Saturday, December 8, 2007
It sure was nice a warm at 4AM getting bait but by the time Ed and Don got to the dock, it was windy, foggy, cold and damp. But that didn't stop us from tring to find some supper. We caught fish from Newberry Creek to the Roosevelt along with some in both Little Glasses and Big Glasses Creeks. These guys were good fishermen, didn't miss many, at least Don didn't. Ed managed the biggest, a fat 23+ inch girl. We ended up keeping about 2 dozen fat stripers along with several sand bass but we struck out on catfish today.
In keeping with losing fish, Ed dropped one off the dock at the cleaning station
Overall, we had a good trip. Lots of fun, caught fish, had almost perfect fishing weather which will probably be the last till next weekend.


Hey Greg, how bout them fish!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Mike treated his Dad and brother to a striper fishing trip today. Either Kevin or Mike dragged their feet driving up from Dallas and we got a little late start. By 0830, the sun was warming things up but the wind was also starting to make a boat ride both bumpy & wet. Fighting whitecaps that only occurred after Ken commented that the wind appeared to die down made for an interesting trip.
But we all had a great time and caught some really nice, fat box fish along with several long fish. Toss in some sand bass and 6 or 7 big, fat channel cats and we got a fish fry in the making. Time sure flies when you’re having a good time.

Monday, December 3, 2007
Been pretty much fun fishing the past 10 days or so with friends. Fish are definitely putting on weight. The fishing patterns also seem to be returning to normal, if a little late.
Boy was it cold today. I spilt my coffee in the boat and it froze on the floor. The fish started hitting bait before 8 AM and were still biting when I quit at lunch time. Lots of nice box fish and even a couple over 20 inches. Two on artificial lures, the rest on shad.

Sunday, November 18, 2007
Josh brought his brother and Dad down with him to fish Lake Texoma this weekend.
We managed 6 nice stripers, including 3 long fish on pencil poppers as Josh switched over from a super spook that caught fish, but did auto C&R once the fish got near the boat. Later in the morning we worked our way south using live bait for another dozen fish before deciding to chase some birds to fill our the ice chest, this time getting fish on slabs.
We also bagged 3 channel cats for the Rick, Josh and Jace to carry home to Kansas.

Thursday, November 8, 2007
Fished with some Dallas area folks today. Skipped the early topwater bite as we got a later than usual start and concentrated on bait fishing. Richard, Ronnie and Don were a lot of fun to fish with and also pretty good fishermen. Spent most of the day along the Washita Flats and when the action slowed, we would drown some bait over on Tabletop. Unable to resist the temptation of working seagulls, several times we chased them to only be rewarded with dinks, both on bait and slabs.
As a change of pace, we checked several jugs that I’ve just started to put out and added 2 tasty channel cats to our ice chest full of fat stripers, mainly boxfish and 2 long stripers that were also very fat. Seems like all the fish are really beginning to put on weight and we discovered while cleaning them, all had bellies full of shad and nice meaty fillets.

Friday, November 2, 2007
After being grounded for nearly a week because of a broken tow vehicle, I made it back onto the water Wednesday & Thursday.
Fished for only a couple hours Wednesday in a friend’s boat, but we managed some nice fish on topwaters and even a couple small ones on slabs.
Went out alone yesterday and caught about 15 nice box & long fish in a 30 minute period on topwater lures. These fish were nearly up on the shore and in one period, 8 casts in a row produced fish. I kept 2 of the fatter box fish for supper and they had some of the nicest fillets I’ve seen in a while. Latter in the morning I fished bait in deeper water. These produced very little action with all the fish being dinks. I even spent some time chasing some of the many, many sea gulls being blown in the wind.
Quit around 11AM as I had a pretty good day and was tired of fighting a cold, wet & rough Lake Texoma.

