I've fished Texoma and caught a 10-pound hybrid striper that hit like a freight train. The striper fishery here lives up to every bit of its reputation, and it's the kind of fishing that's hard to describe until you've felt it.
Today's Bite Score · October 8, 2026
Above average conditions worth planning a trip
🌘Waning Crescent
Lake Texoma Fishing Report
Updated October 2, 2026Synthesized from current fishing reports · Updated weekly
Lake Texoma is running 2 feet below normal elevation this week, with water temperatures holding steady at 82°F and clear conditions. The lake level remains stable, providing consistent fishing opportunities across multiple species right now.
Striped bass are the standout catch this week, with anglers finding them actively biting on live shad, topwater lures, and sassy shad around channels and points. Guides are reporting that stripers continue to respond well to topwater lures early in the day. Blue, channel, and flathead catfish are also biting fairly well this week on cut bait and punch bait positioned below the dam, in coves, and around the river mouth. Crappie fishing is fair right now on jigs and hair jigs around brush piles in open water and near docks with structure.
For stripers this week, live shad and topwater presentations are delivering the best results around channels and points. Catfish anglers are finding success with cut bait and punch bait at baited holes and cleaning stations below the dam. Crappie fishermen are targeting brush structure, coves, docks, and standing timber with caddis flies, hair jigs, minnows, and nymphs. Fishing conditions this week have held steady from last week, with the bite remaining consistent across all three major species.
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Lake Texoma Fishing Guides
Looking for a Lake Texoma fishing guide? The self-reproducing striper population here is unlike anything else in the country, but chasing them without local knowledge across 74,000 acres is a serious gamble. Go here → to check out our recommended fishing guides for Lake Texoma. Then scroll down on that page to see all of the Lake Texoma fishing guides.
Lake Texoma Fishing Strategies by Species
Seasonal patterns and techniques by target species · Verified against official sources
Striped bass define fishing on Lake Texoma: it is one of the only freshwater lakes in the United States with a self-sustaining, naturally reproducing striper population, and the guide fleet operating out of Highport Marina runs clients year-round. Spring (February through April) puts fish shallow in the Red River and Washita arms and is the easiest season to access stripers without specialized gear; fall surface blitzes near the Big Mineral arm are the most visually exciting fishing on the lake. The striper regulation allows 10 striped and hybrid striped bass combined per day, but only 2 may be 20 inches or longer, and culling is prohibited. Because two-thirds of the lake is in Oklahoma, carry the special Lake Texoma fishing license ($12 Texas / $11 Oklahoma) to fish both sides legally.
Lake Texoma Striped Bass Fishing Report
Lake Texoma's striped bass fishery is what separates it from nearly every other reservoir in the country. The TPWD and ODWC regulation on Lake Texoma allows 10 striped bass and hybrid striped bass combined per day, but only 2 of those 10 may measure 20 inches or longer. Culling is prohibited: fish placed in the livewell must be kept. These regulations reflect the managed approach both states apply to keep the self-sustaining population healthy. Spring is when stripers become most accessible to the average angler. February and March bring fish into shallower water as they follow shad toward the upper Red River arm and the Washita arm. Water temperatures in the 50s push feeding fish shallow enough to reach on light tackle. Jigs in white or chartreuse worked through the current seams near the dam area and the mouths of the river arms account for fish. The February through April window before water warms significantly is the easiest time of year to catch stripers without specialized deep-water equipment. Summer striper fishing on Texoma is a professional guide game. Fish follow the shad schools through the main lake, often suspending at 20 to 40 feet depending on water temperature and thermocline depth. Live shad on circle hooks, trolled umbrella rigs, and jigging spoons in the correct depth zone all produce. The striper guide fleet operating out of Highport Marina and other access points runs clients year-round, and the most consistent results come from anglers willing to locate the fish electronically and match the depth exactly. Fall schooling activity beginning in September and October puts stripers on the surface in feeding blitzes near the main lake points and the mouth of the Big Mineral arm. Topwater plugs and jigs cast into breaking fish produce immediate strikes during these windows. The fall striper bite is the most visually exciting fishing on Lake Texoma.
Lake Texoma Largemouth Bass Fishing Report
Texas Parks & Wildlife sets the largemouth bass regulation on the Texas side of Lake Texoma at 14-inch minimum with a 5-fish daily bag limit in any combination of black bass species. Oklahoma ODWC regulations apply on the Oklahoma side: verify current limits before fishing Oklahoma waters, or carry the Lake Texoma special license that covers both sides. Spring is the primary largemouth season on Texoma. The Cross Timbers hardwood shoreline and red clay banks of the Texas side warm in late February and March, and bass move onto secondary points and cove transitions as water temperatures approach 60°F. The protected coves and brush pockets along the Eisenhower State Park shoreline on the northwest Texas side hold staging fish through March. By mid-April, bass are bedding in the backs of coves throughout the lake. Texoma largemouth respond well to crankbaits and spinnerbaits on the main lake points and channel transitions in spring. The red clay and rock structure throughout the lake gives bass predictable holding areas that differ from the typical timber-heavy East Texas reservoir. Carolina-rigged worms worked along the clay bottom transitions in 12 to 18 feet catch fish through the summer. Largemouth here share the lake with striped bass and must compete for the same shad schools: this keeps them aggressive through fall.
