East Texas Lake Sam Rayburn Fishing Report: Bass, Crappie, and Catfish Bites Heating Up

Howdy folks, Artificial Lure here with your November 10, 2025, fishing report for Lake Sam Rayburn and the surrounding East Texas backwaters. It’s a warm, muggy start with the water holding steady at about 80 degrees and sitting 8.5 feet low from pool after these dry fall weeks, per the Lone Star Outdoor News’s latest update. Water is stained but still plenty fishable. Sunrise hit just after 6:40 a.m., with sunset headed your way a bit before 5:30 p.m. The air’s humid, winds are light early but picking up out of the south later—keep that in mind as midday gusts can stack up the chop real quick, especially out in the open lake. With the new moon just ticked past, we’re working slack tides—meaning mid-morning and late afternoon are your best shots at a bite whether you’re working timber, brush, or sloping flats. Threadfin shad are pushed up shallow early, pulling in the bass and crappie, but don’t sleep on those deep transitions—especially if the wind sets in. Let’s talk fishing: The bass bite’s picked up after last week’s tournament flurry. According to Major League Fishing, just days ago the offshore timber bite was rockin’—Brody Campbell and others stacked up 25-to-27 pound bags out deep, mainly on soft plastics like the Deps Sakamata Shad dropped on a 3/8-oz jighead, watching fish hold tight to deep wood. But as the wind cranks up, it’s time to shift. Justin Luetkemeyer and several others did their damage down the lake last week with Senkos, frogs, crankbaits, and jigs. That’s lining up just right with the Lone Star Outdoor News report: largemouths are fair on topwater frogs right at daylight, then transition to Senkos, crankbaits, and jigs as the sun climbs. Crappie are hanging around the brush piles; jigs are still producing, especially on standing timber in 15 to 22 feet, though they’ve scattered some with the dropping water. Catfish, meanwhile, are best on cut bait along the old river ledge or any main-lake dropoff—they’re still feeding up before winter. Best catches this past week? Those big tournament bags showed it’s possible to average 16–27 pounds per day for a 5-fish limit offshore, with some true giants landed. But if you’re fun fishing, you can expect several keepers a day with the chance at a lunker, especially at first light or in deeper timber around midday. Crappie and catfish limits remain steady for those willing to move around. According to the most recent local tournament recaps, those “weigh-in cows” are coming off the offshore vertical timber and out of protected wind pockets loaded with bait. Let’s get to baits: For largemouth, rig up topwaters like black or white frogs right at dawn near the grass, then swap to soft plastics—green pumpkin Senkos or big worms around timber. Offshore, probe that deeper brush and limbs with football jigs or swing head plastics. Crankbaits in shad or chrome patterns are good as the wind picks up. For crappie, use small chartreuse tube jigs or plain minnows. Catfish chomp best on fresh This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.