Sunday, October 21, 2007
Fished again Wednesday and Friday had mixed results. First 4 casts on Friday produced 4 nice box fish. After 15 minutes the topwater bite was again over. Slabs produced some fish both days but the fish sure are moving fast. Ventured up north above the Roosevelt and saw nothing happening.
Winds kept me home today and probably tomorrow as well. I’m guessing and hoping that the windy, cooler weather will increase the oxygen levels & decrease water temps which may get the stripers back into their normal fall feeding patterns. I really think that the fall bite is about to explode and the skinny stripers will start to really fatten up.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Fished Monday between breaks in the thunderstorms and did great. Got about 15 nice fish on topwaters. They were between 21 and 16 inches, some were fat and some were very thin. However, all were feisty and flying out of the very shallow water where I caught them. The only fish I caught near the birds on slabs were dinks.
Tuesday's fishing in the fog stank. Temps never got out of the low 60's because of the persistent fog and cloud cover. Picked up one or two here and there on topwater, but nothing like it's been. Chased birds that led us to either dinks of fish that wouldn't bite for us.
Ernie even broke out his fly rod that he flew in with from California and some tasty looking flies that I guess only work on the Delta stripers. A disappointing day for the 3 of us, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Monday, October 8, 2007
Fished today for the first time in nearly 3 weeks. Wow! Have things improved.
Lots of action. Smaller fish are putting on weight and were full of shad. The larger fish were still mostly skinny but I imagine they will also begin heavily feeding soon. My buddy even managed a skinny, double digit fish.
The lake levels are near normal, the water is pretty clear, water temps are only slightly above normal & the sea gulls are arriving to point the way to the fish schools. Looks like fishing will be great this fall.

Saturday, August 25, 2007
Been staying off the water because of the slow fishing. And just as things appear to approach normal, the rain that fell in the Washita River basin this week has kept the lake levels from going down and is affecting ramp openings and also the fishing. I stopped by the Alberta Creek office today, their ramp is still closed and launching at the temporary ramp site is kind of dangerous. Good news is they hope to have the restaurant & store open this weekend.
Stay tuned, next week, I'll be out there to see if the fishing has improved.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
David was up visiting from San Antonio and decided to enjoy the vacation with his son, Harris, along with Steve and his boy, Alex, by stopping by Lake Texoma. After warning them of the pretty poor bait-fishing conditions, the vote was to swim, boat ride and fish in the 100 degree heat.
And that's what we did. We even managing to catch more fish than I predicted and ended cleaning 4 fairly skinny box fish along with releasing some small guide fish & catfish. Fortunately, Harris was the only fish eater in the group. The periodic boat rides along with 2 swim calls in 87 degree water kept everyone from burning up before they decided to head home after lunch.
I overheard plans for them to head on to Six Flags next, isn’t summer vacations great!

Saturday, August 11, 2007
After not working because of the high water in Lake Texoma for 7 weeks, sure was nice to be back in action.
By the time I beached my boat and picked up Hugh and his family the lake level had dipped under 630 feet. Most ramps are still closed and the access where I launched this AM was a mess later in the day. Lots of folks up from Texas looking for open ramps and a large Catfish Tournament being held here. Lousy timing.
Fishing for everyone I've talked to or observed has been unbelievably tough. Could be because of high temperatures, falling water, an abundance of shad or all the fish washed over the dam last month (just kidding). But good fishing will return any day now.
We weren’t skunked, but sure were close. Hugh landed the big fish thatv was a not very fat 23 incher while Tyler claimed little striper honors to go along with big drum. Delisha caught the big catfish with a feisty channel cat. Pretty good for an almost big girl of six. Grandma said she had the big striper but it managed to somehow get free.
We covered lots of ground trying to cool off in 100 degree temps and looking for fish, but just couldn’t get it done today. While it was great being out on the lake with summer coming to an end, a few more fish sure would have been a nice birthday present. Maybe, next time.
Happy Birthday Dee


Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Down to 631 feet this morning and still falling 5 or 6 inches per day. I've been out the last couple mornings and after nearly 5 weeks of sleeping in, it's difficult getting up at 1 or 2 AM. Launching is a little bit nerve racking without lighting at the unfamiliar launch areas that are only roads and not actual ramps in most cases. Dodging submerged tables, trees, docks and sigh posts while trying to locate a good boat beaching spot is dangerous and slow.
We haven't had any luck with early morning top-water fishing and have ended up getting nearly all our fish on bait. Except for being disappointed with the lack of fish on lures, we've done pretty well both days. Catching both box and long fish with very few dinks. I kept a couple of the injured fish yesterday again for supper and we easily released the rest that were mostly caught in fairly shallow water and lip hooked.
Staying ashore this morning but will be going out to fish tomorrow and try to locate a fish cleaning station with power and water available for my trips this weekend.

