texasfivegun and I got to Holiday around 6:00 am and, while still pitch dark, went out to Holiday humps. As the sun was just starting to lighten the sky, we heard and saw some fairly large fish breaking the surface all around us. We threw pencil poppers, slabs, rattle traps, you name it. All for squat.

Left there and hit the dam area and white stripe and never got bit while downrigging. Seen some folks back at Holiday, around 9;30 and went to have a look but if anyone was catching something, I didn't see it.

I was not marking any big fish at all. It was as though my 998 Humminbird was stuck on little fish mode. If there were only sandbass, what happened to their big cousins. I may not get bit but I usually see something.

As an avid TFF reader watching this page mostly, I have noticed that there are very few reports, comming in, and thase that do are almost as lame as mine. Is it just the time of year? Has this brutal summer completly changed the habits? Are they all dead? Did an aleian mother ship come and get em all??? LOL

Just asking, I know most of y'all must be havin the same luck. May have to try the coast for awhile.

I have been fishing about 5 days a week and it has just been ho-hum fishing. They did school at least one morning really hard for a long time, but that was Tuesday and skies were balmy and threatening. A perfect day to fish. The next 3 days there was zero surface activity. I can still put 8 or 10 striper in the boat a trip, but it is all downrigging. Days the wind is not blowing, I have been heading North and catching some big sand bass though, so the fishing is not just terrible. It just hasn't been worthy of a good report lately.

The good news is that the water is cooling down quick! So the fishing should start picking back up and soon. A little more rain wouldn't hurt and I think there is a couple days this week we may get some. I'm betting if we stay in the low 90's this week the fish will really get going.

Won't be long it will be on like donky kong.

Matt,

Have heard it said that the fish will need time to adjust to the change in water temps. Can you tell us IYO what is happening. What's causing them to not boil. Is it just the change in water temps? How long do they need? Why do you say if 90's this week you think they should turn on? Just want to understand better what's going on

thanx :~)

Fishing will get better. Keep giving the reports. You will be surprised how much knowledge one gets by reading em. I enjoy reading many of the reports on the forum and not only do I enjoy em but I have gotten some very valuable tips and information as well that has helped me on my personal trips. Keep up the good work and yes another good report.

Yes, Matt is a very good source for quality T-wak reports. I'm gonna have to fish with him someday.

On another note, seems as though live bait might be the ticket.

Come on cold weather. Once the water temps drop the fish will group up and the scattered fish will hold to structure............thank you wave points.

Thanks guys!

I am only speculating what has been going on, but here's my guess. Remember last week when we were all seeing some of the bigger fish floating on several lakes? Well, that I think all has to do with low oxygen content. It happens every really hot streak we get. The water below the thermocline is not suitable for them so the fish have gone really shallow just to get some oxygen in their gills. The top layer of water is a lot warmer so they have gone there just to survive, bu just cant get comfortable. Thus they have been pretty lathargic. I have been catching fish trolling in 12' of water that just wont hit a slab or sassy shad being bounced or drug. My graph looks like demo pics the fish are so thick in some spots. I pull in and fish them, but they just wont bite. I might catch one every half hour and a lot of times the trolling motor even spooks them. I even saw some guys put live bait on them and they weren't really tearing them up. Don't have a clue why.......but you can troll and catch them. I guess the controlled depth just puts it right in with them and it is a reaction strike. This week the water dropped 9 degrees, so the change has probably got them a little shell shocked. I am hoping for weather in the low 90's this week just to maintain some CONSISTANCY.......if the temp keeps dropping really fast it kinda scares me. The Fall frenzy might not happen as long and we may get an early Winter Who knows Like I said, that is just my ideas on the matter. I am neither scientific nor knowledgeable about fishing, just mostly persistant, because it pleases me

Love your honesty, Looking forward to the fall, hope you tear'em up!

Persistant and modest too. Thanks for you reports Matt!

good info and report!

thanks Matt!

I was out there Saturday morning as well. I left out of Holiday a little afterr sun-up. I am just learning this lake so bear with me on locations. We pulled out of Holiday and went straight out to a hump where there is a white bucket tied to something under water. First drop of a slab landed a large sand bass. Fish were hitting the top here and there but nothing real big. Got a few under striper there also. There were a few boats out from us but I couldnt tell if they were catching anything. From there we went N/W to a hump out from a pump house? (A large concrete building on the bank) We got several large sand bass there. Then we went to what I think yall call Finger Point, got more there. I was fishing with my girlfriend and I stayed on that side of the lake since it was kinda windy. All my Hubbard buddies decided to stay and fish the home lake. I didnt catch much after 11am, no legal Hybrid for the day, 32 fish total. Still better than Hubbard has been.

This time of year, in the past few years, the fish will be no deeper than 15 ft. Jimmy Smith put me on that pattern several years ago. You may have a hump that comes up to 13 ft and the fish will be stacked on top of it but no deeper than 15 ft. Most people arer probably fishing too deep. that is just my opinion from my limited experience in the past. I havent been out there in months. I've spent the Spring and Summer fishing for those green fish on Lake Fork. You might e-mail Steve Pebley and see what is happening on Cooper. We will get some fronts blowing in here and the latter part of October and November are excellent times to fish Tawakoni. Even in to December if the water doesn't cool down too quickly. Regards, Bart

For the first time this summer - didn't catch one fish Saturday..no striper, no sand bass, not even catfish. Not a bite, nor a nibble of any kind. Everyone else I talked to back at the slip had no luck either, and they were all fishing for crappie.

OOPS - meant to add that it was Bridgeport.