Weekly Fishing Report Week of July 12, 2023
Sam Rayburn
GOOD. Water clear; 88 degrees; 1.24 feet below pool. Fish are staying near older wood where the PH is lower. Some bass and white bass can be found schooling. Bass are good with topwaters in the pencil grass and hydrilla. Bigger bass are on points and humps biting crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Crappie are stacking up on brush in 16-22 feet of water with bluegill mixed in biting on minnows or jigs. Catfish are good in 22-25 feet of water on brush and around creeks. White bass are schooling on points biting jigs and crankbaits. Report by Captain Lynn Atkinson, Reel Um N Guide Service.
Toledo Bend
GOOD. Water stained; 85-89 degrees; 1.26 feet below pool. The water level is 170.5 with both generators running 6 hours a day. Water temperature at the Dam is 85 degrees. North of the three-mile Pendleton Bridge, temperatures have been running 85-89 degrees. Crappie are still being caught in 12-20 feet of water depending on cloud cover and generating schedule. Some days it is minnows and sometimes it is a jig. Best times to catch bass this week has been using topwater poppers, chuggers, spooks and frogs over vegetation early and late. Another Bass pattern is a flutter spoon 7-10 inches over humps and ledges. During the heat of the day Bass are being caught in 20-25 feet over ledges with deep diving crank baits. Texas and Carolina rigs have been producing in the outer swings of the creek bends. Best colors in 7-10 inch worms are watermelon candy red, June bug red and Red Shad. The night Bass bite has been coming on strong with Texas ridged 10-12″ worms in all black, black with a red glitter, and black with a blue tail. Another great summer nighttime bass bait is a spinnerbait in all black with a single spin Colorado blade �¾-1 ounce, cadence slow off points. White bass have been producing on a Black/Blue back 1/2-ounce rattle trap, a jig-n-spoon in �½-3/4 ounce, and a medium diving crankbait. Kayakers are catching blue and channel catfish shallow with the spawn going on in 1-6 foot of water with a floating cork and split shot from 3-12 pounds in the shallow flats close to deep water. Best baits this week have been punch baits, squid, finger mullet, and shrimp. Remember, it is always better to play it safe by telling a loved one or friend the area you will be fishing, how many people are in your party and the expected return time. Report from Master Captain Steve “Scooby” Stubbe, Mudfish Adventures LLC, Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide, and Mudfish Custom Rod Shop.
SALTWATER
Sabine Lake
GOOD. 83 degrees. Jetties are good for speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead and drum on the rock piles with live shrimp under a popping cork. Nice slot redfish on gold spoons in the jetties. Limits of trout inside the Sabine end of the ICW when the south winds are blowing on glo chartreuse 5-inch plastics 1/16th ounce jig head thrown on the rocks. Speckled trout are staged in the ICW and Sabine channel for the spawn. Redfish and speckled trout are mixed in on the flats in the ICW. Taylor’s Bayou for limits of redfish on popping cork with live shrimp. Speckled trout on live shrimp under a popping cork near the rock piles and flats near Texaco Island. Early morning trout topwater bite in 2-4 feet of water on the North Point of Pleasure Island. North Levy for speckled trout early morning topwater, then popping cork with live shrimp, then crankbaits midday. Flounder fishing is good. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 81 degrees. The surf is holding lots of black drum, shark, and some big redfish on cut bait or live on the bottom. The North Jetty Gulf side is holding limits of sheepshead and trout against rocks with an occasional redfish near the end with a popping cork and shrimp. The wreck is holding good numbers of trout on free-line shrimp or croaker close to rocks. Channel side holding some nice trout close and big redfish on the bottom. Shark is on the end of the jetty towards the gulf side. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
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