Fishing on Lake Conroe has been fair to good depending on what you are after. The water temperature at the dam early in the morning has been running around 90 degrees according to the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA). The water at this time clear in the main lake and the level is at 200.37 feet. The City of Houston Diversion (COH) is 0 CFS, the Ground Reduction Plan (GRP) is 37.49 CFS and 0 CFS is being released from the dam according to the SJRA.
Black bass fishing has been fair to good. Fishing guide Butch Terpe said he has been out recently and fished early in the shallows around grass beds in the National Forest. Last Monday he and a friend caught 14 of which 4 were keepers and Wednesday they caught 11 and 2 were keepers. The keepers were in the 3½ pound range. Terpe said he goes out from 6:30 a.m. to around 9:30 a.m. He uses soft plastics worms fishing in 2 to 6 feet of water. Other good action can be found around riprap and docks. Crankbaits and Carolina rigged worms around submerged roadbeds, pond dams, brush and other deeper structure are doing fair.Â
Crappie fishing has settled down into what could be considered as poor. Keeper size crappie are being found in about 12 to 18 feet of water around brush, bridge pylons and other structure. Terpe said one or two can be caught in one spot and then you have to move to another. Minnows or jigs will both work.
Catfish are good on baited areas at 12 to 20 feet on creek edges and humps from around 6 to 10 AM. Terpe had three people out recently and they had 40 keepers and all ran from 1 1/2 to 3 pounds in size, which are good eating size. He uses punch bait on sponge hooks but chicken liver is also a good bait.
Hybrid Striped bass are still found chasing shad. Some anglers have had good luck trolling #13 Pet Spoons about 6 feet behind Hellbender deep diving lures 15 to 20 feet deep. A few hybrids are occasionally being caught on chicken liver with the catfish. Juvenile hybrids and white bass look very similar, so if you are not sure which you catch and they are under 18 inches long, put them back in the lake.
Large bream are good. Terpe said he went out recently and caught large bream in the shallows. Â He said they caught 30 under corks with hook and bait about 10 inches under the cork in 3 to 5 feet of water. Some are also on brush with crappie and riprap around bridges. Crickets are the best bait right now but night crawlers and meal worms are also good bait.
Butch Terpe, who works out of Stow-A-Way Marina, has made the information for this fishing report available. Â Terpe has been a full time guide for over 30 years. Â For information about his services, he can be reached at (936) 856-7080. Â For information about Stow-A-Way Marina call (936) 856-4531.
