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Central Texas

HotSPOTLight: Lake Calaveras

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LOCATION: Lake Aquilla
HOTSPOT: Deep Humps
GPS: N 31 54.204, W 97 12.18
(31.9034, -97.2030)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: 1oz Chartreuse slabs from RSRLures.com and Tail Spinners
TIPS: Watch your graph along the humps and you will see the White Bass stacked up on the edges of the humps. Drop slabs down and bounce off bottom making contact with bait as it falls. Carry binoculars and glass the lake occasionally watching for the herons and cranes that land on the water. The white bass push the bait to the surface and the cranes will drop down and feed. Keep a good distance and make long casts with slabs or tail spinners.

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LOCATION: Lake Austin
HOTSPOT: Docks by Deep Water and Over-Hanging Brush
GPS: N 30 19.464, W 97 50.316
(30.3244, -97.8386)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Pacemaker Jig, V&M Twin Tail Trailer, V&M Wild Craw Jr, Picasso Shock Blade, Picasso Tungsten Flipping Weight
TIPS: September is typically a hot water month which means these fish want to hide in the shadows. Try flipping a Pacemaker Adrenaline jig with a V&M Twin Tail or Wild Craw trailer to each post of docks or skipping a jig in the back of the docks. You might also try flipping under heavy brush with a Picasso Tungsten Flipping weight (the only polished bore tungsten on the market) with a Wild Craw trailer. The good thing about flipping is you can cover water quickly and effectively by targeting areas that hold fish. If a dock reaches out into the lake, pick up a Picasso Shock Blade and run it beside the dock pilings for that reaction bite. It’s good to throw at the same pilings more than once to give them another chance if they missed it the first time.

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LOCATION: Bachman Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 32 51.1859, W 96 52.014
(32.8531, -96.8669)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Small rooster tails and small creature baits (3-4 inches long)
TIPS: Bass should on fire shallow along the banks as shad will be running shallow too. Fish in 1-5 feet of water using the bridge for shaded cover. Cast along the banks parallel as the fish are no more than five feet from the banks.

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LOCATION: Belton Lake
HOTSPOT: Live Oak Cove
GPS: N 31 06.977, W 97 28.713
(31.1163, -97.4786)

SPECIES: Smallmouth
BEST BAITS: Jigs
TIPS: Pull the jig high off bottom to maximize its fall. Fish along the bank.

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LOCATION: Lake Buchanan
HOTSPOT: Lower Half of Main Lake
GPS: N 30 46.2119, W 98 25.098
(30.7702, -98.4183)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Live Shad
TIPS: Fish the lower half of the lake towards the dam area. Fish the downwind side of your boat with live shad either drifting or anchor in 25 to 35 feet concentrating on coves or ridges.

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LOCATION: Canyon Lake
HOTSPOT: Turkey Creek Point
GPS: N 29 51.7079, W 98 12.948
(29.8618, -98.2158)

 

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad in Pearl color
TIPS: Trolling this area with downriggers seems to produce the best catches. Set the downriggers from 40 to 60 feet deep and look for schools of Striped Bass. When located, vary trolling speeds until the fish strike.

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LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake Docks
GPS: N 32 19.044, W 96 10.0139
(32.3174, -96.1669)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits
TIPS: Fish all docks throughout the lake with jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Fish 2 to 10 feet and cover everything. Any rocks you find in shallow water can be good as well.

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LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 28 44.4959, W 97 10.818
(28.7416, -97.1803)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Rat-L-Trap in silver and black
TIPS: September is usually the last hot month of the year. Bugs are flying over the water, and top water is usually explosive. It’s hard to beat top water action. Early morning and late evening are great times but don’t discount the middle of the day. Most action occurs mid-day. Fish are gonna be feeding hard preparing for the winter months. Action will be good on about anything you throw at them. Rat-L-Traps are very productive outside the grass by deeper water.

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LOCATION: Lake Eagle Mountain
HOTSPOT: Fort Worth Boat Club Point
GPS: N 32 53.460, W 97 29.167
(32.891004, -97.486117)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: crankbaits, lipless crankbaits
TIPS: The White Bass are still in a summer pattern moving fast throughout the water column chasing bait. Early in the morning or late in the day, look for fish near the surface of the water. Casting a small lipless crankbait will trigger a reaction bite to catch these fish. During the afternoon, trolling small deep diving crankbaits with light line will catch fish that are deeper in the water column. Fish will be cruising around structure such as humps and points and even in open water from the surface up to about 20 feet deep. The key right now is to use lures that cover a lot of water because the fish are on the move.

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LOCATION: Fayette County
HOTSPOT: Northwest side Main Point
GPS: N 29 56.5679, W 96 44.0639
(29.9428, -96.7344)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait
TIPS: Concentrate on fishing timber here in 8-12’ water. Chum around the boat, use tight line and expect very light bite even for big fish.

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LOCATION: Granger Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 30 41.952, W 97 23.22
(30.6992, -97.3870)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Marabou jigs
TIPS: The crappie are in shallow water this time of year and are being caught in 3 to 7 feet. Some good places to try is standing timber at the mouth of the river or Willis Creek. They are also in very shallow artificial structure and brush piles. Use Berkley Crappie Nibbles on your jigs and loop knots to get the best action. Any cover will hold crappie at this time of year, and they will be big after feeding heavily on shad all summer.

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LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool
HOTSPOT: Sand Bass Hump
GPS: N 32 37.840, W 97 01.068
(32.6307, -97.0178)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, RatLTraps, topwaters
TIPS: Fish jigs deep in the heat of the day. Use RatLtraps for suspended fish or topwaters on surfacing fish. Avoid midday.

