Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Blog

It feels like winter outside today, 28 degrees for the low and it has finally froze the last of the annual plant life. That first hard freeze is definitely a transition period into a slower time of the year as all of the plants and reptiles withdraw their energy for the coming season. I enjoy these seasonal shifts, a new but familiar adventure as earth makes another leg of its journey around the sun; all things Christmas, pumpkin spice, and the youthful anticipation of snow, though each year is unique and different from all the years before. For Lake Texoma this means changing fish patterns and foggy mornings, the arrival of gulls, loons, and bald eagles, and it means big fish. The boat traffic subsides in the cold weather so there is little to no pressure on the fish. At times, on those nasty cold mornings, the lake will be entirely deserted of other boats. On those days it seems as though lake has been returned to nature and you find yourself a lone explorer of a watery wilderness. Those nasty cold mornings like that are always the most memorable for me. Not only is it a unique adventure just to be on the water on a cold cloudy morning as a cold front moves in but also some of my best fishing trips of my career happen on those days. If we are lucky, we will find biggest fish in the lake getting worked up in the madness of a feeding frenzy under the birds and we are the only boat on the water to experience it.

Now towards the first of January is when the big fish will be out under the birds and days like this are possible. During the fall, the big fish move into the shallows to enjoy the cooler water, but as the temperatures approach freezing, they move back out in the main lake again and begin to feed under the birds. Right now we are using slabs under the birds and drifting through ditches and along ledges, bouncing the slabs along the bottom as we drift. Recently the fishing has been excellent! We have been catching limits of really nice sized fish on every trip for a good stretch now. Most of our trips we are getting our limit of big fish over 20” and having to release several more as we sort through all the big fish for fish small enough to keep. Most of the fish are still in the 20-30ft. range but some are already starting to move into the deeper water which means the beginning of dead sticking season is here. For this early part of dead sticking season when the fish first move into the deeper water, it will be a toss up between slabs, dead sticking, or sometimes swimbaits as to which will be the most productive. I'm often ready to try all 3 and usually switch back and forth trying to find what they are wanting in that moment.

Winter also means the beginning of my favorite method of catching fish, structure fishing with swimbaits. When the water gets cold, the fish pile up on key structure locations all over the lake like points, ledges, brushpiles, stump beds, rock out croppings, and ditches. Structure on structure is usually the best like a stump bed on a ledge. I have hundreds of these locations marked on my gps. During this time, I hop from spot to spot casting swim baits and catching some of the biggest fish of the year. I'll be exploring this pattern through December looking for bigger fish but we will mainly be fishing under the birds until January when the coldest water finally sinks into the deepest parts of the lake triggering the fish move shallower again. Now through the rest of winter is when we catch the biggest fish of the year using slabs, swimbaits, and deadsticking and it is an opportunity you won't want to miss. Call or book online today to reserve your next fishing adventure!

With Christmas approaching I'd like encourage you to consider offering a fishing experience as a unique and memorable gift. This year through Christmas, I'll be offering discounted gift certificates at a rate of $125/person for 4-6 people. Call or message me at (903)815-1609 and I'll get you setup and email you gift certificate. With that I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holidays and express how grateful I am that you all support me to earn a living and support my family doing something that I love. Thank you!

Your Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Guide,
Brian Prichard

Stripers Inc.

www.stripersinc.com

(903)815-1609