Lake Ray Hubbard Fishing Report
Spring is officially here on Lake Ray Hubbard !!! The spawning is almost over and the fish that are coming back from the creeks are on a feeding frenzy. I have been catching large numbers of fish from 2 ft of water to 26 ft of water. This time of year you start out with a jacket and end up in a T-shirt on most days, I love this time of year. Everything seems to come alive, shad are spawning , ducks are active and even the great Osprey bird of prey are out flying with small fish caught in their talons. I have been starting my trips back on the early schedule as a lot of fish are roaming the shallows looking for shad. It still amazes me till this day, how just a few weeks ago and during the early parts of February how somedays you can not mark a fish, then this time of year they are every place you look.
White Bass Patterns
White bass will be chasing shad early in the mornings on flats right on the shoreline , around marinas and into coves. A good tip is when you are going to an area if you see the Egrets and Blue Herons standing on the shoreline waiting for a Buffett of shad. Even if you do not see a fish, stop for a hot minute and throw towards the bank. On bright sunny post front days this action will only last a short time or you only catch a few. I always tell people, drop your trolling motor and cruise the shoreline . On cloudy low pressure days, this action can last all day and a lot of times gulls will tip the fishes hand on location. Late evenings are also very good for locating fish chasing shad in the shallows, lots of birds on the water this time of year to give you an upper hand. If the shallow bite isn’t producing very good results, look for long points and watch your electronics. There are huge schools of fish at times hanging those areas. I like to use a 3/4 oz slab with a jig about 1.5 ft tied above it often producing 2 fish at a time. You will have a lot of smaller fish mixed in but you can fill the cooler and catch a lot of fish at the same time. Be sure to know the difference between white bass and hybrids. There are a lot of under size hybrids mixed in this time of year. The Texas Game Warden will not have sympathy on you for not knowing the difference so if in doubt just throw it back.
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White Bass Lures
When you find shad spawning you have 2 very good options. You can throw a 3-4 inch swim bait with a light jig head or throw a mepps / rooster tail. The swim bait usually produces bigger fish as the mepps/rooster tail will produce more but you will have to pick thru them. I personally love throwing a top water lure but you will catch a lot less fish but the pure excitement will get your blood pumping. Use these same lures when you find birds working , they will produce very good results. If you are fishing deeper I use 3/4 oz slabs with a jig ties above. When fishing this method pay real close attention to your electronics. The fish sometimes will look like little pimples on the graph. Once you start catching them, they raise up and that’s when the action begins. Once contact is made by your slab, just raise it slowly off of bottom will usually produce a strike. When watching your graph if you notice fish suspended reel up slowly thru the fish , and hold on !!
