We like to condense our past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports each December to make our blog page easy to use and find important information we share with anglers.
Past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports-Striper Express-June 2013
#54 Loves Football, Fishing, and Philanthropy
6-10-13
Dallas Cowboy Hall of Famer Randy White Fishes Lake Texoma
to Benefit North Texas Children
#54 Randy White loves Football, Fishing, and Philanthropy. He joined with Striper Express Guide Service and auction winner Ken McDonald to benefit The Warren Center, a Dallas non-profit serving children with developmental disorders.
By: Striper Express Guide Service
Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer #54 Randy White wi Capt. Chris Carey (left)
DALLAS – June 5, 2017 – PRLog — Ken McDonald Jr. and dad Ken Sr. enjoyed a day fishing Lake Texoma while talking football with Cowboy’s Hall of Fame legend Randy White. The McDonalds also aided an area children’s charity while doing it.
White donated a day of his time to benefit the non-profit Warren Center of Dallas, Texas. Ken McDonald Jr. made the substantial winning bid for Randy’s day during the Center’s Annual Fantasy Football Draft Night. The Warren Center provides support, early childhood intervention, and therapy services for North Texas children with developmental challenges.
“My wife Tanya and I love the Warren Center and the work they do for children. When the annual fundraiser auction included a fishing charter with Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboy Randy White, it was a no-brainer,” Ken exclaimed. “The first-class work by Captain Chris Carey with Striper Express Guide Service was the icing on the cake. We caught upwards of 100 fish.”
Captain Chris Carey of Striper Express Guide Service described his celebrity guest, “Randy White is down to earth, a pleasure to be with, and a great fisherman. Randy entertained the entire group with football story after football story.”
Big fans of the Dallas Cowboys, Ken Jr. , and his father celebrate the same birthday and both enjoy fishing.
Ken Sr. was the most successful angler of the day, both in size of catch and number of fish landed. “This was an awesome experience. Fishing with Randy White, and watching my dad kick our butts all day long,” Ken Jr. said.
Ab
About The Warren Center: More information about the Center, its work, and how to donate is available at https://www.thewarrencenter.org/.
Contact
Bill Carey – Owner, Striper Express Guide Service
903-786-4477
Past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports-July 2013
Lubbock Fisherman Strikes First
Fishing buddies David Walker, of Lubbock, and Larry Murphey, from Spearman TX, had two days to remember on a recent “big fish” trip. They landed back-to-back 25+ pound stripers in the same hole on two separate fishing days — unheard of for the most part in wintertime fishing.
“It’s been unreal, it’s just unbelievable. We’d see a 20-pounder every now and then, but nothing like this,” said guide Chris Carey.
David Walker from Lubbock (left) gets an assist showing-off his “personal best” 28.6lb. Lake Texoma striped bass.
Walker hooked into a large fish in “Daddy’s Hole,” a spot located where Big Mineral Creek joins the Red River. The fish dove deep down into the submerged river channel when Walker hooked into the monster. Walker fought and reeled in the big fish while the boat was being carefully backed-down to ease the heavy pressure the striper was putting on the line. Finally, the 28.6-pounder finally tired out and was netted into the boat. Walker caught the fish on a ½-oz. white RoadRunner Buck-tail jig tipped with a 7-inch white soft plastic worm.
“It’s almost impossible to describe how intense this battle was. Stripers are known to be the strongest fighting fish among freshwater species, and this one was particularly feisty” said Carey.
Panhandle Angler Gets His Trophy
Day two of the trip Larrey Murphey, along with Walker and guide Chris Carey, returned to try nailing another trophy fish. On a hunch, Captain Carey placed the anglers over the submerged Red River bed near the creek junction. Today it was Murphey who got the lucky strike, hooking a nearly identical 25-pound striper. “These fish pull so hard my arms were sore,” said Murphey after the ordeal.
These two will have plenty to talk about as they head west after a memorable trip at Lake Texoma.
