I decided to hit Welsh Park this morning with the fly rod and clouser. Unfortunately the cold weather threw everything out of wack and the bait fish didn't come shallow. The guys in the bait truck circled for about an hour before giving up looking for them.

I spoke with one fellow throwing a cast net and he couldn't find bait either.

I spoke to some other people. They were fishing out on the point. They told me that a lot of big hybrids are being caught on crawfish. People are taking surf rods with a heavy weight and throwing them out as far as they can into the deep channel. I saw one hybrid being caught that way.

I also stopped by the dam. The fishing continues to be inconsistent but does seem to be improving slightly. Mainly a few hybrids and white bass being caught near the gates.

[Hey J-Moe I think I talked to you this morning? I was fishing the lake side of the Dam (behind the spillway) by myself, having no luck of course. We got down there about the same time.]

I got to the spillway around sunrise and there were already 15 vehicles in the parking lot. Fished for several hours and only saw 2 drum and 2 catfish caught, but that was mostly from guys downstream a bit. I didn't get a single bite on artificials, then tried lakeside and same story. Decided to drive to one of the feeder creeks to the lake and hiked upstream quite a bit. Caught only 3 LMB and missed something that gave a good tug. Not too familiar with the creek but water seemed much higher than normal - may have thrown off the bite on just about everything? Overall, beautiful day to be off work and fishing.

Yes sir, I had the fly rod and fishing vest.

I think Cedar creek needs some attention.. I probably won't go again for whitebass but maybe for the adventure and to satisfy my curiosity. Black bass and crappie bite should be getting better..

May be too late for white bass, but worth the hike in!

Lake Somerville Nails Creek State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife
10 hrs �
Great news!!!! Newman's Bottom is now open for hiking in. Please be advised that this area is very muddy! You will need to stop by the office to purchase your permit. You will need to make sure not to park blocking any of the gates down there. Please do not park past the sign at the gate. You can park on the grass along the roadway.
CR- 125 is now open on the State Park side. You will need to stop of that office to purchase that permit as well!

So what does the water on the Yegua creek look like? Has anyone gone to check it out?

Had a friend who went today and he said it was two feet high and real muddy. Guess there wont be any more whites caught out of there this year.

I think it is over for the year up the creeks at Lake Somerville... Crappie, catfish and black bass should still be in there for the catching..

I checked on Irwin yesterday morning and can confirm that it was 2 feet high and muddy.

I also checked on Cedar. The water quality was better. I met a pair of fisherman coming from downstream of the bridge. They said it just seemed dead. I tried a short stretch above and below the bridge and got the same exact impression. Very little signs of fish and definitely no spawning activity. I too, want to try it again once it clears up some more.

Fishing below the dam is slowly improving. A few more catfish showing up. Welsh Park and the dam parking lot were packed with people yesterday.

Newman's open for the HIKE in......I do believe creek walking is done for the year. But I am going to hit it ONE more time before ready'ing the boat. my son, wife and I are going to do the walk one last time. Hopefully find a few stragglers through out the creek. Hit a couple of the deep holes to check for those crappie. We shall see.....ONE LAST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!....see ya out there.

It seems like every year out of about 10 trips to this place, I have a couple that I'll remember for the rest of my life. This year was no exception. I haven't found a place yet that offers as much opportunity to the bank and kayak angler in the way of quality fishing and easy access.

I probably won't make another trip out there this season for Whites, but I can't rule out a crappie or catfish trip.

Thanks for all the posts everybody. I've learned so much from the people on this thread.

Well Today, my wife, son and I made the hike in to Newman's Bottom. When we first arrived there were 8 vehicles parked at the grass. As we were hiking in, we past several folks leaving. NO one had any fish at all. They all looked exhausted. (WE all know that look, LOL) We cross the bridge, and hike an additional 15 minutes in towards the lake. The creek is still up, it still has a good flow to it. It is still muddy, but clearer than it was Monday. We started fishing, and my third cast......the fight was on. A nice white, we stayed in that spot for about an hour, ended up with 8 on the stringer (found a honey hole, and how they wanted it worked) We walked back towards the bridge (Easter and all, had to be back to town early) We hit a few more spots on the way out. We ended the day with 12 on the stringer, a nice hike, and a wonderful day spent with the wife and kiddo. All-in-All....we were out there for 3 and 1/2 hours. came back with 12 on the stringer. It was a wonderful last creek walk for the year. Monday, I will be pulling the toon out of it's hiding place and making it water ready. Next trip will be in the boat, up in the creek with minnows, corks and stringers. SHHHHHHHHHHHHH, be very, very quiet, we're hunting crappie. Thanks for all the bank fishing reports, yall have made it another great year. See ya when I see ya.

I had only one trip out of a half dozen or more that didn't prove very fruitful.. Thanks go out to everyone that kept us all in the know about this very special place and time.. From April on is the time to chase black bass and crappie up the Yegua and from what I've read this is gonna be a banner year!

Caught a few whites two days ago in Nails creek. It was muddy and lots of fresh water kept the crappie from biting but the whites were still in there. Of course they are in the main lake now. Just drive and park at Welch Park. The waders are stacked up elbow to elbow...lol

I've been up Yegua all week. Ran all the way to the lower reaches of Newmans Bottom yesterday (by boat). Water is flowing and muddy. Fished up there off and on all week. No crappie, no whites. Ran a line or 2 and pulled several nice cats out. Nails is also muddy. Water level has gone down probably 3 feet since last weekend 3/19. The fish are schooling on the main lake, reports of limits of hybrids and whites, being caught. I did catch 4 nice fat slabs in Nails before the water dropped. Was catching really nice cats up to 8lbs in yegua until the water dropped. As the water went down, the quality and numbers of fish declined.

The fish I caught crappie and cats still had eggs in them so the have not spawned. Doubtful the creek fishing is going to get any better this year, I think its all but over.