Fishing Report/Fishing News
The Bassmaster Central Open at Sam Rayburn takes center stage Oct. 20-22. It’ll be the final bow of the 2022 season for the Opens anglers, and an additional six competitors (the top three from the Central Division and the top three overall from the Opens Series) will punch a ticket into the Elites.
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The 2023 Bassmaster Open schedule has been released and there will be only one tournament in Texas/Louisiana. Toledo Bend will host a tournament on April 13-15, 2023.
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We salute and remember Huntington, Tx native Lonnie Stanley who was inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame last week. Stanley, who passed away in 2021, was the owner and creator of Stanley Lures, one of the most popular lure companies of the 1980s and beyond. His jigs and spinnerbaits became the must-have lures of that period, largely because of his success with them on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.
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BASS released its annual Best Bass Fishing Lakes report. St. Lawrence in New York was number one followed by O.H. Ivie Reservoir, located in the center of Texas, at number two. Lake Fork was 7th and Sam Rayburn 9th.
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Fishing Report For This Week
Sam Rayburn
FAIR. Water stained; 76 degrees; 5.61 feet low. Bait fish are active in 18 feet of water attracting the bass. Bass are in the creek channels and points. Along grass edges throw topwater frogs, worms and crankbaits. Crappie are slowly migrating to the creeks and in 12-14 feet of water hanging on brush and timber in 27 feet of water. Catfish points and creek channels chasing bait cut bait and liver perch. White bass are schooling on flats biting small crankbaits and silver spoons. Report by Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.
Toledo Bend
GOOD. Water stained; 75-77 degrees; 4.71 feet low. GOOD. The water level is 167.3 with no generators running. Water temperature at the Dam is 75-77 degrees with surface temperature around 60. This is the fifth week with no rainfall. The back feeder creeks are stained and muddy, and the main lake remains clear. The best fishing times this week has been at first light to mid-morning and at night during the full moon. There are two types of school Bass in the fall transition, one group will go shallow chasing and feeding on shad against the banks. Look for blue herons and white cranes feeding on baitfish and walking the bank. The second group of bass will remain deep but will congregate into bigger schools. For the shallow bite use a topwater baits such as, spooks, buzz baits and pop-r’s, and �¼ ounce or ⅜ ounce spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse, and black in color. Try something different in water out to three feet by going back to the old single spin with a Colorado blade in silver for clear water and gold for muddy water, or square bill crankbaits in shad and perch imitation colors. For deeper bass, use a jigging spoon �½- 3/4 ounce in silver with a white or yellow accent tail feather, or deep diving crankbaits in citrus shad and Tennessee shad colors. The jig bite has been comingon strong on long tapering points dropping off into deep water best colors, black and blue, PB&J football jigs 3/8 – 3/4 ounce with a three inch matching color grub trailer, and a green pumpkin jig with the chuck tail dipped in chartreuse color. The full moon night bite has been producing quality fish using dark colored Texas rigged worms like a Berkley solid black power 7.5-inch ribbon tail worm or a Natural Forage Bait 7.5-inch mag trick worm in the South African special color casting around lighted boat docks and piers. Crappie bite has been picking up in 10-20 feet of water using small jigs and small minnows depending on the cloud cover and cooling night temperatures. Bluegills are still mixed in with Crappie in the brush piles and some are now being caught under boathouses and docks. Catfish are holding in 10-20 feet of water and have been also caught migrating up into the feeder creeks. Here’s another Bass pattern if you are using a 5-8 WT fly rod, use a topwater foam white or black wiggle fish and sometimes cast a Dahlberg Diver in yellow/black color with a floating line; strip slowly and stop, pause, strip again or you can cast a crease fly shad color imitation; strip, strip, pause. The cadence can change daily. Some days they want the fly fast across the surface like chasing down a shad and other days they want it dead, motionless on the surface. While fishing from a boat or kayak, just take a minute to admire God’s beauty, the changing of the foliage, the trees, the sunrise, the sunsets and the sounds and smells of the outdoors. Always leave the area better than you found it by picking up what you can. Good luck and tight lines! Report from Master Captain Steve (Scooby) Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Orvis Endorsed Fishing Guide, Mudfish Rod Shop, Kayak Sales, and Rod Repair.
SALTWATER
Sabine Lake
GOOD. 77 degrees. The cold fronts have pushed bait out of the marshes. Limits of redfish with trout mixed in are schooling in the marshes and in the ICW on bulkheads and rocks biting on live shrimp under a popping cork, or morning glory chartreuse tail ⅛ ounce jigheads. Flounder, 17-20 inches, are on the points and drains in the marshes. Jetties have an early trout bite on topwaters, switching to Carolina rigs with live shrimp. Limits of sheepshead and drum in the jetty rocks. Sabine Channel paying off for flounder in the bulkheads with trout and redfish along the sandy banks. Good redfish are in Texas Bayou feeding on the shrimp. Limits of speckled trout and some redfish outside of the North Levy biting on topwaters early, and live shrimp under a popping corking mid morning. Pleasure Island Point to Stoot’s Island producing limits of speckled trout on watermelon red five inch jerkbaits and live shrimp under a popping cork on drifts. Neches River has nice keeper flounder off pints and drops. Bull redfish are in 25 feet of water on gold and silver spoons. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 77 degrees. As fall weather approaches, look for redfish in big schools near marshes, structures, jetties and rock barriers. Look for trout on deeper reefs. One month left for flounder season and they are definitely here, a good flounder pounder color is Nuclear Chicken. The small jetty by the ferry is holding some flounder on mullet or a popping cork with shrimp. The big jetty is still holding trout and redfish down by the sunken ship popping cork with live shrimp. Crystal Beach holding small shark on cut bait or live. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
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