Striper Express owner Bill Carey said, “this type of success has been a long-time coming. The Great Recession reduced the number of anglers on Texoma for 3-4 years. This let a 10-lb class of fish grow so they are now 15 to 20-pounders. The lake is staged to have a several-year run of trophy fish,” he said.
Past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports-December 2014
Barbara Pope Nets Record Lake Texoma Striped Bass
SUMMARY: Lake Texoma Fishing Report – Barbara Pope reeled in the 27-pound Lake Texoma striped bass December 5th, shattering the previous 20-pound record for the Oklahoma side of the lake. The huge fish was estimated to be eight-to-ten years old.
Pottsboro, Texas 8th December 2014 – A north Texas woman reeled in a new record-sized Lake Texoma striped bass this past week, hauling the massive fish out of Lake Texoma near the northern shore. The 27.29-pound 38 3/4” striper has been certified as an Oklahoma-Lake Texoma striped bass record, and, weighs in at 6 pounds more than the previous lake record striper catch.
Barbara Pope and friends wi 27.29lb Record Lake Texoma Striper
Barbara Pope is a resident of Dallas and a life-long angler. She and her husband entertain their guests in every season by fishing on Lake Texoma. “But I come in December for the trophy fishing”, Barbara says.
“This trip was an all-girl reunion” – Barbara had invited two girlfriends from her sorority days at Oklahoma State University. They were drift fishing with artificial bait in water depths ranging from 15 to 40 feet deep. Barbara was casting on an underwater structure main lake point about Noon when the big female fish struck her lure.
“Oh my gosh, it seemed a lifetime fighting the fish. I was leaning back and the rod was bent so far it looked to break at any time. I knew this was a special fish by the excitement in Chris’s voice” said Barbara. (Chris Carey – a professional striper fishing guide with Striper Express Guide Service.)
“Chris knew this was a BIG fish – when it surfaced everyone went crazy!”
While heavier striped bass have been caught in previous years at Lake Texoma, this fish represents the largest striped bass from the Oklahoma side of the lake since the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation started keeping records in 2008.
We are proud to have been a part of Barbara’s record-setting
Lake Texoma striper fishing experience.
When can we book your trip? – Bill Carey
June 2014-Past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports
Lake Texoma Fishing Report: Lake Water Warm, Striper Fishing HOT
Striper Guide Bill Carey
Lake Texoma Fishing Report
Late Spring is the most exciting time for Lake Texoma striper fishing! It is special to us because Winter cold is in retreat, Spring has brought very fine weather, and the striper spawn is in high gear. But mostly we like May because the TOPWATER STRIPER BITE IS ON!
THIS IS WHY WE GET UP EARLY
The Lake water temperature has risen to about 65 degrees, stimulating both adult striped bass and sexually mature shad, the striper’s favorite food. Each night, gizzard and threadfin shad swim up from deep water to spawn in Texoma’s rocky shallows. Each morning at first light big striped bass wake up and cruise the shallows in large numbers doing what their mommas told ’em – eat a good breakfast now, ya’hear!
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS
The striper schools herd the shad into smaller and smaller areas. Trapped against the rocky bank and the water’s surface, the shad have nowhere to go. Ravenous from their own spawning activity, the stripers feed aggressively and without caution. A big ball of agitated, escape-minded shad plus hungry stripers feeding at the surface sounds a good deal like a summer rainstorm.
Charlie Haak 14.7lb Lake Texoma Striper
Cast a Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper amongst’em and these striped bass will hit it HARD. SO hard they will sometimes knock the big 7″ lure, bristling with treble hooks, 3 feet out of the water. Not to worry though, these bass are highly motivated and will often lunge time and again after that same lure as you retrieve it, pausing only when they’ve gotten their mouth on it and hooked themselves.
