Stripers feeding on shad 30–35 ft

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.

Stripers are hitting top water plugs behind the islands early morning until about 30 minutes after sunrise. Once the sun is higher in the sky, look for schools of stripers along old river beds and the mouths of creeks in 30 to 50 feet of water. They are hitting small size shad like the one in the photo. Larger size shad don't seem to be on the menu and are being passed by for the smaller shad offerings. We are also picking up a number of small blue cats around 1 - 2 lbs on bottom while targeting stripers using small live shad as bait.