Observer Outdoors
Seasons? What Seasons?
Folks, that first touch of cool has arrived in the morning air, which means one thing for sure: you’re probably too busy to go fishing.
Fall signals the first decent into madness for the rest of the year. Put the kayak up, turn in your gaiters and your wide-brimmed hats. Yep, it’s just a never-ending stream of football games and being forced into making casseroles from this point on.
This is a shame.
After all, autumn is often considered the other great fishing season; spring will always take the crown.
You can expect massive fish to be way up in the water column; taking risks, trying to feed, migrate, multiply. But the way the Texas weather pattern works just doesn’t seem to match with hard and fast “seasons”.
For the last several years, Christmas Day was as good a day as any to hit the lake, with temperatures in the 60s and up. Besides a few extended cold spells that we can usually expect around New Years and Valentines Day, what we call “winter” in Texas is considered to be more typical for Fall in the Northern States.
Any change in weather pattern will add some variation to body of water; this can be a good thing, and a bad thing. For instance, that one little spot where you always catch one might not be a popular schooling spot anymore. At the same time, you might start finding some luck in areas that during the summer heat are totally dead.
There’s More To Life Than Bass
We like our bass fishing here in Texas, but there’s one problem with sport fishing for big bass: you’ll have to go to Long John Silvers for your fish fry.
Consider the Crappie
Up north you might hear them called “papermouths” or “specks”; in Louisiana they’re called “sacalays” (that’s Sac-au-lait in French) which means “milk bags”. Which makes sense, they are a whitefish, and probably the tastiest fish you can catch.
Maybe even tastier than catfish, but you didn’t hear that from me.
Crappies are sunfish, and they tend to arrange themselves in schools, sometimes numbering hundreds at a time in big bodies of water.
If you catch one out of the blue, there’s probably a larger school nearby. In Texas, they have to be 10- inches long to keep, with a daily bag limit of 25.
Pro tip: at some lakes, like Nasworthy, there’s no limit at all because of their overpopulation.
You can identify the two types of crappie, black and white, from their black stripes. However, when spawning, the male white crappie will develop a similar dark stripe, leading to misidentification. It’s not that consequential; they’re all considered the same for bag limits.
Two decent-sized crappie are more than enough for one serving; one large crappie (12-inches or longer) usually produces two good sized fillets.
Catching them is simple work; but this is one place where a boat, or any kind of floatation device, really comes in handy. From the shore, it can be hard to get to the deeper water where the crappie school.
One of the most popular spots to zero in are “stick-ups”, this is submerged trees and other tall vegetation that provides complex underwater structure for the fish. The most common method is to cast, and jig. If you catch one, cast directly where you did the last time, and work the entire area thoroughly. This method can catch you more than enough to feed the family.
As for bait, specialized crappie jigs are cheap, and can be re-used. One of my personal favorites is the Beetle Spin. One thing to note, is that these will get hung up more often on branches, and even a fight with a crappie can bend the spinner out of shape.
Live bait will always be the king of the crappie lures, especially minnows. In San Angelo, minnows are sold in a few locations, but Field and Streams usually sells them cheapest. The only problem is that the bait is so good, the crappie usually eat them. If you’re lucky, you can get a few fish on the same bait.
Fish with thin, fast action rods. Light tackle, 6-8 lb. line is ideal, though you can get away with lighter.
Watch Out For Hunters on Public Land
This is also our first fishing report since hunting season begins– it should go without saying, but be wary fishing on public land where deer, dove, and duck hunters might be firing their shotguns off, and some of those slugs can travel farther than you think. Archery season is already in full swing. Watch for posted notices that might warn you of hunting danger ahead.
Some land managers require or strongly suggest anyone who visits during the hunting season wear hunter orange clothing even if they are not hunting. Worry not, the fish don’t mind that you look stupid wearing that dinky little vest.
LAKE REPORTS
TPWD Fishing Reports
Amistad
GOOD – 35.5 percent, very stained water: temp. 81 degrees, 59.55 feet below pool.
Bass anglers are finding success either shallow out to 5 feet of water, or deeper in 25 feet or more. Shallow action has been good on plastics flipped or pitched into new vegetation, as well as slow-moving topwaters like frogs or walking baits, with some better fish being caught this way, along with spinnerbaits working slowly. Deeper fish are coming from dragging plastics on ledges in 25-35 feet, with weight sizes adjusted for wind to maintain bottom contact while keeping the presentation natural. Water temperatures are holding around 80 degrees, and with lots of new grass growth across the lake, fishing should only improve as the water cools. Report by Kurt Dove, Amistad Bass Guide
Brady
FAIR – 91.8 percent, stained water: temp. 76 degrees, 1.24 feet below pool.
