Grapevine Lake 2023

This thread is to share information about Grapevine Lake. Please stay positive, and please no negativity on the thread. We have been sharing information so you can get your kids on fish. Feel free to share anything, and as often as you wish. Any little tip, from fishing on the bank, or in a kayak helps others. Lurkers Welcome, and I look forward to a good year.

I encourage you to go thru the last few years thread, as there is a wealth of information about the lake.

2022 Thread
https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/14344351/1


2021 thread
https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/14199544/1



Take care and will hopefully cross paths with some of you on the lake.

Prosise

I fished Sunday 1-1-23, and Tues 1-3-23 pretty much all day. I did check some areas on both days and I did not catch one sandbass. Not even the mosquitos are biting. Me and my son went up Denton Creek to check out the creek, and look for fossils. No fishing up there, will not start fishing up there until March.

Will be chasing the Green fish so prob will not be looking for the Sandbass much, but if I run across anything I will post it.

Prosise

Fished 01-5-22, started out at approx 10:00 using Berkley Gulp Minnows dead sticking, could not get a single bite.
Live Minnows caught 6 nice Sandies.

Changed locations several time, found fish scattered, but they all had lock jaw.


At 3:30, Found fish in 52’ of water, N32.98069 W097.08572. Turned on the thumper and they stacked up in the water column at 30’ below the boat. Finished the day with 19 sandies, 1 big crappie, and a nice blue cat.

All fish caught on live minnows. Bite was super light. If I was not using braided line, I would not have known I was getting a bite.

I will be out tomorrow about 9 am to give it a shot. I have a couple of thumper designs I will be testing.
I caught 3 last Saturday morning with no thumper, so I will be experimenting this time.

01-07-2023, fished from 1300 to 1700, caught 30 Sandies, 25 were keepers and a 24" Blue Cat weighing in at 5lbs.

I was in 50ft of water near the dam, fish were stacked at 30ft in the water column. Bite was super light again today.

1-8-2023, 50 Sandies in 2.5 hours. Near the dam, caught on minnows.

Good report Bowhunter. I fished Scott's cove most of the day for bass, but I came out to main lake for a couple hours. Came out to 36-38ft from sandbass point and looked for any type of small ledge or structure. With Bluetooth thumper I was able to get fish to cruise under the boat. Had to finesse dead stick them. Just a very light raise of the rod tip and hold it. Fish sizes were 50-50. Half small, half real good. But I did have to finesse them. With minnows, I bet you were busy... I prob caught about 30 fish before I went back and continued practicing my casting. Scott's cove is broke right now for me, I gave it a real good look but it kicked my butt in relation to the green fish yesterday. Going tomorrow, but will be mid lake and up a skosh. Great start of the year on reports all, very refreshing to see. I was using the smallest Cordell spoon with a smaller bait above it.

Glad someone caught fish. We were out west in the rock crusher area Saturday from 9 to 1 and we only caught two 10lb + carp on slabs. we hit 4 or 5 locations and had no luck.

JWC, I pulled 2 off the rock crusher and the bite was slow so I moved to deeper water.

Look for the river channel and deep drop offs. I’m finding fish 50’ deep or greater that are suspended in the 30-40 foot water column.

Winds are looking good for Friday, and I’ll be back out.

Fished yesterday 6am-dark . Taking a break from bass fishing , me and a suspect in crime found some small ones by grapevine point. Then some better ones on the east drop out on the end at Murrell point. Fishing really tough getting them to bite, fish are hunkered down on the bottom. With the LiveScope you really had to work them to get them to bite. Dead sticking it with a very subtle movement. Last spot due north of sandbass point out in 32-38ft has tons of fish but they wouldn't bite anything. Minnows would prob be dynamite. Wx was 80f, and water temp up in the 55f ranges on the surface in many areas, but bait and fish are staying in the 25-35ft range. I was using the smallest Cordell spoon that is sold at basspro, and I had it painted with glow in the dark paint. Glow in the dark paint almost looked like it scared the fish more than anything. Chartreuse upper bait got allot of attention..

1-13-2023, fish were still suspended holding around 40’. Bite was slow after the front moved though. Kept 16 nice Sandies, 3 Blues and 1 Crappie.

Release a 14.70 Blue that was caught on ultra light tackle.

Good Job! I never made it back out to myself. Maybe this week.....This work thing is getting in the way.

Sandbass are in 38ft out of the end of everywhere. Murrell was the better spot, as the fish would actually bite. I was on the west end of Murrell which I haven't done in years. I looked in my normal area on the east side, and at the very end of Murrell but wasn't seeing anything. The birds were working more on the west side of the top, so I moved down. The birds know where the bait is, and even if they are sitting on top of the water their close. Wasn't seeing hardly anything on the LiveScope as the fish are sitting on the bottom. Down sonar was showing fish but now what you would be excited to see. Turned on the Bluetooth thumper loud, and the fish would steadily come under the boat. 50-50 keepers vs small fish. This action was from 2pm-4:15pm before I went back to casting practice with the green fish. Lots of boats seen fishing out in deep water, not many moving so hopefully they are on fish. Surface Water temps 51-53 out in main lake, seen 55-60 in some creeks but not seeing male bass moving up to start the spawn yet. Crazy winter weather, hope we see some cold wx soon. Lastly, for those looking for some catfish. If the wind blows out of the south any this week go-to this little protected cove that is full of good catfish. It's shallow, full of bait when the wind is blowing out of the south and full of catfish in the back. Back in the 2-3ft water I was catching catfish on a jig and lipless crankbait. Not often do you see so many good size catfish in one area. Go back nearly to the back in 3-4ft of water. If the wind isn't blowing, and the water in this cove isn't dirty it prob will not work as good.

Still using smaller Cordell spoons, with a secondary bait above. See the Cordell spoon size chart below. I have used the 7114 smallest some painted with glow in the dark paint. But the 7038 size 90% of the time with better results. The smallest (7114) hook was replaced without the white tail feathers. The 7038, and above all had hooks replaced with smaller high end sizes 6 or 8. An easy way to tell how big a hook I use is, the gap is as wide as the base width of the Cordell spoon. Depending on the hook, it might be a skosh smaller. Even the largest spoon gets a size 6 hook for GV. And I have landed a 47, 38, and many in the 25lb range of catfish on this same hook. The spoon below is the 7038 with a size 8 wire hook. This one simple modification will potentially double your catch. I meet many people fishing, and I don't typically see the gear they are using, but if I get up close I typically see the spoon they are using has a big treble hook, which only picks up the bigger fish. Now, if your going to tawakoni leave the big hook. But this little mod is very important to numbers. And I cannot stress enough to sharpen, every time I miss two fish I can check the hooks and they are not wicked sharp.

Lastly: the presentation used yesterday was reeling the bait up slowly thru the fish. Now I was using cheatscope, but they liked something going upward. The dead sticking wasn't working as well as it was last couple weeks. I think the mepps inline spinner would work well here. Lots of info here, hopefully you can chew on this and it will help you.

If anyone is really having a hard time on GV catching sandbass let me know, I will happily meet you on the water sometime and we can chew the fat. Talking about tackle, setups, and the such will help you. I don't want anything in return, just pay it forward and get someone out on the fish. I have found I can fish more efficiently with a spinning rod. I use a 1000 up to a 2000 size spinning reel on a 6 ft fast action (Cabela's tourney special rod). I use 6, 8, and 10lb casting braid from Amazon. I tie 6lb braid to 10lb fluoro/mono with a Alberto knot. Then the top bait is tied to the 10/12 line, and I use 15lb mono between the top bait and bottom. It is allot easier holding onto mono vs the very thin braid which can cut you easily. You can cast allot farther with braid, and also it gets down faster than other reels with the smaller baits. In the summer I might go up to using only 10lb braid, or my crankbait rod when I'm using the largest size Cordell spoons.

My guide to hook sizing the Cordell spoon. Typically a size 8, or size 6.






Spot where I caught sandbass 1-17-23 well "Thumping"



Catfish bonanza

Nice job! I hope to see you out there soon. Working on another thumper. The last one was so wild, I think it would cause spider cracks in the fiberglass.

Great report brother! Really good tip on those blues. I long way from a kayak launch and does not look like it offers public bank access... BUT I know another place very similar that I can check from the yak and see if the same pattern is going there. Its almost the same set up in the spot I am thinking of.

Surprised to see those blue cats up in that shallow water... no wonder my last two cat trips were slow, I was trying to hit the deepest part of the creek channel from the bank at Rockledge park... when the fish are actually in knee deep water lol.

Love it! Thanks for the report bud.

Dan, this has been a strange season for the blue cats. I'm normally catching them 40-50' deep right now but Thursday me and a buddy found them in 17-20'. We were drifting cut shad in these two areas where the red lines are drawn...




We ended up with 9 or 10 fish with the biggest being 15 pounds. Most were in the 4-6 pound range.

We had some good luck Saturday. In the morning snagged a few Sandy's in the 27 to 35ft sitting about 2-4ft off the bottom around Twin Coves using white slabs. Moved over to the Dove Loop area got a 1 Catfish bait was moving around a lot.
Then we moved back over by Twin Coves and got 7 more cats. Over all ended up with 8 keeper cats. Black cherry Kool Aid chicken was on FIRE!! We also used livers and cheese bait and did not get one hit on it.
Lots of bait in the deep water coves did not see anything in shallow water also found bait was hanging around the inlets of the coves on points to deep water.

Was able to get the kayak out yesterday (3/10) and do some fishing.

Launched near Murrel Park and fished from 10am to about 5pm. I brought three jugs I baited with chicken breast done up strawberry jello and garlic style trying to catch a nice blue cat for dinner... no dice. As I moved spots I would deploy those and never saw any action. Bass action was slow most the day. Tried everything. Cranks, c-rig, jerk bait, shakey heads and nada. THEN I moved into a new spot and hit the jackpot! Caught 7 bass in an hour. These fish were still deep. I found them in 20-25 feet on a drop off and they were happy to hit soft plastics or crankbaits. Most the water I fished I saw very little action on the graph but that spot showed bait and all kinds of fish. So my advice... if you are not catching them keep looking around and they may be deeper still than you might think. I saw lots of guys beating the banks but did not see any other fish caught but the ones that came into my kayak to visit me.

Bummer was my buddy had gone with me and just before I moved to that last spot he called the lake "A lifeless bowl of jet skiers and wake boats" and swore again he would never fish there again...Then left I wished he could have gotten into what was a pretty good bite. Next time I know where to START the day and not to finish there.

I did not see anything that looked like sandies but talked to a young dude launching his boat as I was leaving who said he had been catching them on Murrell point in 30 feet on dead sticked slabs lately. So there is a bit of data perhaps? Or maybe total BS lol who knows!? But sounded reasonable to me.

How yall been doing?

Good reports.. Sorry for not posting but I have been strictly fishing for the green fish, and I haven't seen or heard a peep from the Sandies. With all the rains the upper end and (Denton creek) has been heavily stained. So I'm chasing the Bass. Been a very good year so far, bass bite for me is wayyyyy better at night than during the daytime. Spawn hasn't started, still catching big fish deeper on main lake. I know some may have moved up but, not where I have been. Male bass are shallow and easily caught. I ventured up to the north west end of the lake last Tuesday morning. Up west of rocky point towards the small private marine in the cove on the north side. There are massive school's of gar in the mouth of this cove and out on main lake. As I was coming into this area about 2am I felt several thuds in the boat. I hit many fish with the motor going about 30mph, and it was alarming. No damage, but several fish had a bad morning. I should prob go up there and drive around all night. Anyhoo, take care all and be safe out there..

Prosise

Some pictures from night fishing, absolutely amazing moon.

So I finally took a break yesterday and pulled out a spinning rod for Sandies. I stopped at the dam (middle), out in front of the swim area near rock ledge, on the end of Murrell point, grapevine point, and on the east point coming out of meadomere. If you go out to 30-34 ft and turn on the thumper you can catch small fish. The only spot I caught big fish at was meadomere point, and I was way out of the point in 34-38. Wind was stupid bad out of the north. Fish were even working bait and birds were helping me find cruisers closer to the surface. Did I mention the wind was blowing, wow it was bad. Lake is tore up and stained from all the mud lines. I caught many good fish, both males were oozing, and females were showing signs of eggs. Guess these are lake spawners. Besides meadomere area the fish will just come off the bottom and congregate by the boat. Dead sticking small Cordell jig about 2-4"off the bottom. Some would only bite it if I lifted it above their position. Didn't see fish in water shallower than 30ft. I should have tried the top of Murrell, but I didn't. Take care all.. lots of fish still in the lake, will be fishing upper end of the lake in a few days, will check the humps. Lake level is going up slowly so I would expect Denton creek is heavily stained, and I don't like water that's chocolate milk.


These are two different fish

Good report. I just got my Livescope installed and my T top back on. So, I need to get out there and start scouting.

Nice! Sounds like what that kid told me about catching them dead sticking slabs in 30 FOW was not BS lol.

