hey guys. I have been visiting this forum for awhile and have learned a lot from you all. So I decided to join and hope to eventually contribute enough to help others.
As a fisherman I have always been a bass guy, and the only time I ever catfished was in the spring rains in the creeks or river. I rigged my bass boat up last year with some rod holders and I have almost entirely gave up on the bass! I love the big blues and stripers!
So far my biggest blue is 38lbs. And I want to break that this winter. Im currently at Texas tech. But in 2 weeks I will
be back home in the gainesville area.
So my questions start at.
What lakes do you recommend more texoma or roberts?
And what areas or sides of the lake?
Which Baits is best in winter? Shad, perch, carp?

A general break down of how you guys approach these late fall and winter months would be a greatly appreciated help. Thank you guys!

Personally, I think it would be easier on Texoma. The area in front of Briar Creek, and around Catfish bay, are a couple good spots,. Ray Roberts is a minefield of stumps. I love the fishing there, but hate the navigation. I have however seen some large winter blues pulled out of the area in front of the dam on 455, and it's fairly clear there. Shad always the go to, but I do fish other baits as well. Just in case they might like something more that day.

Yeah roberts is a pain With the trees I usually only stay on the pecan creek area. A have a route figured out but I haven't been there since summer. So water level is different and more stumps are probably exposed.
I haven't been to catfish Bay in forever. Almost forgot about that place. I fished the big mineral arm over Thanksgiving caught a few nice stripers. But no more than 6-8 per day. I was trying to avoid the little schoolies and find big stripers and blues. I will to shoot over to briar creek on my next trip. Thank you.

Welcome home Shadslayer! Texoma has some giant fish but they can be very difficult to locate FYI..They also pattern a lot differently up there and bait can be super hard to get. I been going up there for years and been smoked more on that lake than any other. It has endless flats and ledges in all depths which can make locating them like searching g for a needle in a haystack I’m just starting to get that beast figured out last 2yrs. There is a reason a lot of the trophy catfish guides up there head to Raybob and Twok to fish in the winter. Raybob fished very similar to most north Texas lakes I’ve fished. Its is a sleeper lake for big blues in my opinion. I’ve fished it a bunch in the spring and summer but only once in the winter. Here is my trip report from Raybob last January. You can find my Texoma trip report in my Bluecat Tip of the Week post.

Welcome to the pool!

I have just started to get serious about this big blue cat thing, and the people on here have been a great help. Ask away, always someone that is willing to answer questions and help.

I will throw out the idea of using a guide once or twice if that is an option. You can learn a lot on a trip, if you get the right guide... and catch some fish.

Tight lines - stay safe.

Ken

This is great guys! I really appreciate it! Soon as I get the chance I will hopefully be sending a few stud blue pictures very soon. This is awsome. Thank you again!

To the TFF!

That big dropoff, in front of briar creek is an excellent place for big blues to congregate. If you will notice, there are almost always a lot of deep water jugs set out there, along the dropoff. It's almost directly out from the boat ramp, about a 100 yds offshore. Last time we were there ran across a big school of 24 inch plus stripers, feeding on shad on that ledge. Looked like an underwater volcano on the fish finder. LOL

Definitely going to have to head over there and give it a look.

Glad to have you aboard!

Looking forward to seeing your pics & stories!

You might want to check out my Catfish Calender to assist in Yellows, Blues, and Gator Gars. Currently it is on p.2 or 3 of the listings here in the Catfish section. In the next day or so, I will post the December calendar. Look for "Lynn's Catfish Calendar" as to the thread, or you can just go to ...
2020 <https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/13397571/1>

Have a Great One!

I will check it out, thank you!

Texoma hands down......