LAKE
FORK
There
are numerous reports, make sure you check them all!
Report
by David Vance
Lake
Fork Report: November 17, 2009
The
Fishing here on lake fork has been good this week. The deep bite
continues to become much better and more consistent. The bass
are starting to bunch up and I have found most of my bigger bass
holding in 20 to 30 feet of water. And in these same areas the
bass have been schooling big time, and some of these bass are
in the 5 to 6 pound range. The best places for me have been humps,
points, ridges, and roadbeds.
Your
electronics will play a big key as to how successful your day
on the water will be, watch for balls of shad and bass stacked
up on the screen. To catch these deep bass I have been using
a Carolina Rig and a Smoking Shad Fluke on a 1/4oz-Football Jig
Head. On my Carolina Rig I am using a 3 to 4 foot leader, and
a 1oz weight. Dragging behind it on a 3/0 hook will be a Super
Fluke or a Baby Brush Hog, my best colors have been Watermelon,
and Watermelon Candy.
You
can play with different variations of speed during your cast,
they seem to hit it best moving it slowly. The bite has been
very aggressive so it is easy to tell when you get a bite. A
drop shot is also taking some good numbers of bass. I have been
fishing it with a 12 to 24 inch leader with a Trick Worm or a
Fineness Worm in Watermelon, and Watermelon/Red.
Shallow
water is still producing some good fish, the bass have been stacking
up along the grass beds. The best depths have been 2 to 4 feet.
If you like top water fishing the bass have been very aggressive.
The Frog bite has been good also; Stanley Ribbet or Frog type
baits have been excellent around the grass.
Yesterday
we had a great day right before the front we put 47 bass in the
boat and two were over seven pounds. More than half of these
bass came on the Carolina Rig and the rest early on a Trick Worm
and a Yellow Magic. Good places to try right now are the tire
reef off the SRA point at the dam, the old road bed at the mouth
of Chaney Branch, the road bed at the mouth of Wolfe creek, and
the 515 East road bed. These areas always produce good bass this
time of year.
I
always look forward to this time of year. The big bass are starting
to turn on and it is a great time to be on the water. If you
would like to book a trip and get in on some great fall fishing
you can reach me 903-629-7699 (office) or 903-629-5085 (cell)
Good
Fishing
David Vance
http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
*********************************************************************
Report
from Tom Redington
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
November 12, 2009
Lake
Fork has finally settled down after repeated flooding rains.
Despite the water clearing and the lake level being back at normal
pool, the fish seem to be stuck in a late summer malaise with
all of the warm days lately. The result has been a pretty slow
bite overall this fall. As cold fronts make their way through
Texas with more regularity in the coming weeks, look for the
shad to show up in their regular cooler water spots and both
the shallow and deep bites will become consistent. The good news
is that the fall fishing should stay good into December this
year instead of slowing down quickly in some years when things
turn bitterly cold early.
With
the holidays just around the corner, I do have gift certificates
available for those looking for a present for their angling buddies.
2009 has been another super year on Fork, with the lake being
full and in great shape for the coming season. Prespawn starts
in late-December, so it won't be long until my favorite lunker
time of the year is here, January through March. If you're looking
for a fish of a lifetime, prespawn is the time to head to Fork.
Boat
for Sale: My 2009 Ranger Z520 boat is for sale. It
is fully loaded, rigged with a 250 HP Mercury Pro XS motor
with a 5 year warranty (good until 2014). It's value priced
and will save you about $10,000 off the cost of a new boat.
For more details and pics of the boat, please check my website
(www.lakeforkguidetrips.com)
or drop me a note.
Lake
Conditions: Finally, Fork has returned to normal water
levels and clarity. The lake level is currently at 403.31'
(4" above full pool). The water clarity is clear on the
south end, getting more stained as you head up the lake. Water
temps are reading from 65 to 70 in most areas. I normally have
my best fall fishing with the water temps from 55 to 65 degrees,
so we're getting close to the magic range.
