Stripers hitting top water early, small

This month the stripers have been transitioning from spawning in the rivers and then going back to the lake. The stripers have been stacked up in river beds and creek beds close to the mouths of the Red and Washita Rivers. There have been some birds working close to the dam in the early afternoon, but the fish are not staying on top very long. Most of our fish have been caught on the edge of old river beds. We have been using live 3"-4" gizzard shad, and dropping them to 30 feet in 40-45 ft of water.

The lake is at flood levels and will continue to rise before it peaks in two days. With so much more surface area on the water the best way to locate fish is to watch for diving birds. When the stripers begin feeding on shad, some of the dead and wounded shad float to the surface. The sea gulls begin diving down to pick up the wounded shad. Following the diving birds is the best way to stay on top of hungry fish. The most productive lures are white slabs, chrome rattle traps, or any 2" - 4" artificial bait that mimicks a shad.

The water mid lake is clearing up nicely. Right now the stripers under 20" are schooling up and chasing shad on the surface along sandy shorelines in water 10' to 30'. If you want a little larger fish, but a little slower bite, you can find them in deeper water where the depth drops from 40' to 60'. Top water fish are hitting solid color baits the best in either white, chartruese, or chrome. The deeper fish prefer live shad in the 3" - 4" size. Swap bait out as soon as it stops wiggling, because those deeper stripers like lively shad.