Open question but aimed at Mr. Prosise, how if it all will these cooler temps impact the bass moving up shallower? I am looking at the longer range forecast and although there are few nice days mixed in most of the next two weeks looks quite cool.

Looking forward to getting to back out there... stupid work always messes up my fishing.

sandies will spawn on wind blown rocky shores around the deep end of a lake. not all of them make the trip to the creeks. I've caught some big chunkies off the rocks.

Update: Sunday 3/26: 4pm till 6:30 - Large volumes of sandies were caught on the west end of the lake (Rock crusher) area. 23-24 ft deep, 3/4oz slabs (chartreuse) seemed to be the ticket. I tried other baits, but they shied away from most offerings as displayed on the graph. Never used the thumper, but it was fish on every drop and the fish were above normal size 80% over 12". Pretty good for GV. Birds were working the area during our stay. We found a hump that had fish and never moved after that. Livescope showed very aggressive fish. Water temp was 64 at the surface.
Will be out again this evening to see if they are still willing to play.

That's a awesome update. >Was in twin coves West Branch today, Sandies were all over the cove working bait. About 75% of the fish I caught were over. Still chasing the green fish, water is still cold, and the spawn for bass hasn't officially started. Saw 60f water in many coves in the early morning, still a bit early. Bass are staging but not courting in all but one cove on the lake. I was in the canoe yesterday, checked the creeks on the upper end. Marshall Branch was stained, the very NW end of the lake is very warm but shallow. Didn't have a rod, so I didn't fish. Tons of bait, and the lake is rising. Shad spawn going on in a few small areas, so with all the wood in the water we will have another good shad spawn. Take care all, and will hopefully get mad at them "Sandies" soon.


Prosise

Update: Wednesday did not disappoint. Landed 40+ sandies. Landed one 15lb Yellow and lost a 30+ yellow trying to fit it in my net at the boat.
Fished from 5 pm till 6:30 pm. They just quit around 6:30 each day I have been out there. Cordel chrome spoon 2 pack, you buy at Wally World.

Are you 100% sure shad are spawning in areas with the water temp that low? That is super interesting to me

Are you 100% sure shad are spawning in areas with the water temp that low? That is super interesting to me




Check the upper end in the trees and brush. You might be surprised with all the shad up shallow and spawning.

I was fishing the dam this morning at 2am and fish were going crazy trying to get my black buzzbait. Ended up being sandbass, prob spawning on the dam. They were in 6 inches of water, and thick.. Left them looking for the green fish.

Interesting! I did not know they spawn at temps that low

Arrived at the lake at 10am to strictly chase the sandies. Cloudy with manageable wind all day. Bounced around between spots both shallow, x<10, and deep x< 25. Found groups of fish at the 20ft range on most points in the box area of Twin Coves across to Meadowmere down to the island and back across to roughly Rockledge Park. Bait balls everywhere and with my DI can see groups of fish in area.
Many of them were inactive and could catch only a couple out of each group. However, when the schools became active, the birds pinpointed the location and you could trolling motor into it close enough to cast and catch 1 per 5 or so casts. Caught ours on an inline spinner such as a Terminator. JWC Nauticstar had them on the bottom pretty good with slabs. Birds quit, you move kinda deal. I couldnt find any activity on the dam or up in the coves. All kind of sizes. Eggs/Milt in all but it seems that they are on the edge of ready and havent spawned out just yet............my observation only. Headed back out tomorrow.

Should be back out about 3 ish. Alot of fish just no size to them Friday. PM seems to be the best. fixed my trolling motor so maybe I won't break a prop today.

Fished today from the island past lakeview park and caught 100 , watch for the birds they are working bait , if the birds are flying they are there even if you don’t see any topwater action , caught them on slabs tail spinners rattle traps just about anything you threw at them you could get something to bit , if it slows don’t don’t worry they will be back at it soon , we fished from 9 till 12 and messed around some time in between just driving and looking
Biggest fish went 14.5 in and smallest was very small

Swamp Hunter, glad you found them. Saturday was slow at best for me. I had to move around and only had 4 keepers from 3 to 6 pm. Calm wind bright sky. No bird action for me. Total of approx 25 fish. Hit half a dozen spots and picked up fish everywhere I went, but it would be 3 or 5 fish and then nothing.

So are the fish done in the creek?

Not sure in the creek but, so many fish stay out on the lake to spawn at GV that creek fishing isn't a must if you have a boat.

Still plenty of white bass in twin coves

I feel most fish are done in the creeks this year

Some of the fish we caught Sunday had eggs so they are for sure spawning in the lake

Shad spawn going on all over the lake right now. Most coves on the lake are active early to mid morning. Just ease up to the banks and look for the shad jumping, it will look like they are trying to jump up on dry land. We caught jumbo sandbass up in 6-7ft on a main point when the sun came up yesterday. Non-stop action and no thumper. As long as you see the shade, the sandbass are close. Caught some decent ones, and my fishing mentor hooked a big catfish up shallow on Murrell point later in the day when we saw the birds working the banks. If you don't see white cranes move on, the cranes are the bait finders..

I hope the evening bite is good tonight. Should be out there by 5pm.

Wednesday evening didn't disappoint. Caught dozens of sandies out west meadowmere to rock crusher area.
Had a nice surprise with a 60+ yellow cat that made my year so far.[img]http://[/img]

Just a plane white "Empty Pockets" slab. 3/4oz.

Oh and we caught dozens of sandies till 7:45 pm.

WOW!!! Congratulations!!! What did you catch that flathead on?

3/4 OZ, white slab spoon.

I went out and fished this point a few times last week (from the bank). Ended up catching a couple sandies each time I went right before sunset. Went in the early morning one day and there were so many shad on the rocks that I accidentally snagged 5 (on separate casts) just trying to reel my lure in. Wasn't able to catch any sandies that morning, but then again my slab was only one in thousands of baitfish...

It really helps being in a boat to cast down a the depths parallel to the bank to find them. But if the shad spawn it going on all over the lake, the fish could be anywhere. I always look for an area where the wind is blowing into the bank or points.

I've been learning a lot from y'all. Wind-blown points and birds seem to be a great combo.

Whacked em in meadomere today, birds showed me where they were and I turned on the thumper and they stayed below me for two hours. Big ones roaming in the 10-15 range, keepers on the bottom. I left them looking for the green fish. Easy limit in 30 minutes.

Looks like we are going to repeat the April flush. I haven't been up in Denton Creek, as I have been chasing the green fish. But many of the last 5 years the fish get flushed out right as the big females start to show up . Should see the lake come up next week, and as the water rises so will the green fish into the brush along the edges. I know the sandbass are prob up the creek, but the lake spawners are in full force. Tons and tons of seagulls, just look for the birds and then ease up into them, turn on the thumper and the fish will not leave you.

I was on the south side of the lake west of meadomere park, there is a hump back up in the big cove where the wake boats like to linger. I spot locked up wind of the hump and was casting a crankbait on top of the hump. The hump tops out at @ 5 ft. Had a good 30 minute whack fest on real nice sandbass before they moved on. Not much bait up in this area, meadomere by the swim area is saturated. Didn't use the thumper.

Looks like rain



The hump is about 5ft on top, there is no buoy on it anymore. When the lake comes down it will probably take out many wake boats if they don't know about it.

The sandies are long gone in Denton. They spawned early there this year. The rain won’t hurt them. I don’t mind the lake up a couple foot. Not much more than that lol

I went to Jones Branch on Monday evening and ended up with 7 sandies. 6 of them were keepers. Stopped by Kirkwood Branch and picked up 2 more decent fish before calling it in. Honestly didn't expect to catch any sandies. I went to see if the sunfish and bass had moved up the creeks in significant numbers yet.

Anyone seeing any shad spawn activity with this cooler weather?

I will find out Sunday.... First time out in 2 months! F work!!

We will be out there too

Lots of gar working the surface this afternoon. No fish for us, but it was good to shake the boat out. Did have to cross the rollers though, but stayed out of the main lake otherwise.

Sunday morning got into a wolfpack by Dove Loop, I think I got about 100 Sandys for to total of 1 pound LOL the biggest on was 4in. There was one I didn't even know I had one till I pulled the lure up...
The boat traffic was nuts and it was a cluster F at the ramp.

I should be out Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 5 till 7:30. Should be great evenings to be out.

Went out to Whites Branch this evening. Found some crappie guarding beds in a shallow brush pile along the bank (1-2ft of water). They were wary of me so I couldn't get them to bite, but I was able to pick off 12 bluegill and sunfish that were swimming around pestering the crappie. When I got tired of that I started throwing a white grub tail jig and ended up with 14 sandies. Only 3 keepers, but even the little guys had some good fight in 'em. Great end to the day.

Tuesday evening was slow for me. Started at Meadowmere area and had a really active school of fish and we were getting bit every drop. All of them were about 9 to 10 inches. Tried other areas out west but they were not feeding much. Birds were not active at all last night.
East Murrel point was holding good fish and we caught quite a few but by 7pm they shut down. Maybe 40 fish kept 8 to eat. All slabs and one on a mal lure. 17ft to 25ft depth range. Nice evening on the lake for a boat ride for sure.

Caught sandbass at sandbass point in 20-27ft. Didn't even use the thumper. Didn't stay long, been chasing the green fish and needed a quick fix. Caught this Joker earlier in the day, magnum racing stripe. Sandbass are everywhere, and they are feasting heavily on shad.

Biggest one I have ever seen come from that lake. Would love for them to take off in there

Great crappie! I catch a few every now and then. maybe 13" is a good one in Grapevine. Tuff fishing in GV for them unless you have your spots to go.
This evening was wild on sandies. From 5 till 6:30 the birds worked huge schools off Meadowmere and we just whacked them good. mepps and slabs worked good. Don't think Livescope was needed tonight.
lost count but right at 7 pm they shut off like a switch.
Kept a few for dinner, but most released.

Wife was off today so we took my old Skeeter and launched then fished in Twin Coves the entire time from 6:30-8:30. Managed to get 40 sandies some very small but some really nice ones in the mix. Could have kept a bunch but C&R all of them. Sorry no pics we were catching them pretty fast just did not want to bother. Fun morning catching fish and nothing broke on the boat…always a good mix lol. For whatever reason I am just not catching any LMB right now hopefully that will change soon.

FYI Twin Coves has been pretty good all week. I fished 2 other times but from the bank and caught quite a few both times.

I fished a random point on the north side yesterday morning and caught probably 20-25 sandies with some very nice 13-14 inch fish mixed in. Shad were thick on the bank I caught most on a curly tail crappie jig and live shad under a bobber.

North bank with wind blowing into it. Fished today and after working hard for the green fish I took a break, with 8lb braid and a rooster tail whacked em. Lots of sandbass (prob 30), some bass and a ton of good size catfish. There is a war going on against the shad on the north bank. Was really fun, and only lost one bait. I did get lucky and catch the bigger cats on a bass rod with a spinnerbait.

So much bait on the north side of the lake. All of these fish were in 1-2ft of water. This is just a portion of the fish I caught, had 8 species today. (Correction 9 species) crappie, Sandbass, bass, spot, blue cat, channel cat, drum, perch, and smallmouth. Lost a really good smallie at the end of the day.

Awesome thread.

Graphing now for the green fish, wind looks like it's not going to blow today. Wx says south wind, but it almost looks like it's coming out of the N-E. Will be on N bank seeing if the green fish is in on the festivities.

Got out for two hours yesterday from 1pm-3pm. Strong south winds. Found (and caught) a bunch off the end of Murrell Point. 24-31ft deep was best. Bouncing Cotton Cordell silver slab off bottom. LOTS of birds working but only smaller fish on top, bigger fish were on bottom. Got tired of fighting wind so went to South shore out in front of Meadomere park and found more fish in 17ft of water. Birds there too. Fish were way more scattered in this area and wanted the slabs reeled slowly up through the water column vs on bottom. Didn't catch as many here as off of Murrell but was nice to be in calmer water. Only two spots we fished in the 2 hours.

I could not even see many brush piles on Saturday due to all the shad. They were spawning on everything!

Decent day, lots of interesting things..... Sandbass everywhere..

Nice fish.

Sandies are pretty easy in Twin Coves right now fished on bank next to another TFF’er JCG57 nice gentleman. Not as good as yesterday which was crazy good but still managed quite a few on various baits. Snakes are definitely out had 2 that took up residence in the rocks right in front of me for quite awhile.

Enjoyed meeting you as well, Hard Rain. Only tried a few casts with the fly rod after you left; did not feel comfortable wading with your pet snakes.

Funny, yeah it seemed that way but probably more because I threw a couple dead shad down there a sandie regurgitated.

Shad were everywhere yesterday. I caught sandies two at a time in a cove on the north bank. Caught crappie here and there but nothing stacked up. The amount of bait in this lake is truly incredible

Here is what is going on when the wind blows hard, this is the north bank about halfway between twin coves and rocky point. Carp/catfish/drum/sandbass/and some bass. You could go fishing with a club and a dip net.

