I’ll be fishing Tawakoni a few times in the next couple of weeks and plan to thump/deadstick. I bought a thumper last spring and have used it very little with very little success. I understand that it isn’t supposed to help all that much in warm weather and shallow water so my expectations were low. I bought it for this time of year. My question is what should my plan be? I’ve heard some say to find 40 fow and start thumping and the fish will just come to you. It can’t be that simple. That goes against everything I’ve ever learned about fishing. I assume I’d be better off finding deep water close to humps, points, etc. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

You need to find bait in an area where fish usually feed. Drop offs points ledges etc. 20 to 50 ft of water. Thumping works all year. From 10 ft to 160 ft of water. Ideal season is now through March. Everyone has opinions and what
may or may not have worked for them on a certain trip. Consistently works all year round. My .02.
I’m a novice though. Lol

It is that simple. Just go pick a spot near the dam the humps and drift 0.3-0.5 mph and see what happens in 20-40 fow. Most likely will need to present your bait 20-25 feet down.

Skippy, find an area that on your graph is showing fish and bait. If that area isn’t showing both, move on to one that does. When you locate both in the same area, then start thumping. You can spotlock or drift. I prefer to drift, just my personal preference. I usually give a spot 10 minutes, if it’s not happening by then, I move to another spot. Good luck.

I have never fished Tawok in winter or even late spring. Texoma is my go to winter lake. I may have to give it a try. I know where to start on Texoma in winter but no idea on Tawok

Bingo! Thumping works year round in my neck of the woods!

Skippy; it is really just that easy. As the lake gets cooler, the shad move to the warmest water on the lake. On Tawakoni that is the deep water near the river channel and the deep holes down by the dam. The fish will be near the bait. Look for bird activity and watch your depth finder. I had the opportunity to fish with Lakeguide and Salsa on successive days. Each one of them said the words "Watch This" when I asked them where they chose to start fishing. They started thumping by hand in the middle of the lake with no marks on the screen. The screen filled up and the catching began, The fish disappear when you stop thumping and come back when you resume thumping. I like to think of it as magic where you are the magician. You don't need to have confidence in it. Just do it. If you thump, they will come.

Last winter at Twok. Thump or splash. I call it "football" season Lol. Tips above are correct. There is nothing to see here

Have a question on this. Sunday at Whitney I stopped by a submerged bridge by the island in 80 FOW and my 2D looked similar to this but not near as thick. We dropped down the same slabs we’ve been using most of the day and jigged the water column, and on bottom, for 5-10 minutes and nothing. When you see this on a graph, is it usually striper or sand bass?

Next time, bring your baits up and fish above the fish. Clearer water, fish a little higher above the fish than your used to.

I will give that a try. Now that i think of it, a swim bait probably wouldve been a better choice.

Chad is right. Fish for the most part always look up to feed.

I finally got to fish today. Only had about an hour before it got dark. I went to a couple of my favorite points close to the house and found the closest 30-40 fow I could find. There were no fish so I cranked up the thumper and within a few minutes I began marking fish. I slowly drifted while deadsticking flukes and sassy shads and slabbing. The good news is that the fish seemed to follow us. It ranged from a few suspended fish to a bunch of fish from 15’ to the bottom (30’). The bad news is we couldn’t get a hit. I’m no expert with deadsticking, but I’ve caught fish doing it. I’ll go out in the morning if the wind isn’t bad so if anyone has any tips to help me catch them once I find them, let me know.