Lake Ray Hubbard Fishing Guide Report
Happy Memorial Day and please remember the falling heroes and their families that sacrificed so much for this great country. Summer isn’t here officially for a few more weeks, but this is Texas and it is hot ! This is a great time of year to chase white bass and hybrid striped bass. Not only is the temperatures hot but so is the fishing. Learn to use your electronics successfully and you can have a fantastic day, and make sure on them cloudy days you have a good pair of binoculars . I am starting my day around 6:15 am and at that time the temperatures are nice and cool, it gets hot pretty fast on the bright sunny days so do not forget to apply your sunscreen early and often. The winds has been brutal as usual for this time of year so be careful navigating. The wind plays a big part in locating white bass, as it pushes them and bait into certain areas.
White Bass Patterns
The shad spawn is pretty much over , but you can still find schools of fish shallow early in the morning. We should have a very healthy shad and white bass population in the future , with all the rains and above normal water levels a lot of vegetation is under water and shad love that. White bass had very easy access to the creeks and rivers this year for their spawn. In the mornings there has been a little gull action when the fish are chasing bait so make sure to check the usual spots around Robertson Park, West and East side. A clue if this has been happing is the amount of bank fisherman in an area, as with long surf rods they can reach the fish also. If I do not find very much action that a way , I have been checking the usual points of interest like humps, long points and levees. This is where your ability to understand your electronics plays a big part. There is not a thermocline yet, as it is not hot enough and the fish could be anywhere in these locations from 14-31 ft. Do not be discouraged by those water depths as either work your way shallow to deep or vise versa. You usually will not mark huge schools, as most of the time you see either small “clouds” laying on the bottom or a few hooks suspended. When I mark those , I drop my trolling motor and spot lock. These fish will start coming in waves, next thing you know your graph is lit up , when the fish are no longer present on the graph just wait a few minutes and they usually return. I always tell people in easy terms , a hump is like a bowl turned upside down, they will usually work their way around it like a circular track, a point is like a ramp , they will work there way up and down it and a levee is like a highway, they usually speed their way back and forth. One more little insight , if you fish fish in one location at 25 ft …. Be sure when you check other locations look in the same water depth, usually they in the same depths at other locations also. This will change through out the day with the sun but it gives you a starting point.
White Bass Lures
On an average, this time of year you need two set ups. The first to start your day is a tail spinner , like the humdingers or little Georges so if you find some birds working you can throw and retrieve. Dont forget if the fish are in a little deeper water, let it sink a few seconds then start reeling. The second is a slab and jig combo. I use a 3/4 oz to 1 oz slab with a crappie jig tied above it about 12-14 inches. When you locate fish on structure and if they are hugging bottom, you don’t wan to pop the slab up. I usually just do small lifts and short bounces . A lot of time the will hit it earn it falls and your line will go slack , so remember , if you let it down and it doesn’t go all the way down you have a fish. When watching my graph and I notice more hooks above the “clouds” then I will do a high lift and also tell 3-4 times up slowly then let it drop.
Bonus ( Crappie Fishing )
I do not get the chance to do a lot of different fishing this time of year. I did have the opportunity with a regular guest to do a little crappie fishing. Crappie can be a finicky fish that sometime requires a little more patients that I am use to. I do love a challenge and we did fairly well. I focuses mostly on sunken trees in deeper water. I would locate those with my DI portion of my graph and see if crappie where present. Used a double jig set up with soft plastics. Most of the fish owe caught , would hit the jig as I let it fall, line would just go slack and you would have to quickly reel to catch up. Once the water warms up some more you should be able to locate trees that are shallower and be successful . Although I have seen many people on the highway 30 bridge catching crappie also, I like the seclusion of fishing under water timber.
Lake Ray Hubbard Fishing Guide
We target White Bass year round . Lake Ray Hubbard has a great white bass and hybrid Striper population. For more information on Lake Ray Hubbard Fishing Guide, follow this link.