Location
Pattern: Shallow has been more consistent than deep
most days lately, with a lot of the deep fish remaining suspended
and hard to catch. Fishing shallow grassbeds on the main lake
all the way to the backs of major creeks has produced best.
Early and late and all day on cloudy and windy days, I'm focusing
on shoreline grass, openings in clumps of grass, and the inside
weedline. When the sun gets up, concentrate on the deep weed
edge in 8' to 12'. Key on points, inside turns, and along ledges
and you're likely to find more fish. Most of the shallow fish
have been in groups, so you'll fish for a while without getting
a bite, and then catch several in a small area. I'm also catching
bass back in the coves along creek channel bends, and this
bite will only improve as the water temps drop. For the deep
anglers, concentrate on main lake structure in 18' to 33'.
The best areas and depths change daily, so you'll need to do
some scouting to find the schools each day. Watch your graph
closely and key on schools located tight to the bottom if you
can find them, because they are normally easier to catch than
the suspended schools.
Presentation
Pattern: In the fall, bass key on shad and most of
my lure choices and colors will reflect that preference. Shades
of white or chrome are always good choices in the fall on Fork.
In the shallows, topwaters are catching fish early and late.
Smaller topwaters closely imitate the size of the shad and
catch lots of keeper fish, so go with smaller sizes of poppers
like Lucky Craft G-Splashes or Gun Fish when it is calm, or
switch to the walking baits like Sammys if there is more chop
on the water. I throw these topwaters on floating mono line
like PowerSilk for the best action with my lures. After the
sun gets up a bit, the bass often stop coming to the top, so
I switch to shallow running crankbaits like Lucky Craft RC
0.5, RC 1.5, or BDS 0 square bills, ¼ oz spinnerbaits, and
3/8 oz chatterbaits with 3.5" Live Magic shads. To keep
those money fish hooked up on crankbaits with treble hooks,
I like fiberglass rods like the Dobyns 705CB Glass. The slower
action of fiberglass allows bass to deeply take the lures and
also keeps them hooked up well when fighting them in. Match
it with sensitive line like FluoroHybrid Pro and you'll still
have great feel, even with a fiberglass rod.
If
the bass aren't in a chasing mood, switch to a Texas rigged watermelon/red
or watermelon candy 8" Fork Worm or wacky rig a Hyper Finesse
Worm, Zig Zag, or Hyper Whack'n worm and work it over the tops
of grass and along the edges. For these soft plastics, green
pumpkin and junebug colors are working best on cloudy days, while
watermelon/red and watermelon are better on sunny days. These
techniques will also catch additional fish in areas where I've
already caught some fish on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and topwaters.
For bigger fish, a 3/8 oz green pumpkin Mega Weight Jig with
a matching Fork Craw or Hyper Freak trailer or a 10" Fork
Worm Texas rigged will produce big bass when pitched on 15 to
25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line to the deep weed edge, especially
on points and around creek channels.
If
you're fishing deep, these basic patterns generally work best
in the fall. For the suspended bass, Fork Flutter Spoons and
Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 crankbaits in shad or yellow bass patterns
work best and will catch some lunkers too. The key is getting
your bait down to the level of the bass and keeping it in front
of them for as much of the retrieve as possible. For deep bass
on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys and Twitch Worms
and drop shotting Hyper Finesse worms are my favorites. I use
watermelon shades on sunny days, while green pumpkin hues & Junebug
works better on cloudy days. I've been using the 7'8" Dobyns
Champion Extreme model DX784ML lately and the extra length allows
me take up extra line and get control of big fish at the end
of long casts. If you haven't tried worm and jig fishing with
a longer rod, give it a try and you'll land more fish.
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.
Good
Fishing, Tom
*********************************************************************
Report
from Richie White
Lake Fork Fishing Guide Texas
Updated
11/06/2009
This year,
what I consider the Fall pattern got a real late start. Usually,
the deep bite is great off and on for the entire month of October.
This year, it just started getting good. With all the rain we've
been having, SRA has had the gates running almost the entire
season. According to their site, the gates are still running.