NOW YOU’VE GONE AND DONE IT
Hooking ’em is just the beginning. Striped bass “pull like a Deere“ as my farmer friends say. Don’t quite understand what that means? You’ll “get it” when your striper decides he’s leaving – and yard after yard of monofilament is relentlessly pulled away. Big stripers will inspire in you a deep appreciation for your reel’s drag setting.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE TOPWATER LURE FISHING
You’ll love topwater Lake Texoma striper fishing with lures for the same reasons we do:
- these fish are fighters – mean, nasty, and maybe even a bit arrogant about it;
- the action takes place where you can see it – close to the boat and near, on, or even above the water surface;
- the fish are handsome, and they are capable of anything when fighting you.
Lake Texoma Fishing Report : Five to fifteen minutes fighting a big Texoma striper is as energizing and exciting as offshore tarpon fishing – except without the seasickness.
Past Lake Texoma Fishing Reports-January 2015
Lake Texoma Striper Guides – Favorite Lures
Lake Texoma Striper Guides – Favorite Lures
1-10-15
Bill Carey
Location: Lake Texoma, Texas
Credentials: Since 1983, Bill Carey has been guiding for, writing about, and hosting TV shows on the stripers of famed Lake Texoma. Carey’s outfit averages about 900 trips per year.
Number of years guiding: 30
Contact: (877) 786-4477; striperexpress.com
Favorite Hardbait: Rat-L-Trap
Color: Chrome
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “Striped bass have a very long lateral line that is designed to pick up vibration. Rat-L-Traps produce a lot of rhythm and sound that the fish home in on. When I retrieve a Rat-L-Trap, I’ll reel three cranks and quickly sweep the rod. After the sweep I pause and let the lure float up a little. Bam! There’s your strike.”
Cordell Pencil Popper Chartreuse/White
Favorite Topwater: Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper
Color: Chartreuse/White
Size: 6 in.
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “In Texas, you can throw topwater for stripers eight months a year. These lures are loud and work well blind-casting against the banks early in the morning. If the action is furious and you’re releasing fish fast, you can also grab these lures without getting hooked because they’re so long and the first treble hook sits far back. I always tell my clients, when a fish takes a pencil down, don’t strike. Wait for the rod to load on its own. If you try to whack the fish, you’ll have a big lure with two big treble hooks flying at your head.”
Favorite Soft Plastic: Mister Twister Sassy Shad
Color: Luminescent
Size: 4 in.
Weight: ½ oz. jighead
Details: “I like these shads for the simple reason that our water is often off-color. White has great visibility and the kicking tail ups the vibration level. You always want to cast a shad into the wind to ensure it will reach your target depth. When you retrieve, you never want slack in the line. Always reel fast enough to keep contact. ”
Favorite Jig: Blakemore Roadrunner Bucktail
Color: White
Weight: 1 oz.
Details: “These jigs produce our biggest stripers that hold on deeper structure December through March. They’ve always been a favorite since you can reel steady or vertically jig them. I seem to catch even more stripers on these jigs if I tip them. Gizzard shad make up 92% of the stripers’ diet in Lake Texoma, so I’ll add a soft-plastic grub to these jigs in white with a chartreuse tail to match the forage colors.”
c) Zoom Swimmin’ Super Fluke in Disco Violet.
Zoom Super Flukes Disco Violet
This is a “swimbait” type lure and provides a very different activity in the water. The paddle tail on the end of this lure rocks the bait from side to side as you retrieve it slowly. This “fish-like” swimming motion is more pronounced than the simple fluke style bait and is oftentimes what the BIG stripers are looking for to eat.
Past Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Reports-March 2016
Lake Texoma Fishing Report – Texoma Stripers Get Pumped Up
Like frat boys lifting weights before Spring Break, Lake Texoma stripers are feeding aggressively and hitting the lures with force. Now is when the striped bass are their largest. And no other fish pulls line like a striper!
Mature bass will gain as much as five pounds while the water stays cool. Current surface temperature on Lake Texoma is 45 degrees and they’re bulking up – preparing for the spring spawn.
