TPWD fisheries biologists’ responses when asked for a shake down on “sleeper lakes” in their back yards.

Story and photography by Matt Williams

It’s no secret that us Texas bass anglers are spoiled and equally blessed when it comes to our fishin’ holes. I think about that pretty often.

Nacogdoches is where I call home. Texas’ oldest town is centrally located in relation to some of the best bass lakes on the planet.

Not to brag, but I can pretty much spin a bottle and take off in any direction from my driveway and be soaking a bait in a top notch bass lake in an hour or less. Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Nacogdoches, Pinkston, Kurth and Naconiche are among the local favorites around here.

Todd Driscoll is the inland fisheries biologist who rides shotgun over the East Texas gems for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Like me, Driscoll sometimes has a hard time deciding which direction he wants to go for a day of fun fishing when he’s got a fishing rig hitched to his pick-up. In fact, the fishing is so good in his neck of the woods that he had to pause and think for a minute when asked to name a “sleeper lake” or two in his district the masses often overlook.

“There are a lot of great lakes in East Texas,” Driscoll said. “If I had to name a good one that some anglers may not be aware of it would have be B.A. Steinhagen. It’s fishing really good right now.”

Also known as Dam B, the lake spans about 10,700 acres and is teeming with great habitat that sets up perfectly for old school, vegetation-on-the bank power fishing tactics like short range flipping, frogging, swim jigging and Texas rigging. In addition to hydrilla and lotus pads, anglers will find plenty of flooded timber and cypress trees in skinny water. Some of the best fishing takes place north of the US Highway 190 Crossing.

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