Lake Fork , Texas Fishing Report

I predict this to be my best spring ever. The lake has been full for some time now, so there is lots of new water for the fish to spawn. Also, because we started the spring with the lake full, it shouldn't get as muddy and stay so muddy when we do get some good rains. Additionally, since we had so many shad die off due to the unusually cold winter, the fish have been feeding heavily and are fatter than normal.

The spawn is about 3 weeks behind this year, so right now is the prime prespawn period. The fishing was very slow up until the beginning of March, but has improved greatly since that time. Numbers have picked up and the quality fish are showing themselves. Monday, we got an 11.08 on a spinnerbait in about 7ft of water. Yesterday, we got an 8 and a 10 pounder on a crankbait in about the same depth. We also got an 8 pounder on a jig/craw in about 12 ft.

The past week or two, I've been fishing Fork, Monticello, and Welsh. I found females on the beds on Monticello and caught 7 fish between 6 and 8 pounds. On Welsh, we also got some fish on the beds in addition to 10 to 20 fish on topwater most every morning and evening I fished. But now, I'm back to Fork exclusively. The water temps are in the low 50s for most of the lake, but on the warmer afternoons, I'm seeing 60+ degrees in certain areas. Those areas are still muddy from the recent rains, but there are some fish trying to bed up.

In case you weren't aware, sight fishing is my specialty. In fact, you could say I wrote the book on sight fishing for bass - because I did. It is actually an E-book that is for online reading only. To learn more about sight fishing for bass, go to http://www.bassfishing.org/spawnbook .

I'm booked up for the rest of the spring, but I often have some cancellations and I don't have much of a waiting list. If you would like to be on my list, send me an email. Also, I don't open up the prime dates on my calendar to the public because my previous customers usually get them a year or so in advance. If you are interested in a sight fishing trip, you should send me an email and I will try to work you in.

If you would like, you can receive my fishing reports by email.All you need is your name and email address. If you are receiving reports by email and wish to discontinue receiving them, simply go to www.bassfishing.org/reports/unsubscribe.cfm

An extended period of warm and sunny days has a lot of bass actively roaming up shallow at Lake Fork. Male bass are showing up en masse in the back of creeks, a sure sign that the females aren’t far behind. With the new moon on Monday and more nice days in the forecast, I expect our first major wave of spawning next week and a lot of big fish will be caught. (Duran Duran fans might even point out that with a “New Moon on Monday” the bass will be “Hungry Like the Wolf”. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Until the bass start bedding, prespawn moving bait patterns still dominate. As the bass in the backs of creeks start to spawn, anglers will still have the choice of fishing for spawning bass in the shallows or chasing the bigger prespawn fish nearer the mouths of creeks and on the south end of the lake. With such a late start to the spawn, the spring bite should carry well into May this year.

Speaking of prespawn action, watch me catch big bass with lipless crankbaits on the “Scott Martin Challenge” fishing show on Versus. The show airs in 2-parts during the weeks of March 22nd and 29th. Check your local listings for the show times, as it’ll air several times each week.

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork is full and more stained than normal, but warming. The lake level is currently 403.11’ and dropping, still 1” above full pool. Because of big rains last week, the water clarity is clearer on the south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake and quite muddy in some creeks up north. Water temps are reading 51 to 56 in the main lake, while 61 was the warmest we found in the creeks yesterday.

Location Pattern: For prespawn and staging fish, key on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation for cover will typically have the most fish. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding some fish, as are main and secondary points inside the coves. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels. After the fronts, drop back to deeper water adjacent to where the fish were before the front and you’ll quickly relocate them. For spawning fish, look for protected bays in the north end of the lake or at the very backs of major creeks. As the water continues to warm and we move towards April, bass will start spawning nearer the mouths of creeks and in deeper creeks. The main lake flats are typically the last areas to spawn, often as late as early-May.