But they've slowed down considerably. I've had some of my best
night fishing trips while the gates are running. But it definitely
seems to hurt the day bite. I don't have a scientific explanation
for it. But my guess is that the current affects the plankton,
and since the shad feed on them, they aren't in the same ambush
points that they would be otherwise. But the shad are everywhere
right now. In fact, most of the places I visit are overloaded
with baitfish and that makes the fishing tough. It's always easier
to catch bass when they are feeding on bait that's in short supply.
The
lake is in the best shape I've ever seen it in. The water level
is full and there is abundant grass almost everywhere you go.
It's so plentiful that it's not easy to run a frog over the grass
in a huge portion of the lake. All that grass makes for a bit
tougher fishing, but there's so much baitfish that the fish are
getting fat. We've caught some of the fattest fish I've seen
in the fall. The water temps are in the upper 60s and the fishing
should be awesome until it drops down to the 50s.
It's
hard to decide whether to fish deep or shallow right now. I'm
fishing mostly deep because it's not as much work and it's easier
to load the boat when you time it right. Also, the shallows look
so awesome, it's a bit overwhelming. There's way too much good
water to fish it all and there's only so much time in a day -
and they're getting shorter.
My
best baits have been spoons and Carolina rigs in about 25 foot.
The typical community holes aren't producing as good as usual
this year. I'm catching most of my fish on similar spots that
don't get as much action. So, I'm spending a lot of time graphing
areas that I may not fish very often. In fact, our best spot
this week was a spot I've only fished a couple of times. We've
been finding schooling bass about everywhere we've gone. Keep
a rattle trap handy and if you can get it in the school fast
enough, they will usually bite.
We
went out for a few hours after dark last night and we had our
best night in a long time - way better than the day fishing.
The night fishing can be super in the fall, but I prefer to fish
days unless it stays warm overnight. I can be available to fish
at night if the weather permits. Let me know if you're interested
in a full day trip where we get a late start and fish a couple
of hours after dark.
There's
lots of reasons you should go on a guide trip during the Fall:
It's the best time for numbers. There's more
action in Fall than any other season.
It's the best time of the year to learn how to use a graph and
to fish deep. I can get by without a graph most of the year. But
in the Fall, I constantly monitor my graph to find schooling fish.
When I find em, we usually catch em.
It's the best time to take kids. Because of
all the action, kids have more fun during the Fall. I don't charge
for a 3rd person if a dad wants to bring 2 small children.
It's the best time to keep fish to eat. Not
only do we catch lots of small bass (which are legal to eat),
we catch lots of yellow bass (barfish) which I believe are as
good as crappie. I will clean them with no additional charge.
It's the best time to learn how to use a baitcaster. Most
of the fish I locate are schooling near the bottom in deep water.
So, we use heavy lures to get to the bottom. Since heavy lures
are easier to throw and you don't have to hit a particular target,
Fall fishing makes the best time for learning the baitcaster.
If
you're interested, you can see my available dates and book online
at http://fishingguidenow.com/bookonline.cfm?guideID=2
Try to schedule a date before Thanksgiving. That's about the time
the water temp cools down and the Fall bite slows down significantly.
See
our most recent pictures at http://www.bassfishing.org/pictures/recent.htm
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
Good
fishing and good luck. You can't catch them if you don't go.
Professional
Guide
Richie White
(903) 439-2266
*********************************************************************
Lake Fork
Trophy Bass Report
Submitted November 2, 2009
By Guide James Caldemeyer
November
is an awesome month here at Lake Fork for catching trophy bass!
As the water cools off and the bass begin their annual feeding
frenzy there is a huge window of opportunity for many anglers
to catch numbers of quality fish, not to mention the bass of
a lifetime. The fish are gorging themselves on everything that
crosses their path both in shallow and deep water. This leaves
them vulnerable to the fisherman who fore go the duck blind and
deer stand in pursuit of these big bass.
