Artificial Lure here with your Sam Rayburn fishing report.

The big lake is sliding into that true winter pattern now, with cool, damp air, light north to northeast breeze most of the day, and a mix of clouds and filtered sun keeping things on the chilly side. Expect a cool start, slowly warming through the afternoon, with enough breeze to put a chop on the main lake but not so much that you can’t run. Sunrise is right around 7 in the morning with sunset coming a little after 5, so you’ve got a short but productive window to work with.

Bass are in classic early-winter mode: many fish holding out off the first and second breaks, on drains, points, and channel swings close to spawning pockets, with a few stragglers still roaming the backs of creeks around remaining bait. Look for birds working and balls of shad on your electronics; when you find the bait, you’ll usually find bass stacked close by. Numbers have been good more than giant-heavy, with plenty of solid keepers and the occasional big girl if you grind.

Best baits right now are shad and craw imitators that get down to those mid-depth fish. Think medium- to deep-diving crankbaits in shad or chartreuse patterns, Carolina-rigged worms and creature baits, football jigs dragged slow on hard spots, and Alabama rigs slow-rolled through suspended bait schools. On calmer, clearer stretches, a flutter spoon or underspin around timber and creek-channel edges will still get hammered. If the wind pushes you shallow, a lipless crank ripped through grass edges can fire up a school in a hurry.

Crappie anglers are doing well on brush piles and deeper timber, picking off nice slabs with small jigs and minnows fished just above the fish marked on sonar. Catfish action stays steady on main-lake ledges and under bird activity, with cut shad and punch bait producing good boxes. You’ll also see some white bass schooling deep over structure; small spoons and tail-spinners are the ticket when they show on the graph.

A couple of hot spots to keep on your list: the main-lake points and creek mouths near the 147 bridge have been giving up solid bass, especially where timber meets a clean break. Down south, the mid-lake humps and channel swings out from Five Fingers and Harvey Creek are still holding good groups of fish if you’re willing to slow down and grind a jig or Carolina rig. Focus on that 12–25 foot range, adjust to where you’re seeing bait, and let your electronics be your guide.

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