky worms, Senkos, and trick worms for bass. Sunrise often produces a great top-water bite in the rear cove.

Location: Lake Granbury
Hotspot: Decordova Area on the Lower Ends
GPS: N 32 25.269, W 97 41.402
(32 25.269, -97 41.402)

Species: Largemouth Bass
Best Baits: Texas Rigged Soft plastics, Spinner baits or lipless crankbaits
Source: Michael W. Acosta
Unfair Advantage Charters
254-396-4855
Tips: Look for shaded docks and stick ups with deeper water close by. Work main points and creek channels. Early topwater bite is possible. Largemouth numbers are great on soft plastics in back of sloughs near stick ups and on shaded docks later in the day.

Location: Hubbard Creek Reservoir
Hotspot: Main Lake
Species: Largemouth Bass
GPS: N 32 47.974, W 99 00.084
(32.799567, -99.001404)

Best Baits: Topwaters, buzzbaits, lipless crankbaits, jigs
Source: Natalie Goldstrohm
Natural Resources Specialist, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
325-692-0921
Tips: August can be a great month for bass fishing around the islands at Hubbard Creek Reservoir. Largemouth Bass will be waiting to ambush prey along the edges of the hydrilla mats. In the cooler mornings, try fishing a top water such as a white/chartreuse buzz bait along the edges of the hydrilla mats. Once the water starts to warm up, switch over to a chrome lipless crankbait fished along the hydrilla edge. Also try using a black and blue football head jig and punch down into the holes of hydrilla.

Location: Possum Kingdom
Hotspot: Stump Patch
GPS: N 32 52.516, W 98 29.427
(32.875267, -98.49045)

Species: Crappie
Best Baits: Minnows, jigs
Source: Dean Heffner
940-329-0036
Fav7734@aceweb.com
Tips: Fish the treetops in 40 to 50 feet of water, at around 20 feet.

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