In the afternoon just cruise around and find the birds. A 6-8ft crankbait, a 3/8 oz roostertail, spoon, jig, wife's earring, etc will catch fish. I checked the humps north of the crusher and they were saturated with small sandbass. The birds are prob the best bet right now, try to get down thru the top fish and you will get the better fish. The crankbait seems to do the best on the big ones. Take care all, and if you are having trouble shoot me an instant message and I will be happy to help you. I didn't use the Bluetooth thumper this week, but if you want to catch fish it makes it. So much more fun.

Good stuff!

I assume I am speaking for most reading this thread but it is great how much info Prosie shares for Lake Grapevine and very much appreciated

Thank you, much appreciated. Dad taught me that what goes out comes back double (good or bad). I have been blessed with the time I spend out doing what I love. The people I meet from the forum are always refreshing to meet. And had connected me with some amazing fishermen/fisher-women. This has also connected me with my fishing mentor who has taught me so much about GV chasing the green fish. I always like to see others post information on this thread. It doesn't matter what small thing people add, it adds to the big picture about the lake.

Here is another video of the shad spawn, and how the fish were responding.

Thanks Brent! You have helped a lot of people find fish. I try to contribute but your posts are much better. I know I look for your truck every time I pull up to the ramp. I keep missing you apparently.

Shad still on the banks early at Twin Coves wife was off today we were going to take the boat but with the strong wind blowing in decided just to fish from the bank. JCG57 was there with his kayak and saw him catching fish. We caught just over 60 in less than 2 hours but quite a few small ones mixed in still tons of fun on light tackle.

In that wind there was more paddling than catching, but a decent workout at least. Did hook something of substance (likely a carp) right off the main western point leading into Twin Coves and got to enjoy a two-minute sleigh ride before the hook came out.

Awww, man!

Shad are still partying.... North Bank mid lake..

Good stuff!

I know this is off topic, but for those who like berries. The North side shores are flourishing with Blackberries right now. With the light rain they really took off. Just about any rocky bank has them, and when you find a large patch, you can clean up. I ate almost a quart on tuesday, and they were so sweet. Just flashed them with some clean water to remove the sand. I would heavily recommend some boots, and snake chaps. The little reptiles like to sit in the berries waiting for snacks.

On Topic...
I caught some donkey sandbass Mon/Tues on the hump over by the area where the wake boats migrate to.. West of Meadomere on the south side.. The wind shifted and was blowing out of the north Monday, and Tuesday so the shad were on the south side of the lake midlake.. There were still shad spawns going on, but more on the rocky banks. If you see some birds sitting on the water, or working the surface there are fish pushing bait balls during the day. I was not seeing birds, but there were some sitting up on top of the hump and a big square bill picked up some magnums. For the record this spot is about 4ft from the surface in one spot, and there is not a buoy marking the hump. I guess the safety buoy was lost, but I would hope the Corp of Engineers will replace it soon. This area has not been the best historically, but It has something that I always like to check.. Stay on the windy side, and scout around. Thumper approved, and recommended.


If you have the right tools, you could prob get a couple gallons in about 10 minutes on some of the Rocky banks which are on the North side of the lake.

Whites were still in the shallows on Thursday, along with a couple largemouth and a nice blue cat that slammed my crankbait. Turtles, ducks, herons and water snakes also out in force. Calm water made for easy paddling.

Thursday evening we found most of our fish out on the humps at Rock Crusher area.
Landed a 6 lb and a 9 lb blue with a couple of small channel cats thrown in, drum, crappie and a few sandies. All on Chartreuse slabs. It was slow from 5 to 6, but the last hour was pretty good.

If you are near the crusher goto these spots just north of the crusher. These two humps are dynamite.


These gps coordinates are about 40 yards apart, and there is a dip in between.
These are the highest humps within a half mile an any direction besides the north bank.

The Google links should allow you to use your phone to navigate to them, and then save the waypoint.



33°00'10.3"N 97°07'09.3"W
https://goo.gl/maps/mMHEmv3NTyEwPR669


33°00'10.9"N 97°07'10.5"W
https://goo.gl/maps/5HpsGsF6m42LgCP16

Yes, that is where we were last evening. We stayed there for an hour. Has been my best spot lately other than Meadowmere point.

Fished Thursday (May 18th) in my kayak and launched at Murrell Park early, just past sunrise.

Ran into sand bass almost right away and for about an hour it was basically every cast I would hook up. I was fishing a small Roadrunner. Fish were 9 to 13 in. All over that North Bank in that area pretty much. They would just pop up kind of randomly here and there. They wouldn't stay in one spot very long so I kind of had to keep moving around looking. Nothing real big but a lot of action that was cool. Also caught four largemouth bass and a spotted bass.

I went again yesterday Friday the 19th but this time just fished from the bank. Didn't bring the kayak. Went to the high water ramp and that Cove and caught six Sand Bass on my first six casts. After that fished another 50 minutes and didn't have a single bite lol. The fish obviously moved quite a lot haha

There was Shad everywhere... washed up on the bank, floating, flipping out of the water, in the mouths of all manner of fowl and snake. I feel like Grapevine might have the most snakes of any Lake I've ever visited. When I was in the kayak it seemed like everywhere I looked if I gave it a minute or two I'd spot one somewhere nearby. It's always been that way. I must officially Louisville my kayak 300 times. And only ever seen one water snake. I see at least a half a dozen every time I go to Grapevine doing the warm months. It's kind of strange you would think Lewisville looks more Snake prone but I find it's quite the opposite.

Well that's my little report. Good luck everyone! Hope to get back out there maybe next week.

I've noticed the same thing with the snakes. Only started fishing Lake Grapevine in the past six months or so, but I've seen more snakes there than I've seen in my whole life at Lake Lewisville.

I've noticed that grapevine can get some snakes - especially if the water level is at or above pool ( or during shad run). They come out easily - and can be aggressive. Still remember a few years ago when it was +20 above pool flooding and I went out kayak fishing with friends - one of the guys tried to find some bass around an isolated submerged tree (about 150ft from any above water structure) A snake decide he didn't like him and chased him for ~40ft.

Fished today for the green fish until about noon, started scouting around and found the Sandies stacked on a hump south west of the crusher. I put the coordinates in a thread from last year. The hump is a high spot, kind of like a ridge that is about 300 yards long. Hooked up with a big cat twice, but didn't stay connected. Had a good day, but the light winds made it tough on me with the bass. I did bring home 3.5 pounds of blackberries.

Easily caught 100+ keeper sandbass just casting the heavy soon down the top of the hump and dragging it back. There are some big cats in this area, and the sandbass are stuck to the bottom like glue. Not much bait on the south side in this area. Take care all, will be out tomorrow...

Shad spawn still happening just east of twin coves on the north bank. Just look for the birds along the banks. Caught several catfish on a white spinnerbait chasing the green fish early. Around noon I went and fished the long hump south west of the crusher, it is closer to the south bank. Caught several catfish, and Sandies but it wasn't as good as yesterday. Went to the humps north of the crusher and caught fish. Also caught my first double with one sandbass with a catfish. Not allot of bait on these humps, but the fish are hugging the bottom and will respond. I did better casting the spoon out, and working it back to the boat (dragging it). Since I am using two baits the upper bait is perfectly positioned. Wx was real nice, but we needed a little wind to help out the fishing. Afternoon wake boats came out in full force. 7 species (largemouth, spotted bass, smallmouth, sandbass, channel cat, blue cat, and one alligator gar.

Long hump south west of the crusher. The Google link will allow you to use your cell phone to get close. These waypoints are the ends of the long hump. It has deep water on both sides, and a nice little brush pile on the northern end.

32°59'57.5"N 97°07'39.5"W
https://goo.gl/maps/PEtxrrA3c5m1tBeu8

32°59'57.5"N 97°07'31.6"W
https://goo.gl/maps/DZRhvMiQB8eebz9w9

Graphing this morning. There was mention of snakes, and I took a nice little clip that is interesting. Found a nice size water snake in a battle for it's life with a catfish. Catfish had its fins outward and the snake couldn't swallow the fish. Sometimes I feel like the snake, sometimes I feel like the catfish.

Rain blew over and is really nice out this morning, so glad to get some rain. My fishing mentor is holed up recovery from knee surgery, so it sucks fishing without the fishing Professor.

I hope to be out this afternoon. I've been catching most of my fish west from meadowmere to just west of the rock crusher. Hopefully the weather is stable this evening.

I fished from meadomere to Scott's landing south side of the lake. Not a peep from the sandbass. Green fish were cooperating, and I had a good day. I did check meadomere point and the end was a ghost town. I think the west end of the lake is indeed the place to go as JWC stated. Working next 3 days, will be hitting it Sunday.

Take care all.

Been fishing north bank most days sandies from the bank starting to slow down as the shad spawn looks to be winding down. Caught the bonus nice Smallie on a spoon no less this AM really good fight on light tackle.

That's really cool, always makes my day to catch any size smallie.. Thx for sharing

Nice smallie! They aren’t very common that far up the lake

The sandies were thick out west of (rockcrusher) on various humps in 22'-24' water Wednesday evening. I only fished from 5:30 to 7 pm. Only caught 2 channel cats, but one was 2 to 3 lbs.
Caught non-stop till the wife got bored watching me catch fish. Stopped a Meadomere point early but not much there when I went through. All slabs and Bo-Slabs. didn't matter what color either.

Good Smallie! They had a couple of nice one's last night during the working man's tournament also.

Nice smallmouth indeed!

Do you fish with those guys who wade out on the point near the Ice Box? You know Murrell park? Last I was out there I saw 5-6 guys in waders out there. Reminded me of watching guys surf fishing for Stripers on the East Coast. Possible you were one of them? That would have been Friday the 19th.

I have only caught one smallmouth on Grapevine and it was on my little fly rod of all things. Not in that area though... was on the south side near Scotts landing.

And for the record Prosise is a brave man going out there to fish on Memorial Day weekend! I fished Texoma Friday and Saturday morning, but we were off the water and headed home 11am... that was when they started to come out lol. Masses of Ski boats, jet boats, cruisers, pontoon boats, rental boats, dingies, sail boats, inflatable boats, recreational kayakers, SUPs, powered boogie boards, wind surfers... you name it.

It looked like a small boat Naval invasion force was headed out...

Rudy and I used to fish the Ice Box years ago but I have not in a long time. I am just a bit west of there I think any of the rocky shoreline is good this time of year but I tend to fish the shallow points and wade out a bit. I probably won’t be back out there until Tuesday.

I fished yesterday on the south side around Dove, and the mouth of scotts. I should have left at 10am, The convention of the "Village Idiots" was painful. I had 40 ft yachts cruising by me at full speed at several locations. The jet ski's were coming within a half cast of my boat, and they didn't even think there was a problem. I ran across several TFF'rs yesterday and met a new one. Nice to meet everyone. I did catch some big sandbass on the bottom in 25 ft out by dove ramp, but it did not last long. This was early, and I didn't catch another sandbass for the rest of my trip. I checked many humps between dove, and scotts graphing and looking for structure for the green fish.

I am staying home today, and will be working on the boat. I have some switch's I need to swap out, and I have a leak in one of the lines from the livewell to the back of the boat. Just wanted to thank Mr.R for the information for Lewisville, and all the fun we have had fishing on GV. I have known Mr. R for several years, and he frequents Grapevine to whack on the sand bass. He is a smart man, and always finds the fish. If you ever see him out on the lake, don't be afraid to say hello. He is a lurker on TFF, but he does not add info but he will happily help you on the water. He has a wealth of info on Lewisville, Tawakoni, and GV. He helped me when I first went to Tawakoni and me and Mason really whacked the Hybrids, sand bass, and some stripers.

Be on the lookout for this "Usual Suspect" Many thanks for all the info you have given me Mr. "R".

You are a braver man than I. I can't believe you survived the mouth of Scotts landing without damage or death.
Yeah, GV is lawless and is pretty much combat fishing on holidays. I'll be missing for a couple of weeks from GV, but plan to get back as soon as possible.

Would you guys mind describing where rock crusher is on the lake? I just got a Hobie Outback and am making GV my main lake and want learn as much as I possibly can. Thanks.

Here's a nice blue I caught across from the Meadowmere ramp near those two private docks.

Up the lake, just west of Twin Coves there is a single buoy out in the middle of the lake. This is the marker for the Rock Crusher. For a while there was no buoy on it. Just look for the white/orange buoy in the middle of the lake. It is a little deeper than I like, but many people whack them there. I personally like the humps, as there is less of a chance to get hung up.





Here is the video I watched years ago, and helped me find it.. It didn't have a buoy on it then. If you pause the video, you can write down the GPS coordinates.

It is just to the SE of the bouy that prosise highlighted. I have caught a couple crappie off it before but nothing special

Thanks guys.

A lot of lures hung on that....at least 4 of mine!

Something interesting, I posted about the Rock Crusher years ago.. Bruce's responded with these pictures, and that is how we crossed paths. As of today we have a good time on the lake chasing the green fish. I am "Young Grasshopper", and learning the lake. Those Hummingbird side images are hard to beat.

