Hybrid striper anglers know most of the stat’s hotspots.
Lakes and reservoirs such as Conroe, Lewisville, Richland Chambers, Tawakoni and others quickly come to mind when thinking about a trip to catch there hard-fighting fish.
However, a new hotspot just popped up on the radar — Millers Creek Reservoir southwest of Seymour.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries district office in Wichita Falls recently completed a gill-net survey at Millers Creek and found an abundant population of hybrid striped bass.
“Over half the hybrids sampled were above the minimum length limit of 18 inches, and we collected fish up to 14 pounds,” said TPWD biologist Robert Mauk.
The presence of so many big hybrids is somewhat of a puzzle, Mauk said.
“Creel survey results show little fishing pressure for this species, and harvest is almost non-existent,” he said. “Many reservoirs have guides that specialize in targeting this species, so it’s hard to understand why hybrids are under-utilized in this reservoir. The current lake record is 16.01 pounds, so the lake has excellent trophy potential.”
Mauk added that the hybrids sampled in gill nets ranged from 15 to 27 inches in length, with many of the larger ones being taken from creek channels associated with flats, especially the second cove from the dam on the southeast side of the lake.
“Hybrids are noted for their strong fight once hooked,” Mauk said. “They will readily accept artificial lures or live bait.”
Millers Creek is about a three-hour drive from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. “The reservoir elevation is quite low currently, and launching boats from the ramp may require wading,” Mauk said.
Millers Creek also offers good white bass fishing, especially in the cove near the dam. Fish up to 16 inches were sampled. Anglers report catching lots of blue catfish from the shore, although the larger fish have been found in the middle of the lake. Channel catfish are present but not abundant in catchable sizes.
