Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Blog

Now we enter into lure season, at least for me. Each year, when cold weather arrives, the bait leaves the Little Mineral arm of the lake and moves into deep water or up river making it a long haul for me if I want to catch bait. Rather than fight it, I simply switch to lures, and since the big fish seem to prefer them in the winter anyway it makes for an easy decision. This is the time of year I love to fish the most, there not as much pressure and catching big fish becomes more consistent. My passion is putting my clients on big fish, and now is the time to get them. 

During this time, patterns are more consistent and reliable for me. I stick with a 5” glow sassy shad on an 1 ½ oz head and rarely if ever change from it. The fish will either be at “home” our out chasing a meal. Each day when I get out, the birds let me know if they are out feeding or sitting at home. Home consists of hundreds of locations all over the lake where fish hold reliably on a daily basis this time of year on some sort of structure in 15-30 ft of water or so. The best spots are where you find structure on top of structure like a brush pile on top of the river ledge or in a creek channel. The fish hold to these locations in tight schools like pods along the bottom. Knowing where these are and marking them on your GPS is a great advantage because you are not looking for the fish and motoring over them trying to set up. I set up a drift over the mark and fish drift over it maybe catch one or two or six or nothing and move on to the next spot. Usually unless the fish are really stacked on a spot and biting well, I never make a second pass, they bite better on the first pass and there are enough spots around the lake so I keep moving making a circle around the area of the lake I choose to fish that day.

It’s best to cast into the wind because as the boat drifts it is pulling your lure with it so the retrieve is slower allowing the lure to stay in the strike zone for a much longer period. On your cast let the lure free spool to the bottom before beginning your retrieve, you will want to reel just fast enough to keep the lure just off the bottom. Occasionally change the speed of your retrieve slowing it down until you feel it bump the bottom and then speeding it back up. I even let it free spool back to the bottom at times as the lure gets closer to the boat. This change of speed and letting it hit bottom is how I trigger a lot of strikes.

I tend to fish this pattern until the end of March, but the one thing I have learned about the fish is that the only constant is change so you never know. Right now my books are open and awaiting eager fishermen who want to be connected with a big fish. The weather looks beautiful for the rest of the week so it looks like a great time to come give it a try. I do not have any set rates, come fishing with me as friends and give what feels right or what you can afford after the trip is over. I’ll be grateful for whatever you choose to give. Book your trip online at www.stripersinc.com or give me a call anytime at (903)815-1609 and I’ll get you set up.

Your friend,
Brian Prichard
Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Guide
Stripers Inc.
www.stripersinc.com
(903)815-1609