Texas Fishing Forum

Wright Patman?

Posted By: dk2429

Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 02:06 AM

Buddy and I make a “big trip” from Houston once year fishing 2-3 lakes in close proximity that we’ve never been to

This year I know we’re gonna do Pines and Caddo. I know these are both good fisheries as I see them mentioned on here quite a bit. I’m just curious about Wright Patman, thinking to maybe add that on the list this trip. Never really seen it talked about on here so I’m just curious!

Shooting for hopefully late May, if not probably sometime this summer. Gonna be in a boat of course. Thanks!
Posted By: Slicefixer

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 12:42 PM

Day in and day out Patman is better than Caddo IMOP, but, not nearly as pretty.....Caddo is like stepping back in time. I think Pines is the best of the 3. That seems to be the general consensus around here amongst the sticks as well.
Posted By: dk2429

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 03:44 PM

No one else? I’m assuming with no other comments so far that it’s not worth going to.. lol
Posted By: Slicefixer

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 03:54 PM

It's well worth going to.....it's location gets it overlooked by most as they've never fished it, extreme NE TX, etc. It's a very good fishery, but, like all of em, timing is everything.
Posted By: LakeTylerMan

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 06:32 PM

I've never fished it. But when I fished in a club and asked, they had fished WP in he past and said it held its own against many lakes. It was a definite we caught fish there.
Posted By: ETXfisher91

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 07:18 PM

I wouldn't waste my time fishing Caddo since your not familiar with it... I would just go joy ride for a few hours, then hop over to Pines or WP for the other half of the day...
Posted By: Outdoordude

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by Slicefixer
Day in and day out Patman is better than Caddo IMOP, but, not nearly as pretty.....Caddo is like stepping back in time. I think Pines is the best of the 3. That seems to be the general consensus around here amongst the sticks as well.


Agree 100% with everything you said.

Patman has a good crop of fish, big ones and numbers can be caught at times. Little tricky/sketchy to navigate in areas but not too bad so long as you know when/where to get off pad
Posted By: dk2429

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by ETXfisher91
I wouldn't waste my time fishing Caddo since your not familiar with it... I would just go joy ride for a few hours, then hop over to Pines or WP for the other half of the day...


Yeah honestly we just wanna go to say we’ve been Caddo. Looks like a beautiful scenery out there

Pines is what I’m most excited about. May also try Welsh if we have time. That’s the plan at least unless we decide on another group of 3-4 lakes on proximity of each other to go to

Last year was Nacogdoches.. Nacogdoches, Naconiche, Pinkston, etc.. just enjoy crossing lakes off the list! Wanna make a trip out to Amistad eventually
Posted By: Double A

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/25/22 11:48 PM

Caddo is worth a boat ride. To get a good experience on Caddo, put in on the river and go to some of the backwaters, then go through the cut to the main lake. In May, you can’t go wrong with a frog or buzz bait. Grass, cypress trees, and lily pads everywhere.
Posted By: Slicefixer

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 11:47 AM

I'd fish Patman vs Welsh..... it's a fine fishery. It's experienced a rebirth over the last couple of decades.....high water (combined with better management) has resulted in flooded bushes, fields, live timber, etc and better fry survival.... IMOP anyway
Posted By: Cass Caldwell

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 01:11 PM

For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!
Posted By: dk2429

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Cass Caldwell
For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!



Is Caddo pretty well marked and somewhat easy to run? In the back of my mind I’m thinking stump fields everywhere
Posted By: ETXfisher91

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by Cass Caldwell
For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!



Is Caddo pretty well marked and somewhat easy to run? In the back of my mind I’m thinking stump fields everywhere



Yes, but do not venture far from the boat lanes. try to stay as close as possible to them.

I don't know when your trip is going to be, but since your planning on fishing Pines DO NOT GO NEXT WEEKEND the 29th - 1st It's the big bass bonanza
Posted By: 361V

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 04:38 PM

Yes Caddo is completely filled w/cypress knees(cypress tree root system) but it’s easy to run. Clearly marked boat trails throughout the lake. Yes they are narrow but simply run the boat lane markers on the side of the markers that with arrows show you to run. When not on plane running the boat lanes trim up and idle only. Also my Navionics Platinum South chip shows all the boat lanes throughout the lake including some pretty small/obscure lanes through the upper end around Uncertain Texas. Absolutely a beautiful one of a kind(at least for Texas) lake that’s worth seeing!
Posted By: dk2429

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by ETXfisher91
Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by Cass Caldwell
For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!



Is Caddo pretty well marked and somewhat easy to run? In the back of my mind I’m thinking stump fields everywhere



Yes, but do not venture far from the boat lanes. try to stay as close as possible to them.

