September 19, 2018 by Capt. Stephen Andre'

Lake Texoma Fall 2018 Striper Fishing Lures and Hot Spots

As the weather cools, and Lake Texoma water temperatures drop, the Lake Texoma Fall Striper Fishing will fire up with the first signs of Fall coming. The current weather is cloudy and drizzly…. awesome striper weather for Lake Texoma! Striper Fishing Lake Texoma Best Time is just around the corner! Fishing Lake Texoma in October and throughout the remainder of the Fall can be some of the best fishing of the year. Striper can be caught numerous ways this time of year, using a full arsenal of topwater lures, spoon slabs and a variety of swimbait configurations. Captain Stephen Andre’ reveals some of his favorite Fall Lake Texoma Hot Spots as well as his favorite Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Lures for the upcoming Fall Feeding Frenzy on Lake Texoma!

Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Lures

A full variety of lures can be useful during the Fall active months on Lake Texoma. Make sure you have a variety of swim baits, jig heads, swim bait bodies, and slab spoons. Some days fish will be shallow, and some will be deep, so be prepared!

Best Artificial Lures for Striper Bass

Lake Texoma Fishing Guide Stephen Andre’s NUMBER ONE LURE for Fall striper fishing is the SASSY SHAD SWIMBAIT. Hundreds of combinations of color, sizes, and jig head designs give you unlimited options. They can be fished in 2 feet of water or on a 35-foot river ledge. Let’s narrow that swim bait down to a few simple and proven combinations that will get some Big Lake Texoma Striper in your cooler. Cooler water will trigger Striper into feeding for the upcoming Winter months. They will want a satisfying meal, so do not be afraid to use some larger swimbaits. Swim baits in the 3.5 to 5-inch size are ideal. Small lures catch small fish...who wants that? Add a .5 ounce to 1.5-ounce shad style jig head to the swim bait depending on fish depth and you have a good sized 4.5 inch to 6-inch swim bait that will satisfy a healthy sized Striper. Do not worry, smaller Striper will eat these as well. Striper are overachievers when it comes to feeding! Striper 8 inches long will eat a 5-inch lure.

Choosing Artificial Lure Colors

How about lure color? Well, keep it simple. A proven and time-tested Lake Texoma color is Glow. This is a go to color that will ALWAYS work. SWIM BAIT TIP with these…. keep them in a plastic bag inside a paper bag to block the sunlight, and they will not turn yellow over time! Additional colors include White Ice for clear water and Chartreuse for muddy water. For jig head color, again, keep it simple. A jig head with a contrasting color to the swim bait body is best. Striper can see contrast in colors better than the colors themselves, so give it some contrast. Green jig head with Glow body is killer! Orange head with Chartreuse body is good contrast for stained winter water. Some jig heads can be purchased with no paint, just lead color…they are good as well and much less expensive!
A properly rigged swim bait is essential. A poorly rigged swim bait that swims sideways or spins is a waste of time. Take your time rigging your swim bait. Lay the jig head on the side of your chosen swim bait and mark where the hook will exit the back. It is very important that the hook exit the swim bait in the correct spot to prevent the lure from having a hunchback or sagging look. Also thread the hook into the swimbait into the VERY center (from side to side) of the nose of the swim bait otherwise it will swim sideways and look unnatural. Take you time and do it right…this gets done every time a swim bait gets rigged up. SWIM BAIT TIP to make them last…before you push the swim bait onto the last ¼ inch of the jig head, add a few drops of super glue to the jig head…this will keep them from tearing up when you are slinging Striper in the boat! Who has time when fish are going nuts to change out a swim bait tail?! A drop of glue and you are good to go. Lastly, If you rigged the swimbait incorrectly despite you best efforts, you can correct a sideways swimming lure. If the lure is swimming left, bend the hook to the right just a tad. And if swimming to the right, bend the hook to the left. This will save you if you are in the BIGGUNS and a hook gets bent while unhooking a 10-pound Striper!