Lake Texoma Crappie Fishing Report
Both black and white crappie are present throughout Lake Texoma. The TPWD regulation is a 10-inch minimum with a generous 37-fish daily bag limit. The Big Mineral arm: where Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge occupies 3,000 acres of marsh and shallow water on the Texas side: concentrates crappie in spring when fish move from deeper water toward the refuge shallows. Spring crappie fishing on Texoma is at its best in March and early April as water temperatures climb into the low 60s. Fish move from 15 to 20 feet toward the brush and dock structure in 6 to 12 feet. A 1/16-ounce jig in pink or chartreuse dropped vertically through brush and dock pilings produces consistent numbers. The Hagerman NWR area in the Big Mineral arm, accessible by boat, holds some of the densest spring crappie concentrations on the lake. Summer crappie hold on deeper brush and dock structure as water warms. The main lake brush piles and submerged timber in the Washita arm provide year-round habitat. Fall brings fish back toward medium-depth structure as temperatures cool.
Lake Texoma Blue Catfish Fishing Report
Lake Texoma has produced some of the largest blue catfish in the United States. The Texas state record blue catfish: 121.5 pounds: was caught in Lake Texoma in 2004. That record reflects the size that the combination of deep water, abundant shad, and a productive Red River ecosystem can produce. Blue catfish are present throughout the lake's main channels and the deep river arms. The Red River channel in the upper lake and the deeper bends of the Washita arm hold concentrations of catfish through summer. Cut shad fished on the bottom in river channel bends and the main lake channel in 20 to 40 feet produces consistently. Night fishing from bank access points at Eisenhower State Park and the USACE recreation areas along the Texas side produces catfish year-round. Spring is an excellent season as catfish stage in creek mouths and channel bends during pre-spawn movement.
For fishing heavy cover after Striped Bass, I run 50-65lb braid. Zero stretch means you feel every bite and you can pull fish out of structure before they wrap you. Reaction Tackle is where I restock. Their low-vis green disappears in most water conditions.
Top Fish to Target in Lake Texoma
Lures for Lake Texoma
Tackle matched to this lake's species and structure.
Worth checking before any trip: your line. Old braid gets brittle at the tag end and loses sensitivity over time. I rotate mine every season. Reaction Tackle is where I order from when it's time to restock.
About Lake Texoma
I've fished Texoma and can tell you firsthand: those hybrid stripers are something else. I caught a 10-pounder that hit so hard I thought I'd snagged a submerged log for a split second. Texoma's striper fishery lives up to everything you've heard. If it's your first time on the lake, I'd recommend going out with a guide: the state line adds a licensing wrinkle, and a local guide will put you on fish faster than figuring out the structure yourself.
Lake size and location. Lake Texoma covers 74,686 acres at conservation pool on the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma. Denison Dam, built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, was completed in 1944. The lake is 89 miles long. Two-thirds of the lake lies in Oklahoma; the Texas portion sits in Grayson and Cooke counties. Denison, Texas (5 miles from the dam) is the nearest Texas city; Durant, Oklahoma anchors the Oklahoma side.
Fishing license: two states. Standard Texas and Oklahoma fishing licenses each cover only one state's waters. Because the state line is invisible on the water, TPWD and ODWC both offer a special Lake Texoma fishing license ($12 Texas / $11 Oklahoma annually) that covers both sides. Anglers who fish across the state line without the appropriate license face fines. The special license is the simplest solution for anyone fishing the open lake.
Self-reproducing striped bass. Lake Texoma is one of only a few freshwater lakes in the United States with a naturally reproducing landlocked striped bass population. Stripers were first stocked in 1965; natural reproduction was confirmed by 1974. The self-sustaining fishery supports a year-round professional guide industry and makes Texoma one of the top freshwater striper destinations in the country. Striper regulation: 10/day combined with hybrids, only 2 may exceed 20 inches, no culling.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. The Big Mineral arm on the Texas side includes Hagerman NWR: 11,320 acres with 3,000 acres of marsh and shallow water. The refuge concentrates crappie and waterfowl, and the shallow water arm is accessible by boat. It is a winter staging area for thousands of Canada geese and ducks during migration.
Zebra mussels. Lake Texoma is a designated zebra mussel infestation waterbody. All boaters must Clean, Drain, and Dry all equipment before leaving the lake to prevent spread to other waters. Texas and Oklahoma law require it.
