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"Fish on!!!" I can't think of many phrases in the human language
that will make a person jump in anticipation of emanate excitement.
The rod tip of a baited pole points downward as the fish tugs at the
other end, you reach for the pole and set the hook. What happens
next is a minute or two of pure exhilaration. If you are a fisherman, you know what I mean. If not, you have to
experience striper fishing in Texas at least one time in your life.
If the fish are biting and you can put bait in front of them, you
will surely be in for one of the most exciting, adrenaline pumping outdoor experiences
to be encountered by the average sportsman. Striper fishing is
fun that everyone can enjoy. You don't have to have an expensive
boat or even be an experienced angler to enjoy the excitement and
catch a few of these great game fish.
Stripers, be they true Striped Bass or the
smaller but widely available Hybrid Striped Bass, a cross between
White Bass and Striped Bass, are the forth most popular fish
targeted by anglers in Texas each year. Only Black bass, Catfish and
Crappie are fished for more often. For the purposes of this
article we will group both species together. Either species can give
anglers some of the most exciting fishing Texas has to offer.
When the average fisherman talks of a good bass
fishing experience, most folks think of the Largemouth Bass or Black
Bass, as it is commonly known. Our reputation for great bass
fishing is a culmination of several factors. Many of the accolades
for the outstanding Texas fishing are the fruit of years of quality
management practices as prescribed by our Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, or TPWD. The striped bass sought by so many anglers
in Texas each year are stocked by the TPWD. Over 2 million hybrid fingerings
are annually introduced to several lakes throughout the state. Lake
Texoma is noted as the only Texas lake in which a natural 'hatch' of
young fish occurs. Another reason we have such good striper fishing
available in our state is the fact that so many sportsman spend
recreational dollars in pursuit of these great game fish. Funds
collected from the sale of licenses, taxes on sporting goods and
state grants fund the stocking of fish and management of our
fisheries by the TPWD.
I recently spent a day on Lake Bridgeport
enjoying some fantastic fishing action. A group of my co-workers and
I left early that morning and made the 2 hour drive to the lake
where we were met by our guide, Roger
Gray and two other boats. After getting under way with a bleak
forecast that included rain and thunderstorms in the area, we
arrived at our first spot that showed fish on the graphs. We were
instructed by our boat's guide, Jack, to let our live shad baited
hooks to hit the bottom then reel in about 2-3 feet of line. It
didn't take long for the fun to begin. We quickly caught 5-6 good
fish, including my biggest fish of the day, a 6 lb. Hybrid. 
We continued fishing for about an hour until the bites took a break.
One of the other boats called us on a two-way radio and reported
they were into fish, so we quickly picked up and moved to where our
friends were catching fish. That is a very common aspect of going
after striped bass. If the fish stop biting, you must move to where
they are feeding. Striped Bass sustain themselves on primary shad, a
large member of the minnow family. These shad are constantly moving
in large schools throughout the lakes. Once a school of shad have
been located by the hungry bass, they are concentrated and fed upon
with what is sometimes considered a feeding frenzy, forcing the
baitfish to the surface. If you ever see shorebirds diving into the
water to catch these baitfish, you can bet striped bass are under
the commotion enjoying dinner.
The highlight of the day came when we decided to
pack it in for the day. It was mid-afternoon and we were on the way
to the boat dock full limits of stripers (Each angler can keep 5
fish, though you may catch and release all you want) when the lead boat, piloted
by Roger, made a quick 180 degree turn after finding birds feeding
on shad. He positioned the boat upwind of the feeding birds and
drifted baits through the schooling fish below. What happened next
will rank as one of my all-time favorite fishing memories. We got
hammered! In less than 20 minutes our group of eight anglers caught
around 15 fish. At one time, our boat had four fish on our rods and
fighting hard. Talk about exciting, this is what striper
fishing is all about.
If you have never experienced a trip for Texas
Striped Bass, you have to get in on the fun. If there were a perfect
trip for friends to experience great off-season trip to remember
(Read: Any time when deer season is closed), it would have to be a
striper excursion, in my book. I would recommend you hire the
services of a guide to ensure a better chance of success, preferably
one that specializes in stripers. The fee for a day long trip is
very reasonable, about $100/angler. When you take into account that
your guide provides live bait, rods and tackle, a boat, insurance,
fuel and cleans the catch, you can see that these guy's earn every
penny they charge. If you have ever had to pay a repair bill for an
outboard motor, you will understand what I mean. One other thing you get
when going with a guide is that he will know where the fish are,
what they are biting and what methods are producing fish for that
lake on any given day with usually much better results than trying
to do it on your own. Give it a try, you'll be glad you did.
At full draw,
Tyge Floyd, Editor
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