LAKE MURVAUL

SURFACE AREA: 3,397 acres

MAXIMUM DEPTH: 36 feet IMPOUNDED: 1958

LAKE MURVAUL HAS LONG BEEN A popular destination for largemouth bass anglers. It has been a solid trophy bass producer since the 1960s, and Florida strain stockings in the 1990s have kept the quality high.

The lake also offers excellent channel catfish and crappie action.

Artificial fish habitat has been placed throughout the lake. See this symbol... ...on the map).

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Topwater Lures like the Zara Spook and Grandebass Airtail Wiggler on a shakey head

SOURCE: Lance Vick 903-312-0609 www.guideonlakefork.com

TIPS: September on Lake Fork is fun due to the fact fish school on the surface quite a bit. Nothing gets people fired more than a bass chasing bait on the surface. So have your favorite popper or Zara spook ready to throw. Start looking in the backs of major creeks for this action. Birch and Little Chaney Creeks, for instance, are great places to start. If the topwater action is slow a Grandebass Airtail Wiggler on a shakey head fished on hard bottom spots like points and roadbeds should get the trick done. Good fishing all!

LOCATION: Lake Houston

HOTSPOT: River Bend

GPS: N 29 56.741, W 95 9.542 (29.9457, -95.1590)

LOCATION: Lake Murvaul

HOTSPOT: The Spillway

GPS: N 32 1.607, W 94 24.869 (32.0268, -94.4145)

LOCATION: Lake O the Pines

HOTSPOT: Dam Schooling Area

GPS: N 32 45.234, W 94 30.319 (32.7539, -94.5053)

SPECIES: White Bass

BEST BAITS: Minnows, spoons

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/FishGameGear

TIPS: Fish live minnows or spoons on spider rig

LOCATION: Lake Livingston

HOTSPOT: The Pocket

GPS: N 30 55.662, W 95 15.054 (30.9277, -95.2509)

SPECIES: Crappie

BEST BAITS: Minnows

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/FishGameGear

TIPS: Minnows, look for brushpiles around spillway poles; dawn, morning, dusk

LOCATION: Lake Nacogdoches

HOTSPOT: Island Cove Point

GPS: N 31 37.825, W 94 48.986 (31.6304, -94.8164)

SPECIES: White Bass

BEST BAITS: Minnows, RatLTraps

SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 903-938-1007

TIPS: Fish minnows or silver RatLtraps. Look for surface action in the creek. Dawn through midday.

LOCATION: Lake Pinkston

HOTSPOT: Point #5

GPS: N 31 42.708, W 94 21.331 (31.7118, -94.355517)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics and jigs

SOURCE: David S. Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602 www.palmettoguideservice.com

TIPS: Flip docks, lay downs, boat houses and rocks with Charlie’s June Bug 6 inch Gecko and Charlie’s 1/4 oz. Green Pumpkin Swimming Jig tipped with Charlie’s Chunk Green Pumpkin Blue Flake.

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Crankbaits

SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 409-698-9114

TIPS: This is a good night spot all summer. The action is best dawn and night.

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Jigs, plastics

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/fishgamegear

TIPS: Fish hydrilla inside and out on the point; best fishing at dawn through the morning, and at dusk.

LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn

HOTSPOT: Warsaw Hump

GPS: N 31 15.278, W 94 19.702 (31.2546, -94.3284)

SPECIES: White bass

BEST BAITS: Spoons, live minnows

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/FishGameGear

TIPS: Fish silver spoons or live minnows. Look for birds and boils.

LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend

HOTSPOT: Pendleton Bridge Area and South

GPS: N 31 26.754, W 93 45.234

(31.4459, -93.7539)

LOCATION: Lake Wright Patman

HOTSPOT: Overcup

GPS: N 33 14.257, W 94 22.173 (33.2376, -94.3696)

BEST BAITS: Brush Hogs, tubes

SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 903-938-1007

TIPS: Fish black neon Brush Hogs, white tubes. Flip & pitch; midday through afternoon.

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass

BEST BAITS: Top water lures, Rat-L-Traps, Texas rigged 10-inch worms, heavy football jigs, crankbaits

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/fishgamegear

TIPS: There will be some schooling activity with top water lures and Rat-L-Traps mostly in the south below Pendleton bridge. Also, there will most likely be some good bass action early on main lake points—5:30 am until 8:30 am and then it’s over. There will be lots of big schools of offshore bass including some giants, but you need to know and trust your electronics. The good news is if you find one of those schools they should be dependable all through the month. Try a Texas rig 10-inch worm, heavy football jigs and crankbaits that will run to 20+ feet deep.

LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend

HOTSPOT: 2x4 Hole

GPS: N 31 46.6848, W 93 49.986 (31.7781, -93.8331)

SPECIES: Largemouth bass

SPECIES: White Bass

BEST BAITS: Slab spoons, tail spinners, and RatL-Traps

SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas FishGame.com/FishGameGear using the bridge for shaded cover. Cast along the banks parallel as the fish are no more than five feet from the banks. At the time of this report, 1-8 pound fish are being caught!

TIPS: October is always a great time to be on the lake. Not much traffic, the days are getting shorter, and the water temperature is starting to fall, signaling that winter is on its way. The fish will start feeding heavy bulking up in anticipation for the coming winter season. The White Bass will start migrating to the north end main lake river channel sand bars. Concentrate on the inside river channel bends. Use your electronics to locate the bait- fish. There will usually be plenty of schooling activity in these areas.

LOCATION: Lake Belton

HOTSPOT: Westcliff Ramp

GPS: N 31 06.879, W 97 30.782 (31.1147, -97.5130)