I was reflecting back this week and was thanking about how I ended up at Oak Cove Marina to run my guide business out of. I believe it was because it reminded me of my little home town of Red Oak, it just feels right!
Just this past week I was cleaning up my camp a little just getting ready for the fast aproaching season, I placed a new flag on my flag pole that a old neighbor had left me years ago now.

I looked around and noticed another old friend has just backed his motorhome in across the way from me, while we were catching up another long time friend walked up he was putting his travel trailer in order and then there was a third getting there little fishing cabin in order.
Each person as you shook there hand for the first time in almost a year and some longer sense the big drought had kept several away last year they would ask how's the family.
It's just the way things are hear at Oak Cove.

Everyday now there is more and more old friends and fishermen along with there families doing the same thing coming into Oak Cove RV park and Marina getting everything set for some really good clean family fun while they catch tons of fish and fill there freezers with the best tasting fish imaginable, and really just reuniting our friendships because after all these years were like a small town or maybe a big family.

There's never a morning I go into Oak Cove that I'm not greeted with a big smile and lots of times a big hug.
When I have time to stick around I may order a really good breakfast, possibly a hamburger, or maybe a fish basket.

For my fishing report this week the water temperature is still hovering around 56 maybe 58 degrees and the water clearing up. Id say the lake is full and in good shape.

Right now most of my fish the Sand Bass and Hybrid Stripers are up Richland and Chambers creek spawning. With good water flowing in the creeks I predict this will be the year of the big spawn and every big lake really depends on a successful spawn and the top notch stocking program that Texas Parks and Wildlife provides.

The last few years TPW have been just amazing in there hybrid stocking efforts and this will be the year we really start seeing the numbers of keeping size Hybrid Striper.

There have been a few reports of sand bass and hybrids caught on the most perfect days but nothing you could count on, I go out a couple times each week and haven't seen anything dependable yet.

Kind of the same thing with the Blue cat, but here's the deal this south wind starts blowing day in and day out and with the nights staying a little warmer we will start finding these fish and catching them.

Cat fishing on Big Richland Chambers is just nothing short of awesomeness.

TPW works untold hours on our catfish population they are on the lake a lot running surveys of how many fish we have. With the slot limit on the Blue Cat we are releasing fish in the 30 to 45 inch range it's putting tons of these fish back in the lake for breeding and there must be a million while fun to catch you depend on the lesser or greater fish to fill your box.

We depend on the wind to point you in the right direction to fish in the spring..
The catfish follow the shad which follow the plankton and larvae along the windy shorelines and the fishing can be incredible when you find the right spot.

Cat fishing can be a little harder than catching Sand bass and Hybrids just because of the challenges of getting the right bait and dropping anchor or tying up to a tree and most folks that don't get to fish a lot have trouble actually setting the hook and thats important.

On the Crappie it kind of takes a Crappie fisherman to catch Crappie it's a light bite and we are usually fishing above a hidden brush pile.

Sand bass and hybrids are more the every mans fish or women's and most importantly kids it's so much fun. The fish almost hook themselves and they fight really hard I rig with what we call a double rig just to give the person a chance to catch two fish at once.
It's Crazy sometimes!

Thank about it,
Your spending time on the lgake with someone you care about while making wonderful memories that will last a lifetime, stories will be told by your grand children of the fun they had on that day forever!

I CAN GUARANTEE IT !

I hope you can call quickly to book your trip this spring, my calendar is filling up at a fast pace and I want everyone to experience what I thank will be a Spring for the record books.

To book your trip today call Bob Holmes longest continuous working fishing guide on the lake and still the Striper Lake Record Holder!

214 728 3310
bob@texasfishingguide.net
www.texasfishingguide.net

Nice write up Bob!

It shouldn't be much longer and the bite will definitely be on, I'm ready for it!

Nice reflection on the past and future.

Appreciate that guy's
I don't know why my lake seems to always be the last to turn on but it want be long now!

I've been out with Bob and I very highly recommend him, he is a cat person.

All the creeks around Richland Chambers Lake have been flooded since 2012 & is now a flooded marsh land.
I recently went to Richland & nothing has changed.
It's only good for catfishing on the main lake.
The whitebass population has been on the decline for the last 2 years & the few that are there are scattered everywhere according to the local biologist for the lake.