BILLY BROOKS with his 28lb, 37inch Texoma Striped Bass
Once water temperature hits 51 degrees or so stripers will move up-current to the Red and Washita river inflows. They’ll seek out clear, highly oxygenated water with a bit of current, although a little murk will do if the temperature is right. There, like OU freshmen in Pensacola, they will re-enact their annual biological urges.
Given the many different sub-surface contours, temperature zones and honey-holes of our Lake, the spawn can be active for several weeks. Fluctuations in the weather and temperature can also prolong the event. One thing is certain though – after spawning stripers are hungry!
Their migration back from the river inflows to their more accustomed space is marked by massacres of their favorite food – shad. We once counted 21 threadfin shad in the belly of a sow striper.
Currently, we’re finding big fish in shallows seeking food around isolated stumps. Also on structure and humps.
Our boats are limiting out today, one with 60 fish ranging up to 18 pounds. The skies are beautifully clear and temperature in the sixties.
Join us in striper fishing heaven…
Lake Texoma Fishing Report – Winter Striper Fishing is AWESOME
Alan Garcia and friends winter striper fishing on Lake Texoma.
Winter is the best time for BIG fish. And big Texoma stripers are on a rampage!
The water temperature has cooled and Lake Texoma striper fishing has heated up.
Striper Express vessels fished every day before the recent ice storm, and are back on the water today.
GREAT STRIPER ACTION YEAR ROUND
Stripers bite year round and are most comfortable in the winter months.
When the largemouth bass, speckled trout and redfish are lethargic, the striper fishing is on fire. When Hunters are going through withdrawal and having cabin fever, these fighting “line sides” are calling your name.
Just before the last weather change, reports of 50 fish per day were becoming more common. Our customers were catching some nice fish up to 15 pounds. Lots of “overs.” Allow me to explain, “overs” are 20 plus-inch stripers that we release after you have filled your big fish limit. When you luck into a 30” striper, you just landed a hefty 17 pound fish.
GO WINTER STRIPER FISHING
Many serious fisher folk can’t wait for the superb winter striper fishing on Lake Texoma. They come for the big fish – and I mean BIG – line stripping and rod bending monsters!
Do you like the sounds of this so far? Striper fishing with lures separates fisher-men from fisher-boys. We take a lot of pride in offering this special technique exclusively. It puts you in the game from the get go. You are engaged catching, fighting and landing fish – the sporting way!
BEST TEXOMA STRIPER LURES
You will catch most of your fish with 4-5 inch white-glo Sassy Shad, soft plastic with a 1 ounce white jig head. The go-to big fish bait is the Blakemore Buck Tail RoadRunner. A secret tip is to put a 9 inch white soft plastic worm on the hook and use a garlic scent attractant. Big bait = Big fish!
Striper fishing with lures is so much fun that fishing celebrity Jimmy Houston will soon film his RoadRunner show with the help of Striper Express.
Oh Boy! Contact us today at bigfish@striperexpress.com and don’t miss the fantastic winter striper fishing.
Blog 8
2-22-15
Lake Texoma Striper Guide – Trina’s Striper Fishing Evening
Lake Texoma Striper Guide Dave Wand
Hi all,
After a long day working in the Striper Express office, Trina wanted an evening outdoors on the water.
So she asked me to go fishing. Well, I can’t refuse a fishing trip so off we went at 5:30pm to fish over by the islands.
Trina helps book a lot of Striper Express fishing trips each year so it was perfect that the “Striper Fishing Gods” rewarded her tonight!
The weather was warm, the sun bright but the south wind was a howling 20mph so we had to find a spot up shallow by the island which would have some active stripers.
We quickly found them and caught several small fish. Every 6 fish or so a nicer striper would hit and the spinning reel would sing out as these powerful, silver and black lined speed demons pulled her drag to the max. Here are a few of her pictures from our short time on the water.
