It’s shaping up as a good summer for fishing in the Dallas area. On June 6, Jeff Senn of McKinney exceeded his personal goal by catching a hybrid striped bass that’s the pending catch-and-release state record and also the C&R record for Lake Tawakoni. It’s likewise a potential International Game Fish Association world record.
Senn and his wife, Peggy Senn, were fishing with Tawakoni guide Michael Littlejohn (tawakoniguideservice.com). They’d fished with Littlejohn in the past, and Jeff Senn set a goal of catching a 25-inch hybrid. He told Littlejohn to call him when the big ones were biting.
“Fishing is good right now, better than normal,” Littlejohn said. “We’ve caught more double-digit fish than I can remember for this time of year. I’m sure it’s connected to the prolonged spring as our water temperatures are still in the 70s [as of last week]. The fish are carrying eggs longer and providing us with some really heavy fish.”
Stormy weather blew in on June 6. The fishing trip was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and, by then, the worst of the weather had moved through, leaving cloudy, misty skies for the remainder of the day. That’s perfect weather for catching hybrid stripers, Littlejohn said.
The guide had two spots that were producing big fish. He first anchored on his best spot, and his anglers dropped live shad to the bottom. They immediately hooked up. Jeff Senn landed a 22-inch fish, and his wife caught the fish her husband was hoping for. It measured 26.5 inches and weighed nearly 8 pounds.
The hot action continued for an hour, but the fish were mostly in the 6- to 7-pound range, and none of them measured 25 inches.
Littlejohn moved to his second spot, which has tended to run hot and cold. This time it held a huge school of white bass, not what he was looking for. He used his electric motor and sonar to position his clients over a nearby drop-off, and Jeff Senn’s drag began singing as a big fish peeled off line.