Presentation Pattern: For prespawn bass, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and lipless crankbaits are catching numbers of good fish, especially on overcast and windy days. First and foremost are lipless crankbaits in ½ or ¾ oz, like the Lucky Craft LV500 and LVR D-7. Red and crawfish colors are most popular and they often work well, although oddball colors often produce better on any given day. ½ oz Redemption spinnerbaits with tandem or double willow blades with white or chartreuse and white skirts will produce some nice bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, as will shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC 2.0 or BDS4 square bills. For big bass, try swimming a 4.5” Live Magic Shad on the back of a ½ oz Phenix Vibrator Jig and fish it in the same areas you’d throw a spinnerbait. White or white/chartreuse vibrator jigs with Fire Perch or Albino Shad Live Magic Shads work well. And for a real prespawn monster, pitching heavy cover along the first breakline and creek channels is the way to go. I go with a 3/8 oz MPack Jig in black and blue or green pumpkin jig with a Lake Fork Craw trailer in the blue bruiser or watermelon candy colors. For the Texas rig, I’ll pitch a Lake Fork Flipper or Hyper Freak in black neon, Bama Bug or watermelon/red with a 1/8 to 3/8 oz bullet weight and slowly work it around cover. Or try the new 6” Hyper Lizard from Lake Fork Trophy Lures. It features a huge thumper on a segmented tail and produces a wild thumping action when it swims and hops along cover. I like pitching all of these baits with the Dobyns Champion series 736C pitching rod. At 7’3”, it is light and easy to fish all day with a soft enough tip to pitch well, yet it has plenty of power to pull even the biggest fish out of heavy cover with big braided line.

For bass that have moved onto spawning flats, weightless Texas rigged or wacky rigged soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads, Zig Zags, and the all new Hyper Stick become your best option. The Hyper Stick combines the shape of Senko-style stick worm baits with the segmented body action of the Live Magic Shad. The result is a worm with unique action from even the slightest rod movement. This year, I’m using Lake Fork Trophy Lures’ new weedless weighted wacky rigging system primarily. The small weighted disc gives it just enough weight to cast well and fall just right, while also keeping your wacky worm from flying off the hook on casts. The large size ring fits the Zig Zags and Hyper Sticks perfectly, while the smaller size works wonders with Hyper Finesse Worms, Twitch Worms, and Hyper Whack’n Worms. Shades of green pumpkin and watermelon are normally top colors, but don’t forget Blue Bruiser with the muddy water this year. These fish are often spooky, so long casts are key. For weightless soft plastic jerkbaits, I’m using Dobyns’ 733C with 14 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The 7’3” rod whips the baits out there, while it still has enough backbone to drive the hook through thick worms on long casts. The new FluoroHybrid Pro line has the feel and invisibility of fluorocarbon, yet it casts well and ties strong knots like mono—it’s truly the best of both worlds.

Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through my web site, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

The fishing is getting hot at Lake Fork right now with warmer temperatures finally arriving and water temperatures increasing to a range adequate for the annual spawn to take off. This is a relief after all the dismal cold days that we have had this winter. I can’t remember a year that I wore thermal underwear for as many consecutive fishing days as I have this year. I am not going to put them up just yet though as it is spring and you just never know when the next cold blast will strike.

Water conditions right now are real good still and getting better as the days go by. We have plenty of water with levels above full pool at 403.40 which is about 5 inches high. The water temperatures have been starting off in the high 40’s and moving as high as 57 degrees at the peak of the day the past couple days. I expect with these next few days of almost 70 for highs and 40-50 for lows to see water temps hold consistently in the 50’s with some areas reaching 60. This will kick things off big time!

Best baits right now have been a 1/2–5/8 oz red/orange lipless crank bait. Shad patterns have done well lately also. Ripping these baits off the shallow grass beds in 2-8 ft of water is the key to attracting a reaction strike from these big females that are staging in preparation to spawn. The chatter bait has been my second best producer right now with the water temperatures in transition. I like the 3/8-1/2 oz white, white/chartreuse, and even red has been really good. Fishing these over the grass in the same manner as the lipless crank bait is the ticket, especially in the thicker grass or areas that the coots have routed through. Talon 3/8-1/2 oz spinner baits in the same colors as the chatter bait have been catching a few fish also. www.talonlures.com I have yet to get a jig bite going but am still keeping it close by as we see these water terms rising. The big bass should really start eating it good any day and man is that some fun fishing! Talon also a great flipping jig and are awesome for flipping stumps and lay downs adjacent to spawning areas for a real trophy bass. I will opt for the 1/2 oz size the majority of the time in black/blue, black/blue/purple, bama bug, or Texas craw with a black/blue or green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw as a trailer.

