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East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) #13960169 04/14/21 07:11 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,918
Laner Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,918
East and West Side Scouting Report from Ft. Worth Fishing (Early April)



Man I love me some April fishing. As more and more fish return to the main lake from their spawning runs, they are showing up with one thing on their mind: EAT!! A higher concentration of crappie under docks and on brush means heavier coolers and more gallon bags full of filets. The same can be said for both the sandies and stripers. They are getting schooled back up and ready for a shad sandwich after all the swimming upstream they’ve endured over the last six weeks. Below is a full report on how we’ve been catching fish of all flavors lately, and what we expect to do in the immediate future to ensure the success of our customers.



East Side Fishing (Cedar Creek)

Water Temp = mid 60s
Water color = stained
Lake Level = full


Crappie

Hats off to our guide RD Myers for continuously putting our clients on fish, while battling the usual heavy spring winds, and often sporadic Texas weather patterns. With most of the creek bite dwindling away a couple weeks ago, he is now targeting crappie in a variety of places, depending on wind direction and the skill level of the people he’s guiding for the day. As of the last few days, docks in the major creek arms along with shallow brush piles (6-14ft) in the same area have been the most productive. Bridges are also starting to hold great numbers as the shad spawn is starting to pick up.

As far as tackle goes, the best thing going on Cedar Creek right now would either be a White Hot or Carney Man Thump Chubby on a 1/16 ounce unpainted head. With the fish being under docks and on shallow brush, the lighter jig heads will almost always outperform the heavier ones, as the shallower water allows for less fall time, which means less time for a crappie to strike. We have been using Shimano reels spooled with 8lb hi-vis Mr. Crappie monofilament. Our two rods of choice are the Huckabee Six Shooter for dock shooting, and the Huckabee Epic 8ft rod for fishing on brush piles or around bridges.
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White Bass

The sandbass have REALLY started to show up in large groups over the last two weeks, and will continue to be a fun target up until September, when they can get a bit picky. Some of the better locations for finding large schools of white bass include the Tennis Court, Spillway Hump and Sunken Island. The best bite has been on ½ ounce and ¾ ounce Hot White Slabs from Constant Pursuit Outfitters, with either a White Hot or CC Special Thump Buddy tandem rigged 18-24” above the slab, on a 1/16 ounce unpainted jig head. In regards to depth, 8-15ft seems to be where all the magic is happening right now. Anglers should focus on the windward sides of humps and points, and can either slowly drift to cover more ground, or use the trolling motor to hover over the schools. The traditional technique of bouncing the slab off the bottom is working wonders.

If you get a wild hair and want to hear drags screaming, head out to Cedar Creek on night and fish the dock lights with a weightless White Hot Thump Boss. The nighttime hybrid bite doesn’t get much better than it is right now. Look for docks with good light on windblown points.

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West Side Fishing (Whitney, Eagle Mountain, Pat Cleburne, Weatherford and Aquilla)

Water Temps = low 60s
Water Condition = mostly clear to lightly stained
Lake Levels = 2-3ft low

Crappie

I’ve had a lot of fun lately targeting multiple species in the area I grew up fishing, as many early memories have flooded in from the years of running up and down the Brazos and Trinity valleys. Crappie fishing seems to be fairly consistent across the board, with fish being found in 4-12ft of water, and still spawning in most cases. On Whitney, I’m focusing on layovers and shallow timber out of the wind. On the other lakes, I’m fishing rip rap and shallow brush piles looking for those angry males who are still on the nests. I’ve gotten to see a lot of bobbers go down over the last couple of weeks, which always puts a smile on my face.

