USCG Licensed and Insured December 2006 Seems that the colder weather is really keeping folks indoors staying warm. I've said this before and will surely say it again, now is BIG FISH time. They are really putting on the feedbag right now, especially with the large amount of shad still roaming Lake Texoma. I have been catching stripers above the Roosevelt Bridge from Little Glasses to Newberry Creek and beyond. I have been using live bait in addition to sassy shad type lures and slabs. The smaller box fish size stripers are still the fattest while the longer box fish are putting on weight as well and will do so all winter. As water temps cool, the fish really slow down to expend less energy and eat less. Bites will be less often, but, the reward could be some very nice fish. My buddy and I caught these two on sassy shad lures on Dec. 22nd. One was 8 1/2 lls. and the other was nearly 11 pounds. November 2006 November's fishing has been very good. Plenty of fish above the Roosevelt Bridge and all the box fish are getting bellies while those over about 22" are still fairly skinny after a stressfull summer but should soon begin to put on weight. We are getting limits every day, some days the bite starts right after daylight and never stops, while other days its a day long struggle to fill the box. Plenty of gulls and even a few bald eagles flying around indicating where the stripers MIGHT be. Not as many people fshing compared to previous months, but lots of folks out there over the Thanksgiving period. I fished with Mark and his family the day before Thanksgiving and I guess we got about thirty fish before they wanted to head to the movies. Fished Friday with some Razorback fans that had to be off the water by 1230 to catch the LSU/Arkansas game on TV. We had better luck than their team and I spent half-time filleting 40 fat stripers. October 2006 Its been the typical October, slow at the beginning of the month and getting better as we approach November. There has been a increase in the number of seagull visitors from up north and they do sometimes point the way to fish. These fish are also beginning to put some weight after a stressfull, hot, dry summer. Lots of fish are now heading up the Washita but there still are plenty south of Washita Point.. September 2006 Shutting it down for a bit due to lack of interest by the stripers. The typical, tough September fishing is now here and I'll catch up on some projects ashore in preparation to the typical great fall fishing. Probably get back on the water after the Sixoldgeezers fish fry October 7th and start running trips mid October. Friday, August 11, 2006 Again some folks came east from the Wichita Falls area to fish Lake Texoma with me. We left out of Cat Fish Bay shortly after daybreak heading south. We put our first bait in the water between Washita Pt. and Alberta Creek and Mike's son, Hunter, landed the first fish. We got another as we were having our licenses checked by the Okie game wardens. We then worked our way over towards the Soldier Creek arera. Dropped anchor and managed both some box and long fish. After lunch we chased some schooling fish, didn't have much luck using artificials but it seemed we managed some with the first baits we put down then the fish would move. Had a good time fishing with these guys and the weather wasn't too bad, hot but we had a constant breeze. Overall, fishing was only fair for us today and I believe we ended up 6 long fish and about another dozen nice box fish while releasing about a half dozen lively stripers. Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Today I braved the August heat with John and his son, Trenton, over from Wichita Falls. Leaving the rest of their family at the ramp, we ventured out at first light looking for some hungry fish. John managed the first 2 fish of the day and both were about 23 inches. Trenton soon followed with a couple nice box fish before getting his first long fish slightly smaller than his Dad's. Noticing some birds further south we headed that direction for some possible topwater action to get some boxfish. These fished sounded by the time we got there so we dropped some bait, almost immediately John hooked another long fish soon to be followed by Trenton. We started catching and releasing those long fish that were caught in shallower water and were still healthy. Trenton soon hollered that he had a "big" fish that was pulling line. After quite a fight he managed to get it boated and it was a fat 28" striper. Big fish of the day. As temps warmed we continued to move seeking some smaller fish as we had our limits of big fish but