Texoma - question about striper spawning and has it really started yet.

I read that temp and flow are the big triggers. We have not had much rain until recently, so flow is down. My google research seems to say 65 degrees for water temp. So that would mean we are still in pre-spawn ? - any thoughts ?

2nd thought, if we are still pre-spawn, then the striper are just staging closer to the river. Should we be going further west of the 377 bridge looking for them now ?

-rob

Look forward to an answer/thought on that too..im ready to get the boat back on water, havent even been there to check on it since February

With the recent rain fall it would seem the red river would have pretty good flow now. I know the water temp is not there yet but maybe in the next couple weeks if the weather holds. I'm ready to catch a few!

The eggs from two weeks ago to this past weekend have changed a bunch. The eggs I saw were greenish and looked ready to squirt.

Okay, so that would mean we are getting close.

That then begs the question, how far up the red river or how far north do they go to stage and then how far up the red would be worth going to try and catch them ?

I am assuming that since I never seemed to see over the past yr many reports west of cedar bayou, that people don't feel the need to go , or are keeping it a secret

Looking at the charts it seems like the mouth to washita is more defined where it dumps into Texoma, I wonder if that is a better area up north to hunt for them now ?

-rob

Maybe we'll never know..maybe it is a secret..maybe I'll follow a guide out..maybe thats wrong..is that wrong

First off they will and always have spawned up river and on flats. IMO there will be lots of this going on this year with the low lake levels. Lots of fish north and west but as they get close to spawn food is not on the top on the list. The stripers will go spawn in waves. We have caught them both spawned and not yet spawn insame spot many times. The pic in my last post where I stated want to catch some hawgs and some pups for example.One of those fish had scrapes and bruises but still had her eggs but they were green and bloody. We have had some milky males as well. IMO they spawn march til June sometimes and evidence of egg/milt would seem to confirm that. I have many stories about catching fish in June still full of stuff and have had spawned out fish in April. With that being said it seems inmay they return very hungry for most part and find fish that just haven't or are not going to drop em and they will re absorb the eggs/milt. Time will tell but upriver will also be dirty right now. In years past when water was normal to high but domewhat clear i have caught them waaaay up river but not this year Plenty of fish still in mainlake to catch.

Thank you very much Chris for sharing that info.

I was hoping to find some edge, that maybe going upstream the red would make a difference. Or if the flow out of washita was higher that week,maybe the northeast would be better. I guess if it was close to a recent rain, it maybe hurting my chances with muddy water.

Sounds like I maybe of over thinking this. Also for my small boat, wind direction and weather will always dictate were I fish on Texoma more than anything else. So your info then is good news, as it sounds like my chances are about the same from Cedar Bayou, 377, Buncomb, Mill Creak to Highport & North Island.

Looking at this weekends report, the wind is going to be howling out of the south, so Mill Creek to Highport maybe the only safe place for me anyway.

THANKS AGAIN.

Why not leave them alone while they're re-populating the lake and wait for them to come back hungry.

There are a zillion small stripers in Texoma. This is why TPWD allows 10 stripers and no length limit. TPWD is trying to manage the population by cutting down on the under 20 inch fish. There are too many of them.

Here is how we got to the limits we have today! Very good read!