I had Trina fishing a Zoom “White Ice” colored 5” Swimming Fluke with a chartreuse colored dipped tail rigged on a 1/2oz saltwater jig casting a medium lite action Bass Spinning Rod and Reel.
Trina caught a bigger one soon thereafter!
And then a bigger striper hit right before sunset!
Trina has a great smile and she did a lot of that ….. catching 20+ stripers by dark!
By the way where did that 6 pack of Shiner Bock go? LOL
Blog 9
3-2-15
Lake Texoma Striper Guide – MARCH Striper Fishing MADNESS
FROM: Dave Wand, Lake Texoma Striper Guide
BEST WINTER STRIPER FISHING IN 20 YEARS
The size of striped bass in freshwater fishing lakes goes in cycles year to year. Since November the Striper Express Guide Staff have caught and released 100’s of Big Stripers over 10 lbs! Best overall winter fishing ever!
Lake Texoma boasts the nation’s most generous daily limit of 10 stripers per angler, only 2 of which may be over 20″ long. Most of these 10 pound+ fish we Catch, Photograph & Release (CPR) as a result – great news for our upcoming spawning season.
HOW WE CATCH WINTER STRIPERS
Randy Parks from Carrollton Tx with 14lb 14oz Texoma striper. CP Released
Techniques and fishing equipment we use here on Texoma are very similar to those used to find and catch Largemouth Bass in warmer months.
We focus our winter lure fishing efforts on rocky and sandy points, creek arm channel ledges, mid-lake humps and shallow ditches; these yield bigger stripers every day.
COLD WINTER IMPROVES SPRING CATCHING
Like up North our water temps stayed down in the high 30’s most of January and February then rose slowly to the current main lake temps of 46 degrees.
Due to the colder water the lake has lost a significant percentage of the Threadfin Shad population while Gizzard Shad have survived nicely.
With the loss of some shad stripers have been even more susceptible to our “shad-like” lures as our huge catch results indicate.
Blog 10
3-15-15
Lake Texoma Striper Guide – MARCH Striper Fishing MADNESS
FROM: Dave Wand, Lake Texoma Striper Guide
BEST WINTER STRIPER FISHING IN 20 YEARS
The size of striped bass in freshwater fishing lakes goes in cycles year to year. Since November the Striper Express Guide Staff have caught and released 100’s of Big Stripers over 10 lbs! Best overall winter fishing ever!
Lake Texoma boasts the nation’s most generous daily limit of 10 stripers per angler, only 2 of which may be over 20″ long. Most of these 10 pound+ fish we Catch, Photograph & Release (CPR) as a result – great news for our upcoming spawning season.
HOW WE CATCH WINTER STRIPERS
Randy Parks from Carrollton Tx with 14lb 14oz Texoma striper. CP Released
Techniques and fishing equipment we use here on Texoma are very similar to those used to find and catch Largemouth Bass in warmer months.
We focus our winter lure fishing efforts on rocky and sandy points, creek arm channel ledges, mid-lake humps and shallow ditches; these yield bigger stripers every day.
COLD WINTER IMPROVES SPRING CATCHING
Like up North our water temps stayed down in the high 30’s most of January and February then rose slowly to the current main lake temps of 46 degrees.
Due to the colder water the lake has lost a significant percentage of the Threadfin Shad population while Gizzard Shad have survived nicely.
With the loss of some shad stripers have been even more susceptible to our “shad-like” lures as our huge catch results indicate.
Best Big Striper Lures
White Blakemore Road Runner jig tipped with a 7″ curly white worm trailer.
White Blakemore Road Runner wi White Curly Worm
We use the Blakemore Road Runner jigs during the winter months on shallow banks with lots of stumps as the lure looks like a big slow moving shad.
The shad come to the stumps to feed on the algae growing on them.
The BIG Stripers come to these stump fields to feed on BIG Shad!
Road Runner jigs give us a “big shad silhouette” that huge Stripers love to eat.
1/2oz jig with a Zoom White Ice colored Super Fluke.
