I look outside at the falling rain and the north wind blowing the trees and it looks like fall. These cold fronts that come at the end of summer just hit different. They provide a great relief from the heat and much-needed rain to quench the thirst of all of the living things; and if you pay attention, you can feel the gratitude in the air. I wish I was out fishing...I can't help but wondering what this cold front is doing to these fish.

It is days like today that sometimes turn magical. Days when the big fish feed on topwater all day in the rain, days where you catch 3 or more fish over 10 pounds on the surface, days when you catch your limit on topwater in the first 30 minutes and spend the rest of the day playing catch and release . These days you never forget. The cool crisp bright sunny cold fronts are usually not what we want, it is the cloudy cold fronts that are misty and rainy all day long that really get the fish stirred up, cold fronts just like today. Of course, not every cold front will have this effect, sometimes they shut the fish down and they don't want to feed, today though, if I had to bet, I'd say this would be one of those days to remember. It is hard to say unless you go find out and you won't find out sitting at home, you have to chance a day that they aren't biting or you will miss when the magic happens.

Here lately, the fishing has been a roller coaster. Weekends are typically slow with all of the boat traffic scattering out the fish. On the weekdays though, the fish have an opportunity to school up and fishing is a lot more productive. We are catching mainly on slabs right now working around ledges and sometimes out in the open in deep water. Occasionally there will be a good topwater bite but you can't rely on that to happen every day. People are always asking me when is the best time to come and it really doesn't matter the time of the year as much as it does what time of the week you plan to come. That said, the middle of winter, the weekends are just as good since it isn't crowded, my favorite time to fish by the way.

To find these fish we are catching on slabs right now, you will want to work along main river ledges or steep drop offs along the bank into deep water. Go slow and swing the boat from 20 to 40-60 ft deep as you snake back and forth along the ledges looking for the fish. Sometimes you will find them hugging the bottom right on the ledge in 20-30ft. of water and sometimes they are suspended just off the ledge in the deep water. When you find them, stop and turn your splasher on and beat the water to get them under the boat and then drop down your slabs. Let them fall free fall as fast as they will go and watch closely for the line to stop or twitch and then set the hook, treat even the bottom as a bite and set the hook. Then reel it back in as fast as you can, giving it a twitch every 8 cranks or so on the way up. Try to stop it abut 5-10 ft. from the surface and let it fall again. Often there are fish chasing it and stopping it before it gets to the surf ace will trigger those fish to hit, catching you more fish. If fish are hugging the bottom, it may be better to jig up and down, think of the slab as a basket ball bouncing on the bottom and try to jig it, bouncing on the bottom like that and then after a few jigs, reel it only half way up and let it fall back to the bottom.

This cold front sure does have me thinking about fall topwater season, September through the first of November is when we experience some of the best topwater fishing of the year catching some of our biggest fish on the surface. September is only a few days away so I am optimistic that the next time I'm out on the water I'll be able to find an early morning fall topwater bite happening, it is supposed to be 66 degrees tomorrow morning so that should get these fish started moving into that pattern, I'm definitely going to be giving it a good try. If you are wanting to plan a trip to experience some fall topwater action, now is the time to get it on the books. You don't want to miss out on this, it is the most exciting way to catch these stripers, you can book your trip online at www.stripersinc.com or give me a call at (903)815-1609 and I'll get you setup over the phone. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll be looking forward to fishing with you.

Your Lake Texoma Fishing Guide,

Brian Prichard

Stripers Inc. www.stripersinc.com

(903)815-1609