Saturday, August 4, 2007
The lake hit 633 feet today and its now easier and a little safer to launch.....Therefore, I'm back fishing. Dates are wide open especially weekdays.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The lake is falling....640.12 feet this AM.
I received a projected lake level chart from the Corps of Engineers Lake Manager, Ron Jordan and they predict the lake to be near 635 feet at months end. If so, I believe I will be able to squeeze under the bridges and fish, providing I can find a ramp to launch.
I will keep everyone posted at this date approaches. Hopefully, we will all be back fishing in one way or another in 2 or 3 more weeks.

Friday, the 13th
The lake is still rising and it officially hit 640.72 feet at noon today.
Everything else is still the same. Walked along the shoreline during the rain this AM and caught several small stripers. Love to get back out there, but, as been the case, I'm staying put till I see the lake levels going down and until I can find a way to safely launch.

Saturday, July 7, 2007
The lake is still rising and it officially hit 640 feet today around 10AM. At present, there is water lapping over the spillway and I'm told some of the flood gates are open.
I took the following photos about the same time this morning near where I usually launch. You will notice how close the water level is to the Roosevelt Bridge and also to Hwy. 70 east of the bridge along the riprap. I'm not too sure any boats can get under either the Roosevelt or the RR bridge further south.
For you folks still boating, fishing and jet-sking, watch out for all those floating logs shown in the photos.
I am staying put till I see the lake levels going down and until I can find a way to safely launch

The photos below were taken near the Roosevelt Bridge, along Hwy 70 riprap east of the bridge and the Catfish Bay campgrounds entrance.



Thursday, July 5, 2007
The lake is still rising & is up to over 639 feet.
Even though the Corps. has released some water, the water will probably go over the spillway sometime tomorrow. I understand fishing right now is great & dangerous. I am unable to launch from the Catfish Bay area and even if I could, I don't think I could get under the RR bridge heading south or the Roosevelt Bridge if I went north.
As tempting as it is, I am staying put till I see the lake levels going down.

The sad photos below are;
Top photos........Roosevelt Bridge, Catfish Bay campgrounds, Catfish Bay courtesy ramp area.
Bottom photos.....Soldier Creek office, Highport, Soldier Creek



Sunday, July 1, 2007
The lake is up to 633 feet ASL and is a mess. Lots of businesses flooded and marinas are taking a beating with the high water damage. Nearly all ramps closed, though there are a few spots boats can be launched.
Unless the rain stops, it will probably hit 640 feet near the end of the week and go over the spillway. Photos are of the courtesy dock at Catfish Bay where I sometimes pick up my customers, then across to the flooded campgrounds and the Rooster Creek Bridge which I imagine will be under water by Monday.

Friday, June 29, 2007
I've decided to take a break from fishing because of the extremely high water levels in Lake Texoma and also because of the lack of launch ramps still being useable. It's beginning to get serious as the lake levels are increasing by nearly 2 feet per day and lots of debris is now floating downstream.

Saturday, June 23, 2007
Fished with some guys from Texas today. Fishing was a little tough for us today forcing us to log a lot of miles and it was also a little wet at times. Overall, we all had a great time except for when we were visited by the Tx game warden.
Jeff sent me several photos he took. Check out Charlie's smile, he landed our "big un" today.


Saturday, June 16, 2007
We wore the fish out again this Saturday. Moises and his buddy, Julio, just killed em'. As usuall this month, bait has been tough and I didn't pick the guys up till nearly 0730.
But we could of had their limits by 9AM except we were C & R those fish we caught shallow and that weren't hurt. We had a nice bunch of boxfish and it seemed that lots of them were 19 1/2 inches. No biggies but several at up to 22+ inches. Overall, I imaginge we totaled about 40 fish before pulling the plug prior to the big storm about lunchtime.

