March in Texas means white bass (a.k.a. Sand Bass) in Texas. Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. (TPWD) published an article about the white bass run. It said, “Due to the dry summer, some rivers and reservoirs in Texas are currently experiencing low water levels and low flows, which could impact the timing of the white bass run.” So, Texas BHA contacted anglers statewide to get their spawn report for the upcoming spring fishing season.

DFW – Nathan Clinkscales is an angler in the DFW area who specifically targets white bass on the fly. Nathan fishes the white bass spawn yearly and says the spawn is close. “If water temps jump another five degrees, it will be on. Fish are stacking in the mouths of creeks along the sandy flats, just waiting,” said Nathan. He added that he predicts the spawning peak around his area to be the third week of March. Nathan suggests throwing a chartreuse or white clouser minnow for white bass in his area.

Greater Houston Area – Chris Smith from Houston said the white bass spawn is about to kick off. He has been fishing for the last few weeks. It’s been colder with water temps in the upper 40s; warmer temperatures next week will kick off the spawn. Right now, real spotty in random holes. Chris is fishing black/chartreuse or chartreuse/white roadrunners on ultralight rods.

Central Texas – Grahame Jones, a fishing guide in the Austin area, said he is seeing some good pre-spawning activity with fish stacking up in the mouths of creeks. People are catching a decent amount of white bass on small crankbaits.  He mentioned the lower water levels across the Hill Country but believed the spawn was knocking on the door. “It will really depend a lot on river flow and spring rain.”, he said. He stated that the ideal water temp he is looking for is 55-60 degrees to get the spawn ramped up and thinks the peak spawn for central Texas might be the 3^rd or 4^th week of March this year. Grahame hinted at fishing the spawn with a lot of walk-in access on creeks around Lake Summerville. He also mentioned that his favorite flies to throw for white bass are small rabbit hair clouser minnows.

North Texas – After talking with several anglers in and around north Texas, it seems cooler temps have kept the spawn from really kicking off. Wichita Falls’ Ryan Reed said it would take real water warm-up in the lakes for the spawn to kick off. He thinks it could be a few weeks away, with the peak coming around the third week of March. It seems rattle traps are the go-to in North Texas.

These are just a few reports from fellow BHA members across the state. If you are looking for more reports in your area, you can always check the TPWD Fish Report page. We hope you’re excited about what seems to be the start of a great spring spawn season in Texas. If you want to submit a spawn report from your local area, email us at [email protected].