LAKE
FORK
There
are numerous reports, make sure you check them all!
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
*********************************************************************
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
*********************************************************************
Report
from Tom Redington
www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com
October 9, 2009
Lake
Fork Report & Fall Fishing Article
Today's
morning of cold rain, north winds, and dropping temperatures
reinforced that fall fishing is on its way. Even though we're
approaching mid-October, water temps are still sitting in the
mid-70s and our best fall bite is yet to come. As cold fronts
roll through regularly and the water temps move into the 60s,
big bass will come more consistently from the shallows and lunker
fish will also group up out deep. Due to the later than normal
cool down, we're catching mostly smaller fish in the shallows
and most days the deep fish remain pretty scattered. The good
news is that the fall bite should be good through November this
year.
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: Our rainy pattern continues, with a couple
more inches falling this morning. The lake level is currently
at 403.51' (6" above full pool) and rising. The water
clarity is still good in most areas, although the backs of
bigger creeks are pretty muddy. Water temps today were reading
from 70 to 75, both in the main lake and in the creeks. 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: The clouds, rain, and wind have kept the
deep bass scattered most days. Look for that to improve as
the sun comes back out, especially on the post frontal days.
In the meantime, the shallow bass around the grass are more
active, especially early and late in the day. My October article
(see below) covers the shallow patterns in depth. For deep
fish, most of the best spots are shallower now, around 18 to
25' deep. As the deep bite turns on, you'll start seeing more
fish in the 28' to 33' range too.
Presentation
Pattern: For the shallow patterns, see my article
below. 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.
October
Article: One-Two Combo for Catching Fall Bass By Tom
Redington
One
of the first moves that boxers learn is the "one-two combo".
The sequence of a left jab followed by a right cross is a basic
fundamental for any prize fighter. Similarly, bass fisherman
can quickly find and catch bass on Lake Fork in the fall by using
a simple horizontal and vertical presentation combo. Simply put,
cover a lot of water with fast moving, horizontally swimming
baits like topwaters, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Once you get
a few bites in an area, slow down and thoroughly fish the area
with vertically falling lures like jigs and worms and you'll
often strike the mother lode.
In
the fall, bass are on the chase following shad and they can be
located from the main lake to the very backs of creeks. Often,
this location changes daily. Some days they'll be on deeper cover,
while other days they'll be right up on the bank. Points, creek
channels, and ledges can all be big producers in the fall, but
often the bass will be roaming over expansive flats. Fishing
methodically with a worm would take hours to locate the fish,
so I work fast from the mouth of creeks to the very back until
I find them, then I slow down and try to catch every one of them
in the area.
Start
by covering water fast with moving baits, like spinnerbaits,
topwaters, and crankbaits. In the fall, use shad color schemes,
primarily whites and chromes, and work these baits fast with
erratic stop and go retrieves to trigger strikes from active
fish. Since bass tend to key on the smaller young-of-the year
shad, I typically downsize my baits to replicate the forage.
Spinnerbaits are a natural anytime bass key on shad, so ¼ and
3/8 oz Redemption spinnerbaits with white or chartreuse and white
skirts and tandem silver willow leaf blades work well for me.
Some days, 3/8 oz white chatterbaits with a 3.5" Live Magic
Shad trailer will produce better than a spinnerbait, especially
for bigger fish. Early and late, topwaters are hard to beat and
a lot of fun to fish. I prefer small poppers on calm days, while
the walking action of Sammy type baits works better when there
is more chop. My favorite bait is the Lucky Craft Gunfish 95.
This bait doubles as a popper with a stop and go retrieve, or
you can walk the dog with it. Try a variety of retrieves with
the Gunfish and let the fish tell you how they want it. Long
casts spook less fish and also allow you to
cover more water, but that can sometimes be hard with lighter topwater
baits. I rig these on the Dobyns 685C rod with 17 or 21 lb PowerSilk
mono line and I can whip even the smallest poppers a mile. Finally,
my favorite search baits are shallow to medium running crankbaits,
especially if there
is wood, rock, or weed cover. I'll rig up a variety of cranks on
fiberglass Dobyns 704 and 705 CB Glass rods, with 12 lb to 20 FluoroHybrid
Pro line. With a variety of cranks and line sizes, I can cover
water from 1' to the deep weed edge in 12'. Little square billed
cranks, like Lucky Craft's RC
1.5 or the BDS 0 & 1 are my favorites and work great in about
4' or less. I'll also try medium runners like the Skeet Mini MR
and the Flat CB MR to probe the deep weed edge. Of course, don't
forget the LV 100 and other lipless crankbaits if the fish are
chasing over the tops of grassbeds. Remember with all of the cranks
that erratic action triggers strikes, so snap these baits free
of grass, run them into rocks and wood, and momentarily pause during
the retrieve or you'll pass up a lot of fish.