didn't have much luck other than a little blue catfish Trenton landed. As it really warmed up fast, these guys decided to pull the plug with a ice chest full of stripers and get some burgers.Everyone had a great time and Happy Birthday, John. Saturday, July 15, 2006 A group of Texoma fishermen & women joined with the OKC Bassmasters and took 159 youngsters from Camp Cavett fishing and boat riding Saturday. These very sick youngsters from Children’s Hospital all had a great time and were a pleasure to be with and really makes me feel fortunate when I hear some of these tuff kids stories. This was the third time I have done this and it gets better each time and I have already noted it on my 2007 calendar. With so many volunteers this year, I only had 2 kids, Marquees and Cameron along with Mark who was helping me get the kids on fish. Heading out of Catfish Bay a little after 0730, we immediately found fish and the fun started. Even when the bite slowed, the interaction between the nearby boats continued on the VHF radios for bragging rights amongst the youngsters. And when things really slowed down, we had are own barehanded shad catching contest prior to heading back with Cameron and Marquees driving the boat for the awards ceremony for biggest fish. My crew didn’t win any prize but these kids had fun, caught a bunch of stripers with Cameron’s 24” striper barely edging Marquees 23 3/4”. Monday, June 12, 2006 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Father's Day, June 18, 2006 An all male fishing trip today with 2 brothers and their sons. There was Jerry and Grant and also Jim with his son, Calin. Started off with slabs below Alberta Creek but soon switched to some of those 108 tasty threadfin shad I managed to net during the wee morning hours at some secret location. We picked up about half our fish here along the west wall before it pretty much slowed down and sent us looking for fish elsewhere. Backtracking over those spots we had caught fish earlier showed us that the fish had moved elsewhere, so we headed towards Tabletop but spotted some fish just before we got to the Red River. Started a drift, picking up a fish here and there and suddenly we had a near blackout. We hard a hard time keeping rods in the water with most of the fish being long ones. Finally got worn out pulling and releasing long fish out of about 40 feet of water and headed to the cleaning station while they were still biting. I think the final box tally was 10 long, 1 guide and about 20 more of box fish in the 18 & 19 inch range. Biggest in the box was about 24" though I think we may have released some bigger ones at the end. Actual running talleys of who caught what and how many was the responsability of the math wizzard, Grant. Both Grant and Calin claimed 13 fish apiece and a disputed big fish claim went to Jerry with Jim being the champion fish netter. Calin, without a doubt won both 1st and 2nd prizes for the biggest backlashes Overall, it was a great trip all around with everyone catching a bunch of really hard fighting stripers, hope to see you guys again. Friday, June 16, 2006 Rough day today. 30 mph winds made it so. Fished with Doyle and his son that are here on family business and up from Abeline. Those huge waves did a number on Doyle and we quit early. Got our long fish, but came up short on box fish though we did manage to add a nice size blue cat to the box. Remember, bring your sea sick pills if you need them. No photos today, too wet out there and besides, Doyle wasn't looking his best. Tuesday, June 13, 2006 Had a great fishing trip today with Dean, his son-in-law Wayne, grandson Sam and his own son, Max. Two trips in a row where we had brand new 10 year olds. Today it was Sam and yesterday it was Trenton. Dean called the trip over early but everyone was worn out catching big Texas fish which is only right as these guys were all Texans. We got our long fish limit, released some long fish and small guide fish while keeping some boxfish to help fill the ice chest, though we did come up way short on numbers of those smaller fish. Everything today came on bait though we did try a little slabbing and casting wild-eye shad lures on the way south this morning. Toughest thing again today was catching bait. Lots of good eating for the entire family. Monday, June 12, 2006 A family of fellow Oklahomans came down to fish with me today as a treat for a birthday boy Trenton, who is now 10. The day started off really well as we left the ramp heading south at 6AM with a tankful of good healthy shad as bait. Only managed to go about 4 miles before we stopped to try our hand fishing