"I believe due to the salinity content in the lake there is not much grass, which is detrimental to the black bass," he said. "As a result, the bass normally caught in the lake will average 3 pounds."

Kriet has logged untold hours on this big border impoundment, and his expertise has garnered several tournament victories, the most prestigious being the last B.A.S.S. event held there. His experiences have taught him that certain baits are better in June and that particular spots are more productive than are others.

"My favorite spots to fish in June are around many of the lake's boat docks, and tire reefs," advised Kriet. "My preferred method is pitching both solid white and white-and-chartreuse jigs, or throwing spinnerbaits in the same patterns. I also catch a fair amount of bass on Pop-Rs in bone and chrome colors."

Kriet said the lake's largemouths like to suspend beneath the white foam of many of the boat docks. He said when he finds the right boat dock he can catch a tournament limit (five fish) in five casts.

Another professional angler that grew up on the lake is Platter native Jeff Reynolds. Reynolds has fished the lake for more than 25 years, and lives a rock's throw from its banks. Although he doesn't log as many days on Texoma as usual, due to a heavy tournament schedule, his experience still is valuable.

"On Texoma, wind is the key to catching bass," Reynolds said. "It's very hard to catch fish without it." Biologists explain that wind causes shad to move to an area where they can school and be sheltered from the wind.

Yet another professional angler that has spent an extensive time on Texoma is Mannsville's Edwin Evers. Evers represents a new breed of aggressive anglers that embody a never-say-die attitude. Evers believes Texoma to be a good bass lake, and offers an 8-pound lunker he caught there as proof.

Evers also is a fan of using crankbaits, but he sometimes likes to pitch a jig toward likely bass cover. Evers prefers to use a black-and-blue jig, and, like a lot of other pros, likes to cover a lot of water.

SUPER SPOTS FOR SMALLMOUTHS
"Lake Texoma is one of the best lakes around to catch a big smallmouth in," Kriet claims. "My best Texoma smallmouth weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and I rarely catch any less than 3 pounds."

In fact, the smallmouth fishing is so good at Texoma that most tournaments are won with catches of smallmouths.

"Smallmouths can be finicky at times," Kriet said, "but when they bite, they really bite. I like to fish for them in the areas between the Roosevelt Bridge and the Willis Bridge, and around the dam. Owing to the lake being silted in badly, the midlake area is also a good spot to find schools of smallmouths."

Kriet's favorite baits for using in the early morning hours are Pop-Rs, Slug-Gos, and flukes, in darker colors and baitfish colors.

Reynolds likes to concentrate on rocky points and chooses his bait based on the weather conditions. "If the weather is cloudy, I like to use crawdad-colored crankbaits," he said. "However, if the weather is clear, I have found that chartreuse with a blue back or shad colors work well too.

"Usually I don't catch a lot of smallmouths, but when I do they are normally 2 1/2 pounds or better. My best smallmouths there weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and 6 pounds, 4 ounces."

SPOTTED BASS STRATEGIES
To complete the bass trifecta, you'll need to add a spotted or Kentucky bass to your bag. Texoma has incredible numbers of chunky spots according to Kriet. "The spots are doing really well," he said. "They're all over the midlake area as well as around the boat docks and tire reefs."