• • •

East Texas

HotSPOTLight: Lake Conroe

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LOCATION: Lake Bob Sandlin
HOTSPOT: Monticello Cove
GPS: N 33 4.96, W 95 3.534
(33.0827, -95.0589)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Kelly Wiggler soft plastics, shrimp
TIPS: Kelly Wiggler soft plastics are a good choice here or go with live shrimp; afternoon.

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LOCATION: Brandy Branch Reservoir
HOTSPOT: Island
GPS: N 32 26.289, W 94 29.233
(32.438150, -94.487217)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Fish the perimeter of the island until you find the right depth; dawn, dusk.

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LOCATION: Caddo Lake
HOTSPOT: Ames Basin and Clinton Lake areas
GPS: N 32 42.6059, W 94 5.214
(32.7101, -94.0869)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Black colored frogs, Texas-rigged Worms in colors of black/blue or Junebug
TIPS: The spawn will be in full gear in late March, early April. Throw black colored frogs over the shallow vegetation and around the base of the cypress trees in 1-3 feet of water. Pitching large Texas-rigged worms in 3-5 feet of water around the base of the cypress trees is also a good choice for April. Worm colors of black/blue or Junebug with a 3/8 to 1/2 oz weight are good choices for Caddo Lake.

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LOCATION: Lake Conroe
HOTSPOT: Harbor Town Cove
GPS: N 30 24.65, W 95 34.491
(30.4108, -95.5749)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Work vertically in brush with minnows or green/red jigs; should produce action all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Jim Chapman (Cooper)
HOTSPOT: River Channel #5
GPS: N 33 18.304 , W 95 46.073
(33.3051, -95.7679)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows, jigs
TIPS: Work along the channel edges with live minnows or white/chartreuse jigs. Action is good all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Fork
HOTSPOT: Brier Branch
GPS: N 32 56.658, W 95 38.329
(32.9443, -95.6388)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Lipless crankbaits
TIPS: Spawning area… work the shallows with a red lipless crankbait; dawn through dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Houston
HOTSPOT: Golf Course
GPS: N 30 2.432, W 95 9.292
(30.0405, -95.1549)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, shiners, spoons
TIPS: Fish jigs or troll 300 feet off the shoreline with shiners or spoons.

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LOCATION: Lake Livingston
HOTSPOT: Banana Hump
GPS: N 30 39.193, W 95 4.358
(30.6532, -95.0726)

SPECIES: Hybrid Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, shad
TIPS: Fish yellow jigs or live shad off the bottom; dawn through dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Murvaul
HOTSPOT: Spawn Gut
GPS: N 32 1.965, W 94 27.069
(32.0328, -94.4512)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, plastics
TIPS: Sight cast for spawners, flip cottontails; dawn, morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Nacogdoches
HOTSPOT: Hydrilla Beds
GPS: N 31 37.605, W 94 48.463
(31.6268, -94.8077)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Buzzbaits, frogs
TIPS: Fish hydrilla beds and lily pads. Best action at dawn and at dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake O the Pines
HOTSPOT: Brushy Creek
GPS: N 32 44.639, W 94 32.744
(32.7440, -94.5457)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Crankbaits, jerk baits
TIPS: Fish a Texas shad crankbait or jerk baits. With jerk baits, vary your retrieve speed, pause and jerk. Morning through midday.

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LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn
HOTSPOT: Coleman Creek
GPS: N 31 08.921, W 94 09.938
(31.1487, -94.1656)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Roadrunners, minnows
TIPS: Work 4- to 6-feet of water with white/chartreuse Roadrunners or live minnows. Dawn to late morning, dusk and night.

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LOCATION: Toledo Bend
HOTSPOT: House Bay/Community Hole
GPS: N 31 17.836, W 93 41.392
(31.2973, -93.6899)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Fish live minnows or jigs. Jig vertically from boat until you find fish; dawn, morning, dusk, night.

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LOCATION: Lake Wright Patman
HOTSPOT: Doughnut Hole
GPS: N 33 14.553, W 94 13.794
(33.2426, -94.2299)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows, jigs
TIPS: Fish live minnows or white/chartreuse jigs, working the brush. Action is good all day.

