Fishing Report

Sat, 25 May 2002

Morning temperatures ranging from the high 40's to the middle 80's have made it hard to dress right for an early morning ride across the lake this spring.  Leaving home in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt has ruined a day of fishing for many anglers.  The lake elevation is staying around 617 feet. The water temperature is holding around 67 degrees.

We all know that striper fishing Lake Texoma is always excellent from spring until the water temperature gets below forty-five degrees in the winter. It would be nice if the stripers spawned at the same time every year, but this is never the case.  Spring rains, bringing running water down the Washitaand Red Rivers, are impossible to predict. The water temperature has to be just right for the fish to spawn and the last few years the times it reached that temperature has varied from the middle of April until early June.  Ten days before the spawn and during the spawn the Stripers are very erratic and unpredictable.  The stripers have finally completed their spawn. The spawn was about twenty-five days later than normal.  This caused striper fishing to be slower in April than last year.  May started out a little slow but ended great.  We had a week of strong north winds that moved the shad and  stripers to the south end of the lake.  The spawned out and hungry silversides chased the shad right up against the rocks from Grandpappy to the dam.  Top water fishing was excellent for five days before the south winds began to blow.  Top water action and slab fishing will get very good again in late June and July.  For now the shad are working structure for plankton and as always "where you find shad you will find the stripers." Afternoon fishing with live shad caught some large stripers in May.  Many of the big fish caught last year were landed fishing in the afternoons in June. 

Bring the family to Lake Texoma and enjoy a great day fishing, skiing, boating and camping this summer.

The Corps of Engineers are operating the generators at different times during the day.  Airboat fishing the Red River is producing limits of stripers and some nice catfish.  Fishing when the generators are running has
been the best.  The Oklahoma state striper record was broken by an angler fishing from the bank of the Red River in May, 2002

Largemouth bass are good in flooded cover and on points. Fish are taking buzz baits early along with Crawdad Bomber crankbaits on points. Tubes, jigs and spinner baits in flooded brush and worms and Carolina rigs are working in deeper water..

Call toll free 1-888-846-5377 to make a reservation.  Great Fishing, Tinker 
 

To see May's pictures go to: http://www.tinker.net/fishpics02/fishpics04.html