Texas Parks & Wildlife Fishing Report
Panhandle Plains Region Week of October 11, 2023
Alan Henry
GOOD. Water clear; 76 degrees; 4.24 feet below pool. Crappie are good in 18-26 feet of water using minnows and jigs suspended over trees. Catfish are fair up river using fresh cut bait and prepared baits. Report by The Bait Shop, Post, Texas.
Arrowhead
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 8.33 feet below pool. Catfish continue to be good on the main lake drifting with fresh cut shad. Crappie bite has picked up with a few reports of catches in 4 feet of water on brush piles. Reports of bass catches on windblown points throwing chatterbaits, crankbaits or Texas rigged black and chartreuse worms. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.
Cisco
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 85 degrees; 11.07 feet below pool. Catches of cattfish and bass off the docks and along the shoreline with worms and minnows. Report by Lake Cisco Rentals.
Coleman
SLOW. Slightly stained; 73-76 degrees; 8.43 feet below pool. This time of year fishing in the evening with topwaters for bass will produce catches. Bass are fair with catches up to three pounds on Hags soft plastics and jigs tipped with a Hags Undertaker Jr, crankbaits, chatterbaits and topwaters. Point near Quail Creek Cove is good for hybrids on topwaters in the morning and evening, and rattletraps or crankbaits throughout the day. White and hybrids are fair under the lights at night on fast moving baits. Channel catfish are fair. Crappie are good to 1.25 pounds suspended at 10-12 feet around trees and docks. Launching may be difficult due to the low lake level.
Ft. Phantom Hill
SLOW. Water stained; 75 degrees; 6.35 feet below pool. Bass are shallow in the evening near rocks. Bluegill are abundant on the rocks. Hybrids good trolling with crankbaits or live shad. Crappie catches in the old power plant intake on jigs or live minnows. Catfish are good drift fishing with shad or cut carp. Greenbelt
GOOD. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 46.19 feet below pool. Few anglers on the lake but fishing conditions will only improve as the cooler weather settles in. Catfish and bass are biting on minnows. Check ramp status before heading out. Report by Greenbelt Lakeside Marina.
Hubbard Creek
FAIR. Water Stained; 80 degrees; 11.31 feet below pool. The typical fall pattern for crappie would be to target fish up Sandy Creek, but this area is very shallow to navigate right now. The main ramp is tough to launch from due to low lake levels, so launch near the dam. Lots of hazards on the water so navigate with caution. The mouth of Hubbard Creek is hard to get into due to the lake level. Target all species on Isolated brush piles. White bass are schooling throughout the main lake on wind blown points or rocks. Few bass reports, and the hydrilla is mostly gone. Blue catfish are good drift fishing, and on trotlines or juglines.
Meredith
GOOD. Water stained; 69-71degrees; 44.61 feet below pool. Bass are fair on minnows and artificials. Catfish are good on crawlers, minnows, chicken liver and frozen shad. Crappie are fair on artificial baits and minnows. White bass are excellent on minnows, slabs, or any vertical presentations. Trout are slow on powerbaits, minnows, worms, small spinners and flies. Walleye are good with lots of small fish being caught using minnows, grubs, crankbaits and other artificial baits. Reports that the night bite is good. Please be safe out there, watch weather reports. Reports of a nice catfish from North Canyon, and a good crappie from the docks over the weekend. Best of luck on finding your next catch. Life vests save lives. Report by Kenneth Wysong, Sharkens Honey Hole.
Millers Creek
FAIR. Water stained; 75 degrees; 9.01 feet below pool. The bite should be improving as the water temperature declines. Bass can be caught on soft plastics along edges and windblown points, there may be some topwater action as bass feed on shad. White bass are fair trolling with slabs or spoons. Blue and channel catfish are good on cut bait. Crappie are fair on small jigs in submerged structures.
Nasworthy
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 77 degrees. 0.48 feet below pool. Fishing patterns will start to change in the coming weeks due to cold fronts and cooler water temperature. Bass are fair on white chatterbaits or flipping soft plastics in the reeds in 1-3 feet of water. Crappie are good around boat docks on chartreuse jigs. Catfish are good on cut bait and stink bait around the dam. Report provided by the Angelo State Fishing Team.
O.C. Fisher
SLOW. Water stained; 78 degrees; 50.69 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers fishing due to low lake levels.
O.H. Ivie
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 29.04 feet below pool. White bass are fair live baits and plastic baits. Crappie are good on live bait or jigs. Largemouth are fair. As the lake level continues to drop, navigate with caution watching for trees. Report by Concho Park and Marina.
Oak Creek
SLOW. Water lightly stained; 82 degrees; 15.28 feet below pool. Channel and blue catfish are good on stink baits or punch baits 8-12 feet of water. Bass are slow 15 feet of water using crawfish colored soft plastics, or a few catches on rattletraps. White bass are slow in 20 feet of water on flashy shad colored baits. Few reports of crappie catches off of docks. Report by Randall Pate, Sportsman’s Lodge.
Possum Kingdom
FAIR. Water clear; 75-80 degrees; 3.39 feet below pool. Striper are great and that live bait continues to be the key to success. The fish are on the moving and nothing seems to keep them under the boat, so be willing to constantly stay on the move. Look for them in 20-30 feet of water. Sand bass are fair on small live bait and small slabs. Some can also be caught trolling crankbaits in 20-30 feet of water. Catfish are good on small cuts and live shad is the bait of choice. Look for fish in 3-20 feet of water. Suspend baits slightly off bottom for best results. Water clarity is at 5-10 feet of visibility. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service. Lake Whitney continues to boast good catches of striped bass fishing downrigger jigs or live shad. Some good top water action is being reported as well. Report by Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters. Proctor
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees; 13.64 feet below pool. Black bass are slow. Catfish on punch bait in shallow water. Hybrid and sand bass can be caught on top water. Crappie are hitting minnows around rock structures. Boat ramps are closed, but it is possible to launch a kayak. Report by Richard Wade, Richard Wade’s Guide Service.
Spence
FAIR. Water stained; 80 degrees. 46.62 feet below pool. Bass are slow on topwaters and reaction baits in shallow water. A few bites are possible in deep water using plastics. Wear your life jacket and stay safe. Report by Bill Brasher, Bronte Fishing Guide Service.
Stamford
SLOW. Water normal stain; 80 degrees; 2.99 feet below pool. Catfish can be caught on juglines or trotlines. Canals in North and South Vedas fishing the points of canals spinnerbaits or plastics for bass. Crappie are slow. Report by Anchor Marina.
Twin Buttes
GOOD. Water stained. 79 degrees; 30.88 feet below pool. Channel catfish are good on cheese bait or nightcrawlers in 12-15 feet of water. As the water temperature drops to the mid 70s expect blue catfish slowly moving towards channel drops, and yellow catfish to move into 15-18 feet of water. Crappie continue to be fair in 10-12 feet of water holding tight to cover using jigs. Sand bass are fair in open water with mostly undersized catches. Fish are moving, but it has not been cool enough to trigger the fall turnover. Report by Captain Michael Peterson, 4 Reel Fun Guide Service.
White River
FAIR. Water stained; 87 degrees; 19.55 feet below pool. Catfish continue to be good on cut shad and minnows. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. Water clarity is stained due to runoff.