Sunday, November 26, 2023

A Tribute to the Late Lake Fork Guide Alvin Dean Stroman

After publishing the earlier article about night fishing in winter, I ran across some comments by a fella who once was blessed with some sage fishing advice from Mr. Stroman (right) without ever knowing whom he was talking to.

Seems this fella grew up in Carrollton, Tex., and had fished Lake Fork with his dad for the first time in 1991. Then, from 1996 to 2009, he brought a group of 10 to 12 police officers and Army soldiers to Lake Fork every March for a week of fishing and fellowship. His job each year was to find the prevailing fishing pattern for the group, so everyone could catch some fish and have a little fun.

On one such trip, the fella was, in his own words, "struggling." He went on to say, "It was super windy, and the water temps were in the low 50s. I got frustrated with the wind and went to hide in a cove. While fishing there, I noticed a man walking along the bank, picking up trash. As I passed near him, I said 'hello' and he said, 'Son, you need to get out there in the wind and throw a rig on the main-lake points...the windier the better."

Stroman went on to say, "If you don't get bit in 15 minutes, then move to the next point, but come back and fish the earlier point later. If you catch a small fish, move one point north or south, and you will find bigger ones."

The reader thanked the as-yet-nameless Stroman for his insight, took his advice, and headed back out to fight the wind, even though he wasn't excited about it.

"On the first point I stopped at," he said, "I caught back-to-back 8 pounders."

The rest is history. The whole group had a great trip due to that advice. Then, later the next week, the fella in charge of the group was in a tackle store when he learned the identity of the man who had given him that good advice. He recognized Stroman from a photo on the wall of the store. Subsequently, the fella started sending numerous clients to Stroman for a day of Lake Fork guide service.

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