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• • •

Central Texas

HotSPOTLight: Lake Limestone

• • •

LOCATION: Lake Austin
HOTSPOT: River Bend
GPS: N 30 19.844, W 97 56.041
(30.3307, -97.9340)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
TIPS: Topwaters work best; morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Bachman Lake
HOTSPOT: Bridge
GPS: N 32 51.576, W 96 51.378
(32.8596, -96.8563)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: 1/16th jig in white and chartreuse or black and chartreuse under a 2-inch pegged bobber
TIPS: Under the bridge, are all sorts of trees stuck on the pylons. They are sitting anywhere from 5 to 6 foot of water some a bit shallower. The Whataburger side, West, right up against the bank is anywhere from 6 to 9 foot. The east side of the bridge is 2 to 4 feet. So, standing on the west side is best. Under the bridge behind Whataburger is good all day, but nighttime from 8 pm-4 am is killer with a 1/16-oz. jig-head white and chartreuse or black and chartreuse, under a 2-inch pegged bobber, but replace the peg with a glow stick.

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LOCATION: Lake Belton
HOTSPOT: Cowhouse Creek Arm
GPS: N 31 8.7899, W 97 32.088
(31.1465, -97.5348)

SPECIES: White Bass and Hybrids
BEST BAITS: Storm Thin Fin in Silver Shad color or a 2.75” Storm Smash Shad in Rainbow Smelt color
TIPS: Focus on the middle section of the Cowhouse Creek arm, near the old creek channel. Watch sonar closely for suspended pods of fish and fish the Storm Thin Fin on a downrigger if the fish are deep, or fish a Smash Shad on a flat line if the fish are within 12 feet of the surface.

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LOCATION: Lake Buchanan
HOTSPOT: Upper End of Main Lake
GPS: N 30 50.0579, W 98 22.656
(30.8343, -98.3776)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Live shad, Magnum Zara and Pencil Poppers for topwater action.
TIPS: Fish the humps off of the river channel. Also, fish along the tree lines. Stripers will be in the shallows and can be caught early morning and late evening on top water baits.

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LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake Creeks
GPS: N 32 13.098, W 96 3.6719
(32.2183, -96.0612)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits and plastics
TIPS: Fish the back 1/3 of all the spawning creeks with spinnerbaits and plastics. You should find fish in most all of these areas.

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LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 28 43.86, W 97 9.972
(28.7310, -97.1662)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits in white with small Colorado blades (brass blades), jig and craw combo
TIPS: Don’t kid yourself about Coleto being a smaller lake. It’s still a southern lake and it has a lot of larger bass. This means the bigger the bait the bigger the fish. So don’t be afraid to throw as big of a bait as you have in your box. Slow roll your spinnerbait outside of grass and hang on!

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LOCATION: Eagle Mountain Lake
HOTSPOT: Ridge South of Pelican Island
GPS: N 32 53.998, W 97 30.454
(32.9000, -97.5076)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Slabs with a fly 12-inch above tail spinner or swim bait when they are surfacing or chasing shad.
TIPS: This area is a shallow sunken Island. This sunken Island is 6 to 9 feet deep. This time of the year many times the white bass will chase shad along the edge of this island. If the fish are surfacing throw a tail spinner or a bright swim bait like a hot spot. If they are still in the area but not surfacing. Run along the edge of this sunken island using your electronics. When you find them A slab and a fly will work well.

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LOCATION: Fayette County
HOTSPOT: Intake Corner
GPS: N 29 55.2779, W 96 44.8379
(29.9213, -96.7473)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Stink bait, worms
TIPS: Fish are eating Algae and bait fish along the rocks and are also spawning there. Fish rocks and cattails along intake. The best times to fish are dawn to mid-morning.

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LOCATION: Granger Lake
HOTSPOT: Creeks, sloughs, and coves
GPS: N 30 40.602, W 97 21.78
(30.6767, -97.3630)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Bass Assassin, Marabou jigs
TIPS: As the days start warming, the crappie move into the shallow coves and spawning areas. Use 10-foot jig poles with a jig and slip bobber. Set the bobber stop at 12 to 16 inches. Work the baits close to the banks in areas of very thick cover.

