Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Blog

Over the past week or so, the stripers have begun to transition into their July pattern which is one of my favorite patterns of the year. The fishing can be tough and is hit and miss at times but when you get on them they are usually BIG. July is one of the best months of the year to catch big fish. I’ve had several trips in July in years past where we might only catch 20-30 fish but they all range in the 8-15 lb range. Imagine having 6 rods out, then I’ll slap the water. First one, then 2, then all the rods go down with all the drags spinning simultaneously. And when you finally get them to the boat they are all in the 10lb range. That’s July fishing at its finest. Most of the fish caught will be over 20” and we will only be able to keep 2 fish per person unless we find some small fish. Most of the fish are caught using live bait and slabs but you might get the occasional chance to have some topwater action as well but you have to be at the right place at the right time.

 

With the changing weather I’ve been burning a lot of gas to find the fish the past week. Saturday mornings are by far the toughest because there are way too many boats on the water to fish. You have to get out there early to beat the other boats to get a good fishing spot and you better pick a good one because when you have to move you can’t weed through the boats to get back on the fish. Saturday the 19^th was probably my worst day in more than a year. We went all over the lake and ended up with 3 fish. In comparison, Friday the 18^th was slow but we caught a limit, Saturday evening, we put 30 fish in the box up to 8 lbs, and Sunday morning was as good as it gets and we hammered out a 50 fish limit in 45 minutes. We caught limits the rest of the week until the next Saturday morning, the 26^th, and we only came home with 13 fish. Saturday evening I had a 3 boat trip of nearly all kids and we hammered big fish, having to throw back 20” fish up to 8 lbs. So just as a fair warning, if you want to come fishing on a Saturday morning, be prepared for some tough fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday we had a cold front blow through which sent the fish into their July pattern. As the evening bite had been better the past few days we went out at noon to find they were not biting at noon anymore. None the less, we stuck with it and after spending 7 hour on the water waiting for the fish to start biting and we ended up with 27 striper up to 8 lbs and a catfish.

 

 

Tuesday we headed out at 3:00. I spent 3 hours scouring the lake searching for the fish with only a 6” catfish to show for my efforts. The fish had left the place that I caught them the previous evening and I could not make them bite anywhere else I found them. Then, as I was running across the lake to yet another spot, I saw it, a splash, just one splash. I stopped the boat and idled over. I didn’t mark much but decided to throw anchor and give it a try as it couldn’t hurt. We drop anchor in 65ft. and by the time I get the rods out, I look back at the graph and I’m reading 25ft. The fish are so thick the graph is reading them like the bottom. ITS ON! And they are all BIG! We probably caught 20 fish with 8 of them in the 8-12 lb range and only one fish under 20”. Looks like July has come 2 days early this year!

 

 

I’m predicting that we are going to bring in a lot of big fish this next month so if you’re into trophy hunting now is the time to book your trip. If possible, try to come during the week and don’t expect to take home a lot of fillets as we might only be able to keep 2 fish per person.  You can book your trip online at www.stripersinc.com or you can call me anytime at (903)815-1609 and I’ll get you set up.

 

Your Lake Texoma Striper Guide,

Brian Prichard

Stripers Inc.

(903)815-1609