Pineywoods Region Week of May 1, 2024

B.A. Steinhagen

GOOD. Water stain; 66 degrees; 0.44 feet below pool. Freshwater has been coming into the lake. Catfish are biting in the shallows on cut bait and prepared baits. Largemouth bass can be caught on Texas rigged worms and crankbaits.

Bob Sandlin

GOOD. Water stained; 64 degrees; 0.54 feet above pool. Water levels are high, boat traffic should be mindful of wakes to avoid flooding the boat houses. Crappie are good in 15-20 feet of water on brush piles or downed timber on minnows or jigs. Catfish are good in shallow flooded brush with worms or cheese bait. and bass are good at Blow Hole using chrome rattle traps. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O the Pines Crappie Fishing. Water levels are high with more rain in the forecast. Flip into flooded bushes for bass. Bass are transitioning to the first breakline in 6-8 feet of water hitting Texas rig worms, crankbaits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine. Bead heads and closures should work well around retaining walls and boat docks. Top water bite early, late, and on cloudy days should be excellent. Look for crappie around brush and shallow banks, small wooly buggers are excellent. Bream are building beds and are aggressive. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service.

Caddo

FAIR. Water stained; 61 degrees; 1.86 feet above pool. Caddo lake continues to fall after the floods of April, so the bite is slow. The bass will still be holding tight on the trees with the water falling quickly but hopefully the grass fish will turn on soon. Buzzbaits, moving frogs will be good very soon. Swimbaits and flukes over the grass should get bit, if fish do not want topwaters. Lots of current in the river, so the lake in general is muddy or stained. Once the clarity improves, fish the current. Fish in the river where bass will group up after the spawn in the river hitting dropshots, shaky heads or Texas rigs. Even if the bite is slow or tough it is always a good time to come see this majestic lake that God spoke into existence. Report provided by Vince Richards, Caddo Lake Fishing & Fellowship.

Conroe

GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 0.65 feet above pool. Eater size catfish are excellent in shallow to deep water in runoffs, on structure and on bulkheads with catfish Bubblegum, worms, liver, and shad. Largemouth bass are good with some still on spawning beds. Report by Brad Doyle with Bradley’s Guide Service. Hybrids are in 17-28.feet of water using jigging slabs, swimbaits, minnows or shad. Crappie bite can be tough but is improving in 11-21 feet of water using plastics, hair jigs or minnows. Always wear your life jacket. Report by Mike Cason, Fishical Therapy.

Fork

GOOD. Water Stained; 60 degrees; 0.67 feet above pool. Lake Fork flood gates are open which can make the bite tough. The best bite has been on shaky heads and Carolina rigs on main lake points and secondary points in 5-8 feet of water. Squarebill crankbaits are catching a few in the same areas. Frog bite is slow over flooded grass. Yum dingers are fair at the edge of the grass 2-4 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. The crappie fishing on Lake Fork has been great this week if you find the right areas and patterns to fish. The spawn is coming to an end and the black crappie are beginning to load up on certain bridges and docks. If you search you can find some big schools of keeper size black crappie. We have had to battle heavy rains, terrible winds and even thunderstorms lately a lot. Hopefully we will see more stable weather conditions over the next few weeks. You can still find some larger white crappie on timber in 10-22ft. Also seeing some white crappie loading up on certain brush in some areas close to where they spawned. Jigs and minnows are both producing well right now and should stay the same until around June or July. Catfishing is still hot on Lake Fork. Baited holes in 12-20ft along creek channels are doing great for channel cats. Use cattle cubes or sour grain to get them to hold in one spot. Then use any prepared catfish bait or cut shad to load the boat with eater sized catfish. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

Houston County

GOOD. Water clear; 67 degrees; 0.48 feet above pool. Shad spawn continues attracting the predator fish. Crappie, largemouth bass and catfish are still on beds. White bass are good early in 10 feet of water then in 17 feet of water in the afternoon with chartreuse or silver slabs. Largemouth bass are good in 1-7 feet of water with frogs, wacky worms, weightless Texas rigs, yum dingers or swim jigs. Crappie are in 10 feet or less using minnows on standing timber, brush, or deep docks. Report by Colan Gonzales, CG’s Just Fishing Guide Service.

Lake O' the Pines

GOOD. Water stained; 71 degrees; 6.29 feet above pool. Crappie are fair in 15-20 feet of water on brush with minnows or jigs. Catfish are good shallow in flooded brush with worms or cheese bait. Report by Marty Thomas, Lake O’ the Pines Crappie Fishing. Water levels are high with more rain in the forecast. Flip into flooded bushes for bass. Bass are good in flooded bushes with creature baits. Report by Mike Stroman, R & R Marine.

Livingston

SLOW. Slightly stained; 67 degrees; 1.70 feet above pool. Catfish are biting good in shallow water where the shad are spawning. Water is starting to clear a little bit. White bass fishing continues to be spotty. Report by Michael Richardson, Lake Livingston Adventures.