Friday, June 15, 2007
Mark and John ventured south from Kansas to escape their wives and for some R & R. That stands for fishing and gambling at the various nearby casinos.
We had a great time. Catching lots of fish including John's 28 incher. However, Mark was able to outfish John for only the second time in 31 years. He was fishing the starboard side and kept a very good and accurate talley of the fish caught. John must have a poor memory as Mark kept reminding him the results were 24 fish to 4 fish.
Everyone went away happy, unless they left their gas money back at the casinos. Hopefully, the guys are enjoying some great striper for supper instead of Kansas catfish.


Saturday, June 9, 2007
I stayed away from Lake Texoma for a few days to let the water settle down a bit. I returned to work Saturday as I fished with four fellows from way west of Wichita Falls. Only thing that dampened our spirits were 3 & 4 foot rollers that came over the bow as we were heading home from the cleaning station this afternoon. I guess that's the price we paid for fishing till 2Pm on a summer day. After retreating to Soldier Creek for a couple hours, we were finally able to resume our journey. Gary, hope you and your family dry out.


Saturday, June 2, 2007
Fished with some friends down by the dam today in deep water Saturday. Bite seemed best eary in AM and we were catching nice stripers at about 60-65 feet. Came across the Roosevelt bridge Sunday and observed lots of big, floating logs heading south. Seems like a good time to catch up on things this week ashore.

Friday, June 1, 2007
Checked out the ramp today. A big tree washed up and is laying across half of the ramp. Hope its gone by 1 AM tomorrow. Water on the walkway now at mid-thigh level and rising.

Thursday, May 31, 2007
Today I fished with a couple of cute young ladies along with their parants, Larry and Angela. Both bait and fish were tough to find today due to the conditions of the lake. Rising water forced everyone to roll up their pants to wade through about 8 inches of water and again when returning there was about 16 inches of water covering the walkway leading out to the dock. By next week it, we may be swimming rather than wading to the boat.
Didn't quite get our limits but with all the fish being big and healthy, the chest was nearly full. The girls even managed a fiesty smallmouth bass that we released.
Brooke and BreAnn, you are both good fisherwomen, you just need to learn how clean all the fish you girls caught to become great fisherwomen.
The sun sure felt good after all the rain and topped off a fun trip today.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
After getting bait and then spending over 4 hours with Rob and his family huddled in our vehicles, we pulled the plug due to lightning before we could even get a line wet. Of course the sun poked out within 30 minutes.

Friday, May 25, 2007
The fish won today and made me eat a "Little Crow" just as I figured I had these stripers figured out. Understand some guys did great early. But it was spotty and others like me struggled. Just wanted to get in some last minute fishing to supply dinner since all the nuts out there running around will keep me safe ASHORE the next 3 days!

Thursday, May 24, 2007
Fished with a really fun family again as "Big Mamma" dragged her son, Chris along with her husband Michael back a little earlier in the season this year for some striper action. We headed south towards midlake after trying a few spots for some topwater & lure fish which again was unsuccessful.
It was a WET, BUMPY ride but well worth the trip. Within a few minutes of setting anchor the action started. We were getting both long and nice box fish. The action was again so furious that we pulled up all the extra rods and only fished 3. By 1030 we decided that we would head back into familiar Okie waters and try once again to catch some fish casting lures as we had already filled the ice chest with limits of fat box & long fish while catch and releasing lip hooked fish along the way.
A couple hours of futile casting produced weary arms and 2 sandbass before stopping for great burgers at Alberta Creek.
Great day and a lot of fun. Can't wait to see the neat scrapbook Linda makes with all the fish photos Michael took of me, Linda and Chris(many, many, many times)

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Michael returned to try his luck again after a half day trip in March, this time bringing his father and brother, Scott. We again headed to my hot area over in Texas waters and soon found fish. By 0930 we had an ice-chest full of nice fish including 5 long ones. We had did a little C&R throughout the AM but these guys were anxious to head home with their fish, so we called it a early day after unsuccessfully trying artificial lures on a couple spots heading back towards the ramp.
Enjoy the fish fry Michael and see ya again. Too bad your Dad got wet!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Fished with Bill and his family today, 3 generations. Headed south from Catfish Bay for Texas waters to fish some lively shad. We soon found fish, dropped anchor and the action began with fish often on 2, 3 or even 4 rods at once before slowing down to let us catch our breath before resuming when the next school moved through. Everyone got in on the action although it was Kathy that managed big fish at a whopping 23 or 24 inches. We pulled the plug when everyone was either worn out or had sore arms. Final totals were 33 box and 7 long fish kept without any being dinks. With the water temps being cool and 75% of the fish lip-hooked, we also managed to C&R about another half dozen long fish and an estimated 2 dozen box fish.
This is part of the e-mail I received from Grandma,” emailing you so you can send pictures you took yesterday. Kathy is telling everyone about her fishing trip, and that she got the biggest one. We will see you next year."
Watching the smiles on those good fishing days really makes you forget those tough no fish days.

