Our mornings begin before sunrise. As you glide across the water in your boat at dusk, you can’t help but marvel at the majesty of existence, the water lapping against the boat, the moon and stars still in the sky, the world’s problems fading away and everything being perfect, right in that moment. I hope my clients feel that too. It’s easy to take it for granted; after all, it’s just another sunrise.
We get to where I hope the fish are. They were here yesterday so if we’re lucky they’ll be here again. It’s too shallow to try to graph them and I’d rather not try to see them on the side scan as they might spook if I move too much. I drop the trolling motor and sneak into position so we can cast to where the fish have been every morning.
We wait with the trolling motor moored in place. The first few casts with our large topwater plugs yield nothing. I hope it’s too early. It’s always hard to know how long to wait before starting to search and sometimes a little patience pays off. After several casts, it finally happens: a huge explosion right next to the boat, engulfing my client’s topwater plug. The drag immediately starts screeching as the fish makes its first attempt… fish on the line!
While I’m working with my client to land the first fish, two more fish are hooked and we have three fish on the hook and it looks like they’re all big. A success! It’s going to be a good day!
This is the fall surface fishing experience. That’s when we catch some of the biggest fish of the year and it’s on the surface, the most exciting way to catch them and it’s already started. We’ve already had some great trips over the last few weeks blind surface fishing in the shallows looking for those big striped bass. The upcoming cold front and rain that’s coming our way will only make it better.
This time of year, striped bass seek a break from the heat and find solace in the shallows, where the water cools first during the coolest part of the day in the early morning. The cooler weather coming next week will reinforce this pattern, so get ready!
Surface fishing means prime time for fly fishing. If you dream of catching a big striper on the fly, now is one of the best opportunities of the year to do so. I started my adventure with fly fishing about 4 years ago and quickly developed a passion for it. It is now my preferred method of fishing and I really enjoy my fly fishing trips. I have even started tying my own flies, which brings a new appreciation and joy to my profession. I really enjoy providing my clients with big fish, especially on the fly. From now until the first week of November, these big fish will be in the shallows in the mornings where we can target them on the fly or with surface lures. This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss!
By far the best time to fish is during the week when the fish are in shallow water. Success with this fishing pattern depends on stealth and too many boats in the area can really negatively impact fishing success. However, traffic on the lake has decreased considerably with the kids back in school. Fishing was excellent all week, followed by a Saturday with lots of boats on the water which made the catch significantly slower compared to our outings earlier in the week.
However, if you need to have a weekend off, I understand and we will catch fish even if we have to work a little harder to do so. My weekends are full so if you can only come on a weekend you should book as soon as possible. But remember, it is an excused absence for your children to skip school to go fishing, at least it is should Finally, they will learn how to cast, use a surface lure, set the hook, identify fish using the electronics and if you are interested, I will even show them how to steer the boat.
I enjoy teaching people how to fish and teaching in general. I will be happy to teach you and/or your children anything I can while we are out on the water. If there is anything specific you would like to learn while we are out on the water, please let me know and we can tailor our trip to meet all of your goals.
If you don’t have a group to go with, that’s not a problem. We offer open boat trips that anyone can join. Just let me know if you’re interested and we’ll endeavour to arrange one. You can book your trips online at www.stripersinc.com or call me at (903) 815-1609. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I look forward to fishing with you, Your Lake Texoma Fishing Guide, Brian Prichard, Stripers Inc.
www.stripersinc.com (903) 815-1609
