This past week, there has been some topwater schooling going on. My question is, when the winds are up as they are today, will they still drive the shad up to the surface in the evenings as they have been doing?

My girl friend got to witness this first hand, in the middle of the pack, she was so startled, she just looked shocked. She was telling me to look at the gizzard shad flying thru the air, and I was already fighting a hybrid !!!!

Hookem
Matt

my wife and i ran into a school syrfacing on a windy day last year trying to get back to the boat dock but looking out the office window i wouldn't be on that lake today (can't see the lake from work but I can sure see the trees blowing)

I was out this morning for several hours and over three hours yesterday. Wind has been strong both days. Caught fish continuously for most of the morning yesterday on chartreuse slabs fished from the surface to the bottom. Today, schooling fish everywhere in the water column but they were keying more on the shad. They sure weren't crazy about chartreuse slabs. Only caught maybe a dozen. Mixed schools of hybrids, sandies and stripers are still chasing shad on the surface. They are running the shad out of deep water and in to the shallower water, although there is surface activity in over 30 feet of water. The terns and blue herons hovering over the water are an indication of the location and direction the schooling fish are moving. Use your trolling motor to move in close to the birds. Regards, Bart

nice job bart- the wind is still whipping it up right now

Storms tomorrow around noon in Dallas according to the weatherman. Think I'll have to try it tomorrow morning before the front moves through. REgards, Bart

You guys think this front will effect the schooling activity that much over there at Tawak?

Heard this front is a pretty weak one. Gosh I sure hope not! Would the strength of the front matter , guys?

It'd be my dang luck though as I'll be down there for two days learning the lake for the first time.

Fishing was good this morning. The fish appear to be primarily suspended in schools from 12 - 20 feet over deeper water. The key today was to downsize from a slab to a tailkicker, tailhummer, whatever, that I could fish slowly through the suspended school of fish. The herons are still a main key to locating the schools of fish. As for the front that is coming through, I don't have a clue how it will affect the fishing. It won't really change the water temperature. Watch the birds and your graph. There was a boat show out in deep water near the dam this morning. I think they were following the herons. Regards, Bart Regards, Bart

Thanks Bart! Appreciate the tips, Man!

My son (10) and I will out there Sat eve, Sun and Monday ... staying at Anchor Inn ... Green 17' Pro-V Tracker, 90 Merc ... yell at me if you see me!

Bart, you mess with the live shad much? Pondering weather to trailer to Holiday Marina or catch em' around Anchor Marina and ride the lake to the dam ... your thoughts ?

I don't use live shad. I bought a Keep Alive aerator several years ago and was going to build a shad tank but then decided it was too much trouble. I use only artificial baits. When I first started trying to catch sandies, hyrids and stripers by monitoring the TFF I trolled the hell/pet alot because I did not know how to interpret what I was seeing on my graph. I also did not know what type slabs and sassy shad to use or how to fish them. I noticed that the top guides on Tawakoni, Joe Read and Jimmy Smith, never troll. So I decided that I would just keep trying to get better reading my graph and using slabs and sassy shad. I don't troll the hell/pet on Tawakoni anymore but that is a pretty surefire way of catching fish.
With a good shad tank you should be able to run from Anchor Inn to the dam without losing any shad. I believe you need to catch them really early in the morning. I'll say hello if I see you. I'm in a charcoal Tidecraft with a 48 hp Johnson. Bart