This time of year can be known for inconsistencies, but for the most part, we’re seeing good numbers laid out on the tailgates. As the spring continues to develop into early summer, I expect the amounts of limits we will see continue to climb. Lakes around Ft. Worth fish really well late spring/early summer, and I like taking advantage of that situation. My best bite right now is on a White Hot Thump Buddy on a 1/16 ounce unpainted head, 8ft Epic Huckabee rod, and a Shimao reel spooled with 8lb hi-vis Mr. Crappie monofilament. Whether I’m using a jig and bobber, or simply pitching the jig out and letting it fall, my tackle and rod choice remains constant in both situations.
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Sandies and Stripers

For those who have taken advantage of our striper and sandbass trips, we’ve had some fun lately, especially those who have opted for the wade fishing/shore lunch combo. We hit the sandies hard and heavy as they made their runs into the Nolan and Brazos rivers, with our success being dependent on finding the shallowest water possible that still had good current flowing through. As the seasons are changing, so are the patterns. Pat Cleburne, Eagle Mountain and Whitney are all starting to see good numbers off white bass return to their usual post spawn haunts, with my best locations being windblown humps and points. The quality seems to be good in all the lakes mentioned above.

As far as striper fishing goes, it’s a live bait game now. We were doing well on swimbaits up until a couple of weeks ago, however, that all changed about the third week of March. I am now dropping 5-7” live shad on underwater humps and points in 20-35ft of water, and either spotlocking or drifting, depending on what the wind is doing and what the fish are doing. Personally, I prefer to drift, as I like covering more ground. My best rig is a 7’6” Okuma Shadow Stalker rods with Pfleuger President reels, spooled with 40lb braid. I’m using 1/0-2/0 octopus hooks on 30lb floro, a couple of feet under an egg weight (1-2 ounce weight depending on wind), and lip hooking live shad.

On a side note, using LiveScope to catch shad is probably one of the more fun and unique ways I use my electronics. I’m sneaking up on the schools with my trolling motor, while watching the bait balls swimming in real time on my graph. Once I get within striking distance, I’m throwing my net and getting to watch the whole scenario unfold right before my eyes on a 12” TV. This is REALLY cool stuff and it makes my “job” as a guide just that much easier.
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What to Expect in the Upcoming Few Weeks

For Cedar Creek, fishing is starting to get plain silly, and will only continue to get better as May and June approach. If I were going to CC in the next couple of weeks, I would expect to start finding good numbers of crappie under main lake docks, and the brush pile bite to continuously get stronger. From now until mid-to-late May, you can bet those pieces of structure in 8-15ft are going to hold heavy pay loads of post spawn fish.

Bluecats, hybrid striper and white bass will be found on VERY shallow points and against retaining walls as the shad spawn fires off. If you find yourself on the water and the conditions are decent winds from the south and overcast, you almost can’t fish too shallow. Get yourself some fresh shad and a weighted cigar float, hook the whole shad 12-24” under the bobber, and cast it up against windblown retaining walls of the major shallow points on the lake. You’ll get a very fun mix of big hybrids, great eating size catfish and magnum sandies.

For the west side lakes, I will be targeting crappie on shallow brush and timber in 8-15ft regardless of which lake I’m on. They all seem to fish pretty much the same, with the exception of Weatherford, which always seems to be about two weeks behind the other lakes I’m guiding on. I’ll use an assortment of White Hot, Carney Man and Ghost Minnow Thump Buddies and Thump Chubbies, and almost always on unpainted heads in either 1/16 or 1/8 weight sizes.

Sandies will only get easier and easier, as the large schools will, for the most part, be very well stacked up on main lake humps. Eagle Mountain holds the best quality white bass of all the lakes around Ft. Worth, and by late April, limits out there are typically the norm. Stripers will be caught on live bait from now until well into the fall months. The depths will change as water temps rise, but focusing on windblown humps adjacent to deeper water will serve the angler well.

Catfishing on the west side is really a lot of fun, and I am starting to see a lot of nice eaters hitting the fresh shad I’m drifting with. The shallow bite will get better and better, and I’m looking forward to running spawning channel cat and blue cat trips over the next couple of months. Lake Whitney and Eagle Mountain are my favorite two lakes for those looking at catching whisker fish.

