Tawakoni Reports for September 2022

My friends and I are fishing Tawakoni a lot these days, so I thought I'd start a Tawakoni Fishing Report thread for each month for all of us TFFers to use. Yesterday, 9/12/2022, cliffshot and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip there - fishing from 10 AM to 4 PM. We ended up with 165: 160 whites, 3 short hybrids, a cat, and a nice yellow bass. The whites were the typical Tawakoni biggies ranging from 13 to 17 inches. Here's where we caught them and how we fished for them:

We launched at 2 Mile ramp and headed south along the west side. We looked at Anchor Point and found none. Continuing south, we found them at Finger Point - the middle finger, and caught 20 good white bass there. There was bird action and schooling fish very shallow, but all the fish in it were 4 to 8 inches. We caught the 20 in about 15 fow down on the bottom casting #2 Mepps.

Next, we stopped at the stump point (a spot along the west shoreline is all I can say) and found fish surrounding the stump. We caught another 15 good whites there in 9 to 15 fow, then moved to Wolf Humps. They weren't as plentiful there as the last few times I went, but we found some along the old roadbed in 11 to 15 fow. We left there with our count up to about 80.

Next stop was Sun Point and we caught another 20 there in 12 to 15 fow, again casting and reeling in #2 Mepps along the bottom. A jerk or sudden start on each drag added strikes for me. Wanting to fish Cloud Point and Greenville Pump Station before we left, we went on to Cloud and found them there in 15 fow. We caught about 20 there and headed to GPS. We found them there on the shallowest part of the hump and left at 4 PM still catching fish on almost every cast. Cliff and I kept reminding ourselves how blessed we are as retirees to be able to enjoy a day like yesterday on a spur-of-the-moment whelm.

Awesome, thank you this helps people like me so much. I am hoping to get out on this lake as it cools down, finally feel like I have learned enough on Hubbard to branch out a little farther. I caught some mean Maine stripers this past weekend and I am dying to get back on the real thing at Twok.

Awesome report. Thank you. Planning a trip for Oct 1.

Let me just add that Dennis the most awesome friend a guy could ever have. To be able to text on the spare of the moment / get a quick reply / and be off to Tawakoni for a great day of fellowship and catching is truly a Blessing from God!

We are so blessed to 1. be able to do such: 2. Have friends who share our passion: 3. Worship the Only True God and Jesus Christ in Freedom for His Glory!

Thanks Dennis. With the greatest respect and Love

cliff shot

cliffshot you summed up the essence to true happiness in this life.

Thanks DC for starting this post. I am planning a trip to Twok in November. I'll be checking TFF for reports. I've been on Twok only 2-3 times and didn't know what I was doing on those trips. Now I have a decent foundation of understanding where to look and how to catch them. Much of my experience I have gained is from reading TFF. I have tried using the Mepps techniques and MAL lures and small Kastmaster slabs. DC, Holding the Line, and Prosise, I have to say thanks because my catch rate has been better and better each trip.

I fish Lavon and July was really good with schooling action around the island and in the secondary points and structure at Elm Creek and Hybrid Point. Since then the fishing hasn't been as steady. Twok is calling my name reading reports like this.

Thanks for starting this, and the great and detailed report.

My fishing report from 9-10-2022. I left the house in Lewisville at 5 AM, my only stop to get a bag of ice. I was at the south boat ramp by 630. It was a public boat ramp. First time using it. Only a few trailers at the ramp. I was in the water by first light.

First light was 640. Sunrise 710. I went to the holiday humps. Matt Cartwright (the guide I've used several times) posted about top water bite early in the morning. I caught zero fish. Very few birds. No massive school. Just a big splash here and there. At least 15 other boats. I didn’t see anybody catch a fish. I was at holiday humps by 645. I could hear a few boats saying they caught a few. The boat show moved around a bit but I really didn't see the catching. --- if I missed it let me know. I would love to try for top water again.

I noticed the birds south of the holiday humps. Very shallow water 3 to 6 feet of water. Shad everywhere. The fish were small. I caught them on a Diving hard bait lure and glitter shad slab. One striper, one yellow bass two sand bass.

Then I stopped several times along the way on the northwest shore on my way to Finger Points. Didn’t catch a fish or see a fish caught. Several other boats were fishing near and I had marked spots in the past.

I went to the finger points. I turned on the thumper that I made several years ago. It stopped working with in 20 minutes. Not sure if battery related but that is my thought. I've never like the thumper I made. I don't like the sound or performance. I plan on buying the Bobo thumper. I caught one fish at the finger points. A nice sand bass. Several boats were trolling the finger points. The other boats would catch fish now and then.

Overall, I was frustrated with the drive from Lewisville and lack of catching. I spent too much time not catching fish. (I know its fishing not catching). Again, last time I fished Tawakoni was in April 2022 with Matt Cartwright and we had an amazing trip. The guides on Tawakoni do an amazing job.

I hope this doesn't come across as a complaint. I think the guides are amazing. I was just a bit frustrated. I need to hire Matt again and spend more time fishing the lake. I haven't fished the lake out of my boat in several years.

I went and fished it today. Bluntly, it sucked. I'd find the fish and when I'd start fishing they would evaporate or something. Caught 4 small stripers. Fished from 9:30 -3:30.