I don't know when your trip is going to be, but since your planning on fishing Pines DO NOT GO NEXT WEEKEND the 29th - 1st It's the big bass bonanza


Booked an Airbnb in Linden for June 29-July 3

All three are about 30 mins from there. Also noticed that little Lone Star lake on the map right above Pines
Posted By: dk2429

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by 361V
Yes Caddo is completely filled w/cypress knees(cypress tree root system) but it’s easy to run. Clearly marked boat trails throughout the lake. Yes they are narrow but simply run the boat lane markers on the side of the markers that with arrows show you to run. When not on plane running the boat lanes trim up and idle only. Also my Navionics Platinum South chip shows all the boat lanes throughout the lake including some pretty small/obscure lanes through the upper end around Uncertain Texas. Absolutely a beautiful one of a kind(at least for Texas) lake that’s worth seeing!


Cool deal thanks for the info! I run Garmin. I’ll see if Garmin has any boat lanes marked on their maps

Been wanting to give it a go on Caddo for quite some time now. Finally gonna make it happen this summer
Posted By: Cass Caldwell

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/26/22 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by ETXfisher91
Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by Cass Caldwell
For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!



Is Caddo pretty well marked and somewhat easy to run? In the back of my mind I’m thinking stump fields everywhere



Yes, but do not venture far from the boat lanes. try to stay as close as possible to them.

I don't know when your trip is going to be, but since your planning on fishing Pines DO NOT GO NEXT WEEKEND the 29th - 1st It's the big bass bonanza


Booked an Airbnb in Linden for June 29-July 3

All three are about 30 mins from there. Also noticed that little Lone Star lake on the map right above Pines


Caddo has a great system of channel markers. Just idle when you are outside the markers, because there are lots of stumps. The graphs will have most of the major boat roads marked, but not some of the secondary ones. Would be good to stop in a store in buy a map. Very easy to get turned around out there.

My club fished a tournament on Lone Star last summer. The place looks great...lots of grass and pads, but the fishing was very tough when we were there. Maybe we just caught it on the wrong day.

Linden will definitely be the perfect place to stay. My wife and I used to stay in a VRBO cabin in Linden, but they stopped renting it. I'll have to look for that Airbnb.
Posted By: Double A

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/27/22 01:31 AM

Years ago there would be schoolies in July pushing bait down the boat lanes and pinning bait fish along the grass lines, especially in the main lake. Just keep look out when you are running the lanes as you could get into a bunch real quick. Bring a camera, it’s by far one of the prettiest in the state and I think it’s the only natural lake in the state too.
Posted By: Slicefixer

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/27/22 02:38 AM

You MUST see Caddo.....simply amazing. Don't discount the fishing as it can be fantastic at times.....you might catch it fishing "right" 😉

My father was from Linden, lots of family there.....practically grew up there at my grandparents. First time fishing and hunting were both there....."Pruitt's lake" and assorted farm ponds......It's a neat lil east Texas small town.
Posted By: MrRoachie

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/27/22 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by ETXfisher91
Originally Posted by dk2429
Originally Posted by Cass Caldwell
For Caddo, I'd launch at the state park, or Johnson's Ranch and run up the river to the main lake. The river, all the cuts, and the houses on the river are really neat to see. Make sure you make a run through Government Ditch...it's the most photographed spot on Caddo. Then, run back up the river and dock your boat at Big Pines Lodge and have lunch. If you fish the river, you can catch numbers easily just fishing the cypress trees along the bank, but they'll be smaller fish mostly. If you are targeting bigger fish hit the isolated trees on the main lake.

Only fished Wright-Pat a couple of times, so don't have a lot of experience, but if the water level is right, it's a blast flipping the bushes.

Good luck!



Is Caddo pretty well marked and somewhat easy to run? In the back of my mind I’m thinking stump fields everywhere



Yes, but do not venture far from the boat lanes. try to stay as close as possible to them.

I don't know when your trip is going to be, but since your planning on fishing Pines DO NOT GO NEXT WEEKEND the 29th - 1st It's the big bass bonanza


Booked an Airbnb in Linden for June 29-July 3

All three are about 30 mins from there. Also noticed that little Lone Star lake on the map right above Pines


Little over a month earlier and you could have fished the OT Classic on pines.
Posted By: popcork

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/29/22 12:33 PM

Don't sleep on Lone Star it can be very good I know of some 10+ fish that have come out of there.
Posted By: C DUBB

Re: Wright Patman? - 04/29/22 03:11 PM

I was born and raised in East Texas (Marshall) and have fished Caddo, LOP, and Wright Patman religiously. Wright Patman can hold his own weight in fish. Many people sleep on it. IMOP, LOP and Wright Patman are a similar setup with the spillways and all. Caddo is totally beast in its own. Beautiful scenery with some excellent fish. You may get lucky and see a 14 footer (alligator) or two.
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