Great images. Wow!! I thought y’all were just talking about a nickname for something that resembles a rock crusher, not an actual rock crusher!

Wow, those are some bad [censored] images.

Fished the full moon last night, and left at 1pm. Once again I fished the south side from dove to silver lake, including the dam and rock ledge. No sandbass caught in this area of the lake. I saw a white center console near the island picking up some small Sandies, but not seeing much in this area. I fished the dam from 11:30pm to about 3:00am, there is so much bait on the dam right now. If you want to catch some catfish, goto the dam before 5am (when it's dark) and you can load up on shad. you can take the shad to the humps you normally catch Sandies on, and pick up some nice eating size catfish. I will prob fish the north bank from Grapevine point to Rocky point tomorrow, when I get tired I will go check the humps north & south of the crusher. I don't fish the crusher, I like humps because I like ledges and high spots. I know many people who catch fish there, but after fishing it so many times it's not as reliable as pretty much any hump that is close. Caught some decent bass, and catfish last night. I couldn't help myself and caught about a dozen shad. When I got near any brush I strategically dropped a big shad down on the brush. Didn't catch any bass, but catfish pounced on the shad. Worked yesterday and got a two hour nap before heading out, right now I'm pooped. Don't waste your time right now on the south side of the lake from Meadomere to silver lake looking for Sandies.

Lost a bait last Wednesday, got hung up in the same place today and was able to get both my baits with my grappling hook. Found a glide bait on the dam.

I know the owner of that spoon. just sayin

Another decent Smallie this AM on topwater no less pulled light a freight train.

I have been throwing a top water in the mornings, but only have one fish on the surface this year. Good job, and thanks for sharing. Now I know why I stopped finding lures over on that stretch of bank. I like walking banks and that bank is a lure magnet with the wind. Keep doing what your doing.

Awesome thread. Nice fish.

Quick report from Saturday. Started at 830am by the island. Lots of egrets working (not just on the shore but diving like seagulls) and while there was a ton of shad we didn't see any sandies bunched up. Fish shallow end of island (dam side of island) out past the drop off and didn't catch anything. Poked around the rock crusher humps (Prosise has been GREAT with the coordinate sharing) but we didn't see many fish. In fairness to this area I didn't spend much time looking as nephew started to get hot and bored. Took him for a boat ride back down the lake to Murrell Point and there were a couple of boats out in 25-30ft of water catching one here, one there. Bouncing slabs. We ended up catching 4-5 small sandies in this area before it got too hot. Amazing how many wakeboarders and jet skis are on the lake by 830am. I thought those guys slept in on the weekends.

Not allot to report, I have been fishing for bass 100% of the time lately. Summer patterns are already kicking in for the green fish. I have seen so much bait out on the lake, that the fish should be very healthy. I have been doing some searching deep from Meadomere part to the dam on the south side and I don't see anything related to sandbass. I have not been up the lake in a while, but I would expect the humps to produce. Find the humps, and even if you don't see fish turn on some form of thumper. An old broom stick, bluetooth speaker, or the original will concentrate the fish in that area near you. you should be looking in the 25plus ranges, or peaks of the humps up to 20ft. Water is warming quickly, we saw 88 deg this week, and I was out on the water yesterday in that storm. It was wicked, and I did idle into a marina, and sit in an empty stall for about 20 min. If you have any notion of going out in the afternoon on the weekend, I would call in sick from work on the weekdays. The wake boats are a nightmare, don't say I didn't warm you. Catching good bass, and loosing allot of good bass this week hurt allot. But I was blessed, so no lost tears. Take care all, and will hopefully add something helpful soon.

Prosise

Thanks for the update. I have a crew going Saturday morning. I hope to report back on the sandies and where I found them. It has been a few weeks since I got the boat wet, so I have a lot of scouting to do.


Update: Saturday started slow and only one fish from 7am to 8:30. Bounced around till I found fish out south of the Murrel Hump in 32 ft of water, no real structure to speak of just saw them on side scan.
It was on for a while with multiple hookups at a time. Same over on the north east side of the island got in them good. Looks like they are keying on small 1" fry so the baits need to be small.
Off the lake by noon before it got too crazy.

Great week fishing for bass. I was all over the lake, and the water is getting warm. I found two things that were interesting.. First of all I found a massive school of sandbass sitting on the bottom in meadomere, and they are not cooperating. I can see thousands of them just sitting in 22-25 ft of water on top of the drop. I caught a coupe but it is like they just do not want anything to do with my baits. I scaled down to the smaller cordell spoon, and some of them would play. Really strange seeing so many fish in one spot. When I was spot locked above them, with the thumper going and with it off they would just slowly swim away from the boat. Might be the thermocline setting up, and the oxygen content might be affecting them. I am no scientist, so anyone with info on what I am seeing throw out anything you have. Water temps on the surface on the upper end of the lake is 87-89, and lower end 85'ish.

Second thing was a massive school of gar 400 yards x 400 yards thick as mosquitos. I have a screenshot on the boat, if I get a chance I will add it later. This area is shallow (7-9ft) and there are so many gar that it makes side imaging on the graph saturate. I was picking up my daughter from the hiking trail and was amazed. If you know any bow hunters, let them know that this is the spot for some night fun. I do not know the laws on bow hunting gar but I see many boats out on the water with the big lights. I heard they make excellent fertilizer for gardens. If your up in this area of the lake, you should look at this on side imaging.


Sandbass stacked up on the bottom.





Gar convention>> let your bowhunting friends know

Well it happened... I got skunked HARD! Fished Friday from 9pm to 6am got a few bites, lost one, landed 0. I hit every spot I know I tied on everything I had in the boat even a Slim Jim (I was getting desperate). Haven't had a 0 in a long time

Any body been doing any good ??

Saw some sporadic schooling while guiding for crappie yesterday. They didn't stay up long

I haven't been out there since before July 4th. I have a trip planned for Saturday afternoon till dark. I know it was tough before when they were feeding on small fry. Maybe I can find some action.

I fished Yesterday and finally pulled out the spinning rod. Found allot of real nice sandbass outside of Scotts Marina in 16-22ft. Thermocline is around 20-24 around the open water areas, slightly deeper in a few areas. The fish were on the bottom, and the big ones were in packs of 50-80 fish cruising around. Didn't hardly see any bait, but there is an enormous amount of very small bait all over the lake. The very small bait is about half an inch long and all in the Marina areas seeking shelter of the docks. The fish were not super easy, but if you find them note the depth and look around. Double up on baits if possible, a dual rig will help you a bit. The fish were not on the humps at all, but closer in near the bank. You could hit a golf ball from the parking lot on the bank and hit my boat the whole time. Dead heat of the day. Got stupid hot, and I went metal detecting in the water to stay cool. Been looking here and there while bass fishing and I have not been seeing anything of interest, but yesterday was fun. I am seeing a ton of fish on the bottom everywhere, but most are not interested in cooperating.

@prosise, I was on the opposite side of the lake from you that same day and caught at least 25 (kept the 10 largest) sand bass. The last few mornings out I haven't seen the schools coming through. I might have to venture out from my little spot in search of the schools. I was shoreline fishing, no boat here. The schools came through my spot several days in a row and now they have just stopped. Yesterday and today we had our S S/E winds back and I was hoping that would push them to me but nope. It didn't.

Update report from Saturday morning run. Slow start from 7 am till 9:30 am. went all over the usual community spots. We finally found feeding fish out west, northwest of "rockcrusher" on a hump closer to the north bank 18 ft to 20 ft deep. Started with shorts but had a good mix of legal fish till 11 am and we left them biting. 50+ all on slabs 3/4 oz. and that was about the size of the shad they were feeding on.

Fished the mid-lake area today and ventured above Twin coves in the boat for the first time in months. I went up and metal detected on the beach, and picked up several more anchors and some cool stuff. On the way to the beach I stopped at the humps north of the crusher and caught sandbass for about 30 minutes before they vanished. I went up and did some cleaning at the beach until 4:30. On my way down I stopped at the long hump south west of the crusher, I spot locked and caught fish in the same spot for 2 hours +. I turned on the music as loud as it would play so I didn't have to listen to the metronome app ( I had a great time). I left at 7 because it was Beer-Thirty and I was ready to go home for a shower and some R&R. Sad thing is that I left them biting... I was using a shad type slab, and one of my home-made front runners. The front runner is made from either a rooster tail blade, or a willow blade from lures I find at the lake. I just drill an extra hole, and add a hook. I cut one of the hooks off the front runner bait, as it is easier to get the second fish off if you don't have to deal with a treble hook. The slab is one I picked up from Cabelas for fast sinking action, and it has a wobble when it falls. The spot I was spot locked on was just west of the long hump, and I was casting down the top of the hump. Broke off on one big cat, and caught another. GPS coordinates were taken at the end of the video, and I am adding them here. It is the middle of the long hump I added some time in the past. The GPS coordinates I added to the forum were just the ends, but I pulled up to the center by chance. Hope all are doing good, and if you can get some youngsters out for an afternoon before school starts, try this area late in the day. If you spot lock or anchor on this spot, just vertical jig or cast towards the hotel on the north bank.. I am currently rendering the entire video and will add it when It is uploaded, without any editing. I sped up the video but it shows every fish caught, and I would not have the slightest idea how many I caught (maybe 200 but 60% were small) . Take care all & if you can get out on the lake during the week, you will be glad you did. The Wake boats are terrible on the weekends.

The first 10 minutes is real time, then I sped it up. The end shows me documenting the waypoint. Proof is in the pudding, so I just put the whole video up. In this spot you can cast towards the Hotel and you will be on top of the long hump, I did allot better casting down the hump. If you want to work deeper just cast to the left and right of the hotel to work the deeper sides. The hump tops out at 18-20ft right now, and the lake if falling pretty fast. I didn't have the any electronics on but occasionally vertical jigged, but I caught better fish out away from the boat. This hump only has small brush on the very ends so you don't get hung up on the 200+ yards between the ends. Between the hump north of the crusher, and this hump I get a good idea what they are doing. This area of the lake has a lightly stained tint with tons of bait. I saw many big shad jumping out of the water who were being chased. And if the catfish are near, your on a good area. I broke off on a big catfish, probably had some nicks in my line. I use 15lb or 20lb mono between the two baits because it stretches, and it is easier to hold vs small diameter line.

Good report! I think I call that the "banana hump". That was close to where I was Saturday and we also had great luck there in the morning after about 9:30.

Got a report from one of the usual suspects just now (Mr. R Jr), he got a limit of sandbass today. He was fishing at the hump I referenced a couple days ago. He said they were 11-12" fish, and then he found the 12-13 inch fish heading back to his ramp. Here are some screenshots he sent me.

Thanks for the update report. I should be out tomorrow morning and will be in that area to see if I can repeat.

Went out Sunday for a bit snagged a few cats (8) all good eater size, bite kinda died around 9am went to look for some Sandys. They were all over the place in 20-30ft had a hard time getting down to the bigger fish even with big heavy baits at one point I was like "HA try to get this little fish!" the tied on a 1.5oz slab and the first cast caught a sandy about the size of the slab.... Cats were stacked up along this drop off going into the flat.

Neat thread!

I didn't have such good luck on Saturday. The little schoolers were hot and heavy out in front of Meadowmere @7 am, but I left those and went searching for bigger fish. Went all over and finally found some takers at The Murrell flat area. Maybe 10 total. Everywhere I went I found fish, just none liked anything I was offering. I didn't go all the way to the bank up there north of twin coves. I did hit all my usual humps at Rock Crushed to no avale. Good report.

Went out yesterday to graph, chase the green fish, walk some banks, metal detect, and play with the Sandbass. I cannot stress enough about wearing the right gear. I wear quick dry hooded shirts, quick dry pants, (all light colors). Just wearing a dark colored hat will ruin your day. The head is the best radiator your body has. I consumed 1.5 gallons of fluids from 5am-4pm and I ran out. Keeping the shirt/pants wet make it feel like it is 80 degrees.. If your not needing to take a leak, your behind the ball and will feel like you have a hangover the next day. It is very important to have something with electrolytes, as it keeps the body balanced.

For the record I threw into the mix the "Hey Bud" lure. They didn't like the chartreuse as much as the white yesterday. I will be torturing this lure in the next few months, and will be reviewing it.