Lake Texoma
Fisheries Management Plan

Striped Bass
The evolution of the Lake Texoma striped bass fishery has required intensive management and
regulation adjustments. ODWC introduced 1,013,133 striped bass into the reservoir from 1965
to 1974 to create an additional sport fishery and to provide a biological control on shad
populations (Harper and Namminga 1986). Natural reproduction was verified in 1973, 1975, and
each year thereafter (Mauck 1986). To protect the developing population a 1 fish/day bag limit
was originally imposed in 1967. Ten years later this bag limit was raised to 3 fish/day and later
to 5 fish/day in 1980. Populations of striped bass and forage fish were in excellent condition and
yielded numerous trophy fish in the early 1980’s (Mauck 1986). The current lake record was
caught in 1984 weighing 35.12 pounds. By 1980, Lake Texoma had become nationally
recognized for its excellent striped bass fishery and experienced increasing fishing pressure. In
1982, liberal bag limits were instituted allowing anglers to harvest 15 fish/day of which only 5
could exceed 20 inches.
Angling pressure and environmental factors have combined to shape the Lake Texoma striped
bass fishery. Artificial lures were the primary method of fishing prior to 1985 when bait fishing
made its debut (Mauck 1986). This technique allowed anglers and guides to more effectively
target trophy fish and regularly harvest bag limits. It became the opinion that live bait fishing
was a contributing factor to declining numbers of large fish, prompting biologists to conduct a
fishing mortality survey. Hysmith et al. (1992) demonstrated that post-release mortality of
striped bass caught on live bait (57.6%) far surpassed those caught with artificial baits with treble
hooks (32.3%) and single hooks (15.7%). These results further showed that this discrepancy was
higher for fish over 20 inches with mortality estimates as high as 71% when caught with live
bait.
By the late 1980’s it was apparent that a combination of environmental factors were having a
significant impact on the population. Discharge of flood waters reduced the number of large fish
due to entrainment, while winter kills of threadfin shad reduced the forage base and negatively
impacted year-class strength. Another environmental factor, known as the “temperaturedissolved
oxygen squeeze”, also negatively affected striped bass distribution and survival during
the summer months. Striped bass are a temperate species, preferring a temperature range from
64 – 75 °F. Due to the thermal and chemical stratification that occurs at Lake Texoma (and
many other lakes in the southern U.S.) preferred temperatures often experience anoxic or sublethal
dissolved oxygen concentrations for striped bass. This results in stripers being “squeezed”
into a narrow band of water that meets their temperature and oxygen needs. Stripers become
stressed when these conditions cannot be met in the lake. Stratification and the resulting impact
on the striper population vary each year due to a number of environmental factors. Generally,
stratification occurs at deeper, cooler depths in the lower lake sections, whereas upper lake areas
experience warmer temperature and less suitable conditions for striped bass. This effect can
influence the distribution of striped bass into the lower basin of the reservoir during the summer
months. Overcrowding and insufficient forage availability can play a large role in the overall
stress and survival of striped bass during the summer months.
In 1989, the regulation was adjusted to a 15 fish/day creel with only 1 fish > 20 inches. A joint
angler creel survey by the ODWC and TPWD was initiated in 1987 to determine catch rates,
fishing pressure, and harvest estimates and ran through 1999 (Hysmith et al. 2000). During this
13-year survey, striped bass anglers accounted for 63.6% of the angling effort and harvested an
estimated 854,032 striped bass annually (range 474,459 to 1,233,066). Weight of harvested
striped bass averaged 1,706717 pounds annually but saw yearly estimates as high as 2,883,333
pounds.
Despite efforts to reduce the harvest of larger fish in the population, striped bass were not
reaching their historic trophy sizes and regulations were ineffective in reviving numbers of
striped bass greater than 20 inches (Moczygemba and Hysmith 1994). In an attempt to reduce
the impacts of catch and release mortality, the ODWC and TPWD adopted a regulation
decreasing the bag limit to 10 fish/day while increasing the number > 20 inches to two fish daily.
This regulation was adopted in 1996 and remains in effect today.
Since 1993, winter gill-net data has been jointly collected by ODWC and TPWD and indicates
that the striped bass population has remained stable in recent years. The percentage of fish ≥ 20
inches in the population has averaged 21.7% since the latest regulation change in 1996. Catch
rates and size distribution data are presented in Table 7 and Figures 13 and 14. This population
data mirrors the current regulation which allows 20% of the harvest to exceed 20 inches. Age
and growth data was last collected in 2008. These data are presented in Figure 15. Growth rates
for Lake Texoma striped bass are generally slower than other reservoir populations in the
southeast United States. Estimates from annual population samples indicate total mortality is
approximately 50% for striped bass age-1 and older (ODWC, unpublished data). Natural
mortality is intensified in years following a threadfin shad kill. The decline of fish collected in
gillnets during 2002 reflects forage limitations the prior summer due to a harsh 2000/2001
winter. Angler harvest and catch and release mortality are also major contributors to the total
mortality rate (Hysmith et al. 1992).
The current length and bag limit restrictions on Lake Texoma striped bass are the result of many
years of combined fishery population surveys, angler surveys, public hearings and various
harvest regulation modifications by ODWC and TPWD. Approximately 200 guides operate on
the lake and guided trips account for 60% of the directed effort for striped bass and comprise
77% of the total harvest (Moczygemba et al. 2005). The striped bass fishery at Lake Texoma is
estimated to provide in excess of $25 million annually to the local economy (Schorr et al. 1995)
making it arguably the single-most valuable fishery resource in Oklahoma. Since the
establishment of the current regulations, the striped bass population remains stable and the
majority of anglers are satisfied with their Lake Texoma fishing experience (Hunt and Ditton
1998). Fortunately, the desires of the angling public and the production capabilities of the lake
align.

Chris would know. Now that's a good guide, thanks for sharing !

More great info .. thanks .. and keep it coming .. this is good stuff for newbies to Texoma like me

Texoma is a fantastic lake. I really enjoy fishing there. I caught five nice stripers today. There are plenty of stripers in the lake but big fish are hard to come by.

I have installed 4 gps tracking devices on Chris Carey's boat so I have been doing really well following the guides and filling the cooler
In all seriousness Chris has been killing it with some HUGE fish I am fixing to book a trip with him and thenhead east to Tawakoni with Lakeguide and have an awesome week of fishing!

Lmao. Good read. Thanks for the info Chris.

I find SandBass put Puma Shoes on before they start their run up creeks.



When you see blue pumas at the lake.......SandBass Spawn is on!

Striper are much different. Male Striped Bass like to wine and dine. When you see wine corks floating and hear Barry White music.......Striped Bass Spawn is near

Some good info here I'm also a newbie to big T and strippers. Heard another guy of Facebook day they are doing good on the sandies right now. By super ducks post it might be time to switch gears and look for sandies. Headed up there Saturday a recent report for stripes or sandies would be much appreciated!

Water temp was 59 yesterday at 377 bridge. I guess we'll just stay stuck at the first week on march. This is such a weird year I do not know if the fish will spawn at all. If they do, it will be later.