The Fishing Report - Dec. 10, 2009

Austin — Here is the weekly fishing report as compiled for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for Dec. 9. (Report also available on Web at www.txfishing.com.)

CENTRAL

BASTROP: Water clear. Black bass are very good on watermelon red and watermelon gold soft plastics. Crappie are fair on minnows and green tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are good on liver and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.

BELTON: Water clear; 62 degrees; 0.12’ high. Black bass are good on spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps in coves. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on hot dogs and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are slow.

BROWNWOOD: Water stained; 57 degrees; 7.61’ low. Black bass to 3 pounds are fair on black/blue jigs, Persuader crankbaits, and 3/16oz. Pig Sticker Shaky Heads with redbug and watermelon red GrandeBass 4" Trickster worms along docks, around rocks, and over brush piles in 8 15 feet. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies and crankbaits from lighted docks at night. Crappie are good on Li’l Fishies and minnows over brush piles near Hwy. 279 Bridge in 10 20 feet. Channel catfish are fair on cut bait and nightcrawlers over baited holes in 12 15 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 61 degrees; 24.54’ low. Black bass are good on ºoz. Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps, Texas rigged weightless watermelon/blue flake Whacky Sticks, pumpkin/chartreuse Curb’s jigs, and smoke/red flake JDC Spider Grubs on stump flats in 2 8 feet. Striped bass are good on Spoiler Shads (plastic swim bait), Rat-L-Traps, jigging Pirk Minnows, and drifting or free lining live bait in 25 40 feet. White bass are fair on Tiny Traps and 2" plastic swim baits along the river channel and in deep creeks. Crappie are fair on crappie jigs and live minnows over brush piles in 12 - 15 feet. Channel catfish are slow. Yellow and blue catfish are fair on trotlines baited with live goldfish.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 60 degrees; 10.01’ low. Black bass are very good on Rat-L-Traps and P.B.J plastic stickbaits over flats and along break lines creeks and bays in 2 10 feet, and on green pumpkin Whacky Sticks on jigheads and Texas rigged blue flake Scoundrel worms on shaky head jigs along bluffs inside secondary points. Striped bass are fair to good vertically jigging Pirk Minnows in the lower end of the lake, and on Spoiler Shads and Red Fins. Smallmouth bass are good on JDC tomato red curl tail grubs on jigheads, smoke/red flake tubes, and 3/16oz. pumpkin Curb’s jigs with matching drop shot worms along ledges and over rock piles in 6 15 feet. Crappie are fair on minnows and crappie jigs upriver. Channel catfish are slow. Yellow and blue catfish are fair on live bait.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 62 degrees; 10.32’ low. Black bass are good on tequila sunrise soft plastics, and fair on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Hybrid striper are good on minnows and white/blue Rat-L-Traps. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs. Channel and blue catfish are fair on stinkbait, nightcrawlers, and frozen shrimp. Yellow catfish are slow.

COLORADO RIVER: (At Colorado Bend State Park) Water fairly clear. Black bass are slow. Striped bass are slow. White bass are good on minnows. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are good on liver, stinkbait, and shrimp in deep holes.

FAYETTE: Water clear; 63 degrees. Black bass are good on watermelon gold, watermelon red, and plum Carolina rigged Finesse worms, and on topwaters over grass. Channel and blue catfish are slow.

GRANBURY: Water stained; 0.54’ low. Black bass are fair on watermelon red soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. Striped bass are fair on minnows and chartreuse striper jigs. White bass are fair on minnows and small spinnerbaits. Crappie are good on minnows. Catfish are good on shrimp, stinkbait, and live minnows.

GRANGER: Water murky; 58 degrees; 0.52’ high. Black bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Blue catfish are good on prepared baits in 6 15 feet. Yellow catfish are slow.

LBJ: Water stained; 63 degrees; 0.22’ low. Black bass are very good on 1/8oz. Curb’s buzzbaits, Bleeding Shad Rat-L-Traps, and wacky rigged green pumpkin Whacky Sticks in 2 6 feet. White bass are fair vertically jigging Pirk Minnows under birds. Crappie are good on Curb’s crappie jigs and live minnows over brush piles in 12 15 feet. Channel catfish are fair on minnows under crappie docks.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water murky; 56 degrees; 0.19’ high. Black bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel catfish are fair on stinkbait. Blue catfish are fair on shad and perch. Yellow catfish are slow.

PROCTOR: Water stained; 61 degrees; 6.99’ low. Black bass are good on black/purple and chartreuse soft plastic worms and crankbaits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are good but small on minnows, small Rat-L-Traps, and roadrunners. Crappie are good on minnows and chartreuse tube jigs in 15 feet. Channel and blue catfish to 3 pounds are good on juglines baited with cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.

SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 62 degrees; 1.47’ high. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on juglines baited with cut shad and perch. Yellow catfish are slow.

STILLHOUSE: Water stained; 61 degrees; 0.28’ high. Black bass are fair on minnows, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are fair on minnows, hot dogs, and nightcrawlers. Yellow catfish are slow.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 60 degrees; 27.34’ low. Black bass to 6 pounds are good on crawfish crankbaits, watermelon worms, and jigs in 15 38 feet. Striped bass are slow. White bass are fair on white jigging spoons and minnows in 28 45 feet. Crappie are fair on minnows and pink tube jigs in 20 40 feet. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.

WALTER E. LONG: Water stained; 62 degrees. Black bass are slow. Hybrid striper are fair on minnows and worms. White bass are fair on minnows and worms. Crappie are fair on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are slow. Yellow catfish are slow.

SOUTH

AMISTAD: Water clear; 63 degrees; 2.14’ low. Black bass are good on crankbaits and soft plastics. Striped bass are good on slabs, jigging spoons, and Rat-L-Traps. White bass are good on slabs, jigging spoons, and Rat-L-Traps. Catfish are good on cheesebait, shrimp, and nightcrawlers in 40 80 feet over baited holes. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines baited with live perch in 15 30 feet.

BRAUNIG: Water stained; 62 degrees. Black bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Redfish are fair on live perch and shad near the dam. Channel catfish are good on chicken livers, shrimp, and cut shad. Blue catfish are good on cut bait.

CALAVERAS: Water stained; 62 degrees. Black bass are slow. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Redfish are fair on live perch, shad, and spoons in 15 25 feet. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are very good on chicken livers, shrimp, and cut shad. Yellow catfish are slow.

CHOKE CANYON: Water clear; 61 degrees; 9.46’ low. Black bass are fair on watermelon, pumpkinseed, and tequila sunrise soft plastics and spinnerbaits in 10 20 feet. White bass are slow. Crappie are good on minnows and white/pink tube jigs. Drum are fair on live worms. Channel and blue catfish are good on frozen shrimp, liver, and stinkbait. Yellow catfish are fair on live perch.

COLETO CREEK: Water stained; 63 degrees (77 degrees at discharge); 0.07’ low. Black bass are slow. Striped bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on trotlines baited with live perch and worms. Yellow catfish are good on trotlines baited with perch.

FALCON: Water clear; 64 degrees. Black bass are slow. Striped bass are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfish are good on cut bait and shrimp upriver. Everyone in the boat must have a Mexico fishing license (if fishing the Mexico side) whether fishing or not.

COASTAL

NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under the birds when the wind allows. Redfish are good in the marsh on small topwaters and Stanley Ribbits. Better fish have been caught while drifting shell and mud.

SOUTH SABINE: Bull redfish are good at the jetty on crabs. Sheepshead and black drum are good at the jetty on live shrimp. Trout are fair around the Reef on live shrimp.

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on soft plastics and plugs. Black drum and redfish are good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels. Redfish are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on topwaters and soft plastics. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Waders have taken trout in the mud and shell on MirrOlures and Corkies. Sheepshead, redfish and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs.

FREEPORT: Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Bull redfish are good in Cold Pass and San Luis pass on cracked blue crabs.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp over humps and scattered shell. Redfish are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on crabs and mullet.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfish are fair to good on the south shoreline in the guts and bayous. Trout are fair on shell on soft plastics. Flounder are fair to good on soft plastics over muddy bottoms.

PORT O’CONNOR: Trout and redfish are fair on Corkies over soft mud in waist-deep water in San Antonio Bay. Trout and redfish are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp and topwaters. Redfish are good at the mouths of drains.

ROCKPORT: Redfish are fair to good at California Hole on shrimp. Trout are fair on the edge of the ICW on glow DOA Shrimp. Redfish are fair to good on the Estes Flats on mullet and shrimp.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfish are fair to good on the East Flats on Gulps and mullet. Sand trout are good on shrimp in the channel.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfish are fair to good around Shamrock Cove on small topwaters and spoons. Redfish are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Trout are best on the edge of the flats on live shrimp and DOA Shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and Catch 2000s Redfish are good in the Land Cut on natural baits.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on DOA Shrimp under a popping cork around grass holes. Redfish are fair to good while drifting pot holes. Trout are best on muddy shorelines and on the edge of the ICW on Corkies.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfish are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on DOA Shrimp and Gulps. Redfish, black drum and mangrove snapper are fair to good in the channel on shrimp.

PORT ISABEL: Snook are fair in the Brownsville Ship Channel on free-lined shrimp. Trout are fair on the edge of the flats on soft plastics under popping corks. Redfish are good in the potholes on gold spoons.