FISHING REPORT

The weekly fishing report is compiled for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

FRESHWATER

BASTROP: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees. Largemouth bass are good fishing creeks ledges and submerged timber on white spinners, small crankbaits, brown or green craws and drop shots. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-25 feet. Channel and blue catfish are good on cut bait and live bait.

BELTON: GOOD. Water clear; 74 degrees; 0.08 feet high. Black bass are slow near timber, creek ledges and brushy shorelines on crankbaits and Carolina-rigged plastic worms. White bass are right on the main lake flats, humps and dropoffs with jigging spoons and slabs in 20-35 feet. Hybrid stripers are good with live bait in the main lake from 22 to 35 feet. Topwater plugs, crankbaits and swimbaits are effective with surfacing schools of hybrids and white bass. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles in 15-28 feet. Catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait.

BRAUNIG: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 75 degrees. Red drum are slowing with spurts of success on warm, bright days. Largemouth bass are good working the patches of vegetation with slow and enticing topwaters, jigs and worms. Stripers are fair, moving deep and south. Catfish are good on live bait, cut bait and cheese bait.

BROWNWOOD: GOOD. Water clear; 76 degrees; 1.66 feet low. Largemouth bass are fair with shad, colored crankbaits, jigs and plum or green Carolina rigged plastic worms in 15-25 feet near drop-offs and standing timber. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs in brush piles and timber near a creek channel. White bass and hybrids are good on live bait and slabs in the main lake near humps, drop-offs and flats. Catfish are good on punch bait and live bait in 10-20 feet near baited areas.

BUCHANAN: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 75-78 degrees; 2.88 feet low. Largemouth bass are good with purple finesse worms, white skirted jigs and medium-size crankbaits working along flats, secondary points, rock ledges and the dropoffs. Striped bass are fair along the river channel with live bait and trolling in 25-35 feet. White bass are good on slabs and jigging spoons when fishing deeper water in the main lake off points, drop-offs and flats. Use sonar to locate schools of baitfish and feeding fish. Crappie are fair on minnows in 16-28 feet fishing timber and brush piles. Channel catfish have been good on punch bait.

CALAVERAS: GOOD. Water stained; 80-82 degrees. Red drum are fair with a noticeable decrease in activity with Ratl-traps and live bait still excelling when conditions are right. Black bass are good with topwaters, jigs and bigger worms along vegetation, shallow on the rip rap and intake. Hybrid striped bass are fair when feeding in schools in coves on spinners or Rat-l-traps. Catfish are good on stinkbait, chicken livers and cut shad.

CANYON LAKE: EXCELLENT. Water lightly stained; 81 degrees; 3.56 feet low. Striper fishing is good on main lake humps, drop-offs and the river channel with live bait. White bass are excellent on humps flats and drop-offs with chartreuse slabs and jigging spoons. Look for birds diving over feeding schools. Largemouth bass are good with diving crankbaits, shaky heads and wacky-rigged worms near docks, timber and rocky drop-offs. Smallmouth bass are good on grubs and small cranks in 9-15 feet along rock ledges and steep rocky shorelines. Catfish are excellent with prepared baits and cut bait. Crappie are fair with live minnows near rocky drop-offs, brush piles and timber.

CHOKE CANYON: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 80-82 degrees; 20.90 feet low. Largemouth bass are good with topwaters, crankbaits and worms working calmer water in creeks or submerged structure, and overcast days are mustfish days. White bass are fair but inconsistent in the deeper creek mouths and off points on sunny afternoons. Crappie are good north in any calm structure. Catfish are fair with live bait and cheese bait.

FALCON: FAIR. Water lightly stained north and clear south; 84 degrees; 37.18 feet low. Falcon is in the full fall swing, with shallow structures taking center stage as conditions continue to improve. Black bass are fair working vegetation, continuing to submerged houses and natural formations. Catches are good-sized, typically 4-7 pounds, and will come on the first couple of casts. Big bass are over brush, and you should be tossing large plastic worms, plastic crawfish and square billed crankbaits. The white bass are great moving throughout most structures but especially on the rocks with crankbaits. Crappie are excellent in cove or creek structures and over brush. Catfish are always biting, and constant cloudy water helps. Remember to stay on the Texas side unless you have a Mexican fishing license.