Sunday, May 20, 2007
Took my buddy out in my boat today. Same results as the past 2 weeks but at a different location. Instead of going west, we went east. Dropped the anchor in only 1 spot and sat there for 2 hours. Some really nice long fish came by first and after about 10 of these, the box fish arrived to wear us out. Off the water by 1030. Once again, our first hour on the lake was wasted on unproductive topwater action and for the third day in a row, we found shad thrashing the water edge a little before 7AM, but apparantly, no hungry stripers nearby.
Allowed another good friend that couldn't catch or find fish, tie up to us. His wife managed to find a bunch, catch & land em' and probably clean, cook and finally eat them while he just day dreams.


Friday, May 18, 2007
Fished with Steve in his boat. Stayed close to the carbridge to catch our fish after taking a boat ride above it. Lots of fish again and kept a couple bleeders to eat.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Turned a retired, northern Oklahoma couple that do a lot of hybrid fishing into striper fans on their first vist to Texoma. After discovering there was a communication error and that we were waiting for each other at different ramps 20 miles apart at daybreak, things really improved. Because of the muddy waters, we headed west with our first stop on the Washita Flats where we broke in the rods on some smaller fish, including several guide fish that we released before continuing west.
Due to the stong northeast wind, we tried putting out a anchor on the west side of the Caney/Soldier Ckeek bay area but only succeeded in a a slow, rough, pitching & rolling anchor dragging drift that produced lots of fish for the next several hours. I finally got the anchor to bite and that sure made it easier on me running around the boat netting & boxing fish as well as constantly baiting lines and again practicing C&R on those lip hooked, healthy fish without falling overboard.
By lunchtime, Glenda, Vern and myself were headed to the cleaning station with limits of box and long fish. Hope to see the both of you again in June
Monday, May 14, 2007
Today I fished with Steve and his brother that were down from the OK panhandle area. We left the dock at around 6AM hoping to find some topwater action while heading to Washita Point. All we managed in some extremely muddy and debris filled water were a couple small sandies. Around 8AM we switched over to baitfishing and started catching stripers in bunches and before quitting at lunchtime, we had our limits of both box fish and long fish. The biggest being a little over 22". We also released a bunch of sandies, 1 or 2 more long fish and about 15 nice box fish. Great fishing to go along with great weather
Friday, May 11, 2007
Fished with Joe and his Dad today as Joe traded a discounted Wayne’s Striper Christmas Gift Certificate that his wife had purchased last year for a box of fat stripers. We tried a little topwater lure fishing with Spooks and Poppa Dogs that only produced a couple dinks as we worked our way south and over towards The Cross. Stopping on the channel edge we dropped anchor and almost immediately landed several feisty box fish. When things slowed down, we pulled anchor and went looking before choosing a good looking spot near North Island to again drop the hook. The fish then came by in groups as we seemed to get fish on 2 rods at the same time quite a bit. Approaching our limits we started C&R fishing as most of the nice box fish were lip hooked. Nearly all were in the 18 & 19 inch range with 2 overs. About 10 AM, we decided to work our way north and resume artificial lure fishing with mainly sassy shad and rattle traps. We picked up another half dozen smaller stripers and also some sandies that were all released. All this catching worked up a pretty good appetite and we stopped into Alberta Creek for some great burgers. After lunch we spent a couple hours competing with bass boats fishing points with lures. After catching a bunch of dinks, we headed to the cleaning station. Had a great time fishing with Bruce and Joe, but I was glad to get off the water after a long day of catching both fish and those elusive shad baits. I even managed a little sunburn in what had to be one of the nicest days this year so far.

