Gone was the wind

Hot, still conditions face Stren anglers on Texoma

DENISON, Texas – Stren Series anglers will be feeling the heat on Lake Texoma and not just from the pressure inherent to a tournament’s final day of top-10 qualifying. Nearly cloudless skies, relentless sun and still breezes will present physically demanding conditions and a tough bite.

With such an outlook, it’s no mystery that anglers will spend a lot of time working the shady solaces of docks and boat houses. Points and shoreline rocks will give up a few fish early, but once the sun hangs high overhead, the game moves almost exclusively to spots that act like a beach umbrella.

Docks are also where spawning shad gather in great numbers, so the bass will be chasing these forage fish around the structures. Spinnerbaits have been the choice for most and seventh-place pro Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas said that’s mostly the boisterous bait matches the hatch. “The blades imitate the shad, so running that spinnerbait around the docks seems to be working really well.”

Green said there’s no lack of opportunity, but covering water and narrowing the search to ideal habitat will be essential. “There are so many places that the shad are spawning on this lake right now that you just have to hit a bunch of places until you find the right spot. When I find them schooling on the shad, it’s pretty quick action.”

Structures near deep water seem to produce most consistently, and as the day’s heat intensifies a lot of the fish will likely hunker low beneath the structures. Several anglers lamented a significant downturn in the action when day two clouds yielded to sunny skies, so today’s bright disposition will likely mean a lot of looking and picking.

In addition to spinnerbaits, jigs, shaky head worms and Carolina rigs will also prove effective today. Some reported light, finicky bites on day two, so the real dilemma will be finding the balance between slow, patient presentations and a time-conscious strategy of fishing enough spots to locate cooperative fish.

In the Pro division, David Parsons of Yantis, Texas holds a 3-pound, 8-ounce lead with his 32-10 total. With a day-two bag weighing 21-2, Parsons has been the only angler to break 20 pounds. Flipping an undisclosed bait around rocks and other structure, Parsons said he held a couple of promising spots for today.

FLW rookie Chris Bobo sits atop the co-angler division with 21-5. He said he intends to stick with a spinnerbait and grind out a limit.

Co-angler Bo Middleton of Elgin, Ok. won the 2007 Stren event on Texoma and currently sits in third place. He’s not thrilled about the day three conditions, but he has a plan: “I’ll downsize my baits, my weights and my line and just fish really slowly.”

With many fish still in spawning mode, the intense sunlight may benefit those who chose to pursue bedding fish. The only problem is that extremely windy weather on day one left Texoma stirred and discolored. Parsons said one of his larger day-two fish was probably on a bed, but the water was so turbid he never saw the fish until it picked up his bait.

Tournament logistics

The Stren Series event, which runs May 7-10, represents the third of four regular-season Texas Division tournaments. The total purse for the Lake Texoma event is $275,225. The winning pro could earn as much as $65,000 in cash and prizes if various contingencies are met, and the winning co-angler could earn as much as $35,000.

Action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. (Central Time) at Highport Marina, located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:30 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 69 degrees

Expected high temperature: 85 degrees

Water temperature: 70 degrees

Wind: from the NNW 9mph

Humidity: 47 percent

Day’s outlook: Mostly sunny