TEXAS, USA — The worst of the summer heat will soon be behind us and that means we're headed toward the prime white, striped and hybrid bass season.
On this week's Hooked on East Texas, we get a few tips on how to make the bass bite and where to find them on Cedar Creek Lake with Lonestar Fishing guide Brent Herbeck.
Herbeck says his favorite spot at sunrise is in 15' of water using spinners and slab baits, targeting the bigger fish.
Herbeck is new to the guide game. In fact, in less than a year, he sold his business in Dallas and now guides on North Texas Lakes. He said guiding is in his DNA.
“Well, it's kind of runs in my family," Herbeck said. "I got my oldest brother (who's) a professional fishing guide in Northwest Ontario. His lives there now and married a Canadian girl and is a full-time guide.”
A good guide must have tips and tricks. That’s why Herbeck suggests different spots and quickly changes tactics when the fishing slows.
Herbeck says it gets hot, but fishing gets hotter. To keep the white bass, they must be 10". For striped and hybrid bass, they must be at least 18" and you can only keep five. The trick is knowing the difference.
Confusion between the species caused hybrid bass numbers to fall in the 1990s. White bass reproduce in lakes are plentiful. Striped and hybrid bass are raised in hatcheries and stocked into Texas lakes. That makes hybrids harder to find. That’s why Herbeck is big on conservation, especially when it comes to trophy hybrid bass. His son holds the junior lake record after catching a 28.5" hybrid that weighed almost 11 pounds.
“But you know what, there was for years there we couldn't catch a fish over 25" in this lake because people kept them all. And now the stocking is getting a lot better here on this lake. Not only this lake but Lake Tawakoni and Lake Lewisville. Big hybrids, high quality fish. Lots of fun for people but we’ve got to, we’ve got to conserve this this population," Herbeck said.
Herbeck knows those management and conservation efforts will pay off in the future -- and for a new guide that could be good for business.
”But I love seeing people catch fish that never caught fish before," Herbeck said. "I mean, I've taken out some young kids never ever caught a fish in life, they catch a 20" hybrid. I mean that's the fish of a lifetime for those kids.”
Are you interested in fishing for white bass, striped and hybrids? You can contact Herbeck's Lonestar Guide Service by visiting his Facebook page.