Water Level: 164.72

Water Temp: Mid 80�s

Water Clarity: Clear at the dam with 3-4' visibility in places getting progressively stained as you move up lake to muddy north of the 103 bridge

SHAllOW: With all the recent heavy rains Sam Rayburn really has not risen all that much. They have the gates open and are pushing all the fresh water out just as fast as it is coming into the lake. Visually, it looks like the lake is flooded and high but in actuality it is only about 3 inches over full pool. We are just not used to seeing it this high, especially in July. I was hanging out at TriLakes Tackle this afternoon and the older guys were talking about how it has been almost 12 years since they can remember the water being this high in the summer time. It is kind of exciting because it presents the anglers with an all new fishing experience because for the most part, the majority of the typical deep summertime fish have pulled up shallower and most are relating to the new flooded vegetation or the hydrilla/milfoil/pepper grass that is starting to show up in places it has not been in years.

There is so much flooded vegetation right now that you can almost pattern what type you are currently catching fish off of if you want to run all over the lake. There is hay grass with 4� of water under it and pepper grass out in 9�. Swimjigs, swimbaits, frogs and toads have all been producing primarily because there really aren�t a lot of other options that you can fish in and around that stuff. 6�-4� has been a productive range for not only catching fish but catching big ones. I know of a double digit bass that was caught out of 2� earlier this week on a frog.
Just out from some of that flooded shore grass, shad and chrome colored traps have started producing numbers but you will have to weed through small ones to get any size.

MID: As I mentioned before, the grass is starting to show up in places it hasn�t been in years which is making some people very excited because they get to bust out their flipping sticks and get to work. It makes for a long day to flip grass but the rewards have been well worth their time to stick with it. Beating the outside grass line edges in 10�-14�with a 1oz jig has been producing some nice fish as well.

DEEP: Over the past couple of years, I have pretty much become an offshore angler on Sam Rayburn. Unfortunately, that bite has not been as consistent over the past couple of weeks. One of the things I primarily key in on when looking for the offshore fish on Rayburn is the shad. They are bunching up in long strands as opposed to being grouped up in solid clouds. Most of the offshore places where I am finding these shad, the fish are suspended around them which makes them extremely difficult to catch. The fish we have been seeing on the bottom have been a mix of species but they have primarily been drum and catfish. These look like and set up exactly like bass on the graph. You can weed through the mixed bag with a jigging spoon and have constant action if that excites you. Another option is to dropshot/football head jig/C-rig around these fish to pick off the largemouth and spotted bass.

The brushpile bite has been hit and misses as well. You will hit 5 or 6 with nothing and then you come across one that is either loaded with spotted bass or you get one solid bite. Then you run 6 or 7 more unproductive ones and then come across a biting fish or two. 18 � 22� seems to be where the most productive ones are. Red bug colored big worms and football head jigs have been productive as well as crashing deep diving crankbaits into the tops of them. If you are getting bites and missing a lot of fish on brush, there is a good chance they are crappie or small bream right now.
Fishing is not great but you can still catch some fish. It is the summertime on Sam Rayburn and if you aren�t fishing shallow, you need to get as close to the river channel in a viable depth as you can get.

Now that the Tour season is over me, I am teach my Elite Angler Academy classes and guiding full time. Along with my basic class covering deep water strategies and electronics, I will be offering deep water grass flipping classes and frog/swimjig classes for those of you wanting to gain confidence with these techniques. If you are interested in getting more information or wanting to book a trip, feel free to PM me or call (479) 970-3388. I will be posting me available dates for the remainder of 2014 in the near future.

I currently have the following dates still available for July. If you are interested in booking one of these last minute days for either a class or catching trip, I will knock $75 off of my regular price.
July 25 - Friday
July 28 - Monday
July 29 - Tuesday
July 30 - Wednesday