July in Texas doesn’t pull punches. Even in the early hours, the air clings to your skin like plastic wrap, and the sun threatens to fry anything that dares linger. So Bret (@13.13.photography) and Denise (@woman_of_miscellany) did the only logical thing: got there early, fished hard, and planned to be on the road before the asphalt started melting shoes.
Below Denison Dam, the Red River tailrace churned like an industrial washing machine on overdrive. Bret and Denise worked the banks, picking their shots while the water surged past. The stripers were there—stacked and scrappy, bending rods and testing drags until they finally hit the cooler.
It wasn’t just stripers. Denise tangled with a freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) that thumped like a washing machine full of bricks. There was also the shad—a maybe accidental hookup, but hey, that hook is mouth-ish..
By the time they called it, the cooler was full and the sun was climbing fast. A quick stop for breakfast on the way home sealed the deal—coffee, eggs, and the satisfaction of having beaten the heat and the fish. Later, those stripers would hit the grill, their fillets sizzling as the river day turned into a dinner worth remembering.
This is Texoma tailrace fishing. Raw, loud, hot, and absolutely worth it.
For more fishy road trips, accidental species, and questionable life choices, check out the IFITSWIMS podcast