Not a rookie to fishing just striper. Soon to be getting a boat next 6 months or so, and looking to learn so I don't look like a complete fool the first few times out.

hire a guide

Thanks for that. I know not to ask in this forum. Hire a guide is the easy answer I want actual tips from people who do not have years to explore a lake like I do. So keep your advise SONFISH I think it was kinda snarky.

BsBm - you have a pm

whoa, hiring a guide is not a bad idea. You can read all about patterns and tips, but seeing it in person can be a big help.

Example: People can tell you to look for fish on the graph, but if you have never played with a graph that tip can be worthless, you need to be on the water with someone that can show you real time what to look for on the graph. There is more to it than just looking for fish symbols on the screen.

or,
you may hear: slabbing is working, just hop it off of the bottom.
Until you watch someone actually doing it, you may not really grasp just how aggressive that hopping can be sometimes.

Hiring a guide isn't necessary, but can shave a ton of time off the learning curve.

My tips:
May-June, windblown banks can have spawning threadfin shad on them with fish munching them. Any topwater will work.

Mid summer, very early and very late topwater bite. Can be anywhere on the main lake (texoma). Take binos and scan the water looking for a blitz or boat show.

Mid summer, slabbing can work all day if marking fish about 15-30 foot down. chart. slabs with bucktails, sometimes they bite, sometimes they refuse.

winter, slow roll 1.5 oz head sassy shad (white, chart, glow, or coho 15-25 foot deep towards the back of large creeks (little mineral, big mineral, buncombe, etc)

I like the guide recommendation. I know Tawakoni well as I have been fishing it for the better part of my life. My Father-N-law just bought a place close to Wright Patman and I don't know anything about that lake. I'm hiring a guide to show me his hidey holes so I don't have to ride around forever trying to find fish. I like catchin a lot more than fishin. LOL Just my 2 cents.

Go hang around a marina, get to know the people and the guys that fish the lake you want to fish will teach you about the lake when they get to know you.

I rarely go out alone, but the last time I showed up at the marina by myself there was a man with his grandson fishing the bank. The man asked if I needed help launching my boat and I said no thanks, but after I launched and was headed back to my boat I asked him if he and the boy wanted to go out...we had a great time.

I had talked to the man before since he always seems to be around the marina...so get to know the people, there are some good boat owners out there.

Im gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that hiring a guide would actually be less expensive than reading tips on here and then trial and error fishing to work it out. Like others have said, it is one thing to read about it on the internet, it is another entirely to take information off a computer screen and then go out and be successful. If you don't have much time to fish its worth it. A little off topic, but for my example it took me three years of trail and error to figure alligator gar out good. Even with tips you can plan to spend a couple weeks worth of time on the water figuring it out on your own, that is no exaggeration.

Hiring a guide is very helpful but striper patterns change all the time so you would have to go out with a guide several times a year to truly learn the differnt patterns for the seasons on any particular lake. That can get expensive but well worth it if you have the money. I have been out with guides several times before & have learned a lot from them but still go out & get shut out several times a year. I have the highest respect for fishing guides because their job is very tough but I think the question is more about how a weekender aproaches a lake on any given day not having fished it 300 of the last 365 days. My answer to that is pay attention to the fishing reports & definitely talk to the locals as fuzzy suggested. Okieyakker offered some good info above and we have some really good guides on the TFF that always offer up current information on patterns. Bottom line is put in your time & remember it is called fishing not catching. Sometimes it doesn't work out the way you hoped it would but you do it because you love it. If it came easy it wouldn't be as rewarding as when you work hard for it on your own & it pays off in the end.

Actually before I bought my boat this year I used Matts Guide Service (and still do) on Tawakoni to learn some of the lakes patterns. It's not a bad idea, if you call Matt sometimes he can fit you in with another single and cut the cost in half. It's worth a call in my opinion.

Many guides will give you a learning trip. They will teach you how to read the graph and in general the patterns for different times of the year. Now you won't get to fish as much but you will see more of the lake and learn a lot. I highly recommend hiring a guide for a learning trip and for striper the best lakes are Texoma, Tawak, and Whitney.

Thanks for the hire a guide plugs, we are the epitomy of "will work for food" If you are targeting one lake in particular, hiring a guide a couple times a year for a tutorial is a great idea. If that is not an option, then read the reports and getting to know the locals is a great idea. But the main thing is - fish your lake often. Know they water as well as you can. Take me off my home lake for a week and I will not have a clue as to where as to start, but I will have lots of options. I tell people all the time- keep moving. Sometimes I hit a spot 3 times a day before I find fish there. You just have to be there when they are.

Get a deep v, at least 20 feet, so you can still fish in the spring winds when most boats are still at dock. Mostly open water fishing so you're just cutting down your fishing days if you need to wait for a "nice" day to go. Learning the patterns/movements over the year is key just like bass fishing, so you know where to be looking. Right now you would NOT be a fool for sitting over deep water near and over bottom structure, watching your sonar for fish marks - drop it on their head.

+100000000

not so much a snarky remark but a direct, to the point, informative and helpful remark

you'll learn more in one trip with a great guide than you could spending days on the internet reading about it and asking people