FISHING REPORT

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

FRESHWATER

BASTROP: SLOW. Water lightly stained; 53 degrees; Largemouth bass are slow fishing jigs and crankbaits near creeks, rocks, and brush. Crappie are slow on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-25'. Channel and blue catfish are fair on cut bait, punch bait.

BELTON: SLOW. Water slightly stained; 42 Degrees; 0.75 low. Black bass are slow near rocky shorelines, timber edges, and channel drop-offs on jigs, spinners, and crankbaits. White bass are slow on the main lake points, channels, and drop-offs with flutter spoons, slabs, and swimbaits in 25-45'. Hybrid stripers are fair with live bait and swimbaits in the main lake from 25-40'. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs in brush piles, timber on or near a drop-off, and deep creek beds. Catfish are fair on punch bait and cut bait.

BROWNWOOD: SLOW. Water stained; 42 degrees; 2.98 low. Largemouth bass are slow with swimbaits, crankbaits, and jigs near creeks. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles and timber edges near a creek channel or dropoff. White bass and hybrids are slow on slabs and trolling swimbaits. Catfish are fair on punch bait and cut bait in 15-25' near baited areas.

BUCHANAN: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 45 degrees; 6.85 low. Largemouth bass are slow with football jigs, crankbaits, and spoons. Striped bass are fair along the river channel with live bait. White bass are slow on silver slabs near drop-offs and humps. Use sonar to locate schools of baitfish and feeding fish. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs in 15-25' fishing timber and brush piles. Channel catfish are slow on punch bait. Blue cats are fair on cut bait.

CALAVERAS: FAIR. Water stained; 63-66 degrees; Red Drum are slow to fair, starting to pick up on large bait. Black bass are fair, starting the spawn surge to shallow water on worms and bass jigs. Hybrid striped bass are fair on rattletraps moving mid-lake. Catfish are good on stinkbait, chicken livers, and cut shad.

CANYON LAKE: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 57 degrees; 5.65 low. Striper fishing is fair along the river channel with swimbaits and jigging spoons. White bass are slow on humps, flats, and ridges with slabs. Largemouth bass are slow with jigs, crankbaits, and spinners near bluffs, timber, and rock piles. Smallmouth bass are slow on small swimbaits, plastic grubs, and small cranks in 8-20' along rock ledges and steep rocky shorelines. Catfish are fair with prepared 5baits and cut bait. Crappie are fair with live minnows near timber in 18-30'.

CHOKE CANYON: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 61-64 degrees; 22.62' low. Largemouth bass are fair in the Frio and in timber on jigs, plastic worms, and crankbait. White bass are fair, staying around shallower points with small crankbaits and plastics. Catfish are consistently good on larger live bait, cut baits, and stinkbait.

FALCON: FAIR. Water lightly stained north and clear south; 64 degrees; 39.39' low. Despite the freeze and aftermath, we have bounced back quickly, but water temps are still recovering to keep the spawn strong. Black bass are good fishing shallow trees, rip rap, in less than 6 feet for spawning spots. To attract bites, fish shaky heads, soft plastics, and senokos as square bills will not be as good for the next three weeks or so. Crappie are good in hardwoods and over shallower brush around 13 feet on some bigger jigs. Catfish are excellent working creek points using live bait and stinky bait. Remember to stay on the Texas side unless you possess a Mexican Fishing License.

GRANGER FAIR. Water lightly stained; 54 degrees; 0.11 low. Black bass are slow on crankbaits, spinners, and skirted jigs near rocky shorelines, brushy creeks, and timber in 15-30'. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs on brush piles and timber near a drop-off in 14-28'. White bass are slow slabs and jigging spoons in 25-35' near lake channels, flats, and drop-offs. Catfish are fair on cut bait and live bait. Yellow cats are slow.

LBJ SLOW. Water lightly stained; 52 degrees; 0. low back bass are slow on shaky heads, jerk baits, jigs, and crankthe baits worked near brush, main lake points, and rock ledges. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs around brush piles, rock ledges, and docks. White bass are slow over main lake points, flats, drop-offs, and humps with jigging spoons and slabs. Catfish are fair on punch bait and cut bait in 14-28' in baited areas.

