4-29-2021

East and West Side Report from Ft. Worth Fishing (late April 2021)

I’m in a really good mood this morning after getting some much-needed rain all over DFW last night. This morning’s trip decided to reschedule after looking at the forecast, so why not type up a fishing report?! This report will be covering crappie, white bass, striper and catfish on both the east and west sides of DFW, with hopes that it helps other anglers have more success on their favorite local waters. Let’s start with what our top guide RD Myers is doing over at Cedar Creek, and then we will work our way back west to see what my clients and myself have been doing to ensure success on our guided fishing trips.


EAST SIDE REPORT (CEDAR CREEK)

The biggest change taking place right now on CC (and many other lakes for that matter) is the shad have begun to spawn on shallow structure all over the lake. Bridge columns, dock poles, grass lines, rocks, bulk heads, you name it. This has a major effect on where we find our targeted species, as they will follow these HUGE schools of baitfish up into the shallows for a very easy meal.

Crappie are going to be thick along the docks and bridges for a while, as they will typically be swimming directly under the shad, looking for an easy way to fill their bellies. Shallow brush piles and rip rap will also hold good numbers of fish, especially on these dark and cloudy spring mornings. The spawn is practically over on Cedar Creek, which in my opinion lends itself to even easier fishing patterns, as crappie will be more concerned about actively feeding, and will continue to be found in larger numbers as they start to group back up in larger schools again.

RD’s Best Tackle for Crappie
Rod: Huckabee Six Shooter for Docks or Huckabee 8ft Epic for brush/bridges
www.toddhuckabeerods.com
Reel: Shimano Sienna or Pflueger President
Line: Wally Marshall 8lb hi-vis mono
Jig: White Hot (sunny days) or Shaddaboy (cloudy days) Thump Chubbies from www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com
Jig Heads: 1/16 ounce unpainted, no keeper collar, #4 or #2 sickle hook





The white bass and hybrids on Cedar Creek are getting thicker by the day, and RD is reporting that he’s even starting to see a lot of surface action on very shallow humps and windblown points. As mentioned above, the baitfish are up shallow, which means the gamefish will be there too. Look for areas where heavy winds are blowing into main lake points and major bulkheads extending into the water, cast your favorite lure up against the rocks or retaining wall, and retrieve. If you spend a few minutes in an area and aren’t having immediate success, you need to move on quickly. This is not the time of year to be patient, as the fish are now actively feeding very heavily. Once the clouds burn off and fish eat their share in the early morning, expect them to move out to deeper humps (12-20ft) where they can be caught by the traditional bouncing the bottom with slabs.

RD’s Best Tackle for White Bass and Hybrids
Rod: 7ft Okuma Shadow Stalker
Reel: Pflueger President
Line: 15lb Berkley Big Game
Lure: ½ ounce Hot White Slab Daddies and Tandem Rigged Thump Buddies from www.constantpurusitoutfitters.com
For those targeting hybrids exclusively, I would suggest Heavy Glow Thump Daddies or fresh shad thrown up against windblown points and/or retaining walls.






For those targeting blue cats on Cedar Creek, it really doesn’t get any better than it is right now. The bait is easy to get, and so are the fish. What you’ll need is a bucket (I prefer to put my shad on ice) full of 3-4” shad, a few weighted cigar floats and some 3/0-5/0 kahle hooks. Rig your line so that the weighted bobber is no more than 18”-30” above the hook, run the hook through the eye of the shad and back through the black dot on the side, then cast right up against the rocks or retaining wall. As soon as you see that bobber go under, burn the reel until you feel the weight of the fish, and THEN set the hook.
Catfishermen will want to focus on shallow, windblown points. For example, if we have dominant 15mph southeast winds, you’ll more than likely do best on the west/northwest side of the lake. If you pull up and see big waves piling up hundreds of silvery shad on the banks, you’re in the right spot.

RD’s Best Tackle for Catfish
Rod: 7ft Okuma Shadow Stalker
Reel: Pflueger President
Line: 15lb Berkley Big Game
Rig: Weighted float 18”-30” above a 3/0 - 5/0 kahle hook baited with fresh shad




WEST SIDE REPORT (WHITNEY, EAGLE MOUNTAIN, BENBROOK, WEATHERFORD, PAT CLEBURNE)

I’ve been running my boat up and down the west and southwest side of Ft. Worth, depending on what my customers are wanting to target, and what Mother Nature allows us to do, in regards to her typically crazy spring mood swings. Although challenging at times, switching gears from catfish to crappie to fish with stripes keeps things fresh and interesting for me as a captain, and I love the variety of techniques that comes along with this type of guiding. I’ll start with crappie, then wade my way through blue cats, white bass and stripers.

