Lake Tawakoni, Texas
February and June 2021
This is actually a tale of two trips to this lake. In February, I went to chase the big Blue Catfish that the lake is famous for. I booked guide Matt Cartwright of Matt's Guide Service , who I had heard about. We started out in the morning, but not at the crack of dawn since that is not necessary in the winter. The winter is big catfish season over there, and they did not disappoint. We were drifting large chunks of Gizzard Shad caught in the lake. Matt indicated that he thinks fresh bait works best.
February and June 2021
This is actually a tale of two trips to this lake. In February, I went to chase the big Blue Catfish that the lake is famous for. I booked guide Matt Cartwright of Matt's Guide Service , who I had heard about. We started out in the morning, but not at the crack of dawn since that is not necessary in the winter. The winter is big catfish season over there, and they did not disappoint. We were drifting large chunks of Gizzard Shad caught in the lake. Matt indicated that he thinks fresh bait works best.
The Gizzard Shad we used for bait
Our baits were rigged as shown below, with a small float attached near the bait to help it wobble more seductively as we drifted along.
Our spread of rods while drifting
The bites were not fast and furious, but steady. We started off with some mid-sized fish good for eating. I kept some of these as I enjoy eating catfish now and again.
In most places this would be a large catfish, but not on Lake Tawakoni
Another nice eating-sized fish
It was quite cold and windy all morning, which thankfully I had dressed for. After landing some nice eating sized fish and losing one or two, I got a really big bite. It put up a tremendous fight when it got close to the boat and I knew it was going to be a big fish. However, I don't think I was prepared for exactly how big it ended up being. It looked like a whale when it came up. Matt weighed it (with some difficulty) and it came in at 73#. No lake record, but the biggest one Matt had on his boat in a long while.
One monster catfish
The day warmed up a little and I was able to land a couple more smaller ones before heading in.
The next day I didn't feel like staring at bait rods for hours in the wind, so I asked Matt if we could try to hunt some Hybrid Striped Bass on artificials. At least casting would help keep me warm and is more my style. Matt indicated that Hybrids are tough to get in the winter, but he had a spot or two we could try. We started out first thing in the morning casting swimbaits in sunken timber. Matt stuck a really nice fish of around 8-9lbs, and then I got bit right afterwards on a similar sized fish. I had it most of the way to the boat when it took off and broke me off in a blink on a sunken tree. The rest of the day we cast at every spot he knew and didn't get another bite. Hybrids are often like that; they just bite first thing. That whetted my appetite to come back later and see if I could get some of the Hybrids Tawakoni is well known for.
Fast forward to June, and I was back at Tawakoni looking to score some Hybrids. Matt was booked so I went with Cliff from Cliff's Guide Service. We had a tank of small live shad and headed out to a spot to soak them on the bottom. Fish were showing on the graph, and before long we started getting bites. Unfortunately, most of them were the smaller White Bass rather than Hybrids. All day we were picking through a lot of White Bass to get the Hybrids. Some of the White Bass were quite large, over 2lbs, but when you hooked a Hybrid you knew it. I think those things are the strongest pound for pound freshwater fish in the US.
Fast forward to June, and I was back at Tawakoni looking to score some Hybrids. Matt was booked so I went with Cliff from Cliff's Guide Service. We had a tank of small live shad and headed out to a spot to soak them on the bottom. Fish were showing on the graph, and before long we started getting bites. Unfortunately, most of them were the smaller White Bass rather than Hybrids. All day we were picking through a lot of White Bass to get the Hybrids. Some of the White Bass were quite large, over 2lbs, but when you hooked a Hybrid you knew it. I think those things are the strongest pound for pound freshwater fish in the US.
A solid Hybrid
A side by side comparison of a Hybrid and a White Bass. The Hybrids in the lake are a cross between a Striper mother and a White Bass father
We picked away at the fish and ended up with around 45 White Bass and 4 Hybrids by 845am. We then moved around but the bite had died and I only got 3 more White Bass on a jigging spoon. It was a great day other than losing one of my favorite rods over the side. We didn't see or hear it go over, but all of a sudden I looked around and realized it wasn't there. In all my times fishing I had never lost a rod over the side. Unfortunately there is a first time for everything I guess.
The biggest fish of the first day
The next day Cliff managed to net even more Shad. We started out in the spot where we caught the fish the day before and immediately got a nice Hybrid.
A good start to the day
We were picking up fish here and there, but Cliff decided to make a move to some flooded timber. At that spot, we fished just above the sunken tree tops and miraculously did not get snagged once all day. The move was definitely the right call, as we got a couple more Hybrids in quick succession.
Some more morning fattie Hybrids
After a little while the rod in the back bent over hard and the line started to peel off. I was able to turn the fish's head after some dicey moments when I was sure it was going to get into a tree and bust me off. I was rewarded with a very solid Striper.
A beauty of a Striper
Right after landing that fish I got another big bite, but that one did get me into a tree in short order and bust me off. Still the action was fast and furious and I didn't have time to be upset about it. A steady procession of Hybrids, Stripers, and the ever-present White Bass were coming into the boat. I released all of the fish that were not gut-hooked.
A Striper, Hybrid, and White Bass all caught within minutes of each other
The bite eventually died off for a while, and I was thinking it was over until one last flurry which resulted in two more really nice Stripers and a big Hybrid. Both the Striper and Hybrid were the biggest of the trip. At that point we were out of bait and I decided to call it a day early and start my long drive home.
Trying to keep the biggest Striper of the day out of the timber
Biggest Striper of the trip. Doesn't really show in the pic, but it had a large girth
Biggest Hybrid of the trip. This guy peeled a lot of drag.
Total count for the day was 6 Stripers, 10 Hybrids, and at least around 35-40 White Bass. Over 100 fish for the weekend only fishing in the mornings. Not too shabby!
Small live shad caught most fish this trip
