They will probably be on a post spawn pattern. They should be holding on brush in 10-15' and timber in the same depth.

RJ,
Pm sent

RJ, I used to fish this lake alot, went to college in Commerce, just down the road from the lake, and spent alot of time hunting and fishing on Cooper! In past years, the fish have already spawned out by the time you will be there! Most all the good fishing in May, was on brush piles, underwater berms along the creek channels, and of course standing timber! I will fore warn you, the crappie fishing on this lake is not what it used to be, there are many theorms or opinions on what happened to the good fishing that used ot exist on Cooper..many have said the hybrids / sandbass have over taken the lake, I personally dont buy that! About 5 years ago, during the super drought, a combination of municipal water districts pumping the lake dry, no rain for most of the summer, and extreme heat, the lake fell to almost 16 feet below conservation pool. The entire west end of the lake went dry, all the standing timber in the entire lake was out of the water, and I personally believe that there was a huge die off of shad, and the end result was devestation to the fish population! Even to this day, Cooper fluctuates in water level, and is currently almost 8 feet below conservation pool. Due to the nonstop pumping of water to the city of Irving, it seems there is a constant struggle with keeping the lake full! I have fished there numerous times since the lake re-filled from that drought year, and fished the same way, same brush piles, creeks, timber etc, and the fishing is just not the same! You used to be able to go out in the month of May, on any given day, on any brushpile on the main lake, and easily catch a limit on blue and white, or orange and chartruese jigs, but not these days, at least not for me anyway! Anyway, now that I gave you an unwanted history lesson on Cooper lake, I hope you and the family have a great stay, and catch some fish! The state parks are always nice there, lots of deer, and wildlife to see! Good fishin to you!

John

Thanks for the Info, I'll see if I can rustle something up, This is the second time Ive been there at cooper, now I can tell you where the Sandies and Hybrids are. Thats another story for later on! Thanks again for the info.

Regards
RJ

Great report John. Thanks for sharing with us.

I fished Cooper some time ago doing combo Squirrel hunting / crappie fishing trips during the HayDays and have been wanting to get back for a long time. It was fun to limit on both in the same day.

Sounds like it might be a bit more challenging, but I always enjoyed the stay.
Thanks again, Phill