A couple weeks ago me and my fishing buddy were graphing and he marked a boat on his sidescan. As I was exiting the cove at Meadomere I did some sidescan in the area out from the swim area and marked a canoe. I didn't see the john boat out deep, but I gave up and went to fish for some bass. I found tons of sandbass on the top of the drop near the main point of meadomere park early, but I drove right over them and was looking for some green fish. Bass fishing is tough right now for me. I practiced my casting before walking several miles of banks picking up trash. Water is getting really low, and you can find the old coke bottles everywhere. I found a can that has been there for a while, and will add the pic below. Did some metal detecting and was a good day with 3 rings, and some cheap earrings. Around 1pm I went to the humps I referenced last week, south west of the Crusher and caught about 30 fish (it was one every three or four casts). Fish were there but not as thick as last week. I did see a boat working in the area where "Slacklinedime" referenced but I never went that far north. When I see a boat fishing what i think is sandies I almost 100% of the time look elsewhere, to gather data and see what I can find. I checked the humps north of the crusher but it was dead. I headed back to meadomere and snagged the canoe, but it was too heavy. I tied it to the back of the boat and idled over to the swim area at meadomere, and when I was in about 5 ft I got out and wrangled the canoe to the bank. It has been in the water for a while, had zebra mussel's all on the inside lip of the canoe. Got the mud and sand out, and it had no holes. I pulled it back to the ramp, and got it on the boat for the ride home but this one is heavy. It is a solid fiberglass boat, with reinforced aluminum tubing. It almost looks like a row boat, or possibly a skiff for a high end sailboat. I wonder it if was lost in the big storm we had about 4 years ago. Pressure washed it and it's a solid little boat. This is the second canoe that I have salvaged. There is quite a few boats sunk in GV. I know of a john boat (off the end of the north side of the island near Dove), a big sailboat (near Grapevine point), a big cabin boat (behind Silver Lake), john boat on the entrance of Twin coves (by the little island), and what looks like a long rowboat 3 seater in the channel (classified info). You would need a big pontoon boat and a winch for most of these, but the large boats are there to stay. Take care all..


Pictures from yesterday.

Sidescan Canoe



Hummingbird 360 canoe



It's alive








How long do you think this beer can has been at the lake


Sandbass stacked up on the top of meadomere in the morning. I drove right over them, and didn't fish for them.

Great report. Thank you.

The rest of the story. The boat I found is made by (Rivtech drift boats LLC). Made in 1982, reached out to the only contact I could find. Don't know if they went out of business. Would be cool to find it's owner, prob a fly fishman. It's a very solid made boat.

I have another canoe that I found over 2 years ago, it's going to be sold as I couldn't find it's owner.

Upper end is stained from the high winds & clay banks. Didn't find anything on the humps. Came down and found some big ones on the humps north east of the island.

Fished for the green fish early, and it was nice out. Then I went and did some metal detecting during the hot part of the day. Around 4:30 went and checked the humps Southwest of the crusher and it was dead, went to the humps just north of the crusher and had fun. I would say 80% of the fish were just under size, but it was fun. I didn't want to go down and deal with the other boats. Stayed off the hump and would cast the jig, or other bait to the hump and drag it back. Worked better than sitting on top of them. Take care all.

Great reports as usual please keep them coming!

Fished today from 2-6. Checked Murrell park way out on the end (nothing). The humps from the island to Scott's (nada). Humps north of the crusher (a few). The long hump Southwest of the crusher and it was good. Lots of catfish, and 30% keepers in sandbass, lots of drum, and 3 cats. On the way back to meadowmere ramp I found more sandbass (50% keepers) before heading in. The screenshots below are the areas I did well.

Did some metal detecting at the swimming area at Meadomere. Picked up a little gold, and it has a date inscribed inside. This will help in finding it's owner. The apple watch is charging, hopefully I can get the owners name when it charges above 10%.

What metal director do you use? Can you recommend one to newbie? Thanks for all great reports

Great looking fish and a great gesture, sir. I hope you're able to find the owners.

I use a Garrett at gold which is 100% waterproof, I work out in the water up to my neck.

My favorite right now is the minelab equinox 800 also waterproof. Amazing machine.

For a beginner pick up a whites and spend some time with it. You will want a good pinpointer, the orange Garrett is 100%waterproof. There are allot of tricks, so spend a couple hours with someone who has been doing it for years. This will help you tremendously.
I only work volleyball courts, sandy beaches, and the such. I don't like digging in the hard tx soil.

I can pay for a unit by the end of the year easily, and usually keep 1 unit, but these two have some tasks that are specialized.

Prosise

Hey Prosise, I didn’t fish Grapevine at all this year. In fact I didn’t fish much at all. I was working on my house. A few years ago and in the past in general it has been a great Sandbass lake, so it was great for teaching my granddaughter how to fish. Did you see much in the way of schooling fish this summer? The Sandbass population seems to be down. It’s that way on Whitney too.

Schooling this summer has been slow. I think the Sandbass population is actually doing well. I think the bait situation is a factor. (I think) Two great years with the shad spawn, and the lake has almost too much bait. Fish are fat, dumb, and happy. But time will tell.

I fished this morning, and small fish were chasing bait from sunrise to 8am in Meadomere. In the 15ft-18ft depth, fish were moving fast. When the fish were not on the top, I was using a jig or a inline spinner. About 9 I did some metal detecting in the swimming area in Meadomere. Hot as Hades out there by 1pm.

The surface schooling has all but disappeared. That pattern has been almost nonexistent for about 3 years now on GV. Don't know why but they only pop up a few at a time and disappear. Gone are the half acre boils. That use to be common. At least from my observation. I want to say it's the 300% increase in wake board boats on the lake chopping up the water all day, but I really have no idea. I was out near Meadowmere a couple of weekends ago in the morning (area circled by Brent) and the whole area was full of sandies, but they were staying below the surface.

Don.t know if it has any bearing but the sand bass routine on Grapevine changed when they got rid of the Aerator.. I.ve fished Grapevine for 44yrs. In that time the fishing changed when they started the Aerator. The schooling always went counterclockwise around the lake, you could follow from point to point like clockwork. It stopped when they turned off the aerator. There were 2 Aerators 1 by the control structure and the other towards the southend of the dam.The control one was shut off due to people not staying outside the buoys around said tower..It made fishing easy and at times the boats were so thick you could walk between them. It was a great area to fish for catfish as they would wait for the shad schools to come thru and pick off the ones injured by the sand bass. Good Times.

I see sandies surface weekly but they never stay up long. Last year they would school in front of Katies woods for hours and hours. Haven't seen it this year. Sandies are doing well and I catch them all the time not trying and the spawn this year was strong in DC. There is so much bait in the lake I think they don't have to school on the surface to eat. They can just open their mouth subsurface and let them swim in LOL.

With that being said, There is an area by Katies woods that has smelled bad two times. Almost where one of the aerators were and I can go to the area and smell it and know there won't be any fish over there. I'm thinking its upwelling from a SE wind maybe. It's not turnover as its still too warm. Lake is getting really low and I think I have a couple weeks left of being able to run my trips out of Meadowmere. Zebra Mussels are everywhere on the ground also now that the water has dropped.

Fished with my fishing mentor today. We fished for the green fish until about noon. Tough bite today, saw some isolated small schools of sandbass on the North Bank just west of the big hotel/cranes. The small cove had some bait being pushed up shallow by small Sandies. We checked the hump south west of the crusher and caught maybe 20 before it stopped. We checked the humps north of the crusher and it was a ghost town. Crappie are stacked on brush, but they are hard to get on the hook.

Hotter than a bank robbers pistol out there by 1pm. If you don't have the right gear to wear, your rolling the dice. I got hung up with a crankbait while my buddy was fishing for crappie, so I swam over and got the bait unhung to get my clothes wet. Water feels so good, and will recharge your batteries very quickly.

Mr. B caught some Magnum crappie today. Saw the biggest black crappie I have seen on GV today, he caught it on. Worm. Going to go back in the morning and fish some before cleaning out a swim area..

The best thing about TFF, is that I have met so many people on grapevine. Thanks all.

Take care all.

Bit of a delayed post. Went out Saturday night on the hunt for cats set some jugs around Rocky Point and let them chill for a bit. Went to humps and like Prosise said it was a ghost town hit a few other spots and same thing. Last spot we hit was just outside of Twin Coves and got into some good Crappie put about 15 keepers in the well. Went and checked on the jugs 7 out of 9 had good eater blues on them. We reset and did some drifting got 3 more blues in about an hour or so. Went back to check the jugs and 3 out of 9 had blues on them. So, when picking up the jugs we found 8 of the 9 in the same place we left them the last one took us about 2hr to find we set it just off Rocky Point and found it by Murrell Park it had a 4# blue on it dude was on the run!!!

Fished for the green fish this morning from 4-7 mid lake, then went over to Meadomere near the swim area. Caught some but it kind of sucked. Fished for an hour and then cleaned out the swimming area with the metal detector. Found allot of sunglasses today. Yesterday when me and my fishing buddy were on the hump Southwest of the crusher he got hung up on the end. I saved the waypoint on my phone, and after entering it into the depth finder I went right to it. Pulled up a cinder block that was once tied to a Christmas tree. I got his jigging spoon, and then caught a couple of sandbass. It was slow on the humps on the upper end. Not much to share on the Sandbass, the early bite is good if you look around, but the bigger fish seem to be staying in the 16-18 ft range in the Meadomere area. The easy guide for Meadomere is, head right for the swim beach and the no wake buoy is the starting point. Just adjust shallower or deeper from that buoy. Working the next 4 days, hot as Hades out there, keep your clothing wet and stay hydrated. 1.5 gallons of fluids today, and I stayed cool. But metal detecting up to my neck, is rather refreshing.

I was gifted two inline spinners (Hey bud). fishing the white behind a small silver spoon, and tinkering with the chartreuse attached to a heavier spoon to get it down fast (testing). Fishing these about 30% of the time, and they are a good tool to get a reaction bite when covering water. I am fishing a bigger shad slab that looks just like a shad (see pic of me holding a shad in my hand from Sunday) when I'm sniping as it sinks real fast, and I can snipe them from far off. Dog days of summer are in full force, and there is so much bait in Grapevine. I had a school of small bait run into my chest, as small Sandies were chasing them in 5ft of water today. Was kind of cool being the referee.

Awesome thread.

I'm glad to hear the Heybuds are performing well for you! Thanks for the shoutout!

That is alot of glasses and coinage!

I'm kinda shocked by the qty of 2-way radios.

Wow what a haul Prosie!

Have you become interested in coins of value ? Some of the " wheat " pennies are worth thousands .

I just throw all the coins in a box for the year, then exchange them for amazon gift cards at coin star. The old pennies get sorted out and are mostly holed up in a container for my son to go thru. Out in the water in sandy areas is even easier, as a metal detector works by creating a electromagnetic field. Since water is conductive, it makes it work even better. Dry ground is harder to work, vs wet soil. I use a Minelab Equinox 800 (amazing), and a Garrett AT Gold (really good) and both are 100% waterproof. I am working areas up to my neck, and some areas I am on my toes. I use a scoop since I cannot reach the item when working in deep water. I was a whites user for the first 20 years tinkering with metal detectors, as they are easy to find used. I would buy a new model every other year, and then sell it to buy another. But working in heavily mineralized soils is a challenge, and if you had a precious metal item sitting next to a small piece of iron it would report a bad signal. I stepped up a little and picked up the Garrett AT Gold, and then the Minelab to work in areas with Hot rocks. I have some areas in and around the lake which have allot of hot rocks (A hot rock is a heavily mineralized rock) which will make most metal detectors go crazy. the minelab will find a precious item sitting next to one of these with no problem. My son does love the wheat pennies, but It is a real suprise when you find the older silver coins. It definitely is tough work, and after a day of digging sand out of the water I feel it. When I am in the water, I can just brush the sand out of my way with my foot.

Whacked then today in meadomere. Right before the storms, and after. Amazing to see rain for a change, and the temps outside feel great. Fished for the green fish until about 10, found some rings, caught Sandies, then did well on the bass after the storms.

Very rewarding day. A local here on TFF told me he lost a rod on Saturday when he was fishing with his wife. He gave me the general area, and I got lucky. I was off a little on the location, but after expanding outward I snagged the line and retrieved the rod/reel and lure. I fishing for the green fish early and caught a real nice Bass (think it might be a mean mouth), 4 smallies, and a massive drum, felt like something from the coast. Did some chores and cleaned the north bank by the dam, the low water is really cool to see. If you want to learn some things about bass fishing, get out and look at the structure along the banks. Second interesting thing was when I caught a fishing reel on a deep diving crankbait. Never have caught a fishing reel alone before. Lake was absolutely beautiful, dead calm today with only a couple wake boats. Small sandbass wolf packs all over the lake. No real info about the Sandbass, didn't fish for them much today. I already notified the suspect that I found his setup. Take care all..

I want to express a very warm thank you to RKD. I crossed paths with him and his better half today. I returned the rod/reel combo I found that he lost. Was a very rewarding exchange, and a happy ending to that story. He broke the rules when he sneaked gift cards to me in a "Thank You" card. I was metal detecting in the swim area on the south Banks. Lake was a Zoo, and I was glad I wasn't in the boat.

No fishing report..

Thank you Prosise...you went above and beyond with the "lost" rod/reel. What started off as a story about my dumb mistake ended with a funny "return to sender" note on my rod. (my wife thought that was great!) I got home and the reel which spent a couple of days at the bottom of Grapevine now works better than any other reel I have! The gift cards were just a small token....I think I speak for more than myself when I say thank you for all the great reports, tips, map/GPS locations, etc you so willingly share on this forum. I've definitely had better results/experiences on Grapevine as a result. Keep up the good work and I'll pay it forward on my end.

