Outdoor Report — by Aaron Shaffer

Aaron Shaffer
correspondent
First and foremost I would like to give a big thanks to the City of Iowa Park, the Texas Junior Anglers Association, The Optimus Club, and all of the other sponsors of this year’s Fishfest. It was a great turnout with around 200 people showing up for lots of food, prizes, and fun. It is always a great time to spend with the family and friends. The weather was absolutely perfect. Like always I got there at about 7 am to get my favorite spot. My sister-in-law came all the way from San Anglo just to bring my nephew to fish. He won 1st place the year before last and wanted to defend his title and boy, did he. This year was a special one for me we always take home a trophy but this year we landed the first fish which won JR a new Zepco fishing pole it turned out to be the big fish of the tournament it was the first time we have ever caught the big fish. My nephew Gonzalo “Junior” Agular was the lucky guy with a 26” channel catfish he caught it on stink bait it was the largest fish ever caught at Fishfest. Then my youngest son Beau caught a 23 ½” channel cat using worms to take 2nd place in the 8-year-old group. The fishing started fast and furious at 9 am we caught 3 fish in the first 15min then it slowed down and we didn’t land another that morning. But for us, it’s about the kids running around and us spending time as a family in the outdoors. We were all there my dad, sister, nieces, and nephews and great niece and nephew came to join in on the fun. If you missed it don’t worry there are plenty of fish out there the City of Iowa Park put 2,000lbs of catfish in the lake again this year. We can’t wait until next year to do it again. The real winner is the community of Iowa Park to have such a great place to fish conveniently located in our small town. If you have any comments or would like for me to mention any upcoming events you can send me an email at [email protected]. Make sure to check your local rules and regulations on any body of water you fish or land you hunt. The rules can and do change from place to place. And always remember to take a kid fishing. Now for this week’s fishing report.
Buffalo
SLOW. Water stained; 82 degrees; 12.75 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water.
Gordon
GOOD. Catfish good on stink bait, worms Perch good on north end under the bridge on worms.
Kickapoo
SLOW. Crappie are biting in the mornings around 7am Catfish are starting to pick up. Fishing report by Kickapoo Fish Camp.
Arrowhead
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 79 degrees; 6.01 feet below pool.
Fishing pattern is holding as the water slowly cools off. Catfish pattern is holding steady drifting with fresh cut shad. Report by Brandon Brown, Brown’s Guide Service.
Possum Kingdom
GOOD. Water stained; 82 degrees; 1.57 feet below pool. Striper are starting to pick up but still not consistent. Live bait is putting fish in the boat if it can be caught. Downriggers are still slow at the moment and not catching any fish. Any kind of artificial bait is fishing slow at the moment. Look for them in 20-40 feet of water. They are moving fast and not staying in one spot long. Sand bass are still slow. Look for them in 20-30 feet of water. Use live shad or small slabs and jigs or rattle traps. White and silver are good colors. Catfish are fair to good. Cut shad or your favorite brand of stink bait, also known as punch bait, is producing good numbers of fish in 15-30 feet of water fished on or near the bottom. This rain we just got has cooled the lake of 2-3 degrees but I expect it to rise again this week. Water clarity is steady at 6-12 feet of visibility. Report by TJ Ranft, Ranft Guide Service. Bass are scattered on ledges, points, and deep timber hitting crankbaits, Carolina rigs, dropshots. Report by JK Outdoors Bass Fishing Guide
Texoma
Oct 11. Elevation is Normal (stable), water temperature 82°F and clear. (USACE Lake Level)Bass, Striped Fair on live shad around channels, main lake, points.Catfish, Blue, Catfish, Channel, Catfish, Flathead Good on dough bait, live shad, punch bait, stinkbait around channels, coves, points, river mouth.Crappie, Black, Crappie, White Fair on caddis flies, grubs, hair jigs, jigs, minnows around brush structure, coves, docks, points, standing timber.Comments: Fishing this week has been okay. Striper are good on live shad near ledges. The bigger fish have been harder to find than the smaller box fish. Catfish continue to be good near baited holes and cleaning docks using punch bait and cut bait. Crappie have been okay near brush piles and open water timber.