GRANGER: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 75 degrees; 1.12 feet low. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged plastic craws and smaller crankbaits near rock banks, creek channels and stumps. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs tipped with minnows on brush piles, creek ledges with cover and timber near drop-offs in 16-26 feet. White bass are fair on slabs in 20-30 feet near main lake humps and drop-offs. Catfish are good on cut bait and live bait. Yellow cats are fair on live perch.

LBJ: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 78 degrees; 0.65 feet low. Black bass are fair on root beer plastic worms, spinners and crankbaits near docks, creeks and drop-offs. Crappie are good on minnows around brush piles and docks. White bass are fair over main lake points, flats and humps in 20-35 feet with slabs and jigging spoons. Catfish are good on punch bait in 15-25 feet.

STILLHOUSE HOLLOW: GOOD. Water stained; 76 degrees; 3.07 feet high. Black bass are good on white jigs and red or plum Texas-rigged soft plastic craws working brush piles, rock bluffs and submerged timber. Smallmouth bass are good with plastic grubs and craws and small crankbaits near rocky banks, ledges and drop-offs. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-28 feet. White bass are good on slabs and jigs off main lake points, humps, drop-offs and along the dam. Catfish are good with punch bait. Blue cats are fair with live bait near brush piles.

TRAVIS: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 83 degrees; 19.37 feet low. Largemouth bass are good with crankbaits, drop shots and spinners near boat docks and marinas, rock ledges and drop-offs. White bass are fair with jigging spoons and slabs working river channel ledges, main lake drop-offs and humps. Trolling is effective with swimbaits. Striper action along the main river channel is good with live bait and heavy jigging spoons. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows in 15-25 feet near docks, marinas and rock ledges. Catfish are good on live bait and prepared baits in 10-20 feet.

WALTER E. LONG: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 76 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on swimbaits and worms near timber, humps and drop-offs. Hybrid stripers are good with live shad. Crappie are fair on minnows in 14-24 feet near brush piles or standing timber. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared bait. Sunfish are good on worms and crickets.

SALTWATER

BAFFIN BAY: GOOD; 80-81 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish continue to be in the deeper water around 5-7 feet. Redfish are feeding behind large schools of mullet in the flats and are good on cut mullet on a bottom rig. Topwaters are best for black drum early in the morning.

CORPUS CHRISTI: GOOD; 80 degrees. The delta is excellent for speckled trout, redfish and black drum, with lots of limits using soft plastics. With the incoming tides, a lot of the fish are pushing into the channels. Flounder are good around the docks and channel edges and are good on soft plastics.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: GOOD; 77 degrees. Wading the midbay reefs for redfish is great using live shrimp or croaker. Speckled trout are great around Brown Cedar Flats using the same baits. Trout and black drum are great using Bass Assassins around vegetation or deep structure.

PORT ARANSAS: GOOD; 81-82 degrees. Bull reds are out in full force and are best caught on live shrimp or mullet. The North Jetty and Redfish Bay are great for redfish and speckled trout on live shrimp or mullet. Black drum are good on blue crab in mid-depth water. Flounder have been good on minnows and are moving along the shoreline.

PORT ISABEL: GOOD; 81 degrees. Redfish have started bunching up to attack the shrimp along the edges of the grass. Speckled trout have been in the shallow water near grassy spots and are best on shrimp under a popping cork. Sheepshead are fair on minnows around the rocks. Flounder will be in the back marsh feasting around the drains. Black drum are good on blue crab around deep structure or grass.

PORT MANSFIELD: GOOD; 81-82 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish have been good around the weather station coming off the full moon. There are some big oversized reds catches using Kwigglers ball tails in dirty jalapeño and red and white paddle tails. They are also coming off the west shore. Flounder are good in the east cut on Kwigglers paddle tails. Snapper are good in Texas waters when the seas allow.

