First of all I want to apologize to everyone for not issuing a report for several months. A divorce and high water has kept me away, but I intend to post regularly from now on.
The water has been as high as 10 foot above seasonal normal. Now that the water level is back to normal the water temps have been hot. This has made fishing Lake O’ the Pines difficult at best.
Crappie Fishing Report
Crappie Fishing has been sporadic at best. I have caught a few in deep water when the water was hot. I have received reports that good numbers were being caught in 20 to 30 feet of water about 18 feet down. I did some further investigation and found that most of the fisherman were using Live Scope to locate and catch fish. At the beginning of September the water temperature was around 92 degrees, too hot for a consistent bite. At the end of September the temperature was still in the high 80’s. I started catching a few Crappie under the bridges and on submerged brush. The bite was good on days that the Solar Lunar Tables were high and low on the low days. As of today (10/11/19) a strong cold front came through the area dropping air temperature from the high 80’s to the mid 40’s in 12 hours. This should reduce the lake temperature and make fishing on brush piles and bridge columns good until the Crappie go deep for winter.
Bass Fishing Report
Like the Crappie, Catching Bass has been difficult this year. In past years I cold find bass off of points and inclines every evening during the summer. I found a few this year but noting like in the past years. It appears the weather made consistent Bass fishing unreliable. I did get a few reports of fish being caught on the submerged bridges on Alley, Johnson and Hurricane creek. The most successful approach was to cast a work over the submerged bridge and work it back across. I witnessed one fisherman catch fish on several cast although the were not large fish. I did catch a 5 lb Bass on a crappie rig near a submerged brush pile last week. I suspect that cooler weather will increase the bite and make for good fishing.
Catfish Fishing Report
Unlike Bass and Crappie, the Catfish bite has remained good. I have had no problem catching Catfish almost everywhere. Some fisherman have been going out and dropping sour grain or alfalfa cubes in the water near stumps and trees and returning a little while later and catching limits of Channel Cats. Worms and Stink Bait always work well. It is hard not to catch Catfish in Lake O’ the Pines.
Lake Conditions
The water temperature is 82 to 86 degrees but I expect this to drop with the passing cold front.
The water clarity is lightly stained. On windy days it will mud up some close to shore.
The water level is 229.29. Normal seasonal elevation is 230.00.
The water release rate is 82 cubic feet per second.
This Lake O the Pines Fishing Report is done as a courtesy.
Useful Information
Place to Stay on Lake O’ the Pines, Texas
Boat Rental on Lake O’ the Pines
Lake O’ the Pines Public Access Information