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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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