Catching Blue Catfish
Catching Blue Catfish is not an easy task! We are giving the Lake Texoma Catfish a break today, so lets post a bog on catching blue catfish! Subscribe to our RSS feed and you will find out we are not like most Lake Texoma Catfish Guides! Sharing information about Lake Texoma Catfish drives our business! Repeat clients and customer referrals keep us fishing Lake Texoma year round! Let’s start with the best catfish tip! Make sure you start with FRESH LIVE BAIT!
What kind of bait for Catching Blue Catfish?
Best Catfish Bait for Blue Catfish is the lakes natural forage fish. Blue catfish are eating machines. They spend much, if not all of their day chasing and eating bait fish. In most cases this will be threadfin shad, gizzard shad or skipjack herring! What kind of bait fish are in my Lake? It is very easy to find out what fish species are on your favorite lake! Most parks and wildlife groups list every species of fish on your lake! The fish species on Lake Texoma are listed below!
- Blue & channel catfish
- White & striped bass
- Largemouth bass
- Spotted bass
- Smallmouth bass
- Black & white crappie
- Bluegill
Survey Report Lake Texoma
Look at the latest survey report for more valuable information! In the survey report you will find prey species of Lake Texoma! The Prey species of Lake Texoma include: Threadfin Shad and Gizzard Shad abundance remains elevated due to mild winters. Bluegill and other sunfish species exhibit an abundant and diverse prey population.
Catching Shad and keeping them alive
Catching Blue Catfish requires lots of fresh bait! If you want to catch big blue catfish, you must have fresh live bait! Frozen bait is a waste of time and money! You are going to need a good cast net and a quality bait tank! Catching shad can be difficult! Make sure your bait tank has a good filter system, charged battery, and some rock salt! Here is a great article on the best cast net for shad from Catfish Edge!
Shad Migration Patterns
Shad seasonal patterns change from week to week with the weather! Water temperature is a factor, simply because it helps to govern the availability of the phyto and zoo plankton that make up their diet. So, just as stripers follow the shad….shad follow the blooms of plankton, which react to changes in water temperature, thermal layers and oxygen availability. As a general rule, cooler water can hold more dissolved oxygen, hence, support larger blooms of plankton. Water temperature can change by depth as well as simply where you are on the lake, this is harder to pinpoint.
Keeping Shad Alive
Sunshine Bait Tanks are very dependable, have a great filtration system, and very popular on Lake Texoma! Remember the larger the bait, the smaller the numbers that can be kept. A good 30 gallon tank will keep 15-20 6″ baits and 24-30 4″ baits. The preferred temperature for shad is 62 – 65 degrees. In hot summer months adding ice to the water after the baitis caught will work.
Where to Find Blue Catfish in Lakes
InFisherman has the best article on where to find blue catfish in lakes! “A number of studies using biotelemetry over the past decade have significantly improved scientific knowledge about the seasonal and daily movements of the monsters that haunt the dreams of many trophy catfish anglers. The findings reveal trends in reservoir blue catfish behavior that give anglers a glimpse into the lives of blue catfish and help them unravel the mysteries of their quarry. Corey Lee, fishery biologist on Lake Okeechobee in Florida, did his master’s degree research at the University of Oklahoma at Lake Texoma on the Texas-Oklahoma border, tracking movements of blue catfish tagged with ultrasonic transmitters. His study explained the lament among local anglers that blue cats disappear in the summer.”
Source : InFisherman Author: Dan Anderson Date : 7-30-14
Catching Blue Catfish
“Lee and his co-workers caught and tagged 30- to 70-pound blue catfish from the three segments of Lake Texoma: the Red River arm, the Washita River arm, and the main lake at the junction of the two arms. Long-term monitoring of the tagged fish led to surprising results. In late April to early May, most of the blue catfish from the three sections of the 89,000-acre reservoir began a migration that by June moved them miles up the Red River.
“It surprised me,” Lee says. “Most tagged fish didn’t stay in the lake during the summer, even though there’s plenty of habitat there and a huge population of forage fish. They for the most part abandoned the lake during the summer and moved up the Red River. Some of them moved a long way upriver. Two fish tagged in the main lake moved 25 miles upriver within a couple months of when we tagged them.”