PORT O’CONNOR: GOOD; 79 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are great on topwaters on croaker and live shrimp in 4-7 feet. Black drum are good on crab in deep water and around vegetation. Concentrate on flats that are close to deep water; throw topwaters in the morning. The flounder are good on live mullet around the rocks.

ROCKPORT: VERY GOOD; 80 degrees. Unchanged. The temps are cooling, and fewer people on the water make for some good fishing. Spoons and topwaters are producing excellent results. The shipping channels are still hot as well. Flounder are great around jetties and piers. Redfish and speckled trout are best on live shrimp.

SOUTH PADRE: GOOD; 79-80 degrees. Redfish and speckled trout are excellent and are in the flats on shrimp under a popping cork. The jetties also remain a steady spot. Black drum are in big numbers and will continue to form in stained waters, and trout are more likely to hit artificials or blue crab.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: GOOD; 77 degrees. Unchanged. Large schools of redfish are plentiful along the north shoreline or around Crab Lake on live shrimp or mullet. Speckled trout have been great on soft plastics in the grass flats.

Saturday Morning Honey Creek Hikes, with a guide explaining the cultural and natural history of the area, 9-11:30 a.m. Also Oct. 17, 24 and 31 and Nov. 7. Meet at the Rust House; $2 donation requested. Entrance fee applies. Call 830-214-3635 or email holly.platz@tpwd.texas.gov. RSVP at eventbrite.com/e/honey-creek-nature-hike-900-am-saturday-morningtickets-110397331390.

Guadalupe River State Park: Discovery Center Loop and Scenic Overlook Nature Hike, 9 and 10 a.m. One-mile hike for whole family with a maximum of 10 per time slot. RSVP at eventbrite.com/e/discovery-centerloop-and-scenic-overlook-naturehike-tickets-124277145287. Free. Entrance fee applies.

TUESDAY

Mitchell Lake Audubon Center: Birding for Beginners webinar, 6-7:30 p.m. Register at mitchelllake.audubon.org.

THURSDAY

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Online application deadline 11:59 p.m. for E-postcard feral hog, turkey, waterfowl and pheasant plus guided bighorn sheep hunt package, oryx, gemsbock and more. Go to tpwd.texas.gov, click hunting tab and scroll to “public hunting;” email hunt@tpwd.texas.gov or call 512-3894505.

OCT. 17-18

Texas Outdoor Family: Hands-on basics of camping for those with little or no experience with tent, gear provided, Pedernales Falls State Park, $75 for family of up to six. Call 512389-8903 or email tofsp@tpwd.texas.gov.

OCT. 28

Mitchell Lake Audubon Center: 10 Ways to be Bird-friendly, a webinar on how to help birds at home and in the community, 6-7:30 p.m. Register at mitchelllake.audubon.org.

NOV. 1

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Deadline for nominations to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame for individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to freshwater fishing in Texas. Click on tpwd.texas.gov/ spdest/visitorcenters/tffc or call 903-676-2277.

NOV. 5-8

Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest: A $1 million tournament with some of the best anglers in the world, Lake Fork. Outdoor activities, seminars, TPWD Outdoor Adventures Area and Bassmaster Elite Series Outdoors Expo. Proceeds benefit Texas Parks & Wildlife Department programs including Neighborhood Fishin’. Click on bassmaster.com.

NOV. 9

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Deadline for public comment on proposed changes to regulations regarding harmful or potentially harmful fish, shellfish and aquatic plants. Click on tpwd.texas.gov/ business/feedback/public_comment.

NOV. 11

Padre Island National Seashore: No entrance fee to commemorate Veterans Day at all national parks. Call 361-949-8068 or click on nps.gov.

NOV. 14

Fin Addict Angler Foundation: Military Vets on the Water, with captains taking veterans and their guests fishing, followed by a feast. Volunteers and donations needed. RSVP at finaddictangler.org.

FEB. 11-14

Dallas Safari Club: Annual Convention & Sporting Expo, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas. Speakers, seminars, outfitters and gear. Click on biggame.org.

FEB. 26-28

Houston Safari Club: Annual Worldwide Hunting Expo & Convention, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston. Speakers, seminars, outfitters and gear. Click on houstonsafariclub.org.