Granger
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 60 degrees; 0.12 feet above pool.
Black bass are good to 6 pounds on jigs and worms fished near heavy timber.
Crappie are good on slip bobber rigs fished in shallow water.
White bass are good up river and up Willis Creek.
Blue catfish are very good to 40 pounds on shad.
Yellow catfish are fair on live perch fished up river on trotlines.
Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.
Somerville
SLOW. Water stained; 65 degrees; 2.03 feet below pool. Lots of March winds.
At the marina, the crappie bite is good, bluegill are fair on crickets or worms, catfish are fair on minnows or punch bait.
On the lake, crappie are fair on jigs and minnows over brush in 10-20 feet of water.
Catfish are fair in 3-10 feet of water with cut shad or punch bait.
Black bass are fair on crankbaits and spinnerbaits in 4-10 feet of water.
White bass are fair trolling with various spoons or anchored with shad and ghost minnows.
Hybrids are slow in deeper water using cut bait or mussels.
Below the dam fishing is slow, since no water is being released.
Report by Weldon Kirk, Fish Tales Guide Service.
Stillhouse Hollow
GOOD. Water stained; 59 degrees; 3.50 feet below pool.
Your best bet on white bass is to avoid the crowds and take a weekday trip up into the Lampasas River. Look for schools of white bass using sonar in sharp river bends and deeper holes.
If your craft can make it past the gravel crossing and into the spawning riffles, flyfishing gear works best to present small gray streamers to imitate river minnows using a sinking tip line and a flat, 6 foot leader of 8 pound test fluorocarbon.
Those looking for white bass on the main lake should focus on the middle and lower third of the reservoir, looking for adult fish returning from spawning along the flats adjacent to the river channel. White, three-quarter ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab will excel for this application.
Largemouth bass continue to move shallower with the spring warm-up. Medium sized soft plastics 6-8 inches in length with dark, natural hues fished with a Carolina rig are producing well.
Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Belton
GOOD. Water stained; 59 degrees; 2.80 feet below pool.
White bass fishing on Lake Belton exists in three distinct areas.
There are spawning fish in the upper reaches of the Leon River and Cowhouse Creek.
Immature fish which did not spawn and mature fish which have returned from spawning are in shallow water under low light conditions at sunrise and for about an hour thereafter, and at sunset and about an hour prior to it. This is typically in under 16 feet of water where the water temperature is significantly warmer than the water temperature at 25 feet and deeper. Finally, there are fish in deeper, clearer, cooler water from 250-40 feet deep. These fish are much more sluggish and still require wintertime tactics.
Shallow fish can be caught throwing MAL Originals with chartreuse tails using a sawtooth method by letting the lure drop to bottom, reeling in 7 times, letting it drop again and repeating.
Deeper fish can be targeted with a 5/8-ounce white bladed Hazy Eye Slabs in conjunction with forward facing sonar. Allow the lure to settle to the bottom, reel it slowly and smoothly up five turns watching sonar for a follow.
Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.
Catfish are excellent. Anglers should search for blue catfish in river channels and around steep ledges in 20-35 feet of water. Larger cut baits have been effective for trophy size fish.
Eater fish under 10 pounds are active and slow drifting with small cut shad along sand flats will produce.
Channel catfish are fair but can still be caught on warmer days using punch bait in 15-25 feet of water. Report by Brian Worley, B&S Catfishing.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.