Fishing is improving after the recent rise in the water level. Some anglers are reporting crappie catches, many say they are currently too small to keep. Report by Sonja of Brady Lake Store.
Brownwood
GOOD – 89.9 percent, stained water: temp. 74 degrees, 1.81 feet below pool.
Black bass to 4.69 pounds are excellent in 3- 8 feet of water on topwater frogs in the shoreline grass. Some catches in the brush in 5-12 feet of water with flukes, chatterbaits, crankbaits and jigs.
Crappie are excellent with catches up to 13 inches on minnows and jigs on the main lake, and scattered brush piles in 10-20 feet of water. White bass are slow to 1.50 pounds on crappie jigs and crankbaits in the lights at night or schooling in the open water of the main lake.
Catfish are food on jug lines with cut shad or perch on the main lake flats and drains in 10-25 feet of water.
Buchanan
SLOW – 95.3 percent, stained water: temp. 80 degrees, 1.81 feet below pool.
The water is slowly clearing but most of the lake is stained in color. Trolling for stripers showed signs of improvement with a few keepers caught. Topwater schools slowed some over last week, but the ones that did surface were large fish. The best depths to target have been 15-35 feet of water. Still waiting on a cold front, rain event or 3 days of consistent winds to change the water conditions and the stripers attitude. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing.
Striped bass and white bass are slow with many catches of smaller sized fish. Best bet is to troll downriggers and bucktail jigs. Focus on main lake points and the backs of creeks in 18-32 feet of water. Small schools of white bass are sporadically surfacing throughout the lake from 11 a.m. Report by Captain Aaron Dick, One Up Fishing Guide Service.
Canyon Lake
FAIR – 66.3 percent, stained water: temp. 85 degrees, 17.60 feet below pool.
After the recent rise in lake level bass are spread out, with some moving into flooded brush. The lake turned over, and there is now a lot of tiny shad surfacing. Largemouth bass are best early morning with small topwaters, or tiny 1.0 crankbaits. During the heat of the day flip the grass for a few bites. Stripers are slow but should improve as the weather cools. Report by Tyler Stanley, Game on Guide Service.
Coleman
FAIR – 89.3 percent, water slightly stained: temp. 82 degrees, 2.18 feet below pool.
Bass are fair to 3 pounds on small finesse worms in 10-15 feet of water. Crappie good to 2 pounds on jigs and minnows in 10-15 feet of water on the main lake docks and in the timber towards the creek.
Hubbard Creek
FAIR – 47.7 percent, stained water: temp. 80 degrees, 13.04 feet below pool.
Fishing patterns are holding steady. Bass are slow with many smaller sized fish in soft plastics in brush piles. Crappie are on brush piles biting minnows or jigs. Find the bait fish to locate fish.
Nasworthy
GOOD – 86 percent, slightly stained water: temp. 85 degrees, 0.93 feet below pool.
Shad are still deep, but should be moving shallow as the weather cools. The bass continue to be fair flipping soft plastics around reed bases in 1-3 feet of water.
The key is to cover water until you find a good stretch that holds multiple bass. Bass are holding back in the shade around heavy cover to escape the sun. Early morning and late evening topwater is also effective for targeting bass.
Crappie were fair around main lake boat docks on chartreuse jigs and catfish were fair on cut bait and stink bait around river channel bends. Report by the Angelo State Fishing Team.
O.H. Ivie
FAIR – 49.6 percent, stained water: temp. 80 degrees; 18.11 feet below pool.
Black bass are slow with few catches up to 9 pounds, but fish are primarily 3-5 pounds. Target bass with topwater frogs, spooks and small creature baits flipped in heavy cover.
Shallower water close to a channel bend with deeper water nearby works best, or a point with a drop near one side.
Crappie are fair around bigger trees suspended 8-12 feet down. Minnows are best, but also jigs with red heads and shad patterns will catch fish.
Catfish are good in the river suspended in trees and brush. Some reports of catches under bobbers and floats with cut shad or stink bait. Report by Wendell Ramsey, Ramsey Fishing.
Spence
FAIR – 13.7 percent, stained water; temp. 77 degrees, 49.80 feet below pool.
Channel and blue catfish are good with fish scattered deep and shallow. As the water temperature starts to creep down catfish will move shallow for a fall pattern.
Target catfish in the creeks, river channels, and brush using punch bait and fresh cut bait. White bass surfacing activity has stopped, but fish can be caught in deep water off the channels suspended 15-17 feet below the surface.
Sandies are chasing bait balls. Crappie are fair as fish transition to brush in the channels with live minnows or jigs. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.
Twin Buttes
FAIR- 13.6 percent, stained water; temp. 77 degrees, 33.69 feet below pool.
Same report as Spence. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.