Lake Texoma Fishing Lures

NUMBER TWO LURE for Texoma Fall fishing is the top water plug! You’ve heard the names Pencil Popper and ChugBug right? Well add the Zara Super Spook to the list and that’s all you will need! The Pencil Popper is a proven lure for BIG Striper. A Blue back for sunny days and a Black back for cloudy days are good color combinations. Same colors for the ChugBugs as well. Now the ChugBug does have 2 good sizes, basically a big one and a smaller one. The smaller ones are good to have on hand for those “blow-up” striper that just can not seem to get the lure in their mouth. The smaller size with the smaller hooks will get in their mouth a little easier and that can sometimes turn a “blow-up” trip into a catching trip. TOPWATER PLUG TIP…switch out the trailer hook on the plug with a treble hook that has some dressing on it…this can catch those smaller fish as well if the big ones are not cooperating!
What about top water plug colors? The Striper are in the water under the surface…how can they see what color the topside of the plug is? Well, when the light reflects down onto the top of the floating plug, it creates a halo around the plug which penetrates down into the water! This creates COLOR CONTRAST around the plug along with the splashing and rattling and…BAM! Another favorite color for surface plug is Bone color. Zara Super Spook makes a great Bone colored surface plug that can be deadly when there is no wind and the surface of the water is glass smooth. Very subtle twitching and pausing will trick the wariest of Striper into inhaling breakfast!

Texoma Slab Spoons

The Slab Spoon is NUMBER THREE on the list for Lake Texoma Fall Striper Fishing Lures. Sometimes we can have a late Summer and water temperatures can stay warm a bit. Often this may deep some Striper in their Summer pattern along ledges and on 20-30-foot flats. The Slab spoon will be the best choice in this early Fall scenario. Big slabs in the 2 ounce to 3 ounce range are effective this time of year. The proven green or green/white colors seem to be all you need. SLAB TIP…switch out the stock hooks with some good 3x hooks and go one size larger. This will keep the smallest fish off the lure and make sure you get the biggest striper in the boat without bending a cheap hook out!

Lake Texoma Fall 2018 Striper Fishing Spots

In general, as the water cools, the Striper will move up shallower than their Summer pattern. There will still be some Summer pattern Striper in deep water, but that will change as more frequent cold fronts push through and cool the water down into the low 70’s. Mornings with low air temperatures in the 50’s will really attract some BIG STRIPER into some very SHALLOW water! Shallow water topwater plugs and ½ ounce swimbaits will kill it when conditions are just right!

The Islands Lake Texoma

Cooling Fall water is like a magnet that draws in Striper from the depths to prowl the cool shallows for unsuspecting shad in the twilight of the early morning. Topwater plugs and fast reeled ½ ounce big swim baits will get the attention of Lake Texoma Striper at first light. A trolling motor is a necessity. The outboards can send sounds out at long range in 3 feet of water…DO NOT RUN your big motor or you will ruin it for yourself. Stealthy and calm is imperative! Striper can be in as shallow as 1 foot of water in the right conditions. Long casts are necessary. Do not forget to let the Striper take the topwater plug before you set the hook…if you set the hook on the blow-up you will miss it GUARANTEED!

Lake Texoma Juniper Point

Sherwood is a 10 -20 flat that holds Fall Striper September to November that are in pattern to migrate up the Red River for spawning. Bait fish will congregate in ditches and shallows creating perfect ambush conditions for Lake Texoma Striper. Topwater plugs and swimbaits with ¾ ounce jig heads will provide you with some opportunities. The Red River runs very close to that area as well. If Striper are holding in a late Summer pattern and are not up on the flats, a slab spoon worked along the Sherwood Ledge will produce some fat Striper that are feeding in preparation for their run up the river.

Washita Flats Lake Texoma

This unique flat averages about a 25 - 30-foot depth and is a great staging area in the Fall for Striper in September to November. The Washita River and Red River some together on the southeast corner of this flat and provide all that is needed for Lake Texoma Striper through the Fall. There is shallow water opportunities along the north shore as well as deep water ledges on all sides. There are several creeks with numerous points and drop offs to fish with swim baits. It is almost like a lake within a lake in this area with so much variety in structure and a chance to get a BIG striper on topwater, swim bait or slab spoon!

Soldier Creek

Striper will often chase large groups of shad in deep water as the water cools and shad migrate. Big schools of Striper can often be found in the deep water out from Soldier Creek. This is an area from Soldier Creek, to the Cross, to Oil Well point, and over to TI point. This is a big area, but luckily in the Fall we will have seagulls back in the area to help us all find roaming schools of Striper. Keep your binoculars handy to make it a bit easier. I use my binoculars religiously this time of year to keep up with the schools. A 1-ounce swim bait casted out and letting sink for 7 -10 seconds and then slow reeled will catch some MONSTER STRIPER later in the Fall in this area. The month from Thanksgiving to Christmas is a great time of year in this area!

Good luck, and I will see you out there!

Capt. Stephen Andre'

https://www.laketexomafishingguides.com/

Lake Texoma Striper Hunter Guide Service

972-816-6000

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