The
water conditions at Lake Fork have been the biggest factor for
some time here lately. With every week bringing some degree of
precipitation over the past month, the lake conditions have been
less than ideal. The continuous inflow of water has kept a lot
of areas on the lake stained and the gates open at the dam periodically.
If you are familiar with these conditions then you know that
catching fish on Lake Fork in stained or fluctuating water levels
can be a challenge. Do not let this deter you from your favorite
fall honey hole though. The fish are still going to continue
their annual activity regardless of the water conditions. Here
are a few patterns that will hopefully help you catch the fish
of your dreams right now!
Most
everyday we have been starting our day off shallow with some
top water action. Great baits to throw right now are a Berkley
Frenzy Popper, yellow magic, walking baits like the Sammy or
Zara Spook, or a frog. Fishing these baits over the grass on
main lake or secondary points in 2-8 ft of water will draw some
BIG blow ups and most of these fish will inhale the bait. Overcast
or rainy conditions have been best for these types of baits although
we have caught some fish during the sunny days as well. Another
great tactic in the fall is a wacky style worm fished over the
grass beds in the same areas as the top water baits. I have been
using a 5” Berkley Heavyweight Sink Worm or Fat Sink Worm with
a 2/0 hook and 12 lb. test Trilene 100% fluorocarbon. The best
thing about these worms is that they are already weighted so
you don’t have to do anything but slide them on a hook and start
catching fish. Fish these baits over the grass slowly with short
twitches of the rod tip in between long pauses. Best colors have
been green pumpkin, breen, green pumpkin party, and watermelon
big red. If the sun is bright you can switch to a Texas rig or
shaky head. I am using a 5/16 oz. weight on the t-rig with a
3/0 hook and a Berkley 7” Power Worm or 4” Crazy Legs Chigger
Craw. Best colors in the Chigger Craw are watermelon red, blue
fleck, green pumpkin or green pumpkin party. A 1/8-3/16 oz. shaky
head jig with a 5” Berkley Shaky Worm or 4½” Slim Shaky attached
has also been great for finessing those fish out of the holes
in the grass. Best colors are blue fleck, green pumpkin, and
watermelon red. The fish have also been biting a number of different
moving baits fished over the grass as well. Lipless crank baits
or Chatter baits in shad patterns, chrome/blue back and white
or white/chartreuse, respectively, have been catching a lot of
those shallow bass that are in the chasing mood. I am rigging
these type baits on the “new” Abu Garcia Vendetta Rods matched
up with the new and improved Revo Reels and man what a great
combination they are! They are very light, sensitive, factory
balanced rods that perform very well in a variety of conditions
and are VERY affordably priced. For those of you that have not
seen one of these bad boys, you need to check them out! www.abugarcia.com
The
deep bite is really turning on as well. These big ole bass will
be found feeding on big schools of shad and bar fish this time
of year. I have been running the new Lowrance HDS8 over points,
humps, road beds, and pond dams in 18-32 feet of water to locate
these schools of fish. There are also a number of fish to be
found in flats at the mouth of the major creeks in 28-32 feet.
Once I have located a school of fish I have been targeting them
with Carolina rigged soft plastics, jigging spoons, drop shots,
or heavy swim baits. On the Carolina rig, I like to use a heavy
1 oz. weight and 4-5 foot leader with a 3/0 wide gap hook tied
to 20 lb. main line and a 17lb. Trilene 100% fluoro leader. Best
baits have been a 5” Berkley Wacky Crawler, 4” Power Hawg, Centipede
or French fry in watermelon red, green pumpkin, or chart pepper.
The jigging spoon is deadly this time of year on deep fish and
is a great thing to have tied on if you are bringing the family
out to catch some fish. I use a Talon Big Dandy in the Lake Fork
Maniac color or “t-spoon” in the 3/8-1/2 oz size. www.talonlures.com
Drop lakeforktrophybass@yahoo.com these spoons down to the bottom in an area that is holding
fish and pick the rod tip up and let it back down. It is some
easy fishing and great for the family. Most all bites will come
on the fall and you can catch many different species of fish
with them including a real big bass! The 5” swim baits like the
Storm Wild Eye Shad is a good choice for catching big bass out
deep as well as a drop shot rig when the fish are finicky.
