Just to be clear im not asking for any honey hole spot information but im wondering if fish wright patman when i go to my moms for thanksgiveing will the crappie be biting by then and of so should i use live minnows or jigs because i have never fished that lake and all i know about it is that i hear its a good crappie lake ?

Catfanman,

Wishing you luck. I hardly ever see anything on Wright Patman. I watch cause my folks live over there and Dad used to fish it. The lake level there can vary wildly and get up flooding all the Sulphur River and White Oak bottom lands. He always liked it @ 224 which is about where it is now. He used to put in at Mauldin or Herron Creek and fish the river and flats. I'm seeing some reports of people catching up in the creeks here now so it might be a good time. I swear he new every underwater stump there and w/o sonar would catch all he wanted most times. From Mauldin, he was never sure how to get further up the river as there is a lot of sediment and w/o good lake maps/sonar was concerned he'd get grounded and stuck. That said, what reports I've seen from there in years past, some mentioned being further up river than Mauldin.

I'd guess Herron would be a good place to start. There is a free ramp right on Highway 8 between Maud and Douglassville. Or you can put it an Mauldin State Park. Ramps are a bit steep over there, just fyi, but in good condition and shouldn't be an issue.

I hope you can get some information here as mine is nowhere near current. It's probably been 6 years since I fished it. Seems like it was fall and we camped @ Mauldin. We caught a few then but no limits.

Oh...we always used Jigs there. I'm sure minnows would work, but he like normal colors, like black/chart, blue/white, chartreuse and so on. He'd find his stump and work a jig around them as he slowly moved by with the current. If he'd had some good sonar and found more stumps I'm sure there wouldn't be any fish there today...LoL

Good Luck!

One other thing that I remember. That same trip I was going downriver in my Triton and thought I would easily go into the main lake. I don't recall the lake level a the time but seems like it was around normal pool. I couldn't make it. Too Shallow. So be careful and you might see folks running the river. Again, be careful. Some huge stumps lurk and the river ain't deep. The flats off to sides are great spawning areas but might be a bit shallow for them right now.

I have fished wright patman in November December several times over the last decade. Get in the sulfur River I would suggest highly launching into the sulfur River on that boat ramp on the north side of the river. Getting into the river from the lake at the fall elevation is not easy. I've caught a lot of crappie out of a jon boat with no electronics or trolling motor fishing very obvious structure in that river The guys that go through there with the correct equipment load the boat. They are in there and easy to catch until there is current.

Yeah...because of sediment and 'where is the channel'. Highlighted the river and the ramp I think Used2fish is talking about. I have never tried it myself. I've only been up to the bridge near the ramp I think is being referenced by Used2fish.

Im referring to the ramp at the end of cr 4128

The one at the bridge you have to know what you're doing or follow someone into the river.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/wright_patman/structure.phtml

good luck

I don’t see any standing timber anymore, but it lurks just under the surface...it was a crappiemill when I was a kid, heard it still is, assuming you got decent electronics...