Fished today from 645am-2pm. Wasn't hitting on all cylinders today, but I talked myself into going. Long story short I was supposed to be on the lake today. I was off the beaten path up the lake, and ran across a local bass fisherman who was overheating. His big motor was dead, and he was in need of assistance. He had already called for help, but asked for help. I got him into my boat, and started dumping buckets of water on him. He cooled down, and we continued this along with some running down the lake for some air. There was no wind, and it was hot! Got him cooled down, and then got him to his contact who was going to tow his boat back to the ramp. The gear you wear needs to be the right stuff. I used to haul hay for a job, and long sleeve cotton shirts were a must. You cannot go out in dark colored clothing in this wx. I have to keep my long sleeve shirt wet, and I'm good. He is good and no issues. Bass fishing is brutal after sunrise, and if you are chasing the green fish go out about 2am and come home around 9am. Sandbass are on fire, found them stacked on the humps north west of the crusher. I was catching smaller fish on the hump, so I put on a 5xd crankbait and ran out over the top of the hump and it was non-stop overs. Really fun. Later in the day found them east of the island (by dove ramp) , did the same thing and caught them every other cast. Ran out of water and headed for the house. Only took 1 gal of Gatorade today. Picked up a garbage bag of trash, found a cheap Bass pro combo, and a Lew's rod/reel combo. I'm almost done with the reel I found from rock ledge, will rebuild the Lew's speed spool next. Seeing the lake so low, is really good info if you like to chase the green fish.
You can learn a ton of info, just looking at exposed rock piles. Take care all, and God Bless.

Great report!
Is Meadowmere ramp still usable? Planning to take Grandson out Saturday morning and I haven't been out there in a few weeks.

Yes Meadomere is still usable, and plenty of people still using this ramp. The side closest to the dock is deeper than the other side. I launched there yesterday with no issues. The wake boats are having trouble, as they have to put their vehicle way out.. Katy woods is good right now. I have not been to Dove, or Ferris in a long time. Their docks are in very shallow water.

Disclaimer: Sorry but I don't service reels for people, it just takes too much time. This isn't any info on the Sandies, but I really thought this was a cool outcome. Big difference between fresh and saltwater, a month in saltwater and anything is trash. I'm most of the way thru the Lew's speed spool I found this week. Diawa and Lew's use many of the same parts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they come from the same source.

Anyhoo, on August 29th I snagged a reel with a 5xd near Rock Ledge park. I brought the reel home and pressure washed it, and then decided "Why not". I stripped the reel, and found one bad part. The "yoke" is what disengages the spool from the gears during casting. Only guess is that this part broke, and the fisherman took the reel off his rod and pitched it. I re-used all the bearings for the handle, level wind, anti-reverse, and the handles. I installed better, used bearings from my parts I have collected repairing my reels over the years. I had a diawa CC80 that me and my son found a couple years ago, and it's magnetic backlash system had a problem so I used the (Yoke) from that reel.
By replacing the two bearings on either side of the spool, and the bearing on the spool itself turned out damn good. Never say a reel is trash, if you like to tinker. I have video of when I snagged this reel, and my plan is to go back and try to catch a fish in the same area I found the reel. More than likely this reel will be a "gimme" to someone I cross paths with while fishing. I see young ones fishing with gear that could use an upgrade, and I am sure someone starting out would be very happy with a reel of this caliber. The spool is smooth as silk, but winding in the line is a little noisy. With 20 bucks in bearings it would be as good as new on the inside. When I get the final clip to this reels story completed, I will share it with you guys/gals. I tried to condense the pictures, so there wouldn't be so many.

If you take a reel apart and lay out the parts one at a time, you can get it back together. Some of the assembly requires my opti-visor which helps with the very small parts. YouTube has videos on pretty much every reel made. The oil used during assembly is the key in my opinion. I do not use any grease, on anything. Light synthetic lube from Dad's ol tackle. A drop of oil is too much, I will apply oil with a toothpick so I can apply as little as possible. I run open bearings which are better in my opinion. If you go near salt, cleaning and lubing is much easier with the open style.

]https://www.dadsoletackle.com/american-gas-chemical-co-ltd-tsi-321-in-1-oz-needl.html


As I found it





Pressure Washed



Disassembled




The one bad part


Back together

Great job, Brent. Nothing like reviving an old soldier to fight again. Long time follower of yours and enjoy your insights/adventures regarding Grapevine Lake. Looks like the Zebra mussels were really liking that reel!

quote=JackCaster]Great job, Brent. Nothing like reviving an old soldier to fight again. Long time follower of yours and enjoy your insights/adventures regarding Grapevine Lake. Looks like the Zebra mussels were really liking that reel![/quote]

Much appreciated. I revived a Lew's reel I found on Tuesday, and will have another to gift. If you like to chase the green fish get out on the lake, I fished from the bank for an hour this morning with the cooler temps and had 4 fish on in no time. The cooler wx turned the bite on.

Whacked 'em! Fished with a new contact today, the dad of a coworker came out with me. We chased the green fish early, and about 11am started checking humps for Sandies. We did really good today, upper end was better than the lower end. We worked the humps I have referenced in the last few weeks. Mr. G caught his first small mouth, a 5+ largemouth, a spot tail gar as long as my leg, channel cats, and had more double sandbass than should be allowed. We snagged three anchor ropes, and added then to the collection. The last one had 5 spoons in the rope. Icing on the cake was Meadomere from 5:30-6:46. Nonstop Sandies on the slab double setup, and 5xd. Well over 200 overs today. Go back the last few weeks and look at the map pictures, that's all we did. Two old men were tired of catching fish, and made a memorable connection. Also met a new contact (Vin). I'm heading out at 2am to chase the green fish tomorrow, take care all.

Great report. We hit it Saturday Morning from 7:30 till 12 noon. We found most of our fish out west by rock crusher area humps. We didn't find many big ones though. We caught 50+ but 80% were 9" long.
Island and Murrel didn't show much on the graph. So, we went back out west and that kept us busy.
Slabs for us in 18 to 20 ft tops of humps.

I would say we might have caught a couple vertically jigging. We were mostly casting over the humps, and literally dragging the baits back. The top bait would typically hook up, and then a second fish would hook up on the return. We checked the humps twice from just east of the island, to the humps (north and South) of the crusher. Only checked Murrell once around 10am and it was a ghost town. The very interesting thing, is that at first glance the humps look empty, but then the bottom would just explode as the fish were hugging the bottom. Used Bluetooth thumper earlier in the day, but it didn't pull them in. We changed to music, and then simply would hang back of the hump and pick them off. Late bite in Meadomere has the magnums, and the 5xd was nearly every cast. The jig would pick up slightly smaller fish. Got hung up allot, so make sure you have a lure retriever.

I'm going to say that Meadomere ramp is probably not a good choice at this time. One side of the ramp is shallow, and you have to back way out to get the boat off/on. Bass fishing was really good, sandbass fishing was brutal tough for some reason. Might be the cloud cover. Fished all the usual spots, plus many more and it was really tough. Take care all.

Also, there is a newly repaired ramp back in commission. The point by sandbass point/mouth of Scott's is open.
This is just west of Katy woods, would be a good location to drop off a kayak.
Google map location

Good report. I was hoping that ramp(sandbass point) you could launch a good-sized boat from also.

Not sure why you could not? But I have not been out there in a while. Once the wake boats come out, the kayak and I go other places. The Vine just gets too messy with yahoos to be out on yak with all those party boats.

Great reports and stories as always!

I hope to make it out Friday and provide a report of my own. If weather cooperates I will try to the kayak down to the dam from Rockledge.

I feel your pain on the Wake Board boats.
I was out last Saturday and they were not bad. There were less trailers at noon at Meadowmere, than when I launched at 7am. But I did have to get my front tires wet to get my boat to float so that ramp may be off limits for those type boats now. I guess the new low water ramp there will never be used again for the general public.

Ferris ramp is good, you don't have to back down that far. The dock is in shallow water, so be careful. Fished today, found some sandbass east of the island (but it was a slow day). Mr B. Put a whooping on me, and also caught a nice blue. Wx was nice in the AM, but was hot around 2pm with no wind on the lake.
I'm working the next 3 days, hope everyone is well. Take care.

Now that's a scar! WOW!!!!

Prosise, how about Katie's Woods ramp?

katie woods is good

Thanks

Fished the dam today from 830 to noon.

Did pretty good! Caught 9 lmb, 5 sandies, 1 smallie, and a bluegill. All on a square bills. Smaller baits were better. I had to be right against the rocks... Not hitting rocks = not getting a bite.

Nothing big. The bass were all around 14inch, the sandies were borderline keepers.

Nice day!

^^^Very nice Dan!

Good report+

Katie’s is good and is the most usable public ramp on the south side

Fished t
oday, bass was good and Sandies are stubborn. Found them stacked east of the island, and on the hump south west of the crusher. They were easier to catch casting out to them, and dragging the bait back to the boat. I walked banks, and picked up anything that was glass and items that could snag a lure. Found some interesting things. Saw a dead catfish floating, which had a rod and reel still connected to it. Catfish are thick east of the island. The waypoint for the hump I was fishing east of the island is below. The hump west of Meadomere park is now poking out of the water, found a heavy rudder from a wake boat on top. I was able to catch some real good size sandbass using a 5xd crankbait. The fish are all over the bait, but will not commit. A fast moving bait connects every time. Loaded the back of the boat up with trash, including a TV. I had a good day out. 14+ Hours on the water and I'm pooped.

Here is a short clip of the fish on the hump east of the island.

Who needs to go to the tackle shop when you can find all that!?

Great report as always. Appreciate you picking up the trash... I pick up what I find along the way but dont go out and hunt it like you do!

Yes thanks for cleaning up after deadbeats. We do the same on Buchanan but you find better stuff. We did find a car battery a month ago but I didn't try it. Must be some good stories with some of that trash.

Fished today, and had a couple of surprises. Two real nice boats were on the lake, some kind of conference in the area. Big wigs were getting some boat rides, and these boats are fast. Even fully loaded with people the bigger boat was spooky fast, I thought the smaller boat was faster but I was wrong. They were out on the water all day I was there. Had to see them up close, and it wasn't a disappointment. Some of the rides they gave were slow, but they opened them up for several and I was very impressed. They launched at Katie woods, when I pulled out I had a chance to have a short visit.
Bass fishing with a dark chatterbait, or a black and blue spinnerbait shallow before sunrise is really good. Reaction bite was my mode today. Only fished for the Sandies for a short time, and east of the island was still good at 2pm.

Texas Highway Patrol has 1000+HP boats?! Good thing I only drive on the highway and the lake.

I assume these are for the border? Sooo many questions. They still look less disruptive than those wake boats.

Cool pics and appreciate the report!

Fished for the green fish early, and tinkered with the Sandbass before I left. East of the Island, same waypoint I posted a couple posts back. Earlier in the day I almost lost a rod/reel, somehow I bumped a reel and the lure went overboard and free spooled. I looked down and I had a reel with no line, somehow it stayed in the boat. I crossed paths with a TFF'r who snagged the line, much appreciated the help (I think it was Lloyd). I also met a new contact from Arkansas, who was out on the lake with his better half. Mr. "K" works in the fishing business selling lures and hunting supplies for (Pradco). Fishing for the green fish is good before sunrise, and then shuts down after the sun comes up. Sandass were wanting a fast moving bait, and it was slow. I didn't want to look around, so i just stayed on the hump and force fed them. Caught a good blue, and picked up several nice sandies. But, it kind of sucked to be honest. Take care all.

Thought I would share a cool little find from yesterday. Found this at Rock Ledge park below a small cliff. Small womens graduation ring from 1935. She graduated 15 years before the lake was filled. Made by Hygrade Jewelry CO. Which I think went out of business in 1943. I pinged some affiliated companies, but this one might have to be donated to a school. Just have to find the name of the school. Anyhoo, heading out tonight to play with the green fish.

Very cool find!

That ring is super cool... what a find! It's fun to imagine folks running around the creek bottom back in the day. Thanks for sharing!

Fished the full moon and shut down about 8am, good bass bite. Caught bass, smallies, and drum on a craw worm shallow. Did some metal detecting but nothing special found. Before I left I went to the humps east of the island, and there were sandbass just sitting on the bottom. They were not having anything to do with my slab, so I pulled out my Bo-blade contraption. I attached the Bo-blade to the back of a spoon so I can get it down fast, and cover water fast. The fish wouldn't cooperate with the slab, but the chartreuse spinner wasn't something they could overlook. Four or five fast cranks, and then I would keep the line tight and they would crush it. For the record I did replace the original hook with a size smaller, as GV Sandies are size challenged. If I was going to Tawakoni, I would leave the original hook on.
Picked up about two dozen real good fish before I was tired of the wake boats. I like the in line spinner, but I can cover sommuch more water with it connected to a jig for added weight. Will be fishing a couple more days before Thursday, maybe I will venture up the lake.