an area were there were birds and also we hoped, fish. Mark got the first fish and Trent soon caught his, both on wild-eye shad lures. They were soon both outdone by Shelly who showed them how to catch big fish on a Prune Picker slab. She pulled a 23" beauty from about 25 feet of water. We soon headed west towards the Cross where the fish have been gathering for the last couple weeks and started drifting bait and catching a nice mixture of fat box fish & long fish (those over 20"). We then started releasing some of the longer fish as we were afraid that we might go over our limit. Big mistake, seemed the bite sort of slowed to a crawl and while we kept trying, we managed only an occational fish as the sun was starting to really beat down on us. We ended up heading towards the cleaning station a little after noon. Enjoyed fishing with you folks. I know Shelly holds the big slab fish but I'm not sure if Mark was able to claim the big fish honors over Trent. HAPPY BIRTHDAY "T" Thursday, June 8, 2006 Fished with a great family from a little town east of Oklahoma City that work with a gentleman that fished with me last summer. We had a great time and some super weather. Lots of boats out there but Linda(aka Big Mamma), Mike and their son Chris caught their share of striper. Threw back some smaller long fish when the morning bite was on, hoping for some really big fish. But it seems we should have kept them as we ended up short 2 long fish. Chris had big fish and Linda had big crappie. Wednesday, June 7, 2006 I've fallen behind on my Web site, just too busy and still having camera problems. All that's over. Got a new camera and put it to work today. Easy to use and hopefuly, will hold up on the water better than the last camera and I can catch up on some photos. Fished a couple hours with a neighbor whose supply of striper had really dwinded, so we went after some supper. Big fish were really hitting hard, released the biggest, but kept 4 long fish and 4 box for eating. Really, really slaming the shad, which was good as we left the docks this morning with under 20 baits. May, 2006 Lots of good fishing during May, though most seemed to be box fish with few over 20 inches. For me, there was action in the middle part of the lake, Wasita Flats and along the eastern shoreline below Lakeside. I didn't have much luck up north above the Roosevelt Bridge, but only tried it once or twice but I did spend more time drifting down by the islands getting good numbers of box fish. While I never went down to the dam, I heard some folks were fishing that area. My topwater fishing this spring was not nearly as good as last year. Maybe because the water levels in Texoma were a couple feet higher. The high water definately helped the striper spawn, which is good for everyone. May ended with lots of the bigger fish being caught and nearly everyone looking for the smaller boxfish later in the day. Tuesday, April 18, 2006 Three great fishermen based in Dallas joined me today for some lure fishing with baitfishing as a backup. I agonized at the ramp waiting for their arrival while everyone else was heading out for some topwater action on "my" spots. Finally left Johnson Creek at 0730 heading north. We soon found lots of fiesty, smaller fish to warm up on. Seemed like there was a boat sitting on every point waiting for topwater to take off, not too sure it did. We worked our way south thoughout the morning tossing wild eye shad and once in a while Black chucked a chug-bug and finally found some nice fish, including Andy's 24 incher. After Andy caught 3 in a row on his wild eyed shad with a red nose, Black and Mike switched over from the chartreuse ones they had been using and started catching them as well. After a great lunch at Soldier Creek we worked our way back north landing just one more fish before heading to the cleaning station at 3PM and then back to Johnson Creek with a bait tank still full of shad. Overall, I was hoping for some bigger fish, but we had a great time and the guys were fun to fish with. Monday, April 17, 2006 Fished with a couple fellows down from Clinton. The game plan was to be out there sitting at first light and get some topwater fish. Well, we were there and James got our first fish just at first light on a sassy shad real shallow. James stuck with Wild eye & sassy shads while Steve threw a selection of topwater lures. Steve got out-BIT 3:1. After the sun was well up and the artificial bite slowed, we moved south of the Roosevelt Bridge and did some bait fishing. Managed a bunch of fish, but again, nearly all were box fish or smaller. Mid-nineties temps chased us