The crappie around here are still very, VERY, shallow in the mornings, with dark cloudy skies and low pressure systems making for some perfect jig and bobber fishing conditions. Regardless of which lake I’m on, I am no longer finding quality fish in the creeks. My best spots have been in the back of main lake coves, where we’re targeting isolated stumps and other shallow structure to take advantage of aggressive male crappie who are still doing their thing for their bigger female counterparts.

As of this past week, we have been hitting the shorelines from dawn until roughly 9:00-10:00am, and then backing off out to 8-12ft once the sun gets up and the skies get bright and shiny. As is normally the case, the males are up shallow, while the big females wait in the deeper waters. Me personally, I like to pick on the males and let the females do their thing, and release all 15”+ trophies full of eggs until later in the spring.

Lane’s Best Tackle for Crappie
Rod: Huckabee 8ft Epic from www.toddhuckabeerods.com
Reel: Shimano Sierra or Pflueger President
Line: 8lb Wally Marshall Hi-Vis mono
Jig: White Hot or Carney Man Thump Buddies from www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com
Jig Head: 1/16 ounce unpainted, no keeper collar, #4 or #2 sickle hook
***Not a bad idea to have a few weighted bobbers in your arsenal as well.







I’m seeing more and more white bass show up in Whitney and Eagle Mountain now that they’re returning from the main lakes after their big spawning runs upstream. I have no doubt that with the recent rainfall, we will see a few move back up the rivers/creeks, but for the most part, I’ll be sticking to the main body of water for the remainder of the year. On both lakes, the white bass are up very shallow at dawn, as they take advantage of the shad spawn. I haven’t really seen major schools of fish stack up on main lake humps until late in the afternoon, especially on dark and cloudy mornings.

In regards to striper fishing, the live bait bite and topwater action are very productive right now, with many, MANY limits being harvested on a daily basis. If I have a small group of fishermen, we will throw your typical Zara Spooks and Pencil Poppers on windblown shallow flats and points. For my larger groups, live shad is the name of the game. I’m starting upwind of my target area, dropping down 5-7” live shad on small circle hooks or drop shot hooks, about 30-36” under a 1-2 ounce egg weight, then letting the wind push us over areas that are 20-35ft deep.

Lane’s Best Tackle for White Bass and Stripers
Rod: 7ft Okuma Shadow Stalker
Reel: Pflueger President
Line: 15lb Berkley Big Game
White Bass Lure: ½ ounce Hot White Slab Daddies from www.constantpursuitoutfitters.com
Striper Lure: Zara Spook in Bone White or Cotton Cordell Pencil Poppers in black/chrome
Striper Live Bait: 5-7” gizzard shad, 1/0 circle hooks or drop shot hooks, 30”-36” under a 1-2 ounce egg weight





For my west side catfishing enthusiast, I’m targeting blues up against windblown retaining walls on Eagle Mountain, as they are smashing the thousands of shad that are up shallow right now. I’ll get fresh shad right at dawn around the marinas or local docks, then put them under a weighted cigar float, roughly 18”-24” down, on a 3/0 to 5/0 kahle style hook. For Lake Whitney, we have been going after blues once we hit a limit on our striper. We haven’t been seeing a ton of big blues coming in over the gunnels, but if you’re looking for eaters, drifting fresh cut shad over humps and flats in 20-35ft of water has been productive. As we get closer to the end of May, I will be running quite a few trips targeting the channel cat spawn, which I am VERY much looking forward to. Watching that bobber go down makes me feel like a kid!!

Lane’s Best Tackle for Catfish
Rod: 7ft Okuma Shadow Stalker
Reel: Pflueger President
Line: 15lb Berkley Big Game
Shallow Cat Tackle: weighted float, 3/0 to 5/0 kahle hook, fresh shad 3-4” long
Deep Cat Tackle: Carolina rig style, 1-2 ounce egg weight, barrel swivel, with an 18”-24” leader, 3/0 to 5/0 kahle hook
***on Whitney, fresh cut bream (sunfish) seems to be outproducing fresh shad while drifting.


I truly hope this report helps some folks out there, as I want everyone to stock their freezer this spring. If you need some fine tuning or want to plan a fun vacation with the family, we’re happy to help. You can book online at www.ftworthfishing.com, or give me a call and we’ll talk fishing at 817-266-9811

Thank you Jesus for the rain!!!

A very special thank you goes out to the companies below who help us chase our dreams on a regular basis!

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

Awesome report sir!! I'm hoping to catch up with Frank tomorrow to get some more Shaddaboy Thump Chubbies!!

Thank You for the Info.

Fishing is good right now. I gain enthusiasm reading your reports. It sure sounds easy for you guides. I’m learning more and more all the time. One thing I pick up on is if your not catching them in a certain spot where you think they ought to be reel in the bait and go fish another spot. It’s helped me this year so far.