Oklahoma Fish Medley

Gary Dollahon enjoys catching any kind of fish that wants to bite, including Lake Fork largemouths like this one, but this week's quest will center on home waters in Oklahoma.

Gary Dollahon has been telling me about one of his favorite seasonal bites for a few years now, and we've finally made plans for me to travel his way and try it for myself. Gary I both enjoy catching whatever wants to latch onto the other end of a line, and that's a major part of the appeal of the brand of winter fishing that he and I will be doing. We'll be jigging for fish that pod up together when the water gets cool, and the fish that tug on the other end could range from white bass to colossal blue catfish. Fishing is still fishing, so you never know for sure, but Gary anticipates fast action from a pretty good mix of species.

Beyond being big fun, catching a variety of fish gives me a great opportunity to gather photos, videos and material for magazine stories -- and to put some Lew's rods and reels to the test! The plan also includes time chasing crappie with Bobby Garland pro Kevin Rogers, which will most likely involve some different angling approaches.

I fly to Tulsa tomorrow and will be fishing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. As always, I'll do my best to deliver fresh reports from where I'm fishing and to convey some of what I learn, so keep an eye on my blog. I also like to add notes and photos to Twitter when I travel and invite you to follow (@jeffsamsel).

Double Trouble on Lake Fork

Forget stereotypes. Lake Fork or no Lake Fork, the bass were busting little bitty baitfish so it seemed like a little bitty bait might be the ticket. I had Bobby Garland 1 1/2-inch Stroll'Rs and Swimmin Minnows in my bag, so I put one of each on a tandem set of small jigheads and laid the rig where it would be handy when the next schooling fish that popped up within range.

It didn't take long for schoolers to show themselves, so I grabbed that outfit and fired my little rig toward the breakers. Wham. A hit and miss. Three cranks later another hit, and this time it was hooked.

"Bring it in slowly and you might get another one," bass pro Stephen Browning said, knowing I had another loose jig on my rig. I did as he said, and the bass seemingly had read the script. That largemouth double turned out to be one of four Browning and I landed in an afternoon of throwing "crappie baits" for schooling fish and the first two of 20 or so largemouth bass.

The bad news is that we also lost our share. The 10-pound line on my Lew's Laser SL Speed Stick spinning outfit just didn't let me muscle 5-pound fish, so some found the trees. Browning and I both lost a couple of what we think were really nice bass.

Today was a far cry from what I think of when I think about Lake Fork, but it was a really fun day of fishing with a catch that ranged from catching dozens of barfish (yellow bass) on spoons to watching Browning catch a flathead that ate a football jig to doubling up largemouths with crappie jigs.

We'll see what tomorrow brings!