Lake Texana Fishing
category : Fishing
Blue catfish and largemouth bass are the most popular sportfish in Lake Texana. Blue catfish are abundant with frequent reports of large stringers. Flathead and channel catfish also provide noteworthy fisheries. Fishing for largemouth bass has improved in recent months. White bass provide excellent angling opportunities in the Navidad and Sandy Creek channels during the cooler months and in the main reservoir near the dam during summer. Hybrid striped bass are usually found with schools of white bass in the deeper portions of the reservoir. Although crappie fishing can be tough in the summer, respectable catches are not uncommon during the spring.
Fishing Cover/Structure
Lake Texana contains vast floating beds of water hyacinth which provide marginal habitat for most sportfish species. Isolated beds of hydrilla, coontail, and other submerged aquatic vegetation provide the best habitat for largemouth bass. Most of the reservoir contains submerged timber and numerous stumps, ideal structure for catfish species. In periods of high water, flooded terrestrial vegetation provides excellent habitat for all game fish species. The Navidad River channel and the adjacent shallow area called the "jungle" is a favorite bass fishing area, water level permitting.
Tips & Tactics
Catfish anglers utilize juglines and trotlines in their pursuit of flathead, blue, and channel catfish. Rod and reel anglers often fish creek channels and submerged terrestrial vegetation, water level permitting. Popular baits for catfish include stinkbait, cheesebait, live sunfish or shad, and cut bait. Largemouth bass anglers prefer spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jigs, Texas-rigged soft plastics, and tube baits in either dark or white and chartreuse colors. Working any visible laydowns, submerged brush, and vegetation in or near deeper water (5 feet or more) is a popular tactic for largemouth bass. Shallow gravel bars near creek channels are often productive when found near a dropoff or steep bank.
Crappie anglers concentrate on the edges of water hyacinth in the creek channels during the spring, dabbling small white, pink, or black and chartreuse crappie jigs near shore. Submerged brush in 4-5 feet of water within a creek channel is often an overlooked holding area for large crappie in the spring. White bass concentrate in the Navidad River and Sandy Creek channels in December and January in preparation for their annual spawning "run" and can be caught using small rattletraps, inline spinners, minnow imitating jigs, and live minnows under a bobber. The most effective artificial baits during this period are white or chrome in color. Hybrid striped bass are usually caught using live shad or minnows and white or chrome rattletraps fished in deeper water near the dam. Deep trolling rattletraps or crankbaits is one technique. Locating schooling fish on a depth finder and fishing live bait at the correct depth may prove more productive.
Address: 6.5 mi E of Edna, TX on SH 111
Phone: 512- 782-5718
Our Email: eharrison@gp.usbr.gov
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