Sam Rayburn Warning and Report....

8/16/2022
Current water level : 160.05
Percent full: 83.7%
4.35' low

I just wanted to throw out this reminder for those of you that are headed to Rayburn in the near future...There are a lot of stumps in the lake. I know that tournaments are starting back up with numerous championships scheduled for the fall. A lot of boaters have become complacent over the last several years due to the higher water levels, but there are quite a few fresh obstructions popping up at the current water level and some of the areas you got used to running (or seeing others run) are getting awfully shallow. Those runs you were making through the Black Forest and Amber Forest have become treacherous again. I can personally attest that the trail and drains I run in the Black Forest have a certain pucker factor now that is causing me to idle and I have been busy dropping pins on a lot of wood I never knew was there. I have embedded two videos I previously posted back in the spring of some navigational zones that anglers need to know about if you haven't seen them.

As for the fishing, it has been hit and miss on quality depending on what kicker you can conjure up out of a brushpile or natural wood and structure. Timing seems to be critical when it comes to the offshore fish as to when they will pull up to feed and you may have to weed through drum and whites if you are finding schools on your graph. It seems like the populations of small 12-16" drum have exploded and they graph really similar to bass. Pay attention to what the shad are doing in your area as most of the bait is suspended and the fish are there with them. With a little practice, you can target them with forward sonar "scoping" them or just wait until you see them schooling on the surface. You can find schooling fish on main lake flats in the morning and in the evening but we have yet to find any quality there. Grass has started coming back in a lot of areas of the lake and frogging and topwaters will be a factor this fall. You can put some time in as well and catch a few flipping grass.

Now that my Tour season is over, I am back to guiding and teaching classes full time on Rayburn and some other East Texas and North Louisiana Lakes. If you are interested in learning how to utilize technology and resources to find and catch more fish or simply want to go catch a whole lot of fish, give me a call and we can tailor a trip to meet your needs.

That is one lake I have never been on but plan to soon. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info. The drum thing is interesting. Their population has exploded all over the state. I've always assumed that their population growth was a direct result of the zebra mussels. The drum we caught at Belton in May were chock full of zebra muscle. I did not realize their population on Rayburn had exploded as well. They are a pain in the rear to bass fish around when their population gets high. They look like bass on a graph out deep and they will also mess up some good shallow water areas as well.

The strange thing is the drum do not seem to be getting big like in other lakes. It seems like I only catch a dozen or so out deep every year that are +20". I was told recently that the drum that are under 14" are actually really good if fried when they are fresh. I haven't tried them yet but honestly, how many people do you know that can honestly say they have tried to eat freshwater rum or grinnel?

I don’t care for fish flavor, but I kept a white bass, drum and a crappie to fry up as a taste test. The white bass was the fishiest tasting and firmest texture, the drum was more mild, but had a more mushy texture to it. I definitely would not eat a big gaspergou, they stink horribly just when unhooking them.

My motto has always been.....aint nuthin wrong with a goo. They go in the box when crappie and white bass fishing. Good but not as good as crappie obviously.

And the crappie ?

I wish my lakes were only 4 1/2’ low as opposed to a 140’ low .

Most mild flavor and had a nice texture. My daughter liked the white bass and everyone else preferred the crappie. Me, I prefer SHRIMP!

I’ll be there in late September, probably a tough transition but I don’t care.

I catch a lot of drum looking for bass, and yes they look a lot alike on the graph. I even catch them mixed in sometimes. Especially in deep water ledges. When I do find some bigger bass groups I catch several blue cats too. Those go in the box too! Lol I have been working on me deep water game for a couple years and it’s getting better all the time. I have not mastered it yet but I’m working on it. The winter months are my favorite. It’s almost time to wear them out!

Thanks Clark, I was there last weekend and did notice a few new "oh [censored]" stumps! As well Saturday we experienced some nasty water from the turnover. Be back as soon as I can get my hub repaired!!

Clark, is the low water drought related or work on the dam like the rumor floating around?

This post from Clark and most of the replies are over a year old, you might want to PM him directly for current information...

It's dam related this time for real

I went for my 5th time ever last weekend and saw were two tournaments struggled on weights. Everyone I talked to wasn’t doing much good. Day one I didn’t figure out what to do till late. The second day I wacked quality fish and had a blast.

The tree line out in front of Five Fingers there is also a little gap through there thats closer to the Five Fingers side. So you don’t have to swing in by the bank there if you don’t want to.