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LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool
HOTSPOT: Roadbed #2
GPS: N 32 38.293, W 97 00.673
(32.6382, -97.0112)

SPECIES: Largemouth
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics
TIPS: Drop shot black worms or lizards. Great spawning area. Avoid midday.

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LOCATION: Lake Lavon
HOTSPOT: Humps Between the Power Plant and Dam
GPS: N 33 2.676, W 96 28.266
(33.0446, -96.4711)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Small Flukes in Pearl White, chartreuse, and silver/black
TIPS: The main school will be located in 18 to 26 feet of water near the dam or somewhere around the main island. Also check the humps in between the dam and the powerhouse. Dead sticking small flukes right off the bottom.

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LOCATION: Lake LBJ
HOTSPOT: Wirtz Dam
GPS: N 30 33.178, W 98 20.291
(30.5530, -98.3382)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows
TIPS: Float rigged minnows, around rocks along the dam and in shallows; dawn through morning.

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LOCATION: Lake Lewisville
HOTSPOT: Hickory Creek Arm
GPS: N 33 7.45, W 97 4.81
(33.1242, -97.0802)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, plastics
TIPS: Dark spinnerbaits, plastics, Work points, guts, and island brush with dark spinnerbaits or soft plastics; avoid midday.

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LOCATION: Lake Palestine
HOTSPOT: Kickapoo Creek and Chimney Creek Cove
GPS: N 32 4.9379, W 95 24.942
(32.0823, -95.4157)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Best lure will be fishing shallow with a black/brown Amber Big Eye Jig, a Shimmy Shaker and the Mr. Twister Comida worm.
TIPS: Fishing should be very good in both the north end in Kickapoo Creek and down south in the Chimney Creek cove. Fish the shallow pockets in your creeks and fish very slow.

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LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard
HOTSPOT: 66 Cattails
GPS: N 32 53.537, W 96 32.852
(32.8923, -96.5475)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Jigs
TIPS: Use a long rod and jig cattails with 1/8 oz. bright colored jigs; all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts
HOTSPOT: South End
GPS: N 33 21.5069, W 97 4.2175
(33.3584, -97.0703)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Buzzbaits, crankbaits
TIPS: Spawning fish will be on the South End of the lake. The fish on the north end of the lake will start to guard fry. A white buzzbait worked along the grass edges and secondary points in the Northern creeks is a great way to start the day. Squarebill cranks and weightless flukes and Watermelon flukes and shad-colored crankbaits usually fair well. Fish will be starting to relate to the humps and main lake points.

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LOCATION: Lake Richland Chambers
HOTSPOT: 309 Flats
GPS: N 32 2.136, W 96 12.6005
(32.0356, -96.2100)

SPECIES: Hybrid Stripers and White Bass
BEST BAITS: 1 oz. Silver Glitter RSR Shad slabs
TIPS: Watch for the gulls and pelicans dipping down to pick up shad off the surface. Concentrate on drop-offs and ridges in the 309 Flats Area in water depths ranging from 20-30 feet. Bounce the slab off the bottom and when the strike occurs, HOLD ON! It might be a BIG Ol’ Hybrid!

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LOCATION: Lake Somerville
HOTSPOT: Yegua creek channel
GPS: N 30 18.1499, W 96 39.204
(30.3025, -96.6534)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Shad or CJ’s punch bait
TIPS: Water is warming, and it warms faster in shallow areas here. There is a slight drop off in the middle of this area. Spread chum and cast several lines out with tight lines here.

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LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Res.
HOTSPOT: Red Roof Point
GPS: N 31 2.02, W 97 34.391
(31.0337, -97.5732)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, spinnerbaits
TIPS: Fish the timber in the channel with black/blue jigs, white spinnerbaits; dawn through dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Tawakoni
HOTSPOT: Oak Cove Bridge
GPS: N 32 54.063, W 95 56.369
(32.9011, -95.9395)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Work the bridge pilings and brush with live minnows or 1/8 oz. jigs; dawn through midday, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Texana
HOTSPOT: Mouth of Jungle
GPS: N 29 1.478, W 96 34.639
(29.0246, -96.5773)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, soft plastics
TIPS: Fish spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, or soft plastics on Carolina rig; good spot all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Texoma
HOTSPOT: Coffer Dam
GPS: N 33 50.541, W 96 34.734
(33.8424, -96.5789)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Shad
TIPS: Fish live shad on downriggers, or drift live bait on Carolina rigs; dawn, morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Waco
HOTSPOT: Point N of Ridgewood Marina
GPS: N 31 32.091, W 97 13.531
(31.5349, -97.2255)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows
TIPS: Live minnows under cork, use electronics for brush; morning, afternoon.