9/15/2022: johnnlucky, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Fishing in August and September for white bass is more difficult because the threadfin shad are so small. The usual slabs and #4 Mepps (which I use) are too big to catch the whites consistently. But, for years now I have learned to downsize to the smaller #2 Mepps and can still catch good numbers of white bass in August and September. Yesterday (the 15th), four of us fished from about 10 AM to 6 PM and caught 234, and 222 of them were the big Tawakoni sandbass, and one fish was a 25 inch hybrid (caught on a #2 Mepps). The fish were finicky in that we could see good numbers on our side-scan, but you could not catch them every cast all the time. Sometimes, we would catch one fish in 7 or 8 casts, but for short periods we could catch one every cast. I have a link in my signature block to a video of how to work a #2 Mepps when fish get hard to catch. That's what we did yesterday and what two of us did last Monday when we caught 165 at Tawak. It is my pleasure to help folks learn how to use this technique, And I would be happy to take you out with me and show it to you. If you would like that, send me a PM and we'll schedule a trip. Yesterday, we caught fish at Cloud, Sun, Wolf, Finger, and Greenville Pump Station (GPS). GPS in 11 fow is where they bit the best.

Dangit Dennis. I am behind on reading TFF and i mis read your text. We fished Tawakoni yesterday and I had no clue you and Cliff were there on Monday. No wonder our conversations were a little off... My multi tasking skill sucks lately lol

Dennis,
Can you please check your PM.

Awesome report! I fish by myself mostly and really don’t like trolling. This time of year the slab bite is pretty tough. I watched Dennis’ videos, bought some Mepps #2 and the rest is history. Been catching sand bass on them pretty consistently. Sea ProTodd shows up and really puts on a clinic. Side scan is key right now. Don’t count on fish staying under the boat. Mark them at 60ft to one side and make long casts towards them. That’s been working best for me.

You make a good point about staying a ways away from the shallow (less than 15 fow) fish. Going over them after seeing them on side-scan can spook them. Also, these fish seem to prefer a low angle of retrieve, so you get that with a longer cast to the fish.

9/17/2022: I had the pleasure of fishing with dieforfish (Binh) and his wife Nan on Tawakoni. They had been reading and following my tips and posts regarding using Mepps #2 to catch these finicky fish in August and September but had not had any success. So, I went with them in their boat from 11:45 am until 6:30 pm, and we managed to catch 94: 88 white bass, 3 short hybrids, 2 cats, and a nice yellow bass. We started at Wolf where I demonstrated how to locate fish and keep them showing on side-scan as we retrieved the Mepps lures through them. They mimicked my technique and both started catching fish. I took them to all the usual spots that held fish - Holiday Humps, Wolf, Tallman, Sun, Cloud, GPS, Anchor, Finger, Figure Eight, and Stump Point. As usual, GPS was the best spot. A couple of guys in a bass boat came there while we were catching fish and began casting slabs. We were catching them steadily, and they were catching none. After 30 minutes of this, I invited them to come over and see what we were using. They seemed perplexed that slabs didn't work, apparently not familiar with the small shad in August and September requiring a different technique. I enjoyed the day and must say that Binh and Nan were the nicest fishing couple I've had the pleasure to fish with. I expect that we'll be fishing more together in the future.

Dennis, you are an amazing teacher! We said this so many times because you are patient and passionate about sharing fishing skills. We had a blast and should come clean, that out of the 94 fish total, you caught 80 of them 😂. We kept a few to share with the local nursing home and the rest are happily swimming at Tawakoni lake. We were trying to keep up with you but mostly, we sat in awe of your skill. Thank you for your time and expertise. You are the best and we enjoyed spending time with you. Looking forward to more fishing fun with you!

LOL you were catching the same rate as me when we chatted, Steven. I really like your new Sea Fox

Wow Dennis you sure get around and hope Tawakoni didn't spoil you too much! You still remember another lake named Cedar Creek right?

Dennis Christian thank you for your response. I really appreciate your fishing reports. Amazing. Thank you for the suggestions. I need life to slow down a bit and get to the lake more often. I'll keep you posted. Again. Thank you John

9/29/2022: Lenahorse Larry, friend Graham M, and I fished from 9 AM to 6 PM and caught 181: 173 whites, 5 cats, 2 yellow bass, and 2 short hybrids. Fish are still biting finicky due to the small shad. Even a guide who fished next to us said he saw fish stacked up at Cloud Point but they could not catch them trolling the hellpet. We used Mepps #2 and #1 to mimic the smallish shad and catch fish. We cast to the fish, let the lure fall to the bottom, jerk start the retrieve, and keep the Mepps moving slowly close to the bottom. We started at Greenville Pump Station and left when we got to 50 whites, then went to Cloud and left when we got to 100, then went to Sun but only caught 22 there, and finished up at the Propeller catching 51 more whites there before quitting at 6 PM. At about 60 degrees and a steady wind, it was cold in the morning. The wind never stopped, keeping it a bit choppy on the west side of the lake, so we stayed on the east side. The fish we caught were in 9 to 14 fow.

Good trip Dennis.

I got my TM fixed and fished noon to 6pm Friday (9/30). First 3 hrs I marked good fish at the northern half community holes but very few bites and caught 35 good sandies. The last 3 hours i hunted down south and it was much better. I ended the day with 98 fish: one 25" striper, 1 short hibbie and mostly huge mags. The 25" was on mepps #4. Most of my fish up north were on #2. Fish were more cooperative in the south and bit #4 more. Fish are still shallow at both ends. Weather was gorgeous! Happy October and good luck guys.




Water temp was 88f the week before but I saw 73f to 79f yesterday. The fall feeding frenzies may start anytime