Granger
SLOW. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 2.13 feet below pool.
Black bass are good on crankbaits and spinnerbaits fished in hydrilla or timber up river.
Crappie are good on 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with Berkley Crappie Nibbles.
White bass are fair on Little George’s fished along road beds.
Blue catfish are good on jug lines.
Yellow catfish are slow. Gaspergou are good in shallow water around stumps.
The lake is 2 feet low and there are stumps and shallow hazards throughout the lake.
Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.
Somerville
FAIR. Water clear; 90-92 degrees; 2.65 feet below pool.
Very few anglers on the water due to the heat. The dam is releasing 485 cfs, this is close to an inch per day. The lake is clear despite some algae.
Catfish, bluegill, and crappie are fair on minnows and worms at Somerville Marina early morning.
Black bass are slow hitting slow moving plastics and spinnerbaits on drop offs and brush in 6-10 feet of water.
Crappie are fair early in the morning on main lake brush piles and pilings using minnows and various jigs.
Catfish are fair early in the morning in 8-14 feet of water. Larger catfish are slow in deep water on jug lines baited with shad or cut bait.
White bass are slow trolling Pet spoons on points or using shad and ghost minnows on humps in 6-10 feet of water.
Hybrids are slow using cut bait and 2 ounce jigs.
Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse Hollow
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 17.08 feet below pool.
With the weather pattern unchanged, the fishing also remains unchanged.
Morning fishing for white bass continues to be more productive than afternoons or evenings.
Fish are in as much as 45 feet of water relating to breaklines. Locating fish with sonar then downrigging for them has been effective. This helps find fish and indicates their willingness to chase lures.
If the fish willingly chases downrigger lures, then Spot-Locking atop them and working MAL Heavy Lures with white tails vertically from bottom, upwards through the fish is effective, as is working MAL Heavy Lures horizontally using a sawtooth-style retrieve.
Quality largemouth bass fishing continues with dark, naturally colored soft plastics fished on the outside edge of the hydrilla now standing in 20 feet of water both early morning and just before or after sunset. Some morning topwater largemouth action for smaller “schoolie” bass continues. Small, clear “fluke” style baits cast fast and accurately get the most attention.
Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Largemouth bass are schooling on the surface biting small topwaters, three inch minnows, or small swimbaits.
Check ramp status before heading out.
Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide.
Belton
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87-89 degrees; 16.56 feet below pool.
This is the lowest Lake Belton has been since 1972. With the weather pattern unchanged, the fishing also remains unchanged.
Anglers should use caution when navigating shallower water as under water hazards are there!
There are varying degrees of morning white bass topwater action from about 6:30-7:15 a.m., with less consistent “popcorn” schooling thereafter, until around 9 a.m.
A number of guides on a number of Texas lakes are observing what I’m also observing here and that is a strong preference by white bass to consume small, young-of-the-year shad. For this situation, tie on the MAL Mini. Whatever you throw, it needs to be small if you want to maximize your catch.
After that topwater ends, anglers are left with the more dif ficult task of finding fish by searching with sonar and/ or by downrigging. Once found, Spot-Locking a cast’s length from the fish and then casting to them using a “sawtooth method” with the MAL Mini rig (an MAL Mini behind a weight and leader to help with casting distance and sink rate) has been my go-to tactic when fish are found on or near bottom.
Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
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