Thursday, May 10, 2007
Recent rains and muddy waters up north have forced me to change my springtime fishing patterns and venture into summertime fishing spots. Mothers Day arrived early for Jody, Mike and their son Mick as they came down to Texoma for some fast & furious striper fishing. We started south out of Cat Fish Bay, tossing sassy shad and rattle traps as the sun came up. Only fitting, Jody got the first fish, an adolescent striper for Mother’s Day. Changing over to using bait, we tried a couple spots before finally locating some hungry stripers and were they ever hungry. We were unable to keep poles in the water at times as all were catching 18 & 19 inch stripers. In about an hour, we had nearly reached our 30 fish limit and started C&R. Since most were lip hooked, we probably landed another 15 before closing out our box by keeping the bleeders. With my recent cat fishing exploits, we headed north to the muddy waters, hoping for some kitties before pulling the plug. I guess last week was just a fluke as we spent about 3 hours with nothing to show for it. Guess I’ll retire as a cat fish guide and stick to stripers. After a damp start with threatening forecasts, the day turned out great. Happy Mother’s Day Jody.

Beginning of month
After struggling nearly two months with first my engine being blown, then the striper fishing being dead for a 2 week period and finally totaling my computer, I think I’m ready to catch some fish, post some fishing reports, photos and soon, some videos. I'll start clearing the backlog, its kind of slim as most of my fishing has been just me alone.

Tim brought his 3 sons and 2 grandsons to Texoma to join me in some striper fishing. My fishing has been improving for the past week or two as the water, though still at high levels, is beginning to get clearer and not so muddy. Drifting shad up in the Big Glasses Creek we managed about a dozen nice stripers before moving east towards Newberry Creek. There we set an anchor after marking some fish. These were mostly stripers with an occasional whisker kitty. After a couple hours we caught nearly 20 more stripers before they quit. However, seems the catfish moved in to take their place. Since these guys like cat fish, we decided to fish for them. While we missed a bunch as the catfish had a subtle bite, we left this spot with 23 cats up to about 5 pounds still biting as we decided we wanted to finish the trip with some more stripers. The next hour or so produced nothing, so we headed to a cleaning station to put me to work filleting fish. Today produced some great action, lots of striper and cat fish for the fish fry and a bunch of tangled lines. Come on back next year guys.

Monday, April 16, 2007
Figured I would post just to show everyone that I'm trying to catch fish. Fishing on Lake Texoma has been horrible for myself and all my friends that fish here on a regular basis. This includes guides from way out west, by the Willis Bridge and also those that fish down by the islands all the way over to Little Mineral. This striper drought has been going on for nearly 2 weeks. Usually, I like to think that every day someone on Texoma is into fish, somewhere. Right now, I’m not too sure of this. I have postponed/cancelled some trips rather than spending all day running around in extremely muddy water full of floating debris in order to put 2 or 3 fish into the ice chest. Hopefully, when the water clarity improves, temperatures warm and as the striper spawn winds down, fishing will get back to normal.

Thursday, April 5, 2007
Finally, back on the water with a rebuilt motor. Fished by myself Thursday as I have to put some low RPM’s on my motor to break it in. Sure felt good to be out there after being grounded for nearly 3 weeks. I fished from Washita Point to the Roosevelt Bridge in some real muddy water with lots of floating debris out there that I sure don’t want to hit. Found some clear water on the east side of the lake and caught about 20 fish on bait in 3 hours in 40 foot of water. Kept six bleeders for dinner, an even split with 3 males and 3 females. Most were 17 & 18 inch box fish with a couple over 20 inches. Foul hooked 2 fish through their eyes & that has to mean something but don’t know what.

Monday, March 26, 2007
Sorry about the lack of reports. Fishing has been kind of slow with only an occational trip and just when things pick up, boat problems. Hopefully, I'll get back on the water in another week in time for the begining of Top-water season.
Remember, May and June are great times to be fishing Lake Texoma.

Make your plans well in advance. Guides are booked, camp grounds are filling up and rooms on the Oklahoma side near Kingston are in short supply since the closing of Lake Texoma Resort which had hundreds of cabins and hotel rooms.

January 2007
Still waiting for the first striper of 2007. Join me. It's BIG FISH season