I launched the canoe out of Trophy club Park, and went out and looked around. Denton Creek is not safe for a boat, where Denton Creek meets the lake it's about 2 inches deep. I found a real nice anchor on a lone point, and a surf board up in the trees. Not taking that route again, the last 400 yards before I got to the 2 inches of water is about 1 foot deep and gets shallower the closer I got. The area down by the beach has some big trees sticking out of the water. If you go to the beach, stay away from North side close to the entrance of Denton Creek. The bushes on the banks are 10-12 ft high, when the lake comes back up it's going to be thick with cover.




Where Denton Creek meets the lake

I spent a few hours Monday from 11 til 2:30 scouting the usual spots. I found fish at the Island but no takers on anything. Went to Murrel out on the long point and found more fish and they acted like they wanted to bite but it was slow. The best area I found was out west of Rock Crusher on a couple of humps 16' to 18' FOW. They were more active but out of 2 dozen I caught only 3 were over 10". All were on slabs of 3/4 oz size. They didn't want the Bo Blade or humdingers.

I have found that they have been reluctant to engage with the bait unless it's moving fast. Almost like a cat's instinct to chase something running away. The slab was slow for me yesterday, and the spinner seemed to excite them when it ran above them. I didn't fish for sandbass today, the bass bite was epic. Saw a Bald Eagle out fishing on the lake, was pretty cool. No pictures, was too far off. Migration has started, and we will be seeing lots of waterfowl soon.

I walked in to the beach yesterday, saw thousands of white birds up on the very upper end. Big group of birds migrating south are in layover until a strong north wind gets them moving. Start looking for the birds when your scouting. Also saw the big fighter jets, and vintage bombers flying around the area the last few days. Didn't see anything about an Air Show but will keep looking. Got an inch of rain in Trophy Club last night, which is nice. Working next 3 days, take care all.

Circle T Ranch, Ross Berot Jr party. The B-29 Bomber has come over my house two days in a row @ 500 ft off the deck. It was great other than I didn't have my phone on me to get pictures.
I will be out Friday to see if the fish are turned on from the cool snap and fresh water.

Friday was tough but we did catch some fish. Water was glass smooth till after lunch. We finally found fish that were biting at Murrel east. Slabs in 18 ft deep off humps where the best we could do. Between 4 fishermen we may have caught 75 and of those, maybe 5 were over 10". Never found good ones. we were out from 10 am till 5 pm.

Fished Sunday and Tuesday for the green fish. On Tuesday I saw the birds down on the lower end, out in the middle of the lake working something. I went out and chased the birds working the surface, and with a rapala dt6 crankbait in a shad pattern I whacked them. Had a limit, but I had to stay in the trolling motor. Other than that I didn't do any Sandbass fishing this week, saw the guide boats all over the lower end out on humps.

Monday I walked out to the beach and did some metal detecting, found one ring and a box anchor. For exercise I carried the damn thing out. I have 12 anchors piled up, but only 6 are good ones, the others will be used for sinking brush. If you need a good anchor let me know, I will sell these at a reasonable price. The three below are priced at two 12 packs of community mosaic IPA each (or 42$ cash). I have more available for a 12pack that are good, but are a step down from these.


BTW, I finished a task that I have been wanting to do. I snagged a reel on top of the hump at rock ledge park, I rebuilt the reel and wanted to catch a fish on the spot I found it. Challenge completed.

Reel turned out really good, I originally removed the shields of the original spool bearings but when I tested it the reel screamed. I installed bearings from another rebuild that were way better than the ones I removed. Lake is pretty off color from last Saturday's high winds, so if your chasing the green fish find clean water. Shallow bite is really good from 4am to sunrise, then it tapers off. Still catching fish during the daytime but you have to pinpoint the depth they are at. It's changing day to day with water clarity. Take care all, working next two days then I'm cheating on Grapevine fishing another lake Saturday and Sunday.

Any updates on water temps with these recent cool nights?

Water temps in twin coves Friday 10/13 was 71 degrees.

Water I fished was 72, but I fished main lake all day.

I fished yesterday from 4am to 2pm yesterday for the green fish. Wind was brutal, and the lake is tore up pretty bad. Everything is stained. Caught good fish battling the rollers, and only saw a few boats out. Did not fish for Sandies, but I did catch one on a craw worm.

Caught two really nice small mouth, one jumped and threw the bait and almost landed in the net.
Ended up with 5 overs, and about a dozen drum. Not one small bass, so that can tell you the big girls are feeding
Also found another rod/reel. About a 700 dollar setup, which will need some parts to work again.

Can you see the rod tip?

Given the lake is 5' low....what ramps on the south side are useable without dropping off the end?

I drove over the Meadowmere ramp and can't tell how much concrete ramp continues into the water.

Katie's Woods should still be good. Meadowmere is too shallow for anything other than a jon boat

Thanks for the intel!!!

Nice looking smallie !



I lost a rod/reel near the island which I had caught my PB on, but it would look worse than that if you find it, happened in the early 90's.
4600C with red thumb bar.

Ditto on LipRipper's comment. Katies was usable for a ctr console no problem. I guess the really nice new low water ramp at Meadowmere is really not open to the public. They just keep it blocked off for that contract company that works the paddle boards and jet ski rentals. I was assuming our tax dollars built that ramp, but we are not able to use it.
Twin Coves is nice also, just pricey.

Fished Tuesday, and Monday I walked out from TC park to the beach and did some metal detecting. I took a picture at the beach, and you could clearly see the dam 9 miles away. Was really cool to see it so clear. Wind was absolutely brutal on Sunday, and Tuesday it was still heavily stained from all the high winds. I did really well on the bass the last few trips, with my PB for Grapevine (9.5 lbs), note: the top 3 fish I have caught on GV in the bass department were all caught while fishing for sandbass out on main lake until tuesday. Did not fish for sandbass on Sunday, as it was dangerous out on main lake. Tuesday, I was prowling for the green fish and couldn't get myself to change over to sandies. The water temps are around 71f, and the bass are feeding well. I caught the big one, and then went and caught some smallmouth.

Congrats on the PB! As much time as you've been putting in on the lake, you more than deserve it!! Healthy looking fish too. You could start your own tackle store with all the lures, anchors, rods and reels you're finding! (including mine from a few months ago!)

Nice fish, thanks for all your posts.

I appreciate the feedback. You guys, gals, and youngsters are the reason I share. When the fishing is good, charge up the batteries in the boat and take the little ones out and let them have some fun. Let them steer the boat, and teach them how boats don't have brakes. If you go up the lake to the beach, you can ease up to the shallow sand and let them enjoy the beach. My son is like me, and he cannot sit still. He is a really good fisherman, but at 14 he doesn't have the patience to drag a worm all day long chasing the green fish. So, we change it up and do several different things on an outing. We magnet fish at the docks by ramps, and around marinas. We walk banks on the upper end, and look for old bottles. We metal detect, but he isn't that into this hobby. Lastly, we just walk banks looking around for items lost from boats. It's all about that to me, and if I can help others get out to enjoy the lake I am rewarded. Seeing the sunrises, and the wildlife has been really good lately. I noticed a big white (Great Egret) do a corkscrew and land next to a Great Blue Heron this week. I should have recorded it, as they had a Mexican standoff on who was going to push on. They both just sat there, and finally they both just did something and instantly were ok with each other. The great Blue Herons typically fly off and give you a big load squawk letting you know they aren't happy. But they both went into hunting mode, and fished the same bank. Little things like this are memorable to me. I used to fish, and couldn't tell you what was around me. Now, I am always looking at the environment for clues to help me pattern the fish. Right now, I have a theory that as the lake drops down further it is displacing crawfish from their homes. All your ramps, chunky rock banks, and the like which have protected areas for crawfish are coming out of the water. So I am fishing the usual green pumpkin red flake soft plastics, and crawfish colors on baits. Don't know if it is working, but I'm catching fish. The night bite is better than the day bite, but with the cooler water temps the fish are feeding so much more. I'm so lucky to have my fishing Buddy, to teach me things I never thought of. He brought up a good point this week. With the high winds, we might not even notice the lake turn. I think it's possibly done, but I would have to go out and do some graphing to see what the thermocline looks like. There's a scum on the water, when the wind blows but it looks like the stuff that was growing on the rocks, and layered on the clay banks. With the high winds beating up the clay banks, the lake is getting stained pretty bad. I will let you know that if you like to bass fish, just go out and idle from any ramp down the banks, and take pictures of the rock piles, points, isolated items on the banks, old concrete structures, etc. When the water goes up, you will know where to fish, and what your fishing. That is the stuff my Mentor has shared with me about GV lake. The man is amazing, and if you ever get the chance to cross paths with him on the lake you will meet a gentle giant who will point you exactly to where the fish should be.
But seriously, put a little extra gas in the boat and throw some snacks in the boat and look around, you will be surprised at what you see. If the lake drops 3 more feet, be very careful around Rock Ledge Park. The point is about 5-6 ft on top and will be dangerous if it gets lower.

Anyhoo, I've rambled enough and need to get back to work. Take care all, and please don't be afraid to throw out any tips on this thread. I am very appreciative to all who post reports. I'm always happy to answer questions, just be patient as I don't always notice the instant message alert.

Prosise

Great fish and thanks for the update.

More sound proof that big fish can be caught on deeper structure and not pounding the bank ?

Food for thought, before Tuesday my top three bass caught on GV were caught over 400 yards from the bank while I was sandbass fishing. (7-8.1 lbs range). So you are making a good statement.

My fishing Mentor took this picture yesterday, there is a widow maker floating around insecured on the lower end. If ai see it on Sunday, I will tie it up along the bank somewhere with mule tape. If you are like me, who goes out way before sunrise, this could be very dangerous. Wear those life jackets, and kill switch at night. I split a sheet of plywood once at about 40mph at night, and it was violent. Never saw the item, but was lucky it was waterlogged. Luckily It was more of a corner hit. But be careful, and watch for this TX iceberg. If anyone decides it, I will repay you with any rope that was used. This is looking at the dam from the north bank. There's a championship tournament on GV today, weigh-in is closed at 2:40pm at Katy woods ramp if you want to see some heavy hitters bringing in fish

Need someone with some vintage to tell me what this is. Me and my son walked some banks on the upper end of the lake yesterday. The point south of the beach goes very far out. On a shell bed I found some "lever-ite" in a small location. Lever-ite is something you leaver-ite where you found it. But I found this tool, that looks like it had a wood handle, and something that you might use to grab or pull something. It was next to some horse shoes, and old metal rings possibly for horse tach.

The "thing"







Nice deer



Old concrete bridge in Marshall Branch (just south of the beach)

Neat thread.

I'm going to guess it is a hoof pick. Since you found it next to horse shoes and it has a similar end to the hoof picks we used when we had our horse property in west Flower Mound.

The other piece with the big loop looks like it may be part of a horse bit or part of a driving halter .

The part has an opening like a hammer does for a handle. It's the same part multiple views

I texted my nephew, he and his GF raise, train horses

Maybe a hook for grabbing square bales by the wire

Head of an old Pickaroon, used to move logs.

New to the forum, but have been kayak fishing Grapevine Lake pretty heavy the last few months. Primarily using the Lakeview non-motorized launch on the southeast side of the lake and pounding the bank. Managed to hook into a nice one on Saturday morning cruising around some rocks in shallow water. Unfortunately, no scale, just lucky to have the Ketch board.

That is a fat one! Nice fish. I also kayak fish the the Vine a good deal. Never used that ramp, did not even know it was there until I saw this post. I usually launch at Merrell or have been going out of Rockledge park but I have to drag my yak and gear a good 30 yards to the water... but it gives me good access to the damn where I have done pretty well the last time I went.

Weather depending I might get out there Friday and give it a go.

Again props on the big one and thanks for sharing!

Rockledge looks like an awesome spot to put in and fish the dam. I haven’t ventured that far yet, I’ve stuck to the rocky banks and boat houses on the south side of the lake. Good luck on Friday, hopefully the weather will hold off long enough to at least get a few hours in on the water! I’m planning on going Saturday morning, weather permitting, then bundling up and hitting it hard next week.

Dude, good job. That's a really good fish.. Night bite was good until the rain came , when the lake settles down give it a try.

We got a doozy of a rain storm last night. If you ever want to get rain data from around your area, you can goto and internet browser and type in (aprs.fi). It will show you a map of the United States, just move around the map to find your location. Zoom in until you can see the area, and all of the small blue circles which are labeled (WX). Some report rain data, some do not. These are individuals which have weather stations that report wx data via the aprs system. I'm a ham radio operator, and this is something in the amateur radio hobby. We have several locations on the upper end of Grapevine lake reporting 4+ inches of rain last night. The creeks around the town look like the Colorado River. Lake should get a good top off this week, and if it fills up will have miles of banks up into bushes that have grown since the lake has gone down. If you like to catch catfish, you should goto trophy club Park and see if you can get a line out. This is when the big cats are caught. Me and Mason caught many nice catfish in the past when we have had rain like this when Denton Creek was rolling. Anyhoo, take care all. I fished Sun, Tues, and Wed for the green fish and it was a little off. Caught some decent fish, and allot of gaspergoo (drum). Me and my fishing Mentor fished yesterday, and tinkered with sandbass some but it was slow. Some bird action at the mouth of Scott's Marina outside the main point in 12-15ft, but they were moving so fast it's not worth it. Just hunker down and pick a spot, I tapped the boat with my foot to simulate the thumper but it was tough to do. The water in Scotts landing yesterday looked like chocolate milk from the previous day. I'm expecting that the upper end will loaded with timber, and debris from Denton Creek flushing out. Tuesday I dragged the giant tire that escaped one of the marinas over and secured it to the bank. We saw a boat from one of the marinas dragging it back to it's home yesterday, so that is something that will not become a hazard. Take care all, and will get out on Sunday to check out the lake.

