When I was a kid we frequently fished from the levees in the Sacramento and San Juaquin River delta region, mostly hoping to nail a nice striper. The minimum size limit for stripers was 18 inches but it was rare that we ever caught one that big;once in a while, maybe, but not often.
Thanks Bill, I really enjoyed reading your story, and your pictures. They tried stocking Stripers in Iowa back in the early 1970’s, but the DNR determined it to be unsuccessful. They do stock Wipers/Hybrids here, though.
I can certainly envision applications of your striper knowledge to the Wipers in our local tailraces!
Thank you sir. We have those hybrids down this-a-way, too. They get pretty big, they love streamers and they pull really hard. They’ll take you into the dark corners of your backing, too. Good luck to you.
Bill
Careful of the license requirements when fishing below the dam at Texoma. The border between Tex and Okla is quirky, and the being licensed in one doesn’t count when you cross that invisible line in the water
You’re right! It’s pretty tricky as to just where you’re required to have the Okie licence in posession, particularly if the water is low and you wish to wade. Since I want to be able to fish from both banks, and launch my kayak, I have both states covered. One might be very careful about it with just a Texas licence.
The Texas Game wardens will and does sit in his truck and count the fishpeople keep even at night with night-vision binoculars and scopes.
Someone ought to take em away from him and smash em into a million pieces cuz that just aint right.
In my opinion that is gettin way too picky…but the Striper fishin is fantastic.
Thanks for the story and great photos Bill
Great article! I live in Sherman and would like to start fly fishing for stripers below the dam. I’m new to all this, so what weight rod should I use?
Understand the sentiment. I note, however, that there are a lot of people fishing there that are probably not in posession of a license, from either state. I see them all over the Texas lakes and streams, and they take a lot of fish home. Kind of irritates me. Personally, I wish the guy on the hill would come down and check licenses more often, and leave the scope at home.
Tight lines!
Bill
I’m no expert. I use an 8 weight. I’d have to play the bigger fish pretty much for a week or so on my 3 weight. I think most people are using 6 to 8 weight gear. There are a lot of smaller fish (under 20 inches) but if you tie into one of the bigger ones, it pays to have the backbone of the heftier outfit.
Thanks! I have a six-weight, so I could probably handle the smaller stripers.