Source : InFisherman Author: Dan Anderson Date : 7-30-14
Lake Texoma Catfish Guides
Lake Texoma Catfish Guide targets trophy blue catfish from November to March. These Lake Texoma Catfish come out of the creeks and river arms and run the flats chasing large schools of shad! We now know know what kind of bait to use to put Big Blue Catfish pics on your social media! Catching Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad will be easy with the proper cast net! We now have a great bait tank to keep shad alive! We now know the best time of year to catch blue catfish on Lake Texoma! Now we need to discuss what kind of tackle, techniques, and catfish rigs we need to put Big Blues in the net!
Pictures of Big Blue Catfish
Trophy Blue Catfish Photos
Catching Blue Catfish
Catching Blue Catfish will be easier when you take a trip with one of the Best Lake Texoma Catfish Guides, Captain Daniel Armstrong. There are many Catfish Rigs out there, but we try to keep it super simple! We use the carolina rig and will change up the wights depending on water depth and wind. We use both Egg Sinkers and No-Roll Sinkers. Circle Hooks are used to reduce fish kill. You can look at these Catfish Rigs from Pinterest!
Rod and Reels for Catfishing
If you think there is a lot of choices for Lake Texoma Catfish Guides, take a look at catfish rods and catfish reels! We like a heavy duty reel and rod for Blue Catfish! Lake Texoma Catfish are tough on rods and reels! Rods, reels, and line will be a personal preference, so we will simply use this link for more information! Great Rods and Reels for Catfishing Lake Texoma!
Hotels Near Lake Texoma
Let’s now plan your multi-day Lake Texoma Catfishing Trip! You can find many Hotels near Lake Texoma! Lake Texoma is very busy during the summer and you may need to book a room two to three weeks in advance from May to September. If you are wanting to spend a holiday like Fourth of July, I would suggest six months in advance booking! A google search will give you an idea of hotels that are near Lake Texoma! Tanglewood Resort is a very popular destination on Lake Texoma.
Lake Texoma Camping, Resorts and RV Parks
Lake Texoma has plenty of RV Parks, State Parks, and Camping sites available for everyone. Lake Texoma Camping is great! There are several state parks on the Oklahoma and Texas side of the Lake!
Oklahoma State Parks Lake Texoma
Texas State Parks Lake Texoma
Cabins on Lake Texoma
If you are looking for cabins on Lake Texoma or cabins near Lake Texoma, there are many options! Once again google is your friend. You can find Pet Friendley Lake Texoma Cabins as well as Lake Texoma Cabins on the Water! A very popular cabin rental on Lake Texoma is Lighthouse Marina! If you are active or retired military, check out Lake Texoma Military Cabins! Lake Texoma has it all! Come enjoy a trip and overnight adventure with Lake Texoma Catfish Guides!
Catching Striped Bass
We love catching Blue Catfish on Lake Texoma and Lake Tawakoni, but please don’t forget we also go Striper Fishing on Texoma year round. Lake Texoma Striper Fishing is fantastic! Lake Texoma is the Striper Capital of the World! We love to put Big Striper Pictures on your social media and Big Striper Fish in the net! Texoma Striper Guides are a dime a dozen! If you want the ultimate Lake Texoma Striper experience, hire Captain Daniel Armstrong, the best Lake Texoma Fishing Guide! Our Lake Texoma fishing guide prices are the best, so let’s go Striper Fishing today!
How to Cook Fish
The best part of our job is sharing Lake Texoma Striper Recipes! We love striper fish fried, oven baked, and on the grill! Here are our favorite Striper Fish Recipes!
Fried Striper, Oven Baked Striper, Grilled Striped Bass
We did not forget our favorite catfish recipes Lake Texoma Anglers! We have to watch our fried food intake so we do like fried catfish, but we also back catfish in the oven and put catfish on the grill! Here are our top 3 catfish recipes!
Fried Catfish, Baked Catfish, Grilled Catfish
