Crisp Cool Front Triggers Hot Rayburn Bite - Largemouths, Crappie Limits & More for This October Friday

Good morning y’all, this is Artificial Lure with your Lake Sam Rayburn fishing report for Friday, October 24, 2025, comin’ to you before the sun even cracks the horizon. Weather this mornin’ feels a tad damp with showers rollin’ through, keepin’ the high around 71, droppin’ to the mid-60s overnight. The day’ll stay mostly overcast and cooler than we’ve seen in weeks—a nice break after that unusually warm October Texas’s had, according to North Texas e-News, with a little north breeze cuttin’ the humidity and makin’ it downright pleasant on the water. Sunrise was right at 7:17 AM, and sunset’s lookin’ to hit around 7:37 PM. The moon’s just a sliver—a 10% waxing crescent—and it won’t affect things much today. Water temps are sittin’ right around 63 degrees, and the lake’s about 1.8 feet low—makes the shallows more productive since the fish are bunchin’ up in the cover that’s left exposed. The water’s got a light stain, which is perfect for throwing those darker lures so the fish can zero in. With this cool front knockin’ on the door, the bass bite’s really perked up. Mornings have produced some fine largemouths, with reports over the past few days seeing healthy numbers brought in, plenty in the 2–5 pound class, and a couple of folks lucked into a 7 and an 8-pounder just off the creek channels near the main lake points. The best action’s still from first light up to about 11 a.m., then pickin’ up again late in the afternoon. Top baits this week: folks are catching ‘em shallow, between 3-8 feet, on Texas rigs with green pumpkin or junebug brush hogs, black/blue senkos, and lizards. Carolina rigs with watermelon red flukes are also bringing in steady numbers around brush piles. Later in the day, switch over to squarebill crankbaits in chartreuse, or throw a white spinnnerbait if there’s a little wind on the points. That frog bite is still hanging on in the remaining flooded bushes—so if you’re on the edge of a cove with leftover grass, don’t sleep on a white or natural pad-crasher. For y’all hunting crappie, things have really picked up since last week. They’re stacking up on the timber in 6 to 12 feet, hitting best on chartreuse and white jigs, with a few nice slabs coming on minnows. If you anchor up off the Angelina River bridge or hit the submerged timber north of the 147 crossing, you’ll pull a limit in short order. Catfish are still good after dark and on overcast days along rocky banks and river bends—fresh cut shad or punch bait is the ticket. Some locals pulled in blue cats to 10 pounds earlier this week. Hot spots you don’t wanna miss: Veach Basin’s loaded with shad and bass are right behind them. Five Fingers is another winner, especially close to those deeper drops by the timber. If you want to get away from the crowd, try the mouth of Harvey Creek—folks have been quietly stacking up crappie limits there most mornings. Don’t forget, prime fish activity today looks best between 5:05–7:05 a.m. and again 5:36–7:36 p.m.—timed right fo This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.