Does it seem like it to anybody else that this has been an unusually windy spring? It has definitely been keeping me off Texoma. But this past Friday we finally got a break.......a one day break, but a greatly appreciated break.......so I headed up for a late afternoon run. Got there about 3pm and wind was 5mph. Lake was already crowded with Memorial Day traffic but it didn't bother me because I intended to stick fairly close to shore and try to find some shallow fish. My plan was scout and scan structure I thought might be holding fish. The second spot I checked, which was only about a mile from the ramp..........was loaded!

This is what I saw on the graph



I dropped anchor, made my first cast and boom caught this one that weighed just shy of 7lbs



I ended up fishing about 3 hrs until 7:15pm and the fishing was fantastic. Only once did I move to a different structure to scout for fish and it wasn't long before I headed back to my original spot and continued to hammer them until I had enough.

You can see from my route shown on this screen capture how little movement it took to stay on the fish



So, how many fish did I catch? Plenty! My two best were the one pictured above and this one



I would have loved to go back again this weekend but the wind is back and it looks like its going to be awhile before I'll get another shot.

Great report and fish. Wind is howling outside right now.

Heck of a deal Chuck! I've been doing yard work all weekend and can't keep my hat on in my yard. My wife read somewhere that this has been the windiest spring since 2011. I believe it.

Glad you got out chuck look like a real nice graph shot. On them for sure there!

Thanks Barry. I really enjoy your posts as well!

Jeff, its already getting too hot for yard work and the wind is probably a blessing on a hot day in the yard.

I've been trying to catch some big fish..........trying to keep up with Robert. You've been catching some pigs! As always.

Awesome post I'm jealous.

What type of setup, wt rod, sinking line, flies, leader length etc are you using in 15 feet of water? And how are you presenting it?

I might try hitting the drop-offs on Somerville for big hybrids so any tips would be helpful. Thanks

J-Moe, first a disclaimer and some fine print: While I do have some game, I am by no means an expert at finding these fish. Second, finding the fish is 99.9% of successful catching. This is why people hire guides because guides know how to find fish. Third, not having lake-fished for hybrids (all the hybrid fishing I’ve done has been in rivers and creeks) I don’t know if the techniques I use to find and catch striper will work for hybrids…….but to some degree I think they will.

All that being said, here’s what I have to offer.

I carry two rods: A 6wt Scott Meridian lined with a 6”/second full-sink line, 3’ - 4’, 20lb leader. And, a 4wt Orvis Helios II lined with a floating line and 10’, 20lb leader. I prefer the Rio Grand line for this rod. The Meridian is amazing at casting the heavy full-sink line and it has the backbone to lift an elephant from a depth of 25’. The Helios II also has great lifting power and makes catching the 16”-18” fish a lot of fun. However, when windy I leave the 4wt at home and carry my 6wt Sage XP with a floating line.

Flies: I use a size 2 clouser or a 6” deceiver. You can use whatever you want but size is the critical variable. Striper will eat the clouser 95% of the time and the deceiver maybe 50% of the time. So, I usually start with the clouser and, if the getting is good, may switch to the deceiver for grins. On days when they won’t eat either of these two flies, they probably won’t eat any fly.

In the first screen shot above, the depth is 19’ and, while there is a mess of fish in the bottom 10’, there’s also a lot of fish higher up. Some as little as 8’ deep so here my first choice was to grab the 4wt with the floating line and try to drop the clouser (medium lead eye) down to the fish and vertically jig it over their heads. It worked and produced the fish in the first fishpic above.

In the second screen shot above, all the fish are below 10’ so I used the sink line. And Voilà, I catch fish! (fishpic #2 above). Generally speaking, below 10’ = sink line. Above 10’, I’ll try the floating line first but be ready to switch to the sink if I don’t get bit.

When I first started doing this 10’ of water scared me. I was thinking way to deep. Now, I don’t think twice about fishing 25’ to 30’. Of course, the shallower the better but catching good fish, even at 25’, never gets old.

How do I pick my spots? I’m looking for humps, drop offs, creeks and other cuts. For example, in the two screen shots above I’m concentrating on the drop off from shallow water near shore down into a fairly deep ravine. And, in the screen shots below I’m locating fish on top of and around a hump. Note that I found fish on top of the hump and again in 22’ down one side. These screen shots are from yesterday.













J-Moe, here in north Texas we hear rumors of you and your practice of a very powerful style of SBKF (sand bass kung fu). If you get out on the lake, try the various techniques of your discipline on the hybrids and see what gets them to bite. Hybrids and striper are just like sandies in that they don’t always want it the same way. I’m confident that if you find them you will figure out what it takes to catch them. Best of Luck!

Oh yeah, if by chance any guides happen to read this post I would very much appreciate your input but please keep in mind fly rod = shallow water. Thanks!

FAT FISH! Eating good. Nice!

That's a GREAT report Chuck! Looking at those graph shots gives me goosebumps. Live seeing a graph light up like that.

Thank you Sir. Really great information I can put to use

Solid post.