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Jose Granda caught this record-setting 7.15-pound striped bass from Lake Brazos back in December while fishing with live perch. Lake Brazos is well-managed and regularly surveyed by TPWD fisheries biologists to ensure the fishery and ecosystem remain healthy.
Whenever I used to ask my Uncle George what time it was, he’d always say, “Time to go fishing!” Springtime in Texas is arguably the best time of year to fish, thanks to many species spawning and settling into predictable patterns.
Good reports from crappie and sand bass anglers are surging, and whether you have a boat, paddle craft, or fish from the bank, you can get yourself into the thick of a school and load up on scrappy, tasty fish.
Largemouth bass, sand bass, and crappie are all in spawning stages, meaning they’re moving into shallow waters to lay and protect their eggs. During the spawn, they’re typically found within casting distance from shorelines and river banks, and relatively easy pickings.
Over the past week, white bass have started their upstream migration, thanks to a decent rain, and the outlook for this week promises another round of precipitation, which should kick the white bass “run” into place.
These fish group together into schools and prowl the bottoms of river and creek channels for food to build up energy for the spawning process, and if you catch one white bass, there are likely dozens – or even hundreds – more nearby. Best baits are live minnows, jigs, slabs, suspending crankbaits, and small spinnerbaits.
There’s a 10 inch minimum length requirement to keep a white bass, with a 25 fish per day bag limit per angler, and the same regulations go for crappie. In Lake Waco and some other lake systems in our area, hybrid-striped bass have been introduced, and these fish typically inhabit the same areas as white bass – they’re often even caught from the same schools.
Hybrids have a different set of regulations – five fish per day/angler with an 18-inch minimum length limit, so it’s important to be able to distinguish between a white bass and an undersized hybrid.
They both have similar bodies and markings, including broken stripes that run along the sides of the fish from gill to tail, but there are ways to tell the difference.
The best way is to look on the fish’s tongue. Both species have a patch of teeth on the top of their tongues about 2/3 of the way back, but they have different shapes. Whites have a football-shaped patch, while hybrids have two side-by-side patches with a smooth stripe between them. As fish grow bigger, these are easier to see, and when you catch one that weighs more than a couple of pounds, chances are you’re looking at a hybrid.
A fast-growing species, hybrids were re-introduced into Lake Waco in 2009 as part of a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of the city’s drinking water. They require regular stocking to maintain a healthy population structure, and area fisheries biologists seem to have hit on the right formula for keeping these tough-fighting fish going strong. The Lake Waco hybrid record is a 13.75-pounder caught on a swim bait by Colby Hill in March of 2017.
Unlike most other game fish in Lake Waco, white bass and hybrids don’t use cover to ambush their prey. Instead, they travel in large schools and use their speed to surround and overwhelm their prey, pinning baitfish against the bottom or chasing them to the water’s surface for a feeding frenzy.
Just like with anything you eat, a lot of the flavor depends on how the meal was handled and prepared. Hybrids have a strip of fatty red meat that has to be cut out after filleting. Once the strip is cut away, you’ll have some thick and tasty fish fillets.
The next time you read the Tribune Herald outdoors, it’ll be April, and on April 9, Fish On Texas, along with Texas Farm Bureau and Catch One Bait and Tackle, will host the Waco River Shootout 4 catfish tournament.
This isn’t like most other tournaments in that it’s a bank-fishing only tournament and also a good portion of the competition will take place after dark. It also has restrictions on allowable areas to fish – the Brazos River from the Loop 340 bridge, Lake Waco spillway, to the Lake Shore Drive bridge.
Registration and weigh-in will be held at Brazos Park East, with registration opening at 2 p.m. and fishing starting at 3 p.m. Entry is $25 per adult/$10 per child (under 16); adults can use up to four rods, and children can use up to two. Weigh-in will be at 11 p.m., and the heaviest 5-fish bag wins.
For more information, do a Google search for Fish On Texas.
People fish for a lot of different reasons. Some folks fish to get away from everyday life for a while; some do it for the challenge of testing their skills against nature and the thrill of catching; a lot of folks fish for the tasty meals that come with success; and I knew of one guy whose doctor prescribed fishing as therapy to help him find a way to relax.
His name was Hoyt, and he didn’t find any relaxation in fishing – he was too busy setting out his 15 poles and running non-stop along the pier checking them for bites and bait.
Most folks fish for a combination of the reasons listed above, and last week, I found one of my favorite crappie recipes that longtime Tribune-Herald outdoors contributor Josh Sears gave me years ago. Crappie is one of the tastiest fish you can catch from Centex waters, and his recipe bumps it up to amazing. I took this as a sign to go out and catch some crappie this weekend.
Cajun Bacon Crappie
1 pound boneless crappie fillets
4 strips bacon
¾ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup melted butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup minced chives
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon Chupacabra rub
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Tabasco
Cook bacon until crispy. Once cooled, crumble the bacon and mix 1 teaspoon of bacon drippings with melted butter. Pat fillets dry and bathe them in butter in a shallow bowl. In a separate dish, combine the bacon bits, crumbs, cheese, and seasonings. Coat fillets in the crumb seasoning and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until fillets flake easily with a fork. Serve with dirty rice and a lemon slice.
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Jose Granda caught this record-setting 7.15-pound striped bass from Lake Brazos back in December while fishing with live perch. Lake Brazos is well-managed and regularly surveyed by TPWD fisheries biologists to ensure the fishery and ecosystem remain healthy.
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