STILLHOUSE: SLOW. Water lightly stained; 44 degrees; 0.53 high. Black bass are slow on spinners, skirted jigs and crankbaits working creeks, brush piles, ledges and points. Smallmouth bass are slow with small jigs and plastic grubs near rocky shorelines, creek ledges, and drop-offs. Crappie are slow on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-28'. White bass are slow on slabs off main lake ridges, humps, drop-offs, and along the dam. Channel catfish are fair with punch bait. Blue cats are fair with cut bait.

TRAVIS FAIR. Water clear; 55 degrees; 22.12 low. Largemouth bass are slow with crankbaits, skirted jigs, soft swimbaits, and Texas-rigged plastic worms near deep bluffs and channel ledges. White bass are slow with slabs working the main lake channel, drop-offs, and humps. Trolling is slow with swimbaits. Striper action along the main river channel is fair with live bait and swimbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows in 15-35' near docks, brush piles, and rock ledges. Catfish are slow on cut bait and prepared baits in 18-35'.

WALTER E. LONG SLOW. Water lightly stained; 45 degrees; Largemouth bass are slow on drop shots, crankbaits, and jigs near timber, creek ledges, and brushy shorelines. Hybrid stripers are fair with live bait. Crappie are slow on minnows and jigs in 14-28' near brush piles and timber. Catfish are slow on cut bait and live bait. Sunfish are slow.

SALTWATER

BAFFIN BAY: FAIR. 43 degrees. Fishing for speckled trout and redfish will be in the shallow water, less than a foot where it is warmest. Please consider catch and release or hold off for the time being to help the fisheries recover. CORPUS CHRISTI: POOR. 56 degrees. Still in poor conditions due to the freeze. The best practice is probably to refrain from catching for the time being. The fish are stressed from the cold, and the added stress of catch/release isn't necessary.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: POOR. 59 degrees. Fishing for most species will remain poor given the recent weather conditions. There are signs of a black drum run- use dead shrimp or cut mullet and stay in the deeper water.

PORT ARANSAS: FAIR TO GOOD. 62 degrees. Fishing conditions are still poor. Do not expect to improve until the weekend. The assessment is ongoing to determine the effect of the freeze. For now, you should have some luck with black drum on mullet or shrimp.

PORT ISABEL: FAIR. 66 degrees. There may be some black drum in the deeper water where it is warmest on dead shrimp or mullet. Speckled trout and redfish may be found around the jetties and are good on live baits.

PORT MANSFIELD: FAIR. 61 degrees. After the cold weather that hit our area, the aftermath was not good for the bay. Speckled trout, snook, and mullet were hit the hardest with a large die-off. Redfish were affected with some die-off but not to the extreme of the trout and baitfish. We will see the full effects in a few days when the fish on the bottom start to float up. In the meantime, practicing catch and release will help until the final bay assessment.

PORT O’CONNOR: POOR. 57 degrees. Quite a number of dead baitfish from the weather events of last week. It is going to be difficult to tell at this point how quickly it will bounce back. The assessment is still ongoing regarding the extent of the fish kill. Initial assessments indicate the majority of fish impacted were non-recreational species.

ROCKPORT: POOR. 53 degrees. There are many dead redfish along the bank of the ICW, with some black drum and speckled trout mixed in. Catch and release is encouraged if you find any success.

SOUTH PADRE: FAIR. 57 degrees. There may be some black drum in the deeper water where it is warmest. Use dead shrimp or mullet. Speckled trout and redfish may be found around the jetties and are good on live baits.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: POOR. 59 degrees. Fishing for most species will remain poor given the recent weather conditions. There are signs of a Black drum run- use dead shrimp or cut mullet and stay in the deeper water.

Deadline for registration for the Great Texas Birding Classic, which runs from April 15-May 15. Click on tpwd.texas.gov/events/great-texasbirding-classic.

APRIL 10-11

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 512-3898903 or email tofsp@tpwd.texas.gov.

APRIL 17-18

Texas Outdoor Family: Hands-on basics of camping for those with little or no experience with tent, gear provided, Inks Lake State Park. $75 for family of up to six. Call 512-389-8903 or email tofsp@tpwd.texas.gov.

APRIL 17

Padre Island National Seashore: No entrance fee to commemorate start of National Park Week/national Junior Ranger Day at all national parks. Call 361-949-8068 or click on nps.gov.

Have an item for the calendar? Email John Goodspeed at john@johngoodspeed.com