Hi everyone,

I live right across the street from Benbrook Lake and thought I�d give it a shot on Wednesday. First thing I might try and catch some largemouth but I�m really interested in the hybrid, white, and crappie population and how to catch them. I�m new to the whole trolling/jigging game but I was just going to drag some spoons or deep divers behind the boat and then maybe vertical jig for crappie in the trees. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I�d love to get accustomed to the lake as I live so close.

Humps by the dam for hybrids and whites. Timber for crappie. Don�t get discouraged. One tough lake.

Benbrook is the "pit of misery" for hybrid fishing. Caught more black bass on live shad than hybrids.

Also, expect to catch about a thousand yellow bass for every one white.

What happened to Benbrook? It used to be great. I actually caught my first hybrid there. Used to see acres of top water Hybrids! Haven�t fished it in years but been wanting to give it a shot. Never see reports. TPW still stocking it ?

So what I�m hearing is I should head somewhere else nearby. Benbrook is a 3 minute drive from my house...that was the main attraction.

I was doing really well during the summer when the lake was low. Now that it has been close to or above normal for the last several years it has been tough for me.

Not at all. Learn the lake. There are some good fish in there. Just be ready to have skunk days. That�s just the way Benbrook is. The white bass fishing has been down in the last few years. Lots of big crappie in that little lake.

Alright you talked me into it!

If I was you I would invest in a kayak. You�re going to need it when the lake drops 18 feet in the summer. If the whites are going to school in the mornings then they will be on the west side by Holiday park. In the evening they used to school at the mouth of Richardson Slough. Either way they will not stay up but for a few seconds. There are 3 humps up by the west end of the dam that hold fish. Check the ledges in front of the pier and the remote control airplane field. There are also the bubblers that hold a few. East side is a forest. Also check the long point off of Mustang Park.

It's tricky. I used to catch Hybrids there somewhat regularly. Seems like since the flooding in 2015 its been off. TPWD told me in an email that they still stock it regularly.

Its all about the Crappie! Timber in front of Holiday park. Took me a while but once i figured it out i never got skunked. Sold my boat so its been 4 years.

Been catching a few sandies while crappie fishing but haven�t seen them surface on Benbrook like they used to. Went yesterday and saw a few caught at the mouth of Richardson slew where the bouys are it�s a ledge that is a 20 ft drop.

I used to do night fishing at Benbrook every friday night back in the 1990s. A couple of fishing lights sitting in the middle of Richardson's Slough and I would kill the white bass between midnight and 2:00am. I would use a stack of 4-5 small crappie jigs spaced about a foot or so apart to cover 5 feet of depth. I haven't lived near Fort Worth in 20 years so I have no idea what Benbrook is like today.

fishing was good till the floods of 2015 and 2016 where water was 15 ft above elevation level
I was still catching fish when the water was high, and soon after the level starting dropping, fishing went south
I think lots of fished got washed downstream when they let water out at an alarming rate

Palmetto below are the Hybrids. at 6" growth per year, 2020 should be good fishing again at Benbrook

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0066

Species Year Number Size
Stocked
Bass, Florida Largemouth 2018 66,216 Fingerling
Bass, Palmetto 2018 380,000 Fry
Bass, Palmetto 2017 718,240 Fry
Bass, Palmetto 2016 181,902 Fry