Lake Fork , Texas Fishing Report

The fishing here on Lake Fork has been good for numbers of slot fish. The bass are schooling and when they come up they will hit just about anything that looks like a Shad. The best bait for me to catch these schooling bass has been a 1/2 oz Shad colored Rat-L-Trap, and a Norman Deep Little N, Shad Pattern, and when they come up you can almost catch them on every cast. Most of the schooling activity I have seen has been on the main lake and around the mouth of Little Caney, also the mouth of Chaney Branch at the dam and the bridges, 515 East and West – the mouth of Wolf creek has been very good.

When these bass go down, I am using a Salt and Pepper Grub on a 1/4 oz Jig Head to catch the bass that are suspended. When the schooling action slows down, I have been changing to a Carolina Rig. I am using a 1 oz weight and a four-foot leader, 15lb line. Best baits for me on the Carolina Rig have been a Watermelon Seed Centipede and a Watermelon Seed Double Ringer, water depth 15 to 25 feet.

At the first of the month, the fishing was off and on with good and tough days, but now the bass are in a solid Summer pattern. In the last three days, we have been catching 25 to 30 bass a day. July is always hot, but the fishing should remain good and the patterns will not change much in the next month. And, with not many boats on the lake, you just about have the lake to yourself. If you would like to book a guide trip, call me at 903-629-7699 or my cell 903-629-5085 . Web site lakeforktexasfishingreports.com

Tom Redington and client Laura and her catch from Lake Fork in Texas

The bass on Lake Fork are well into their normal summertime patterns now. As is the norm, the thermocline is setting up around 25 to 28’ deep and some bass are suspending over open water or in the tops of trees. While suspended fish are harder to keep your lure in front of long enough to make them bite, they will still eat. If possible, find schools on the bottom and you’ll likely do better. Overall, not much has changed in the past few weeks with the patterns. The bite seems to have slowed down a bit, with some better and slower days now, whereas the deep fish seemed to bite very well just about every day up until recently.

Deep structure fishing is really a matter of being on the right school when they are biting, so timing determines whether you are catching them or just practicing your casting. New breakthroughs in sonar technology have made finding these Tom Redington's client with his catch from Lake Fork in Texas

Tom Redington's client with his catch from Lake Fork in Texas

schools of fish buried in timber much easier, so now is a great time to work on your deep structure fishing skills by catching a few hogs. The hot, sunny afternoons of summer are prime time to catch these big schools of big fish, and thankfully we have a nice breeze most days to keep us cool. If you’re looking to learn deep structure fishing skills-reading topo maps, setting up your graph correctly & decoding the images on your sonar to find schools, and learning deep water techniques like big spoons, football jigs, drop shots, Carolina rigs, swimbaits and deep crankbaits-now through early September is the time to head to Lake Fork. And not only is it a great time to learn, but you’ll probably catch some big fish as well.

Boat for Sale: My 2010 Ranger Z521 boat is for sale. It is a demo boat through my dealer with low hours and you’d be titled as the first owner. She’s value priced to save you big bucks 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.
Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OatBx6KpyJk

Lake Conditions: Fork is in good shape for the middle of the summer. The lake level is currently 402.58’ (about 5” below full pool) and slowly dropping. Water temps are on the rise, reading 86 to 90 in the main lake and water clarity is the normal Fork clear green to light stain. The hydrilla and milfoil are starting to mat up a little in the shallows as the water drops.

Location Pattern: Early and late and when it is cloudy/windy/rainy, I’m finding bass feeding on points and flats near or in the main lake. These fish are mostly in 6’ to 12’, often around the deep edge of the hydrilla or milfoil. Deep structure like points, humps, and roadbeds in 12’ to 28’ are best on the sunny days, both for numbers and size. While bass are suspended over many deep structure spots, finding places where they are one the bottom has been the key. Most of these schools are relating to a few pieces of isolated cover, so watch your depth finder closely or you’ll bypass the mother lode.

Presentation Pattern: Topwaters have been good some mornings but the bite only lasts until the sun cracks over the horizon. Poppers like the Lucky Craft G Splash work best some days, while walkers like Sammys and Gunfish are better on others. Around heavier grass or pads, throw Fork Frogs and buzzbaits too. Once the topwater action slows, Texas rigged worms and wacky worms have been the best producers on the edge of the grass. We’ve had good luck on blue fleck, junebug, and green pumpkin 8” and 10” Fork Worms (TX rigs) and Hyper Finesse Worms (wacky rigs). Finally, I’ll pitch a 3/8 oz green pumpkin MPack jig with a matching Fork Craw with a 7’3” Dobyns 736C Champion rod and 25 lb FluoroHybrid Pro to shallow cover like stumps, laydowns, and clumps of grass, plus pitch to the deep weed edge. The jig will produce fewer bites but a good shot at a lunker.

On offshore structure like humps and points, deep diving cranks and spoons will catch suspended fish while Carolina rigs, drop shots, and TX rigs will get the bottom dwellers. The key is to first locate fish on your graph, then let their position dictate your lure selection. Lots of bass are suspend this summer, often schooling on the surface. Deep diving cranks like Lucky Craft’s Flat CB D20 and RC3.5XD are very effective, with Sexy Chartreuse Shad and Chartreuse Light Blue being my favorite colors. When bass are high in the water column and schooling, I’ll throw them on 20 lb PowerSilk line and use a stop-and-go retrieve to keep my lure running shallower. When they are closer to the bottom, use a small diameter sinking line like 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro and launch them as far as you can. The hands down best deep cranking rod these days is the 8’ Dobyns 805CB RM-it’s a unique blend of a rod that can cast a country mile, yet has the power to handle a leaping lunker at great distance. Deep cranks are notorious for losing fish and this rod will help you keep them on-line.

