This is Artificial Lure reporting from the heart of East Texas, bringing you the latest from Sam Rayburn Reservoir and the surrounding Angelina hills on Friday, September 12, 2025.
Anglers woke to a cool September dawn with sunrise at roughly 7:05 a.m., skies partly cloudy—perfect conditions to wet a line early. Today expect highs in the upper 80s, humidity steady, and a gentle southern breeze keeping things comfortable on the water according to local forecasts. A hint of drizzle swept the area overnight, but visibility and boat traffic are prime. Moon phase is waning, giving us average solunar activity for the day. Major fishing periods are in the mid-morning and late afternoon, with the best bite window around 7:50–8:50 a.m. and again 10:03–11:03 p.m.—if you’re hitting the night bite, don’t forget your headlamp.
Recent catches have shown Sam Rayburn is still king for lunker largemouth and solid numbers of crappie and catfish. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, largemouth bass up to 16.8 lbs and channel cat up to 12+ lbs live in these waters, with recent reports of bass up to 5–6 lbs pulled this week and a healthy mix of 2–3 lb fish coming from brush piles and creek ledges. White and spotted bass remain steady, with anglers catching them on main lake points, and the deeper humps are holding hybrids and some blue cats. Crappie are starting to school tighter on brush and bridge pylons, with some slabs exceeding 2 lb appearing in the morning buckets. Bowfin and drum are biting for those throwing cut bait and big plastics near grassy flats.
Bait choices—nothing’s changing for Sam Rayburn fall patterns. The hottest lures this week include black-blue jigs pitched to laydowns and stumps in 10–15 ft, chartreuse and white spinnerbaits in the lower creeks with slightly stained water, and soft plastics—particularly Junebug and Watermelon Red worms Texas-rigged or fished wacky-style in the troughs. Topwater action is still alive early and late—try walking baits or poppers near flooded grass for explosive strikes. Crappie are hammering on live minnows and small shad-pattern jigs, while catfish anglers should stick to cut shad, chicken liver, or stinkbaits on slip rigs for the best numbers.
Forward-facing sonar (FFS) continues to be the hottest tech on the lake, helping tournament anglers find suspended bass and schoolers out on main lake flats. But don’t discount old-school tactics—power fishing shallow remains just as effective in this early fall transition.
For September 12, your best bets for fish concentrations:
- **Caney Creek arm:** Try the creek mouth and brush piles in 14–18 ft, especially the northern channel swings.
- **Jackson Hill area:** The timber and old roadbeds have been giving up chunky largemouth, with crappie biting well on bridge columns at first light.
- **Veach Basin:** Main lake points and submerged humps are holding schools of hybrids and decent catfish.
Local story: One pair of East Texas boys landed a limit of bass just under 12 pounds this week fishing bladed swim jigs along grass edges in shallow water before noon. For a big bite, grab your biggest black-blue jig and hit deeper timber during the afternoon lull—a few monster bass have come from 20–22 ft this week, particularly where water temps dipped after those overnight showers.
Look for stained water stacking up after those breezy afternoons—bass are chasing shad and perch, making reaction baits a solid choice. Brush pile crappie are starting to hit harder as water temps cool off, and the shad migration is heating up. Catfish remain steady back in the creek arms; night fishing is excellent as temperatures drop.
That wraps it for today’s Lake Sam Rayburn fishing report. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for up-to-date local angling advice, and good luck out there on the bite!
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