Whether you have a specific species in mind, or perhaps you’re like me and prefer some variety in your life, we’re happy to help! You can book through our website www.ftworthfishing.com or call me directly at 817-266-9811. Now that we have two boats running full time, covering both the east and west sides of DFW, I feel like we can offer our customers several options to ensure they leave the dock with a smile on their face and a few gallon bags full of fish. Thank you to the TFF and all of our customers who have shown continual support over the last eleven years. We literally wouldn’t be able to chase our dreams without you!


Fishing Calendar for the Rest of the Year:

Crappie = now until late July, then gets good again in October and November
Sandies = year around, with the two toughest months being February and September
Striper = now until I leave for running my offshore trips in the summer, then gets good again in the fall.
Catfish = now until mid-summer, then fires back up again in late October
Offshore fishing = July (snapper, kings, shark), August (amberjack, mahi, wahoo, kings, shark, barracuda, ling, tarpon, mangrove snapper, and an assortment of other blue water fish), September (same as August)


www.ftworthfishing.com
www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com
www.fishingpoc.com
www.sscrappiejigs.com
www.shut-up-and-fish.com
www.bluewaveboats.com
www.toddhuckabeerods.com



Check Out The New Website!!!


TCU Alumni class of 2009


Owner/Operator Ft. Worth's Premiere Guide Service: www.ftworthfishing.com
817-266-9811

Re: East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) [Re: Laner] #13960306 04/14/21 08:42 PM
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,776
H
HOGON Offline
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Posts: 1,776
Great Pics and Post Lane!! woot thumb cheers


ACC CRAPPIE STIX
BONEHEAD TACKLE
LEWS REELS
PEPOPS JIGS
FEARLESS JIGS
BUBBAS BAITS
MAD CRAPPIE JIGS
DANS JIGS
CRAZY ANGLER TACKLE
THERMOCLINE LURES
CONSTANT PURSUIT OUTFITTERS
MR CRAPPIE
POWER PRO SUPER SLICK BRAID
BERKLEY VANISH GOLD/TRANSITION
LIFT SAVER TROLLING MOTOR MOUNT
SHUT UP AND FISH
SLAB SYNDICATE JIGS
THUMPER ELITE OUTFITTERS
Re: East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) [Re: Laner] #13960316 04/14/21 08:49 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,921
Beltonbanger� Offline
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Offline
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,921
Wow......tried counting all those fish and got all fumbled up!!!!!!!!!!


The "no bull" fish taxidermist!!!!!

Visit me on Facebook!!!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fin-and-Bones-Taxidermy/337236589711827?ref=stream
Re: East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) [Re: Laner] #13962411 04/16/21 01:35 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,918
Laner Offline OP
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Thank you Glen!!

Hey Bill, we could use your help at the cleaning table.



Check Out The New Website!!!


TCU Alumni class of 2009


Owner/Operator Ft. Worth's Premiere Guide Service: www.ftworthfishing.com
817-266-9811

Re: East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) [Re: Laner] #13962503 04/16/21 02:22 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,921
Beltonbanger� Offline
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,921
Originally Posted by Laner
Thank you Glen!!

Hey Bill, we could use your help at the cleaning table.


Well you didn't mention anything about me at the EATING table!!!!! smile


The "no bull" fish taxidermist!!!!!

Visit me on Facebook!!!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fin-and-Bones-Taxidermy/337236589711827?ref=stream
Re: East and West Side Fishing Report (early April) [Re: Laner] #13964837 04/18/21 02:18 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,918
Laner Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,918
We could use your help there too Bill. Speaking of that, fried fish actaully does sound pretty good today...



Check Out The New Website!!!


TCU Alumni class of 2009


Owner/Operator Ft. Worth's Premiere Guide Service: www.ftworthfishing.com
817-266-9811

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