What’s Biting on Lake Conroe

Grand Central Park anglers love spending the day engaged in some catch-and-release fishing on Deer Lake and Grand Lake. Paddle Lake will also be a great place to sink a line once the fish mature. For more of a challenge, there’s nearby Lake Conroe. The 22,000-acre lake is considered to be one of the best fishing spots in Texas. Check out what’s biting this spring:

Catfish

According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Fishing Report, anglers are easily hooking catfish. Drop your line in places 10 to 25 feet deep along creek channel edges and drop-offs. Local fishing guides report that circle hooks and shade, peeled shrimp or cut bait are best for luring the fish in.

Crappie

Crappie season is just getting underway. The fish are good to eat and fun to catch. Part of the sunfish family, they are also known as speckled bass, calico bass, papermouth, sauc-au-lait, and strawberry bass. Bait your hook with meal worms and nightcrawlers. Look for them on brush in 12 to 15 feet of water and the FM 1097 Bridge.

Black Bass

Warm weather is bringing black bass to the shallows to spawn. You can catch some pretty big ones right now but waiting a few weeks might net you some that are even bigger. In the summer, these fish will move into deeper waters. Anglers have been having success using plastic lures in green and orange colors.

Hybrid Striped Bass

Hybrids are a cross between a striped bass and a white bass. Right now, they are schooling in 17 to 27 feet of water. Artificial lures such as silver spoons tend to attract them. Young white bass can be mistaken for hybrids. If you catch one under 18 inches and aren’t sure which it is, throw it back. Here’s how to differentiate.

Bream

Bream swim with the crappie and there’s a good chance where you find one, you will find the other. They can get pretty large. Look for them piles in from 10 to 20 feet of water. They love to chomp on meal worms and nightcrawlers.