I finally got my boat back in working order after months of random problems. Problem is that ever since the lake level dropped on hubbard, i havent been able to get on any fish. I used to have a nice honey hole for sandies on the north east part of the lake, but with this low level, they are all gone.
Now the only bait i've ever been able to hook up on on hubbard are crankbaits, but since those havent been producing for me, i've decided to try a few new things.
today i bought my first baitcasting reel and rod, got a shimano citica after reading some other posts here, i really like it. also got my first birdsnest today too
I got some slabs based off of tff posts as well.
now i dont mind fishing for sandies, or better yet stripers, but i cant find either. I headed over to the power plant because someone told me one day that the stripers like the warm water near there. I fished just south of the big rock jetty in front of the power plant in 20+ feet of water. sonar showed fish every once in a while, but i couldnt get on anything.
since i dont know what im doing with a baitcaster, or with slabs, i was just dropping it to the bottom, pulling up a crank or 2, and just trolling around.

if any of you kind people could provide some pointers, better spots, or suggestion, my wife might start believing me when i tell her im going fishing I havent come home with fish in a very long time.

i just picked up a few tnt slabs i saw advertised here in the forums as well, look like nice products.

hope you all have a great year...
-t

As far as hyrbids goes you might try fishing Chartreuse Flukes on 3/4 to 1 oz jig heads counted down the level you are marking bait and then just hold as still as possible. Seems to be whats working this time of year. As for largemouths I have had consistent luck lately with 5/8oz lipless cranks in 3-7ft of water over and along rocks. Good luck!

how deep should i be looking for whites/hybrids ?

Well, I guess it just depends. I have a Lowrance Mark 5x Fishfinder and despite the fact that the simulator tells me that fish show up as nice pretty arches I almost never see an arch on my screen I primarily focus on locating structure and fish that or if I am fishing deep looking for schooling fish like Whites or Hybrids then I look for bait balls and then fish in and around them. So my best answer to your question would be as deep as the bait is. On certain areas of the lake where there are flats dropping off from 12ft down the 24 plus look for the bait to be around the edges of the flat. So your depth would be 12-24ft. Other places where the lake is much deeper for example in creek channels or pits I have found bait as deep as 34 ft. So it really all just depends!!

You won't find any striper in LRH.

My suggestion is wait until Arpil, then follow all the boats especially the Yellow Tahoe. Also, if you PM El Nitro, I am sure he will let you follow him around one day. He prefers it if you just tie a rope to his boat and let him pull you across the lake. He likes to party!

Verbal You may want to consider hiring a guide or maybe catch one of these guys with an empty back seat and chip in on some fuel Be sure to let him know that you want to learn to fish for these on your own I believe it would be money well spent in the long run. These fish change their patterns along with the seasons, water temps ect Once you get an idea of how to catch them i believe that the forum will be a big help to you as far as technique and what baits to use with each changing season. Also learn to trust your fishfinder A good fish finder does not lie Fish at the depth the fish appear on the graph Good luck and keep us posted.

Verbal just a few places to look with out going into alot of detail. Look along the I30 bridge closest to BBS. Theres a hump out there that can hold fish this time of year. The power plan doesnt generate alot any more so they dont gang up like they use to. Check the hump on the east side of the lake almost to the dam. Theres some deep water and the fish will be hanging in the deeper water close to the hump. Hope this help a little, I havent been out in a while.

There are some stripers in Hubard i have caught them and if you look at stocking records you will see they have been stocked in the past. I also think some come down from Lavon.

Keep an eye on the area just south of the I-30 rip rap. That whole stretch from the bridge to the marina is a good spot to check. If you see arches 3'-10' from the bottom, those are hybrids and you can deadstick them. Also, though i do like to party like VIP said, I don't like people following me around. I am very paranoid from years of the rock n roll lifestyle

Birds. They come in all sizes. Fish under them. Just be sure to not run your big motor within 100 yards of them.

You guys are amazing, thanks for all the great advice.
Came back empty handed again today, my last day of vacation.
Wind was bad this afternoon, so i had to fish north of i30.
Followed the birds, but no luck under them.
I'm guessing i just dont know the techniques.
Hiring a guide sounds like a good idea, i've been thinking about it for a long time.
The only bait that has ever produced for me on hubbard is a chartreuse bomber 6' crankbait. I used to catch alot of whites with that, but not anymore, and again it was only in the one spot near the GC north of 66 (thanks to old frog for that advice a long time ago .

thanks again everyone,
-t

south of 30 is where most sandbass hybrids hang

I didnt catch fish today, but i did catch this photo...


thanks again!

Nice! Did you shoot that with a DSLR?

no, cell phone.