Texas is blessed with more surface-acres of impounded water than is any other state. It has 15 major river basins and thousands of miles of streams. Add several hundred miles of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, and you have the closest thing to an angler's paradise that you're ever likely to find.

Without a doubt, Texas' waters offer some of the finest fishing available anywhere in the lower 48. Every month of the year offers myriad fishing opportunities; here are just a few of the very best.

JANUARY
Crappie
East Texas Lakes
When white dogwood blossoms begin to appear among the pines of East Texas, it's crappie time. But the tasty panfish, which can be found in many East Texas lakes, can be caught earlier. And fishing for them sometimes brings a surprise bonus: The state record largemouth bass -- 18.18 pounds -- was caught by an angler fishing for crappie at Lake Fork on Jan. 24.

Tucked away in the pines about 100 miles east of Dallas, Lake O' The Pines doesn't get as much press as does its neighbor to the west, but its crappie fishing is well worth a trip, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Tim Bister. "Anglers have good success fishing along the Big Cypress Creek channel in deep water near the dam," he said. "You'll catch mostly black crappie, but when you catch a white crappie, it will usually be a larger fish. Both jigs and live minnows work well."

As is normal in crappie fishing, you'll usually catch a bunch if you catch one. Crappie on Lake O' The Pines are managed under a special regulation from Dec. 1 through the end of February. Because of the depths at which fish are caught during winter, survival of culled fish would be low, so anglers are required to keep every crappie caught up to the daily bag limit of 25.

FEBRUARY
Blue Catfish
Lake Waco
Blue catfish tend to gang up and suspend in deeper water during the winter months, making them hard to target -- unless you know how. TPWD biologist John Tibbs uses a special jug-fishing rig to catch good numbers of blues.

"The jug must be white to comply with TPWD regulations," he explained. "Use a 1-pound weight on the end of a line long enough to reach the bottom. Space two or three hooks about 3 feet apart on 1-foot stagings attached to the main line with swivels.

"The actual depth at which you will attach the hooks varies. I usually try to 'sample' the entire water column, so in 25 feet of water, I might set the hooks from 5 feet off the bottom to within 5 feet of the surface. Use a clip or rubber band to adjust the length of the main line so there is little slack; this will result in more hookups."

To avoid hangups, Tibbs advises, set jugs out on a flat near a creek channel with as few snags or stumps as possible in the area.

MARCH
White Bass
Sabine River
Given the widespread presence of white bass (also called "sand bass" or "sandies") throughout Texas, it's hard to believe that they once were native only to Caddo Lake. Biologists transplanted 13 fish into Lake Dallas (now within Lake Lewisville) in 1932, other such introductions followed, and now the small but feisty fighters are found virtually all over the state.

Probably nowhere in Texas do white bass consistently grow larger than in the Sabine River, and the section of river from below Longview to the Louisiana state line furnishes the best chance to fill a stringer. The fish will generally be 15 to 17 inches long. You may need help holding up a stringer for photos, as 3-pounders are commonplace there.