When bass group up on the bottom, they are easier to catch. Carolina and Texas rigs are my first choice. I’ll try a variety of baits on both rigs and let the bass tell me how much or how little action they want. Hyper Worms, Fork Worms, Fork Creatures, Hyper Lizards, & Hyper Freaks have a lot of action and trigger big aggressive fish. If the bass are more finicky, straight tail baits like Hyper Finesse Worms, Hyper Sticks, and Twitch Worms are normally more productive. The most productive bait seems to change daily, so experiment until you find what they want. If the bass won’t respond to those offerings, switch to a Hyper Finesse Worm on a drop shot with 12 lb FluoroHybrid Pro line and a Dobyns DX743 spinning rod and you can still catch them, although the average bass size will run a bit smaller. On darker days, junebug, green pumpkin, and Bama bug have been good, while the various shades of watermelon have worked on the bright days.

Here’s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

July is a HOT time for some great summer bass fishing on world famous Lake Fork! This time of year offers so much in the way of great fishing. Whether you like to catch big bass from deep structure on a variety of techniques during the heat of the day or you are prefer to beat the heat and take advantage of the fabulous night fishing Lake Fork has to offer, now is the time to do it. Here are some tips and techniques that will help you in pursuit of a trophy bass.

Water conditions on the lake a good right now with the lake level at 402.68 which is about 5 inches below full pool. We have had some rain to keep the lake close to full which is a blessing. As much as we loose to evaporation this time of year, every little shower we get helps. The water temperatures have remained steady in the high 80’s to low 90 degree range. Visibility in most areas is clear to 3 feet.

Fishing has been excellent still with most trips producing 30-60 fish a day with the exception of a few off days here and there. There are a number of fish shallow both early & late in the day and at night or out deep where you will find some very large schools of bass concentrating on shad and bar fish.

The shallow bite is best around grass in 4-10 foot. Fishing these grass beds with top waters, wacky worms, and light Texas rigs has been very good early in the morning, late evening, and at night. For the top water, I go for the yellow magic or zara spook in shad patterns. On the wacky worm, best baits have been trick worms or Berkley Shaky Worms in watermelon red, blue fleck, or pumpkin chartreuse. On the t-rig the 7” and 10” Berkley Power Worm are hard to beat in the summer out here. I usually opt for the 7” size during the day when the fish are more finicky and the 10” when they are biting real good or at night. I try to rig my Texas rig with as light of a weight as I can get away with in the wind. Usually a 1/8-5/16 will work best in the shallow grass and a 3/8-1/2 is best out deep. Working these worms along the edge of the grass around main lake points and creeks can be amazing. Best colors are watermelon red, blue fleck, tequila sunrise, red shad, and “The General”.

After the sun gets up in the morning, I am concentrating on deep structure all day. Humps, roadbeds, points, ridges, and pond dams in depths of 18-28 feet are all great areas to look for these deep bass. My Lowrance HDS 8 is an instrumental part of my deep water agenda and it will tell me exactly where the fish are. Look for on your electronics for bait fish in these areas and the bass will not be far away. If you graph a spot and see bait but no fish, try it again later. You can leave and come back in 30 minutes to find that the fish have just shown up to feed. It’s all about timing!

Once I have located a school of fish with my electronics, I am targeting them several different ways depending on how the fish are arranged in the water column and relating to structure or cover. If the fish are on the bottom the number one producer has been a Carolina rig. I like to use a long leader (5ft.) and a big heavy 1 oz weight to drag the bottom. Trilene 20 lb test Fluorocarbon is a must with a 2/0 or 3/0 wide gap hook. Best baits on the c-rig have been Berkley Powerbait 7” or 10” Power Worms, Power Lizards, 4” Power Hawgs, and Wacky Crawlers in blue fleck, watermelon red, green pumpkin, and watermelon candy. www.berkley-fishing.com Drag these baits slowly over the areas you are fishing and hang on! Texas rigged 10” Power Worms have also been doing very well in the same colors rigged with a 3/8-1/2 oz weight and a 5/0 hook. If you want to catch the biggest fish out of the school, you will definitely want to have a Talon Lures 3/4 oz football head jig tied on. www.talonlures.com I like to throw watermelon candy, watermelon red, California 420, Willies Weed, or Texas Craw with a twin tail grub trailer or Berkley Chigger Craw. If throwing a jig intimidates you, now is the time to gain some confidence with it. Just throw it out there in the same areas you would fish anything else and drag it until you feel one thump it then set the hook hard and hold on!

For those suspended fish that are so hard to catch you’ll want to have a DD 22 or a spoon like the Talon “Big Dandy” or Joe Spaits Spoon from Weedless Lures here on the lake. These baits have been responsible for catching a lot of big bass lately and will continue to do well thru the summer. The technique of working these big spoons over deep structure is intimidating to most that have never done it but once you get acquainted with it, you’ll be wanting to do a lot more of it.

If you are thinking about heading out to Lake Fork this summer 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, DFW MRI and newest addition Lowrance Electronics.

Psalms 27:1- The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Tight Lines and God Bless,
James Caldemeyer

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