WEST TEXAS HOTSPOTS

Reported by TJ RANFT

CONTACT TJ RANFT:

Email: TJRanft17@gmail.com

Online: RanftGuideService.com

LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry

HOTSPOT: Dam Area

GPS: N 33 3.702, W 101 3.192 (33.0617, 101.0532)

LOCATION: Daniel Reservoir

HOTSPOT: South Shoreline

GPS: N 32 38.086, W 98 51.533 (32.634762, -98.858889) rocks also hold decent panfish and bass.

LOCATION: Lake Cisco

HOTSPOT: Brush Pile Site 10

GPS: N 32 26.7564, W 98 59.0855 (32.4459, -98.9848)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Bass jigs, worms (like Senkos), shakey head jigs rigged with a worm, top water lures

SOURCE: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services

806-792-9220

TIPS: May on Lake Alan Henry will find the bass in full spawn. These bass will hit a worm or jig while guarding the bed. Fish can be caught in the dingy water by just fishing with jigs or worms such as Senkos, shakey heads with a worm, and some will hit a topwaters.

SPECIES: Channel Catfish

SOURCE: Natalie Goldstrohm

Natural Resources Specialist

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

325- 692-0921

TIPS: Good numbers of channel catfish up to 24 inches can be found here. Channel cats should be spawning in June and can be found in shallower waters. Target shallow rocky shorelines or submerged logs. Bait your hooks with commercially prepared catfish bait or even a few corn kernels. Fish on the bottom or suspended a few inches from lake bottom.

LOCATION: Lake Brownwood

HOTSPOT: Rocky Point Across from Dam

GPS: N 31 50.4363, W 99 0.5875 (31.8406, -99.0098)

SPECIES: Largemouth bass, Crappie

BEST BAITS: Largemouth bass

SOURCE: Lance Benson

325-692-0921 tpwd.texas.gov

TIPS: This location features both a rock pile and a brush pile. The rocky and woody structure should aggregate prey fish and largemouth bass to this location and should increase angler catch rates.

LOCATION: Lake Granbury

HOTSPOT: Lower End

GPS: N 32 22.659, W 97 42.009 (32.37765, -97.70015)

SPECIES: Flathead Catfish

BEST BAITS: Live sunfish, shad, cut bait

Contact: Natalie Goldstrohm, TPWD

325-692-0921

TIPS: This rocky point has a dropoff of large boulders that are home to some decent size flathead catfish. Live baits work best to land these fish, particularly sunfish, shad, and smaller carp. Cut carp and gizzard shad may also yield a good catch. These

SPECIES: Striped Bass

BEST BAITS: Live shad, willow shaped slabs, bucktail jigs with a curly tail

SOURCE: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Guide Service

254-396-4855

UnfairAdvantageCharters.com

TIPS: Live shad worked near feeding flats. : Downrigging jigs near channel ledges near baitfish can help locate active fish. Live shad fished on a carolina rig fished 15 to 25 feet down is hard to beat. By May, Granbury water temperatures will be in the 70’s and 80’s and summer patterns will start to dominate. Striped bass are returning to the lower ends of the main lake. They are located next to structure and live bait and slabs are effective. Downrigging jigs with trailers are putting fish in the boat.

West Texas

LOCATION: Lake Granbury

HOTSPOT: Brazos River Above Granbury

GPS: N 32 34.559, W 97 49.295 (32.575983, -97.821583)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: White Spinner baits, rattle traps and french fry/power bait soft plastics

SOURCE: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Guide Service

254-396-4855

UnfairAdvantageCharters.com

TIPS: Work points and banks with submerged brush. Top water action is great early and late. Use crankbaits to locate fish. Soft plastics are great near points and dropoffs near creek channels and sloughs.

LOCATION: Hubbard Creek Reservoir

HOTSPOT: Big Sandy Creek Arm

GPS: N 32 46.762, W 98 59.955 (32.7793 -98.9992)

Central Texas

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SOURCE: Bill Carey

903-786-4477 www.striperexpress.com

TIPS: May is most fishermen’s favorite month of the year on Lake Texoma. Most of the stripers are finished with the spawn and are roaming the lake. Large schools of post spawn fish are hungry and will strike on artificial lures and live bait. Cast Pencil Poppers and big Chugbugs on the shallow banks early in the mornings. After the topwater bite, switch to 1oz white glo Sassy Shad jigs or live shad. Work the jigs on main lake ledges to 30’ depths. Drift or anchor with live shad on the same ledges. Limits of fish are common, and May is an exciting month on Lake Texoma.

LOCATION: Lake Waco

HOTSPOT: Old Highway 6 South

GPS: N 31 32.646, W 97 12.93 (31.5441, -97.2155)

SPECIES: White Bass

BEST BAITS: Topwaters, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits

SOURCE: Natalie Goldstrohm

Natural Resources Specialist

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

325- 692-0921

TIPS: May can be a great time to fish for schooling white bass. Try fishing for white bass on the three humps along the Sandy Creek arm north of the bridge. If the white bass are schooling, throw a topwater like a popper and if the topwaters are not working change to a bladed bait or a lipless crank bait. Lures that look like shad should work well.

LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom

HOTSPOT: The Y

GPS: N 32 51.404, W 98 28.299 (32.856733, -98.471651)

SPECIES: White Bass

BEST BAITS: RatLTraps

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas

Fishgame.com/fishgamegear

TIPS: Work black/silver RatLTraps along the roadbed, watch for birds; morning-afternoon

LOCATION: Lake Whitney

HOTSPOT: Whitney Hump

GPS: N 31 54.612, W 97 20.754 (31.9102, -97.3459)

SPECIES: Striped Bass

BEST BAITS: Trolling and some live bait

SOURCE: TJ Ranft

940-452-8439

TJRanft17@gmail.com

RanftGuideService.com

TIPS: Fish will be in late spring early summer patterns. This is somewhat of a transition phase. Early morning and late evening will be the best times. Fishing live bait will produce some fish, but the fish should be starting to hit jigs predominantly. Look in 20-40 feet of water. You should start to see a ther-

SPECIES: Striped Bass

BEST BAITS: Live threadfin shad

SOURCE: Randy Routh

817-822-5539 www.teamredneck.net

TIPS: Stripers have reached maturity and, postspawn, are gorging and making for some awesome action. Live bait (threadfin shad) is working best. Rigging up on a Carolina rig and fishing straight down around 18’ just off ledges and edges at Whitney hump and other main lake points and humps is the key. Watch your graph along these edges and humps for big balls of bait.

Current Lake Levels West Texas

mocline on your fish finder around 30 feet. Fish will typically not be below that. It is possible to see some schooling action early in the morning and late in the day, so keep a topwater handy. Just about any white or chrome topwater will work when they do school. Jigs and spoons also work great when the fish are schooling.