As these fish start to get active on beds plastics fished in these same areas will dominate all other baits on most days. I rig up all my Abu Garcia Vendetta worm rods and Revos reels up with 15-17 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for two reasons. 1) This line is very strong and sensitive. When fishing for big bass where the bites are very subtle most of the time, you need it to detect even the slightest “tick” and it’s also strong enough to get a big fish out of heavy cover. 2) Its invisible in the water. To properly fish these baits you MUST fish them slow and that means the bass get a chance to look at your bait for a while before they decide to eat it. You will get a lot more bites with fluoro than mono especially with the spring fishing pressure.

I am using several different types of plastic baits and presentations when fishing the spawning areas. A wacky rigged Berkley Powerbait Heavyweight Sink Worm and Fat Sink Worm are very good. www.berkley-fishing.com

Best colors are green pumpkin, black/blue, breen, and watermelon. On the weightless or slightly weighted t-rig I am using senkos, Berkley Sinking Minnows, flukes, and Berkley Jerk Shads in a variety of colors like watermelon red, green pumpkin, watermelon candy, June bug, pearl, and others. Texas rigging some of these same baits as well as a Berkley Chigger Craw is best when the wind gets up enough where fishing weightless is not an option. Don’t forget about a swim bait either in the wind. A 5” or 6” Berkley Hollow Body is excellent for catching a monster bass in the spring!

If you are headed out to Lake Fork this year and would like to book a guided trip, feel free to email me at lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com or you can reach me by phone at (903)736-9888. You can also get more information about Lake Fork by visiting my website www.officiallakeforktrophybass.com or join my Facebook page to see up to date information about what is going on at Lake Fork. Big thanks to all my sponsors: Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards, “I Am Second”, Berkley, Abu Garcia, All Star, Oakley, Talon Lures, Interstate Batteries, Line & Lure, BTS Protectant, Navionics, Sure Life, and newest addition DFW MRI.

Read 1 John 3:1
Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer

The water temps have varied this week on Lake Fork ranging from 46 to settling at 49 to50 late in the afternoon. The water temps should warm up and begin to stay warm with the warmer nights we are suppose to be getting. Look for the bass to turn on and begin to move more towards the back of the creeks during the next week or so. All of our fish have come out of 3 to 8 feet of water. Most of the time in the grass or very close to the grass. A Chatter bait and a 3/8oz Spinner bait with nickel and gold willow leaf blades has worked best for me. Also lipless crank baits in red/orange, and craw patterns have been good, these baits have been the most consistent of all the baits I have thrown.

In the creeks I mean from the mouth all the way to the back. Find thick grass located in 3 to 8 feet for the best results. Some days it seems like they are out in the open grass flats and then the next day they are close to the trees located within the grass beds. This has been easy to figure out and seems to hold to every place I fish. The key to catching fish right now is to cover a lot of water, the bass are slowly moving in and they are scattered over the grass so keep on the move. Creeks that have produced some good fish for us this week are the East and West field of Glad Creek. Glad Creek always turns on early and has some of the best grass on the lake, and is one of the best early spawning creeks on Lake Fork, The bass in Glad Creek are fixing to explode with a few more days of warm weather. Today we were fishing the east field of Glad, and a boat not far from us I seen the guy in the back of the boat get the net for his partner, after a lot of high fives And pictures I ask him how much she weighed he said 10lbs 6oz this bass was so full of eggs it looked like she was going to pop, he said he caught her on a Chatter Bait.

Also we have had some good success this week on a suspending jerk bait these baits will produce Big Bass this time of year. I have been throwing a 6 to 7 inch model my best colors have been a Black back/Silver side orange Belly and a chrome/blue back. I have been fishing these baits in the same places as the lipless crank baits with good results, it has been very good as a back up bait to pick up a few fish behind the lipless cranks. Work these baits with light twitches and long pause, when you do go to twitch the bait use a light twitch or two then let it sit again most bites have occurred while the bait is sitting still. Today late in the day we left Glad Creek and went to bird island and with in 45 minutes we put 5 bass in the boat and one that weighed 8lbs 12oz all on a Suspending Jerk bait.

The pre spawn bass are on the move, and March is one of the best months to catch a bass over 10 pounds. If you would like to book a trip and get in on this pre spawn action you can reach me on my Cell 903-629-5085 or 903-629-7699.

