Hard-hitting sport fish a line-stripping option

Striped bass certainly won’t win any statewide popularity contests in Texas, but there are a handful of Lone Star lakes where Morone saxatilis kicks butt and grabs plenty of attention along the way.

Anyone who has ever caught one of the saltwater transplants cracking the double digits will agree that stripers are pretty rough customers with nasty dispositions. Think of the tenacious titans like a piscatorial cross between Dick Butkus and Mike Tyson wrapped into a silvery stick of dynamite tipped with a really short fuse.

That fuse tends to become particularly short during late spring, when warming temperatures spur their metabolism and spark violent feeding frenzies on hapless schools of shad.

Sometimes the attacks are so vicious that it sends the succulent bait fish cart wheeling in a last second dash for safety.

Toss a topwater plug into an active blood bath and it probably won’t dance for long.

Fall and winter assaults on swimbaits, lipless crank baits and other shad imitations aren’t near as exciting as surface explosions, but they can be equally violent.

Barbara Pope of Frisco knows the scenario well. Pope and some friends were fishing on the Oklahoma-side of Lake Texoma on a chilly December day in 2014, when a heavyweight striper slammed the jig head that fishing guide Chris Carey had tipped with a Zoom Fluke.

The powerful fish peeled line off the reel at will and the lady angler Pope fought to regain it - a little at a time - every chance she got. It took some doing but she finally played the striper into the landing net.

Carey said the fish weighed 27.29 pounds on certified scales.

Bill Carey, owner of Striper Express guide service in Pottsboro, said it’s the biggest striper ever hauled into his son’s boat in 28 years on the water. The Texas-side Texoma record caught in 1984 still stands at 35.12 pounds.

Much bigger stripers have been caught elsewhere. Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Top 50 striper list ranges from 31.75 pounds to 53 pounds, including 14 fish over 40 pounds.

The state record was caught in 1999 from the Brazos River tailrace below the Possum Kingdom dam. The most recent Top 50 fish was reported from the Guadalupe River in 2006.

As earlier mentioned, there aren’t a lot of Texas lakes where stripers rule, but there are a few.

Here are some of the best:

No. 1: Texoma

• Size: 75,000 acres

• Lake Record: 35.12 pounds

Comments: This is a five-star impoundment that supports one of the few self sustaining striper fisheries in the U.S. Oklahoma biologists jump started the population with generous stockings from 1965-74. Since then, the fishery has managed to carry itself on bountiful spawning runs that occur each spring in the free-flowing Washita and Red rivers that feed it.

The striper factory cranks out mega numbers of eating-size fish, but it’s also one where trophy hunters have good shot of connecting with fish in the 14-17 pound range, or quite possibly one over 20, according to Dan Bennett, TPWD’s district supervisor based in Pottsboro.

“Intensive angler surveys completed in 2019 and 2020 estimated that Texoma striper fishermen catch just over a million striped bass each year and take home about half of those fish to eat,” said Bennett.

And those anglers spend a boat load of dough in the process.

Economic studies indicate striper fishing pumps around $44 million annually into local businesses.

Amazingly, the fishery is able to maintain that type of output with no outside help from annual stockings that is required to carry some other Texas lakes.

“Catch rates in nets indicate that striper abundance is currently more than 10 times what we see in lakes where stocking is required to maintain the fishery,” Bennett said.

Anglers may retain 10 per day. There is no minimum length limit, but only two stripers or hybrids over 20 inches may be retained each day. Culling of striped bass and hybrid striped bass is prohibited.

No 2: Whitney

• Size: 23,500 acres

• Lake Record: 39.69 pounds

Comments: Whitney is on a roll these days thanks to steady inflows from the Brazos and Nolan rivers, which has helped maintain a near constant water level, bolstered vital threadfin shad populations and reduced the threat of fish-killing golden alga blooms.

“Those factors, combined with an aggressive approach to stocking and some natural reproduction over the past few years, have resulted in an incredible striper fishery for numbers,” said TPWD fisheries biologist John Tibbs of Waco. “There’s also an outside chance of catching a big one. It is as good or better as at anytime in the past.”

The biologist says anglers can expect to find lots of stripers just making it to legal size (18 inches), most in the three to four pound range.

“Right now the lake is absolutely full of 17-19 inch fish,” he said. “It’s not unusual to for average fishermen to go out and catch 10-30 fish trolling around on windy points and flats.”

Anglers can retain five fish, 18-inch minimum length limit per day.

No. 3: Possum Kingdom

• Size: 15,588 acres

• Lake Record: 34.19 pounds

Comments: TPWD fisheries biologist Robert Mauk says Possum Kingdom has benefited from increased water levels and flows the past few years, resulting enough natural reproduction and recruitment that stocking has not been required since 2017. The lake also maintains a bountiful threadfin shad population to help keep the stripers fat and sassy.

Mauk said the lake currently has good numbers with many fish in the 16- 20 inch range. Fish upwards of 12 pounds are reported on occasion, but not often.

Soaking live shad is a highly preferred tactic on PK, though success also can be had on slabs, jig/swimbait combos and topwaters.

“Following working birds is the easiest technique to locate the fish when the birds are working,” Mauk said. “Otherwise, most anglers rely heavily on their electronics.”

An added bonus is fishing the Brazos River tailrace below the dam. This is a great option when the winds get up, or for anglers having trouble locating biting fish on main lake.

The tailrace bite can be outstanding at times, particularly for larger fish upwards of 20 pounds. The state record 53 pounder was caught there in 1999. Anglers may retain five striped bass/hybrids per day, 18 inch minimum length limit.

No. 4: Buchanan

• Size: 22,211 acres

• Lake Record: 27.80 pounds

Comments: TPWD fisheries biologist Patrick Ireland says the scenic Hill Country impoundment near Burnet is typically big on numbers but light on size. While recreational anglers frequently box limits of 3-5 pounders along with an occasional double digit, fish topping the 10-pound mark barely show up in TPWD’s sampling efforts.

“A 15-20 pounder be considered a ‘big’ fish for Buchanan based on our sampling and creel data,” Ireland said.

Ireland said guides and weekenders alike typically have the best results trolling with inline spinners, spoons, swim baits, Rat-L-Traps or soaking live bait. Topwaters also can produce outstanding results, especially during the spring months.

“The most important aspect is to look for baitfish and do not sit on an unproductive area for too long,” Ireland said. “Move on until you locate the stripers.”

The limit is five fish daily, 18 inch minimum.

No. 5: Canyon Lake

• Size: 8,308 acres

• Lake Record: 38.12 pounds

Comments: Canyon is fed by the cool, gin-clear waters of the Guadalupe River, just north of New Braunfels. Likewise, the Comal County reservoir experiences moderate fluctuation, maintains excellent water clarity over the course of the year, but lacks in nutrients.

Despite its low productivity, the lake still has an abundant forage base of gizzard shad to feed what is arguably the best trophy class striper fishery in the Hill Country region.

According to TPWD fisheries biologist Patrick Ireland, Canyon is best known for producing larger fish as opposed to big numbers.

“Generally, stripers provide a popular catch-and-release fishing opportunity at Canyon as guides and angler reports showcase the availability of quality and trophy-sized fish,” he said. “A big Canyon striper is 10- 17 pounder.”

Anglers rely on a variety of tactics to catch fish. Trolling with in-line spinners or casting crank baits and big swim baits are popular methods. The lake also produces some explosive topwater action at times, particularly during low light conditions when surface temps are moderate. Spoons and live bait such as shad or large minnows also work well, Ireland said.

Statewide regulations apply, five fish daily, 18 inch minimum.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo.com.