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Hookinup may be correct about the White Bass population on RC being low. I do believe the drought from 2011 thru April, 2015 took it's toll on the fish as the Creeks were not flowing in the Spring to produce a quality spawn. This changed last Spring and this Spring and the spawn should have been AWESOME. Up until two years ago we caught Whites and Hybrids all year around with the Fall/Winter being almost as good as the Spring bite. The fish have literally disappeared the past two years in the Fall. However, they have also showed back up in the Spring the past two years and we go to "limiting out" as usual. This could be attributed to a lower White population, but it doesn't explain the lack of Hybrids. TPWD continues to stock Hybrids, we continue to catch Spring/Summer, and the fish continue to disappear in the Fall/Winter. Quite a mystery as ALL the Guides have changed to Catfishing the past two Falls. (There's some pretty good Guides on RC that know how to use a Graph, but we can't find any scaly fish on the Main Lake)

I'm not sure what Hookinup is talking about in regard to Creeks flooded and marshland since 2012? We just came out of the longest drought in recent history and had lake owners unable to use their boat docks from April,2013 thru April,2015 due to the lake being down so low. He might be referring to the Wetlands Project where TRWD pumps water from the Trinity to Wetlands and then to the Lake?

We wrote RC off the past couple of years but quickly started shouting about our great fishing expertise when the Whites/Hybrids showed up each Spring! Bet we are talking smack again in the next two weeks!

Good Luck and Good Fishin'!

I'll refer you to the 1rst post above.
What we saw for ourselves was the opposite.
The creeks were all under massive amounts of water & areas not accessible.

He said reports from those fishing creeks were coming in & people are catching sandbass.
That's why I made my statement above.
I find it hard to believe anyone fishing creeks around Richland Chambers is really catching anything.
Anyone who has been awake for the last 2 years know that heavy rains were the order of the day everyday during the Fall to Early Spring.
Even some heavy rains during the summer of 2014.
From Oklahoma to South Texas.
Trinity & Sabine Rivers has been way above normal ever since 2013.

We made a 2 hour look around at creeks in different areas & found all of then are badly flooded.
In some areas even the fields near the creeks are still flooded.
Here's some pics for everyones viewing pleasure if they have any doubts.


1rst area was Richland Creek at 45N just North of Fairfield.
All the access roads leading to the creek were all closed due to high water in the creek.


2nd area was just North of Streetman off SE 1240
The creek is flooded not accessable due to standing water within 100 yards of the creek.

3rd area is Cedar Creek on the North end of the lake near 3130.
Looks like flooeded timber & water is everywhere.

Last up was Trinity River off 287.
Didn't go to far here as the water is really high & looks like chocolate milk.









Nope
I have no interest in the Wetlands project at all.



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Hookinup....Sorry to get you upset. Just trying to do the same as Bob Holmes and let people know what's happening. Bob and I fish RC about 200 days year every year and have since 1999. We hate for a report to say the "fishing is not good on RC and will not be good in the future". If you are correct and there's no more Whites and Hybrids in RC, I stand corrected.

Good Luck and Good Fishin'!

I honestly have no idea what point hookinup is trying to make. RC Has been flooded just like every other lake in the state of Texas the last few years. However, the flooding will be the fix for low white bass numbers. It's absolutely not the cause. Like Royce said the years and years of drought took its toll on the white bass population. The white bass at its core is a creek and river fish. Sure they have adapted over time to do some spawning on windy points, but for this fish to really have peak reproduction it takes flowing creeks. They simply did not have flowing creeks on RC for the better part of 5yrs. Like everything else in life a lake goes through cycles. Some good years, some bad, some great. I honestly believe RC is now closer to good years again than bad. The lake white bass population is on its way back up.

As for hybrids being hard to find I believe it's a simple numbers issue. It's a huge lake getting the same stocking numbers as lakes half its size. RC Has a great shad population so these fish just spread out and live the good life. There have been several efforts to raise money to supplement the state hybrid stocking but there is no local support.

Lastly hookinup, if you find it hard to believe that people are catching white bass up the creeks I suggest you grab a bucket of minnows, a few bobbers, and a pole and go find you a spot on Chambers creek. I guarantee you will catch fish right now. Shoot me a pm and I will give you directions to some great spots to access the creek.

Fished Saturday afternoon on Richland Chambers and caught some really nice sized white bass! The south shoreline humps held large numbers of small but legal 10.5" whites and some large yellow bass in 23' of water. The best fishing was in coves in 15' of water. Large white bass had shad schools pushed up in the skinny water and were feeding heavily. Birds were working hard as well. The topwater bite was great and working 2 ounces jigs back along the bottom was equally successful. The bite was slow until 5:30 pm and then it turned on and last until 6:10 pm. RC has never been empty of fish. But being the 3rd largest lake in Texas, you have to travel to find hungry fish.

Craig,

Good News! The Whites Adam or I have found in the last couple of weeks have been near Kingswood and the Lighthouse in water from 15'-30'. No consistent pattern from day to day, but I haven't been on the Lake in the late Afternoon. Also haven't seen any Gull activity to speak of. Bet it's about to bust loose if we don't get too much rain in the next few days and get the Creeks going again!

Thanks for the update! Bet we are all heroes in the next week or so!

See you on the water!