ZOOM Swimmin Super Fluke Ice White
The Zoom Super Fluke (White Ice) is a different lure style and provides a more subtle and simple “shad looking” bait to the Striper. Works best in colder water conditions when the shad are slow and lethargic.
I like this bait best on bright sunny days as it has metal fleck inside the lure and this reflects the sunlight similar to that of a natural shad.
Will these same lures catch Hybrid Stripers in Midwest Lakes? Heck yes!
Here are some recent pictures from my March Striper Express charters. Enjoy the eye candy!
Blog 11
3-22-15
Lake Texoma Striper Guide – Sweeny Men Battle Stripers
FROM: Dave Wand, Lake Texoma Striper Guide
Hi Pat and Brendan,
I remember the fishing trips my Dad took me on as a teenage boy. As I look back on my life, those “father/son” fishing trips created so many special memories for us indeed.
I am glad I got to share some time with you two striper fishing for these hard fighting, silver and black Lake Texoma stripers! You came here to learn how to use a spinning rod and reel, cast your lures and catch BIG FISH. By golly, you did just that! I was very impressed with how quickly your casting skills improved during our days adventure.
You two really fished hard all day on points, ditches and ledges… and the results showed as you each achieved New Personal Best Catches!
Brendan caught several 3 – 5 lb fish but his biggest was a 25″ long, 6.5 pound Striper. WOW – Pat you broke the 10 pound barrier with your magnificent Trophy of 12 lb 0 oz Striper. Pat you fought that BIG fish like a PRO too as it worked you around the boat from front to back!
We guarantee Excitement!! We photographed your beautiful fish and you revived it nicely in the lake water so it could swim off healthy and spawn in the next 30-45 days. Thank you for that!
I hope you’ll come back to Striper Express in May when the “Top Water” Striper ACTION is on. Plan to return again in July-August for the “Slab Spoon” striper fishing. You will learn new techniques and catch more stripers then too. Both trips will be a hoot!
Best regards,
Dave Wand
Lake Texoma Striper Guide
Striper Express Guide Service Lake Texoma
Blog 12
4-10-15
Lake Texoma Striper Guide – John & Shawn Regan vs. Texoma’s BIG Stripers
FROM: Dave Wand, Lake Texoma Striper Guide
Hi John And Shawn,
We had a windy, warm start at 2:30pm and the sun felt good on our backs. Despite the wind the Striper fishing was HOT today so we stayed mentally sharp for the next bite!
Shawn you are a fine fishermen and your Dad really worked hard all afternoon to become a better lure caster. You both did a fine job with me fishing several windy humps, ledges and shallow ditches. Plus, you guys worked the lures just right on those drop offs and the fish responded despite windy conditions. During that beautiful sunset, the evening bite really came to life and it was fish after fish. With 21 total fish and 5 Big ones over 8 lbs – it was a successful day.
John, casting a 1/2oz Blakemore Road Runner White jig with a 7″ white curly tail worm caught his new “PERSONAL BEST” Lake Texoma Striper of 10 lbs 4ozs!!!
Shawn, you really impressed me with your fishing skills at such a young age. Your new Personal Best came today as well with your 8 lb 12 oz BIG Silver beauty!
You caught that magnificent Striper on a 1/2oz salt water jig with a Zoom 5″ Swimmin Super Fluke in White Ice color with dipped chartreuse yellow tail. (Spike – IT lure Dye) Thanks for fishing hard all afternoon guys – you are fine fishermen indeed.
Here are some pictures I took of you today holding those 8 to 11lbers !! Congratulations on such BIG trophy fish. I hope you will come back fishing with Striper Express in late April / May for the Top Water bite and again in July for the “Slab Spoon” summer bite. Both fishing styles are really fun and a good learning experience for the serious Striper fishermen like you two!
Best regards,
Dave Wand
Lake Texoma Striper Guide
Striper Express Guide Service Lake Texoma
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