I
hope this helps all you anglers that are headed to Lake Fork
this month in pursuit of a trophy bass! If you would like to
book a guided trip on Lake Fork, feel free to contact me at (903)736-9888
or email me at . I just picked up
my new 2010 Ranger Z521 Comanche www.rangerboats.com paired
with a Mercury Optimax 250 Pro XS www.mercurymarine.com . This
new ride is an amazing machine! If you have not checked one of
these boats out yet, you can go by and see one at Diamond Sports
Marine www.diamondsportsmarine.com on Hwy 154 while you are in
the area. Test rides are available upon request. Just give Ben
Hogan a call at (903)383-7829 and he’ll be glad to help you find
the Ranger boat that is right for you! Big thanks to all my sponsors
and to the Lord for His provisions.
Read
Proverbs 3:5,6
Tight
Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer
*********************************************************************
Report
from Clint Wright
http://www.lakeforkdayandnight.us/
November 2009
My November fishing report has always been one of my favorite
months to write about. It is the opening of rifle deer season and
the beginning of some outstanding bass fishing. Personally, I purchase
my hunting license every year and I end up fishing the entire winter.
I’ve made a promise to myself to get back out in the woods at least
once or twice this year. So good luck to all of the hunters out
there and remember to be safe.
Most people know that November is when I begin guiding on Lake
Monticello and Lake Welsh. I will still be doing some big bass
hunting on Lake Fork during the winter but most of my time will
be spent on the fine hot water, power plant lakes East Texas has
to offer. These trips will run until the end of January. Then it
is back on Lake Fork for some hot pre-spawn red rattle trap fishing.
Lake Monticello and Lake Welsh have many similarities but they
also have many differences. Anglers will find that they can be
fished this month identical. Just like on Lake Fork, big baits
generally catch quality fish and little baits catch quantity of
fish. One of my favorite techniques on these two lakes is to use
a 7’ Custom Angle Wacky rod and rig it up with a drop shot, shakey
head or wacky worm. These three presentations can be deadly this
month. On Lake Fork, I consider a good fish anything over 7 pounds.
On the hot water lakes I consider a good fish anything over 5 pounds.
Unfortunately, we do not catch a bunch of 7, 8, 9 and 10 pounders
like we do on Lake Fork. But, 50 – 100 fish days have been common
in recent years. For the bigger fish on these lakes the presentation
selections are endless. We can just about get these fish to bite
whatever an angler enjoys throwing. Early and late in the day the
topwater bite can be phenomenal, I like doing this when it is snowing
or ice is on the ground as it seems to add to the moment. During
the middle of the day I will be throwing a 7’ heavy Custom Angle
Moby rod with the following rigged up, a Santone jig, a lipless
bait like a Rat-L-Trap and a Texas rig. The Texas rig is one of
my favorite presentations due to its versatility. On the Texas
rig I like to rig up some variation of creature bait. For the biggest
fish in the lake, tie on a Santone Rattlin’ Jig in ¼ ounce model.
My favorite colors of Santone Jigs are #53, #64, #81 and #89. Flip
this jig to the stumps and laydowns that follow the creek channel
bends. Most of the time the water is very clear on these two lakes
so down sizing your line and using a quality clear line can be
the difference between a good day and a great day.
Remember the fish in these lakes will start their pre-spawn activity
around mid to late November. We usually start seeing bed fish around
the first of December. So follow these regular patterns and you
will be successful.
Fishing in November can be very rewarding. If you are an experienced
angler looking for a day of fishing or a new angler looking to
learn a new technique for 2010, now is the time to give me a call.
I feel confident that these fish will bite just about anything
someone would want to learn.
In closing, these two lakes are not marked by navigation buoys.
Please be careful as you are navigating these waters because they
are full of stumps and shallow sandbars.
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 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, and Sartin
Marine.
Tight Lines,
Clint
*********************************************************************
