Published: November 18, 2008 08:23 am      

East Texas Fishing Report

The East Texas Fishing Report for the week of Nov. 16:

ATHENS — Lake Athens is six inches low and clear. Water temp is in the low 60s.

Charles Spearman at Lake Athens Marina said bass are good to five pounds on chrome 1/2 ounce Rat-L-Traps worked in 6-8 feet of water. Spearman said the fish are on the move towards the backs of the creeks.

Crappie fishing has been excellent. Live shiners soaked in 20-30 feet of water are producing steady limits. Catfish are slow.

CEDAR CREEK — Cedar Creek is about three feet low and clear. Surface temp is in the low 60s.

Fishing guide Jason Barber said white bass, hybrids and black bass are taking lipless cranks, swim baits and live shiners around lighted boat docks at night. During daylight hours, black bass anglers are picking up some solid keepers up to five pounds around boat docks using spinnerbaits and lipless cranks. The best docks are in 2-5 feet of water.

Catfishing is good to 15 pounds in five feet of water using cut shad. Crappie are good on jigs fished around brush piles in six feet of water around Sandy Shores Marina. Deeper docks on the main lake are holding fish, as well.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS — RC is 3 1/2 feet low and fairly clear. Water temp is in the low 60s.

Fishing turned off slow after the front; traffic has been fairly light. Larry Winters at Midway Landing said bass anglers are picking up a few keepers around shallow grass beds in 3-5 feet of water using spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits.

Winters said catfishermen are picking fair numbers of blues in the 5-10 pound range on jugs tipped with cut shad. Rod and reelers are faring best in standing timber 12-20 feet deep and along wind blow shorelines.

White bass are fair on spoons bounced off main lake structure in 20-25 feet of water.

FORK — The water level jumped about four inches as the result of heavy rain last week, but remains six inches below full pool. Surface temp is in the mid-60s.

Chris Parker at the Minnow Bucket said bass fishing has been fair to eight pounds on Zoom Flukes, Senkos and shallow diving crankbaits worked slowly around scattered grass in 8-12 feet of water. Drop shots and spoons are producing good numbers over main lake structure in 18-25 feet of water when the wind allows.

Crappie are fair at the Highway 515 bridge, but limits are scarce. Parker said minnows are the best bait choice. Key depth is 28-30 feet of water.

Catfish are good under cormorant roosts when winds are calm. Baited holes in 6-12 feet of water are producing fair results, mainly on punch bait.

PALESTINE — Lake Palestine is two inches high and fairly clear. Water temp is in the upper 60s.

Fishing guide Ricky Vandergriff said bass fishing has been good on black/brown/amber jigs pitched around boat docks and man made brush piles in 4-8 feet of water. Spinnerbaits and chatterbait-style lures are working fairly well in 2-5 feet of water.

Crappie are good in 18-20 feet of water around brush piles and along the Neches River channel. The Horseshoe Bend area and Highway 155 bridge have been especially good, mainly on jigs. Blue/white, white/chartreuse and white/pink are the hottest jig colors.

Catfish are excellent on jugs tipped with small perch and shad in 18-20 feet of water along the edges of the river. Rod and reelers are picking up limits on livers fished under the bridge and beneath cormorant roosts. Baited holes in 14-15 feet of water are producing limits. White bass and hybrids are good on crankbaits fished along the edges of Kickapoo Creek in 2-8 feet of water. Some schooling activity reported.

TOLEDO BEND — T-Bend is four feet low and slightly stained. Surface temp is in the low-60s

Catfishing has been good on trotline and stump hooks. Rhonda Shively at Bill's Landing has seen several blues over 50 pounds; most fish are averaging 20-30 pounds. High winds have made it tough on rod and reel crowds.

Crappie fishing has been fair along the edges of the Sabine River. The fish are suspended in 10-18 feet of water.

Shively said bass fishing has been fair to three pounds on Texas rig worms and jigs fished along creek breaks in 6-8 feet of water. There also are some fish bunched on underwater points and ridges in 12-18 feet of water.

— Matt Williams