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LOCATION: Lake Whitney
HOTSPOT: The Hump
GPS: N 31 54.672, W 97 20.868
(31.9112, -97.3478)

SPECIES: White Bass and Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Chartreuse Stripaholic jig heads and swimbaits from RSR Lures and live gizzard shad.
TIPS: Use swim baits early and cast out on the hump and retrieve back with a medium to fast retrieve to catch stripers as they move up on the hump to gorge on spawning shad. After the sun comes up, back off and anchor in 30 feet. Fish live shad suspended off the bottom. Make long casts to the hump with live shad, or free line them on a Carolina rig.

 

• • •

West Texas

HotSPOTLight: Lake Granbury

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LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry
HOTSPOT: Cove off Brazos
GPS: N 33 1.836, W 101 7.475
(33.0306, -101.1246)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Crankbaits, worms
TIPS: Fish Texas rigged soft plastic worms or crankbaits; early morning.

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LOCATION: Lake Arrowhead
HOTSPOT: Lake Arrowhead State Park Piers
GPS: N 33 45.298, W 98 23.08
(33.7550, -98.3847)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows
TIPS: Fish minnows on bobber 1-2 feet off the bottom near brush; dawn-morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Cisco
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 32 26.7579, W 98 59.0834
(32.4460, -98.9847)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits
TIPS: Cisco has a variety of fishable habitat features such as submersed boulders, fallen timber, aquatic vegetation, and docks. Texas-rigged soft plastics, spinner baits, and crankbaits should produce a bite. Watermelon, chartreuse, and brighter colors are great colors for soft plastics.

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LOCATION: Lake Granbury
HOTSPOT: River Near Tin Top
GPS: N 32 34.559, W 97 49.295
(32 34.559, -97 49.295)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Small jigs with soft plastics in Electric Chicken and Chartreuse colors worked near structure near banks/docks
TIPS: Swim or bounce your jigs across the bottom. Work the bends in the river and look for fish either in the deeper holes and when active on top of flats adjacent to the deeper water. Crappie will be spawning most creeks and sloughs all over the lake and in the river. Granbury water temperatures are rebounding into the 60’s. Spring patterns are in full force. Wintering Birds are still in place and are pointing anglers to active feeding fish from the dam to the river above Granbury. Passing cool fronts/storm fronts continue to dominate the weather pattern.

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LOCATION: Possum Kingdom Lake
HOTSPOT: Mid Lake
GPS: N 32 52.223 W 98 31.747
(32.870385, -98.529114)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Live shad, swim jigs, spoons
TIPS: Stripers are in their spring pattern and feeding heavy water temps are in the 60s. The stripers are moving around looking for their next meal. There’s still a few birds around so keep an eye out for them. If the birds are there the fish will be close by and feeding. Live shad is the best bait, but some can be caught using swim jigs and small spoons, cast into the birds. Don’t be afraid to move around and look for the fish if you can’t find birds. Once you find some fish, stick with them and follow them till your done fishing. Good live bait will make or break your trip. Catch your bait fresh and take extra good care of it and it will catch fish.

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LOCATION: Possum Kingdom
HOTSPOT: Peanut Patch
GPS: N 32 53.376, W 98 29.440
(32.8896, -98.490667)

SPECIES: Striped Bass & White Bass, Hybrids
BEST BAITS: RatLTraps, crankbaits
TIPS: Look for fish to be stacked on the 20- or 30-foot breaklines. Watch the birds—they are still here. If you see any floodwaters coming in, get closer to the mouth of the Brazos or Cedar Creek. If there is water flowing, fish will head to it.

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