APRS.FI screenshot




Escaped Tire captured






Video from 2020. Here is one of the most memorable fishing trips me and Mason had fishing the mouth of grapevine lake in Denton Creek. You can see my truck parked in the background. We were tied up to a bush, the lake was about 5 ft over full level at that time.

Grapevine Lake is full. I went to Trophy Club park and checked out the boat ramp. Crossed paths with a father/son going out in a John boat, but they didn't have any life jackets. I went home and got them three jackets, so they could go out safely. Denton Creek is not somewhere you need to be on right now, considering the flow moving right now. Then went to Meadomere ramp. The gate is still locked from when the lake was low, I asked Dom (at Meadomere park) to check on it. Lake is warm, and the wind is high. I wasn't mad at them today, and I'm glad I stayed home.

Trophy Club Park ramp





Meadowmere Ramp


Meadowmere Park



Looking out from Meadomere park

Good decision on your part , glad to see and hear someone looking out for another !

Decided that I was tired of staying cooped up in the house so I would brave the elements and get the kayak out yesterday afternoon. Suited up in enough layers to look like the Michelin Man, got out to the lake, threw on my life jacket, and started paddling. 10 minutes later I was back at the truck, loading up, ready to go home. Needless to say, not the best conditions to be paddling around looking for the green fish, lol. Better safe than sorry!

I didn't fish Sunday, or Monday due to the cold WX. First time in over a year I didn't get out, but winds were 20+ on Sunday, and 30+ on Monday which made it a no-go. I got out Tuesday for about 5 hours, and had a great day. Lake is full and there is vegetation in the water everywhere. I will add a few pictures I took from the sides of Katy Woods ramp. I still do not know if the gate at Meadomere ramp is open. If anyone drives by that ramp please let me know. I caught some good sandbass over near Rock Ledge park on a 5xd in about 15ft of water bumping the rocks. Good Sandies were just sitting on the drop in ambush mode. I have been catching good bass in the areas I catch gaspergoo (freshwater drum) all summer, so if your fishing and you catch a drum slow down. These areas have been good for me, the drum are there for a reason and they are a great fighter. Anyhoo, still have two more days of work and then I will be back out looking around. After the water rises I like to find the debris piles, and look for lures and other items that are concentrated in the mass of floating debris. I haven't been up the lake yet, but will check on the mid lake area this week. BTW, if anyone needs anchors, or rope let me know. I have a few that need homes and I have high end anchors that I will sell at a very reasonable price.
Lastly, the heavy rains raised the lake about 5ft, and all the cool rock structures are covered up. Hopefully some of you had a chance to get out on the water to see the rock piles. The lake has turned, and with the heavy rains we got a good flush of good water to help with the turning. I launched at Katy Woods and idled around graphing. I saw mega schools of fish (Sandies) and (bait) in 30+ ft down by the area between the dam and silver lake. First time I have seen the fish down that deep without seeing a defined thermocline. The two days of north winds blowing right into this area stacked up bait along the south Banks on the lower end. When I launched at Katy I also graphed bait balls up near the ramp and dock so bait is everywhere. So try and find the mass of bait, and then check the closest goto spots in that area. I saw groups of 3-4 birds erratically working the surface from noon, until the time I left around 4pm (out in the center of the lake). I didn't go out and check on them. Take care all, and be safe.

Prosise





Area along the sides of Katy woods ramp

maybe part of a hame?

I went bank fishing at Murrel park on the 2nd and 3rd trying to get catfish. Was able to net some shad on the high water ramp. Not a lot but enough. Caught 2 dinky channel cats there a gaspergoo on the 2nd. On the 3rd I caught one dinky catfish in that same spot.

Hoping to change my luck on the 4th I went bank fishing over by Scotts landing....one dinky catfish, again.

Could not get any shad at Scotts from the bank but had some chicken breast and a few shad from the day before. The chicken breast seems to get about as much attention as the shad. All of those trips I was using big baits and big hooks, getting a lot of bites but very few hook ups. I could see the bite marks out of my shad from the little bitty catfish hitting them.

Not sure this helps much... other than what NOT to be trying now lol. All three of those days were too windy or I had too short of window to take the kayak and try to get to some better spots.

Anyways, good luck fellas! Tight lines!

Need other set of eyes. This was caught on Grapevine and it looks like a hybrid to me. Wasn't me, but a friend took this. Mr R knows hybrid/Sandies/stripers and pinged me for my opinion.


What do you think.

looks like a hybrid to me. pros will be along shortly.

Hybrid, the easy way to tell is the stripes are broken above the lateral line. Also the pectoral fin is more rounded.

Would be Interesting to know how it got there....

It is for sure a hybrid... Where in the heck would that had come from?

Unless it found some way up into the lake by coming up the spillway when it was flooding... but how long ago was water going over the spillway last? Maybe it ran up Hickory Creek from Lewisville and then got into Denton Creek? I dont see anywhere those two connect but maybe in high water?

Mystery.

Hybrids have been in Grapevine since at least the early 80's. We used to troll for them using a long A deep diver with a 3" grub trailer on a single hook.

100% hybrid. Elm Fork from Lewisville connects with Denton Creek that connects with Grapevine. That's a LONG swim but could happen???? I've caught hundreds of sandies (a drop in the bucket compared to Prosise!) from Grapevine over the years and never a hybrid.

But if they cannot reproduce... the last stocking was 1982. That is a 40 year old hybrid?

Probably came from Bridgeport upstream which has them

My guess is someone had them introduced to their stock pond and spillway or overflow into a creek that feeds GV. Seems like a few years back someone in NTx said they stocked in their pond but could be wrong, not sure if even legal.

About 6 years ago caught 2 guys dumping fish into Grapevine, they were Hybrids from Lewisville. They said they wanted to start Hybrids in Grapevine.. Took Tx # and turned into GW. They were to stupid to know they can't reproduce.and it isn't the first time.

I have been fishing Grapevine since 1974 and I have never caught or seen a Hybrid there. I remember when they released walleyes in the late 70's and because we caught some fry in a net and we asked the game warden what type of fish we had in our bucket, and he said walleye and dumped them back in Denton creek. The 82' stocking didn't take or if there was any size to them, they were kept and filleted. Maybe TPWD lost interest in GV after that.

They are still stocking LMB and SMB so they are interested. Its tough to get walleyes going this far south. I am surprised they even tried it back then. I could have told you that was not going to work.

Fished yesterday from 4am-3pm. Chased green fish until about noon. Looked around the lake and noticed differences in water clarity. I will add map below. I looked up the lake on the humps and they were ghost towns. Lots of bait seen, and birds here and there. All the Sandbass I found that were cooperating were in 30-35 ft. Anything shallower for me didn't want to play. I did not look shallower than 20ft, so fish could be up shallower in areas but I didn't go into them. I found fish just North-East of the island (by dove ramp). 30-35 ft with the medium size Cordell spoon, with a smaller hook. (Prob 60 fish in 90min) 50% were under the others were 11-12". Spoon size was the 3/8 oz 2" med, they didn't want the bigger size spoon. Dead sticking, and vertical jigging was almost useless and a cast and drag technique was the best. They are glued to the bottom and not that active. Think the bait making contact with the bottom help them find it with the sound. Also used the chartreuse hey bud spinner, and it worked good. Saw some usual suspects out, but only talked to Mr R who was visiting GV.

Lake water color
1. Cleanest water
2. Greenish
3. Cloudy




Hump I found fish on (NE of the island) Note: navionics android app is the only map that I have found which shows all the small humps on the lake.

Great report. I was out Sunday afternoon and I had one set of humps in 21 ft that were active early and that was it for me. There was someone on that hump by the island and so I tried east of the island but nothing. I went to sandbass point and I was shallow 15 'to 20' and caught 1 short sandie and a 2 lb crappie. all were on 5/8" to 3/4" slabs. Total was maybe 50 fish in 3 hours. Only half a dozen were keepers.

Bass, Palmetto 1982 87,000
Bass, Palmetto 1979 74,390
Bass, Palmetto 1978 36,400 The original cross for hybrids stocked these years in Grapevine. If you remember Crappie fishing before this . it was fantastic. I caught my 3 1/2 pounder in 82 after that it was all downhill after that.

I recall my neighbor catching some Hybrids on Grapevine around 1980 and now that you mention this I do recall good crappie fishing in Grapevine from mid to late 70's.
We caught a lot of slab size crappie in Twin Coves and SilveLlake back then and actually lot of black bass schooling during that time with the sandbass.

I agree. Crappie fishing suck out there now!

Yeah, well GV had hydrilla type grasses and other grasses growing all over the place back then also.

Crappie fishing is actually good, just plan on 2-3 per brush pile and move to the next brush waypoint. I have FFS scanned all banks from the beach to the dam on both sides. Over 300 brush waypoints and some hold more fish than others. The brush on the north banks from the dam to Murrell have the bigger ones for me, but the isolated brush piles out in the open water are the gold mines. But I have noticed a few brush piles which hold good fish. There are a few suspects that plant hay bags, and those are hidden treasures.

Fished yesterday for the green fish, took a break at noon and looked at the humps on the upper end. The humps north of the crusher had fish on them but only caught a couple vertically jigging. Very large schools of fish were below the boat, but they just would bite. I didn't scale down my spoon, which prob would have helped. Casting out and dragging it back did well, and I was using a double rig. Also caught some with a 6xd bumping the top of the hump. Bait is in the creeks, and in the mouths of them. Meadomere is saturated all the way back to the ramp. Didn't go down the lake, really nice day out and I caught some good fish. Water temp is 55-57 F.

Great Post !

I'm putting a bow on this thread, as I will start chasing the green fish 100% of the time until the Sandbass start their spring dance party. I really had fun this year, and really appreciate all the reports added by people. Don't hesitate to add something if you run across them out there.

I fished mid lake and up only yesterday. Water is 55-56 degrees in the Meadomere area. Water is stained from the high winds this week, and kinda cloudy. Probably 6-8 inches visibility mid lake out in open water.
I found a monster school on the humps north of the crusher yesterday. Fish were stuck to the bottom like glue, and vertical jigging was pointless. I was just spot checking, but a small spoon, or inline spinner would prob whack them. Not much bait seen in the 0-18ft range, looks like it's all down deeper on main lake. Lots of bait in the creeks. I did catch some casting out, and working it back slowly.

Hope everyone has safe holiday travels, and a Merry Christmas..

Prosise

Thank you Prosise for all your input! I will try some dead sticking next week and see if they will respond.

Don't use Ferris. There is a steel post about 2ft under the water surface out in front of the floating dock. Beware

Prosise-thank you again for a great season of reports and details. I know you've made my fishing on Grapevine significantly better. Your willingness to share pictures and exact locations is not something you see too often on here. The side trips up the river in a canoe or metal detecting have always been a nice change of pace. Happy holidays to you and your family. See you out on the water next year!

I contacted Morgan Daily with (Grapevine Parks & Rec). She said they will communicate the problem, and try and get it resolved. They do not have a boat, which is strange. But they said they would try and work with the marina to get it removed. They are building a dock about 50 yards away from this area for the marina, and they have a crane on hand.

ALso> I noticed yesterday that the dam spillway is not surrounded by buoys.


Straight out from the floating dock at Farris Branch public ramp there is a round metal pipe about 16" under the water surface. Will likely hurt your boat/prop if you hit it. I saw it on FFS, which was lucky.

Hey Prosise, really enjoyed your adventures in 2023 on Grapevine.

Hope to be out on the that lake several times in 2024 and bump (figuratively) into you.

Merry Christmas and tight lines.

+1 Very good thread with lots of great information hoping prosie starts another one like this in 2024.

Just wanted to share that if you are looking to do some bank fishing for catfish I had some good luck out there recently catching eater blues and some smallish channel cats fishing the bank near the ramp at Murrell park.

There were some shad around shallow and I was able to net a few big threadfins and tried those for bait BUT the fish were not hitting those... it was the good old chicken breast with strawberry jello that they were into.

I kept two of the blue cats for a nice little fish fry and let the rest go. Caught a total of 6 blues and 4 channels in about 3 hours. So pretty decent action for me when it comes to bank fishing cats in the winter!

Merry Christmas yall and looking forward to another fun thread on fishing our little urban jem that is lake Grapevine!

Vintage Record player at my family gathering.