Martin Creek

GOOD. Water stained; 76 degrees; 0.13 feet above pool. Bass are fair along the edge of the hydrilla using senkos with gold flake and Texas rigged redbug trick worms. Crappie are excellent in brush piles in 20-25 feet and at railroad trestle using minnows and Bobby Garland jigs. Catfish are good using live and cut bait on clay banks in 5-10 feet of water.

Nacogdoches

GOOD. Water stained; 68 degrees; 0.19 feet above pool. Crappie are on brush piles. Largemouth bass are good in shallow water on chatterbaits, spooks, and frogs. The offshore bite is on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Report by Wyatt Frankens, Wyatt Frankens Guide Service.

Naconiche

FAIR. Water slightly stained; 72 degrees; full pool. Wicked winds along with wicked storms shut the bite off last week. These situations typically call for a shallow approach with a lure that is loud or flashy, or both. The squarebill crankbait seems to still be getting the bite. Switching to a bluegill color made a difference earlier in the week. Crappie population is good. Catfish are slow. Report by Eric Wolfe, NacoTack Fishing Services.

Pinkston

GOOD. normal stain; 65 degrees. Bass are shallow in the grass schooled up on bait. Cast chatterbaits, swim jigs, topwaters, spooks and frogs. This should persist for the next few months. Shad are spawning on the docks, hard clay, trees and grass. Crappie are at the end of the spawn in shallow grass and suspended in trees along the edges and mouth creeks. Report by Captain Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.

Raven

GOOD. Water stained; 71 degrees. Lake Raven suffered a flood event this past week, receiving 11 inches of rain. The lake is extremely murky with no visibility. Anglers on boats and kayaks are advised to use extreme caution due to floating debris in the reservoir. Bass can be caught casting weightless flukes into vegetation. Crappie can be caught with crappie jigs with live minnows and crappie bites. Catfish can be caught on worms and catfish stink bait fished off of the bottom. Bluegill can be caught off of worms and hotdogs on the boathouse dock and the fishing piers in the park.

Sam Rayburn

GOOD. Water stained; 72 degrees; 3.29 feet below pool. Bass are in 8 feet or less with some in the lily pads on topwater frogs, or with Carolina rigs and jigs on harder bottoms and structures off points and humps. Crappie are transitioning to brush piles using minnows and jigs. Catfish are in deeper water flats and creek channels on cut bait. White bass are transitioning to points and down the river with some schooling activity hitting jigging spoons and crankbaits. Fishing patterns are still behind what is typical for this time of year. Navigate with caution to avoid sandbars and stumps. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service. Shad spawn is in full swing. Bass are good keying on hard clay points, grass edges and flooded timber with swim jigs, chatterbaits, topwater spooks or pop-r’s. Offshore bite is 10-20 feet on hard spots and flats, points and creek channel swings using crankbaits, Carolina rigs, shaky heads and dropshots. Crappie have finished spawning in 12-20 feet of water on brush piles and standing timber. Report by Captain Hank Harrison, Double H Precision Fishing.

Toledo Bend

GOOD. Water slightly stained; 75 degrees; 0.19 feet above pool. More rain in the forecast so water levels are high and rising. Main lake is clear, but some of the big creeks with the flow are muddy and will take some time to clear up. There is a shad spawn going on in the morning and some afternoons attracting the bass. Bass are good on spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and small swimbaits. Once the rises work Texas rigs and wacky worms along edge of the flooded brush. On an overcast day, bass can be caught on topwaters and frogs all day long. Lots of fish, just not many over 4 pounds. Crappie are fair on brush piles and deeper docks using 1/16 ounce jigs with a white or smoke color grub and live bait. Best area has been away from the big flow in the creeks, as crappie do not like the rushing water. Report by Stephen Johnston, Johnston Fishing.

Tyler

SLOW. Water stained; 72 degrees; 0.54 feet above pool. Rain in the forecast heading into the weekend. Bass are fair in 10 feet of water on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and trick worms. Crappie are fair with many undersized catches scattered from the shallows to 20 feet of water on brush piles with minnows and jigs. Bream are fair on red worms. Catfish are slow on liver and stink bait. Start to target the rocks or grass lines while the catfish spawn is on. Report by Paul Taylor, The Boulders at Lake Tyler.

Welsh

GOOD. Water normal stain. 70 degrees. Largemouth bass are good with Texas rigged worms, and chatterbaits.

Wright Patman

GOOD. Water stained; 74 degrees; 3.08 feet above pool. Water levels are on the rise. Catfish are great in brush with the usual cheese bait, and noodles. Crappie spawn is over and fish are moving to the edges of deeper water on stumps and brush. Report by Jerry Gennings, local angler and guide.

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