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LOCATION: Lake Lavon
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 33 7.248, W 96 29.8079
(33.1208, -96.4968)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Black and chartreuse jigs
TIPS: Fish 15-18 feet in standing and submerged timber. Crappie action has been really good on this lake lately.

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LOCATION: Lake LBJ
HOTSPOT: Light Tower Point
GPS: N 30 33.643, W 98 21.511
(30.5607, -98.3585)

SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: RatLTraps
TIPS: Troll or cast Chrome/blue RatLtraps along the rocks and point in 10-20 feet of water; dawn through morning.

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LOCATION: Lake Lewisville
HOTSPOT: 17’ Hump East of Old Spillway
GPS: N 33 6.911, W 96 59.301
(33.1152, -96.9884)

SPECIES: Hybrid Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Shad
TIPS: Fish live shad on bottom rigs; good all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Limestone
HOTSPOT: Running Branch
GPS: N 31 20.292, W 96 19.778
(31.3382, -96.3296)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Live or cut shad, stink bait
TIPS: Tightline your bait in 3-15 feet of water; should produce bites all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Palestine
HOTSPOT: Back of Flat Creek Near the Dogwood Point
GPS: N 32 12.912, W 95 31.548
(32.2152, -95.5258)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, spinnerbaits
TIPS: Bass fishing should be good mid-lake around the back of Flat Creek, near the dogwood point. Fish the creek and shallow water around the islands. Best lures will be the Big Eye Jig along the creek and the Texas Spinnerbait around the islands and grass.

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LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard
HOTSPOT: Rush Creek
GPS: N 32 50.028, W 96 29.878
(32.8338, -96.4980)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Soft plastic worms
TIPS: Work tree lines with pumpkin or watermelon worms on Carolina rig; morning through afternoon.

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LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts
HOTSPOT: Big Boot Cove
GPS: N 33 25.324, W 97 1.922
(33.4221, -97.0320)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Lipless crank baits and small white spinnerbaits
TIPS: This time of year, especially as the water starts to cool down, the bass fishing normally gets good. Fish ¼-ounce lipless crank baits and white spinnerbaits around any flooded vegetation. Most of the fish will be in water from 1-6 feet deep. Fish can be found in the back of any main lake cove. Continue to keep moving and covering water until you catch a couple in one area. Then fish that area thoroughly—there should be several more fish to be caught.

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LOCATION: Richland Chambers Lake
HOTSPOT: 309 Flats
GPS: N 31 58.368, W 96 6.99
(31.9728, -96.1165)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Danny Kings Blood Punch Bait
TIPS: Blue and channel cats will congregate in the timbered areas up the Richland Creek Arm of the Lake. You can also find them off the Hwy 309 Flats along the edges of drop offs in 20-plus feet of water depths. Punch Bait fished near the bottom will result in a nice box of quality cats ranging from 2 to 5 pounds. All you need is the bait, a minimum 15-pound test line on your rod and reel and a # 4 treble hook. Hold on, as you’re likely to hook into a slot fish—the Blues have a 30-to-45-inch slot and must be returned to fight again.

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LOCATION: Lake Somerville
HOTSPOT: Brushy Creek
GPS: N 30 20.94, W 96 33.2039
(30.3490, -96.5534)

SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait/Crawdad
TIPS: Anchor here, chum around the boat, fish tight line on outside of the vegetation.

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LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Res.
HOTSPOT: North of Trees
GPS: N 31 2.116, W 97 34.723
(31.0353, -97.5787)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Fish the grass edges with minnows or white/chartreuse jigs; dawn through midday, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Tawakoni
HOTSPOT: Rock Pile at 751
GPS: N 32 51.97, W 96 4.503
(32.8662, -96.0751)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Worms, crankbaits
TIPS: Work the rocks from road to water with Texas- or Carolina rigged worms or crankbaits; dawn, morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Texana
HOTSPOT: Highway 111 Bridge
GPS: N 28 57.199, W 96 31.58
(28.9533, -96.5263)

SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
TIPS: Free fall live minnows or chartreuse jigs; crappie bite here all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Texoma
HOTSPOT: Rocky Point
GPS: N 33 52.208, W 96 38.251
(33.8701, -96.6375)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
TIPS: Fish topwaters with South, Southeast, Southwest winds, fish within 2 feet of the shoreline; dawn, morning, dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Texoma
HOTSPOT: 377 Bridge
GPS: N 33 52.58, W 96 50.077
(33.8763, -96.8346)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, sluggos
TIPS: Fish tire reef, rip rap, and docks in the area with white/yellow spinnerbaits, or Sluggos; productive all day.

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LOCATION: Lake Travis
HOTSPOT: Commander’s Point Area
GPS: N 30 24.125, W 97 54.495
(30.402083, -97.90825)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: plastics, jigs, worms, spinnerbaits, topwaters
TIPS: Fish the shallows early with topwaters. Move deeper into 15-40 feet of water and throw jigs, soft plastic creature baits. Fish spinnerbaits and crankbaits around submerged timber.

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LOCATION: Lake Waco
HOTSPOT: Reynolds Creek S side Entrance
GPS: N 31 35.39, W 97 14.776
(31.5898, -97.2463)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Worms, spinnerbaits
TIPS: Texas rig worm & spinners near standing timber & brush; dawn-morn, afternoon-dusk.

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LOCATION: Lake Whitney
HOTSPOT: McCowan Flats
GPS: N 31 55.4519, W 97 24.6239
(31.9242, -97.4104)

SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: 1/2 oz Bucktail jigs with plastic trailers
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 a lot of times. The fish will feed early, late or even at night when it’s cooler. Using down riggers 1/2 oz buck tail jigs with plastic trailers troll the flats and ledges and edges anywhere from 13 to 18 feet down. keep in mind the thermocline usually sets in at 22 feet on Whitney so keep your baits above it.

 

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