A lot of white bass/hybrid guys like to watch for the birds to point them to fish. I tend to over-analyze things but I'd like to ask some bird questions.

You have these kinds of birds out on open lakes:

Gulls
Terns
Cormorants
Pelicans
Egrets
Herons

Terns look like gulls but are more slender and dive into the water with a sharp bill. Gulls are similar but you will see them loafing on top of the surface more than terns. Cormorants are the big nasty turkey birds and they don't dive in. You will see them rafted up on the water sometimes, and often with gulls and pelicans.

Egrets and Herons stand on the shore and wait for bait fish. I've seen Texoma guides utilize these shore birds (egrets and herons) to put them on the fish.

So which of these birds do you pay most attention to? Do you ever fish a spot with a bunch of rafted cormorants and gulls or do you look more for the diving birds?

Always look for diving birds, in my experience rafted birds arent much help and i will look for gulls and terns the only time i use herons or egrets is in the early spring or in fall before the lake turns over as a key to where the shallow baitfish and the whites/hybrids will be close behind. Diving birds 90% of the time is what you want to key in on generally that means fish are schooling let your bait drop down from the surfacing fish for a chance at a larger fish as well hope this helps and good luck

if you see Loons diving then there is bait under them... and usually fish too

when the shad are spawning you can find them and usually fish where you see large groups of shore birds

Gulls need to be diving for me

never pay much attention to water turkeys

Water turkeys raft up and dive down to feed on massive schools of shad. Watch them closely and you'll see them dive down in waves and there will always be some on the surface. There will often times be gulls diving and harrassing the water turkeys when the come back up to the surface. The gulls let the big black birds dive down deep to the catch bait, then steal the shad from them on the surface. Birds don't live to fish like most of us do. They fish to live! Pay close attention to any birds you see on the water. Who knows. You might just learn a thing or two from their pea sized brains.

I never have had much luck on diving terns. We call 'em liar birds...

+1

Gulls and loons

Yeah I should have said they don't dive in from the air like a tern or gull. Thanks for all the cormorants. I mean comments.

Gulls and loons r the best in open water. Along the shore mud-turkeys and herons can point to bait fish and their predators, even if u see bird droppings on rocks fish the area, herons have been using this spot for feeding.

Gulls are the ticket. But if they are hovering and all
dive at once, they are just harrassing a loon or cormorant.

A good set of binoculars are very helpful.

I don't chase Terns unless I see fish breaking under them.

MO

Then you always have the liar birds on Eagle Mountain. They lie a lot in they are lot of the time there is just shad or they are trying to find shad. I fish birds some but most of the time birds on EM suck.
Johnny

Yes, they speak with forked tongue. They will on occasion lead you to fish, but not often.

Over analyzing is a understatment lol. Check em all never hurts

I just wait for all 6 species to dive at once, then
I know it's on!!


They can at times take you on a wild goose chase!

Never any luck under terns.
Gulls when skydiving.
Loons diving.
Egrets and herons along shore when several are lined up. In spring/summer the temperate basses will school and push bait up against shore. These birds want to capitalize.