Hello from Lake Fork. I am still looking to book February 20, 21 and March 7, 13, 14 and April 25. Give Kerstin a call at 903-918-0755 for booking information.

I don’t think I have ever been more excited to see February as I am this year. December and January were very cold and kept me on the hot water lakes longer than usual. We are ready for a warming trend and get that water temperature to the magic 60 degree mark.

Historically, February on Lake Fork is known for some giant bass. This month the males will be headed to the shallows looking for a sandy bottom to make a bed. The big females will be close by, waiting for 60 to 62 degree water temperature to lay their eggs. Many times this temperature can be found in isolated spots on the north end of the lake. I have found 60 degree water every February since 2005. The best spots will be in the very backs of the creeks on the north bank. These areas are protected by the cold fronts wind and get the most sunlight throughout the day.

When fishing early February, I will stick to only a few baits. First, a lipless crankbait in red, chartreuse, or gold in half to three quarter ounce with quality strong sharp hooks. I will throw this bait on a 7 foot Heavy Custom Angle rod and a 7:1 high speed reel spooled with 50 pound power pro braided line. The purpose of the heavy action and braided line is the advantage it gives fishing in the grass. Second, I will have a Santone Jig with a Gene larew Biffle Bug or Salt Craw as a trailer. I will use the same Custom Angle rod and same reel / line as the rattle trap for the jig. Third, is a Grande Bass Rattlesnake on a shakey head. The Rattlesnake will be rigged up on a Custom Angle Medium Heavy 6’6 with 12 lb fluorocarbon. These three set ups will catch fish on just about any day on Lake Fork in February.

When scouting for an area to target, look for grass. In early February, look for the deep grass with ledges close to the spawning flats. I like to try Birch Creek, White Oak, Wolf, Little Caney, Bell, Long Branch and Glade. Any of these creeks will have an abundance of spawning activity this month. Start at the mouth of the creeks with the Jig and work your way shallower. Switch back and forth between the jig and shakey head. Try different colors because this can and will change daily. I usually pull out 4 or 5 different colors that morning and have them on the deck and readily available to make a quick change. This will help you develop a pattern quickly.

Make sure you have had all of your preventive maintenance done on your boat for 2010. Billy and Wayne at Sartin Marine are filling up quickly with work, so give them a call soon so you are not in a waiting line to have this work done. Check your trolling motor power, depth finders, battery connections, hoses (as they will dry rot) and wheel bearings. Check your lug nuts and tire pressure. Lastly, a good wash and wax will not hurt your boat either.

Take a look at your fire extinguisher to make sure it is still good, life jacket buckles and zippers, make sure your throw cushion didn’t walk off. All of this will help make your first trip back on the lake much more enjoyable.

Please remember that the sun will still cause damage to your eyes while fishing in January. So wear your Costa Del Mar polarized sunglasses anytime the sun is shining. I will also testify that no other sunglasses will provide the sight fishing ability that Costa Del Mars do. I know this because many of my clients come out with me using other brands. Every single time they have to borrow my Costas to see what I am seeing.

I hope these tips help you catch the bass of your dreams. Please know that I am always here to try and answer any questions you might have. Myself and several other Guides that I work with are available for public speaking, such as bass club meetings, boy scout meetings etc. at no cost to you. We can go over any topics related to Lake Fork or Bass Fishing, Boating etc.

Please practice C.P.R. (Catch, Photo, and Release). It takes many years for these fish to grow to their trophy size. By practicing a quick release, it allows other anglers to enjoy the same experience as you. Replica mounts can be made for your wall that look better and last longer than a real mount. Remember life jackets and kill switches any time the outboard motor is running or anytime you feel it would just be safer to wear it. Your safety is #1!

Lake Fork Day and Night Guide Service uses only professional Lake Fork Guides to ensure your date is available for booking. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Corporate and Group trips – no problem. Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions about Lake Fork, Monticello, Welsh or booking information at 903-342-3497. Or visit http://www.lakeforkdayandnight.us/ for more information. References are available upon request.

Lake Fork Day and Night endorses the following sponsors: Custom Angle Rods, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Santone Jigs, Gene Larew Baits, Grande Bass Baits and Sartin Marine.

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