Finding
fish is the hard part. Once a school is located with moving baits
and the action slows, switch to soft plastics and you'll likely
catch more fish from the same area, possibly a lot more. My favorite
soft plastic rigs for the fall are wacky rigs and weightless
soft plastic jerkbaits. For the wacky rig, I use Hyper Finesse
Worms and Whack'n Worms in shades of watermelon on sunny days
and June bug or green pumpkin colored ones on cloudy days, rigged
on 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line. The segmented tails on these
new baits really make them quiver with every twitch of the rod.
For bigger fish, I rig up a Zig Zag on my wacky rig and this
larger bait will entice some big bass in the fall. Another technique
that excels is soft plastic jerkbaits like Magic Shads and Live
Magic Shads, rigged weightless Texas style. Some days the bass
will chase these as they are steadily twitched over the grass,
while other times you'll do best by twitching your bait a couple
times and then letting it fall to the bottom. Long casts are
important with these baits as well, so I use a 7'3" Dobyns
734C to launch them way out there & still have enough backbone
to set the hook. Finally, for lunker bass during the fall, pitch
the brand new MPack jig from Lake Fork Trophy Lures, with its
beefy hook and sleek head, to the heaviest cover you can find
in the areas you've already caught fish. I like black/blue colored
jigs on cloudy days and watermelon jigs on sunny days, trimmed
with a matching Lake Fork Craw trailer, rigged on tough 25 lb
FluoroHybrid Pro line.
To
land a haymaker on the bass this fall, try the horizontal-vertical
combo and you might become the bass heavyweight champ.
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
by David Vance
Lake
Fork Report: October 7, 2009
October
is here and with it brings in some fantastic fall bass fishing.
Lake Fork is in great shape right now and the fishing will
only get better as the month rolls along. The water clarity
is fairly clear mid lake to the south end. I have been catching
fish on a number of different patterns and baits this past
week. The shallow fishing has been best for me lately in
depths ranging from 2-10 foot. With this cool cloudy weather
we have had a good Spinner bait bite with numbers of good
solid bass.
Today
we put 27 bass in the boat and all but three came on the Spinner
bait. Fishing a Spinner bait over the grass on these cloudy
days this time of year is a pattern that will work great all
day. The Spinner bait that works best for me this time of year
is a Stanley 1/4 oz Chartreuse & White Colorado Willow
Nickel and Gold blades. The areas we are fishing the Spinner
bait have been points and pockets half way back in the creeks,
there is a lot of Shad in these areas right now. This time
of year I have my best luck fishing this Spinner bait fast,
keeping the bait just under the surface these bass are coming
out of the grass and killing the bait.
Other
patterns that are working good right now are Wacky Worms and
Flukes, they have been real productive in the grass as well
in these same areas. Best colors have been Blue Fleck, June
Bug, and Watermelon. The deep fishing is a little off right
now as the lake is in the tail end of the fall turnover. There
are a lot of fish suspended right now but you can still catch
them on a deep diving Crank baits or a Jigging Spoon. Look
for deep fish to start getting bunched up in big schools on
the bottom in 15-25 foot of water to feed up for winter.
Good
places to try right now for the above patterns are Northwest
Bay, Hamilton Bay, points and pockets in Wolfe Creek, and Post
Oak Branch. I always look forward to this time of year it is
the start of our Big Bass Season, the weather is cool and the
fishing is Hot. So don’t miss out on one of the most productive
times of the year to be on Lake Fork.
If
you would like to get in on some good Summer Bass fishing to
book a trip you can reach me at 903-629-7699 or cell 903-629-5085
web site http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com
Good Fishing
David Vance
*********************************************************************