ashore about 2 PM. James ended with most fish, but his fat 24" striper was nosed out by Steves 25" girl. Steve also managed a nice crappie. Great day to be on the water. Ran into Jay Harvey, the OK Game Warden near Willow Springs. Informed us that most of the boats he checked were getting lots of smaller fish too. Remember your licenses and know the fishing regs. That's twice I've been checked the last 3 or 4 weeks. Friday, April 14, 2006 Returned this AM for some more topwater action. It wasn't here today. I found out talking to some other folks that we were at the right time, with the right lures, just at the wrong place. I then fished a little bait before quitting early. Did good with fish from 18 to 30 feet, but they were all boxfish or smaller. I guess the big females are all up the Washita River spawning, good! Thursday, April 13, 2006 Me and a buddy found our firt spawning shad of 2006 and then topwater fishing like it's meant to be. Didn't expect it, weren't really prepared for it, but we did our best. Lots of nice fish on sassy shad, spooks and pencil poppers. Hope the topwater bite lasts a while this spring Friday, April 7, 2006 Just finished 3 days of really good fishing in a row. I fished Monday and Tuesday up north. Nearly all the fish I caught Monday came on bait above the Roosevelt, mostly in Big Glasses and Little Glasses Creek. I tried fishing some sassy shad but didn't do much good. Tuesday I started with topwater lures around Lakeside and managed my first topwater fish for 2006 on Pencil Poppers at daybreak and these were both long fish. Working my way north, I was able catch some aggressive but smaller fish on spinnerbaits and wild eye shads. I finished up before lunch getting worn out again in Big Glasses on live bait. These were a mixture of box and long fish in a area with a lot of birds just sitting. Wednesday I ventured to the middle part of the lake as I heard that lots of fish were being caught by the islands and up by Caney Creek. I launched just before daylight at Caney Creek and hoped for some topwater action, no such luck. Worked my way south and west starting just below North Island. Picked up one or two dinks drifting bait and tossing sassy shad type lures. Finally found them in Big Mineral, probably landed 20 fish and all on sassy shad. About a half dozen were over 20" with the longest a fat 25". Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Fished today again with the crew from the El Maistro Restaurant in Cactus,TX for the 3rd time in the last 16 months. I think mother nature got even with us today. After wacking them 2 Novembers in a row, the fish won this time. KInd of rough out there today, making it tough to fish and move very far looking for fish. I think we ended up with only 8 or 9 fish. But once again Ricardo came through and fed me a fantastic lunch up at their cabin at the Texoma State Park. Friday, March 3, 2006 Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been fishing, but pretty much for fun only the past 2 months as it seems most folks want to stay indoors this winter. For me, January overall was below average but things definitely improved in February and March has also started out well. I've stayed between the bridges most of the time though I occasionally have found fish both above the Roosevelt and towards Newberry Creek as well as some fish out side of Alberta Creek. I know fish are being caught down on the main lake but I haven't venture down there in quite a while, but, I will probably give it a go next time the wind lies down. It also seems that everyone is having problems getting bait in this part of the lake while the Red River folks have marinas full of threadfins, especially at night or before daylight. The thought of trailering to the Willis Bridge before daylight, launching, catching bait, loading the boat back onto the trailer then driving back the 25 miles to the area here by the Roosevelt Bridge isn’t too pleasant. Everyone needs to pray for some springtime rain, farmers, ranchers, fishermen and plain old homeowners. We had a poor spawn last spring and unless we get some much needed rain soon, it’s going to happen again this year. I’ll try to get some quality fish photos to post soon. Monday, January 2, 2006 Went out by myself for half a day. Great day, sunny & warm but with about 15-20 mph NW winds. Didn't find any bait so I was forced to fish just lures. I think I could have salvaged dinner had I been able to drift bait outside Newberry Creek. Bottom line, I'm still looking for the New Year's first fish. From what I heard on the radio, fishing was tough for lots of other folks as well.